I've been home for 3 weeks and I still catch myself interjecting in conversations, "You know, in India...." I just can't help but tell the people here about the things I experienced there.
It's been 3 weeks and I still haven't found a way to tell my story in 3 minutes or less. People are always asking, "So, how was India?" I want to tell them everything. I want to tell them to most important things so they can get the whole picture. I want to convey to them everything that I saw, felt, heard, thought, but I just can't seem to do that. That is definitely a prayer request- that I learn how to tell my story in 3 minutes or less so that I can pass the vision of India onto as many people as possible.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
India Promo Video
This is a video that one of my team members made about our trip to promote next year. Check it out! (It will give you chills!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to_MDd-z5lw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to_MDd-z5lw
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
366 days
It was a year ago yesterday that I was standing in front of a wall covered in maps of the world. I could feel God pulling me towars the maps, beckoning me to look closely at them - to see the world from a new perspective. With one small step forward and one giant leap of faith towards the unknown I prayed as I moved my finger over the maps. When my finger landed in India I could hear God whispering. "You'll go there someday for my glory." I've never heard God's voice so clearly. I immediately set out to find a way to get to India. Although I hoped I would accomplish this goal within a year, I never dreamed it would actually be possible. But when God gives you a vision, you can't help to fullfill it if you only have the faith to see it through. God provides for the passion within you and needs beside you, you only need to put on the NASA suit and jump.
And even knowing that it was a direct call from God, I still didn't realize how much it would change my life. Now I'm just waiting for the next vision for my life.
And even knowing that it was a direct call from God, I still didn't realize how much it would change my life. Now I'm just waiting for the next vision for my life.
Crosspoint of India
This video was created by some team members from last year's trip. This 8 minute video tells the story of Rachel & Amol better than I ever could. Please, PLEASE, Please, take a few minutes out of your day to watch this video. I promise it is not a waste of your time. I promise you will cry. I promise you will be moved by God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj1a26vuVS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj1a26vuVS4
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Ohh India: A narrative of first impressions
Step off the plane.Walk through the airport to customs.You already know you aren't in America, there's just a strange feeling, but you're sure why.Then it hits you. Its so quiet, its almost dead silent.
Inside buildings in India you are expected to be very quiet. You could literally hear a pen drop from 20 feet away. When the airport officials talk to you, its just barely over a whisper.
When you pick up your baggage you have to keep a good eye and an even better hand on it. Its best to wear you bookbag on your front and never ever let go of your rolling luggage for a second. You realize that 2 weeks is going to be a long time to keep track of all of your things.
You make to the money exchange counter. You aren't sure how much money to change. You try to count your money without it being seen. You don't want to become a walk billboard "Rich American Tourist. Money in front pocket. Steal from me!" You are watching the Indian money count your American dollars, type numbers into his calculator and computer, and count Indian Rupies. THEN you realize that you are India. Women are supposed to look Indian men in the eyes. He hands you your rupies and your receipt. You've practiced Hindi for months so you say, "Dhanyavaad" ("thanks") with a huge grin on your face. As you turn around realize that this was a poor decision. In Indian culture you just flirted up a storm.
You walk towards the airport exit. Through the windows you can see literally thousands of Indians standing outside the airport. Their guards at every door carrying HUGE guns. Your heart starts to beat a little fast.
Someone exits through a door several feet from you, and you hear the roar of the crowd outside. As you get closer you also hear car horns honking constantly. Little do you know that you'll miss these sounds when you are back in America.
The automatic door slides open. You are immediately hit with the smell of pollution. You fight the strong urge to cough. Later you will blow your nose and discover that your bougers are completely black. It's night time but you can still see the fog of pollution everywhere.
As you maneuver your way through Indians you suddenly realize how white skin glows in the dark. Everywhere you look people are staring. They've even pulled out their cellphones and you can hear the sounds of cameras taking pictures. You know you'll be all over Indian facebook tonight.
You get on your touring bus and look out the windows as it drives down the busy roads of Delhi. You quickly learn that road laws are not enforced, just politely suggested. Even in pitch black dark there is a variety of transportation methods including: walking, rickshaws, bicycles, automated rickshaws, cars, buses, motorcycles, jeeps, big trucks, etc.
Animals roam the streets freely. Some people appear to live in the medians and the sides of the roads.
Very rarely are there sidewalks or even lines on the road. There isn't any grass or plants except for the rice fields. Cow patties line the road. They are being saved to be burned for fuel.
To be continued....
Inside buildings in India you are expected to be very quiet. You could literally hear a pen drop from 20 feet away. When the airport officials talk to you, its just barely over a whisper.
When you pick up your baggage you have to keep a good eye and an even better hand on it. Its best to wear you bookbag on your front and never ever let go of your rolling luggage for a second. You realize that 2 weeks is going to be a long time to keep track of all of your things.
