Team Alethinos in our new punjabis on our first day of ministry.
Our first ten days in India, (and I can’t believe it has only been ten days) have been a whirl wind, a very slow whirl wind. I thought India would be a hard place to start the race and I think I was right.
The Indian people are an incredible joy but being in India is hard. The 100 plus degree heat mixed with the strict conservative dress code alone is a struggle. The cultural learning curve is steep.
Women in church our first week.
Women can’t smile at or talk to men for very long. You can’t use your left hand to do anything especially eating which is done sans silverware. There are no shoes inside, no crossing your legs in meetings or at church, women have to cover there heads in prayer and you have to bobble your head to say yes instead of nodding (which I can NOT seem to remember).
I think being in India is the closest thing you can get to being on a different planet.
A 9-year-old took this photo of her friends at a village we visited.
The streets are manic, driving terrifies me – yet amongst the chaos there are cows and water buffalo gracefully strolling in mini herds. (actually this might be my favorite part about India).
Coming here first was like diving in head first into a swimming pool at night with out looking at how deep it goes. Our ministry this month is also one I would consider to be a bit intense. We visit a different village everyday and work with the local pastors. We go door to door offering prayer and then hold prayer services each night. We are each preaching or sharing our testimonies a few times a week.
Kacie speaking about leading others to Jesus.
Our very first day we went to church in a village and I was asked to give my testimony on the spot. Day one and I was already on the mic! Everything I had anxieties about is coming to pass this first month. There has been no warm-up or practice round, we simply jumped right into the game.
Practicing English with the children.
And you know what, its good!
It’s so good to be facing all our fears and worries so early on. I won’t have to go the whole race waiting in anticipation for the day I have to give a sermon because I already gave one. And I won’t have to wonder if praying for strangers is scary because I have already done that for hundreds of people.
I don’t even have to worry about getting sick and throwing up over a balcony onto someone’s tin roof in the middle of the night because someone else is throwing up in the bathroom because hey, that already happened!
I also don’t have to do this alone. I have found the women of my team to be incredibly kind and honest. They have been flexible and positive at every turn and we have pretty much not stopped laughing since we landed in Hyderabad.
This first month is pretty tough, but i’m so grateful because it is setting such an incredible standard, stretching me in every direction and focusing my gaze more tightly on the Lord.
What anxieties could you eliminate from your life if you ripped off the bandage and faced some fears?
