India: Heartbreak and Hope

I really can not believe that I have been in India for over a week!

When we arrived to our hotel, we had lunch there together.

The hotel staff is so sweet to us!

And the food is incredible! We all ate our fill and then some, with a lot still left over.

The next day we traveled to Ujjain. 

Here's some pictures from the ride there and walking to the main temple. 

This is outside of the temple. We weren't allowed to take our phones inside. 

Ujjain is one of the holiest Hindu cities in India. There are many temples here, and people travel from all over the country to come to Ujjain and worship. 

We went to one of the major temples there. First we went into a main room where we filed into a line. We were the only white people there, but here no one seemed to care about that. The people around us were pushing and shoving in order to get to the statues of their gods. Once there they poured flowers and milk onto the gods. We then walked in to an open courtyard. In the middle housed Hindu gods, and the entire perimeter of the area contained smaller versions of the same gods. Each housing had bells on the front that people were constantly ringing in order to wake up their gods. 

I had a couple of thoughts about the whole thing.  

1. Even though we were in a different country, and a very different culture, these people were people, with needs and desires just like me. They had traveled from all over to bless these gods in order to meet and fill their needs and desires. I, too, often seek out things to meet my needs and desires -- school, acceptance, praise from other people, you name it. But for them, for me, and for every human on this earth, Jesus Christ is the only thing that will truly meet every need and fill every desire of my heart.

2. Throughout the entire Old Testament the Bible talks about people worshipping false gods made from wood and stone. For the first time in my life, I really and truly saw that being done. 

Ujjain was definitely a lot to take in.

 It was like nothing I have ever seen before. 

Like many things here, I'm thankful for the experience.

After we left the temple we went to a river where people wash themselves in order to cleanse their sins.

As soon as we walked up, some little girls ran up to me, speaking rapidly with sweet voices in a language I only know a few phrases in. It killed me that I couldn't speak with them freely. My heart ached for these girls in a way I wasn't really expecting and can't describe with words.

I asked our translator to ask the one in the pink why she was here, hoping to be able to share with her the good news of Jesus. An older Indian man came up and told the translator that she was a poor girl from a poor family and had just come to the river to have fun. 

Something about that girl just broke me, and I lost it.

 I tried to control the tears, I really did, but they came in spite of my fight to choke them down.

 Maybe it was the buildup of all the things we had seen that day coming to a climax. 

Maybe it was solely the thought of that precious girl growing up in a terribly broken place. 

Maybe it was the realization that there are so many more like her who have never even heard the life-giving name of Jesus Christ.

Whatever it was, it tore me up. 

I gathered myself together and we headed back to where we're staying. 

On the way back we stopped by a road-side store, and I had my first cup of chai in India.

I assumed it wouldn't be my last. Thankfully my assumption was correct.

Scenes from a rickshaw

Monday we did a scavenger hunt to try and get to know the town that we're staying in. 

Here are some pictures from a couple of places we went. 

The sign about the elbow is oh so true

The chai here was really good, but the conversation was even better. By a series of events that could have only been ordained by the Lord, we ended up sitting with these two for about an hour and a half.

They are college students, and their English is great, which is pretty typical of most people here around the age of 20. We learned all about what they are studying and what they believe. We also got to share what we believe with them. 

While these conversations do and should happen in the States, it is a totally different experience here.  Most nationals are genuinely interested in what we have to say. When they hear truths that they have never heard before, like the fact that three days after Jesus died, He rose from the grave, their immediate expression of shock and wonder never gets old. 

I am hoping that Katie and I have found a friend in Monalisa, and that we can hang out with her more while we're here. Our conversation with them was rejuvenating. We all walked out of that chai bar feeling refreshed and full of hope. 

After the scavenger hunt, we came back and played some card games, which was super fun. 

I'm always down for a good card game with friends. 

Then our whole team had dinner together.

We ate on top of a roof. It was probably one of the coolest atmospheres I've ever eaten in. 

This team is a blessing beyond belief. 

Laughter and love are abundant in this group. 

Cheesy, but oh so true. 

Please continue to pray for us. 

Pray for health. Our poor American stomachs haven't quite adjusted. 

Pray for energy. The days are long and full here.

Pray for unity, that dissension wouldn't creep in. 

And pray that we could love this culture and these people with a deeper love, for the sake of our beautiful Savior, to the glory of our wonderful God.