Yesterday, we had our rest day in Ranipet. We woke up extra early expecting a day of relaxation so we could recharge and be ready for the rest of the week. What I got was so much better than any rest or relaxation! If you haven’t heard it yet I’ll let you in on a secret. This team is full of firsts. Just ask any of the vets on this team. Firsts for the India trip and for the members of the team. There are so many great things that happened yesterday so I’ll try to keep it to a minimum but I can’t make any promises!
I realized at the beginning of this trip that I probably wouldn’t be leaving India the same person. I realize now that I won’t come home with the same life mission either. God has some crazy ways of humbling us and showing us that our life is not our own. This break day has brought with it so many experiences! First of all, I got the opportunity to see an Indian missionary hospital and meet with one of the doctors. When I decided to become a doctor I knew I would want to do missionary work. However, being in India, standing next to an Indian missionary doctor, holding his flashlight so he could see what he was doing, in India, ON MISSION was inspiring and amazing and life changing!!! After returning, Raj and Prema invited me to come with them. When I agreed I had no idea where we were going. So I jumped into the car and away we went. After swerving through traffic, almost hitting 4 dogs and a few people on bicycles we were there, wherever there was… When I got out of the car I thought I was in some kind of “Share the Well” fantasy land. I walked into a church and found myself surrounded by the pastors that make up the backbone of the Life Mission International round table. While trying to wipe the shock off my face I was ushered into Pastor Nermal’s church where we worshiped and the pastors spoke and strengthened each other. I have never been so totally and completely honored in my entire life. While we had some down time during the meeting Raj shared with me some books that he wrote for people who have given their lives to Christ. As soon as you say Jesus is my Lord India you are challenged. Some are disowned and hated by their families, some loose all connections to their community and are forced to move just to survive. They are under extreme persecution and yet they still praise God with a joy and contentment that I have literally never seen in the States. These books that Raj wrote give a step by step lesson of what to say to an unbeliever to help them understand the way that God has commissioned us to live our lives. Even though they WILL experience discrimination and harassment for their faith these people choose to go and make disciples of the Lord. Even if that means losing their status and community and the life that they once knew. It’s truly encouraging and completely inspirational.
So now back to fantasy land. I don’t think I will ever fully understand the Indian culture. However, the little bit I have learned while being in country is centered around food. After about 2 hours of worship and prayer and a lot of Raj’s amazing translating, which he assured me we were keeping to a minimum because of all the activities, we shared a meal. Like I said the little bit I understand of Indian culture is about food and how you eat. So when a gigantic portion of Chicken Brianni was heaped onto my plate I was powerless to do anything but eat it… all of it… with a smile on my face. Because at that very moment I had all those fairy tale pastors smiling and staring at me ready for me to make a cultural faux pa. In all seriousness though, I can’t remember a time in my life that I have felt so completely privileged and fortunate. The whole car ride back to the hotel all I could think was “did this really just happen to me?” and if it did then another question rang through my head “why me?”. After getting back to the hotel and just about spontaneously combusting while attempting to divulge what just happened to me to my teammates, Greg (The construction team lead) said something so profound. He said “this experience has happened to you for a reason, God’s got a plan for you.”
Wow. As if I haven’t already felt about a thousand pounds with Gods never ending grace and love I get this kind of encouragement. Holy Haagen-Dazs as Craig would say. God is so good. He meets us right where we are. If that’s in Granger, Indiana or thousands of miles away in India. He doesn’t care. He’ll come slap a life mission on you where ever he feels it’s right. Wow. I’m not going to ask why this day happened to me anymore. I’m just going to say Nundri to the God who commissioned me and start asking “how can I be Gods hands and feet?” Where ever he has chosen for me to go.
God bless from the most inspirational, loving and life giving country of India.
Allison Zandarski
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