A Taste of Home in the East

My mom and dad came to visit me the beginning of January.  To give you a fresh perspective of my life and work in India, I’ve asked my mom to be a guest writer.

“Brian and I rang in the New Year in the skies over India as we flew to visit Heather, and she greeted us with flower leis at the airport in Raipur.  It was good to get my arms around her. Skypeing is nice, but it isn’t near as nice as a hug and kiss in person.  Even on the ride from the airport, I realized that I wasn’t in America anymore.  Traffic in India was a whole new adventure. It is the norm for people to drive three cars wide in two lanes, not to mention the cows, bikes and people who are also sharing the lanes.  One of our taxi drivers said, “To drive in India you need three things: a good horn,” which they use to communicate their presence to other cars, “good brakes, and good luck.”  This is the truth! 

Raipur is a very traditional Indian city.  The married women wear sari’s no matter what they do, from construction work (yes, many women are construction workers) to tailoring.  The single women often wear coordinating long shirts, baggy pants and a scarf.  Hospitality is very important to Indians. When you visit their homes, you are always offered snacks, chai, and sometimes food offered to idols.  Heather had to help us to know how and what to eat.  Fresh fruits, vegetables and water were out.  It also took a while to get use to taking off our shoes when we entered homes and businesses.

Heather kept us busy the whole time.  In Raipur we got to met many of the people that Heather has been working with and had opportunities to share with them as well.  Heather arranged for us to go to the Boys and Girls homes, which was such a blessing. To see the joy these children had with so little and their zeal to worship.  We sang, shared, and played games with them.  Then on our last day in Raipur we went to a meeting and met Heather’s coworkers and national partners.  During the three and a half hour meeting they were challenged to share with others and to teach them to share as well.  They turned in accountability forms, showing what they had done the previous month. If I had an accountability form, I would be ashamed to show them mine because it would not have much on it.

Everywhere we went we saw idols, in all the stores, housing complexes, hotels, along the streets and in homes.  We also saw a lot of peppers and lemons strung together across doorposts and in cars.  Heather told us they are supposed to ward off evil spirits.  Some will not even kill a mosquito because of their belief in reincarnation.  And did I mention that cows freely wander the streets and yards because they are believed to be sacred?  Indians are very religious people that have been deceived for generations.

We also had a chance to do some sightseeing while we were there, from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur.  Delhi Haat, a craft market in Delhi, was full of colorful booths and native products.  We sampled the local food and loved it.   From Delhi we took a train to Agra where we visited the Taj and other historic sites.  One of the highlights in Jaipur was Amber Fort, where Heather and I marked riding an elephant off our bucket lists.  We also visited the Monkey temple in Jaipur.  Here, in the afternoon, hoards of monkeys gather, and the local people feed them, seeking to gain favor with the gods.  When Heather and I went into the temple, the priest was surprised that we would not give an offering to their gods.  No matter where we went Heather always took the opportunity to share. One time we had a Cousin driver, and Heather talked to him about falling short of the Father’s standards.  Another time she told the Creation story to a H*nd* taxi driver.

It was so good to get to see where Heather is working, the people she is working with, and to see how others live in another part of the world.  We take so much for granted here, especially the blessing that we have to worship the Father without fear.  I also saw how little we share what we know is true with the lost.  Oh that someone would hold us accountable as they do the followers in India.

I can’t stop without adding a few notes about how you know you’re in South Asia When:

When it’s cold out the goats are wearing T-shirts.

As you pull into a city on the train there are rows of cow pies drying with hand prints in them.

You share the road with elephants, camel carts, ox carts (with the oxen wearing turbans). 

You visit a store, the owner order you Chi and when you’re done she takes your cups and throws them outside.”

________________________________________

REQUESTS

Please ask that I would have one-on-one times with the hostel girls who are interested in the Good News. 
As I only have six months left in India, please ask that I follow His plans and not mine. 
Please ask that my new teammate and I will be unified in work and friends at home.

Please ask that those who heard the Christmas story last month would respond. 

______________________________________________________________________

PRAISES

My parents visit was such a blessing! 
I got to share the Christmas story with dozens of my neighbors and friends as I handed out star- and cane-shaped sugar cookies. 
I met Amie, my new teammate, and got to spend a week with her in language school refreshing my Hindi grammar. 
My sister had a safe delivery of my niece!

______________________________________________________________________

YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN SOUTH ASIA WHEN

You ride an elephant.
While riding an elephant, hawkers follow closely and throw their merchandise up to you in attempts to convince you to buy what you already refused five times.
You see a snake charmer.
You feed monkeys by hand.
You no longer flinch when you hear a car honk.
You know hundreds of people who don’t know the real meaning of Christmas.
You get to watch Persian rugs being hand-made.
You see Father Christmas dance to “zingle bells, zingle bells, la, la, la, la, la” at a church Christmas program.
You hear Father Christmas’s number followed by a “hallelujah!
You see a dark man wearing a white-skinned mask dressed as Santa in the mall.