Month 2 in India has been fantastic! I want to share somethings that give you a better idea of what this month actually looked like for me and my team!
11 things about the practical side of our stay in India
- India is considered the spiciest country in the world. We were in Andhra Pradesh…the spiciest province. And just for fun, we were in Ongole…the spiciest city. It was delicious.
- We stayed across the street from a school that looked like a palace. When the school came into sight I would say “I see our palace, we’re home”.
- Where we actually stayed was cool too, a huge building in the shape of a cross, known as the Cross Building. Our “palace” is under construction and is not yet completed. We had an amazing view from the roof, lots of ceiling fans, and many of places to be still.
- My favourite place was the roof at night to star gaze.
- You can have a good sleep on an air mattress, but I generally end up on the floor beside mine.
- Sometimes a little Benadryl helps you get that good night sleep your body needs.
- Sari not sorry. This phrase has been said a lot….and if we weren’t in India and had saris to wear, it’d be annoying. BUT we are in India and we have saris that we actually wear!
- This was All Squad month, which meant living in community with 43 other people, plus countless Indian people who stay at the cross building.
- All Squad month meant we had an amazing Open Mic night! I have talented squad mates.
- 2 bathrooms for 35 women wasn’t as bad as it sounds.
- I am thankful for Eno hammocks and my squad mates that share said hammocks.
11 people I shared a room with this month
- Allison
- Angela
- Candace
- Danica
- Dresden
- Kelsey (stole this list idea from Kelsey)
- Lauren
- LeAnn
- Lindsey
- Mandy
- Tressa
11 foods I ate the most
- White Rice
- Yellow/Lemon Rice
- Dull
- Curried Potatoes
- Hard boiled eggs
- Chicken (a few different varieties…we have favourites)
- Apples, bananas, & pomegranate
- Peanut butter, usually with that apple or banana for breakfast, but sometimes just on a spoon for a treat.
- Mentos
- Lays classic salted chips
- Tropicana juice boxes
11 things you should know about our Ministry here in India
- This month we were blessed to serve with Covenant Christian Homes, part of India Christian Ministry. CCH are homes for up to 10 children, in a family setting, with the local pastor and his wife parenting the kids. Sometimes the pastor has children of their own, others don’t, others have adult children. Many of the children have a parent living, but cannot be cared for by the parent, due to life circumstances. These children live at the CCH house, many children see their family members (parent, aunt, grandmother, etc) at church on Sunday or go home to visit them, depending on the situation. It so awesome to see how these children become part of a family, and how the pastors love on them. Our team has fallen in love with so many amazing kids.
- Ari! Our driver for the month was Ari. We loved our driver and I’m pretty sure he loved us. We joked with him, teased him, and called him our brother. He called himself our bodyguard.
- ICM staff are pretty fantastic. Our safety and wellbeing is so important to them. From the people we see day-to-day, to our contacts who is State-side currently, we have been so blessed!
- A challenge this month has been my own mental health. Spiritual warfare is a powerful thing and about half way through the month I realized how it was impacting me. Depression is a stronghold in India, and when you have battled depression, Satan will use it to distract you from what God is doing. I realized that I was being reminded me of things I use to believe, that I was worthless, that I didn’t have a role on my team, that I didn’t really have any strong relationships. These are all lies. And the cool thing is as soon as I realized that this was Satan’s attack and brought it to God, it was done. I began to walk again in freedom. I began to claim my identity in Christ. It was a challenge, but I am glad I had this experience so early in my race. I know how to equip myself to prevent this attack in the future and how to recognize it.
- The joy I experienced with these girls was so unexpected. I knew I would like this month. I even expected I would love some of the kids. But I didn’t expect to experience so much joy with them.I didn’t expect to be so sad to say goodbye.
- The joy I experience when I see the gleeful smile on the face of a beautiful girl as I lift them up and spin them around can’t be matched.
- The excitement in her voice when she calls my name as we come into the yard.
- Watching the little ones dance, shake, jump, and laugh as we play reminds me what is important in life.
- The sweet “thank you sister” you receive when you tell them they are beautiful, smart, or very good with English make my heart happy.
- The hugs, kisses, and goodbyes we get every time we visit made me dread the last week. It’s been hard. But to love them and say goodbye is worth it.
- Leaving India is going to be hard. I have loved this month, our ministry, and India.
11 things that made my day while in India
- I’m 95% sure a lady offered me her son for a husband in a village one day.
- I saw a scorpion in the road one night. Then I saw a HUGE dead scorpion and took a picture with it, of course.
- Another night I saw a snake skin in the woods at the beach (I was in the woods to pee, not just to hang out in the dark woods by the beach.)
- I drove through a village on the back of a pastor’s motorcycle wearing my sari after church on evening. I felt pretty legit. And no, helmets aren’t really a thing here. And yes, motorcycles are family vehicles here…3 people is standard.
- We attended an Indian Wedding. Well we didn’t actually SEE the ceremony, it was going to be late, so we had to leave. But we saw the groom and the bride. Participated in a couple Indian traditions with the bride, were part of the parade through the village to bring the bride to the wedding, and took a lot of pictures with the bride and people from the village attending the wedding.
- We pet a baby buffalo, which we thought was a water buffalo. BUT there are buffalos and water buffalos. We now know the difference. Water buffalos have shorter legs and are generally very round in the stomach area.
- I swam in the INDIAN OCEAN. I love water. I love nature. This made me so happy.
- Lightening is amazing here. WOW. Words can’t describe how it lite up the sky in the distance.
- We asked one of the guys here at ICM if when he was little and white people drove by, did he run and wave to them. He responded “yes”, as if it was a stupid question…why wouldn’t you do that?
- On our way home our last day of ministry, after kind of a hectic church service and prayer time, we were rushing home because of expected rain (that often results in not being able to drive on the roads). In a village our driver stopped and was talking to someone, then backed up and turned around. We asked what was happening. Detour…there was an idol in the street. After the night we had, this was hilarious to us.
- We have worn our saris a number of times to ministry. Without fail the Pastor Ma would haul us into the house or bedroom and fix us. One day one of my squad mates was fixed 3 times by different women. Sometimes we don’t know how to wear them, so they need fixing, sometimes different women prefer to wear them in different ways, so they adjust them. When I get home and put my sari on, I will have to youtube and I will need help.
Today we are off to Thailand! Stay tuned for updates! I have loved India and look forward to what God has in store for us in September (my birthday month!).
