Life in India has been a whirlwind and a dream. Entering these two months I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was entirely expectant that God would show up and move in positively incredible ways — and I was right.
Every afternoon we leave for ministry which looks like driving anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to some small village in the most rural parts of India. Once we arrive, we are treated with indescribable kindness as we’re ushered into chairs and served “cool drink” (popularly known in the States as soda), chai, and sometimes plates filled with fruit. Children, usually at first very timid, break down social barriers and approach us with hands extended, ready to shake, asking time and time again, ‘What is your name? What is your name?’ Casey chases the kids while Shea converses with them, Hunter plays his guitar, and Luke captures it all on camera. I choose to sit back and watch everything unfold. The seemingly simple interactions between my team and the locals are, in reality, complex. There are obstacles with the language, and the cultural differences. We shouldn’t make sense to one another, it should be much harder to build such united relationships in one night — but it’s not. There is unity found in the love we all share for Christ, it is where our understanding of one another resides.
After a couple hours of sitting and chatting with one another and interacting with the locals, church begins. Every single night of the week, we get to lead a service with two small testimonies, a message, and worship (small sidebar: I’ve experienced so much growth in leading worship these months since the beginning of my gap year. I used to be so timid, and so afraid of using my voice. Pride kept me from worshipping in freedom because I cared so much more about others perception of my voice and how I chose to worship than about glorifying my God in freedom and joy. But singing in these small churches has created a warm space of release, where there are no reservations in the way I choose to praise my God. It’s one of the greatest gifts I could have asked for). Ministry such as this requires me to spend my days reflecting on my faith and spiritual growth in order to find deeper understanding of God’s influence over my life. It forces me to deepen my understanding of myself, so that I can be intentional with these communities, giving messages which reveal what God’s true character is to me. It’s forced me to step back and humble myself and this life experience and acknowledge that I may not ever fully comprehend the entirety of God, but I can always share his love.
And there are moments that I experience of abrupt clarity (Most often when the villagers are singing praises in their own language. The air will be filled with the sound of banging drums and clamoring tambourines. It’s loud and it’s fast and it doesn’t make any sense, but it rings out gloriously nonetheless because it is all to praise God). Somewhere in the cacophony, I find inexplicable joy in the understanding that the setting of my life right now is focused around ministering to people of all nations. At some point since September, this journey transitioned (in my mind) from being about me and my comfort, or growth, or emotional state, or any other distraction, and became about setting aside my desires or wants, and pouring myself deeply and desperately into my ministry. It’s become about bringing Christ to those who otherwise would perhaps have no other opportunity to know his character. It’s become about not only being obedient to what the Lord has called me to, but having unwavering faith in HIS faithfulness, understanding that I may not understand how or when or why, but his promises will come to fruition because that’s the kind of God I have. It’s become about humbling myself in order to purely glorify my Father. It is in those three notions – obedience, faithfulness, and humility – that I’ve found unspeakable joy.
I’m so incredibly thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given, and the experiences I’ve had in the last three months alone — Here’s to six more months of indescribable joy within vibrant cultures.
