A prayer for India

(Near where I transfered buses with the girls to go to Smyrna)

A few mornings ago, I woke realizing I dreamed of India.

A few days before left India, something really hit me- India is a land in need of healing. Certainly there are places all over the world in need of God, but India has something different about it. It’s obviously a land in need of spiritual healing, but what surprised me was that it is a land in need of physical healing as well.  I can’t even begin to tally the amount of people I saw with some sort of physical problem, specifically I noticed many people with problems with their feet and legs. Legs! The very thing that helps you move forward.

India is a land of pain and heartbreak. Before going to India I may have thought of this as being dramatic, but after not only my experience with the girls, but hearing and seeing so many truly sad stories I can see this reality. So many children who have lost parents, parents who have lost children, so much loss. I watched many Hindi films while I was in India and besides the music and dancing (“Bollywood”) one other thing seemed to tie them together as a common thread. They are dramatic. Really dramatic. The older ones especially. There are traumatic accidents and sudden deaths or other forms of heartbreak. After seeing so many films that have such elements I began to wonder why… Indians like drama? Is that it? While, I think that’s part of it, I believe there is more to it than that. Many Indians themselves have seen and experienced such horror and pain first hand; they relate.

There is known to be a lot of corruption in India. The government and some persons in general who are leaders are unfair and crooked. (The caste system also plays in to this, I believe.) The culture is accustomed to the corruption, but some are willing to fight it. The presence of Freedom Firm is an example of just that! And the dream can be realized.

India, a country of 1.2 billion people, is only 5.6 percent Christian. There are many religions represented in India– Hinduism, Buddhims, Jainism, Sikhism, and Islam to name some. It’s fascinating how much these religions have influenced it’s culture through out history. Of course a country in need of healing is going to try to find their hope in something. It’s so sad for one country to be so lost.

I may not have a “calling” to India, but as a Christ follower, this hopeful heart would like to see (and believes) India can stretch out it’s legs and move into a new future. My prayer is for India to do just that.

(at the highest (in elevation) Tea Factory in South India)

snap shot

So, I realize those of you who receive my email updates often get my typos in all their glory as the original published blog is sent automatically often prior to my corrections. Ha. So, I hope you all got a kick* out of my “foot” instead of food typo. No pun intended, okay yes it was intended. 🙂

(at the Taj Mahal in Agra!)

So, I got back to California Tuesday. I was supposed to fly in to San Francisco Monday, but had flight delays etc and had to spend the night in a hotel in London. So, nearly 48 hours after leaving India, I arrived in America. My body clock is still adjusting and I have yet to have a night without waking in the wee hours of the morning. My second day here I actually didn’t wake up until 4:30 pm! Ha, jet lag. But, it could be worse.

(The Taj Mahal)

(from inside the Taj Mahal looking out)

(The Red Fort in Agra)

Overall my time in Delhi and Agra was good although I had a “Delhi belly” (I vomited in the morning before leaving for the train… and had a funny tummy through out the day) on Saturday which was the day we went to the Taj Mahal in Agra. I felt like I was in a haze all day because of it. But I suppose it was the ultimate Indian experience. I still got to laugh at moments like when we (10 of us– Anne and I met up with others in Agra) rode in one small Indian truck– 3 in the front, and 7 of us in the bed (“That’s your ride?!) and when two Indian girls wanted to take photos with me at the Taj Mahal (I felt like a character at Disneyland). Besides the Taj, I also got to visit Agra’s Red Fort, the National Museum in Delhi, and the Craft Museum. I even got to see the capital and India Gate. The woman we stayed with was a HUGE blessing (more than I can say really). I definitely experienced culture shock in New Delhi. Besides it being a big city (Ooty is a smaller town), the increase in traffic, cleanliness, and modernization felt bizarre. Truly, Delhi to London to San Francisco made culture re-entry less intense coming back.

(The sisters that took photos with me… they paid for the Taj’s photographer to take them!)

(Anne and I sitting outside the Taj Mahal)

(riding in the back of a tempo (small Indian truck) 3 Indians in the front, 2 in the back and 5 of us foreigners=quite a sight)

It’s been nice to see family and friends and I even got to see one of my sisters and brother-in-law this week-end which has been lovely. I feel so blessed.

I feel like there is so much more I can and want to say… but I hardly know where to begin. 😉 More to come?

Thank you all so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!