India: The Daily

I leave India in 2 days, which is crazy. 

The truth is, there really is no way to blog about all I have seen and done. 

Words and pictures wouldn't do the experience justice. 

Every morning I wake up having no idea what the day will hold.

 As a type A personality who loves to plan, it has been by the grace of God and His grace alone that I have been totally ok with not knowing what's going on.  

There hasn't been much of a daily routine here. Each day is different, so I'm just going to highlight some of our activities and share pictures and thoughts about some special moments I've experienced and the sweet people that I've met. 

If there are absolutely no plans for the day, then we go out somewhere in the city - whether it be a mall or a park - meet people, and share with them. I've never experienced anything quite like it. It's exhausting and joy producing all at the same time. In doing this, we have been blessed in meeting some really awesome nationals. 

This is Shraddha and her family. 

We met her at the mall. She invited us into her home, and we ended up spending the whole afternoon there. She fed us a delicious, home-made lunch. Then we played with her super cute kids, got to talk some, and played games. 

This was our first time invited into a home here. It was incredible.

One day we went to a park and stumbled upon this group of women having a meeting. None of them spoke English, with the exception of a couple who barely spoke broken English. We played a game with them, ate some somosas (fried Indian street food) and drank some chai. 

Oh, and of course we took pictures with them, per their request. 

After we left the group of women, we found 2 college students that spoke great English. We got to have an awesome conversation with them. 

The girl on the far left in this next picture is a national believer and served as a translator for us. Her mom graciously had our whole team over for dinner. After dinner we did some dancing and then had a sweet time of worship together. 

It was unbelievably refreshing to spend time in the home of a family who follows and loves Jesus. 

The kids here in India are so so cute. 

Seriously, all of them. 

It's been good for my heart to get to love on some of them. 

This is a picture of the top of one of the malls. It's one of my favorite places to meet new people. It's a top hang out place for college students, most of whom speak English, which is a win for us.

Every Friday night is gender night. The girls typically have dinner together, share with each other where we're at spiritually, and discuss a topic from the Bible. 

I'm really thankful for these girls and the way the Lord has sanctified me on this trip through them. 

This restaurant that we ate at is on top of our hotel. 

It's awesome. I mean look at this sweet view of the city!

It's a team favorite for sure. 

Here are some pictures from another park. 

We only got to visit this park once, but it was one of my favorites. 

Especially because of the lesson that I learned there. 

Katie, Lani, and I were walking around the park trying to meet people. 

We were tired. We couldn't find anyone who spoke English. 

I honestly didn't want to talk to anyone about Jesus. 

To sum it all up, we were pathetic. 

We sat down and tried to preach to ourselves. I felt unsuccessful in my half-hearted attempt at doing so. Somehow, we picked ourselves up, and, dragging our feet, went to go try again. 

The rest of our time there can only be described as grace. 

I definitely deserved to be punished for my rotten attitude toward the work to which I've been called, but that is far from what happened. We met a girl our age who was very open to the gospel, then met a family of believers who we got to pray with, then got to share again with a group of three women. 

Amazing, amazing grace. 

God doesn't need us to accomplish His vision of bringing a people to Himself, of having people from every tribe, tongue, and nation gathered around His throne, proclaiming and worshipping His holy, holy name. But He chooses to use us, in spite of us. For the first time I'm recognizing what a gift it is that we get to be a part of something so glorious. 

Most days are fun, all days are tiring to some degree, but there was one day that will forever stick out in my mind as being especially painful and exhausting. 

The girls were invited over to the house of a girl that Olivia and Heather had met while out. 

Her mom is a beautician and wanted to give the white girls make-overs. 

The events leading up to going to her house were hard and frustrating, putting me in a sourish mood.

Then when we met up with her, it was all downhill. 

She was very pushy. 

The situation was uncomfortable on multiple levels. 

We were basically treated like toy dolls. 

They squeezed us into sarees and put more makeup on our faces than I knew was possible. 

I was given a dog collar of a necklace and earrings so heavy they had to be clipped to my head.

Then we took more pictures than ever before. 

But we tried to keep our spirits high. 

We laughed at ourselves.

We got some cute pictures, even though we look like clowns. 

We encouraged each other, spurred each other on. 

It made for an...interesting memory. 

We've since been able to hang out with this girl some more. Olivia and Heather have done a great job of loving her, and she's gotten to hear the gospel multiple times. 

Surrendering to this culture for the sake of the One who surrendered it all is far from easy, but may we count Jesus worth it. 

After about three weeks here, monsoon finally hit, and it hit full force. 

After 24 hours of rain, this was what the roads looked like.

The drainage system here isn't great, so all of the water pools at the lowest places in the city. 

I actually really like the rain. 

It cools everything down, gets rid of the dust in the air, and there isn't any thunder or lightning. 

It's like the perfect summer rain.

It also causes some pretty funny sites. 

There are so many other things that I've seen and done and learned. 

Most of them I haven't even begun to process. 

But this I know with all my heart: I would not make it through a day here without Jesus. 

I've seen and felt my need for Him like I never have before. 

He is the only remedy for my prideful heart and sin-tainted thinking.

The fact that He bled and died on a cross for me while I was His enemy amazes me. But what really blows my mind is that He also knew the many, many times I would turn from Him, wander back into sin, forgetting the cross. He knew that fully and yet He still died. He still opened up the eyes of my heart and saved me. Praise God that Jesus rose again, and that that same power gives me freedom and victory over my sinful flesh. Praise God that His grace and loving-kindness towards me is abundant. 

Hallelujah, all I have is Christ.