i sit here in my favorite spot: a chair in the south corner of our roof, with my legs propped up on the edge, looking out over the orchards & rice fields. these last 40 days in india have included a lot of highs & a few lows. this spot has given me a place to step out of the madness & regroup, a place where i watched the sunrise & facetimed friends & family back home, a place to dive into God’s word or the latest book that’s blowing my mind.
…
i now sit in a little cafe in hyderabad to actually finish the blog & share about my time in india.
this month we lived out in villages & got to work with local pastors. during the day we would come up with stuff to do as a team (bible study through isaiah, workout on the roof, nap, watch movies, hang with our host mom, learn to play guitar, etc.). around 6pm we would all climb into our van & drive 15-45 minutes to a nearby village, where we would preach, share testimonies & worship with a little church.
these church meetings really showed me that the church is a group of people, not a building. we would meet on tarps on street corners under the street lights, on people’s front porches, in their living rooms, & occasionally in an actual church building.
at first preaching intimated me until i realized i didn’t have to come up with some extravagant three point message. rather, i could just encourage or challenge the group with whatever the Lord was teaching me. i could share personal stories to explain the Lord’s character & who he says he is. i thoroughly enjoyed getting to talk to & encourage the local believers!
another part of our work this month was loving on the boys our pastor & his wife have taken in. they have two biological children & have welcomed seven other boys into their home. they help provide a home, education, and raise them up in the christian faith. my other blogs talked about how much i loved spending time with them & what they taught me! be sure to check them out.
we also got to spend christmas in the village & what an experience that was. i was so honored to be included in the christmas traditions & got to really celebrate the coming of our Savior, rather than getting distracted with the commercialization of the holiday. this is where the video i made for india stemmed from. this entire month we preached on the christmas story, decorated & went to christmas celebrations, cut and ate birthday cake for jesus, & participated in many traditions. however, the majority of this country does not recognize the holiday or even understand what we’re celebrating. i was reminded of the song “o come o come emmanuel” which rejoices of the coming of a Savior, but also sings of the mourning happening in israel. it begs the Lord to come and free captive israel, to come & save them from the enemy’s hold on their lives.
this month was one of rejoicing with the kids & fellow believers that a Savior has come and saved us. however, it was also a wake up call for us as we realized the stronghold the enemy has on this country, how he has confused & led people astray to believe in many false gods & idols. we would walk the streets & see statue after statue, painting after painting of one of the thirty three million gods worshipped in hinduism.
so as you watch the video, rejoice with us that God sent his son to save us & he has created a movement throughout the villages to bring his lost children back to him. at the same time, join us in crying out to the Lord to save more of his people & to bring clarity & truth to their lives.
month 6/7 video: https://youtu.be/gLH6bYx7-Rc
thanks for reading & sticking with me on this journey! up next: nepal
madeleine
