Day Two: Painting and Stitching Center

Today we rode a bus (quite an adventure for many of us, but somehow less crowded than the buses on the A&M campus...) to a different school to do a workshop with the children. We told the story of Noah, sang a few songs with fun motions, and helped the children make wooden boats to remember God's faithfulness to Noah. The kids loved making the boats; it was a lot of fun for them to be able to decorate their own sails with markers and put stickers on the wood.

We also painted a mural of Jonah on the wall of the teaching center in the slum. We were uncertain about doing this, since none of us are artists,  but God really came through for us and helped us make a mural we can be proud of (and the teachers like too).

This afternoon a few of us girls went to the stitching center where ladies from the community come and make products for Rahab's Rope to sell in their Georgia storefront. It was a little awkward at first because none of us have any sewing or crocheting or embroidery skills, so we weren't able to help with anything and sat talking to the ladies while they worked. Finally one lady took pity on us and began making henna designs on our hands and arms for the rest of the time. This was a blessing for me because we were feeling very awkward and didn't known what to do, so her recognizing that we felt like outsiders and using her skills with henna to make us feel a little more like we belonged was like a balm for my soul.

We ended the day with a basic hygiene class for the young girls living in the slum we focused mainly on hand washing and the like. The girls were very sweet and listened intently, and afterward they stayed to talk to us and take pictures with us (they love having their picture taken because many of the families cannot afford to get pictures made). When we left, they followed us all the way down the street telling us goodbye.

The Jetlag is Strong with This One

The plane touches down in DFW airport. It’s been 36 hours since I left India, and my emotions are all out of whack due to jet lag and lack of sleep. On the verge of exhausted tears, I make arrangements to have my delayed bag delivered to my apartment.

 The next day is a blur of catnaps and puppy kisses and phone calls to family during hours of alertness.

 I wake up early the next morning to get ready for work. Everything seems surreal, as if I am still asleep in my bed in India and dreaming of home. Driving down the highway, I keep expecting other drivers to honk at me as they pass…but this is not India, and honking does not mean “hello, I am passing you; please don’t move over” here. “Namaste!” I greet my coworkers. No one notices the mehndi on my hands or the jingling anklet on my foot.

 Was it just last week when I was singing silly songs with a room full of children? Was it just last week when I sat around the dinner table with my friends, talking about the craft for the next day? Was it just last week when I was boarding a run-down bus to go into town to eat lunch, and watching all the cows and dogs and goats wander down the road?

 “How was India?” The inevitable question. As if I can sum it up in a sentence or two. “Awesome!” I always reply. “I had a lot of fun spending time with the kids.”

 I don’t tell them about the darkness that has reigned over the subcontinent for thousands of years, the spiritual oppression you feel all day every day.

 I don’t tell them about how unvalued women are there, how I avoided the eyes of every man to reduce the risk of unwanted advances.

 I don’t tell them about the overwhelming grief I felt when I would see a woman kiss her fingers and touch a passing cow, as if it could save her.

 I don’t tell them…it’s too soon.

--Meghan

Stretch and Bless

Whoa. Our one week in India is almost over…So why does it feel like we’ve been here for so much longer? Could it be because we’ve gotten used to riding in taxis and catching buses? Could it be because we recognize corners and turns, wet streets and busy roads, faces and smiles, painted walls and classroom doorways? Maybe. But it could also be because God has been working behind the scenes. He has been growing and stretching our faith in ways that are both refreshing and uncomfortable, while further molding us into the image of His Son, Jesus. Is this not the reason we came?

One thing we do every night is recall things that blessed us and things that stretched us that day. I'd like to recount my own from this trip so far.

Some things that have been refreshing:

-Attending a local church service within an hour or two of arriving at our hotel in Goa (Something that I want to do as often as possible is worship Jesus with my brothers and sisters that are located all over the world, so I was very excited about this opportunity)

-Being directed and led by our hostess/local Rahab’s Rope staff because she was very well plugged into the communities we were involved in and made sure we would be as immersed as possible in the local culture

-Meeting and working with all of the local partners that let us come into their homes, schools and places of work. They showed us great hospitality and if our team were staying longer these are the men and women that would definitely be family. I love the way they show the love of Jesus in their communities and I hope that I can do the same wherever God directs me in the future.

