Yes, it’s true… I am in love with India! :]
It might shock you since some of you know that this started
off as a rough month for me and my team. We traveled
a long journey to India from Uganda with a stop in Dubai where we had a layover
in the middle of the night long enough to enjoy some Starbucks! It was amazing and desperately longed
for! ;] Then we flew to Delhi,
India with a final stop in Chennai, India, on the southern coast.
Right when we stepped off the
airplane, God spoke to at least one of us and told us that we weren’t going to
be staying there long. God
continued to speak over the next few days and confirmed it over and over again
to each of my team members that we were supposed to leave. I won’t be going into any details other
than the fact that we decided to follow God’s calling and head to Bangalore,
India to work with another team from our squad. So after a lot of time in prayer, we made our move and got on a bus and traveled 8 hours (which
was like nothing on the World Race and seemed like any other ordinary day) and headed to Bangalore. God took cares of His daughters the
entire step of the way! All the
way to paying $6 for the bus ride as well as pretty much having the entire bus
to ourselves. He even let a Domino’s Pizza man walk into the hotel we stayed at one night just as we were talking about how much we wanted pizza. God is just too good.
In
the midst of all of this as well, my best friend, Kelly Brooks, felt God was
calling her home. So on April 1st,
after many tears falling from my eyes, Kelly hopped on a plane and traveled a
full days journey home back to North Carolina without me. Honestly, it was really hard at
first. Extremely hard at first
actually. I cried a ton. And honestly it was most definitely one
of the hardest days of my World Race experience. She’s the one who has been there for me and with me since
Day 1 of training camp. She’s been
there with/for me during the crappiest of times as well as some of the best moments
and experiences of my life. I
wondered how the rest of my World Race could really go on without her right next to
me. But God quickly reminded me how good He was going to even make of this
situation too… just like every other situation I have encountered like this.
You see, Kelly became my “safe
place”. Whenever I felt like I was
in some uncomfortable situation, I knew I could run to Kelly and she would just
understand. Everything would seem
fine and I would know that I could continue to make it. She has kept me sane through most of
this Race. But I don’t have her
anymore. I don’t get to spend my
last 4 months of the World Race with my best friend. But God has continually reminded me of how He has really GOOD plans for the 2 of us. I’m really
excited to continue to see what He will bring of it all. It’s going to be good. This is only a transitional step in my life that will only push me further and grow me more into the woman God desires of me.
A blog dedicated to Kelly will
come soon. And, by the way, it’s defintiely not to be
missed. Possibly some “secret”
information about myself will be revealed as well (thanks Kel for the easy way
in ;] )…yep, things I haven’t shared with you yet that has happened about my
trip.
Until then, I can share with you
that life in India has been amazing!!!
It has been a rough month, yes, but by far one of my most favorite months so
far! We have been working with an
amazing couple who I can’t wait to tell you more about! We have also been a part of VBS programs,
spending a day in the park with disabled children, hanging out with kids infected
and/or affected by AIDS, many worship/Bible study sessions, a truly “girls
day”, Indian dancing, as well as many times of rest and refreshment for our souls.
All in all, at first I thought my teams
difficult month in Malaysia (month 2) was a prequel to what I would experience
in India, but it’s not true at all…because for real, I LOVE INDIA!!!
