Today was another busy day as the group split up into two teams to visit a total of four congregations. I wish I could show you on the map where we were again just like I did yesterday. Unfortunately, some of these villages are so small, that they are impossible to find. There were no boats involved in today's travel but there was a good amount of time spent in the car as we traveled to each destination. Here are a couple of pictures of what we could see on our way to the churches.
One of the most unique experiences of the day was while we were traveling to our first congregation and the realization came over the pastor in the car that they had forgotten to bring silverware for us to use. You see, often times when we visit the congregations, they have a meal prepared for us and it doesn't matter if you only ate just an hour before that...they will give you a full plate. Well, they do their best to make sure that we have the "western amenities" like silverware to eat the food that has been prepared. And so as we were driving to the first church he has the driver pull off on the side of the highway to wait for the silverware. Sure enough, maybe 15 minutes later this motor bike pulls up with a gentleman and his daughter and of course...our silverware. She brings it to the car and now we are fully prepared for the day ahead. As different of an experience that it was, I was again reminded of their love for us and how much they want to take care of us. It would be easy enough to get frustrated that we waited 15 minutes for silverware or that we were pulled off to the side of a busy highway, but things like this have been part of the journey during our time in India and it's important to enjoy the journey while en route to our goals. Nancy Dierdorf is going to speak to this today as she is writing for the rest of the blog post. I invite you to enjoy as well as listen to the words she has to share with you as they have an impact not only in India but no matter where we are in this world. Thank you and God's blessings today and always.
The land was not nearly as flat as it's been the last couple of days
This is the monkey god. He is believed to bring the dead back to life
The first congregation waiting for all of us to step out of the car
It's very common to avoid livestock on your way to the churches
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24
Our morning routine in India has been to get up, get ready for the day, go downstairs, eat breakfast and then wait in the lobby for the pastors and cars to arrive so that we can get started on our day. Today as we were in the lobby, Pastor Peter who serves as a seminary professor here, came in and greeted us by saying, "This is a good day in Jesus Christ...Let's Go". We were excited to begin our day of visits to some of the Bible Faith churches in the area, so we jumped up, grabbed our bags and got ready to pack ourselves into the cars for the journey ahead.
He laughed.
We laughed.
This was the day the Lord had made and rather than rejoicing and being glad, we were going to do everything on schedule and get everything done so that we could meet our goal of visiting these four congregations today.
We missed pastor Peter and God's calling to just simply "be". We missed the opportunity to rejoice and be glad in the whole day, all of the moments from beginning to end. And that is the danger that comes sometimes with mission trips. We become so focused on the tasks and the goals that we forget to simply "be" and enjoy the journey en route to those tasks and those goals. It was a great reminder from pastor Peter to be present with our new friends and hear their stories. This reminder served us well as we went out on our visits.
Today we were welcomed as missionaries and showered with love and flower petals. It's not uncommon for us to come back at the end of the day with a good amount of flower petals in our hair. We were served delicious food and given the seats of honor while others sat on the floor. They prayed for us and they prayed for you. We were so blessed and humbled and we would've missed out if our focus was on the goal and not the day the Lord had made.
This was evident after the worship service had ended and people were beginning to disperse. People began to come up to us asking for prayers and for blessings. Children and ladies came up and asking for healing for sore legs, headaches and body aches. They wanted blessings for their children and prayers that their school exams would go well. The last two in my line were two older ladies leaning on each other as they slowly made their way up to me. One nearly fell and gripped her walking stick for balance. They wanted a blessing and that is what they received from their gracious and loving God.
This was not part of our plan for today. This was not how the other visits have always gone. But it was part of God's plan...it was part of the day that He had made and because we were able to simply "be", many were able to rejoice and be glad in it...ourselves included.
Nancy Dierdorf
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