Month Four.
I don’t really even know how to begin describing my experience in India. It was nothing like I thought it would be, but at the same time it was so much of what I thought it would be.
It started with being told our first day that we be moving from the city that we thought we would be in to a small (relative term—it was not a small town. About the size of Midwest City or Edmond.) I wasn’t sure how that would be, but it ended being my favorite part of India. The village we were in had some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and some really great ministry opportunities, we stayed there for our first two weeks in India.
Our usual day looked like teaching English at a technical college. All the students at the college were boys from the 17-21 years old. For the most part these boys all knew how to read and write in English, so we got to work on conversation skills and just take time to get to know them.
In the afternoons we did VBS. In our two weeks we had two different VBSes at different locations. Those two weeks could not have looked any different if we tried. The first week was very structured and done through a church and our second week was in the slums of the village. The children that came to that VBS stole my heart and made it so hard to leave them. They were so eager to learn from us, and we were so eager to hang out with them. It was by far my favorite part of the month.
After two weeks in the small village we came back to Bangalore to tour the ministries our squadmates have been working with. My heart broke over and over again throughout this week seeing the people and ministries they have been working with. I met a man who runs a homeless shelter called Home of Hope, his name is Auto Raja and he is a literal example of the love of Christ. This man has been literally picking up people off the streets of Bangalore and bringing them in for free healthcare and food for nearly 18 years. He only has a third grade education, but he uses everything he knows to show the love of Jesus. Additionally we visited a rehab facility for women who are victims of sex trafficking, an HIV/AIDS and TB hospital, and a children’s home.
On our second day in Bangalore there was a car accident involving several members of P-squad. It was a rollover accident where several members were ejected from the vehicle. One of the members of our squad was severely injured and is still in the hospital in Bangalore. We as squad just need your prayer for our squadmate and for us. It was very to leave knowing she isn’t leaving with us, but we know our God is a sovereign and miracle working God. He has a plan, but right now it’s hard to know and understand why these things happen. We ask for your prayers for her and for us.
We are still in India until further notice because of the earthquake in Nepal. I will try to stay as up to date with information on what we will be doing through the month of May, but none of us really know what will be happening.
There has been so much this month, and I’ll post more detailed blogs later this week about different things but here is a small update about my month in India.
I am currently at $13,916, which means I am just $2,334 away from being fully funded. Thank you all so much for supporting me this far and I would greatly appreciate any dollar amount you feel the Lord leading you to give.
