“Greater things have yet to come, Greater things are still to be
done in this city.”
Greetings
from India! My team and I landed in India last Thursday morning and so far
Bangalore has been an exciting and definitely unique culture to experience.
From the beautiful colors of Kurtas (a typical woman indian top) to the very
“unorganized” driving, there hasn’t been a dull moment.
Besides
just immersing ourselves in the culture my team and I have been very excited to
start work with Rahabs Rope. Preceding our work days we have had an orientation/Indian
clothes shopping day, so this is what we did yesterday. The orientation helped
us become prepared and more aware of the work we will be facing the next 3
weeks. Of course, the shopping was very fun for the group because we are girls
and love purchasing clothes! It also taught us a good lesson of valuing
modestly. Since we are dressing as the women of India would dress our wardrobe
consist of shirts that cover the bottom and pants that don’t emphasize the
figure. This traditional Indian wear conveys a modest appearance that will
battle the negative perception of American women. It also helps us realize that our value and worth is not
found in revealing clothing but in Christ.
I
also want to share with you something that was on my heart that I have learned
through my Bible study since I have been in India. I am trying to go through
the book of Acts because its focus is on the heart of missions and proclaiming
the gospel to the nations. But Acts also embraces another beautiful aspect and
that is the great forgiveness of God. I found this through the testimony of
Paul in reading two separate verses.
Acts
9:1 “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the
Lord’s disciples...” and then later in Acts 9:18 “ ...he [Saul] could see
again. He got up and was baptized.”
It reads that Saul at the beginning of the chapter was not just
speaking murderous threats but he was breathing them. He was so against Jesus that he continuously without hesitation
wanted to kill all Christians. I think everyone would agree Saul is a pretty
bad guy but regardless he still a child of God that is being passionately
pursued. And towards the end of chapter he has his eyes opened and is baptized;
he is forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus!
This
is something I want these women to know because they are not defined by their
past. Like Paul, they may have some horrible events in their life but those
events can be wiped clean by the
blood of Jesus. I want them to know that they are valued, treasured, and
beautiful daughters of the Father. Even if my team might not work one on one
with each of these women, we want to be apart of God’s big picture that will help them
understand their worth in Christ.
Oh, what a glorious day that will be.
Now
on to what we will be doing this week.
We are going to be traveling to a village roughly a few hours away from
Bangalore. We have packed up a weeks worth of items and will be staying in a
guesthouse there. I know the leaders, my team, and I would greatly appreciate
prayers for the incredible days we are about to experience.
In Christ,
Karlie
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