When I think about what I’ll miss
most about my time in India,
it’s hard to pinpoint one thing. Will I miss the boys? Of course. The food?
Perhaps. Rickshaw rides? Without a doubt. Mosquito nets? Eh. Bartering? YES. But
if I truly think about what I will miss the most, I would have to say it’s the interruptions.
Not so much the kind that cut you
off in conversation, but rather the kind of interruptions that happen all for
the glory of God. It’s been awesome to see how God has worked unplanned
ministry in the midst of our planned ministry. I specifically think of Peter and
John at the temple gate called Beautiful. They were on their way to the temple
for prayer time in the afternoon when a lame beggar asked them for money. In
response to the beggar’s request for money, Peter exclaimed, “Silver or gold I
do not have, but I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.� Amazing. Peter and John had set out with a specific purpose and yet
allowed themselves to be interrupted all for the glory of God.
One does not have to try and have
their plans interrupted here in India.
In fact, interruptions happen quite often. Some of the best interruptions have
led to quality conversations and sweet times with the Holy Spirit. Our arrival
into the Calcutta
airport was one of these God glorifying interruptions. With nobody there to
pick us up, we were seemingly interrupted by a young girl asking us questions.
As some of you may know, this led to us figuring out that her and her family
were missionaries in Calcutta.
They ended up housing us for the night and blessing us with air conditioning
and a delicious breakfast.
While we were debriefing in the
city and having a time of worship one night, we were joined by two Europeans on
the roof. They were minding their own business and eating, but even their
presence seemed to be a bit of an interruption at first. Eventually, we felt
the Holy Spirit’s prompting to strike up a conversation. We ended up talking
with them for over an hour and it was definitely encouraging and energizing.
One afternoon a teammate and I were
joined by a girl on a rickshaw that we started up a conversation with. She
ended up coming to the coffee shop with us and spending the afternoon chatting.
Our day looked a lot different than I thought it would but our interactions
with her were definitely fruitful.
We are often interrupted by randos
on the street asking us where we are from and what we are doing here. All these
interruptions allow for such good conversations even if we aren’t sharing the
Gospel. There have been times where these conversations have challenged me to
speak up more about what I believe and take hold of every opportunity. So yes, India, I will
miss your interruptions.
