Hard to believe that it has been one year this week since I got on the plane with our missions team and went to India. Doesn't feel like it has been that long. The long flight, going to conferences, praying for people, making new friends on the team and in India, and the Taj Mahal are memories that feel like yesterday. And, one mustn't forget all the good food. Butter chicken and Tandoori chicken. All the naan and Afghani chicken. One thing is true. The food there was awesome.
Looking back on the trip, the only main regret I have is that it took me a few days to get my bearings straight. I wasn't as involved as I should have been. Funny, that I trusted God to get me there and once He did, started worrying about home and everything. Chalk it up to a new experience, lots of nervousness, and being task driven that I was not as social as I could have been. I think one person on the team noticed, not sure. When we got to Dehradun, I lay on the bed and cried out "God, why am I here?" (Note: Very loaded question to ask God. Don't ask it if not prepared for the answers). Once, I said that, I felt a certain calmness. Was I still nervous? Yes. But, now I felt a little bit better.
One of the takeaways for me was the realization that the world is a much bigger place. You know that in your mind but going overseas kind of cements it. Even though the language and the cultures are different, people are the same. People tend to have the same cares and needs at the most basic levels. A need to belong, a place of safety, healing, growth, love. Pretty basic and speaks in ways where language and culture cannot. The people I met and prayed for were no different than you and I. In a way, it takes this world and makes it feel a little smaller. Reminds us of our similarities when this world tends to focus on the differences. Look different, speak different, cultures different - yet the same need for the same God.
You realize rather quickly that you are being blessed while you are blessing others. When you consider the time and cost for a missions trip, you can believe in your own hype and sacrifice that we are coming to be the conquering heroes to help make people's lives better. And, we do help out. But, I feel like I gained much more from the experience than I ever came close to giving out. The people there were missionaries to me just as much as I was to them. I had them praying for me about what was going on in my life, just as much as I prayed for them.
It was also a challenge to my faith. What they faced in terms of persecution, economics, and other hardships has helped me to become better focused. It has helped me to see the blessings in my life. It is simple to look at what you don't have and keep yourself from risking or moving forward. These people never used that excuse. The focus was what God was doing and how they fit into that plan. A very day-to-day routine. Taking each day as they approached it. There's a lot to learn from that outlook.
There is also a real sense of reaching the community. It's easy to say preaching and sharing the bible. But, it was meeting people's needs not just spiritually. Building community, lifting up people, caring for others, and sharing their lives. That's where it was at. Sharing lives and life stories. God speaks so much through each person that way. I was more blessed in hearing about the lives of others and the advice more so than listening to the sermons and reading the Scriptures (though those are important too). But, stories like theirs lends substance and weight spoken to us from the pulpits every Sunday. And, when you speak with them, you realize that they have the same cares, fears, and needs just like you. They also need the same God. That removed any air of superiority I might have felt coming from America. Not that I did, but because we have been so blessed here, that it might sometimes come off as arrogance.
I remember that I was to give my testimony. I was going to share how I was called to come to India. Kind of a safe, somewhat interesting little story. Yet, during worship - God wanted me to talk about something else. So, I discussed words and their meaning to us. More specific, how words, even said lovingly, could cause us harm. That God wanted to speak to people and take away the bad words haunting our lives. If we were told it was not OK for men to cry openly, or that you were told you were not leadership material, or that you looked wrong, that you had no worth. God wanted them to know that He wanted to speak life into their lives. Give them new identities. Don't know if what I said was too impactful - but I followed where God led me. As I said, people in India and America struggle with how words shape our lives. Same need.
Will I ever go back? That's hard to say. It was a once in a lifetime adventure. That's what it was. An adventure. God leads us on many adventures if we listen. Maybe, I will go back with my wife. I realized then that we were a team and being apart for two weeks was rough. So, to answer the question, we may be coming back if called.
I met many friends there in India. Too many to count. But, know that I think of you all a lot. I made many friendships with people that would have been unthinkable just 2 years ago. For that, I thank my friends in India. You all blessed me more than you will ever know. I also got to learn that cricket is a sport. Still don't understand any of the rules, but it looked entertaining. Also, loved the tea that we drank. Not much of a tea drinker, but that stuff was awesome.
To my friends on the team - you made the trip awesome. I was in awe of all of you during that two week trip. Rufus was the most popular man in India from all the photo ops it seemed. I am glad I got to know you better as well as everyone else on the team. Especially, on the car ride up the Himalayas to Mussoorie. Several times I thought to myself "So - this is how it ends." We can all laugh now. But, I am glad that we all got to do this together. God put the right people together to make this trip successful and fun. I thank all of you.
