I need to buy a clock. My phone, which has served as my watch, is utterly useless in India. As a result, I have no concept of time, and for someone like me who finds solace in a schedule, this is annoying. For example, jetlag makes you do weird things... like wake up at 4 am starving. Every morning, a man comes and knocks on the door at 7 am to collect laundry. This morning, I woke at 5:30 am to the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer... kind of haunting yet beautiful at the same time.
After a few minutes I fell back asleep, but I woke up again when I heard a knock on my door. Not wanting to get out of bed, I yelled "No thank you" to the person I thought was the laundry man. He knocked again, to which I responded "No!" with greater force. And then the man said something to me about my karma being closed because I refused to bring my laundry. I fell back asleep, not thinking much about it, but then woke up a few minutes later, had my time with Jesus, and then got ready for the day. Strange thing is, the laundry man came a little while later. I'm guessing that I dreamed the whole scenario about some random guy thinking laundry affects my karma... Geesh.
Jet lag is almost over though... I am believing that in the name of Jesus. The past two days have been spent in orientation. Beth, Janelle, and Emily have done an awesome job of showing us around, introducing us to coconut water and other delicacies, as well as teaching us about Indian culture.
We also went shopping yesterday for our new wardrobes called a salwar kameez... I'm not sure if that's spelled correctly. Anyways, these outfits consists of pants, a long shirt, and a scarf. I have to say that I think American women have been getting it all wrong. These clothes are so bright and colorful with beadwork, embroidery, and intricate designs. Compared to Indian clothes, our clothes look pretty boring. Indian women are also just georgeous. It's not just a personal choice, but absolutely necessary that we wear these clothes, especially when we go to see the women we will be working with. We have to do our best to fit in, adapt to their customs, and earn their trust. Every little thing we can do will move us closer to building relationships.
We have also had the awesome privilege of attending a youth conference at our church for the past two nights. It has been so cool to worship God with my Indian brothers and sisters, and I have been challenged by their insight and commitment to Christ. Our pastor tonight was a man from Singapore who spoke about the women with the bleeding disease who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus's cloak. I had never notcied this before, but when Jesus speaks to her, he calls her "Daughter".
You see, in Jesus's time, a woman such as she would have been cast out from society due to her condition. She was no longer known by her name but rather as "unclean". When Jesus speaks to her, he doesn't just use her name but uses the word "daughter". In a culture where you are defined by your relationships, this is huge. Jesus is claiming her as his own... this woman no one else had wanted for the past twelve years. Jesus establishes this intimate relationship with her and declares it before everyone. In claiming her, Jesus is taking responsibility for her, protecting her, showing everyone else that she has value.
This is what Jesus does for us... he claims us. To him we have value and he claims responsibility for us. These women who have been exploited and broken deserve to know they have value. The man begging outside my gate deserves to know he has value. The person God is bringing to your mind right now deserves to know he or she has value.
That being said, I need to explain to you there are things I will not be able to share with you... pictures, stories, names, faces. I have to be extremely careful. In an effort to preserve the dignity of a man or woman I am working with, I will have to be vague and will not be able to give details. I will explain more in coming posts, but let this serve as a pre-apology if you read a post that is less than satisfying.
I am excited though to share with you everything I can in the hopes God is glorified. I just have to exercise extreme discernment.
**The man giving the sermon tonight was a hilarious speaker from a church in Singapore. He had several people act out the scene of the woman, Jesus, and his disciples. He played the woman, and as he was narrating to the audience, he demonstrated how this woman could sneak up on Jesus because she was a ninja. Definately didn't know that had ninjas back in Jesus's time... I guess you learn something new every day :)
After a few minutes I fell back asleep, but I woke up again when I heard a knock on my door. Not wanting to get out of bed, I yelled "No thank you" to the person I thought was the laundry man. He knocked again, to which I responded "No!" with greater force. And then the man said something to me about my karma being closed because I refused to bring my laundry. I fell back asleep, not thinking much about it, but then woke up a few minutes later, had my time with Jesus, and then got ready for the day. Strange thing is, the laundry man came a little while later. I'm guessing that I dreamed the whole scenario about some random guy thinking laundry affects my karma... Geesh.
Jet lag is almost over though... I am believing that in the name of Jesus. The past two days have been spent in orientation. Beth, Janelle, and Emily have done an awesome job of showing us around, introducing us to coconut water and other delicacies, as well as teaching us about Indian culture.
We also went shopping yesterday for our new wardrobes called a salwar kameez... I'm not sure if that's spelled correctly. Anyways, these outfits consists of pants, a long shirt, and a scarf. I have to say that I think American women have been getting it all wrong. These clothes are so bright and colorful with beadwork, embroidery, and intricate designs. Compared to Indian clothes, our clothes look pretty boring. Indian women are also just georgeous. It's not just a personal choice, but absolutely necessary that we wear these clothes, especially when we go to see the women we will be working with. We have to do our best to fit in, adapt to their customs, and earn their trust. Every little thing we can do will move us closer to building relationships.
We have also had the awesome privilege of attending a youth conference at our church for the past two nights. It has been so cool to worship God with my Indian brothers and sisters, and I have been challenged by their insight and commitment to Christ. Our pastor tonight was a man from Singapore who spoke about the women with the bleeding disease who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus's cloak. I had never notcied this before, but when Jesus speaks to her, he calls her "Daughter".
You see, in Jesus's time, a woman such as she would have been cast out from society due to her condition. She was no longer known by her name but rather as "unclean". When Jesus speaks to her, he doesn't just use her name but uses the word "daughter". In a culture where you are defined by your relationships, this is huge. Jesus is claiming her as his own... this woman no one else had wanted for the past twelve years. Jesus establishes this intimate relationship with her and declares it before everyone. In claiming her, Jesus is taking responsibility for her, protecting her, showing everyone else that she has value.
This is what Jesus does for us... he claims us. To him we have value and he claims responsibility for us. These women who have been exploited and broken deserve to know they have value. The man begging outside my gate deserves to know he has value. The person God is bringing to your mind right now deserves to know he or she has value.
That being said, I need to explain to you there are things I will not be able to share with you... pictures, stories, names, faces. I have to be extremely careful. In an effort to preserve the dignity of a man or woman I am working with, I will have to be vague and will not be able to give details. I will explain more in coming posts, but let this serve as a pre-apology if you read a post that is less than satisfying.
I am excited though to share with you everything I can in the hopes God is glorified. I just have to exercise extreme discernment.
**The man giving the sermon tonight was a hilarious speaker from a church in Singapore. He had several people act out the scene of the woman, Jesus, and his disciples. He played the woman, and as he was narrating to the audience, he demonstrated how this woman could sneak up on Jesus because she was a ninja. Definately didn't know that had ninjas back in Jesus's time... I guess you learn something new every day :)
No comments:
Post a Comment