India has been a whirlwind of sweat, curry, and tuk-tuks. And I love it.
My team and I are by ourselves for the first time.
We’ve never had so many people overtly stare and take pictures of me.
We wear sarees and punjamees.
Our ankles and shoulders have to be covered at all times.
I have henna covering my hands and feet.
I’ve been proposed to by a guy on a motorcycle driving behind our tuk-tuk.
And I haven’t washed my hair in 5 days (sorry, mom!).
This is much similar to what I thought the Race would look like. I am being stretched in ministry. We are have squatty potties and bucket showers. We eat more rice than I thought was possible. And it’s hot, loud, and crowded. Here is a glimpse at what we are doing this month:
10:00–breakfast, and it’s always traditional Indian food [made by the fabulous wife of the Paster]
11:00-12:00–prayer time with the pastors
1:00–lunch, always consisting of rice and some sort of curry
2:00-4:00–time for resting, relaxing or preparing for the night
4:30–leave for ministry in our tuk-tuk with our personal driver, Timotee
5:00-10pm–arrive at a village, do house visits to the believers there to pray and encourage them, take a break to drink endless cups of “Thumbs Up”, Sprite, and chai tea, have a gospel meeting in a building [if we are lucky, because sometimes it’s in the middle of the road in the rain]. 3-4 of us will preach and share testimonies with the people there. There will be anywhere from 50-100 people in attendance. There power inevitable ALWAYS goes out and we preach in the dark or under candle lights. We sing a few songs in English and they sing a few songs in Telegu. Around 8:30 or 9 we pray for the locals who came. Some of them need prayers of healing, increased faith, or just encouragement. This is something that can seem daunting because of how many people want to be prayed over. I have constantly ask Jesus for the ability to see each one of them with His eyes and for new words so that I don’t get repetitive in praying for them. Each of them have such unique pains and need God’s touch in new ways. Seeking God’s guidance is something I have to continually depend on. All in all though, it’s so humbling to pray God’s encouragement over these people. The night wraps up with dinner from one of the local families. They treat us with such undeserved honor.
Though the nights can often be draining, it’s so cool to see God fill us up each night with His love. This type of ministry would wear us down far too quickly without spending intentional time with Jesus each day, letting him fill us with his Spirit. It’s so cool to see him work.
