First Encounter with Locals

January 6, 2011

I had a nightmare the night before- I was lost in India and I was calling for my leaders. I grew scared, Indians were touching me and pushing past me. It gave me the creeps. Apparently I talked in my sleep too, I woke one of my roommates, whoops lol. I'm glad the dream wasn't real, because it would be bad to be lost in India...

In the morning I took a bucket bath. In India, you fill the bucket up, warm it up, then use a smaller bucket to pour it over you. That's how you bathe. You have an electric device that's made to heat up your bucket. It's actually really dangerous, if you stick your hand in the water while the heater is on, it will electrocute you... People have died from making that mistake, so I was very cautious while drawing this bath lol!

Today we were to reach out to the locals. When we met with them, they were so nice! They invited us into their homes and we had worship with them. They were poor people, but they were happy. They played a drum and sang worship in their tongue, then we sang to them our worship songs in our tongue. We then prayed for each other, we prayed for their puppet making business, and that their sick would be healed. 

A little girl named Akisha gestured at me. At first I thought she wanted to hold my Bible, but instead she pressed earrings into my hand. Surprised, I looked at her and thanked her. Next thing we knew it, children started giving all my teammates earrings. Then they started serving us chai (Indian coffee) and cookies. Can you imagine these people who have nothing giving us these gifts? I pray God will bless them to an overflow...

When it was time to go, they all gave us a hug and a little girl held my hand as we walked back... Jesus may you hold her hand... Hold all their hands...

Going to Jaipur

January 4, 2011

After overcoming Jet Lag, we packed up and headed for Jaipur, India. As we waited at the airport, there was an Indian Pizza Hut and my friends urged me to try the pizza. "It's like chewing on an angel!" They insisted. So I ate some. It was definitely delicious, but it gave me a stomach ache after. "Now that was a fallen angel there!" I groaned. LOL!

When we climbed aboard the plane and started flying, I fell asleep. As I did, my knee stuck out in the aisle. The flight attendant accidentally hit it with the snack bar. I jerked awake, making my cup of water explode onto my knees. The lady started freaking out and apologizing. I thought was funny and told her it was fine.

When we arrived in Jaipur and settled in our new base I got a top bunk. Unfortunately (long story short lol) I rolled off my bed and fell to the cement floor. My impact to the floor was so loud, my friends from the other room heard me. I ended up getting this giant purple and blue bruise on my leg that was almost a foot long! I'm just glad I didn't hit my head, that would have been bad; I don't know if it was from reflexes or work of an angel, but I remember moving my head last second so I didn't smash it on the floor...
                 
So let's just say it had been a rough day lol! However, I stayed optimist and thanked God that all those things that were considered bad turned out to be something comical. It's all how we look at it. 
God told me, "I am so proud of you. You persevered even though it was tough. I love you, keep going! Remember Mark 11:24!" 

Culture Shock...

January 4, 2011

My leaders took us to a train station and we split up into groups. Spreading out, we began to evangelize to the people coming and going on the train. My team got to talk to 3 Hindu teenagers; they were so sweet! I told them I loved their punjavis (that's their Indian outfits) and they told us we had beautiful eyes.
We asked them why they believed what they believed. They gave their answers then asked us the same question. We told them and I got to share my testimony. 

I remember asking, "Do you have a relationship with your gods?"
They looked very surprised, "No! No, we don't!"
I shared with them, telling them how Jesus loves each and every one of us and He wants to have a relationship with us. He's not waiting for us to mess up, but He wants to help us and see how we are doing. It was great, the girls received it well.... I hope to see them again someday...

After we went shopping for our Indian outfits. The shopping was kinda stressful, but we ended up getting these beautiful outfits and we couldn't wait to try them on! I noticed that everyone was staring at us and I knew it was because were were foreigners. 


Most of us were white and stand out like a sore thumb. Indian men are very attracted to foreign women. Usually when they see us, they think we're like the white women in Hollywood movies... In other words, easy to get. So they stare at us, unashamed, and trying to get our attention, because they want to sleep with us. Not cool. Lol Throughout the trip they've made noises, trying to get our attention, they've called out to us in Hindi, and other gestures. It was a real culture shock for us. 


Our leader, Chris, is from India and encouraged us, telling us that when we wear their clothes instead of our shorts and tank tops, we show we respect the culture. When we reject the men instead of encouraging them, we tell them we are Christians, we are not like the women in Hollywood. 


"That alone is ministry." Chris said. "That alone tells them we are Christians." 
That encouraged me and we continued on...

To India!

December 31, 2010

As we arrived at the airport for India, our flight delayed by an hour, apparently the plane's side panel had fallen off! So they fixed it and we flew to New York City! There were were stranded there for over 8 hours! So, I thought it would be fun to take the kids in our team up and down the escalators... Unfortunately after the dozenth round, security came and told us to stop. Well, it was fun while it lasted lol!

After the wait, we flew to Arab of Emirates (I hear it's the richest country in the world!). The flight was about a dozen hours long; halfway through the flight the morning sun rose, but suddenly the sky went dark like night! Apparently it's because of the time difference and we had left the sun's light! Amazing! Also, we left December 31, 2010, but we were to arrive in India January 2, 2011! Because of the time differences, we technically skipped a day and never got to celebrate first day of 2011!

The wing of our giant plane!

On the way to Arab of Emirates, I got to sit next to a Muslim woman and her two children; her name was Rusia. She was very nice; she told me she was heading to India to be a teacher in a mosque! I felt bad for her because her baby wouldn't stop screaming and the poor flustered mother couldn't do anything about it. 
"I'm so sorry!" She told me.
"Don't worry." I smiled. "I've babysat children worse than him!"
She sighed, "Really?"
"Ya!" But I thought to myself, "I didn't have to sit with them for 12 hours though." lol!
Out of the dozen hours of flying, the baby screamed over half of it, so sleeping wasn't really an option
I tried to stay optimist, and tried to cheer him up. I even got to hold him, he was cute!

So the two of us started sharing our beliefs. Rusia told me about Allah and I told her about Jesus. In the end I encouraged her, and challenged her to ask Jesus to reveal Himself to her, and she would know that He is the answer to everything. She promised me she would... I haven't seen her since... 

When we arrived in Arab of Emirates, we flew for 4 hours to Hyderabad, India. It was around 2 in the morning when we settled in the base. We were so glad to finally be in India... However, because of the time difference, our bodies were telling us to sleep in the day... Jet Lag... Because I hardly got any sleep during the trip, I was exhausted and dreamed every time I blinked.


We had to attend church, but I couldn't remember what the sermon was about because I was nodding off every other sentence he said lol! But we finally made it! We had finally arrived in India! We were all grateful to sleep that night, we instantly fell into slumber. So far, the trip was tough, but promising... 

Preparing for India...

December 29, 2010

It was cold in North Carolina as I packed my bags... I was preparing to go on a missions trip; my program, "Youth With A Mission" (YWAM), was taking us to India. There we were to reach out to orphanages, AIDS clinics, brothels, and schools there for two months. The only time I cried was when my dad prayed for me. He had brought his friends, on fire for God, to pray for me and affirm me. 


When they were done, one named Bob told me, "Kate, God wants me to let you know that you are going to go through a rough time." 
"Rough time?" I nervously asked. "Like what?"
"I don't know." He responded. "But God wants you to know that you are meant to be there. Make sure you spend time with Him- if nothing else, just to stay sane."

So as I left to join my team, I kept his words close to my heart... I was anxious about the future, I was scared of the word Bob had given me... But I knew that I was doing the right thing, and I trusted that God would be with me and my team...

Me at the airport