"Naan" Stop train in India (with pictures) - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

India was like a buffet, it has everything you could think of. From the busiest street to the most peaceful spot; from the dirtiest corner to the most beautiful nature. India was the country that I was the most excited to visit, simply because of its culture. It surely was everything I had in mind plus more. Despite my little fear before entering the country (from all the crazy stories and sickness I have heard), this is probably the month I was the healthiest physically and spiritually. Praise God for extra provision.

At the end of month, we arrived at this place called “Manali” and met these two amazing groups of people from two organizations (YWAM and Jews for Jesus). We spent a little more than a week in this small town to share the good news and get to know each other. It was best time I had all month! What crazy is that none of us planned to meet there, it just happened. Looking back now, it felt like I took a spiritual train and made many stops along the way and saw how God put these stops and destinations according to His plan. So in this post, I would like to share where I have been through this “long train ride” of India.

1st Stop – Kolkata

Formerly known as Calcutta, It’s the home to Mother House, headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. Visiting the Mother House was always one of my dreams and I simply couldn’t believe I got a chance to. The place itself was remarkable, seeing hundreds of tourists from all around the world came to volunteer! I realize how much potential God has invested in us to bring His kingdom on earth! What I should dress in as a Christian is my willingness to love my neighbor. In Kolkata, we met three brothers who owns a gift shop called the “Sunshine Store”. We spent most of our days there to hang out (and purchased a few things…),they would serve us tea and let us stay for hours even if we didn’t buy anything. Sometimes they would ask us to put on music we enjoy on their speakers, so we would play worship music and see their reactions. The city is big but God guided us to the exact people He wanted us to met. It was a great start.

2nd Stop – Varanasi

After watching the documentary “Holy Ghost”, I always hoped to visit this place. The city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters and perform funeral rites. Along the city’s winding streets are some 2,000 temples, the place was dark with all the idols and rituals. Originally we planned to stay there for 2 days then head to Taj Mahal, but ended up staying for 5+ days because some of us got seriously sick. The spiritual attack was real! I tried to make the best of my time by get to know people from the hostel but I always felt tired. Yet every time when I wanted to be left alone, God gave me extra strength and just the right person to talk to. One of them is a 55 years old Chinese lady who traveled for the first time in her life! She was a Buddhist and on her pilgrimage in India and Nepal. We bonded over the fact that she’s a single mom, just like my mom. She was opened to listen to my belief and Jesus. She gave me vegetables to cook and insisted I have to visit her one day. My heart hurts because she was brave enough to travel for a God that doesn’t exist. But I thank God for our encounter, I pray that this seed will grow and lead her to the true God.

3rd Stop – New Delhi

We purchased tickets to Tak Mahal but had to miss our train due to illness. My team prayed again and had a new direction. We stayed in New Delhi for a few days. We found this super cool hostel where the staffs were so friendly and had tour everyday. We had met many travelers there and explored the city. And… I had Taco Bell for the first time in 7 months (They have Chalupa)!

4th Stop – Shimla

Forgot to mention, we took 4 trains and over 36 hours in total before arrived at this place. Shimla is the capital of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalayan foothills. 400 plus hotels and stunning views. We took a “Toy Train”(Click here if you don’t know what it is) that climbed up the mountains. We spent a rest day there to recover before we took a 10 hours bus ride to the final destination.

5th Stop – Manali

We decided to come to this place without knowing much about it. Manali is a high-altitude Himalayan resort town in India’s northern Himachal Pradesh state. It has a reputation as a backpacking center and honeymoon destination. We met many tourists on the first day and believed God guided us there to share Gospel with them. Then we met the people from YWAM (Click here) who were doing almost the same ministry as us. It was encouraging to other evangelists who also listen to voice of God daily. We are extremely blessed by them! They treated us with meals after meals, invited us to church and worship. I almost forgot how important it is to spend time with other followers because we are in one body of Christ. Some of us became close and incredibly we encouraged each other’s through Spirit and words. Because of YWAM, we also met the other group “Jews For Jesus” (Click here), they use the advantage of their background and language, go where the most Jewish people travel and evangelize. I was surprise to found out that many Jews had little to no idea about Jesus and what He did. We saw someone open the New Testament for the first time, we had an adventure day with the Israeli travelers and……One afternoon I saw an elderly lady was reading in a coffee shop, and God told me to talk to her. I didn’t know what to say so I began by asking the book she was reading, she explained briefly of the Hebrew language and asked about my Hebrew tattoo (I was asked more than 30 times by Jews in Manali). Without any related topic, she shared her belief of being an atheist as I shared mine. She said “I know Jesus, he is a socialist and really did good works for the people.” So I told her the Gospel, I prayed for her. No epic magical “I believe in God now” moment happened, it was just a really long and warm hug as she thanked me (and she got me an cookies ice-cream). We often make assumption that people doesn’t need to hear about Jesus simply because they claim they know. One thing I learn wholeheartedly in India is this: go an extra mile for the Kingdom. I certainly believe that God doesn’t always ask us to talk 3 hours to someone. But what if that was the only time that person get to hear the Gospel? Why shouldn’t I invite someone to dinner or sacrifice more of my personal time so that someone may receive salvation? Jesus died on the cross for us but it is up to us to spread it out.