Sunday, January 15, 2012

Things I Learned Along the Way

Some of these things I already knew but haven't ever considered.  Some of these things were confirmed in India.  And some of these things have never crossed my mind before Kolkata.

1.  Red and yellow, black and white....they are ALL precious in His sight.
2.  There are true heroes of the faith in the most surprising places.
3.  Most American Christians have NO IDEA what persecution is.  You might think that you are persecuted because someone at work doesn't like Christians.  But we simply have no idea what true persecution looks like.
4.  "Hallelujah" and "Amen" translate perfectly between English and Bengali.
5.  I have never been more thankful for God's grace and the gift of salvation.  To watch the Hindus trying to "earn" favor with their gods by all sorts of acts was very sad to me.  32 goats were sacrificed the day we visited the Khali temple.  And hundreds of poor villagers were throwing money they didn't have into a god's temple.  I wanted to yell and scream at them, "Don't you know that our ransom has been paid in full!?!"
6.  Vicks is a good thing.  (We rubbed Vicks under our nose as we walked in certain areas of Kolkata to help mask the stench of trash, etc.)
7.  My faith is so small compared to some of the heroes in India.  They trust God to meet every day needs.  We trust Him for so little.  I think the average American trusts God but is afraid to give total control over to Him (me included).
Just a few of the amazing kids at New Hope School
8.  That all humans have the same basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing.  But we also have a desire for love and affection.  To watch a young girl collapse in a chair as I rubbed her feet was so humbling.  Many of them have never been shown positive physical affection.
9.  Life in India is hard.  Travel, food preparation, etc are all lengthy processes.
10. I will never be the same again.

Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God" — William Carey










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