Okay, okay, so we weren’t actually in church. But I’ll get there…
Our housing for the month in India is located next to the living quarters of students who attend the local seminary school. Last night we were invited to join them for the evening to participate in what they kept calling “fun night” at 5:30pm. None of us had a clue what this night entailed, except that we were instructed to come prepared with about 10 songs, skits, or “special numbers” (we are repeatedly asked to arrive to church services with a “special number” planned, and after a month, the term is still not any less ambiguous). Even as I sat in my chair at 5:28, I was expectant, but clueless about what to expect. I was next to a student named Moses, and when I asked him what they had planned, he simply replied: “Surprises.” Cool.
We gathered together in a one-room building not much larger than a two-car garage, seated in plastic chairs on a concrete floor, all facing a small stage. 25 racers and about 80 seminary students. To start us off, some students played a couple of worship songs. We stood to sing and clap, and by the second song, the racers were jumping and dancing in the isles worshipping at the top of our lungs. By the end of the second song, a handful of the students had joined in. I don’t think they were used to such lively worship, but they embraced it nonetheless.
As the evening progressed, racers and seminary students alternated performances such as worship, skits (I’ve learned the people here have a knack for creating a variety of entertaining performances that portray the gospel), songs, and more, and in the midst of all the excitement, Nehemiah, a student helping lead the program, never failed to mention that everything we were doing, we did for the glory of God. My cup was spilling over with joy.
Then, as we stood to conclude the night with more worship, the best thing ever happened. The students immediately began moving all of the chairs to the back of the room. They were so excited about our enthusiasm, that not only did they create space for us to be as expressive and free as we desired, but they joined in our livelihood. In less than a minute, the room that had been filled with a seated audience had been transformed into a dance floor filled with young people from two completely different cultures dancing, sweating, jumping, and singing (but actually more like screaming) praises of joy and thanksgiving to a God who we know is so so good to us. I’ve never experienced anything like this in all my life. We noted with much sadness that this may be the only time we would share in such a wonderful night of fun and worship together, yet rejoiced over the reality that we will one day be reunited in heaven to laugh and jump and sing and dance together for eternity.
*I wrote all of this about 2 weeks ago. India was an amazing month of ministry, and though the time we shared with our friends in Sielmat was regrettably short, it was indescribably reviving for my soul. At this moment, I’m sitting in a cafe in Nepal next to my teammate, Amanda, sipping my first cup of real coffee in a month, finally rested again after a 34 hour travel day (one that was originally supposed to be only 13 hours), and after being reunited with my team (we were separated for travel), I feel more at home than I have in a long time. I don’t know what the Lord has planned for the next 10 months, but I’m eager to welcome it. God is so good.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, amen.”
