The holiday has finally arrived!!! As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m heading to India in a couple days. Despite the fact that I’ve had many friends visit India in the past, and that Indians have a large presence in the community I lived and worked in back home, it hasn’t really been a place I’ve wanted to go. Maybe it’s the overwhelming sounds, smells, poverty, pain, and crowds that TV and movies like Slumdog Millionaire seem to portray so well. That being said, sometimes I think it’s good to step outside of my comfort zone.
Two of my close friends here visited India last year and fell in love with it – enough to go back home this past summer and fundraise more than $10 000 to build a school there. Together they are leading this team of six girls (Anita, Catherine, Suiki, Betsy, Rebecca and myself) from 3 different countries to India!
We will arrive in Delhi on Tuesday night where we will visit the Taj Mahal and don our Indian costumes in an effort to blend in. Our second stop will be in Hyderabad where we will stay at a YWAM base for a couple nights while we gather supplies for the two weeks we will spend in the countryside in a village I can hardly pronounce. There we will be joining in the work of a local pastor to share the gospel through cooking, skits, preaching, worship, visiting nearby villages, and working with children and youth. We will then finish up our time in Goa where I’m looking forward to lots of beach time and rest.
Please keep us in your prayers. Here are some specific things to pray for:
Safety – In our travels and while in India. Tonight I received a bit of a lecture on how a girl should act while in India to be safe. Pray that we would make good decisions.
Health – A number of the girls on our team are currently sick. Please pray especially for Catherine who has had major stomach problems since this past summer and is significantly underweight. She is concerned about eating the food in India as she got quite sick last year.
Unity – It can be so easy at times to think my way – individually and culturally – is better and more “comfortable.” Pray that God would change our hearts and give us His love and compassion for those we are living and working with.
Hearts - That the hearts of people will be open to Christ and that they will be drawn to Him, and not us.
Refreshment – I usually love doing everything I possibly can, but right now a rest would be welcomed. While I’m excited for the activities we get to participate in, I pray that this would also be a time of refreshment. Quite a few of the girls are also using this time to seek direction for the coming year.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing with you many of the things God is doing in India!
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