Today has been madness.
It's a rest/travel/day of changing confusion.
My team got into the main headquarters last night and reunited with the squad. It was so strange to see everyone together again. It really feels like at least two years since I've seen them. It was really neat to exchange stories and hear how lives had been changed. God really is using the race to change lives. Some people were so radiant while others were clearly worn down. How amazing is it that as we are running towards the Son and sharing His love that God pours back into us to build us up and bring us closer to him and his love.
Our month at the ministry site flew by, but strangely enough, it was a time that crawled by as well.
We dealt with some challenges at our location, out at the ministry, and as a team working towards unity.
Some of the best memories were made in the last week that we were in Kanigiri.
We were ready to leave for ministry on Thursday. We had changed, and had raincoats in hand because the sky was looking quite dark. As we're about to head down the driveway to get to the tuk tuk, Pastor says to us, "Sky is no good. We do not go."
Our initial reaction was confusion. The sky was dark, yes, but we are not fair-weather evangelists. Then, as it started downpouring, we realized that Pastor was right.
After a minute of standing there shocked at the immense rain that came out of nowhere, Brody comes up behind me with a bucket of water and pours it on my head. That first bucket turned our night into a water fight. We got the pastor and his family involved. It was so great to see everyone let loose and have fun. Pastor's wife was the best part of the water fight for me, solely because she is such a reserved woman. She really came out of her shell as she gleefully poured water over Kaitlyn's head. She was in her beautiful saree, soaked through and through, with the biggest smile on her face.
The next day, we were able to cook American food for the Pastor and his family. It was a big ordeal; Pastor told the village that we were cooking and we never had less than 10 people standing around watching the Americans cook. Our dinner ended up being chicken stir fry with some yellow and red vegetables and a side of the best mashed potatoes I've ever tried. We ended our meal with apple dumplings. It was a feast, and our team was finally satisfied. We didn't realize how much food had been affecting us, but having rice, chipote, and curry for every meal had really worn us down.
So, to move forward up until today, my team got into Ongole last night, reunited with the squad, and have been packing up to leave for Hyderabad today. We've been able to enjoy some American food here (grilled cheese and ice cream).
Our bus leaves in an hour and is scheduled to drive all night.
It's so strange that India is over. Alright, Nepal. Get ready. We're coming to start a revolution.