You make to the money exchange counter. You aren't sure how much money to change. You try to count your money without it being seen. You don't want to become a walk billboard "Rich American Tourist. Money in front pocket. Steal from me!" You are watching the Indian money count your American dollars, type numbers into his calculator and computer, and count Indian Rupies. THEN you realize that you are India. Women are supposed to look Indian men in the eyes. He hands you your rupies and your receipt. You've practiced Hindi for months so you say, "Dhanyavaad" ("thanks") with a huge grin on your face. As you turn around realize that this was a poor decision. In Indian culture you just flirted up a storm.
You walk towards the airport exit. Through the windows you can see literally thousands of Indians standing outside the airport. Their guards at every door carrying HUGE guns. Your heart starts to beat a little fast.
Someone exits through a door several feet from you, and you hear the roar of the crowd outside. As you get closer you also hear car horns honking constantly. Little do you know that you'll miss these sounds when you are back in America.
The automatic door slides open. You are immediately hit with the smell of pollution. You fight the strong urge to cough. Later you will blow your nose and discover that your bougers are completely black. It's night time but you can still see the fog of pollution everywhere.
As you maneuver your way through Indians you suddenly realize how white skin glows in the dark. Everywhere you look people are staring. They've even pulled out their cellphones and you can hear the sounds of cameras taking pictures. You know you'll be all over Indian facebook tonight.
You get on your touring bus and look out the windows as it drives down the busy roads of Delhi. You quickly learn that road laws are not enforced, just politely suggested. Even in pitch black dark there is a variety of transportation methods including: walking, rickshaws, bicycles, automated rickshaws, cars, buses, motorcycles, jeeps, big trucks, etc.
Animals roam the streets freely. Some people appear to live in the medians and the sides of the roads.
Very rarely are there sidewalks or even lines on the road. There isn't any grass or plants except for the rice fields. Cow patties line the road. They are being saved to be burned for fuel.
To be continued....
Oh India: Some of my favorite pictures
You only see STARS like this on the houses of Indian Christians.
"If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” ~ Joshua 24:15
The missionaries in Nagpur are shining a light into the darkness of India.
This is the Taj Mahal. The Palace of Love. The ruler built this special place to house his wife's remains. It is beautiful for many reasons.
There are over 1 billion people living in India. Most of them are going to Hell and don't even know it. Pray for them.
Cows are believed to be reincarnated Hindu goddesses. They are loose on the streets everywhere. You have to be very careful not to hit them. If you kill a cow people come off the streets and beat you to death.
This is an Indian road in Delhi. Delhi is the capital and a really big city so it has medians and street lights, and lines on the road. Other places don't. Driving into oncoming traffic is a common practice in India. Its a lot safer than almost hitting a cow.
This is a typical driving in the smaller city of Nagpur. The road having lines painted on it is rare. Though, as you can see from the photo, the lines were merely a suggestion.
These were our drivers during our stay in Nagpur. God bless them for not hitting cows -people, sheep, monkeys, motorcyles, cyclists, rickshaws, or other jeeps for that matter.
Since gas is $5 a gallon in a poor country where $5 is a lot of money the typical form of transportation is a bicycle like this one. Also, bible college graduates receive a bicycle so that they can travel great distances in India to share the love and life changing message of Christ.
Walking in the footsteps of another
This photo has so many meanings for me. One way to look at is to think of Romans 10:15.
"How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"
However, that is the obvious choice for anyone who hasn't been to India. For me, when I see this picture I mostly think of the phrase, "Eyes on the ground! which is code for "There's a lot of Indian men in the room, and as a female, especially American female, you cannot look them in eye, so look at the ground."
In Indian culture, where men and women are not allowed to interact, there is an extreme amount of communication placed on body language. A simple connection of the eyes can be interpreted as flirtation. This was hard to adapt to when in America we are taught to look everyone in the eye.
Even in the market place where you are forced to interact with one another for a business transaction you must be careful. Only look them in the eyes when necessary. Speak firmly and keep your words to a minimum. This is not the time to practice your Hindi.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Living Water
In India there is a serious problem. The water in India is very unsafe. Everywhere we went we carried 1 Liter bottles of bottled water. We had to stay hydrated to stay healthy, but the water coming from the faucet is unsafe for even brushing your teeth. This is a picture of Gabe, a little Indian boy. He is the son of our missionaries and has lived in India his entire life.
He is only about 6 years old, but still I cannot imagine living my whole life unable to drink the water from the faucet. Fortunately his parents do have a water filtration system in their house which saves them from having to buy water all of the time. However, there are literally million children in India who do have to drink the water from the faucet or go thirsty. These poor children develop viruses and diseases, and parasites that ail them because of the water they drink. This aspect of Indian life is one of the most heartbreaking to me. I want to quench their thirst.
Rachel & Amol are trying to meet the physical needs of the community around them. They have dug wells in many places where they own buildings. Although people have told them that it cannot be done, that there is no water. Amol & Rachel are faithful and they dig wells anyway. Their obedience is blessed and they see water literally spring up from the ground up to 100 feet into the air. They share the new source with the people around them.
