Remove your wash from the clothesline before sunset; otherwise they will pick up the scent of the burning trash piles
When your stomach hurts and you say you would like something “light” to eat, you will probably get French fries.
When the bathroom is clearly marked “ladies” and the school children wildly protest, telling you that is the boys bathroom; you should believe them, even if it simply doesn’t make sense.
You can truly handle anything for two weeks; three months feels more daunting (especially when you’re sick and you just want a bowl of soup, a bath, and the pillow you left behind.)
Sometimes your attitude is the only thing you can change.
Sometimesyour attitude is the only thing that needsto be changed.
Mosquitoes suck. Swarms of mosquitoes suck worse, but they are more fun go after with the electric bug tennis racket.
God answers prayer is surprising ways.
When you are frustrated that your ride is two hours late, perhaps that is an opportunity to ask God to open your eyes to what He has in mind for you to do.
In the terrifying game of Indian driving, the most timid driver loses ever time.
Being back on a bike is refreshing; riding past a burning trash pile is not.
Kraft Mac & Cheese is a delicacy when everything else tastes foreign.
A coffee pot is no good without coffee filters (of which the state of Andhra Pradesh has none.)
Luckily, while sweet, a cup of Indian Chai beats a cup of coffee any day.
When the smell of your bathroom makes you gag, leave immediately, take a deep breath, remind yourself of why you are here, and try again.
In our initial planning and strategy conversations about the Residency, Suresh shared that he would like us to teach conversational English at the Harvest India public school, where the RH orphan kids attend, as well as at the 200 student all female college he recently acquired (called KSK or Kadera Suresh Kumar college). I will admit that I initially did not like this idea. Not a single person in our team is a teacher, nor are we qualified to teach english as a second language. Also only being here for three months I felt like this was a bit ambitious. As John and Suresh shared their heart and vision for teaching English, I began to feel that we may as well give it a try. One of the more valuable assets we bring is our native tongue. Suresh tells us that if you speak English, you are guaranteed a better job here in India. It is also a great strategy to begin building relationships. In addition to teaching at these two schools, we plan to also to have conversational english nights with the students at Vignan University, a Hindu university across the street from the HI public school.
Yesterday we went to visit the HI public school, to see the campus and say hello to the children. While greeting the 3rd/4th Standard (grade) classroom, the kids started to test us. After asking us all the questions they could in English, they then put us through a spelling bee. First it was "Sista Crystal, spell apple." Then they gave me the word umbrella. Now, I'm a visual learner & thinker and I immediately panicked, unable to visualize the word in my head It took a minute to sort out whether there was umbrela, or umbrella. The team helped me out by whispering "double l."
Sorry Mom (who is an English teacher) for bringing you shame.
Yep, I said Bomb Squad! Yesterday, a bomb squad and multiple rounds of police officers searched not only our house but the houses, and the mosque on all sides of us. Just another day in India. You may be thinking what is going on over there? But, the occasion was really a special one. The Deputy Speaker of Guntur, the district we are in, came to have dinner at the house we are living in. His job is similar to a Governor or an Assembly Men. Its was an absolute honor, but the night was almost trumped by a broken down van. We headed into Vijayawada to get some supplies for the house that we were in desperate need of. Bethany was very excited to find that they do sell whiteboards in India, and is now confident that we can be productive in our meeting times.
All was going well until we were ready to be picked up, we were told that the van was in the shop because it had broken down. "Only five more minutes" turned into "only five more minutes" again and again. At one point I did hear "fifteen more minutes" to which i responded jokingly, "so, the van will be ready in 30 minutes". All in all, we left an hour and 45 minutes later then originally planed.
Now if the dinner is to start at 8pm and we needed to be home by 7pm to get ready but did not leave Vijayawada till 7:45 and it takes an hour to get home, chances are were going to miss the dinner. We arrived home at around 8:15, thanks to our drivers who drove like bats out of hell, only to find that the Speaker was not there yet. Thank You India Time! We had just enough time for Bethany and the other girls to get their saris on, a very detailed process.
