Summer Fresh

About a month ago, Amie and I rearranged our furniture and bought a few new items to convert our storage room into a bedroom, outfitted for two American college girls serving in our city for the summer.

Meet Hannah and Chantal, or Henna and Shanti, the Indian names that they call themselves now.  Even by their new nick names, you can see how they eagerly engage the culture.  Many Indians in the state capital where we live understand English, and still these girls, of their own initiative, mastered several Hindi phrases within the first week.  They travel to the villages with us, visit our neighbors, and play with the kids from the slum down the street.  They share stories from the Word, tell testimonies, and lift up the sick.

As we find opportunities for them to engage our city without knowing Hindi, we become more involved in activities that we otherwise wouldn’t focus on, such as feeding beggars in the market or sharing with English speakers at the mall.  Our vision is expanded as we include Hannah and Chantal’s ideas.

Things that have become common or that we take for granted are new and exciting to them.  Watching them experience India for the first time, reminds us of how unique of a place we live in.  They have fresh perspectives for the negative attitudes we developed after months of dealing with cultural tensions.  I complained once about my Indian friend’s morning habit of hacking up the drainage in her throat, but one of the summer volunteers commented on the hygienic practicality of the unconventional habit.

These girls are peering into a land of strongholds of darkness unseen in the West and are shining their lights.  Their vision for the Father’s Kingdom is greatly expanding.  They encourage us and impact souls for eternity.  They are giving two months of their lives.  Have you ever asked the Father to use you in this way?  Would you ask Him if He would like you to give a week?  A month?  Or more?

PRAISES

LMCO was the third largest in history, thanks to the hearts for the nations and generous giving of the SBC.

We are able to continue teaching in an area that we were asked to stop coming to 6 months ago.

The two summer volunteers are such a blessing.  One has even taken on the responsibility of planning and preparing meals for us!  The other enthusiastically makes friends and shares the Good News!

I get to visit Thailand again for a company meeting.

REQUESTS

I only have one month left in India, please ask that the Father would allow me to meet with all of my friends one last time to say goodbye and tie up loose ends.

We got to visit a lepers’ colony.  Ask that they would know the Healer of their souls and understand that they are loved and valued by Him.

Please ask that the summer volunteers would be able to engage the city independently as we will be in Thailand for over a week.

Please ask that the Father prepares my heart to say goodbyes and transition back to American culture.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN SOUTH ASIA WHEN

You’re made fun of for not eating with your hands properly.

As a guest in a friend’s home, you and your friends are served a block of ice cream on a plate and each given a spoon.

When you tell someone that brides in America don’t apply henna tattoos on their hands, they reply, “What do they apply instead?”

When asking, “What did you eat today?”  is the next question after “How are you”.

When your hostess literally puts a spoon to your mouth to force feed you.

When someone is trying to explain Indian culture to a summer volunteer and they compare eating beef to eating your grandma.