Since January, I have been reading through the Bible chronologically….starting in the Old Testament, of course, with Genesis and Job. Our squad happened to be traveling to both Nepal (February) and India (March). In both of these countries, we were living in the villages, trekking in Nepal, and visiting the Covenant Children’s homes in India. And throughout my time in these countries, particularly India, I have found SO many similarities between what I’m reading in the Bible and what I am living!
Here are some examples…
#1 WELL WATER
INDIAN village:
Water is SO important for everyday life and when you don’t have running water in your house, you have to go fetch your water. Many of the CCH homes had a well or water trough where water was taken from for washing dishes, cooking, showering, laundry, washing hands, etc.
BIBLE times:
Isaac got a wife this way – Genesis 24
Jesus met the woman at the well and her life was never the same – John 4
#2 DIRTY FEET
Thank you sister Hannah for the feet photo!
INDIAN village:
No shoes inside houses. Your feet get really dusty here because you are wearing sandals and there are very few paved roads. Often times you will use the water from the well to wash your feet off before heading inside.
BIBLE times:
There are many references to washing feet in scripture because it too was a dusty time in which people wore sandals
–Jesus washing Jesus’ feet (John 13)
–His disciples were told to wash the dirt off their sandals in certain villages (Matt. 10:14)
#3 COOKING/ The KITCHEN
INDIAN village:
In the village life, there are very few refrigerators. Electricity is not something that is always on nor reliable. So food is prepared right before you eat it….animals killed hours before it is consumed and this means no quick meals. Once in Nepal on a prayer walk we were given a live chicken by a church member. We then came back the house around 5pm, killed the chicken for dinner and ate around 8pm. Trust me it was well worth the wait! The only thing that is “faster” to cook is the rice.
BIBLE times:
Well there was no electricity in Bible times – HA! So when we read about people killing the “fatten calf” for guests or family (Luke 15), they invested some time in preparing a GOOD meal for this person. Also Mary and Martha preparing a meal for Jesus and his disciples….this was quite the ordeal as she probably had to run to the local butcher for meat, market for vegetables, and then prepare and cook it all. Just imagine!! (Luke 10)
#4 Shepherds
INDIAN village:
Early one marvelous Indian morning I was sitting out front of one of the houses watching the road when I wrote this journal entry, “I love seeing the farmers in their little outfits/skirts walking so calmly & with no agenda….tending to what needs to be done (i.e. taking care of their animals they were herding)….with their sticks too.” Interpretation – each village has a number of farmers and shepherds who tend to their land and their animals. We get the delight of seeing these men (and some women) walking with their sheep, goats, cows, you name it along the road, using their long walking sticks to correct any animal who strays too far from the pack. These shepherds wear a unique outfit consisting usually of a white shirt and a loungie, a long skirt with a particular pattern that is usually shortened.
BIBLE times:
Oh do I even need to list any?! This is probably one of the main ways I feel like I’m living in Bible times…. I think time and time again there are many references to farming and tending to animals and the land in the OT and also the New Testament.
Psalm 23, Hebrew – Shepherd/overseer,
Luke 15 lost sheep,
David was a shepherd took care of sheep – from predators too – lion attack (1 Samuel 15/16)
#5 The crowds
INDIAN villages:
So I wrote a blog about being a celebrity here in India – really just out in the villages…some people have never seen an American in person before so we get lots of looks and lots of interest. Many times when the locals – usually kids – know we are at the church, they stand outside yelling HI SISTER to us and just want to be with us. Once on a prayer walk around the village, my team and I found ourselves being followed by at least 10 kids who just wanted to be with us. They stood around us when we prayed, they watched, listened and took everything in. I found myself at times wanting them to just go but then I realized what Jesus must have felt like….
BIBLE times:
Jesus always seemed to have a crowd around Him….everywhere He went people followed Him, asked Him questions, wanted to be healed, etc. I know our crowd doesn’t quite compare but I am able to relate with Him more and read with even more knowledge of the atmosphere in which Jesus was preaching and living. Boy was He PATIENT!!! (Like in Mark 5:21-34…the crowds around Him)
These experiences have really helped me understand even more so certain aspects of scripture…so thankful for this time!! Please continue to pray for the believers in India – that God would give them more opportunities to show their fellow Indians His LOVE and POWER!!
Farewell to Asia….
it’s been 5 months now and we are moving on to our 3rd continent
We are in Swaziland and getting settled into our ministry here – working at the Adventures in Missions (AIM) base (http://www.adventures.org/swaziland/about.asp)here in Swazi…more to come soon!
Thanks!!
In Him,
Lauren
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1 John 3:18
