The month of change. The month of life, the month of death, the month of song.
This month has been one of newness the likes of which never have been seen.
At least by me.
The Month of Change
This month we completely changed everything.
We started off by being put on new teams, just part of the normal thing AIM does on the world race.
So starting off the month, I was with 5 people I hadn’t been on a team with yet. And one former teammate.
The next change was the lay of the land.
We went from a place that was still very westernized (“normal” stores, laws, monotheism etc…) to a society of people that are the total opposite. Who have grown with the faith in the many gods of polytheism (A.K.A Hinduism).
We were doing ministry in a very different way than I had done previous.
After village
After village.
Six days a week.
Praying for the people of the village and preaching at a night service.
Needless to say, it was taxing work, however I would not have changed it one bit. I have never seen such strong desire to know the Father as some of these Indians had. I very much began to understand how the disciples felt going into a village and having crowds follow them asking for prayer and blessings (mine was a much smaller scale obviously).
Overall the amount of change I’ve experienced is impalpable. I am still going through everything in my mind in order to understand what has all gone down.
The Month of Life and Death
This Month has been one that breathes life into you.
Experiencing the villages brought to life a much truer idea of how the world works.
How in the midst of such impoverished conditions; human waste running alongside the road, huts covered with nothing but hundreds of twigs, building a fire outside every day in order to cook the food, the road conditions,
How in the midst of all this oppression from the castes system, there is such a sheer hope emanating from those living in these conditions.
Seeing and experiencing this challenges you to rethink everything you view as normal. Where your whole sense of “normal” gets thrown out the window and has caught another bus already. Leaving you with nothing to build off of.
Which is exactly what brings life. If you live somewhere that’s a total reversal of what your used to and have been around your entire life, than you will begin to think in a way that is completely opposite of those you once knew.
This seems like it wouldn’t bring life at all. It seems as if it would just bring about confusion and chaos. However, changing the perspective and understanding how people live, think, eat, worship. These things bring about an ever-present wonder that surpasses those insignificant wants of comfort.
The life comes from seeing the perspective, and conjoining it with the previous one in the hope that you will not only find out more about the world around you, but also more about yourself and your relationship with the Lord.
The Month of Song
This month was one of song. Not so much as some other months, however, it was one that was very much enjoyed.
We were able to sing, however old and not understood the songs were. To see in the midst of complete confusion at our words or vice versa, the common understanding among everyone that the worship and singing of praises were directed at God.
The times when we sang in front of 1000 Indians and having majority of them not understand a single word of what we say, but allowing the praise to speak for itself to God.
Or the times when you are alone on the rooftop singing praises to the Lord because you feel so drained from ministry.
This month was an incredible month that had such a huge impact on my view of ministry. It challenged me and taught me things I didn’t fully comprehend before, nor do I fully comprehend yet.
Overall, the time spent in India was a fantastic month, full of great people who serve an even more amazing God.
And as the next few months go by, I want to challenge you, the reader, to live even more for the Lord.
To live entirely for Him and put Him before everything. I want you to live out
Deuteronomy 6: 5-9
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