God was right. It was a fun adventure. Just maybe, we can all relive it again in the future.
Looking back on the trip, the only main regret I have is that it took me a few days to get my bearings straight. I wasn't as involved as I should have been. Funny, that I trusted God to get me there and once He did, started worrying about home and everything. Chalk it up to a new experience, lots of nervousness, and being task driven that I was not as social as I could have been. I think one person on the team noticed, not sure. When we got to Dehradun, I lay on the bed and cried out "God, why am I here?" (Note: Very loaded question to ask God. Don't ask it if not prepared for the answers). Once, I said that, I felt a certain calmness. Was I still nervous? Yes. But, now I felt a little bit better.
One of the takeaways for me was the realization that the world is a much bigger place. You know that in your mind but going overseas kind of cements it. Even though the language and the cultures are different, people are the same. People tend to have the same cares and needs at the most basic levels. A need to belong, a place of safety, healing, growth, love. Pretty basic and speaks in ways where language and culture cannot. The people I met and prayed for were no different than you and I. In a way, it takes this world and makes it feel a little smaller. Reminds us of our similarities when this world tends to focus on the differences. Look different, speak different, cultures different - yet the same need for the same God.
You realize rather quickly that you are being blessed while you are blessing others. When you consider the time and cost for a missions trip, you can believe in your own hype and sacrifice that we are coming to be the conquering heroes to help make people's lives better. And, we do help out. But, I feel like I gained much more from the experience than I ever came close to giving out. The people there were missionaries to me just as much as I was to them. I had them praying for me about what was going on in my life, just as much as I prayed for them.
It was also a challenge to my faith. What they faced in terms of persecution, economics, and other hardships has helped me to become better focused. It has helped me to see the blessings in my life. It is simple to look at what you don't have and keep yourself from risking or moving forward. These people never used that excuse. The focus was what God was doing and how they fit into that plan. A very day-to-day routine. Taking each day as they approached it. There's a lot to learn from that outlook.
There is also a real sense of reaching the community. It's easy to say preaching and sharing the bible. But, it was meeting people's needs not just spiritually. Building community, lifting up people, caring for others, and sharing their lives. That's where it was at. Sharing lives and life stories. God speaks so much through each person that way. I was more blessed in hearing about the lives of others and the advice more so than listening to the sermons and reading the Scriptures (though those are important too). But, stories like theirs lends substance and weight spoken to us from the pulpits every Sunday. And, when you speak with them, you realize that they have the same cares, fears, and needs just like you. They also need the same God. That removed any air of superiority I might have felt coming from America. Not that I did, but because we have been so blessed here, that it might sometimes come off as arrogance.
I remember that I was to give my testimony. I was going to share how I was called to come to India. Kind of a safe, somewhat interesting little story. Yet, during worship - God wanted me to talk about something else. So, I discussed words and their meaning to us. More specific, how words, even said lovingly, could cause us harm. That God wanted to speak to people and take away the bad words haunting our lives. If we were told it was not OK for men to cry openly, or that you were told you were not leadership material, or that you looked wrong, that you had no worth. God wanted them to know that He wanted to speak life into their lives. Give them new identities. Don't know if what I said was too impactful - but I followed where God led me. As I said, people in India and America struggle with how words shape our lives. Same need.
Will I ever go back? That's hard to say. It was a once in a lifetime adventure. That's what it was. An adventure. God leads us on many adventures if we listen. Maybe, I will go back with my wife. I realized then that we were a team and being apart for two weeks was rough. So, to answer the question, we may be coming back if called.
I met many friends there in India. Too many to count. But, know that I think of you all a lot. I made many friendships with people that would have been unthinkable just 2 years ago. For that, I thank my friends in India. You all blessed me more than you will ever know. I also got to learn that cricket is a sport. Still don't understand any of the rules, but it looked entertaining. Also, loved the tea that we drank. Not much of a tea drinker, but that stuff was awesome.
To my friends on the team - you made the trip awesome. I was in awe of all of you during that two week trip. Rufus was the most popular man in India from all the photo ops it seemed. I am glad I got to know you better as well as everyone else on the team. Especially, on the car ride up the Himalayas to Mussoorie. Several times I thought to myself "So - this is how it ends." We can all laugh now. But, I am glad that we all got to do this together. God put the right people together to make this trip successful and fun. I thank all of you.
God was right. It was a fun adventure. Just maybe, we can all relive it again in the future.
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