India...

What a start to an amazing culture. This place is so full of so many languages, and people. Every day has been a new day to learn how to lean into God. One of the first days that we arrived, God spoke to me through a story of Jesus (Luke 5:12-16). I realized that Jesus, needed to often withdraw away from the people and his disciples and pray. He had to lean into God and during this season I desperately need to lean into God. India is a place of many different things, including religion. There is Hindi and Islam and even some Buddhist. It is like the melting pot for religion. The atmosphere is heavy here, not just because of the overwhelming amount of exhaust but because of the overwhelming amount of spiritual strongholds.

It has been amazing to lean into God and get strategy to live in this country. My team and I have read through the entire Bible out loud around the city in the first week. Proclaiming truth is powerful. We have been able to start volunteering at the hospital in this second week. There is so much to get adjusted too but so much opportunity to love. The hospital is more advanced than what we had seen in Africa but still has a major hole that needs to be filled by Jesus.

One of the strongholds that causes strife with people here is miscommunication. People not communicating, or there being a lack of understanding on what is being communicated. This is something that God is already helping us in, and equipping us beyond what our own mouths could do.

We have already had God do miracles in getting us into the hospital. There was a miscommunication during the first week with the superintendent of the hospital and our staff. This was going to put us out of the hospital for the first month we were here and only allow us to work in the hospital for one month instead of two. God moved and during the staff praying for wisdom and favor, we were granted just that. We were told to continue working and that things would be taken care of. Praise the Lord. We have also already had favor in working with the staff (which we have heard, takes a while for them to warm up to you). The light that is within you when you have Jesus is attractive.

I am learning a lot about what it means to die to yourself. This is something that I started to learn in Africa. What did Jesus do when someone accused Him, pushed his buttons, or inconvenienced Him. He had compassion on them, He still healed them, and He defiantly still loved them. One of the girls in my room is ready this book that has inspired me. I haven’t read it yet but am going to recommend it. It is called “Love has a face” by Michele Perry. This book is about her life, Michele, an amazing women that has followed God where ever He called her.

She read me a quote out of it about dying to one’s self that I want to share.

“I began to realize that only when I live inside of Him (Jesus) can He fully live inside of me. Let’s face it. Dead people are really hard to embarrass and impossible to scare. They have to live from another realm because they no longer exist in the present one. They do not have any opinions, and they are absolutely unoffendable. They listen more than they speak. You can step on their toes and it does not bother them one bit. They see beyond the seen into the eternal unseen. And they have no concern for their reputation. Personal dignity means nothing to them.”

Even in writing this quote their are still parts of me that cringe. Am I offendable, yes. Do I want people to know who I am, and have some personal dignity, yes. Wait, but is that going to allow me to live like Jesus? Did He worry about his personal dignity when He died on the cross, allowed people to spit on Him and beat Him?

I have used this picture of a dead person a lot this week. When people try and correct me, embarrass me, or just in living life sometimes people offend me. Each time I want to reach, and each time I have thought about this picture. If I am to die to myself, to live for Christ and live as Christ would live should I react this way? I have not done a very good job this week, and have been so blessed by the grace that I receive new every morning.

It is excited for me though. To have a better understanding of this phrase we so often use, die to yourself.

I will try and post some pictures so you can see the dress here. These are from my friend corinna’s b-day last week. We went to a park, had lunch, and played cricket (for all your americans that is like baseball).

You are blessed to be a blessing.