My team's almost here!

My team gets here tonight!  I'm leaving for the airport around 3:30am to pick them up, right after I watch the finals of the Confederation Cup!  I'm so excited for them to get here.  And I've been blown away at the faithfulness of God over these past weeks.  I've been here a little over 8 weeks which seems unbelievable that I've been here so long.  It's gone by so fast.  The past week I've been following up with contacts from the last group that was here as well as preparing for my team to come.  It's been more of a laid back time, but I feel very charged for my team to get here.  And I'm so expectant for what God's going to do!  He's done so much already, but I know He has more that He's wanting to do- I love God!

Yesterday we had a fun Indian experience.  Since we've been in the same city this whole time, we decided to go on a sight seeing tour to a city to the north called Mysore.  We were supposed to meet the bus at around 6 or 6:15am, but got a call from the bus driver at 5:40am asking us where we were.  This was extremely surprising because nothing happens on time here, and especially not early.  We figured they had nothing else to do at 6am, so why not be early?  That or the random tour guide that we found below the Middle Eastern restaurant told us the wrong time.  We were for sure the only foreigners on the tour, which was fun because we realized that this is what people here do when they travel- not the fancy tours catered towards westerners.  We took a non-AC bus (which we were nervous about but turned out to be fine because the weather was really cool and didn't rain) to different sites around the town.  

One of my favorite's was the Maharaja's palace, which was absolutely beautiful inside.  Sadly, you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, so you just have to take my word on it.  But I have pictures of the outside.  Funny side note: our tour guide explained that it cost 20 Rs (40 cents) for Indians to enter the palace, but foreigners had to pay 200 Rs.  We all laughed because we thought he was joking, but he wasn't.  I guess it makes sense since we don't pay taxes.  But the way he said it was funny because he just been telling about the history of the place, how the English had come in and conquered the area and killed the leader, and then he says, "to get in, Indians pay 20 Rs, but English, pay 200 Rs."  He added in "other foreigners" later, but it just seemed funny...

We also went to these gardens in the city that were amazing.  It was our last stop, so we got there around dusk, right before they turned all the lights on.  There were fountains everything that were great lit up.  Sadly, you had to purchase an extra ticket to take pictures here and we didn't have time to wait in the line, so I again don't have pictures of it.  I got frustrated over the different rules about photography, but I decided to submit and enjoy what I got to see.  It was hard though to not pull out my camera at the gardens and just take a picture real fast- no one would have seen.  But Watchman Nee's Spiritual Authority kept repeating in my mind...

The garden also had a "colorful, musical fountain" which was one of the main attractions.  It was like a laser light show, but with water, timed to American techno that I remember from junior high and different Indian songs.  It was great.

If I could go there again, I would have just gone to these places because the other places we went to were okay.  We went to some different temples and shopping places and a cathedral as well.  There were little funny moments that reminded us that we were on a random Indian sight seeing tour.  Like when we were driving up a hill to go to a temple and the tour guide told all of us to shut the windows or else monkeys would jump in the bus.  The tour guide on his own was pretty funny because none of us could really understand what he was saying, and he kinda reminded us of Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite.  He had a pretty sweet mullet too, which you don't see too often in India.  

The best part is that the whole bus ride, minus entry fees, cost 300 Rs, which is about $6 US.  Everything together- bus ride, lunch, snacks, and entry fees- added up to less than 700 Rs.  So I went on an all day tour to a city 2.5 hours away for about $14.  If only vacations could cost that much in America.  Only down side, we left Mysore at 8pm, but didn't get home until 1:30am because we were the last ones to get dropped off.   

