India Update # 4

One day at a time. 

You know a day only has 24hrs in it? That's not THAT long, right? 

Sometimes I find it helpful to approach life one day at a time. Some things can seem overwhelming, especially when you are dealing with people or situations that require constant daily care. It can seem like the days of enduring will go one forever... But, if we look at today, just 24 hrs, and we thank God for today, these 24 hrs. and we praise God for today, the 24hrs we have right now, and we endure for just 24hrs, we might find that we can endure more than we ever thought we could.

When I am doing something physically challenging, like running, I often "trick" myself into doing more than I thought I could. Once I reach that point of feeling like I just need to stop, I set a short goal for myself "just up to that next pole", and then once I get to that point I tell myself "see, you did that and you didn't think you could! Now, just up to that next pole!" and I find myself running farther than I thought I could. I think this is sort of like the one day at a time principle. The enemy would like us to think that we CANNOT live the Christian life. And sometimes we look way out over the challenges and span of a lifetime and get overwhelmed with "how on earth am I ever going to be able to endure THAT?"

I think the point is where we focus. 

If we keep our eyes fixed on the things that are weighing us down or causing us difficulty (our weary bodies and sore legs for instance) then we will stop. However, if we fix our eyes beyond our situation and have faith that we will have the strength needed to endure, then we will have all that we need to get where we need to be. 

And even better than all of that good sense is the fact that GOD has promised that we CAN DO ALL THINGS through CHRIST Who STRENGTHENS US! Not only are we able to fix our mind, but He gives us all we need to do it! Not only are we able to run the race and win, HE has already gained the VICTORY and IN HIM we are MORE than conquerors!

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. -Mat 6:34

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me- Phi 4:13

Nearly four years had gone by since I first seen God unfolding His plan for me to go to India. 

Four years of waiting, no clear plan in sight. A few times opportunities were pursued, only to end up as closed doors. 

So I put it is Jesus hands and moved on. Each time the desire to go, the "what about India...", pressed on me, I gave it back to Jesus (though sometimes it took a little bit of wrestling myself into submission). 

I can tell you something that I have learned from testing and personal experience-you may have heard it before, and so had I, but now I know it for myself- JESUS IS ENOUGH TO SATISFY! It doesn't matter what your desires are, Jesus IS enough. 

I am 25, single, living with hard and needy people, dealing with hard situations, from a very small body of believers, most likely thought to be nuts by many people for the way I live for Jesus, desiring many things, and daily seeing, experiencing, and enjoying the reality that Jesus IS ENOUGH! My life is rather mundane and every-day-ish (at least it usually feels that way) but I can happily declare that in it all Jesus IS enough! 

Step four: Learning to Teach 

Our driver Sontush manuvared the busy streets of Mumbai expertly, and never seemed to be in too much of a rush. I began to relax and try to get comfortable for the long ride to where we were staying. We drove for hours on surprisingly good toll road, and after a while stop at a Muslim ran "hotel" where our escorts got tea and Sontush meticulously cleaned the windshield (which reminded Rachel and I of a certain Uncle who traveled with us with His Little Feet). After about 5hrs of driving, Sontush had traded places with Joshua, who proved to be much more what I had envisioned Indian drivers being like. Let's just say, that for the last hour or so Rachel and I were wide awake! 

After racing around curve after curve for quite some time, Joshua pulled off of the main road and onto a dirt path. "Where are we going?" I wondered, as our car  passed a few houses. 

Finally we pulled up to a gate, which Sontush got out and opened, and we pulled into a small compound with a few buildings. 

We got out of the car,  gathered up our backpacks and were lead up a short walk way and a few stairs to the door of a tall house. 

As we entered the house we were met by an Indian women dressed in a blue sari. Joshua introduced her as his wife, Praisey (Praise-ee). We were very tired by now, after 25hrs of travel. Joshua and Praisey began telling us a few things that we would be doing like devotions with the kids at the mission across at 6. It was around 3am at the time. Rachel and I were shown to our rooms and went to bed, making sure to set out alarms to give us time to get dressed and ready by 6. 

