A walk through culture

Our boatman rowing at sunrise

It was our 2nd day in Varanasi, our 4th day of travel, and for the first time since we started, I felt the exhaustion of jet lag. But the excitement of being halfway around the world had definately not worn off. We woke up bright and early at 4:30am to go on a tour of the city. We all met down in the lobby and met our tour guide who is an American native but moved to Varanasi after he met his Indian wife and he uses his job to meet new people and as a ministry. Everyone was a little groggy eyed, but sites of the city quickly awakened us. Thankfully it wasn't as hot because of the brief rain the night before. We passed early morning worshipers chanting their songs and spending time in prayer. Hindus splashed and dipped in the water and stared toward the sky praising the sun, awaiting it's rising.

One of the ghats where people started gathering to worship

We stepped into a boat and made our way down the river. The sound was so peaceful with the dipping of the oars in the water. But, the further the day came along, more people filled the ghats and priests took their spots under their umbrellas. People's chatter and bells made up for the silence. I of course snapped plenty of pictures and a few videos of all the people that within an hour had completely flooded the waters and the steps along the bank. As we continued, our guide explained everything we were seeing and explained more about the history of the city. After about an hour we took the rest of the tour by foot.

Part of our team along one of the side streets waiting for chai.

Once we left the ghats we walked through the nooks and crannies of the city. Every building was colored in earth tones but the people and fabrics surrounding them radiated colors. One pathway led to another and doorways were filled with people carrying on with their everyday life of washing and sweeping or just relaxing. Even in our Indian clothes, we were very clearly foreigners and captured the attention of just about everyone we passed. We stopped at a little stand making chai tea and people watched as we sat and drank our tea. Women were thrilled that we were white! They would come up and touch our faces and speak a slew of Hindi phrases that none of us knew, but we just smiled. We walked in and out of temples tucked away in the streets and saw our first glimpse of the idols that they worship. A "healing pool" much like biblical times was one stop along the road.

Heading back out along the river, we got our first glimpse of the burning ghats. Hindus do not bury their dead, they burn them. 24/7, families bring their dead, wrapped in cloths to be burned at this spot. At that time there was one body being burned and only a few men from the family watched. It left everyone in a respectful silence walking by.  We got to see so much more of this process later on in the trip, but I will tell that story later.

A few of us girls at breakfast

After our 4 hour tour, it was still only 9 a.m. so we headed to breakfast at a local cafe that opened early just for us.  After cooling down and downing a nice breakfast we headed to the English school that we would be teaching at for the first time.  We briefly met the students and explained a little bit of what we would be doing in our time there.  They were very shy and quiet, but by the end of our trip they were by no means those shy little kids anymore. 

Later that afternoon we got to walk through a few local shops and get a feel for the area (of course taking our shoes off before going into any shop).  Many of the shops were filled with carved idols amongst other handmade items.  I escaped with a Hindi-English phrasebook from a bookstore which we had a lot of fun with later trying to figure out.  Our walk took us to the outdoor pizzeria down by the river where we had a wonderful Indian version of American pizza to end our day.

There was so much to take in since our just before 5 a.m. start, but we had truly begun to experience India, and the tiredness was completely worth it!

Some of the structures along the river.  Varanasi is an ancient city.

Katie and Me on our tour with a temple behind us.  It was windy!

Guess who's back from India!?

Namaste!  Well, I am finally back from India and I do not even know where to begin.  I'm still processing everything that I experienced.  People have already excitedly asked me how my trip was and it's overwhelming to try to pick a place to begin.  So, I am going to start at day one, and through a series of posts, cover the different parts of my trip.  We did so much, and I couldn't have asked for any greater experience than these last 2 1/2 weeks.  But before I start, I just want to THANK, THANK, THANK all of you a million times over for all of the support both prayer and financially that you have given me!  I consider myself so blessed to have been able to have this opportunity and it would have happened without God using you through this process.  I cannot possibly express my gratitude through a blog or in any possible way, but know that I am so grateful for you!  I hope to share all that I can that you helped to make happen!

