2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Namas Dei!
So I have made it back to Canada alive, not quite 100% well but alive and wow do I ever LOVE India! God did amazing stuff while we were there and taught us all so much about himself. I am going to apologize beforehand as I know this post is going to be long but there is just so much to tell! So here it goes...

Well as far as our journey went, we left on March 11th and stayed in Vancouver then flew out to Tokyo (9ish hour flight) and stayed the night then went to India the next day. Unfortunately I caught some kind of bug in Asia so my flight to India was spent starring down those little waterproof bags so kindly stored at the front of the seat for 8 hours. We arrived in New Dehli and were able to see the Red Fort and hit up the markets then the next day we went to Musoorie but on the way were able to go to the Ganges River at Hardiwar. This was one of the most eye-opening experiences of the whole trek. At Haridwar we saw hundreds of people who had come to the Ganges in order to wash in the river to have their sins forgiven. We had a guy with us who was able to teach us about Hinduism so as we walked past the many idols we were able to learn about what they were and why they were worshipped. It was a indescribable experience to be there, at the beginning, standing in front of a 90ftish statue of Shiva the destroyer god and learn about hinduism while watching their religious practices being excercised right infront of our very eyes. When walking around the place where it was said gods footprint was you could see hundreds of people just walking around, many who were selling things and from among them there were beggars who looked so lost. We were told to look at them in the eyes and afterwards the man who was with us pointed out that this was one of the most "holy" places for the Hindu religion yet at the very place where there was supposed to be joy, freedom, and forgiveness everyone looked so lost and empty. Some of the beggars were a product of families who had travelled during one of their huge festivals where people from over come in order to wash in the river and because millions of people go there some families bring the elderly or hard to handle relatives and leave them there. As a result they come back to their towns saying that they lost their relatives and people do not even care because they think its such a holy place so its the best place for them to be anyways.

From there we continued on and we were able to go from Hardiwar which was such a spiritually dark place to a Christian school. At the Christian school we got to see so many kids who were all full of light. You could tell that there was something different about that place than the other places in India we had been before that. We were given a tour and were able to hang out with some of the kids. It was crazy how fast the kids warmed up to us. When it was time for us to leave there was a girl named Elisheba who was with me the whole time and she started to cry as she waved goodbye. Lots of the kids were from the nearby towns and some were from villages. Lots of them were sponsor children who boarded there while others were from families who sent their kids there because of the good education. Education is something that is lacking in India especially in the villages because the teachers are usually not consistent but rather go where the money is.

After seeing the school and leaving Musoorie we met up with our guide and some porters and after a long bus ride on one crazy, windy road we made it to the village where we started our hike. The first day of hiking we made it to village #1 and spent the night there. The trek up to it was amazing, it was so beautiful and we had to hike up about 45 minutes worth of stairs. It was insane, all made out of rock and all terraced. Those who we were trekking with named it Jacob's Ladder. Once we made it to the village we had some time to play with the kids and then to relax. Every day we had leaders of the day who would present a small devotion before hiking and then they had a thought for us to focus on throughout the day. So in the evenings we often had a worship service with a time of prayer or sharing. It was sweet to be able to pray and sing together infront of our porters and other Indian people without them knowing what we were saying. We wished that they knew but because it is illegal for us to share the Gospel to them it was still amazing to be able to pray for them and pray blessing upon them even though they did not understand what we were doing. That night one of the villagers daughters stayed in our room and it was amazing to get to know her. Her sister started to attend the school we had been to the day before and it was amazing to see how God answered the prayers of a previous Kaleo student to change the hearts of her parents to allow her to go to that Christian School.

The second day we trekked up to village #2. This was my favorite part of India. In this village there were so many children. We started hiking in the morning and got there in the middle of the afternoon. We then walked around and the kids were jdrawn to us. We taught them games like "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" and "Duck Duck Goose". Even though there was a language barrier it did not stop us from having fun with them and interacting with them. As we played the games the parents were surrounding us just watching what was going on. It was sweet to see not only the kids have fun but their parents as well. What was even more important is that right after we had arrived one of the Indian men who was with us was given the opportunity to share the Gospel with the family who was hosting us. It wasn't until after we were out playing games that we found out that this guy and his family had all received the message and had become Christians. Praise God! Who would have thought that God would bless us by showing us in such a real way the power of prayer.

For the third day of hiking we left early and started our trek to our destination at village #3. The hike there was the most exhausting hike ever. Throughout the trip there were many who had been sick on and off from both altitude as well as adjusting to the food and enviromnemt around them. As we were hiking to the top there was a storm coming in so we had to hurry and wait for quite awhile until we were in a sheltered part to eat lunch. Once we had started to eat lunch the snow came so we hurried and made it to the finish. Even those who are more physically fit (aka the athletic guys) said that this was the most draining thing they have ever done. It was unbelievable how when hiking the only thing that allowed us to get up there was God and the strength he provided us with. As we prayed we all felt the time go quickly and our footsteps easier to take. As a habit during hiking we would always be shouting out Bible passages or yelling "rejoice" as well as one of our leaders Jesse had a amazing set of lungs with which he would be singing worship songs the whole way up. At the end of the day we had a sharing time and it was so cool to hear what was going on through the rest of our groups mind and how amazed we all were at how we all made it up, even those who were sick and weak.

