Wow, India–
I don’t know how to even begin this blog post. India sure has been a whirlwind of emotions. When we first landed in Hyderabad, I was finally so happy travelling was over for a couple days. Hyderabad was where we had our culture orientation and learned all of the norms of India. Hyderabad is a huge city that is about 50% Muslim and 50% Hindu. I will say that it was definitely different to wake up to or just walk outside and hear all over the city the call to prayer for Muslims. While I was in Hyderabad, I got to venture out and see the city. It was nothing like I have ever seen before. The shopping, street food, and chai was really wonderful.
I am now somewhere that I cannot say the location. I will say that we had a very long bus ride to get here. My team’s ministry this month is children’s ministry. When I found out I had children’s ministry, everything started to fall into place. I have been feeling very homesick, but I think that’s just because ministry hadn’t started yet. The Lord really blessed me with this ministry this month because India is already extremely hard for me.
Any type of children’s ministry I am extremely drawn towards. I truly feel that it is my calling from the Lord to do something long term with children. So, yesterday was our first official day of ministry, and let me tell you that my heart is so full. The bright and happy faces I saw truly made my whole week. We played games, sang songs, and told a Bible story (skit). After we finished playing and the kids were about to leave, they came up to me and my team and asked for prayer. Some kids had visible things that needed to be healed, others needed prayers for broken families, and some just wanted to be prayed over. It was so cool to be a part of. These children believed whole heartedly in the power of prayer, and I hadn’t ever seen anything like this before. I believe in the power of prayer, but this gave me a whole new perspective on being intentional. The Lord can do miraculous things if you just let Him and believe He can. This is something I need to work on still, but I am so grateful to be a part of this ministry.
Once the kids left, the pastor fed us. Indian food is so good. Eating with your hands is so fun. The only thing, is they will continue to fill up your plate over and over and over again. You don’t want to be rude and say no, so you just smile and eat up! We also prayed over him and his family, and it is so cool to see a man who leads his family so well. He has such a servant’s heart and willingness to serve our God in an area where only 2% of the whole country is Christian.
So, first 10-ish days in India have been full of ups and downs, but I am so hopeful for more ups than downs now because we have ministry to look forward to everyday. Please continue to pray for me and my team as we continue spreading the good news of Jesus!! Thank you for subscribing to my blog, and if you haven’t, make sure to do that!
Wandanalu,
Sami
