The Indian Arrival.
After an approximate 11 hour wait in the airport in Atlanta, a 10 and a half hour flight from ATL to Istanbul, Turkey, a 3 hour layover there, an 8 hour flight from Istanbul to New Delhi, a 6 hour layover, 2 and a half hour flight to Imphal, and then a 2 hour bus ride to Sielmat, we have finally made it our home in India for a month. After roughly 20 hours of flying, roughly 20 hours of waiting in airports, and a two hour bus ride, the confusion of the time of day for everyone was real. By the time we got to India, everyone was so disoriented, exhausted, and confused. We were lucky if we could spell our first names. We were so thrilled at the same time. It has started. As soon as we got there we dropped our bags off, met our wonderful ministry hosts, ate dinner, and crashed out harder than I thought was possible.
Fast forward to when I opened my eyes the next morning. The sun was barely peeking through the trees that surrounds our under construction building we call our home for the month in a pretty remote area in Sielmat, India. We have hammocks set up pillar to pillar and tents posted up on the ground, which is all concrete. We all have our bug nets strung up knowing that this is a high risk malaria environment (Don’t worry mom, we have malaria meds). We have a bathroom where we have our squatty potty and another stall for our cold, breath taking, and extremely refreshing bucket showers. Some points in the walls have holes in them where you can see the light seeping through. Us men are in the basement and the women are located on the first floor where there is a line of rooms that are livable. The 2nd floor is basically ruble. Loose brinks laying on one another and barely a path to walk. They are rebuilding. You may think “Wow, that must be tough”, but I can’t help but think how beautiful it is. So I swing out of my hammock the first time. Trying not to land on one of my brothers below me or bump the one above me due to limited space. I take my morning bucket shower. You don’t need coffee when you have cold water and a bucket as your morning starter, trust me. I throw on some rain resistant clothing and set out for the tent we meet at to have each meal together. I’m quite early but I was excited and I’m intentionally trying to spend each morning with God out in nature. So I’m walking this road for the first time in the light and I am blown away. I’m really in India. I pass by these little hand made homes with tin roofs.Loose brick and broken walls that are under construction on each side of the road. Mountains surrounding me. The sky is pink as the sun rises. It’s roughly a 10 minute walk to the location so I’m just taking it all in. Feeling the emotion of the commitment and new life I have just started. I couldn’t be more happy or excited. The rain starts coming down soon after I start this walk. It is pouring. I’m soaked, but I’m not one bit upset. I caught myself smiling and thinking about how mad I probably should be. It’s 5:30 am, I’m walking, it’s pouring down rain, my clothes are soaked, and I don’t really know exactly if I’m walking the right way or even where I’m going. All I could think about was how blessed I am.
I arrive to the tent finally with water dripping off everything that is on me. I get my cup of chai tea from the wonderful assistants to the ministry we are partnering with. After a small conversation I grab my bible and water bottle and push back into the rain. I find a little building made of tin thats used for wood storage. The roof has a very small overhang at one point so I climb up there and sit under the tin overhang. I’m reading, praying, and just thanking God as it is literally raining all around me. The rain was hitting inches away. This was one of the most peaceful moments with God I’ve ever had. He, once again, showed me the importance of just being still. Witness the beauty that’s in front of your face. No matter where you are, it’s there.
After a homemade curry, rice, and potato breakfast we hiked a mountain the locals called “Prayer Mountain”. It was about a 30 minute hike. What a perfect way to start the morning, this trip, and this mission. We made it to the top and had a small devotional once we all made it. The ministry hosts explained the importance of this mountain. How so many have had their lives change with God through prayer here. How this was sacred ground. After a prayer we all split up and sat alone with God in our own places on this Prayer Mountain. As I sat there looking out upon the mountains of India, I’m blown away. Sitting on the hillside of Prayer Mountain looking out and seeing the beauty of this incredible terrain. The view could never be described perfectly without having your eyes to it yourself, but I’ll tell you a little of what was going through my mind at the time. I’m seeing this small town in a valley. Tin roofs squeezed closely together. Mountains literally everywhere. I’m looking from one mountain, over a valley, to another. God showed me how much it is like our lives today. Up and down. Mountain and valley. Good times and bad times. Sometimes we see the valley we are heading into before we reach it. We just don’t know how what the streets look like. How bad it really is down there. God has been bringing me to a realization of the beauty in struggle lately. He magnified His definition of that this day. That there is always beauty in your valley. Even when your vision is limited and you can’t see those views from the mountain. There is ALWAYS a mountain ahead. There is ALWAYS a bigger picture. No matter how tough, pointless, and sacrificial your valley may seem, God sees the bigger picture. And once we are out of our valley and reach the summit of that next mountain. We look back and think, “How beautiful”. How beautiful to see the picture He already had painted. That God really knows the big picture of our lives. If we didn’t have to struggle, to go through pain, or to push through adversity, then He wouldn’t make us. But He sees the bigger beauty of it all. The lesson. He just asks that we trust in Him.
God always has His lesson plan out. Are you taking notes?