- Working as a team, bearing each other’s burdens, sharing roles of responsibility when it came to leading various activities, sharing stories, making new memories, being forced to let go of our addictions to control and choosing to trust God instead

-Sharing the Gospel in creative ways (bringing everything back to Jesus and the love that God has for us).

Some things that were uncomfortable

-Damp and tight spaces

-Realizing that many of the expectations I had were not met the way I imagined

-Feeling lost in all of the new experiences and not knowing how to sort through them all at one time

-Being brought face to face with weaknesses or areas of my life that God has be challenging me in and realizing that I still have a long way to go

-Knowing that this trip will change things…But not being exactly sure of how.

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-10

 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

--Sophia

Day Three: Craft Day and Stitching Center Part Deux

Today we did another children's workshop at the same place as yesterday. This time there were so many children that we could hardly move! They sang the songs with us and even requested one we did yesterday, which was really good for me because it showed they were paying attention and remembering what we taught them. We developed the pictures we took of the children yesterday and handed them out today to put in wooden picture framed that the children could decorate with markers and stickers. The kids LOVED this craft, swarming Mari and Sophia and Natalie for foam stickers and Sarod to take more pictures. They had so much fun decorating their frames and showing us what they made: it was refreshing to see their excitement over something we take for granted in the States, with cameras so easily accessible and printed photographs so cheap.

Natalie, Khaleeqa (a new friend joining us from New Jersey), and I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the stitching center, which was my favorite part of the day. It started off awkward, just like yesterday, as we felt distant from the women since we were just sittin there doing nothing while they worked. but during lunch we decided to have a prayer and worship session since the women were eating at their own homes. It was so amazing to hear the passion in my friends' voices as they cried out to God on behalf of the women who come to the center to work. As our worship time came to a close, the owner of the center came over to us and we had wonderful conversation where we were able to share why we were here in India.  Testimonies were shared and I feel we were able to really connect with him and tell him how God is at work in our lives and how through him we have life, hope, joy and peace. Its amazing how God turned our feeling of awkwardness and defeat into a time of joy and victory.

The second session after lunch was a lot more like friends getting together for a sleepover. We laughed and danced and listened to music while the girls worked and studied for upcoming exams. A few girls even taught us to do mendhi (mendhi is what henna designs are called here).

Please join us in prayer for these women that God would break the chains that bind them, banish the spirits of fear and anger and sickness that hold sway over this city, and that He would raise up a generation of worshippers of the one true God in India.

-- Meghan and Natalie

Day One: Preschools and Tuition Program

Yesterday we went to a couple of local preschools to tell Bible stories, play games, sing songs, and help the teachers with whatever they needed. The best part of the morning was how much the children responded to our attention; they all wanted to sit in our laps and hug us and have us check their work. One little girl in particular kept kissing my face and tickling me. She followed me around and gave me hugs over and over. She was so sweet!

Later we visited Hindu temples to pray over the worshippers that God would set them free. This was the hardest part for me, because there were so many people in each temple offering sacrifices and praying to stone gods that can never hear their requests. I ended up on a bench inside one of the temples praying and crying over the hopelessness and brokenness these people experience every day. My hope is in God, however, and he is mighty to save! He is gathering worshippers from every tribe and tongue and nation, so I can have faith that he will rescue the people I saw worshipping the Hindu gods.

After the temples we visited houses in a slum and prayed with the families. Many wished for peace and prosperity for their families, especially the children.

Please join us in prayer for the people we met yesterday, that the one true God would reveal himself to them and give them real peace and real hope and an inheritance that will never tarnish, spoil, or fade.

--Meghan

Ready, Set, Go!

We're at our gate waiting to board the flight for the first leg of our trip to Goa. Everyone is excited to depart on our grand adventure. Pray for rest, peace, and grace as we travel.