Do you have a spot that is just your spot?? That is typically something that I try to do on the first day that we arrive at a new ministry each month. I scope out the area to see where I can go to be alone. And that is actually something that is really important on the race; there are rules that we aren’t allowed to go anywhere by ourselves for safety reasons, but in an atmosphere where you cant be alone, you will most definitely need to find an oasis that you can escape to. In India, you literally can not go anywhere to escape people, shocker right. In Mozambique we had similar rules, and we ended up walking our teammates home at night in silence some nights because that would be our only time to be “alone” without actually being alone. But in India, even just to walk to breakfast which is held at a different house about a 10 minute walk, you will be stopped and asked by local adults and children for your picture and autograph. Yes, solitude is a sweet luxury you don’t always have on the race, especially this month.
For our actual ministry this month, teams Rise, Kindred, Sonflowers, and Wimbi set out to caravan up and through india in what looks like Jurassic Park jeeps to host medical camps in villages and small towns. Teams Sonflowers and Wimbi were dropped off in two different cities after the camp was held in their host city and Rise and Kindred continued on and we are driving (some short distances, 4-5 hours, some not (10+ hours) and hosting I think 4-5 more in a course of a week. The camps are great, we have seen around 1,400-1,500 people in the last three that we have done, we set up stations for vitals, family history, nurses, doctors, a pharmacy, and prayer room. It’s also very draining and tiring emotionally, physically, and spiritually. After we had prayed for the last local and closed the gates to yesterdays camp, I felt, done from a lack of a better word. I woke up this morning just exhausted, my body sore, mind tired, my grip of my hands were weak and feet heavy. As we piled into the car to drive to our next spot, I told Burgess that I really needed today to just be still, to not have to think about anything or one, to simply rest. Enter the Oasis. Our drive today was surprisingly only an hour long and as we stopped on the side of the road next to two rice patty fields, I was a little thrown as to where we were. We grabbed our bags and started walking between the fields into a clearing where a church stands, a giant tarp tent in the middle and a house that belongs to the pastor. And we are told the sweetest words that we could’ve heard today, we are taking the day to simply rest and we would continue on tomorrow. Man, God’s provision and timing continues to amaze me. The area around is calm, there are only a few other people besides our teams. We are surrounded by rice fields on every side, the weather is cloudy and has been having spontaneous rain showers here and there. There are actual bathrooms (porcelain squatty potties and not a hole in the floor), showers (outdoor of course with a blanket curtain), and water readily available. Yes this is an oasis that we were pleasantly presented to in the middle of india in the rice fields. What did I do to rest?? I read The Hobbit, took a nap, and ate mini bananas.
I know that this may not seem blog worthy, but it’s the small wins that I have learned to look for and at. And let me tell you, finding a spot in the middle of a very crowded country that is quiet and peaceful, and not crazy muggy, man that is a totally win worthy in my book. Thank you Jesus for this day of rest.