We crept down the stairs, at a few minutes before 6am and looked around for the family. "We must be too late, they must have already headed over." We agreed as we looked around and didn't see or hear anyone. We walked over and begin to try to figure out how the work the latch on the big front door. As we tried to open the front door the door to the master bedroom, which was behind us, opened and Praisey looked out sleepily and asked "where are you going?"

"Ah, devotions?" Rachel responded, puzzled. 

"Oh, it is too dark now. The mosquitoes will come. You go later, tonight. You sleep now." Praisey explained. 

Oh. We had misunderstood. Haha! I laugh now as I think of those first couple of days and all of the many misunderstandings and conversations where you think you totally understood what was being explained, then we would walk away and begin to discuss things with one another and Rachel and I had both heard very different things. Sometimes it can be hard having conversations with foreigners in foreign English. 😄

You all think you know what the other is saying and perhaps only really know a small portion, if any at all. 

I mentioned to Joshua and Praisey that I am a teacher in our private school and within a day Rachel and I were asgined to teach English to grades PK-7. We usually thought about 5-8 classes a day and had to come up with all of our own material. We were not given a guided tour of the two schools in the compound that we would be teaching in, so had to find all of our classrooms on our own. We were also not told any of the class rules, thought anything about the teaching style or introduced to any of the kids. We were simply handed a schedule and told that we could work together if we winged to, or have separate schedules. We decided to work together. It was going to take both of us working together to fumble our way through that first week with some semblance of grace and dignity!😄

That first week was quite the learning curve, but we eventually got a few things figured out. 

For one thing, in India (at least where we were), teachers were not goofy or entertaining (at least not in the way you would be in America) and our efforts to liven up our lessons were met with raised brow "your point?" Expressions, or chaos, as the students did not know how to react to such "ridiculous" teachers 😁

We soon learned the power of copying to settle a class room or fill empty time. The students loved to write and copy down things, so whenever the class room began to get unruly, or we had extra time and were done with that days lesson, we would simply write down something on the board and let the students copy it in their note books. Even the tree year olds would bend, studiously, over their notebooks and copy down whatever was written on the board. 

This was a lifesaver for us! 

Our mornings were filled with teaching, our afternoons with lesson planing and a short nap (everyone, even adults, would take a nap between 3&5pm)and tutoring the older kids who boarded at the school. In the evenings we played with Hannah (9 going on 20), Rachel (7, and pleased as pie to have another "Rachel" staying in her home) and little Joanna (2 and quite the pet of the family), or helping the older girls with homework, making "exotic" foods for our host family, like Mexican tacos or Mac and Cheese and Chicken, reading, journaling or visiting. On Sunday we went to church in the nearly empty hospital, and were surprised each week as one of the elders asked us "sisters, a song for the offering?", and we were obliged to sing A cappella in front of the congregation during the offering. The people prayed consistently for a doctor to come and work at this hospital, so that it would not remain empty. They had two nurses, but need a doctor. 

We also spent some time nearly every day  with the three girls, ages 16, 17 and 18, who had traveled from distant villages to attend the small Bible school program which was attended by them and three young men. 

In the evenings after we had gone up to bed the wonderful older couple from next door, James and Reena, would come over to the house where we were staying and pray with Joshua and Priasey, and I tell you friends, I have rarely felt the presence of the Holy Spirit like I did when those four would get together and pray. The house would be filled with His presence, my heart stirred to prayer, and though I could not understand the words of their prayers, I knew in my spirit that God was pleased with their prayers, He was pleased to be in their midst. 

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I wish I could make a video of all of the memories in my head and just show them all to you. 

Better yet, I wish I could take you all there and show you the beautiful country of India, the amazing people we stayed with, and let you experience it all. But for now, I shall be content with congratulating you for getting through this "book". There are SO many more memories and experiences to share, and perhaps I will share more later. But today I will end where I began. Jesus is enough!