How it's going

Okay, so I meant to write more frequently, but I guess I kinda failed at that.  I feel like the days go by so fast here.  I had jumped in with a college team from my town for the 3 weeks they were here, minus the days I was a little sick, and it was so great!  God did so much while they were here.  We've gotten to see one new house church start for sure and are hoping to see more.  That was from a couple that some girls on the team met the first days they were in town.  That couple made decisions to follow Jesus and later invited the girls to their house.  There they got to share with the family members of the couple and they too decided to follow Jesus.  Now they are sharing with their family, all of who is from a region in the north of India that doesn't have a lot of believers.  We were talking about how fun it is to see new things begin among those that previously didn't know anything about Jesus.  It is refreshing to see how many people here are hungry to know God.  There are many that aren't hungry also, but God is definitely moving.

One of my favorite things that I'm getting to do now is follow-up with new believers, getting to start discipling and training them.  I have such a passion to see the church here grow up and become strong- well, actually I'm passionate about that happening everywhere (I love the Church!).  The other day I was praying and God reminded me of the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32).  He said that he has planted small mustard seeds of faith here, but they would grow up to be a huge, strong tree that will reach out and touch other nations.  Just like how the birds of the air perch in the branches of the tree of the parable, people form other nations will be drawn to the work that the Lord is doing in this country.  Please pray that the seeds of faith that have been planted in new believers' lives would grow up to full maturity- that God would do all that He's wanting to do in their lives!

I've gotten to meet with awesome women that are really hungry for the Lord and love sharing Him with others.  One woman I met with was from a Christian background but had never really heard about having a relationship with Jesus.  A girl from the college team had shared with her and gotten to pray with her to start a relationship with Jesus.  I went with her a week later to meet her, and when we asked if she had gotten to share about Jesus, she replied, "Oh yes, I shared with my husband, and my sister, and my sister-in-law, my sister-in-law's daughter..." and kept listing people.  We asked her if people had wanted to know Jesus when she shared, and she said that yes, most of them had prayed to receive Jesus, and her sister-in-law was so excited that she started sharing with her friends, too.  We asked her how many people accepted Jesus and after thinking a bit, told us that about 9 or 10 people, but her sister-in-law had shared with many people, so she wasn't completely sure.  What?!? God's so cool!  I met with her the other day with a girl from the team here and the woman is so hungry to know God and share what she's learning with others.

Another girl I met with is from a Hindu background but was excited to have a relationship with Jesus when she learned what it meant.  We went through the first discipleship lesson with her and she really understood the Gospel.  She made a list of friends she wanted to share with, and when I called her back the other day, she said that she had shared with her friends and they want to know more about Jesus, so they're going to come to our next meeting.  I love seeing God move because I feel like I'm not really doing anything except getting to talk about Him.  And I feel like I'm learning so much about God as I'm sharing Him with others.  I'm constantly learning how amazing the Gospel is and how good God is to us!

There are awesome stories of what God is doing, but it's also been difficult trying to find times to meet with people here because they are busy and don't normally make set plans of what they do.  Like I had talked to a girl about getting together on Tuesday night, but that meant for me to call her on Tuesday and see if she was free then, and when I called she had last minute decided to go out of town for a week and was already on the road.  It's so strange to me because I'm used to being able to make plans with someone a couple of days away.  But I'm learning to be a little more flexible and to trust God when I'm not able to immediately follow-up with somebody.

Today I'm going out with another team that's here to help meet people to do follow-up with.  I have a new roommate that got here a couple of days ago from Kansas City.  She's a lot of fun and it's been great going out with her.  I believe we're about to go out to lunch, so until later!

