For as long as I could remember I’ve always wanted to visit India without knowing much about it. I’ve grown up thousands of miles away seeing pictures and hearing of the stereotypical Indian culture. After being here for a week, I can tell you it’s all true. Indians really do eat curry and rice at every meal. They wear red dots on their foreheads and the number of cows on the streets nearly matches the number of people in India (and that’s a lot!). The women wear extravagant, wrap-around dresses, called saris, and the men wear long skirts that they sometimes tie up to their knees. They enjoy chai tea and yes, Indians do wipe with their left hand.
My team is blessed this month with a wonderful host family that feeds us more than enough food to get by. Our host mom tries to please us by cooking something new each day for breakfast followed by chai tea or coffee. One night, I got to help cook chapatti, a food that most closely resembles a tortilla. Though not everyone is fond of the spicy hot food, I enjoy it very much. We also have a fairly nice squatty potty, bucket shower and fans to keep us cool in the blazing heat.
Every day after lunch my team squeezes into a tiny minivan fit for 8 people that we manage to fit 11 to sometimes 15 people in. We travel an hour or more every day to a remote village to pray for people in their homes followed by a mini-service where we share testimonies and God’s word with the people living there. As we move from house to house we have a flock of children follow us asking all the way, “What is your name?” in a Telugu accent. My name is rather difficult to pronounce as they often mumble Oren, Woren, or Boren but never Lauren. I repeat my name and they mispronounce it again and we all laugh.
Praying for families in the villages has been quite the experience. My team follows the pastor who leads us through the gates of someone’s house followed by the mass of children trailing behind. Our translator communicates the needs that the family wants prayer for and we place our hands on the tops of their heads as one of us begins to pray. Though I don’t know all the details of the situations we are praying for, nor do I always have the right words to say, it is my privilege to pray on their behalf. I can feel God’s presence when I am with them and I see how deeply he wants to know these beautiful people.
Please pray for the people of India, that my team would speak words of truth and healing, and that God would continue to transform our hearts and minds as we continue on this journey.
Also, I am happy to say that I am 85% funded! Just $2,384 to go! Thank you to all of those who are praying for me and supporting me along the way!
