I don’t like Indian food.
Like at all. And Indian food doesn’t like me. I discovered this when God called me to India last year for a month long project. While I fell in love with the people, I did not fall in love with their food. I am not a picky eater but I struggled to find anything that I could keep down. So needless to say, I didn’t eat much. Holding up in the heat of India is much harder when you are not getting proper nutrition. I grew tired and weak from exhaustion, and became very cranky, which made ministry more difficult. As if culture shock wasn’t hard enough.
As weak as it may sound (and trust me it’s not easy to admit knowing so many people go hungry on a daily basis), I would have done anything for a hamburger. I am pretty sure at one point I dreamt of hamburgers. Super American, I know.
So you can imagine my response when I felt God calling me to India again, for a period of three months.
“For real God, you got to be kidding me. What will I eat for three months?”
As if he wasn’t aware of this situation. As if he didn’t already know.
I knew with certainty that God was leading me to this place. So I came, knowing the call to minister to the children at this orphanage was bigger than me. But I struggled with these selfish thoughts the whole way.
Then, the first night we were here, we had a night of worship and prayer and God shared a verse with me through a new friend.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew? ?6?:?26?
Dang. My bad. I am over here worrying about food and God takes that as an opportunity to tell me how much he values ME. The one who doubts him. The one who worries.
God is our provider. So for all of those who know and have asked what I am going to eat for the next three months, the answer is I don’t know. But I do know that Gods got it taken care of. I still can’t eat Indian food. But guess what, God is bigger than that.
So if anyone reading this has felt the call (if anyone is reading this) and is considering going to further God’s kingdom in another country and finds themselves crippled by different aspects of a new culture (food, dress, gender differences, smells, etc.) I encourage you to GO. The enemy has a way of making those small things seem BIG. But you can take this as confirmation that you need to go and that God will take care of every detail along the way. No need to worry, you of little faith (I’m talking to myself too).
Jehovah Jireh will surely increase your faith.