Everyday moments in India

Here are some highlights from the past couple of days (please note, this is just from a couple of days, so they might not seem like huge highlights, but here's my life):
- I am feeling a lot better. I'm not sure why I was sick, and the fun thing about India is that I will probably never no, but oh well and praise the Lord!
- 3 days ago we went to a place outside the city that is a spiritual retreat center. There is also a church there and a school. We got to help out with the school and do a spontaneous VBS-type thing for them (of course it's India, so they told us to do an hour long program and gave us 30 minutes to try and come up with something...). The best part was that it was for the whole school, so age 3 to high school all sitting together. We were able to split them up a bit, so I took a group of high schoolers. It was funny trying to think of a game that high schoolers could play and that's easy to understand. We decided to play heads-up 7 up, the classic, but they never quite got the point and kept cheating and opening their eyes. Then we did a skit of the Prodigal Son parable and shared the Gospel, and a lot of students responded! God so moves in weakness!
My favorite part of going out there was getting a chance to see the country-side, which is so beautiful! So different from the city, obviously. I feel like I'm only getting to see a small part of India, but it's all so different so it might be impossible to experience everything.
- The past two days have been pretty cold here. I mean, cold for India so weather in the 70s or so. I actually had to put on a sweater last night because it was so cold riding in the rickshaw with the wind. I'm loving it! It's cooler because of the rain, so hopefully this is a nice preview of the upcoming weeks that I'll be here during monsoon season.
- I went to a large park yesterday called Cubbon Park. There we found the "Govt. Aquarium" which was so great. It cost 5 Rs, so like 10 cents to get in. It reminded me of the Brazos River exhibit at Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, where they show off the everyday fish that you'd find here. I got to see a Tilapia, which I've never seen one alive before- I've just eaten it. There were some pretty cool ones there too. All in all, it was a very fun, random India experience.
- So I'm used to getting asked, "And do you have boyfriend?", but the other day I got asked, "And when will you get married?" I answered that I didn't know, and then the girl looked at me with a confused face and replied, "Haven't your parents told you yet?" It was one of those strange cultural moments- totally wasn't expecting that one. I started trying to explain how American dating worked, how we want our parents' blessing, but that we normally pick the person ourselves. I feel like I have a lot of little moments like that where I realize how different American culture is from Indian culture. Indians still have arranged marriages, which is strange to me as an independent American, but it makes sense in this culture. And it's done in so many different ways depending on your family background- I feel like every person I meet has a different story. This couple we were talking to are distant cousins and are secretly dating until they were done with school, and then they plan to tell their parents and convince them to let them get married. I don't believe that is typical at all, but I just didn't know what to say that whole conversation- it was just awkward. Good times.
- I found a drink that I like at Cafe Coffe Day- the Caramel Freeze. It's a cold coffee drink with caramel and toffee nut syrup, and it's only 65 Rs. Up to this point Coffee Day hasn't been my favorite, but it's started to be redeemed...
- I saw a giant butterfly made out of thrown away paper cups at a mall today. Picture coming soon...
- Tonight I lost my roommate. I've had this awesome girl from Boston staying with me the past couple of weeks- which has been such a blessing- but she has a group that is getting in tonight, so she moved into the hotel where she'll be staying. So I'll be on my own until the 13th when another girl comes from Kansas City. It's fun to have different roommates, but it was a little confusing figuring out how much we all owe for staying here. All they gave us was that our apartment costs 41,200 Rs. for a month, so about $825. But I'm sharing it with 2-4 people the whole time I'm here based on which week it is. But of course, I enjoyed figuring it out.

One month down...

Well, I have been here a little over a month now. I think yesterday or the day before marked one month exactly. I was thinking the other day how some things just seem common place to me now. Every country has there own way of doing things and you just start getting used to it. I wanted to share a few with you, so here are things that should be strange but just don't phase me anymore:
- the fact that the drain from my bathroom sink is connected to a rubber tube that leads to another drain on the ground. And I have no idea where that one leads...
- the fact that my kitchen has little ant-like creatures that crawl around on one of the cabinets, but it's okay because we just keep our food on the other cabinet.
- the fact that every room has a ton of light switches and it's impossible to learn what they all go to... like our kitchen has about 10 light switches on one panel and I have to keep pushing switches until I finally find the one I'm wanting
- the fact that there are always cows walking around on the streets. They don't really surprise me anymore, but it amuses me when they are walking across the street and the cars have to stop and figure out how to get around them
- the fact that when I see a rat on the street, I have zero reaction
- the fact that I bobble my head without realizing it now, even when I'm talking on the phone and the person can't see me (Indians tilt their head to the right and left to say okay- they don't nod)

