January 5th, I arrived in India! Although I have been able to post a few blogs since being here, I wanted to write one that updated you all on where I am, what I’m doing, and most importantly, what God is doing. It’s only been a little over a month, but He has already done so much in me that I can hardly fathom it. As a writer, I have a constant desire to perfectly articulate my thoughts and experiences into words, but I’ve realized that not even the greatest writer could fully capture His goodness.
To start the month off, we were paired with another team called Collective Pursuit. I was excited to be with their team, solely due to it being comprised of awesome people. What I didn’t know was that there were certain people on that team who God would use to reveal huge things about myself to me, contributing heavily to my growth.
We spent the month at King of Kings school in a village called Damcherra. For our safety, we were unable to leave the compound, which was a bit hard at first. I started feeling some anxiety at the beginning, partially due to not being able to leave, but also because of the Hindu chanting that played loudly throughout the entire village for days on end. Luckily, those feelings of anxiety went away fairly quickly.
I soon realized that not being able to leave was a wonderful opportunity to get to know those on Collective Pursuit and to grow closer to my own team.
I had days where I sat for over an hour with one friend, him showing me music that he loves and me doing the same. Our teams played tons of volleyball and soccer (there was a soccer field right outside where we slept), which was always tons of fun. I had countless long, meaningful conversations, which anyone who has spent time with me knows I absolutely love. All in all, spending time with those around me was a blast.
In addition to building relationships with those on my squad, I also met countless wonderful people who live here in India. We formed relationships with our lovely ministry hosts, the children who attended the school we were living at, and the people who lived in a village called Manikbond where we visited multiple times. Even though we were there for such a short amount of time, we built deep, unforgettable relationships, which I am so grateful for.
As for ministry, we did a number of different things. We did a lot of VBS (Vacation Bible School), where I spent time with the children playing sports, teaching lessons, and doing a lot of singing and dancing. We helped with construction work, doing things like carrying sand from the middle of a river to the top of a hill, and moving dirt for an entire day. We even had the chance to teach in the school, which was an awesome experience. While some of the work was quite tiring, we always managed to have a blast while doing it.
Now, I want to talk about the real star of the show: God! As I said, I have been completely blown away by all He has been doing, and while I wish I could share all the details in this post, I will simply sum it all up!
It may sound cliché, but God has done so much in me that I am a completely new person from the woman who started the World Race back in October. He has helped me shave away parts of myself that I thought made up who I was, but were not what He created me to be. He revealed to me that I was finding my identity and pride in the wounds that I carried, a lie that He completely freed me from. He has told me who He made me to be, why He made me that way, and has shown me my purpose in life and what I am meant to do. He has revealed the gifts and qualities He has given me – some that I didn’t even know I had – and is teaching me how to use them for His glory.
He took everything from within me that I needed to grow in – or simply get rid of – put them all in front of me, and guided me through the process of doing what I needed to. I am now walking in a whole new sense of freedom, victory, and joy, which has not faltered and cannot be taken away because it is found in the Lord.
Going into this next season of my life, He has told me that He is going to teach me how to walk in this new identity that I have found, refine me, and bring me to fully walk in who He has created me to be. It is truly a beautiful and exciting season in my life!
I just arrived in this month’s ministry with big news… I have a new team! Our name is Evergreen to represent depth, growth, and life that lasts even through the dry season. We are a team of all girls, which I love, and I can already see the sisterhood growing that will last longer than just however long we’re on a team together. I love my team, and God is already doing awesome things in me through them as well as in our team as a whole.
We have only been here a few days, but I have already experienced immediate physical healing from being prayed over, have experienced incredible community in my team and the team we are here with, prayed healing over a woman and then saw her gain strength and energy, and have had the opportunity to pray for people in the most unlikely of places. I can’t even fathom what more God will do this month!
Needless to say, it has been an incredible past month, and I can’t wait until the next time I update you all because I know God will have done even more incredible things in my life!
URGENT: I am not yet fully funded, and need to raise at least $1,000 by the end of February or else I will be send home. Please donate if you can!!!
