Our journey into India was quite the adventure. We took a 5+ hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Hyderabad, India. I slept for perhaps 2 hours. Then a taxi to the Hyderabad station. Boarded a 31 hour train from Hyderabad to Howrah. I had all but one meal in a time span of 35 hours. I've learned I don't really function well when I'm hungry. As a result, I was miserable.
Over the course of the past 7 months, I’ve come to have a very interesting love relationship with peanut butter. It’s my go-to snack food. At all times on the race during travel days I make sure to have a jar of peanut butter with me. It’s very easy to find bread in any country around the world but not peanut butter. So when I find it, I usually stock up. It simply warms my heart to have a little piece of home with me. As soon as we arrived to the station after being on the train for 31 hours. I scoured the area for bread and searched through my pack for my peanut butter. To my dismay there were only about two teaspoons worth of peanut butter left. Sigh. So much for being prepared, I thought.
India is one of the poorest country in the world. As a result, it is very common to have many street kids approach you begging for food or money. If you’ve ever seen Slum Dog Millionaire you get the gist. A little girl came over and reached out her hand to me signaling she wanted my bread. My stomach growled. I thought, This precious little beauty probably has not had a meal in a very long time. Granted I haven’t either. But I at least always have food and know that I will have a meal even if it’s not when I expect it to be. I stared at her for probably what felt like a minute but was potentially a few seconds. After the war between my head and my stomach, I gave the young girl my two slices of bread with peanut butter and told her how much she is loved by Jesus. She smiled and walked away.
In the distance, I saw her take the two slices of bread to what appeared to be her oldest sister. They both stared at the slices for a bit analyzing what the brownish substance was on top of the bread. I then realized this was probably their first time seeing peanut butter. They continued to poke the bread slices and proceeded to smell it. In that moment all I could think of was, “You had better eat that peanut butter!” At this point of the race, peanut butter was like gold. It’s super precious and it would have broken my little heart if those girls wasted the last two teaspoons of peanut butter I had! They finally ate the bread with the biggest smile of satisfaction I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face.
When we finally arrived to our ministry location in India, our ministry contact, John shared his love for comfort food, especially peanut butter. Now that’s my type of man! The entire month, I had more peanut butter than I could have ever imagined. It’s funny to me how we try to hold on to something that we deem to be so valuable. For me in this case it was peanut butter. For you it may be something completely different, your job, your kids, your car, your status. God wants us to let go of things so He can bless us with something even bigger and better than we can ever imagine and think of. The Lord daily continues to remind me of his provisions through my journey. Even from the smallest thing like peanut butter, He cares about all the details concerning my life and yours. Trust him to take care of you!
And God will generously provide all you need. The you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT)
Upcoming Blog: The Result of Obedience
Announcements:
- I’m wrapping up my questions and answers blog. Last call to ask me anything! Leave a note in the comment section or send me an email by clicking on the contact me link to the left.
- You can view photos from my time in India here: Travel with Tayo – Facebook Page
With Love,
