It has been sooo long since I have written on here! I dont even remember how far back I need to go to update everyone.. I havent really been able to use the computers this week mostly because of my bum ankle.
annyway. I will start at the begining. Last week sometime during the middle of the week our team of 6 took the Goa Express from Delhi to Pune. It was a 26 hour trainride - overnight - on a train stuffed FULL of Indian people. We had a good time keeping entertained with playing 'car' games like car-eoke (kareoke?) with our pods and reading a good deal. The toilets were an interesting experience, esp with an already funny stomach... but all in all it was a good ride down. The day after we got in we took the two new girls (from N Ireland - with Sword of the Spirit communities) out to buy kurtas and had a good day to rest. The rest of the team got in later that night and we frantically tried to plan out the weekends events before leaving the next morning. Thursday morn we were heading to a camp in Khandala (?) which we were leading the sessions/planning a good chunk of it. The camp was for about 100 christian youth from 4 different communities in 4 different cities in the area. And since we got all together just the night before the camp, all the planning was done during the tea breaks of the camp, etc. SO we caught the early train with some of the others from Pune and headed to the camp. The railstation was an adventure in itself! SO crowded.. it actually reminded me of high school hallways – but with way more people and all carrying luggage. Crazy. The camp itself was beautiful! There was a huge valley just off the backside of the camp. It is a very lush place with loads of trees and greenery. So on Thursday we had only one session to prepare for and a interactive time with games and dancing – the camp was split into two sections for the teachings. From 10 -17 in one and 18-30 in the other! I was in the younger age group and was prepared to give a talk on women in the missions field to the girls on Friday morning buut that happened to be the same morning that I sprained my ankle and between that and being sick already with the runs (and prob dehydrated too) I called in sick and SQ and Lidia took over for me. Thursday was a really fun day of getting to know the youth and figure out our system... but then Friday for me was basically a day of rest. The whole camp went on a 4 hour trek down the ravine (like an intense repelling down the cliffs sort of trek!) and I stayed between my room and the veranda. I was well taken care of though – getting carried to the dining hall and back and having drinks brought to me. It was actually a lesson in humility for me. I needed to be reminded to rest and be still and that its ok to not be going all the time. It was slightly humorous how it happened because even on Thursday I felt really low on energy and quite sick already, so I thought it would be good for me to take it slow.. but then when I sprained my ankle all I could say at first was ‘this is ridiculous!’. It was like God was really trying to say something clearly to me. I still don’t know exactly what that is, but I did have some really good solid hours of prayer and meditation with him. It was frustrating too, because anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE participating with all of me in any sort of camp experience. I love to go all out, and everything that I love (and feel that I am gifted in) was held back because of my health over the weekend. But like I said, definitely a lesson in humility as I had to allow everyone to serve me for basically a week straight. So I was there at the camp another day, but ended up going back a day early so I could get a lift back instead of taking the train. Again, time to rest and to pray. I've been able to do a little more forward thinking since having this happen – I'm getting really excited to come back home! Sunday everyone got home from the camp exhausted, and we went to join the community in the evening for their meeting. It is a community of believers that basically do life together – like church, but they go to church as well... I'm still learning really about what it is.. but essentially its families living together and meeting together and keeping eachother accountable. Called Sword of the Spirit Communities – when we were in Belfast we did some work with the community there. After that we went out to dinner with two of the youth leaders who basically ran the camp – Bruce and Joanna. I think they are 21 and 19.. and with a couple others in the community they are now leading the youth group... a couple times in the week we met with them to help plan and brainstorm ideas.
Whew. This is long.
