India, the third country on my race. I left Nepal excited about what was to come but also nervous of what I would see, experience, and smell. I already had a picture of India being loud, dirty, smelly, poor and crowed in my head because of all the stories I’d heard from various people. I remember the shock it was being in Kathmandu, Nepal after being in the bush of Swaziland, Africa for 3 months. Man, I remember walking out of the airport and having to literally shove my way past crowds of people just to get to the bus. From then on there were constantly people everywhere, horns honking, and motorcycles rushing past me! From the moment I got off the plane my sense were overloaded with sounds, smells, and sights I had never experienced before. But after a few days I fell into the rhythm of the people. I quickly learned to:
- Walk with a purpose even if you’re lost…
- MOVE to the side when you hear a honk or you will get hit, that one I learned very quickly Mom don’t worry haha.
- No matter how good it looks do not eat street food (thankfully did not have to learn that one first hand)
- Oh and DO NOT DRINK THE WATER (was very blessed to also not have to learn this one first hand and to have clean water at my host’s house, other teams on my squad however were not so lucky)
After my time in Kathmandu I was preparing myself for the next two months in India to be Kathmandu on steroids and then multiplied by 10!! I was a little scared for my little introverted self for a few days waiting to see what my life would look like, and if I would survive the whole two months.
Alright, I may have painted a bit of an exaggerated and dramatic picture, but I just wanted you all to see to understand I was nervous for India, not gonna lie. BUT this gave the Lord so much space to totally destroy every assumption and picture I had of India in my head.
I cannot say where my squad is staying right now for safety reasons, however I can tell you we have so much free space around us! We’re in a little village, with over 100 churches within an hour walking distance. There are so many trees for hanging hammocks, and I have a bed, and a room I only have to share with 4 people! And all over the place I see God’s creation blooming, and I am blooming too 🙂 A lot of people believe this time will be a rest period for our squad. *That does not mean we are not doing anything in fact we have a new ministry everyday* but if you’re an athlete think of active rest, that’s more like what this place is. We still have ministry everyday but it is not all, go-go-go, all the time, like Nepal was. As perfect as this place sounds for me it took me a few days to understand what God’s plan was for us and me here, and I am still learning! I in no way have his plan figured out, that is impossible, but I did realize I needed to humble myself before I even began to understand why I was here. We are not in the slums, this is a completely reached area, there is a church that sounds like it is having a worship concert every night, and it is rare to find someone that is not a Christian. So I was like, God why are we here?! I don’t want to be her, what is the point?! It took me walking to church last week to realize how selfish I was being. The root of my feelings I realized came from a desire to promote myself. I wanted the classic missionary Indian experiences! I wanted to get the perfect classic side-street-slums-of-India picture complete with a sad looking child, to ride an elephant or two, to get a sari, or some traditional clothes. All of these were material things that would give me a few moments of fame on Instagram and then sit in my closet for years. That sounds so selfish but that is how I felt! It took me actually seeing the poverty here to realize there are poor people not just in the slums of Calcutta, India but even here there are people living in tin homes with almost nothing. I am not here for me. Instead I am here for God, to build his kingdom. He has already opened all of the doors necessary to bring me and my team here, and has already orchestrated who I will meet that I will effect, and who will meet me that will effect me. He wants me and my squad here to be his hands and feet, and to bring the kingdom even closer to this small village.
So God, I am praying that you would open my eyes to see what you see, break my heart to feel what you feel, and make my mind malleable to understand what you are trying to teach me. And that you would continue to humble me because Lord, it isn’t about me at all but, it is all about you!
