they call me sister.
They open up their home.
They open up their arms.
They welcome me.
They love me.
We start the mornings several women and myself reading through Numbers. When it's my turn I read in English.
I pray in English and they pray in Hindi, our hearts are filled with hope.
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
They sing passionately and wholeheartedly to God.
We recite psalm 91 together.
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
We talk about everything and nothing. We don't speak the same language, but some how we understand.
We talk about the States and India.
The call me didi,
they call me sister.
My eyes water as onions are cut and chilies are sautéed.
I sit on the counter smiling and learn how to make chapatti in the kitchen.
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
They put oil in my hair and slick it back, taking off a layer of scalp, and tie it into a ponytail.
I French braid their hair and we belly laugh, dance and giggle.
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
Kids stream in from school.
Uniforms are shed and dropped into piles to be washed before morning.
Comfy clothes are put on and we start a movie.
We cut vegetables and we serve lunch together.
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
We sing hand-clapping songs, we sing Jesus songs, we sing American pop songs.
We play sorry.
We look at books.
They grab my hands, dragging me upstairs saying; "Didi come now, faster didi faster"
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
My prayer has been, “Lord let us do the body well.
Let love bridge the language barrier.”
A church is not a building!
The church misses the mark; it fails people.
The church can be cliquey, exclusive.
The church can be blind and deaf.
The church can be proud and self-righteous.
The church can seek power.
The church can be surface level.
The church can appear to have it all together.
The Lord calls us to be the body.
The body seeks after God's heart.
The body is broken; it is fallible.
The body extends grace.
The body wears new lenses to see how God see others.
The body asks God to open up their ears to what they are missing.
The body asks God what he is up to.
The body listen to each other, hear what they are not saying and carry each others burdens.
They pray for each other.
The body put others before themselves.
The body serves, it affirms, it shares.
The body is honoring, courageous, and humble.
The body cares more about each other’s souls then offenses.
The body loves each other wherever one is.
You can do the body anywhere, the body makes up the church, the church does not define the body.
United in Christ
United in love
They call me didi,
they call me sister.
As brothers and sisters in Christ we do church, we do the body, we do family and we do love.
Thank you God for India, for letting my eyes see the body first hand. Thank you for my sisters, thank you for their joy, thank you for their love and thank you for our time together.
Amen
