My month in India has looked very different than any other I have experienced on the Race. There are many factors that contribute to this including ministry, living conditions, our host, lack of freedom and lots of uncomfortable situations. Ministry this month involves house visits, praying blessings over families, preaching, praying over every one we encounter, sharing my testimony, and praying some more. If you didn’t get the point, I spend most of my time this month praying over God’s children. I feel as if my prayers are seen as more powerful due to the fact that I am white. This is something about the culture that I have had to accept. Our living conditions are very nice and not at all what I expected when I heard we would be living in a village for the month. We live in a 2-bedroom apartment equipped with Indian bathrooms and very comfortable temperatures in India’s winter. When I say lack of freedom I mean that we can’t leave the 4 walls of our apartment without the company of an escort. The locals aren’t used to seeing white people and we literally cause traffic jams in the streets, we even made it in the local papers while shopping at the local supermarket. During times outside of the apartment we often find ourselves being stared at and the center of attention. This is the most uncomfortable I have felt on the Race, but know I can use the attention we attract to influence those around me.
Every month on the Race we have a host who is our ministry contact from AIM, we come alongside this person to help them with their ministry. Our host this month is a Pastor, his wife and daughter and Auntie Banu. Pastor came to this state to be a missionary and after being told he couldn’t hold prayer meetings in his home he took the opportunity to start a church and be a shepherd to the lost people around him. His wife and Auntie Banu serve us from the moment we wake up to the second we go to bed at night. They prepare all our meals, wash our dishes, maintain the common living area, and help in any way they can. As well as serving us, they live with us in the common area of the apartment. I have never been served so well in my life and this is how Jesus calls us to serve those around us. This has reminded me of the a passage in Matthew:
“Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28
They remind me daily that we are on this earth to serve and not to be served. An example of this was the simple request to boil water for a teammate so he could have a cup of hot coffee on a morning he was dragging. There are countless other ways I have been served and continue to be served daily.I am so grateful and thankful for all the ways that our hosts lay down their lives for me daily.
The word the Lord has given me this month is REST, and I have been given a month full of leisure time. Ministry is from 3:30-10:00 pm Tuesday through Saturday, meaning the mornings and early afternoons are full of free time. I have already seen how I can use this time to spend with the Lord and fill myself with Him. This will involve quiet times with Him, blogging, journaling, and worshipping my wonderful creator. It is very important for me to be diligent with my time the month and not get caught up napping and watching movies. Being diligent also means taking advantage of this time to let my body rest and get regenerated from 6 months of traveling the world. So far the first week has proven to be full of tests and I am excited to see what else the Lord is going to teach me in month 7.
I have been served so well by these faithful servants of the Lord!