The fourth day we stayed up at our destination and had a morning used to reflect as well as to hike and see the peaks around us. It was absolutely stunning to see the peaks of the himalayas surrounding us. Even better though, the same Indian man who decided to come with us was given yet another opportunity to share the gospel and a couple more of our porters became Christians. The man had his Bible out and for part of the day he was teaching them about Jesus. It was so fantastic to watch!

On the fifth day we made the trek down to village #2. Before we started though it was snowing quite heavily so we had to rush out. There was no hot water so we washed the dishes and because of all the bacteria we had to dry them very carefully which was quite the task but eventually we got out and on our way. We were a bit worried about the conditions but as soon as we started to hike the sun appeared with blue skies and it was the most magnificent hike ever! We were surrounded by so much beauty and the sky was all clear so we were able to see everything so clearly. To top that off as we neared village #3 there were kids waiting on the path for us. They would grab our hands and this one girl came to me and held my hand which was definitely the motivation of me making it there as she was going so fast. haha. But once we made it we went on a prayer walk which was great. I went with Jayme and that Indian man who was a pastor and we went to the school and as we went two young Indian boys came with us who I had met before. We learned that there was no teacher and how they usually do not have a teacher so even though they have a school nothing is done with it. The children usually work in the fields and if a teacher does come for a couple months it only goes till grade 5 but because of the lack of committment most of them are uneducated and will grow up only to stay in the village and help their parents. I was able to pray for the two boys and it was really a overwhelming experience. To hear the testimony's of the power of prayer from that Indian pastor as well as another pastor and his wife in one of the villages it was so encouraging to have that in mind when praying for those two boys knowing even first hand that God answers prayers! I know that their names and faces will be engrained in my mind for a long time.

The sixth day was quite sad as we had to leave village #2. As we left the kids were waving and yelling and cheering. Some were crying as we said goodbye and it was so touching to walk away from those children who God had touched our hearts with. To know that we will probably not see them again so so heartbreaking but at the same time we all felt hope as God had definitely highlighted a couple kids to each one of us that we will be praying for. So to think that some of these children we may see in heaven one day was incredible. Especially because the family who accepted Jesus lived in that village so already God has started a work there. Instead of returning to village #1 we head straight down to where we started and took the jeeps over the crazy road to the government hotel.

After that night we went back to a families house who took us on the trek and we had a morning of solitude to reflect over what God did in our lives and in the lives of others. Then we left and headed back to New Dehli after stopping at some shops and watching 4 of the other girls get their nose pierced (nose piercings are so common in India). We stayed in Dehli for the night and the next day we went to a Mosque and we were able to climb a huge tower and see a lot of Dehli and see the divide of the Hindu region and Muslim region. That night we left for Tokyo and stayed there for the afternoon which was our evening then came back to Canada.

So this was a basic overview of what we did in India, of course there are so many stories but to write them all down would take such a long time. This trek was such a amazing and stretching time. God really opened my eyes to see the reality of hinduism and with that it made me all the more grateful of the grace I have received in Christ and then hope for the people of India to see that as well. It definitely gave me a heart for other countries. Asia has never been a place where I thought highly of or even wanted to go but after going there I fell in love with the people and saw so much beauty in them. From being sick on the plane and getting to know more about the Japanese to being on the trains or in the villages and talking to the Indians God really showed me the similarities between us as well as the differences that make us all unique. God definitely gave me more of a heart for missions and a desire to reach out to people. It broke my heart to see all the beggars who had to drag their bodies to us in order to beg for money and to not be able to talk to them or do much of anything. It was heart-wrenching and gave me a desire to reach out to people all the more. God also taught me so much about freedom. At the beginning we were given a little devotion from the wife of the man who did our trek and through her God spoke volumes to me and how important it is for me to hold on to my identity in Christ and to God's perspective instead of my own. This whole year it has felt like I have been struggling with so much condemnation and have felt that in a lot of ways a lot of my gifts and abilities have been put on the shelf and because I have done that I have lost God's perspective. One of our leaders Nikki came (she was a previous Kaleo student) and she asked me "do you feel as though you have worth?" and shockingly I didn't know how to respond. I had been dealing with so much condemnation all year and was just praying for the silver lining and through that question and reflecting on the devotion I was able to really search my heart and regain my confidence in Christ and myself. Since that day before we started trekking where we had that devotion I have never felt so free of condemnation it has been amazing. To think that my journey into a place full of oppression would teach me freedom is unbelievable. God is at work in our world and in our lives whether we see it or not and this trek was a great reminder of that.

Thank-you so much for your prayers while I was there. I could not have done it without them. I just want to encourage you to also keep those who we met in India in your prayers. For the family who accepted Christ, they still have a long ways to go. So if you could pray that those seeds would fall on good soil and would be able to be nourished and produce a great harvest that would be amazing. If you could pray for the pastors who we met that God would protect them and give them encouragement and also for the children we met that God would keep their faces printed on our hearts and in our minds. Then finally for both me and the other students, that we would continue to process all that God did while we were in India, that we would not forget the valuable lessons we learned and that God would continue to stir us up to pray for these people with greater passion now that we have been there and seen the situation. Thank-you so much!