It’s going by so fast, and yet we feel so at home. We all want to come back … some don’t want to leave! … but of course we’ll have to see what God has in store.
Here’s a good place for a couple observations:
Indians do not nod when they agree, they have a strange head bobble that seems more unsure than agreeable, but it means “yes.” It’s actually very endearing. It can almost look like they are shaking their head if they passionately agree.
Most Indians wear collared shirts. This seems strange to me, but it is the culture here (I’m assuming handed down somewhat from the British style and mixed with Indian development). Dress in general is far more modest and conservative in India, which is nice in a way.
We were picked up around 9:30 am. We met Pastor Daniel at the house and spoke with him briefly. Before we were able to speak with him, they were having a baptismal service behind the house. They had this stone tub there behind the house filled with water. They baptized a couple young men while everyone watched. It was very sweet. They sang, “I have decided to follow Jesus” with their cool Indian accent.
Then we waited while Pastor Daniel changed and we talked with him for a few minutes in the sitting room. We gave him most of the money at that point, around $1,800! Praise the Lord!
We then went to the service, which was just getting started, and we sat near the front. The opening prayer ended and they began to sing. It was a much more somber song today. Then Pastor Daniel preached a message about the cross of Christ and Gesthemane. They sang another song and prayed and Pastor Daniel turned it over to me.
Quite frankly, many things were on my heart to share, but I was able to focus and choose what God had for the people that day. I spoke on being outside the camp where Christ is, where He was crucified and rose again.
Pastor Daniel closed the service with communion and we went back to the house to have lunch. I got a good picture with Maju before we left.
We have really connected with Pastor Daniel. He likes a good joke and to laugh. To give you an example, we were getting our lunch at the house when Pastor Daniel came in. He told us not to wait on him as he moved into the other room. Becca Mooney and Emily mischeviously shook their heads and whispered that they would not wait on him. Then Pastor Daniel shouted from the next room, “not that you would wait on me anyway!” We all laughed really hard.
When we have lunch at the house, the ladies there take Micah and play with him as we eat so no one has to have him in their lap. They have a lot of fun with Micah, and he enjoys it.
We have decided Pastor Daniel is Joe Hale’s Indian twin brother. For those who don’t know, Joe Hale is the founder and president of NICS, the organization out school is associated with all over the world. They are both balding men with beards and mustaches. They are both men with a very jovial personality. They are also both men with a very revolutionary vision from God, and God continually increases their ministry and blesses it.
After gathering some things at the hotel, we went back out to go shopping. Being a state holiday (Good Friday in a Hindu country … weird, I know), almost all the stores were closed. We looked around a little, got a couple things, but decided to come back tomorrow to really shop. I did get one cool Indian outfit, though.
So we rested in the afternoon and met up again in our room for dinner. A thunderstorm blew in and we went out to the window to see the rain come down. We sang some somts while we waited for the food to come.
We had dinner, reflected a little on our trip that had flown by, then went to our rooms for the night.