Ok. ON Monday we started our ‘ministry’ with YWAM in Pune. Our contacts for the week were a couple named Anu and John, and they ran a girls orphanage/home for about 19 girls. We spent a couple days there throughout the week with the girls, dancing and singing and painting faces.. we even got to try on Sari’s one day and perform a dance for them! Another day we went to a senior’s home (but I think it was mainly widows there) and orphanage.. then another day in a slum home called Happy House which takes in HIV children and houses them until they die. The rest of the group also did a prayer walk and ministry time in the slum as well, but I opted out so that someone didn’t have to carry me on their back for 3 hours! It was good to see all these different ministries, but we really didn’t have the time to make the same lasting connections as we have with the kids in Delhi. I loved spending time in Pune just with the community members, and even with the YWAMers that we met.. just spending time and hearing about life. Every evening we also all split up and went to various houses for dinners. It was a neat way to get to know the people and the community too. Everyone was incredibly hospitable... driving us around, taking us wherever we wanted to go, coming early in the morning to take us out for breakfast, giving me medicine for my foot.. anything they could do to help. On the last day we were all together (the 5 that met up with us from Ireland were flying out from Bombay on sat I think) so on Friday, some of the girls took us out shopping again and 4 of us ended up getting our nose pierced! I love those spontaneous decisions! Dont worry.. it was at a safe place. AND cost only about 5 bucks! Then Saturday it was goodbyes.. and we caught the evening train to Mumbai/Bombay. One thing about Pune... I still haven’t figured out WHY but I felt a strong connection to the place. I mean in Delhi I LOVE the work we were apart of and really connected to the ministries and to the children... and in pune it was nice but not a really strong connection. But there was a moment, when we went out for a coffee all together that I just got a feeling in my gut that I would be coming back to Pune at some point. It is a feeling that I will hold onto... even though I have no idea what it meant. I do know that the longer I stay in India, the more it grabs ahold of my heart!
And now we are here in Mumbai! Our team went from 11 back down to 6 BUT actually its at 5 now because Brian got really really sick the last couple days in Pune and stayed there with a family to rest and get medicine. He was extremely dehydrated from being sick so long too. So there are 5 of us here in Mumbai. It is a period of rest for us – about 5 days of hanging out and eating and sleeping well. We are staying in our own flat, and so far have spent loads of time with the youth from the community here. We met most of the youth at the camp so it hasn’t taken us long to feel right at home with them.. and the best part is that youth here is exactly our age, and even a bit older.. so for myself anyway I am loving it! Sat night we went for dinner at ‘Uncle and Aunties’ house – they are the youth leaders or community parents if you will.. and dinner was more like a karaoke/dance party. EVERYONE here sings and dances soo late into the night someone was banging away on the piano or playing the guitar and we ate and danced and sang until well past midnight. Sunday we all slept in and had lunch at a couple’s house that own the flat we are staying in now (alot of the community families here seem to be rather well off) and prepared for the session that we led for the youth Sunday night. Before the session though we had a good time hanging out watching a movie and taking snaps and playing games. It really is no different from any friend group I've seen interacting.. its neat to see how similar we all are. I keep forgetting that I'm in India actually. The people we have been around are very westernized.. most of them don’t even really speak Hindi. SO Sunday night we shared with the group about Identity in Christ and the importance of having a community.. and it really opened up a good time of sharing afterwards. Turns out that for many of the youth here they are brand new to community and are really just beginning to grow in their faith. God really used our words, and it was just good timing for us to come and spend this time with them now as they are fresh from the camp experience and so filled with passion. Even today we sat with 4 of them and helped brainstorm different ministry ideas and ways to keep this all alive. Its a strange experience to have people my age and older looking to me for insight and wisdom, but encouraging too to see how God has already used us in a small way to speak into these lives. I feel inspired by the youth here myself, and it has been so good to just be with them and feed off of eachother. I think if I was here (or in Pune) longer, that I would make some really close friends with these guys.. I just get along with them so well! And every night when we all find our way back to Uncle and Aunties house there is hours of games and singing and dancing to be had. They even whipped out a couple violins last night and played some songs. The humidity here is unbelievable though and I don’t think I've stopped sweating yet! Its just constant wet.. and dancing on top of that! Man alive. Okay I think this is long enough to update you all.... we will be here in Mumbai until Thursday.. then its another long train back to Delhi – a completely different world compared to here!
Again, like Pune.. internet is difficult to come by here so I may or may not talk to you again until reaching Delhi. Love to you.
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