Our team has developed a very definite group culture. For example, an appropriate response to any statement, whether mundane or completely bizarre, is “it’s obvious!” When I walked into a low doorway the other day, the unsympathetic and laughing response was “you just pulled an Adam!” If we walk past a shop playing music, then, much to the amusement of bystanders, we dance. Many an interesting tale starts with “Ben put on his crazy eyes, and then…” If we go to a national monument, we routinely get in trouble for suspicious (completely innocent!) behaviour. Observe, for example, this picture of Benjamin chasing pigeons in India’s largest mosque.
Various animals have made guest appearances in the narrative of our adventures. The Goats in Sweaters seem to be following Jenny around – apparently she even saw one with wearing a woolly hat! I often hear the mother in me say things like, “Is everyone here? Head count, one, two, three, Benjamin, do NOT poke that monkey!” We are often held up by somnolent ‘sacred’ cows crossing the road – it’s all part of the Indian Experience! But the most outrageous animal encounter was definitely Danielle getting bitten by a belligerent chipmunk with a chip on its shoulder.
The past two weeks were mostly spent in the North Campus of Delhi University, with occasional forays into Central Delhi. Some played cricket with neighbourhood kids, others painted or drew pictures as conversation starters (helpful tip: a good way to placate a security guard on the warpath is to draw his portrait), and of course there were lots of friendly cups of chai with complete strangers. We got to pray for the inmates of the local hospital, and the good news of Jesus was shared many times over, in English and broken Hindi.
We must have handed out thousands of Gideons Bibles to strangers on the streets, after which we all had Bible Elbow (similar to tennis elbow but more eternally rewarding). Many young people responded positively to our invitation to attend local mini-DTS, and one girl prayed a salvation prayer with us! Hallelujah! Please pray for all these seeds to take root and bear fruit.
We had a brief scare on Sunday afternoon, when we realised that the travel agent had booked the wrong tickets for us. By the time we noticed, we would have missed our train by ten hours, and not even Indian trains run that late. However, by the next night, impossibly, we had tickets on a much more luxurious train – God upgraded us! Praise Him for providing nine confirmed train tickets at only a day’s notice!
The Bangalore chapter of our adventures have begun – we have thawed out, are in very comfortable accomodation, and are convinced that greater things are yet to come.
It’s obvious!
Please pray for continued health, both spiritual and physical. Pray that God will bind us together with His love, and fill us with faith and joy.
via indiacambridgeoutreach.blogspot.co.uk