He is only about 6 years old, but still I cannot imagine living my whole life unable to drink the water from the faucet. Fortunately his parents do have a water filtration system in their house which saves them from having to buy water all of the time. However, there are literally million children in India who do have to drink the water from the faucet or go thirsty. These poor children develop viruses and diseases, and parasites that ail them because of the water they drink. This aspect of Indian life is one of the most heartbreaking to me. I want to quench their thirst.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
~John 4:13, 14
Rachel & Amol are trying to meet the physical needs of the community around them. They have dug wells in many places where they own buildings. Although people have told them that it cannot be done, that there is no water. Amol & Rachel are faithful and they dig wells anyway. Their obedience is blessed and they see water literally spring up from the ground up to 100 feet into the air. They share the new source with the people around them.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Open & Close Doors
"What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."
~Revelation 3:7,8
I live my life with an "Open Door/ Close Door" Policy. Anytime I face a major decision in my life I look around at the doors of opportunity. Before I walk towards any of them I ask God to open the ones he wants me to walk through, and close and lock those that I shouldn't walk through. This is my way of discerning God's will for my life. I'm not that Christian that is gifted with just knowing what God wants me to do. I'll pray for days on end and still be confused as to what I need to do. However, since I initiated my open door/ close door policy I have felt much more at peace with my decisions. Many times God has closed doors that I really hoped would be open. At the time I thought that the doors that were closed were opportunities that I was missing out on. But in hindsight, I'm grateful for locked doors. God has shown me his perfect plan for me, and I have been saved from heartache and despair.
I challenge you to pray for open & closed doors. Its not always easy to let God make the decisions in your life. However, God is creator and planner of the entire universe. He knows what will happen from creation through eternity, so trust him. I promise he won't lead you astray.
No U-Trun
India has taught me that there are no U-Turns allowed. There are many times in our life that we would like a "do-over" but that's not how life works. Even if we try our hardest and turn our cars around, it's not the same as doing life correctly the first time around. God has taught me that we are called to make the most out of life RIGHT NOW!There is no sense in wasting our life waiting around for something big to happen.The big things in life are made up of little moments and little decisions. There is no sense in looking back on life and thinking "what if..." Life is made up of the decisions that we have made, there is no point in soaking in our regrets. Instead let's spend our lives making the best decisions possible, and learning the most we can from our mistakes.
Perry Noble said in his blog, “If I allow my past to define me then I will NEVER truly become who God wants me to be!”
The Beggar
This is a photo of the very first beggar I met in India. The orange bundle in her hand is her baby. If you notice, she is in the middle of the road. A motorcycle just drove by very quickly. If she wasn't careful, she could have been hit and both her and her baby would be in very serious trouble.
I wish I could tell you that I gave her my life savings. Or at least 500 rupies (about $11) but I didn't. I wish I could tell you that I gave her a bible in her native language and shared the story of Jesus with. But I didn't. You see it's not that easy in India. In India there are millions of beggars. They are all over the streets. The problem is, if you give to one they all expect you to give to them. And they expect you to give to them until you no longer have anything to give and you are a beggar yourself. If you allow them to get too close to you, they will steal from you. If you have ever seen the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, you know the dangers of giving to children. Give to a poor child, and the adult that "cares" for them will hurt them. They know that the more pathetic a child looks (missing body parts, scarred skin, carrying a baby) the more money the child will receive. So for our safety we were advised that we were not allowed to give to beggars. This was one of the hardest aspects of the trip. To look a person in the eye and tell them no. We had to learn how to look them in the eye and memorize their face so that we could pray for them.
Here is the picture of the last beggar I met in India.
Whenever I look at this picture, I see all the beggars of India. I challenge you, I BEG you to say a pray for this woman and the millions she represents.
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. ~Proverbs 19:17
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. ~Proverbs 21:13
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ~1 John 3:17-18
I wish I could tell you that I gave her my life savings. Or at least 500 rupies (about $11) but I didn't. I wish I could tell you that I gave her a bible in her native language and shared the story of Jesus with. But I didn't. You see it's not that easy in India. In India there are millions of beggars. They are all over the streets. The problem is, if you give to one they all expect you to give to them. And they expect you to give to them until you no longer have anything to give and you are a beggar yourself. If you allow them to get too close to you, they will steal from you. If you have ever seen the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, you know the dangers of giving to children. Give to a poor child, and the adult that "cares" for them will hurt them. They know that the more pathetic a child looks (missing body parts, scarred skin, carrying a baby) the more money the child will receive. So for our safety we were advised that we were not allowed to give to beggars. This was one of the hardest aspects of the trip. To look a person in the eye and tell them no. We had to learn how to look them in the eye and memorize their face so that we could pray for them.
Here is the picture of the last beggar I met in India.
Whenever I look at this picture, I see all the beggars of India. I challenge you, I BEG you to say a pray for this woman and the millions she represents.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
