When it's all you have to give

Six days back our little band of seven said our final “see you latter” (for the time being) to what had begun to feel like home. Suresh once told us that it is only Christians that can use the term “see you later” without lying. This made saying goodbye not so painful. Our final week in Tenali was full of activity. We kept busy, with three different World Cup Cricket parties (an amazing experience to celebrate with our friends in both their defeat of Pakistan and then Sri Lanka to win the World Cup.)  We threw a celebration lunch for the teachers of the Harvest India public school in which we served them and their families a full Indian lunch. It was TONS of work and gave us an even more enhanced appreciation for how eager Harvest India staff has been to continually serve us. We celebrated Cory’s birthday, Lizzi’s 5 month pregnancy mark, and our going away all in one big bash at Suresh’s house. Taylor and I made a new friend that lives just down the street from our house and spent a considerable amount of time building a too short lived relationship. And finally we gave our final hugs, drank our final chai, and started the long trek to Hyderabad to begin our journey home.

In coming to India, Taylor and I clearly felt that God was calling us to this, but God wasn’t showing us anything past India. It has been our continual prayer that He would reveal to us what is next, and that it would be something with purpose; something that would use us both to the best of our abilities. As we watched the sunset each night we began to talk about what might be next for us. Taylor is able to go straight back into his job at REI, but would rather find something else. I have no open doors that I currently know of. We have dreamed and discussed the possibilities of settling back down in Orange County and looking for jobs, or moving to Redding for awhile to be near my ever expanding family as our nieces and nephews are growing too quickly. We have considered moving in with Taylor’s parents; which would also put us closer to my parents. We have considered beginning the process of moving back here to India for awhile. But in it all, God is irritatingly quiet. If anything, we feel (not hear) that God is asking us to be present in each day and not get lost in searching out the future.

God has given us an incredible opportunity to travel a bit more before returning home. Long story short, we have been given the opportunity to travel with Taylor’s parents and brother for three weeks throughout Europe. We were originally planning a few days in London and Ireland to visit some good friends of ours, but this has increased to include France and Switzerland. Beyond the great opp to spend time in Europe with Taylor’s family, it is not costing us more than our return ticket home as his parents are paying for all our travel and accommodations around Europe. I feel that this will be a time of rest. To shut down, be silent, not strive toward anything, while still being engaged with the world around us.

I have struggled with conflicting emotions as we have left Tenali. I am sad to leave, excited to reacquire some very missed comforts of home, missing my friends and family, scared to not know what is next, anxious at not knowing my purpose in each day, confused as to how to continue the lifestyle that we have been learning from. I left feeling like it wasn’t enough time.

Taylor, Crystal and I split from the rest of our team Wednesday morning. As Cory & Elana headed to Darjeeling (where we joined them Friday afternoon), Chris & Lizzi jumped on a plane for home, Crystal, Taylor and I took a quick 2 day trip into New Dehli to see the Taj Mahal. It was culture shock to see Dehli, the capital city, and how developed and organized it is. There are taxes on everything in Dehli, but you see where those tax rupees are going. It was shocking to not be able to call Suresh to get us out of a bind, or ask him for recommendations. It was shocking to take the metro and train and see the railway begger children. I found myself overwhelmed at the depravity of these little kids; knowing that they are more than likely part of a gang and the money they collect is doing them little good; knowing that they are going to grow into rough adults. I found myself repulsed at how dirty they were and annoyed at their persistence, while at the same time wanting to scoop them up and instill them with hope; to wipe the dirt from their faces, hose them off, and take them home. By the end of day two I wasn’t sure I could handle another street child persistently following us with his hand out asking for food.  And then God gave us a little glimmer of joy with the presence of three little girls. While awaiting our final train, after an incredibly long day, these three little girls came up with their hands out asking for rupees. My heart fell, until Crystal, in a moment of pure genius, put her hand out and asked the smaller one to give HER rupees. The little girl caught on and started to laugh. Crystal asked the little girl to dance, so she began to dance, and we danced with her. Nothing too fancy, mostly the hokey pokey and a few Bollywood moves we have seen. Then the camera came out (the ipod really as both ours & Crystals camera batteries were completely dead) and the girls LOVED it. They ate the attention up. They were laughing, posing and playing around. We tried to do a group shot, but the girls ended in a pile on the floor in laughter before Taylor could capture the moment. The police came and chased them off, only for them to return 20 seconds later. It was interesting to see the reactions of those around us. Westerners looked appalled and annoyed. This guy brought his granddaughter over to have her picture taken with us. And we….we rejoiced. I was reminded that it is the small things that count. God isn’t showing us how to change these girls lives, but He did give us the opportunity to change their next 20 minutes. To fill them with laughter and allow them to simply be little girls. To realize that sometimes it is the small stuff, sometimes its just a moment, and yet sometimes that is all you have to give.

 

New friends, Cobras & Sunsets

Up until about four weeks ago we were teaching weekly English courses at an all girls college. On our final day there Indu, a young girl, in broken English, told me that her family lives just down the way from our house in Tenali. While Indu lives on campus throughout the year, she would be returning to live with her parents once the school year was finished (one week before we depart.) I encouraged Indu to stop by our house when she was around. After a few weeks I kind of forgot, until three days ago when Indu showed up at our gate. In the past three days we have seen Indu quite a few times. Taylor and I have sat in her house, with her family, twice now, sipping Sprite and trying as hard as we can to have a decent conversation in all Indu's broken English and our very few Telugu words. Indu and her family are Hindu and very rooted in their beliefs. We are so sad to go with this relationship just now starting. Please pray with us that God would continue to work in their lives and reveal His Spirit to them.

Suresh shared an amazing miracle with us yesterday. Apparantly the residents at the Harvest India campus; including the Ashraya women, the RH children, and the multiple staffers, have reported cobra sightings over the last five years. Cobras are incredibly poisonous and absolutely to be feared here in India. They are territorial and their venom kills quickly. There is a Hindu god that represents the cobra. She is worshiped and given sacrifices in the hopes that she will keep her cobra from biting her followers.
Although it was rather costly, Suresh felt it was time to hire a crew to clean up the campus, cut down the overgrowth of trees and hunt some cobra. Sure enough a snake pit was found with a family of 5 cobras. From the size of one's head, he appeared to be very old; meaning he had probably been there longer than the RH children's home has been. The older the snake, the more potent the venom. PRAISE JESUS that in five years of having 300+ children living at the RH home, not a single cobra bite has occurred. This is truly a miracle.

Tonight, Taylor and I will enjoy our last sunset from the roof of what has begun to feel a little like home. It has been an amazing three months (more thoughts on that later) and we are torn on our feelings about leaving. It finally feels like we are getting our feet back under us, emotions are not running quite as high, and we are finding so much joy in the daily things. However, we are truly ready for a break. We can't wait to eat baguettes, nibble on cheese and enjoy cooler weather. We can't wait to hug our families or to sleep in our own bed again (our bed here is slightly more comfortable than rock hard & two twin beds - I Love Lucy style.) We have experienced God in truly new and amazing ways here. While we are ready to come home we have been given an opportunity to travel through Northern India for the next week, and then through Europe for three more weeks. God has been SO gracious and it is costing us next to nothing. India is not expensive to travel through and Europe is a gift from Taylor's parents. The Thompsons felt that this would be a good time for a family vacation and are meeting us, with Taylor's brother, in London. Taylor and I are overwhelmed by God's grace and the amazing opportunities He has allowed us to take part in. It feels slightly too good to be true that we are getting this dream vacation. We are going to take this time to visit a few friends, check out some awesome churches, and relax as a family.

We will be back in the States the evening of Wednesday, May 4th and can't wait to see you all face to face!

