The out of ordinary and amazings:
Naming a baby.Our first full day here when we went to a church to pray for people and worship with them, one woman gave Rachel on my team the unique task to name her baby. He is 6 weeks old and doesn't have a name yet. Flustered and surprised, she asked for help. Immediately, I suggested Josiah. My favorite king from the Old Testament who not only tore down idols as numerous other kings before him, but did more by calling people back to the covenant they followed generations before. He called the people up to not only worship the Lord, but the follow Him. In this culture, amongst the people this baby will be raised around and do life with, this is my hope and prayer for him as he grows up. Josiah it is.
Singing at a wedding. Imagine waking up on your second full day in India and being told to get ready soon, you are going to a wedding. Welp, that's exactly what happened to us. Dressing up and getting fancy as much as we could with the limited supplies and clothes that we have, we enjoyed a traditional Indian wedding. But the surprise came when in front of 200 or so guests, the man in charge motioned us up to the stage during the ceremony to sing a song for the couple. Shocked and reaching for whatever resources of music we could pull from that we've done before on random events… Lean On Me it was. That's right. Team Oasis made our professional singing debut at an Indian wedding. The paparazzi also had a great time filming us and taking pictures of us during our time there… Americans!!
Laying hands on people and praying for their healing. Our first day here, we went to a “prayer meeting” which really ended up being a worship service with the Indian people, playing with their kids, and enjoying a meal that they cooked for us as their guests. Before it was over though, I learned why they call it a prayer meeting… we were to pray for people's healing and pray blessings over anyone who didn't directly need healing from some ailment. Immediately, I want to tell them this is not my gift and I don't think my prayers will heal anyone. Don't put all your hope in me. But I realized, they weren't. They were putting their hope in what they hoped Christ would do through me. I don't know that anyone I prayed for that night was healed, but I do know that the Lord heard my prayers. And when I prayed for His will to be done, He did it. It is rare that I genuinely feel a leading from the Lord what to pray for a person that I do not know, but this night was one of those nights. For each person, I felt a different prayer need. For some, that they would humble themselves before the Lord and stop the sin that is so easily entangling them. For some, that they would find their significance only in Jesus and nothing else, sensing that they are a person who looks for value in every other vain thing they can find. For others, a blessing of finances to do the ministry that the Lord has given them. For the men, that they would be men of integrity, leading their families in the way of Jesus, studying the word so they can rise up and teach their families. That they would take care of their wives the way Jesus takes care of the church. And for some… healing. I have been reading a book by Andrew Murray called “Humility” and aligning myself in a right position with who God is compared to who I am. The potter and the clay.The creator and the creation. I never felt powerful in my prayers, but dependent on God to make them come to fruition. This is the place of submission and recognition of who He truly is that I love.
Telling a captive audience of kids who have never heard the name Jesus the gospel for the first time. We don't always have to go to the people, sometimes they come to us. In this case, the kids of the neighborhood keep coming to us. Curious.Wanting to say a few English words. So what do you do when you have 15 kids sitting on your porch wanting to be entertained… tell them a story. God was clear in telling me not to waste this opportunity just becoming their friends. Use the moment He's providing. So I told them about God, His creation, His love, our mess ups, His plan for atonement that wasn't lasting, His son Jesus as our sacrifice and Savior, how he didn't stay dead in the tomb but rose to heaven to be with the Father again. And how believing in this true story is what gives us hope that we can be with Him when our time on this earth is finished. As Hindu mothers joined the porch crowd, I told them of the hope we have in Christ and His love. I was a little more apprehensive than when it was just the kids, but by the strength of the Lord and His words, I am humbled to be a vessel He used in this place to share His life with others. We then sang songs and did dances in the rain for the next hour or so… on the roof… in the rain… and it was one of my favorite moments on the race!
The norms:
Tuk Tuks – our way of travel. It's amazing we don't die every time.
Water buffalos, pigs and oxen – they're everywhere
Using my right hand as my one and only utensil for eating… mix it, scoop it, and push it in with my thumb.
Being every Indian kid in the neighborhood's obsession… “come see the Americans!”
Never wearing shoes
Curry
I am blessed to live amongst the people in a community with a family this month as they cook for us and care for us. I am amazed at how much God is answering my prayer to love the people and the culture when the first day or two, I struggled to even like them. These next few weeks will be challenging and some of my most enjoyable all at the same time. Just the way I like it 🙂