Another thing I have gotten used to, sadly, is getting sick. There's really no way of knowing what will make me sick, so I just eat without fear, knowing I'm in God's hands. I know it's just a fact of life when you live overseas. And it's nice because it comes and goes quickly in my experience, and for people who might be traveling here later, don't worry- I feel like I'm the only one that has been persistently getting sick and most people I traveled with didn't get sick at all. Yesterday was funny because I got sick after lunch and ended up throwing up in a Cafe Coffee Day. It wasn't too bad because I was able to get to the bathroom and got it mostly in the toilet (sorry, I was trying to decide if I should include this or not, but just decided to because it happens). It was sad though because my friend was trying to tell the girls who worked there what happened in nice terms, but they weren't understanding so I had to come and explain to them, with hand motions, what happened. Suddenly I could see the light dawn in their eyes and I just apologized- It wasn't exactly my fault, but still isn't fun for them. There's nothing like humbling yourself after you get sick. I probably won't go back to that particular Cafe Coffee Day. But I came home and was still having problems. I talked to a lady that has lived in North India for awhile and is a pro with sicknesses. She suggested I take a "dewormer" because I've been having stomach problems for a bit. I guess that means I might have a worm. Dewormers are great, though, because you just have to take one and it clears up everything. You just take a 2nd pill after 10 days as a follow-up, but it only really takes one to do the job. I was feeling better this morning but took it just in case. We'll see if everything gets better, but I feel confident it will.

There is a group of college students here right now, so I've been going out with them during the days. It's been fun getting to know them and God has been doing so much in the past couple of days. I feel like I'm seeing breakthrough in listening to the Holy Spirit's voice and being led by Him throughout the day. A couple of days ago, I went out with a girl from the trip and we just asked God where we should go. It was such a restful time of going out and seeing things that God had spoken to us come to be. There were so many awesome conversations we got to have that day, but I'll just tell you one so this doesn't go on forever. We had stopped at a coffee shop to get something to drink and reconnect with God. When we were ready to leave, we asked God to speak to us about where to go or anything else directional, and then we just waited to see if he said anything. I feel like whenever I do this, I always have random pictures come to my mind, but lately I've been taking them seriously and starting to see that a lot of times they do have a meaning. This particular time I had a picture of a star on top of a Christmas tree come to my mind. I shared it with my friend but was thinking, yeah right, where am I going to see a Christmas tree in India in June? My friend felt like we should stay in the mall we were in, so we just started walking around. We got up to the 3rd floor, and I turn my head and see an ad on the wall that has Santa Claus on it. I was thinking, Are you serious?!?, and went to look at it. It didn't notice a Christmas tree, but it said the "Visit upstairs for International Brands" or something like that, so we went up a floor. And sure enough, on that next floor there was the picture of the star with a Christmas tree that I saw! So both my friend and I were like, wow, God wants us to talk to someone here. The only problem was that it was the men's department and there weren't many girls there. But I saw a girl and felt like I should go over to talk to her. She was there shopping with her brother and I got to share with both of them about Jesus. They are both from an unreached people group that is normally hard to share with. They had heard of Jesus before and the brother had even seen a film about Him. I got to explain more and they were both interested in meeting again to talk more about Him. I texted the guy the other day to see if they wanted to meet, and he replied, "we both are so interest in Jesus Christ & believing him... I really would like to meet u". So I should be meeting them tonight with a friend who is visiting town and actually speaks their language. Pray that God would really reveal Himself to them and they would know that Jesus is the only way to get to God (John 14:6).

And pray for continued grace and breakthrough to abide with the Lord and be led by Him. I personally don't care whatever fruit comes out of it, but I just want to follow what the Father's doing here. There's such freedom in knowing that regardless of the outcome, I can just be obedient to God and enjoy His presence. That's all that matters. Until next update! (Maybe I can make them more frequent so they aren't so long... I'll work on that!)