India

So in the summer of 2004 I went to India on behalf of my church's student ministry. The students spent a year raising money to support an orphanage in Idukki, Kerala which is a state in southern India. The youth pastor at the time (who is now our senior pastor, Todd) took 4 of us college students and another hardcore adult over to see where the students hard earned moolah was going toward. It was also kind of a test run to see what it would be like to bring students the following summer. Apparently there's less liability when you take 20 somethings rather than teenagers ;)

Today, in church we had a special guest that really just stirred up so many great memories from my 2 week trip to one of the most beautiful places on earth. Pastor Varghese (dude, I know I'm spelling his name wrong), who hosted us while we were in Kerala, is here in the states for a couple weeks because his daughter just started college at Liberty, and he gave his testimony in all 3 of our services. I was surprised that he remembered me, since it was 5 years ago that I went over there, but he greeted me with a big smile and handshake. I had lunch over at Todd's house with some of the other people who went to India with us and it was just fun to laugh and remember that trip. Rather than recap everything in great detail, I'm going to put some highlights into bullet points. Get excited:

5 Years ago, in India...

*I took the longest stinkin plane ride of my life.
*I visited 5 different orphanages, filled with the most beautiful children I'd ever seen.
*I got carsick for the first time ever, kissed the ground when I reached my destination, and praised JESUS that we have seatbelts in America.
*I rode an elephant... holy cow those things are HUGE and hairy and prickly!
*I got the nickname "Masalla" which is a hot, spicy dish in India because apparently Indian men enjoy voluptuous women who aren't afraid to make eye contact.
*I woke many mornings to the sound of children joyfully singing praises to God as they brushed their teeth.
*I shared a twin bed with my friend Ashley, with a hoodie over my face so the bugs didn't crawl on me.
*I busted my ace of base and got a HUGE gash on my elbow... which left a sweet scar to talk about.
*I ate pineapple, and only pineapple for 10 days. Indian food + Molly = enemies I was too chicken to even try 1/2 that stuff. I hope if I ever go back that I'm grown up enough now to be more brave and less rude
*I saw waterfalls.. sooo many waterfalls
*I saw monkeys who throw poop at people
*I saw a Hindu funeral and witnessed mourning in a different culture and religion... very interesting.
*I talked American politics with a strange Indian man on the streets of a town we were in while the guys were using the STDs (duh, thats what the phone was called!)
*I showered with tad poles swimming in through the faucet
*I saw poverty in a way that I had never seen firsthand
*I worshipped in many different churches along the way and prayed over a lot of different people.
*I saw the Indian ocean... I would have put my feet in it, but uh, that mess was dirty :)
*I shared Christ with a college aged, Hindu street vendor
*I was taken around the yard of one of the orphanages and taught the names of different flowers as the kids made me a beautiful bouquet.
*I ran into one of my friends from college while I was at one of the orphanages.. how random!
*I heard story after story of God's unfailing love, grace, and provision.
*I got more hugs than I knew what to do with
*I had my heart captured by a little girl named Anu, whom I still pray for regularly
*I began the process of letting go of something back home while I journaled, prayed, and stared out at the tea fields and mountains from the balcony of our hotel (we stayed in orphanages every night but 2) in Munar.
*I got so sick and thought I was dying from malaria as soon as we got home.
*I sang songs, told stories, and played games with some really wonderful children.
*Mostly I realized how big the world is and how self absorbed I can be. I learned to be thankful and to not hold on to material things so tightly. I learned that the Christian faith, a relationship with Jesus crosses cultural borders, economic statuses, and ages. And... I realized there's a whole beautiful creation out there that's out there waiting for us to come and enjoy it and to give God glory.


Oh man, there are so many good memories. Unfortunately my old computer crashed and I haven't taken the time to get pictures from others on our trip. So this is the only one I've got (other than lots of hard copies). India is a beautiful place and while I was there I realized that kids are kids no matter where they're from... and India is filled with beautiful children who love to be loved and thanks to Emmanuel Ministries are learning about a Savior who loves them. If you've never been to India.. you should go! It will change your life!