Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends in the US!!
Today is our team’s last full day in Patong, Thailand and we will be spending the day with our contacts (the family is from California – what a blessing!) – eating all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, sharing the Gospel with our non-believing guests and enjoying the final few hours of each other’s company. I’m so grateful for the time and experiences I’ve had here in Patong and I can’t wait to share all of it with you once I catch back up on my blogs! For now, I’d like to give you a short recap of the ministry opportunities we had in India as well as some final thoughts on what God shared with me that month.
It’s typical for World Race teams to spend each month by themselves, away from other teams – but Team River Dwellers was fortunate enough to share our first month on the Race with Team Mosaic (that #MosiRiver tho’!). While we ultimately had different point people for contacts and participated in different ministries, it was truly a blessing to share our living space and learn how to ease into that “community” life. For me personally, Team Mosaic challenged me in a number of ways. And while I may have given a number of our shared experiences the “side eye” (more to come on that in my Nepal blogs) – they never let me settle for the status quo.
Now, Team River Dwellers was given Pastor Arun (who you’ve already read a little about) and his family (wife and two small boys) as our main point of contact for the month. While we were still connected to YWAM as a whole, we would most often go out and do ministry with just Pastor Arun. And let me tell you – that man is a ball of energy and a prayer warrior! Below, I’ve listed some of the various ministries we participated in while in India with Pastor Arun:
- Project Esther – this is a women’s program that operates on the ground level of the house where we stayed for the month. These “at-risk” women come to the program in order to receive training on skills that could potentially provide them with a source of income – typically tailoring and jewelry-making. You can imagine that they were quite a blessing to me when my bag was lost and I was in need of some new clothes! We went down to their studio a few mornings to help them make jewelry, build relationships and encourage them.
- Operation Mobilization – our team spent two Friday afternoons with this organization helping with a program called TGIF for the children attending the school located on the OM campus. We played games, sang songs, acted out some dramas and just loved on these kids for a couple hours each week. No matter how much I was sweating or how confused I looked, the kids would always tell me, “You look supah, ma’am!” It was definitely one of River Dwellers favorite ministries.
- FAN (Friends of All Nations) Club – originally a ministry scheduled for only Team Mosaic, River Dwellers were invited in to help out with this Friday night program for young adults (imagine a “youth group” for 20-30 year olds). We played games, worshipped and had wonderful fellowship with our brothers and sisters from all over the world! One Friday, we (Teams Mosaic and River Dwellers) even had the opportunity to lead the entire program. We built some lasting friendships and learned a few fun games that we continue to use in ministry as we travel.
- Heart Project – one of YWAM’s ministries, this organization helps to subsidize the cost of heart surgeries for people who need them but can’t afford them. The ministry includes visiting with the patient and their family after surgery to check up on them, build relationships and ultimately share the Good News with them. We were able to visit a couple of the hospitals that support this program and do prayer walks. We also visited a former patient to hear her story and how God has blessed her since her surgery.
- Gates of Bangalore – one day we did a “prayer tour” of the city. We drove through the city and stopped at various “gates” (basically where the city limits begin) and prayed for the different neighborhoods and people groups who were represented there. We also got to visit a Hindu temple (what a crazy experience – I wish cameras had been allowed in there!) and prayer walked through it.
We also spent some time visiting various churches – attending services, praying for the congregation and even speaking to a “youth” group (in India, youth is anywhere from 15 to 25 years old) – as well as taught English at a government-run elementary school (where the kids were fascinated by the size of my arms and continually asked me to flap them like a chicken – I didn’t oblige them). Overall, ministry in India was extremely varied and we had to be flexible. Many things would often be cancelled or rescheduled – but I still learned quite a bit about myself (as it pertains to giftings and ministries) and about the self-imposed limitations I’ve placed in those areas.
To wrap India up, I wanted to share a little with you about what God spoke to me that month. It’s my intention to find a word (or two!) every month that captures the essence of what He taught me. For India, that word is “self-awareness”. Walking onto the Race, I was honestly MOST terrified of living in community. I don’t particularly like making new friends and I really don’t care much for trying to explain myself to people (why I act the way I do, what makes me tick, how my past and upbringing play into what you see in front of you today, etc.). Frankly, I’ve never really lived in a space before or with people who would force me to do so – but in India, it seemed to be a fairly large chunk of what I spent my time doing with my team. Now, don’t get me wrong – I totally support this. I actually find it to be healthy – having to reason out why you act and feel the way that you do and having to put that reasoning into words for someone else to understand. But I’d be lying if I said it was easy – I was a walking ball of crazy frustration that first week or so in India. But I felt God’s grace throughout it all – and I believe that He has given me new eyes with which I can see myself more clearly. Eyes of humility to show me that I’m not always right and the other person isn’t always wrong. Eyes of mercy to show me where I just need to let it go or give myself some grace. Eyes of love to show me where my heart truly lies in the matter and not just my anger. He has gifted me with a self-awareness that quite frankly shocks me. Honestly, it was like he flipped a switch in my brain the moment I stepped off that airplane (granted I asked for it as it was something that I was praying about walking onto the field). And while I haven’t necessarily gotten it “right” the first time, I always seem to come back and reflect on why I did what I did or said what I said or acted the way I acted – and I believe that I’ve become a better teammate, friend and Jesus follower for it.
I’ve since carried that lesson into each country with me and God has used it to teach me new lessons. My biggest encouragement to you would be to ask Him to make you more self-aware. He hardwired each of us uniquely and placed us into the family and environment He did and gave us the past, present, and future we have – so surely He can help us see through it all into the real heart of the matter. I’m not saying that your actions and reactions to certain situations aren’t justified (only God knows what you’ve been through) but perhaps there is a way He can take all of that (I’m really only using “perhaps” to be polite) and use it to His glory. But if you’re too swept up in your seemingly “righteous” anger (or insert any secondary emotion here), you’ll most likely miss an opportunity where you could have loved on someone. I’m not sure if any of that makes sense when I write it out – but the truth of it makes sense in my head. I just praise God for the revelation – even if I can’t quite articulate it yet!
Thank you all again for your love and support! I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving among family and friends! Next blog: NEPAL!
For His glory,
Nat
