Indian Summer

Jymasiki !

This means "praise God" in Hindi. He is greatly to be praised for your faithful prayers and financial support on our behalf. Let me tell you a little about it.

We served in and around the city of Amritsar, Punjab in north-western India. After an 11 hour flight from L.A. to Seoul, an 8 hour flight from Seoul to New Delhi, and finally an 6 hour train ride, the team of four arrived in Amritsar to begin ministry. Soon after we settled in, we heard that men from outside Punjab had entered the area and were killing people indiscriminately. Therefore people were on edge and leery of outsiders and the team generally would never stay out later than 6pm. Nevertheless, God worked this for good.

We worked with several local pastors who took the team to various villages between Amritsar and Atari to the west (see map link above). In each location we would visit the home of a believer and wait while they gathered friends and neighbors to come and hear the gospel. Our hosts were always welcoming, offering us seats, fans, and hot or cold drink. My favorite was the homemade chai !!! Due to the tense situation, villagers would often ask many questions about who we were and why we were there. This curiosity often lead them to come and see us and hear our message ! Once the crowd had gathered, a team member would share the gospel while a pastor would translate. Upon asking who would like to receive the gospel, most hands usually went up as it is impolite to refuse one's guest, much like the situation in other cultures such as those in Africa. According to a local pastor, the real spiritual fruit was about 50% of those that raised hands. We rejoice with God and the angels in heaven at these new children of God ! 

Following the message we would mingle with the people. Many would approach us for prayer about health, studies, family, and financial problemes. Despite cultural and linguistic differences, we all share the human experience. People everywhere have similar cares and concerns and all one needs to do is consider the prayer requests offered by one's self and those around them. The team usually was invited to homes as well after the message and we drank more chai and often ate some great food ! If you don't know already, Indian food is my favorite so I took full advantage of the meals, haha. 

Besides a full stomach I also learned much. In the West, for example France and the U.S. sharing the gospel involves much apologetics. In order to even share the good news, one must first adresse and dismantle many intellectual and personal obstacles. However many parts of the world as in our situation, one can cut to the chase. There are of course exceptions and the after evangelization issues that must be adressed, but the fact remains that the proclamation of the gospel itself is very straight forward. That was incredibly refreshing and challenging. The question I think we in the West must ask is, "Am I actually complicating things ?" Perhaps it is partially the West's humanistic intellectualization of all things that has pervaded the proclamation of the simple message of salvation. Food for thought. 

I mentioned before the trip that I was going to discover what God might have in store for me in India, considering my long intrigue for the country. The conclusion is twofold. First, my experience was great and God taught me many things. God has given me a love of food, culture, and language regardless of the place and He has given me a knack for learning in this area and ability to mold to the surroundings. I will certainly go back given the opportunity, yet I am still called to France. Secondly, India does have a French speaking community in Pondicherry. God willing, I would one day like to lead a French speaking team hear for short-term and possibly on-going ministry. Who knows, maybe it will be me that stays there, haha. 

After our time in India we returned to Korea. The two female team members, Eunice and Sara, live there and the team leader, Min, visited his in-laws. Me, I spent a day and a half in Seoul exploring and intaking more culture and food ! My favorite dish was live octopus, although the dog wasn't bad at all... Yes, I said dog : poodle to be exact (okay it wasn't poodle). Spending some time there helps me better understand my current community in Orange County, the customers at my Starbucks, and church culture at little better as they are very Korean. 

Thank you for being fellow laborers in the ministry with me and giving me the opportunity to learn and serve ! If you have any questions or want to hear more, email, call, or let's meet up. I'd love to share what God is doing !