The other day, Zach, Eva, Nick and I went exploring Bangalore. Having two professional photographers on my team is amazing, as you’ve seen, because I get photos of me actually doing ministry and life on the race. However, my favorite part is that they love to explore. Even when I’m home in the states, I love driving back roads to neighborhoods and parts of town that I’ve never seen before. So when we arrive in another country, we will set out with an area we want to see in mind, get the taxi to drop us off and walk around. We have no agenda, no plan, just go where the wind takes us.
Saturday, we crammed all four of us into a tiny three person rickshaw and told them “downtown.” When we arrived, we started walking in the direction of what we thought was an open air market. Each city block/alley was lined with one type of merchandise: the lighting road, silk road, food road, etc. It was awesome. We found an old man cutting a weird fruit and had a bite, we saw a monkey sitting on a motorcycle nibbling on a corn cob, we saw cows decorated with bells and tassels. We heard temple bells and chants and horns. Lots of car horns.
[All photos by Eva Cranford. To view more, click here.]
I have always been told by people that India is a country of extremes: the colors, the smells, the poverty. I finally experienced that they were correct. Our ministry site neighborhood feels like India, but during this walk, I finally know what everyone was talking about. There was so much traffic and honking and cow poop and men peeing on the side of the road and food smells, that you had to be fully alert at all moments or you would encounter one of them too closely.
I thought this was magical, but I had no idea what we were in for. We walked down this long street of people constantly asking us to take their photo and strange stares because we were white. Everyone wanted their photo taken and they obliged. We came to an alley with a canopy of orange and yellow flower garlands and lights. We turned the corner and saw a few children playing with tires. They got their photo taken, spoke great English and told us “Come on!” inviting us into their neighborhood. We entered this alley with the brightest colored homes I’ve ever seen. Every doorstep was painted, every house was a different color and every person was clothed in the most bright and beautiful saris. We kept going deeper and deeper into this neighborhood that was celebrating a festival.
As Zach and Eva could not click their cameras fast enough, I watched these people who had little and were so alive and lived a life of so much color. In that moment, I realized that this was a dream I’ve had for a long time. I thanked God that He gave me even this silly desire of my heart. And I cried. At two different times.
Whenever I see beautiful people or places, it automatically reminds me of my Creator who so intricately and wonderfully thought of it all. When I have an experience like that, I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness and creativity. You may not be in a colorful neighborhood in India; you may be in a cubicle at work, driving your car during rush hour, surfing the internet while you cook lunch and your kids scream while Peppa Pig is on in the background.
But wherever you are, stop. Look around you. Notice every detail of the people around you: their expressions, their personality, and the character of God that He put in them. Soak in your environment: your house or apartment, the smells, the lighting, the memories that it holds. I promise that ten years from now, you will be reminiscing about this time in your life. Don’t let today be just another day that passes, appreciate that God made this specific day, place and people to reflect Himself to you.