I finished my sophomore year of college just a few short days before leaving for India.  So, my summer was kickstarted in a whole new culture.  Traveling there wasn't too bad in terms of jet lag, even though there was a 10 1/2 hour difference.  I think we were all just so excited to get there that we tricked ourselves into not being jet lagged.  After 20 hours of flight time plus layovers, we arrived in New Delhi in Northern India around 11pm.  When we stepped outside we were hit with a wall of heat!  It was about 100 degrees at 11 at night which none of us were used to.  We ended up staying in New Delhi for the night at a hotel (which was interesting) before we flew out to Varanasi the next morning.  New Delhi was definately more of a "city" than Varanasi and so it had alot more newness to it.  However, the traffic was just as crazy and people were just as much in need.



Just a little snapshot of the traffic going every direction.
The auto is to the right of the picture.

 We got on a small plane the next day and arrived in the very much older, and religiously-rich city of Varanasi.  We spent the 1st day in the city getting settled into our hotel and the city.  We had our first "real" Indian meal which thankfully didn't mimic the plane food we had, although it was still really spicy.  After lunch we had our first auto experience. In Varanasi they don't typically drive cars.  Most people get around my bicycle, motorcycle or a small yellow and green beat up "car" with no sides which you can see in to the very right in the picture.  People drive like maniacs, driving on the wrong side of the road and weaving in an out of each other. In our time there we had knocked people off their bikes and hit cows. They honk their little horns just to let people know they're coming, so the city is filled with a constant noise day and night. But, to them it's no big deal!  We got lots of laughs out of our moments in the autos and it has made me appreciate America's driving (which I never thought I'd say).



My friend and roomate Katie in our
Kurtas, Salwars, and Dupattas.

 So our auto drivers drove us to a local shop to get our clothes for our 2 weeks there.  To better blend into the culture and show our personal respect we wore Indian attire which consisted of a Kurta (a long cotton top with 3/4 length sleeves), Salwars (a type of baggy, pleated pants), and a Dupatta (a scarf to wear over our shoulders/head which was considered your virtue in that culture).  We searched through stacks of kurtas and salwars and finally picked out our three kurtas, one salwar, and one dupatta which we made last for our whole trip with only one washing.  It was definately hot to wear, but it was fun to be a part of the culture in that way.

On our way back from shopping we stopped at a very familiar place...McDonalds to grab some water and ice cream.  It was only 8pm, but we were all so exhausted. Everything about Varanasi was different than America and while I was excited to be there, all I could think of was what in the world the Lord could possibly allow me to experience in this new culture.  We headed back to the hotel and called it an early night.  This was our 1st day in Varanasi.

It's In!

Namaste! (Hello) I just wanted to share some VERY VERY exciting news with you all!  The Lord has brought in all the funds for India!  All $3,300 and my passport! He has been so faithful to follow through on His call for me to go this summer and in His perfect timing He provided.  I hope that all of you know how very grateful I am that you have been a part of this process. It is far from over, however we have reached a huge milestone in this journey.  For those of you who are praying, please keep praying, and for those who have given, thank you for your gracious giving! 

I am going to get my immunizations this week which will unfortunately be about another $300.  However, I am hoping to use the money I raised from my bake sale and some other money I have personally saved up to pay for those.  God has taken care of this whole process and I know that He will continue to do so as we inch closer and closer to leaving.

It's officially 16 days until our plane takes off and I am getting more unsure about what to expect (although I am very at peace about that), and still all the more excited!  This past week a couple of us from our team have started a nightly prayer meeting which we plan to continue every night until the day we leave to pray for each other and the people of India.  It has just been 2 or 3 of us each time, but that time has been such a blessing and I can't wait to see what the Lord does with our prayers. :)

I look forward to updating you soon!  You will probably hear from me one more time before I leave for India and then Lord willing very soon after my trip with stories, pictures, and I'm sure plenty to share.  Until then, I will continue to prepare as best as I can for this trip and leave the rest for the Lord to do.  Have an awesome night!  You have each been a blessing!  Jivita!

