India
This is a land that is defined by its plurality, from the number of people to the languages spoken, and even the beliefs held. It is awesome to see how – in a land so far and different from the one I came from – the amazing ways that God is working. We are currently at our ministry site, staying at a church with the church’s pastor and his family is Eastern India. This month we are working to further establish the church in the local villages as well as pray for and serve the local community.
Since arriving in India, everyone on the race has been met with challenges. We have all been called out of our comfort zones and pushed to focus our attention on something greater than ourselves. I for one never thought I could sweat continually for five days straight, but now I realize that is not only a possibility it is my new reality, not just for this month but probably for the next eleven.
However, as we are overwhelmed by the heat, the noise, the crowds of people (who stare at us like we are in a zoo exhibit), I have begun to fall in love with a country and a people dynamically different then the place where I came from. This, however, was not immediately easy. It is customary to not smile at strangers when in public in India, so most of the people filling the packed streets and market places carry an intrigued and even grimaced facial expression as we passed by them. This led me to feel an immediate discomfort and feeling of hopelessness. I had a continually growing feeling that our little team or even our squad could
not impact such a huge country, but this all changed the other night.
After finally arriving at our ministry host’s home, and the church we will be staying at for the next month, we were completely worn out. However, God had a little more planned for us that night. Several of the village’s children showed up at the gate of the church, full of energy and ready to find out who we were and what we were doing there. We spent the next hour playing games and meeting all of them. It was one of the most memorable nights I have had in my life.
As the kids left, I thought back to that feeling of hopelessness, and I felt God telling us that these little acts of love have the transformative power to change not just the village or India, but the world. Although it seems strange to travel thousands of miles to play games with children, I believe that by expressing the love God has shown us to the kids we are impacting their lives in ways that nothing else can.
I tell this story to tell you that we all have that power within us, to choose to love one another and through that change the world. Love is the greatest thing we have, and it is through our spreading of the love that God has first shown us that we bring hope and transformation to a world, that at first glance appears hopeless.
I hope you have taken some encouragement from this, and I will keep you posted as I continue my journey.
I am continuing to raise funds to support my work on The World Race, I really need everyone’s help, so if you feel called to donate you can do so by clicking the “support me” link on the left side of the screen. Thanks again for reading, and always feel free to comment.
Sincerely,
Garrett Hammonds
Email:[email protected]
