Our ministry host offers us fresh chai (a traditional Indian tea with milk and sugar) twice a day. Every morning we sip our chai while we talk about Jesus and soak up the view from the roof of our home.
India is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever seen. The culture here is rich, the chai is delicious, the food is spicy, the people are beautiful, and the Church is growing. My team and I have gotten the opportunity to visit several house churches every day and share the gospel deep in the south Indian countryside. The believers here shine so brightly in a culture that has been darkened by the enemy’s schemes, and I even got to pray with an elderly woman who asked Jesus to save her! The people are hungry and thirsty for the Good News of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is faithful to fill them up. The Church in India is a beautiful picture of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 (go check it out).
Another part of our ministry here is to love and serve our ministry host. The pastor and his wife (whose names I cannot mention for security purposes) are some of the most generous and humble people I’ve ever met. They have opened their home to love 11 orphaned boys and let them live with them and their 2 children. Do the math and you’ll find that there are 22 people living in the same house including our team of 7!
The youngest of the boys is 6 and the oldest is 16. They have loved us and followed us and encouraged us since the first moment we stepped out of the cramped little van over a week ago. As a self-proclaimed “not-good-with-kids” kind of person, I have been surprised by how much I love and cherish every one of these little boys. They love our entire team, but they are especially drawn to Kyle and me. They are always crawling on us, playing with our hair, holding our hands, and kissing us (it’s a weird cultural thing that takes a while to get used to). Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a big fan of physical touch, but I had to learn really quickly that a mindset like that is not compatible with that culture.
I find myself exhausted and perpetually needing a nap, but I’ve honestly never felt closer to the Lord than I do now. In my daily pursuit to become more like Jesus, I have found that opening my arms to these children is part of the deal, and a rewarding part at that! In such a short amount of time I have learned to love bigger and bolder than 22 years of life in America have taught me.
While preparing for the World Race, I remember asking the Lord to give me eyes to see others the way He does and arms to hold and love others like Him, too. Judging by the level of soreness in my arms from lifting and throwing and tickling until I can’t tickle any more, I would say that He has begun answering that prayer.
Please continue to pray for me and my team (Carmen, Emmy, Kim, Katie, Bekah, and Kyle) as we learn to love better and speak more boldly for the sake of the gospel.
…and maybe also pray for us to have stronger arms because it’s hard to hold that many kids at once!
“And He took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but Him who sent me.’”
{Mark 9:36-37}
