The Experience of a Lifetime

These past few weeks have been the experience of a lifetime. This being my first trip overseas, I’ve learned, seen ,heard ,and  smelt many new things.  While we have been in India, we have helped foster new relationships that Rahab’s Rope has made. In the villages we traveled and carried the good news and encouragement to many unique and in-need people. In the city, we met women and children that we were able to create relationships with and pour our hearts into.

 One day during the first week, we drove to a tent where a group of prostitutes were waiting. When we pulled up to the tent we noticed that there was a group of eunuchs that were there, as well. We had been told earlier that week that eunuchs here were men who, as young boys, had been stripped of everything that gave them the identity of being a man and forced to do sex work the way that women do. The first thought that went through my head was “ Father, I don’t want to go do this.” He answered back, “ They are mine too and I love them. Go and do the same.”  Right then and there I closed my eyes and prayed that God would change my attitude and view of these men. When I opened my eyes, I saw a group of women and men who all needed to hear the same thing, that Jesus can set them free.  We all gathered underneath the tent and sat down. One of the pastors that was there introduced us and the people gave us a warm welcome. Some of the eunuchs danced for us and it was fun to see them smile and laugh. Something I’ve noticed in India is that smiles aren’t given out like they would be in America. It was a joy to see them having fun and not worrying about life.

After they danced, we taught them the song “My God is So Big” and showed them the motions, as well. We shared with them the story of the prodigal son and told them about how God is waiting with open arms to take them into His family, if only they would ask. We also performed a skit to the song “Flags” by Brook Frasier. The skit depicts a girl talking and walking with Jesus. As she is walking with him, she becomes distracted by different things. Alcohol, drugs, money, and finally suicide weigh her down, then surround her as she tries to escape them. The girl can’t be let free of these struggles by herself. After they have beaten her down, Jesus comes and stops them from destroying her, picks the girl up, and dusts her off. He then takes the struggles that she is still holding onto and, one by one, throws them to the ground. The girl thanks Jesus and then they continue on through life together.

We were told later on that day that the people who were there understood completely what was happening in the skit, that the understanding showed in their faces. One of our team members then stood up and shared her testimony. She told the people about how she was distracted from Jesus by similar things. She told them that when she went to God that He took away her shame and she was able to have a perfect relationship with Him because of his grace. When we finished sharing, we broke out a bag of nail polish and painted their nails and ate with them. Later on, we realized how big of a deal this was. They took a day off of working to have people speak to them, be given a free meal, and have their nails done. When we sat down with them, they were so eager to have us near them. They were very hesitant to touch their hands to us while we were painting. Each hand that was extended to me I held onto and hoped that even if they couldn’t understand what I was saying that they saw God in me. I wanted to let them know that they were loved. Our team had been reading through Philippians that week and verses that I came across that stuck out were these: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” I’m so thankful to be taught this in such a real way. I’m praying that whatever seeds we panted that day and also these past few weeks will grow.


Hannah
Bangalore Volunteer '12