Finding Grace in India

My mission trip to Northern India was probably one of most challenging trips that I've been on.  My team was phenomenal and every detail of our trip was saturated by the grace of God...yet there were many moments when I felt so exhausted and beat.  I never admitted this to my team (until now) but there were times when I seriously wished Jesus would send us home early.   I know...I'm so messed up. 

View of Kalka from hill top

The area we visited was a city called Kalka. No, not Calcutta... Kalka.  I found it interesting that even people in India didn't know where this was.  Kalka is situated on the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India,  and it's named after one of the fiercest hindi goddess, Kali, (goddess of death and darkness).  When I visited this same region back in February  I was totally clueless about the history and geography of Kalka.  Seriously last time, all we did was hotel --> church --> "Hot Millions" Restaurant --> hotel --> church.  This time around maybe God knew I wanted to see more of India so he placed us in the heart of city--to be exact, our hotel was in Downtown Kalka right above one of the most famous Kali temple in India.   It was pretty intense. I'll just leave it at that.  

I believe God gave us a VIP Kingdom Tour of India this time.  He took us around the hidden street corners of Kalka, allowed us to explore the city of Chandigahr, and even a bonus tour of New Delhi--allowing our team to pray and intercede on behalf of people of India.  Our Heavenly Father pulled some serious strings for us!!  

VBS at local Christian School

In Kalka, our team spent time with the children at a local Christian school leading VBS during the day.  Most of the children enrolled in the school were Dalit children.  Just to clarify, the Dalit people are part of the "untouchable" class in India.  There are four main caste systems in India, and the Dalits are known or "unknown" as those who don't belong to any caste.  They are the societal orphans of India.  While they may be forgotten and rejected by the world, during this trip Jesus reminded me that they are remembered and LOVED by Christ. He seriously loves them so much!  I mean...just the fact that He provided a Christian School in Kalka to allow Dalit children to receive education, learn about His love, and build hope for a future...that already speaks volumes.  

Visiting one of the Dalit homes

During the evening we had a chance to visit families of the Dalit children who attended the school.  I expected their conditions to be tough...but seriously, many of the homes we visited were beyond rough.  I saw families of 5 or 6 living in a crammed space that was barely large enough to fit a queen size bed. I was humbled to see how each family still welcomed us into their homes and shared what little they had with us.  There was nothing that we could offer them but they just wanted us to visit and remain for a while. 

Although we weren't allowed to openly share the Gospel with these families, I believe God was opening these doors so that we could bring worship and prayer into those spaces. 

I really felt like Jesus was taking our team on a journey to Samaria--visiting the forgotten children of God.  When we sit back in the comforts of our home, reading about what Jesus did in the Bible, we see it as a nice story of how much He cares for people. We think it was no big deal for Jesus to visit that woman at the well (John 4) or the blind men and lepers sitting outside the main city...I mean, He liked doing that stuff?!  

To be honest, I never really thought it was hard for Jesus to visit these people during his ministry .  But after visiting some of these places for a measly 5 days, I now think otherwise.  It was probably NO JOKE, exhaustingly tough and draining--both physically and spiritually for Jesus to spend time with the people that He did here on earth.  I did it for only a few hours, and like I said earlier, there were moments when I wanted to go home early!

Now, to think that Jesus left the glory and splendor of Heaven to visit places like Samaria, that's crazy love.  No motel or even a warm bed to rest after a long day's work; and moments of solitude were cut short by crowds who constantly needed his attention; yet he went out and served His lost sheep. For the entirety of His ministry...and even hours before facing death...He selflessly shared Life with the people He loved.   

I realize how loosely I had said that I wanted to be more like Christ.  My ten days in India has taught me two things: ONE - I still fall pitifully short in following even the shadows of my Lord's steps; and the TWO - Following Christ is No Joke, crazy hard.  When we follow Christ, we are prone to see our failures and weakness...and perhaps even see how ugly we really are in light of his glorious love.  Facing this is not easy...which is why I wanted to run away at times...but I'm thankful that His sufficient grace has kept me bound to His crazy love.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

- Robert Robertson, "Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing"