So why India? Fair question. Despite being a country of a billion people it's not a country that we hear about every day on the news. It is not synonoumos with missions like Africa. In fact, until college I am not sure I ever knew anyone who had ever been to India at all. So when I first went to India in 2009, it was a complete God thing.
In order to complete my nursing degree I had to study nursing in a different culture. That could have meant traveling down the highway to the inner city or joining a team in the Amazon jungle. Both would have been wonderful experiences I am sure, but I almost immediately knew I wanted to go to India. And after much prayer I was absolutely certain.
When I told me parents I am pretty sure they didn't know what to do with me. None of us had realized the adventures spirit that I possessed. Everyone wanted to know why I didn't go to Africa. Truth be told, until I was actually in Uganda last year, I had absolutely no desire to go there. Everyone goes to Africa, I said. Africa was (and is) saturated with people from Bono to UNICEF trying to help. Naïvely, I wanted to go somewhere completely out of the norm and a place where I might actually do some good (this is not to say that African's are not in need of our help, but that is another topic all together).
So after months of communicating with a team of American's that I didn't know (but who many people I trusted did), who were serving God in India I boarded a plane and set off for a journey that I was completely unprepared for.
I learned two things fairly quickly, 1) India is a land full of cultural practices and traditions that my Western mindset has no comprehension for. 2) India (like every other country) is full of frustrating contradictions; extravagant temples to thousands of gods while people live in extreame poverty; beautiful friendly people who earn their living through bribes and rampant corruption; bright, vivid colors in a nation where darkness reigns supreme.
Despite this and many other heartbreaks I fell in love with India very quickly. As Rihanna would say, I found hope and love in a hopeless place. Smack dab in the middle of the 10/40 window I saw God working through tireless locals to bring the Gospel to their neighbors. I saw doctors and health care workers fighting a horribly inadequate system to bring health care to those who desperately need it. And I saw how even my basic nursing school knowledge could change the lives of many. By the end of my two and a half week stay I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and be a part of the grand plans that God was masterminding in India. But as I prepared to bored the plane home I felt a whisper in my soul saying, "Your time here is not done".
So fast forward a few years, and lots of waiting, to Uganda where God stirred up my soul saying, "My child you have been created for such a time as this." I looked at missions organizations serving all over the world but India and the promise I had been given never left my mind. (Finding Sarah's Covenant Homes India is a totally different, but no less God involved, post.)
So how does a blond haired, blue eyed, fair skinned, child of the West end up in the land of snake charmers? I have no idea. It is part of the adventure of being covered in the dust of The Rabbi.
In order to complete my nursing degree I had to study nursing in a different culture. That could have meant traveling down the highway to the inner city or joining a team in the Amazon jungle. Both would have been wonderful experiences I am sure, but I almost immediately knew I wanted to go to India. And after much prayer I was absolutely certain.
When I told me parents I am pretty sure they didn't know what to do with me. None of us had realized the adventures spirit that I possessed. Everyone wanted to know why I didn't go to Africa. Truth be told, until I was actually in Uganda last year, I had absolutely no desire to go there. Everyone goes to Africa, I said. Africa was (and is) saturated with people from Bono to UNICEF trying to help. Naïvely, I wanted to go somewhere completely out of the norm and a place where I might actually do some good (this is not to say that African's are not in need of our help, but that is another topic all together).
So after months of communicating with a team of American's that I didn't know (but who many people I trusted did), who were serving God in India I boarded a plane and set off for a journey that I was completely unprepared for.
I learned two things fairly quickly, 1) India is a land full of cultural practices and traditions that my Western mindset has no comprehension for. 2) India (like every other country) is full of frustrating contradictions; extravagant temples to thousands of gods while people live in extreame poverty; beautiful friendly people who earn their living through bribes and rampant corruption; bright, vivid colors in a nation where darkness reigns supreme.
Despite this and many other heartbreaks I fell in love with India very quickly. As Rihanna would say, I found hope and love in a hopeless place. Smack dab in the middle of the 10/40 window I saw God working through tireless locals to bring the Gospel to their neighbors. I saw doctors and health care workers fighting a horribly inadequate system to bring health care to those who desperately need it. And I saw how even my basic nursing school knowledge could change the lives of many. By the end of my two and a half week stay I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and be a part of the grand plans that God was masterminding in India. But as I prepared to bored the plane home I felt a whisper in my soul saying, "Your time here is not done".
So fast forward a few years, and lots of waiting, to Uganda where God stirred up my soul saying, "My child you have been created for such a time as this." I looked at missions organizations serving all over the world but India and the promise I had been given never left my mind. (Finding Sarah's Covenant Homes India is a totally different, but no less God involved, post.)
So how does a blond haired, blue eyed, fair skinned, child of the West end up in the land of snake charmers? I have no idea. It is part of the adventure of being covered in the dust of The Rabbi.
Swammi and I playing on a farm in the foothills of the Himalayans.
First time here? Here is what is going on!
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