जीवनी = life.

I can't believe I have already been here for over 2 weeks. Time has flown by! In our time here as a team, we have met over 330 Indians and gotten the opportunity to share the Gospel with over 50 of them! It is amazing how much favor God has given us in these brand new friendships. He has opened so many doors for us and made sharing the Gospel a new and exciting experience. It is SO different to share the Gospel in India than it is in the states. Because there are so many people here who have never even heard the name Jesus, there is a mystery behind Him and a strong curiosity for who He is. We don't so much have the obstacle of built up preconceived notions and prideful "believers" to hinder us. People are much more open to spiritual conversation here. There are also a ton of spiritual people, so they are usually interested in hearing what we believe about God. The problem is they are very tolerant to all religions. Hindus worship many Gods, so most of them would casually add Jesus to their many other Gods they worship after hearing about Him. A lot of them also don't see their need for a savior because they don't know the severity of their sin. This is why being here has been great for my faith-we have to rely on God for everything. Only He can change hearts and reveal Himself in ways they can understand. We are only the vessels- we literally have no control. For someone to accept the Gospel here and follow Jesus as their only God, it is a process here. It's not like in the states- this country is very spiritually dark and there are a lot of things working against us. Six weeks is actually a very short time to be doing ministry here and building relationships. It is so humbling to accept what happens and what doesn't happen and not try to change it by my own strength. I know that no labor is ever in vain so I am encouraged that so many have heard and so many more will hear the Gospel. Here are some pictures and stories from the past week of meeting girls and sharing the Gospel!

 

Bonnie, Megna, Me, Nikrita, Hannah, Isha

You might recognize the girl on the right from my last post. She and the girl on the left were two of the three girls that I shared with my first time. After sharing with someone, we process with them by telling them a story about Jesus and asking if they might want to follow Him again. Their friend Megna, the one at the top, couldn't make it that day but I was able to share with her and also share the story of the demon possessed man from Mark 5. Megna told me she has a cousin who is Christian and that he believes what we believe. When I told her how much my life changed after becoming a "follower of Yeshu (Jesus)" she told me the same happened for her cousin. It was cool to see that she knew someone who had seen fruit in their life-I pray that they can give her more exposures to the Gospel and that she will become a Yeshu Bukta- a follower of Jesus. 

 

Megna, Isha, Nikrita, me, and Bonnie

 All of us on the train! This was our first experience in women's second class on the train. This picture doesn't begin to describe how crowded it was at one point. I think I forgot what personal space was like for a second. Bonnie described it as a party bus.... good times.

This is Shraddah! She took us shopping in an area called Kalabah where they have great street shopping. She helped us bargain a ton of stuff that I hope to give to friends and supporters. She is the sweetest and we had so much fun shopping all day. We didn't get to share with her that day but we hope to meet up again soon. Praying for more opportunities and praising God for favor!

This is me, Shruti, and Kelby one of our leaders. This girl was the most hospitable girl I have ever met! she took us all around a beautiful area in Mumbai and probably would have proceeded to show us the whole city if we'd had time. Hannah got to share the Gospel with her and she amazed by it. She was hanging on every word and had never heard anything like it. She said yes when we asked her if she wanted to follow Jesus as her only God! It was amazing but we know that for them to really understand it takes some processing through the decision. Later she said that it was hard for her to really make that decision because she didn't have an experience to confirm it. That is what a lot of Indians need to grow faith-an experience. We asked for a specific prayer request that we could be praying to Jesus only for so she would see His power. We have found that God reveals Himself in different ways and in India it is often through experiences. I am so encouraged by Shruti's responsive heart and Hannah's boldness to share. We got to hang out with her again and share the story of the demon possessed man which she was enamored by. It is so fun to watch her light up with amazement anytime we tell her a testimony of an answered prayer or a story about Jesus. Those are the kinds of responses that keep me motivated every day I'm here.

One more story of a girl named Shrimohi who I got the opportunity to share with. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture with her, but we plan on meeting up again so hopefully we will get one. She is a young adult who actually went to NYU and is incredibly intelligent and wealthy. We were so fortunate that she wanted to hang out with us and she took us to the best little cafe called Suzettes- still need to go back to that place. I had some assumptions going into our friendship because she'd lived in the states for a few years: that she'd at least heard of Jesus and that she probably had the wrong idea of Christianity. Of course, as with most assumptions people make about others, I was completely wrong about her. I started to share what we believe and showed her the name Yeshuji, which is Jesus, she had absolutely no idea who he was. She was SO amazed at the Gospel! I have never seen a reaction like that. She just kept asking "who is this man???" and "do you know Him??"It was so cool to be able to say that I have a personal relationship with this wonderful person and I myself was blown away by that. It was so humbling- that is exactly how I should always feel when I reflect on my relationship with Jesus. I learned a lot from this one time of sharing the Gospel. This girl of such high intellect and stature was completely amazed at the Gospel. God planned that Hannah and I would meet her and she would hear it this summer. We are being used by Him this summer in huge ways. It is such an incredible privilege!

And now for a few pictures that I haven't uploaded yet from our time here in India!

 

What we used to get for breakfast every morning.. an omelet with spinach and LOTS of onions. No mom, I did not eat it... I hate onions a lot. But no one was too fond of these. We now get plain scrambled eggs. haha, it's pretty good!

 

a huge mall that we met new friends at

 

Will, Rachel, and Kelby in a ricksaw

 

In the train station

 

Me, Hannah and Rachel at lunch in South Mumbai

  

I can't claim these glasses in this picture... haha that would be my roommate Kyleigh.

 

The view of the city from our friend's sweet hotel room. 

 

Me, Hannah, and our friend Shruti

 

A strange dessert that Kevin ordered at a restaurant called Bombay Blue. It was basically on fire. 

 

Kyleigh eating some weird dessert that she talked up a lot and it ended up being sub par...:)

 

me and Hannah in a sassy ricksaw

 

We have a wonderful cook named Nazia that makes us delicious Indian food most nights! Just not Wednesdays and Saturdays. She is so sweet- we are really blessed to have her. So much spicy goodness. 

I pretty much braid Kyleigh's hair every day.. it's becoming a part of our morning routine. This is one I recently executed: the double waterfall. She was looking extra fierce that day. 

 

I leave you with this picture of Rachel, Kyleigh, Hannah, and me in another one of our exciting taxi rides. And again I have to thank everyone SO so much for every single prayer. God is answering them and moving in India. Please keep interceding for our Indian friends. We don't have much time left her, but we are determined to make the most of it! I love you all and appreciate you more than you know! 

Namaste