The motorcade pulled up and the dinner was on! It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed some good conversation over an Indian Feast. I must add that I was very impressed with the Speaker's vision and burden for the poor and impoverished. He spoke of his visit earlier that day in a nearby town where the government is investing in a micro lending program. Gathering women in groups of 10, and giving them loans as a collective which brings accountability. They use the loans to buy livestock that will then bring income to their families. Its something Bethany has been reading about lately and hopes to see it in action here in India. We were ended the night by praying for and over the Deputy Speaker.
At that point we crashed into bed pretty exhausted, we didn't even wake up with the call to prayer this morning, but slept straight through it.
Now we are off to a birthday party for Rajesh's 1 year old son Leo.
I'm pretty sure she fell in love with Taylor as a moment later she threw herself into his arms and gave him a giant hug.
These women were AMAZING. So much joy in the midst of pain and sorrow.
This is Taylor's new love. She is only 35 but living at the home for the elderly and neglected. She shared her story of how her father abandoned her family and her mother could not car for her and her siblings. She felt that life had no hope so she tried to commit suicide by pouring acid on herself. The scars are minimal and started midway down her neck. She declared that God saved her and brought her to Harvest India where she learned of his love and grace. Now she is happy to live out the remainder of her days praising Him and bringing glory to His name.
Today we went to one of the seven Harvest India homes for the elderly and neglected. It was a last minute decision to go as we joined John Brokenshire's parents in their plans for the day. I wasn't thinking too much about it as we jumped into the van. I've been to the elderly homes before and I knew what to expect. This time was different though...everything about this trip seems to be different. After touring the home we sat down on the front porch among about 15 women and 1 gentleman. They sang a song and began to share their stories with us. They shared coming out of lives of hopelessness, their families refusing to care for them as they can no longer earn their own income. I thought of my grandparents; my grandfather in an Alzheimer's facility, his children desperately trying to keep him cared for.
I listened to their stories and as I began to feel my emotions rise, and observed the tears of some of my teammates. I began to repeat internally, "The Joy of the Lord is my strength." It suddenly hit me that this was not only true for myself but for these people. Their stories were so full of Joy as they were fully aware that if they had never faced that hopelessness, they would never have learned of the Harvest India home. If they had never come to the home, they would not have learned of Jesus Christ; his Love, Grace, Provision, and the eternal Salvation he offers. The tears were unleashed as I sat before a woman, and looked into her eyes as she asked me to pray for her. She has such faith. She doesn't question God - she just trusts.
I know this post is already running long, but I have to share with you about Charlie Garu. Charlie grew up in a slum, uneducated, with not much hope for a future. I'm unclear of how he came to Harvest India but I think he ended up at the Bible College. Charlie started his own church about an hour or so outside of Tenali. More recently Suresh asked he and his family to be the care takers of the new Hope House, a hospice for AIDS patients. Since accepting the role, God has given Charlie "healing hands" :) Doctors are expensive in India and HI can only afford to have a dr. to be on site for an hour each day. Not long ago a patient got up in the night to use the restroom. On his way down the hall he collapsed. With a doctor not present, Charlie ran out, laid his hands on the man and prayed that God would heal him, that he would rise up and walk. Immediately the man stood up and walked. The patients now see that Charlie, with the Holy Spirit, is more powerful than the doctors.
Since coming to work the hospital, God has blessed Charlie and his family with a home that they did not have to pay for, He is providing for all their needs on a daily basis. Charlie is a humble man, with a giant smile, quick to avert his eyes, cheeks quick to blush, always giving the credit to God. He is astonished that God chose him, a man with no education who grew up in the slums to now pastor a church and heal.
Garu is a title. Like calling someone Sir, it is a term of respect. We learned the term at breakfast yesterday and after hearing Charlie's story we told him that we highly respect him, we called him Charlie Garu. Charlie's eyes filled with tears, his hands came together and he immediately praised God.
We finally made it! After an hour and a half of sleep last Tuesday night, we were up and off to LAX at 6am. With a 15 hour and 50 minute flight straight through to Dubai we were hoping we could catch up on sleep. It turned out to be the best flight EVER. Only being about 1/2 full, we were allowed to move out of our seats and take over entire rows. We each ended up with our own rows of three. Over the course of 16 hours Taylor managed to watch at least one movie on each of his three tv screens and Bethany caught up on chic flicks.
