16 days of the race are left, and month 11 has brought us to
India. I love it here and couldn’t
imagine a better way to end this amazing, challenging, life-changing year. After
our three-month stint in Africa, India was something new, something exciting. With
all of it’s spices, chai tea, cheap food, color, and beautiful people, how could one not
love it?
Our month began with a day or so of getting into the swing
of things, being briefed about the new culture, discussing ministry options
with our contact etc. We were presented by the team leaders with the task of
individually praying into what we felt the Lord wanted us to do in this final
month. For the past month or so God has been speaking to me to raise awareness to those who go unnoticed, the populations of people He has placed on my
heart both before and while on the race . . persons with special needs, the
homeless, and widows. While praying, that was all I could think about. Then
I came across this:
“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends,
your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite
you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” –(Luke 14:12-14)
That’s all I got, whatever that meant. We were then proposed
with the two ministry options for the month . . church planting, and working at
a home for children with special needs. Now, while I may have both a Bachelor’s
and Master’s degree in Special Education, you must know I don’t love teaching.
I mean I came on the World Race because after five years of education classes,
I didn’t feel called to teaching. My passion for persons with disabilities hasn’t diminished though. If
anything, God has not let me forget it this year, and has only strengthened it.
At the end of various months, squad-mates have come to me saying, “Christy, we
thought about you this month because we worked with children with special
needs!” It has happened numerous times this year, and each time I find myself
asking God, “Why is my team not receiving ministries like this?” Maybe we
haven’t, but God has placed people in my life throughout the year to remind me
of the passion He has so purposefully placed inside of me.
Cindy Palmella, a girl with Down Syndrome whom I fell in love with in Honduras.
Maria, a widow that stole my heart in Nicaragua.
In past months I have prayed into whether God wanted me to
continue working with persons with disabilities after the race, maybe in a
non-educational setting. Maybe this could be in the form of missions, an
organization, or even adoption in the future. I believe He is going to answer
these prayers this month. For now, all I know is this month is such a blessing to my life, and God is so good to
have given me this opportunity before finishing the race. His timing is so
perfect. Myself, plus four others are working at the home each day, while our
teammates are in a nearby village. Be in prayer that we are Jesus to these
children and love them in a way they have never been loved before. Pray for a
revival in the village as our teammates are planting a church. Meanwhile, here is a video of what is going on in the village, and as far as the children’s home . .
Plenty of stories
to come!