Our love and prayers are with you,
Taylor and Bethany

Breaking down the Wickets

A few days ago Taylor and I were asked by someone we greatly respect (my greatest encourager and exhorter, aka Mom) why there had been no blogging activity for nearly a month by just about anyone on our team. We realized that we too were guilty of not sitting down to update our friends or family on the ministry here in India. She also challenged us, asking that rather than simply posting on all the personal growth and fun stuff, that she would like to hear about the individual growth of those that we are reaching out to with the love of Jesus. We've spent the last five days wrestling over this, trying to sort through what kind of growth we have seen in others because of our presence. 

As we sit down to write, we still have no idea how to communicate it. 

This question has been a really tough one to answer. After three months, we are just beginning to break down enough cultural barriers to really understand those around us. We are not here long enough to accurately identify the growth. It is frustrating to not be able to put our experiences of this past month in a box and wrap a pretty bow around it. This past month has been full of ups quickly followed by a down, or a door closing in our face. There has been much that has happened, good and bad, so instead of trying to recap it all we will try to share some of the change that we have seen in those around us. 

Suresh is learning to say no to us. This is huge as it truly displays trust and a sense of family. 

The McCalls have had a rough time with Lizzi's morning sickness here. Chris has stepped up in some incredible ways and is constantly serving her. Some of the Harvest India pastors sat down with them and praised the example that Chris has been setting for them. A few commented that it made them want to serve their wives more.

Suresh met some opposition with the Harvest India board here when we devised a plan to hold an English church service on the construction site of the future church building. Some adamantly opposed the idea of holding services until it could be blessed and dedicated as a church building. We have been spending time each week at the construction site, holding devotionals and praying that the site would be seen as a church even now, in it's beginning stages. Praying that the church body would rise up, even as there are no walls to meet between. Praying that this church would not be defined by the walls that surround them, or the weekend services, but rather by their passion to change this city. We stood with and prayed for Suresh as he continued to push back. Last Saturday, we held the first Youth Conference at the construction site (so it may have been a small compromise in name only; it was fully a church service). We ended our service asking the youth to stand if a) they were excited about and would like to join in praying for and working towards a future church plant b) if God had placed a specific call towards ministry on their lives.We spent time praying over them; that God would continue to shape and form the vision he had given them, grant them wisdom, discernment and obedience as they continue to walk forward.

It might not sound big, but one of the greatest changes we have seen is the shift in the HI staff's interactions with us. The Indian culture loves to serve foreigners. Every RH team that comes is thrown by the level of service that the HI staff provides. There is constant door opening, flower giving, loads of food being served. We have tried multiple times to get our friends to sit at our table with us to eat a meal, and the common response is "no, I will eat when you are finished." A few days ago I was in a car with Suresh and about 5 of his staff members. I was slightly zoned out as they were all talking in Telugu and were were in the whirlwind ministry tour with RH pastors Andrew and Chris. Suresh piped up, "Bethany, Wednesday is the Cricket World Cup Semi-finals; India against Pakistan. The men would like to come watch the game at your house, because it is big and they can all watch together." YES!!! FINALLY A CHANCE TO SERVE THEM! I quickly agreed and added that we would have snacks, chai and coffee service throughout the day. A cricket match goes from about 2 - 10pm. Yes, a possible 8+ hours. This opportunity increased to included three days of games I figured it would be fun as our white guys have also grown to love the game. As soon as they arrived, our friend Arnol asked if it was true that we would be serving chai. It was such a blessing to hear them laugh & exclaim every time we walked out with a tray of snacks and tea. Night two we took things a step further and cooked them dinner - Chicken Fajitas with really spicy salsa (yes, real salsa.) Night three was the World Cup finals; India against Sri Lanka. It was a great celebration with our friends. Most encouraging was the chance to simply hang out with them, laugh, cheer, and continually serve them in whatever ways we could find. It was well received by our friends, and by day three they were comfortable letting us know when they wanted chai tea, or when they did not want any more salsa.

It is hard to put it on paper. It is hard to communicate the complexities of the change we have seen. So much is in process. We do promise to share this process with you over the next few weeks; as we sort through what we see God doing around us and through us each day. 

Love you, miss you, and are thankful for your love, support, friendship, and partnership

Taylor & Bethany