With a 10 hour layover in Dubai we left the airport and hit the town. First we went by an old historic district and then went into the newer area where we saw the Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai - tallest building in the world.) and hit up the Dubai Mall. Another 4 hour flight and we landed in Hyderabad at 3am.
We spent two full days in Hyderabad, exploring, shopping, eating McDonalds (normally refuse that in the states), and even watch Gulliver's Travels in 3D (again, would normally refuse that one in the states.) However it was fun to watch a goofy American movie surrounded by an Indian audience. They laughed when we were silent and we laughed when they gave no reaction. Over breakfast the second day in Hyderabad they announced that the master break cylinder in our van had gone out. They would not confirm or deny whether we were in it at the time of the break failure, but sources close to Suresh have hinted that we were in fact in the vehicle. Kudos to Giovan, our driver. This did mean that instead of driving by van from Hyderabad to Tenali, we had to take an overnight "Super Luxury" Bus. While the title is arguable, the seats did recline, the lights were off, and the incredibly loud Tellegu movie only lasted for about an hour and a half. We arrived into Tenali at 5am, only 6 1/2 hours after leaving Hyderabad. Normally this drive takes anywhere from 8 - 15 hours depending on traffic.
The last three days have been Pongal, a Hindu festival which has basically shut things down. The benefit of this has been being able to see Suresh's children who have 5 days off of school, and empty roads, allowing travel time to be cut drastically. The downside - internet cafes have been closed, hence this being our first blog post, five days after departure.
Today we split into two groups and attended two different church services. Suresh let us know at about 9pm last night that he needed two people to preach this morning. Chris volunteered as well as John Brokenshire (his parents are visiting and we thought it would be fun to let them see him in action.) Church was a highlight for Bethany. It felt like it brought things back into perspective and it was amazing to see God move and bring unity to His children even among so much diversity.
It has been so much fun seeing the Harvest India staff again, as well as meeting new staff. We got to attend John Bob's church and later learned that he is on the Harvest India Residency Team. We will be partnering with he and his wife Naomi in everything we do over the next three months. Naomi is an AMAZING cook as we found out first hand when they invited us over to their house after church for lunch. Sadly this was not communicated to Suresh, so when we arrived home 2nd lunch was waiting for us. Lets just say, we will not be eating dinner tonight as we are still SO full from lunches 1 and 2. Oh India.
Taylor's highlight today was when he sat down to teach Tony and Funny, our 9 and 7 year old housemates, how to play Angry Birds only to discover that they are already Angry Bird pros.
sorry for the long post. if you want pictures, and more details of the adventures of our last five days, check out the team blog at http://rhindiaresidencyteam.blogspot.com.
I like to be in control of my immediate surroundings. I like to know what my day is going to look like, i usually have a to do list laid out in my head, and I like to continually be mentally checking off the little boxes contained in my to do list. Taylor prefers to be somewhat less structured. A scheduled day feels confining for him and whatever is happening in the moment is what is most important to him. This has caused some fun conversations this past week as we've attempted and failed at supporting each other well during this chaotic season.
I've been completely overwhelmed the past two weeks. There have been endless details in prepping for our departure, the team as a whole, and in passing off my beloved job of 5 years. Just as I think I have it all prioritized in my mind, something unexpected comes up. Another day is gone. And still there are just as many unchecked boxes on my to do list.
Thursday night I spent a good hour crying like a baby on the phone with my ever-so-wise mother as she repeated over and over "bethany, just let go, let go." She reminded me that often Satan's goal is to distract us from what is important and to steal our joy. It's funny the way moms can say what you already know to be true, advice that you've already heard, that you can pull directly out of memorized scripture, but in just the right way that you need to hear it. Thanks mom for always listening, and for always taking into account who I am.
Today, the message at church was similar. Todd talked about joy and remembering that Christ gave everything up to die for us, and that should be enough. He talked about how our role as Christians is to display that joy and peace that transcend all understanding. He likened our walk as Christians to this guy, with his infectious dance.
I realize that I have forgotten to dance. I've allowed my joy to be crushed under details that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. May we always remind each other of the source of our joy and may we constantly be inviting others to dance.
