As many of you people reading this know, my dad has taken various missions trips to India since 2003. Both Cooper and I have gone on trips with him. My mom had wanted to go but didn't know how well it would work leaving Benjamin and Courage at home. In the end it all worked out and she was able to go with one of her friends (who had been part of a team my dad took) while my dad was working in Tennessee and a friend stayed with my brothers and I at home. After all, I can't do all the cooking myself and I don't have a drivers license.
Anyhow, I would tell you about the trip but seeing I didn't go on it I think you would get a better version of the story from my mom. Here is an email she sent out the day after she got back:
Hi,
I got back yesterday from India very full and but very tired. Mostly form the long flight. I don't quite know where to begin but I thought while it was still fresh on my mind I would go ahead a send a short report. First I want to say thanks so much for your prayers! I didn't have a minutes trouble adjusting to the food and the culture. No stomach problems, no problem sleeping, no longing for American conveniences. I gained a new appreciation for community life.
The Kandal family quickly became members of the family in my heart. They live a very simple lifestyle, much slower than ours. Breakfast at 9-10am, lunch at 2-3pm and dinner around 9-10pm. Bed time isn't usually until 11:00pm or later. Power outages are random and water provision is random. You eat with your right hand and you clean... with your left. Bucket showers are very refreshing and the coffee is very sweet. Rice is served in huge heaps and at nearly every meal. They drop everything on the ground and later sweep it all up. The Muslims announce morning prayers over a citywide loudspeaker system at about 5am and then again around 6am or so. They may do it more than that but that's when I noticed it most. It was my alarm clock. The nice thing about that was that no one else seemed to notice so I would get up and have some quite time with the Lord each morning on the balcony over the street and I could watch the town wake up. Oxen pulling trailers with granite pillars and boys carrying fresh milk home to mom for morning tea. People on bikes with a bell ringing the whole way trying to draw attention to something he was selling. Children in their uniforms headed to school. Women would come out and sweep the dirt in front of their house and then sprinkle something like white chalk in a curly pattern the dirt where a door mat would lie. I would sit there and feel so thankful that God had given me a chance to know these people the way Jay does. They are a beautiful people.
Sarah (my team member and friend) and I arrived in Bangalore on Wednesday at 3:00 in the morning. Arvind (Aruna's brother) and Sunil (his cousin from Bangalore) were waiting there for us. We went to a place called the CSI Women's Center. It's like a training center for Christians in Bangalore and I think it's run by the Episcopalians. We stayed in their guest house. It was very comfortable and lovely. Had running water and western toilets. Thin hard mattresses and delicious coffee. We spent one day there resting from the flight and Thursday morning headed to the train station for KGF. We got on the train and got a seat. Every stop the train got fuller and fuller until there were no seats and everyone was packed in tight. Jay was right, there's no such thing as personal space in India. I gave some school boys some bubble gum. They really enjoyed trying to blow bubbles.
We arrived in KGF to find Wendy with her YWAM team there preparing to go out for the day. That was nice in that it gave us a chance to get to know the family. They had a going away party for the team that night that was lots of fun with lights and streamers and good food. They left on Friday morning but Wendy stayed behind until Monday. She helped acclimate Sarah and I to Indian culture since she had been there two weeks already. Friday evening we went to a village that Laban had never taken a team to before. Pastor Solomon was in that village. We went house to house for a while praying for people. The first house we went to I thought was very small but I was to discover just how much smaller they could get. We then went to the small church that was packed out with children. The adults we took did a good Samaritan skit and then asked for volunteers from the children to do it again. A little boy in the doorway with a white Muslim hat volunteered to be the traveler. We were very excited about that. When it was over Wendy shared with the children a very clear simple message about how Jesus wants to be our friend and how he is the only one who can answer our prayers. The little Muslim boy came forward for prayer with the other children at the end. God touched many people that night as lots of adults also asked for prayer. One lady couldn't use her fingers in her left hand but after prayer she was able to make a very tight grip. Several of us got a good squeeze. When we left town we were followed out by lots people as we loaded into the van. They are so hungry for the one true God. The harvest is ripe.
I won't go through everyday but if you would like more details let me know I have lots more stories to tell. But here's one more quick one...while in a village called Ganeralli we were in the home of a woman who said she had accepted Jesus. She wanted prayer but Arvind noticed the Hindu pictures on her wall and told her that Jesus couldn't share his glory with idols and that if she wanted peace in her home she needed to remove the idols. She got up right then and started taking them down off the walls. We were very happy for her the step she made for Jesus.
We went to the market which was a wonderful experience. Aruna's sister, Hyma, is quite a bargainer . We had lunch in a Muslim families home which was a delight and we also went to a wedding reception which was a great experience. Very different from our weddings. Sarah made lots of pictures so when I get some copies I will also share some of them. Let me know if you would like to see some.
Though I was so happy to return to my wonderful family and friends, part of my heart remains in India. These people are so hungry for the real God and the salvation of Jesus that I hope that one day all my family will experience this amazing culture and know these beautiful people. Thank you so much for praying for me and for my family that remained behind. I am especially thankful to Rachel Everson for loving and caring for my children while Jay and I were away. (Jay had work in TN) She cared for them as her own and they had a great time here with her. She was caring for India from right here in GA. I hope one day she too can experience the wonderful people of India.
I also want to thank Sarah Altman for going with me. She was a trooper. She loved the people, the food, the experiences, and the accommodations. She never complained or grumbled and was always loving on someone, whether it be an orphaned child or an old grandma she was such a blessing and I can't imagine not being there without her. She was such a delight!
There's one more person I want to thank, Arvind Kandal, Aruna's brother. He took care to make sure Sarah and I were well cared for. He understood we didn't always know the culture and would help us understand how they do things. If we needed something he was always making sure we got it, from toilet paper to bottled water. He translated for us until his brain was tired and went without sleep in order to get us where we needed to go. I can't imagine India without him. He was and is such a blessing! God is growing him into an amazing man of God.
Please continue to pray for Laban and Mariama Kandal and their family. They love the poor and are bringing them into their home and caring for them like their own. There were two little orphaned girls who came two days before we came. The first day I arrived one of them was sitting beside me as I taught them English words for things. I looked down at her hair and it was crawling with lice. Two days later I treated about 5-6 children for head lice with instructions on future treatments. Arvind brought one little boy home in December that he met in a village. His name is Daniel. He is about 5 years old and couldn't speak much when he came. Arvind clothes him, teaches him life skills, and looks after him like his own child. He will begin going to school in June when the new sessions start. Arvind is a 27 year old single guy and third child of the Kandal family yet he has taken in an orphaned boy to raise like his own. He is gentle and kind to Daniel and Sarah and I were both touched by his care for him. I don't know many young men who are willing to make this kind of sacrifice.
God bless you and thanks again,
Stephanie
PS If any of this doesn't make sense keep in mind I'm a bit jet lagged! :-)
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