Sunday morning we met Sam, CV's Vandavana's son. He is a very mature young man, 19 years old, with a heart for God and India. We couldn't have asked for more as we went off into the day not sure what it held. Sam had come to accompany us to a church his dad ha
d recommended to us when we met in the states. However, during the course of the first 2 days another church kept being mentioned as we met with people and so we decided to visit them. It was great because we were able to just go to church. They had no idea we were coming so we saw exactly what they would normally do..there was no special presentation, program, etc. Although the 6 of us stood out like sore thumbs I felt like I was able to participate without feeling different. The worship, offering devotion and communion touched me deeply. The people were welcoming and so much of what went on felt like being at home at Mariners, but by the heat, smell and finally the length of the service I knew I was somewhere else! The pastor began to speak and his style was very different from anything I've ever seen. I'm not sure, but my guess is the people in this church, mostly educated and of the rising middle class are still breaking free of so many things I can't beging to understand. Coming from a society that has been poor and now is experiencing wealth - what that means and what God says about it.....worshipping a God of love and freedom, joy and hope instead of gods of darkness and a life of working to earn a better eternity. The pastor focused on how much God loves you. How you can't put him into the box of your experience of your father in this life. He asked men who had never been hugged by their father's to stand and then ministered to them one by one. By 1pm - we arrived at 9:30 we had to go.....we're still not sure when the service concluded!We decided to head downtown for lunch to talk about what we experienced and see a different part of Mumbai. We ended up at an amazing hotel that used to be a palace. Sam was a great tour guide and helped us understand everything we were seeing. After a very civilized lunch we decided it was time to get into the thick of it and walked across the street to see India gate - a monument that marks where all travelers from the see came on land into Mumbai and then do some shopping on the street. Dodging cars to
cross the street, being on the same level as the poor, beggars with babes in arms following you to glean even a few rupees was an intense experience. The kids selling trinkets and toys, again following - the price dropping with every step. It was hard because I knew the minute I gave into one, word would spread like wildfire and what I'd be surrounded by would make the paparazzi stars in CA struggle with look like kid's stuff. Yet, I had to appreciate their tenacity and creativity in trying to release rupees from my pocketbook!After at least a hot hour of wandering and with a few bags of purchases we began the 1 1/2 drive back to the hotel. Sam headed off to his next destination - a school his dad has started in another state- and we were truly sad to see him go. I have a friend who travels for ministry a lot and she is always trying to help me understand how difficult it is to make friends in other places and then not be able to be with them, perhaps ever again. As I watched Sam walked down the hotel driveway her struggle became mine. I hope and pray we'll see him again soon.
Another late lite dinner and conversation about what we saw and learned that day. We so want to find a church we can support to reach the poor and oppressed in Mumbai and feel like we are learning a lot.
Monday morning came quickly and Mary led a touching devotion from Psalms 86. We had an intimate time sharing how India is impacting all our lives. Not surprisingly, each person had a different perspective and we were thankful for the way God has knit the team together.
At 9:30 we were picked up by Bombay Teen Challenge for another 1 1/2 hour drive out to their facility in the "jungle" for the girls rescued from sexual slavery. Over the course of the next 8 hours we were able to not only see what was being done, but make many new friendships. I'm sure my teammates will share much more of their experiences so I'll just close by saying at 2am I finally took a shower to rinse off the dust and sweat accumulated from a hot long day. Honestly it was a struggle because while I knew in my head that wouldn't wash away the amazing experience of the day and the joy we found in spite of all the darkness around us, I really wasn't sure.....MY prayer is I will find a way to make sure coming home doesn't do it either.
Thanks for all you prayers...all of our requests have been answered so far.
Please continue to pray for:
- Health for the team - we have had long days and short nights and some are feeling it....today is a slower day at the hotel preparing to leave with only one meeting so we are hoping to renew our bodies a bit.
- Safety in travel - last night's trip home from the facility was, well, the E-ticket of E-tickets and God protected us in a mighty way. Let's just say it wasn't dull. Today we split up and have short flights within India.
- Open hearts for life change - We don't want to miss what God is teaching us.
- Special blessing for those we've met - we are trying to be a blessing to all we meet and would love for them to feel a special blessing because we came.
- Colleen and CMCT - we received an email notifying us of Mr C.R. David's sudden death from a heart attack. He was a key man for 33 years in her ministry and is a great loss. Please pray especially for Don and Mary and the Board as they minister to her.
- Prayer for our grieving friends in the states - a service has been planned for Saturday and I'm so thankful I'll be home, but Don and Mary will still be here and are so sad to miss this significant time of comfort and celebration of a life cut short.
Thanks for reading, for encouraging us and for praying. We hope you'll discover the world in a new way with us....through God's eyes.
Karen Taulien
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