58 hours of travel
3 flights
1- 10 hour layover
1- 3 hour wait (and nap) in a bus station
2 bus rides (9 hours total)
At training camp our trainer told us that “travel day” was more a concept than reality, travel could last for several days and oh boy he was not joking. We left the US on Friday evening and arrived in Hyderabad on Monday afternoon. From there we traveled to the state of Andhra Pradesh with my team arriving early Monday morning after an overnight bus ride. Travel was long and involved sleeping in an airport, on a bus station floor, and in a bus while getting rained on through a leaky window, I’m really starting to believe that world racers can sleep ANYWHERE! It was tiring but such an adventure and I am so grateful that we all arrived safely. It was such a relief to finally arrive in Andhra Pradesh on Monday and to be able to spend the day resting and exploring 
After resting on Monday we traveled to our ministry site, a small village in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We’re staying in a church with the Pastor and his family. They live in a room built into the back of the church and we’ve all set up our tents in the church. This area is incredibly peaceful; we’re surrounded by farmland and we are so grateful for the fresh air and breeze that comes through (it is HOT here!). The Pastor’s family has several chickens and a couple water buffalo; waking up to a rooster crowing at 4am is definitely something completely new for me!(I didn’t actually figure out which one was the rooster until yesterday ) I’m not used to chicken wrangling but we are all getting pretty good at it. It is beautiful here and the family we are living with is so welcoming and loving!
Our ministry this month is evangelism and assisting the Pastor in his ministry. So far we’ve been going out in the early evening and praying for people in smaller nearby villages, and last night we were able to hold a prayer meeting. This is all completely new territory for me and to be honest way out of my comfort zone, but it’s been such a great experience so far and really made me realize how much I need to rely on God through all of this.
We’ve been in India for about a week now and we’ve all started to settle in, we’re developing our routines and excited for what the rest of this month holds!
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!
Much Love,
Jess
p.s. I had pictures to upload with this blog, unfortunately my internet connection is not cooperating
