“We are in freakin’ India” is what we keep looking at each other and saying. Day 9 and I am still in awe of this opportunity to tell people about Jesus here. Why me? Why did the Lord choose me to go on this trip? A trip that I could leave right now and it would be enough because the Lord has already changed me and taught me more than I could have ever imagined. India. The closest thing to Taylor Swift famous I will get. The people love us white people. They stare and they want to give handshakes and just be in our presence because we are different. I pray and ask that you would join in praying with me that they would know we are not just different because of the color of our skin but because of the name we bear. The name of Jesus. The one, true savior. The only one that matters. The only one that can heal. The only one that can lift the lowly from the garbage dumb. I pray that I live a life worthy of this calling He has given me. I pray that I become all things to all men so that we may win more to Christ.
I know you all want to know a little about India. You should know that the people are beautiful. Not just physically but their hearts to serve literally blows this small mind of mine. I can’t even put into words how well they serve. We use our hands to eat. Actually, only our right hand. There are cows and water buffalo everywhere. Honking is completely normal while driving. Driving on the wrong side of the road is the scariest thing in the world when you forget that they drive on the wrong side of the road. Rice is THE thing here. Their coffee is better than any Starbucks drink you could ever order but they only drink one small shot glass type cup of it. Me, I drink about 5 of those cups in one sitting and they laugh about it. I got to go to an Indian wedding. I got to preach in a village. Their services are full of singing and the children love to be right at the front to dance. Modest is always hottest. Laughter is the universal language. High fives and fist bumps are the kids’ favorite new tricks to learn. “If you’re not sweating, you’re not living and we are just thankful to be alive”- quoted from my awesome squadmate, Elizabeth.
Now that you know a little about where we are and what we are living let me tell you about my team’s ministry. My team is doing village ministry and church planting. Everyday we go to a new village and we walk around and pray for people and then we do a service every night. Last night I had the absolute honor and privilege to preach the gospel. About halfway through the service I leaned over to our incredible team leader, Kayla, and asked if I should change my message to a kid friendly one because it was mostly kids and only about 10 or so adults at the service. She assured me that I should stick to what I had written out and speak what the Lord had called me to speak. So by the grace of God I got up and spoke. No nervousness was there and if you know me than you know that is all God. So after I got finished we prayed for people.
Now for the absolute best part… A Hindu woman and her Christian husband came up and they wanted to let us know that the woman had chosen Christ as her savior. I am in tears as I write this post. A Hindu woman. One that worships more gods than they have names for was telling us with the biggest smile on her face that she was ready to worship and serve the one, true God. Why would God allow my team and I to come all the way to India? For the one lost sheep. He cares about the ONE lost sheep enough to make my team and I fly 16+ hours to a small town in India because His sheep needed to hear about her shepherd. She needed to know about what this God did for her and I needed to be reminded that I am pursuing the one lost sheep for Him. That is my purpose. That is my call. That is why I am India. That is why I have been sleeping on the floor and why I have bug bites all over my body. That is why I have been eating the spiciest food on planet earth. For one lost sheep to know her shepherd.
Wifi is difficult here and I wish that I could FaceTime every single one of you. Know that no news is always good news when it comes to not hearing from me for a few days. I am trying to update as much as possible and am so thankful for your texts, comments and Facebook messages when I am able to check them. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your support, prayers and encouragement. I wish I could write every single detail of what the Lord is doing in this blog but know that He is good and He is going after His lost sheep daily. Please pray for my team as we continue to minister to Hindu people in the villages. It is hot here and I, personally, have never felt so exhausted. Yes, I am drinking a lot of water and eating everything I need to. Thank you so much for your prayers!!!! I look forward to sharing every bit of this journey with all of you!