Financial Update

Hello all!  Ok, so I told you in my last post that I would update you on where I sat on the fianancial part of my trip after I went to my missions meeting.  The meeting was awesome; alot of information, but really exciting.  I was told this last meeting that we are to have all of our funds in by next Wednesday, April 20th.  I received an updated amount and realize that I still have just over $500 to raise before I can go to India.  I trust that the Lord will provide the money, He definately has so far, I am just now in the process of figuring out what I need to be doing to get the money in.  I don't have my paper with me right now, but I believe I am right at $2,757 and I need to get to $3,300 plus the cost of immunizations (the original cost was $3200, but has gone up because of recent price hikes). 

Our team as a whole I believe is only at 76% funds raised so alot of people on the team are in the same boat.  I will be holding a bake sale and raising money on campus in an effort to get some more support, but I would like to ask that if the Lord has placed this trip on your heart and leads you to give that you would do so.  If you are unable to financially support, please, please bathe this in your prayers.  I appreciate all the support that you have already given and I look forward to seeing what the Lord does during this crunch-time because God is definately not the God our our timing!

Faithfully waiting,
Rebekah

Boldly Unqualified

I got to visit Washington D.C. for the first time in my life this weekend!  We took our prayer leaders (small group leaders) on a retreat to thank them for all their hard work and service to their girls.  The weekend was awesome!  Friday evening we arrived at a friend's house just outside of D.C. and we made dinner for them and spent the night playing games and reflecting on this past year.  I was reminded of how blessed I am to serve with these girls daily to the girls on my hall.

Saturday we took the Metro into the city.  From the moment we stepped off the train, we saw tourists all over the place.  Many were there for the Cherry Blossom Festival; others were just there to see the sites.  Throughout the day we walked around, working our way through the various monuments.  Walking through the city you ignore alot of things because there is so much going on.  However, on our walk back to our starting point, I started paying attention to what was going on around me.  Not just the events, but the actual people.

In preparing to go to India, just about everything about India catches my attention.  My friends tease me because I get so excited if someone talks about the country, or if I see anything that slightly resembles the culture of India.  Obviously, Saturday was no exception!  As we were walking I heard Indian music and looking over, I noticed that there was a huge gathering of Indian people in their colorful clothing and some religious ceremony going on.  Of course I was intrigued and I decided to stop and ask a man walking to the ceremony what they were doing.  A man explained to me "this is the day we celebrate our religion...the Sikh religion."  My mind of course started reeling trying to think of what to say and how to share Christ with this man but my mind was so busy trying to remember the details of the Sikh religion that even after throwing out a quick, silent prayer for words, words just didn't come out.  Before he scurried back to the ceremony, the only words I could get out were "have a blessed day."

I left there disappointed that I didn't say anything that could have changed that man's life.  Not say something as in meanly condemning him for his beliefs, but say something about the hope that my One true God has given me and the life that comes from that.  After the fact I thought of things I could have said; maybe even using the fact that I am going to India this summer as a platform for explaining why I am even going in the first place.  But nothing came out.  I wrestled with that the rest of the day, and honestly I still do.  For me, it is a reminder of how little I truly share the basics of my faith because it doesn't come second nature to proclaim.  Boldness doesn't take over when I see someone who is lost.  In fact, as much as my heart breaks for those people, it is fear that sets in of being rejected or not having the right words to say that often keeps me from being bold. 

A reality check was definately in play for me that day because I realized that I am going to India...a place FILLED with that man that I met times millions, who are just as in need of true salvation and purpose.  If I can't talk to one man on the street, how am I supposed to reach the many people we will encounter just outside of temples throughout the streets of India asking us who our God is? 

The more and more I "prepare" for this trip, the more and more I realized how truly unqualified I am.  I needed this weekend to slap me in the face and show me how unqualified I am because I don't know what India will hold for me.  It hasn't set in yet that I am going halfway around the world to a very desolate place, far different from my own comfortable, Westernized world.  I am going there with one purpose, and that is to share hope and the name of Jesus and that must remain my focus.  Until then, I am called to be bold here.  I appreciate every prayer you pray for this trip and for me!  You have all been such a blessing!  I have another missions meeting tonight and will update you on how the funds are going soon!  I love you all!  May God be glorified through our boldness! 




Here is a picture of our lovely leadership team from our trip to D.C.

