The weekly // 28

We started out this week with monsoon season in full swing. Actually, it pretty much rained all week. The rain is nice because it cools everything down, but when it rains, it pours, and when it pours, the streets flood, which makes for some interesting walks and auto rides. 

Some sweet nationals invited us into their home where we were able to chat and have some snacks. Oh and chai, of course. 

I love seeing the Lord orchestrate events so that people can hear the truth and process it without being distracted by other people. It is a sweet reminder to my heart that while there are spiritual forces of evil in this world, He is greater and stronger than any obstacle the enemy may have in store.

In the same stream of thought, Michaela and I met this precious girl in one of my favorite spots and have hung out with her a few times since then. She is so interested in the truth, yet seemingly far from surrendering to it. Hopefully we can meet with her a few more times before we leave! 

In other miscellaneous news…

One night the girls watched 3 Idiots, which is a Bollywood movie that has quickly become one of my favorite movies. This was my second time seeing it, and, much to my delight, the girls loved it.

 I would highly recommend it…all three hours of it ;) 

I think I found the biggest cow in India (note the cars as a reference).

We bought some mahendi cones, and I did this design on Megan's hand.

I think I'm starting to get a hold of the whole mahendi thing.

We had a team dinner at Waffle House. There are several things that India does way, way better than America does, and Waffle House is one of those things. Michaela and I split a Nutella Belgian Waffle, and let me just say, it was heavenly.

While we waited for our food, we played truth or dare Jenga. Sadly the questions and tasks were pretty lame, but it was hilarious regardless, because with these people, it's always a hilarious time. 

The craziest thing that happened this week was that we sort of crashed an Indian wedding. 

The weddings here last days, and this particular wedding was being held right outside of our hotel. Consequently, all of the wedding guests were staying here, and since the party was right outside our window, we could hear the music and drums well into the late hours of the night.

I have been dying to go to an Indian wedding. It's up there on my India bucket list with riding an elephant and a camel (which has yet to happen…). One afternoon it was raining and we looked out our window to see a group of people dancing and playing loud music with a guy on a horse. 

Thankfully some of our national friends were with us and were able to explain it was the procession for the groom. Since it was literally right outside of our hotel, we quickly threw on rain jackets and ran down to take some pictures with high hopes that we would also be able to go to the wedding. 

Before we knew what was happening, we were surrounded by said processional, being encouraged to dance while nationals snapped as many pictures and videos of us as they possibly could. We were then ushered next to the horse the groom was sitting on so that the wedding photographers could take pictures of us with the groom.  

Let me just put this moment into perspective. In America, even if you are invited to the wedding, it's pretty rare you get a picture with the groom. We were a bunch of strangers that literally just walked up, and now we're in this guy's wedding photos because they ushered us beside him in order to get pictures with him. This would never ever happen in America which is why it's so awesome to me. 

This was such a crazy experience, and I loved it. 

Saturday we had another team adventure day. 

We went to a beautiful waterfall here where we saw super adorable baby monkeys (whose parents are a bit viscous) and explored the surrounding area for a couple of hours. 

Oh and of course we took awesome team pictures on railroad tracks. 

This is on top of a train tunnel (sorry mom)

After all of our adventuring we were ready for a big dinner, so we had team dinner (minus Logan) at a delicious Chinese restaurant. 

At least once a day the thought, "this place is crazy" crosses my mind. 

Yet ever day that I'm here, I fall more in love with this country and its people. 

I am so thankful for this, and it is overwhelmingly evident that this love is only from the Lord. 

Glory be to the Father! 

The weekly // 27

I've officially been in India for a full week and, as predicted, the hard times have come. 

But thankfully so have the good times. Yet I am equally, if not more so, thankful for the hard times too, for it is in the hard times that the Lord is so near and teaches me so much. 

Monday we went to Ujjain, which is one of the five holiest Hindu cities in India. First we went to a temple where we saw people praying, bowing down to, and offering gifts of flowers and milk to statues of Hindu gods. There is one main room with the main god, and then you walk out into a court yard where there are multiple smaller temples that people can go to. In the middle of the courtyard, there is a structure with a god in it. As people walk in they ring bells in order to wake up that god, get his attention, etc. 

This experience made the stories and warnings against idolatry in the Bible extremely vivid to me. 

In America, I struggle with idolatry for sure. I idolize myself, boys, others' opinions of me, my schedule, etc. But there is never a point in my entire life that I have physically bowed down to an object that "has eyes but can not see and ears but can not hear." To see someone physically do that is, honestly, mind blowing and heart breaking all at the same time. And yet, when I idolize any intangible thing, practically, I am doing the same thing in my heart. That's the real horror in it all. 

Then we went to a river in the city where people go to physically try to wash their sins off. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but there was a ridiculous amount of people there. 

It was the most overwhelming day here so far for sure. 

We finally started into somewhat of a routine Tuesday. 

For the most part, during the morning some of us will go help out at a special needs school. Then, during the afternoon we are free to go out, meet people, learn about the culture, etc. 

The first day I did not want to go out. Like at all. None of the girls really did, which left me in a place of having to spur them on to do something I didn't even want to do. 

