It has been hard to find words to describe my time in India so far. If I had to choose a single word it would be this: Unexpected.
Before the World Race, when I thought of India, I pictured slum kids on busy city streets with lots of people, lots of noises and lots of smells. Instead, we are staying in a large concrete building surrounded by landscape that is a combination of desert and palm trees, several miles from the nearby city of Ongole. India Christian Ministries (ICM) is focused on reaching the rural communities in the area because they are the poorest of the poor, the lowest caste. Life here is simple and low key – not at all the expected busy city life.
Our ministry this month in India is with Covenant Child Development Centers (CCDC). When I thought about ministry, I pictured going to the same building every day during the month working with the same kids helping them with English and school work. Instead we are traveling to different villages every day because ICM has started child development centers in almost every village that has a Covenant church. We do not leave for ministry until mid-afternoon and then drive 30 minutes to an hour to the village with our two translators Bhasker and Geevan. Once we arrive we usually walk house to house praying over the people in the village. Then once the children arrive home from school, we present a program for the children with lessons in geography, health and hygiene, manners and the Bible. We also do songs and games. Then each village shows us amazing hospitality by feeding us their best food, and then we head back, getting in anywhere between 8 and 10 pm.
It is not at all the ministry I had pictured in my mind and it was hard to process through at first, but God has given me and my team many unexpected moments of joy. Whether it is naming a baby girl Esther or watching boys and girls from the villages do amazing dances or eating fish that came fresh out of the Bay of Bengal. Every day I fall in love with the kids and the villages. I love bringing joy, smiles and prayers to the villagers. I love laughing over silly songs or skits with the children. I am exhausted at the end of each day, but it is almost always with the joy of knowing that we were the light of Christ.
When we let go of our expectations and choose to embrace the unexpected, God shows up. He brings joy and life where we least expect it and when we need it most. I am looking forward to seeing how God shows up in the remaining days in India.
