Colors and Faces of India

I did not want to come here.  I was convinced it would be terrible.  I prayed that God would shelter me from this place.
 
But I am here now and He has not sheltered me.  He has exposed me to filth and poverty, mosquitoes and heat, street food and animals admist chaotic and noisy traffic.
 

I am sleeping on a cement floor on the second floor of a church building.  The electricity comes and goes every few hours.  The squatty potty and bucket shower are on the roof.  There are no mirrors.  No clean water, except what we buy to drink. My feet are always dirty and I am always sweaty because I am covered from my shoulders to ankles to respect the modesty of this culture.

 
And yet somehow I love it.  God has given me eyes to see the colors and faces of India the way He sees them.  I see joy and beauty, bright hues of hope in this place.

 
God has blessed my team with Pastor K and Diamond, our contacts this month.  They are sweet, funny, and caring.  They have two handsome boys, ages 12 and 13. 
 
Pastor K has taken us into villages to pray for the sick, for pregnant women, for homes to be blessed, for land to be prosperous, and for the salvation of those who believe in many gods.  We have met orphans and the disabled. Each face is beautiful and has eyes that are willing and open to see, to believe and receive the one and only true God.

 
My own eyes were shut and not wanting to receive what India offers.  God has shown me my weakness in trusting and following Him.  I thought somewhere else, anywhere else but India, would be better.  But He has revealed to me, in His grace, that this is a place of beauty. 

 
It is vibrant and so full of life.  This is a land ready for harvest.  And I am here in the field among the many colors and faces ready to work.  I know this month will not be easy, but because I cannot do it in my own strength, it will be that much brighter.