In those beginning moments I knew in a real and deep way that it would be impossible for me to lead these girls apart from walking closely with the Lord. 

So I started pressing in hard. Real hard. 

I'm learning a lot about what it looks like to abide in my Savior in the midst of spiritual darkness you can acutely feel and see. I'm learning what it looks like to wake up in the morning and arm myself with the truth before stepping out into a place with a message that no one wants to hear. 

Mostly I feel that the enemy is attacking us physically, through exhaustion and complacency but also through sickness (I'll spare the details there). 

And yet He has been so faithful. Praise His name that He is stronger than the powers of this world! In only three or four days of going out, many have heard the truth. In addition, all of our hearts are growing in the desire for more to hear and believe, which is a sweet gift from the Father. 

The sweetest part of this week for me was getting to see a dear friend from last summer. I got to hang out with her multiple times last summer and pray that this is only the first of many times that I will get to see her this summer! 

In other news, this team is incredible. 

Thursday we had the great privilege of celebrating Megan and Annabel's birthday! 

We had a mini celebration for them that morning with cupcakes, streamers, silly string, party hats, noise makers, and gifts!

The guys all bought them really hilarious and random gifts (when in India, right?). In addition to the awesome animal posters pictured below, they were given a mango, a bamboo plant, tomato juice, wash cloths, coloring books, a tape measure, and, last but not least, Huggies diapers from Logan because they are, quote, "the youngest on the team and were having 'problems'". 

Needless to say, we were all rolling with laughter during the present opening. 

And, our sweet hotel made them a birthday cake. I love the staff here and I love these sisters. 

Happy Birthday girls! 

We had a great lunch as a team filled with some American food and desserts. 

I love Indian food but it's good to occasionally have a reprieve. 

We then went to help with a youth conference. We'll be doing this a couple more times while we are here. These youth (ranging from age five to mid-twenties) have, for the most part, grown up in Christian homes and are apathetic to the truth, much like many American youth in the churches. 

So, for about five hours, we are playing games with them and walking through the book of Colossians, since that is what our team is also studying this summer. 

These girls are so beautiful! Just look at em! 

Pray that we would be able to build deep relationships with them, that they would see the hope of the truth in us, and that that would cause them to desire a deeper relationship with our Savior and Lord! 

We ended the week with a very rainy and windy team adventure day at Mandu, an ancient city. 

People stared at us a lot and asked to take pictures every other second, but overall it was a great day! 

Please note the goats hiding under the bridge to avoid the rain. This cracked me up. 

This was our bus driver's son. He tagged along with us as we walked around. He was precious!!

I love this team. A whole lot. There was definitely a temptation for me to compare this team to last year's team, or be unhappy with this years team because I loved last year's team, but the Lord has been gracious to surround me with eight amazing brothers and sisters who are hilarious and deeply love Him, each other, and me. The guys have done a fantastic job of looking out for and serving us, and the girls have been a great encouragement to my heart. 

I'm thankful for the opportunity to spend another two weeks here with them!! 

The weekly // 26

Sunday, after I got back from the beach, I started packing up my apartment, because my parents will have to move my stuff to a different apartment while I'm in India (shoutout to them—they really are the best for doing that!) Monday, I finished packing everything up, and then drove home to Rock Hill. 

I spent a couple of days with my family, and then we headed to the airport so I could hop on a plane (or four) en route to India! 

We traveled for over 30 hours…

not an ideal way to spend a day (or two), but experiencing it with these people made it much better!

After lots of traveling, we arrived around 7am. 

Even though I was exhausted, when we stepped out of the airport into the city, my heart was so overwhelmed, in the best way possible.

Once we got to the hotel, we ate breakfast, then went to take a quick nap before meeting later that afternoon. Well, the quick nap turned into a five hour nap…for all of us. Jet lag is real people. 

But soon we were out into the city, and by auto, of course. Here's our first auto ride of the summer: 

The second day we went on a scavenger hunt of the city so that every one could get a feel for the place. Megan, James and I had a blast. We saw all the good sites, plus found some extra treasures. 

We've only been here a couple of days, and consequently haven't quite gotten into a routine as we try to become accustomed to the city, the culture, and the time. 

I know that the hard times will come, but as for now, by the grace of God, my heart is thrilled to be back in this place. 

The weekly // 25

This week was definitely more exciting than the last couple of weeks have been. 

It started off great with Father's Day! I met my family in Greenville. It was awesome to spend some time with them and show them around the city, even though as a directionally challenged person, I don't serve as the best tour guide...

But it was also just great to celebrate my dad. He is such a good man. I am so encouraged and proud of the man that he is and continues to become as he pursues the Lord with everything in him. 

I was finally able to get lunch with this old friend. 

Maia and I have been trying to hang out for a while now, but one of us is always out of the country. 

It was fun to hear about her travels and catch up on life!

I went kayaking one last time before leaving the country, and then finished my last days of OT observations. Then, Friday we headed to Hilton Head for Jenna's bachelorette weekend!! 

It was a sweet time of just hanging out on the beach, playing some cards, and celebrating Jenna and her upcoming marriage. I love love love this girl and it was a joy to celebrate her!