I have now mastered the technical Indian way of eating with my hands. Yes, there is a strategy! Squish between tips of fingers, pick up and pop into your mouth with your thumb...I was corrected for doing it wrong haha. Once a month on Fridays, the leadership from their ministries (there are several partner churches and plants of their children’s ministries about an hour away) comes together for a time of prayer and worship. I got to experience that on Friday! There’s something really cool about hearing ten Indian people individually pray loudly (that’s really the only way they pray in corporate worship)! So sweet to know that when I pray in English, we are praying to the same God and are united in spirit because of that!! The trouble comes when they’re speaking and I can’t understand a thing haha. Teaching has also been AWESOME!!!!! I’ve never taught English to kids who really don’t know it (shout out to Hannah Gilmore, who did this in Macedonia as a legit teacher!)! They are soo eager and quick to learn though. When the time to study comes, they say, “sister, 6 standard” or “no sister, 8s!”. They call it a “standard” instead of grade and ALWAYS call me Sister— precious. I have taught with 4th, 5th and 7th. One of the days with the 5s, I heard the Muslim call to worship and asked “who is singing?”, to which Nevedita replied, “satan”….I laughed soo much!!!!! This week’s schooling is different for the 8th, 9th and 10th graders (so they go to school at 2:30pm instead of 10am), so I have more time with them this week. Although it’s highly encouraged and pushed for kids to learn English, it’s basically a side topic in the schools, so children don’t know many of the basics. It’s fun teaching them phonetics and spellings in words that shape so much of English (for example, “-tion”, “-ing”, the different sounds of “th”, etc.)! Also, for those of you who have been worried sick and losing sleep over my cockroach issue, I sprayed “HIT!” and haven’t seen anymore in my little apartment...thank you Jesus— seriously. I made bracelets with the girls on Saturday and it was a huge hit :)...why are bracelets just the BEST?!?!?! One little girl, Kaveree, made one and brought it over to put on my wrist (melted heart). A few things cross language and cultural barriers: love, smiles and Jesus. And thank the Lord I’m finally learning their names (and CORRECTLY)!! I get soo excited haha. The food has continued to be yummy as well… and very new! So much fruit here that I’ve never had: jackfruit, some exotic kind of apple, guava (we have it in the States, but it grows here!) Oh and the butter...oh my word. It’s so good— and I don’t really even like butter! And no cow milk...buffalo milk! The coolest thing is that I wore my first saree yesterday for church! It took the ladies about 20 minutes to get it on me right...they’re like 15 feet long!! Who knew?! Melissa gave me some green bangles as well. Google+ video hangout with the family yesterday was sooo wonderful! I didn’t realize how much I needed to see them until I saw them all: Mom, Dad, Terri, Jen, Brad, Jan, Jenny, Rizzo, Jon, Amy, sleeping Carter, Barkley, Josh, Brooke, and Simba!! We have soo much fun, even when we’re not physically together— I’m so spoiled blessed :).
I may also have the chance to hang out with a couple groups of YWAM-ers from the States and Korea...ahhhhh :)))). I was asked to speak at church yesterday (a task a little daunting when I’ve never actually been in an Indian church service) for the children’s home. Thankfully, just the children and staff. I spoke on how we are called children of God (in honor of Father’s Day) and how we are adopted by Him. I think it went okay, but it’s challenging when the culture is so different and things come across differently. However, I firmly claim the promise of Isaiah 55— that the Word of the Lord accomplishes exactly what it is intended to accomplish!! Amen! The cultural differences have definitely been challenging so far...in the States I think a lot of people (who are cultured) have a general awareness of other cultures being different and examples of what they’re like, but in countries without certain resources, other cultures are sometimes seen as weird or wrong. I’ve been trying to observe the culture as much as I can, while simultaneously being thrown in head first haha. A Devadasi mother dropped her 4 year old girl off here yesterday (she was at her home for vacation time) and the little girl cried so hard...I went to the restroom so I didn’t cry in front of everyone. It’s just seems so normal. It absolutely broke my heart. That’s what sin does— it breaks apart what God designed to be beautiful. Something else I felt led to say was that what i’m doing is not “better” than any sort of ministering you’re doing. The Lord uses you exactly where you are— so pray into it! Make yourself available and malleable. If you don’t remember Romans 8, I’ve copied some of it for you here...it really encouraged and spoke to me the other day:
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Love from India,
Bethany
(hangout with the fam)
(Homemade butter and Buffalo milk!)
(some of the beautiful girls: Supria, Nevedita, Joti, Chandrakala, Raka, Puvrita and I don't know the little one's name yet...but you understand why learning 60 of those names is a challenge!)
(school time!)
(first Saree!)
I may also have the chance to hang out with a couple groups of YWAM-ers from the States and Korea...ahhhhh :)))). I was asked to speak at church yesterday (a task a little daunting when I’ve never actually been in an Indian church service) for the children’s home. Thankfully, just the children and staff. I spoke on how we are called children of God (in honor of Father’s Day) and how we are adopted by Him. I think it went okay, but it’s challenging when the culture is so different and things come across differently. However, I firmly claim the promise of Isaiah 55— that the Word of the Lord accomplishes exactly what it is intended to accomplish!! Amen! The cultural differences have definitely been challenging so far...in the States I think a lot of people (who are cultured) have a general awareness of other cultures being different and examples of what they’re like, but in countries without certain resources, other cultures are sometimes seen as weird or wrong. I’ve been trying to observe the culture as much as I can, while simultaneously being thrown in head first haha. A Devadasi mother dropped her 4 year old girl off here yesterday (she was at her home for vacation time) and the little girl cried so hard...I went to the restroom so I didn’t cry in front of everyone. It’s just seems so normal. It absolutely broke my heart. That’s what sin does— it breaks apart what God designed to be beautiful. Something else I felt led to say was that what i’m doing is not “better” than any sort of ministering you’re doing. The Lord uses you exactly where you are— so pray into it! Make yourself available and malleable. If you don’t remember Romans 8, I’ve copied some of it for you here...it really encouraged and spoke to me the other day:
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Love from India,
Bethany
(puffed rice snack)
you are so precious.
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