This will give you insight as to what life is like in India…
1. Heat–sweat is a non stop thing. You shower and typically within a few minutes you are unsure if it’s the water from your shower or your sweat that you feel dripping from your head. You wake up drenched in your sweat and basically just exist in a non stop state of sweating–thank goodness for fans
2. Insects and Rodents–hahaha ants. I’ve woken up and had to defend my room and bed multiple times from the hundreds of ants attracted to anything and everything. Eventually you just give up the struggle. And let them invade and sleep with you; flies oh my word. My first week I legit yelled at the flies surrounding me…now I’m just used to it. And the lizards are everywhere but they are welcome for the most part in hopes they’ll take care of the flies. And Matt the rat our friend who I think was frightened away after our first week by the invasion of white people in his home. I’ve also seen a deadly scorpion and a cobra (pretty legit…from a distance of course)
3. Bathrooms: when you have 35 women sharing two bathrooms things get entertaining especially when someone has the motions, as they say in India (I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself ;)) Often there is a line if dancing women waiting in line. Honestly we do pretty well considering. And when you go to ministry going in a field in broad day light is a common occurrence and putting your toilet paper in a ziplock bag is too until you can find a trash can…
But there are other things you can’t see in my pictures…
Like the way it feels to drive through villages and countryside with break taking views and think of how incredible God is in designing this for all of us.
Or how it feels when you see school children waving and shouting at the Americans who have come to their village.
Or praying for women and men in the villages and having tears stream down their faces because God is their only hope and they’re so thankful to have someone pray for healing and blessings over them
Or worshipping with your squad before ministry and realizing you have a community of people that want nothing more than to know Jesus deeper
Or the way the baby water buffaloes run so clumsily after the rest of their heard
Or the gut wrenching laughs you have with your team on the way back from ministry when your auto driver blasts Hindi music
Or the love you feel when one of the sweet girls you are teaching English too leans over and kisses you on the cheek and tells you she missed you the few days you were not with her.
These are the moment I cannot capture in pictures but these are the moments that have made the sweat and flies not so bad; these are the moments that I will remember, that I thank God for each and everyday because these moments remind me of how much He loves me and How much He loves India and His people. These are the moments that have totally and completely stolen my heart and these are the moments I can only thank my Heavenly Father for because He has made each of them and is in each of them.
I have one week left in India and while the struggles have been real I know I will leave with a full heart and saying goodbye to the girls and boys I have worked with through CCH (my ministry) will be more than difficult. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers!!