  

Fickle Cloud...Constant God

I have been reading through the book of Numbers and have seen the journey of following God at any cost, at any time, in any way.  It sounds great, but if you've had a chance to read through many of its stories, you find that the people didn't like that cost, as often we do not.  Much of their journey was marked by the need to be completely reliant on God.

God is such a God of order and of great detail!  As I am reading, it seems as though God's great detail was set to purify the people of the camp and teach them to rely on Him.  Often that purification brought about uncomfortable circumstances or strange tasks.  These people were "inconvenienced" by western standards.  They were walking to a land that they knew nothing about.  They were eating manna EVERYDAY and they were moving all the time.

Numbers 9:15-23 tells about the cloud that God used to settle on their tabernacle in their camp.  Whenever the cloud settled over the tabernacle, the Israelites knew to stay; but whenever the cloud lifted they knew they were to pack up everything and leave to wherever the cloud was to settle next.  Sometimes the cloud settled for a year; other times not even for a night.  When the cloud moved, they moved.  I can imagine how weary the people must have gotten by some point, getting direction from a cloud that seemed fickle as to when or where it might lead them next.  They had no physical Jesus to follow, only the hope of the coming Messiah and a hope that who they were following was worthy of everything they had.

However, God used the cloud as a sort of "physical" thing to lead them.  This fickle cloud was the product of a holy and unchanging God.  James 1:17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Our God of order had perfect control over that cloud.  What made complete sense to God, seemed baffling to the Israelites (sounds familiar?)  The people did not know why it moved when it did, but God expected them to follow in obedience and trust. 

As I prepare to go to India, I am challenged to see God's movement.  He may have me in one place for a season, and in another shortly thereafter.  For a season of 2 1/2 weeks, He will have me in India.  I don't know the details, I'm not sure what we will see or what the Lord will do while we are there, but I do plan to be ready to move when He moves and see what He sees, and that is so exciting!  Even apart from physical location, we need to see and be obedient to God's leading in every task.  We need to pray when he lays something or someone on our hearts, we need to serve people when we feel the Lord prompt and we don't feel like it.  Sometimes we need to stop our work and our lives long enough to listen, see, and watch the cloud.

In just a few short months, I am going to a country that I have never been to before filled with people who are broken and lost.  Even in America, in our churches and neighborhoods and schools and families, there are people who have their clouds mistaken.  They know there is a cloud out there, but they see it as everyone and everything besides what it actually is...the one true God of heaven who has the power to change their lives.  My prayer is both for you and myself that God would allow us to see the cloud move when we are to move to action.  Not only that, but that that cloud would be so unmistakable and clear. 

I love you all!

Financial Update

Hello!  I am so excited to be writing to you again!  I am back at Liberty and have well kicked-off the Spring semester.  Classes are going well; they are alot harder this semester, but are a good challenge.  The Lord has blessed me with an on-campus job that works around my classes and allows me some down time to get homework done, or in this case, to update my blog!  I have been asked how the funds for my trip have been coming along and so I wanted to update you as well.  Tonight I have another missions meeting, but I received my updated balance today and currently I have $2,272 towards my trip.  That means that I only have $928 left to raise!  That is such a blessing!  My team and I will be leaving in a little over 3 months and I trust the Lord will continue to provide the rest.  So far I am considered to be on track with deadlines so praise the Lord!  I ask that you continue to pray that the support will come in.

As for our missions team itself, we have started meeting weekly and it's really cool to see that we are becoming more of friends and not just people going out of the country together.  I can't wait to share more!  Have a wonderful week!

A Daughter of The King

I have spent the last couple of hours scouring video sites watching short clips about India.  My heart longs to be in that place!  I cannot wait to be among the people who go about their daily lives; many of them hopeless and begging for freedom.  I know my time will come to share with them a different kind of message.  Until then I continue to learn more and more about these people.  Below I have included a video of a young Indian girl's testimony of how she discovered freedom from the lie of unworthiness her culture so heavily laid upon her.  This girl discovered her true identity as a daughter of the King.  I pray you are encouraged by her testimony.  I've also included a short video on the feature page giving a little taste of India, so be sure to check that out.