11 things I learned in India:
1. India looks COMPLETELY different than I could have ever imagined.
When I found out that I would be going to India, I immediately thought of Bollywood and scenes from Slumdog Millionaire. Turns out that the part of India we were in is nothing like that at all. We spent the month surrounded by mountains covered in trees. Over 75% of the people living in Sielmat were Christians, which is so incredible. It was a joy getting to walk along this community and help further God’s kingdom.
2. There’s no graceful way to eat a grapefruit
The grapefruits in India are legitimately the size of your face. My teammate, Rachel, and I suddenly became obsessed with grapefruits. We would pick a couple off a tree everyday and chow down. The locals taught us how to cut them open properly, and then we would give one of the kids the peel to wear on their head as a hat. One of our hosts, Francis, quickly caught on to our love for the grapefruits. He even brought a few from his own house that he swore were the best ones!
3. Patience!
Something that God told me at launch was to be patient. I find myself wanting my faith and closeness to the Father to grow instantly over night, but I have been learning that it is such a process. The continuous and consistent learning and obedience will lead me to a more substantial faith that will not waiver. I read a children’s book this month called “The Little Prince” and it describes it perfectly.
“I am looking for friends. What does that mean–‘tame’?”
“It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”
“‘To establish ties’?”
“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . .”
“What must I do, to tame you?” asked the little prince.
“You must be very patient,” replied the fox. “First you will sit down at a little distance from me–like that–in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . .”
The next day the little prince came back.
“It would have been better to come back at the same hour,” said the fox. “If, for example, you come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o’clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you . . . One must observe the proper rites . . .”
To know our Father, we must consistently spend time with Him every day.
4. When it rains, it pours
We had several entertaining experiences due to the amount of rain we had in the first week and a half. Doing laundry in India consists of washing your clothes in a bucket and then hanging them on the roof to dry. I made the mistake of washing almost all of my clothes at once, which was a big mistake. My “clean” clothes consistently got rained on and would never dry, so I ended up wearing the same clothes for several days in a row. Also, walks in the rain led to some of the funniest moments for my team. Most of us slipped and fell in the mud at least once (or 3 times…Lyndie) which caused laughing fits by everyone around.
5. Ministry doesn’t always look like what you expect
It didn’t take long for us to become friends with the seminary students that lived next to us. Every day at 3 we would get back from serving in schools and medical camps, and then would quickly run over to where they lived and play volleyball. We would play and joke with them for hours until it got too dark to see the ball anymore. The simple joy and encouragement that we all got from each other was undeniable. Our relationships with them soon continued past the volleyball court, as we got to attend seminary classes and join them for their worship nights. It was amazing to see these two communities from such different backgrounds come together as one. The thing that we had in common was that we are all children of a good Father. Fellowship with these young men and women will be the thing I remember the most about India, and it all started with deciding to step into their world and spend time with them.
6. Squatty potties aren’t actually that bad
I’m going to be honest and let you know that before this month I had never experienced a squatty potty in all its glory. I actually had no idea how to use it, so my lovely teammates helped me out. I can now say that I don’t mind using a squatty at all. Some of my team (Rachel) said they even want to build one in their future house, but I wouldn’t go that far…
7. I haven’t been living to be my true self
Many of us read the book “Scary Close” by Donald Miller this month, and it led to some great discussions. In this book he talks about how most of us have learned to disguise our true selfs. We cover who we are because somewhere along the way we have associated this with shame or insecurities (lies) that we tend to believe. Consequently, we will create a ‘false self’ for protection and then learn to operate while holding up this mask. We might find the applause we long for by these false selfs, but then we realize they are just temporary. I took time to process what false self I tend to present to others, and shared the truths with my team. It can be hard to take the mask off, especially if we have been covering ourself with it for so long, but it’s not as scary since my whole team is doing this together.
8. I could rock a pretty sweet beard
On the night of Halloween we happened to have a squad meeting. Knowing this in advance, a few of us girls decided we wanted to be festive and show up to the meeting in costumes. We had very little costume ideas since we are limited to so little clothing. This led to us sneakily taking the boys clothes and dressing as each of them for Halloween. I got to dress up as my brother, Joe. It was easy enough to find clothes similar to his, but the challenge was replicating his beard. With enough teasing and bobby pins, we were able to transform my hair into a beard as well. Pretty sure I nailed it!
9. Feedback isn’t as scary as I thought
Adventures in Missions does this awesome thing they like to call feedback. The basic idea is to call out what we see in others and share it with them. It can be positive or constructive. If you know me at all, you know I really don’t like confrontation and will do anything to avoid it. I originally did not want to give or receive feedback, but over this month my heart has completely changed. I’m beginning to realize how beneficial it is to call out what we can see in others, especially when it is something they might not see in themselves. It has been such a great tool to help each other grow and hold each other accountable.
10. Tuk-tuk drivers think they can go anywhere
Literally anywhere. We often took a tuk-tuk ride from the market back to the neighborhood we lived in. One time we were playing volleyball and I heard an excited yell from some of the guys on my team. They had gotten the tuk-tuk driver to take them all the way to the entrance of our dorms, but he wasn’t done yet. He proceeded to drive them past the dorms, down the hill, and literally onto the volleyball court. We were dying laughing at the fact that we had to pause our volleyball game because the tuk-tuk almost got hit by the ball.
11. Every day can be an adventure if you choose to say “yes”
When we would help at medical camps, it was always a little bit of an adventure. Medical camps consisted of riding in the hosts ambulance vehicle to a small village that was at least a half hour away. In these villages nearly no one spoke english, which made communicating interesting. We would do whatever was needed during our time there. Most of the time we would help register patients, pray for them after they received their diagnosis, and entertaining the large amounts of children.
We were nearing the end of the ministry day at medical camp, and one of the locals asked if we wanted to hike up to see the view. We looked at each other for about a second before we gave them a resounding “yes!” He lead us up to a trail that quickly disappeared. We spent over 30 minutes hiking through grass and bushes that were taller than our heads to get to the top of this mountain. We all got dirty and tired, but the view was so worth it. From the top you could see that we were nearly surrounded on all sides by water that was filled with fish farms. After taking in the beauty for a while we decided it was time to head down and go home. We spent the entire ride home marveling at the fact that God wants to take us to some amazing places, and all we have to do is say “yes!”
My time in India was incredible, and I hope this blog was able to give you a glimpse of what it has looked like for me!
Fundraising update!
I am currently 68% funded!! Everyday I am getting closer and closer to being fully funded, and I’m so thankful for that! I am about $1500 away from meeting my next deadline on November 30th. I need to meet this deadline in order to continue on the field with my squad, and I have full faith that this can happen! If you want to donate to my mission trip, click the “Support Me” link on the left of this page!
