I made it to India!!! We had a hiccup on our 14hr flight to India. There was a gentleman on the plane that was having breathing problems, so we had a emergency landing in Norway. This delayed the flight by 5hrs causing us to miss our connecting flight in New Delhi to Bangalore. We gathered our things and stayed the night in a hotel. Then, caught an early flight the next morning. Once in Bangalore we were faced with a new challenge. Somehow at check-in in New Delhi they put the whole squad luggage under my name. That would have been fine, however, we were missing one piece of luggage. Yikes! This caused major confusion and my squad mate has still not received her bag. Once the luggage was sorted the squad split into teams and we all went separate directions. My team (Team Jesus Jewels) met up with our contact, Pastor Chris. We spend 5 days in Bellary at Pastor Chris’s home. We spend that time getting familiar with the transition to India’s lifestyle. We joined Pastor Chris on a church groundbreaking, house visits, and worship sessions. We also had a blast getting to know his family through family meals, shopping, and walking around the city. The first couple of days in Bellary I struggled with being in an unfamiliar area and being stripped of my comforts of home life. However, as the days went on my heart started to settle by experiencing a new culture. In the first couple days my teammates and I were presented with unforgettable activities that kicked our World Race in the right direction. Two girls on my team and I woke up early to watch the sunrise on the rooftop of the apartment complex. It was mind blowing because we could hear “The Call to Prayer” (Islamic prayer) and watch the city below wake from its slumber. We were chased down due to a large amount of monkeys. Later, we were about to go pick out our fabrics for our saris. Nevertheless, our time came to an ended in Bellary and we headed to our official mission location.
Our mission is to work independently at a coffee shop in a small tourist town called Hampi. We had stars in our eyes when we first arrived because it was beautiful! The shop looks like the tiki room at Disney World and it backed up to a rice field, however, our feeling changed quickly. The shop need some deep cleaning because no one had been there since March and the walls are made of lattice. Plus, we had no power, water, or a way to contact someone for help. The sky was getting darker by the minute and our nerves got less settled. As a team we decided to stay the night in the hotel next door and in the morning have a fresh start. I will keep you informed on the progress of how the shop is looking.
