We are officially addicted to rice and chai tea....and, a few of the highlights for us over the last week were ‘I Love Darj’ and visiting the village ‘Salu’. I Love Darj went very well. About 6+ churches participated in the even, as well as the municipality of Darj and a couple other organizations. Hundreds of people wearing I Love Darj shirts hit the streets of Darj and even surrounding villages to clean up the city. Some picked up garbage from the streets, gutters and streams, others scraped and painted walls, some gave out food to the homeless and still others served chai to people passing by. We set up a stage at the main gathering place of the city, and in the afternoon the program began. Church groups came up and performed dramas, dances and songs, pastors spoke, Jeff, Josiah and Lydia performed a worship song, and even a well known Christian band from Nepal played for quite a while. We wrapped up the night with a slide show of the day’s events and a prayer. Everything went very well, and we all know that God made a lot of impact in the people of Darj that day.
On Wednesday our team headed off to a small village called Salu and stayed through Sunday. We travelled “public transport” by jeep (14 people stuffed inside one jeep, 1 person local on the back) and then walked down the mountainside to the Salu. We stayed with a Christian woman named Rishma. It was amazing to see how God was using Rishma in this village. She was called by God to this village, and began ministry there. She runs a small orphanage with around 15 children by herself, and started a church in the orphanage. She also teaches and oversees the other primary teachers of the surrounding villages.
We had a mini I Love Darj day were we widened the small trails winding down the mountain, cleaned up garbage and washed the public toilet. We spent a lot of time with the children Salu takes care of. The children were amazing. The absolutely loved us and loved God. We spent hours playing games with them and carrying them around. They had no father figure in their lives, so it meant so much to them. Every night the children got together to play worship songs on an out of tune guitar and bongos. Then they would ask us to share from the Bible with them, and then would break out into Korean style prayer to wrap up. It was amazing to see children who were so hungry for God, and also so obedient and hard working around the orphanage. While there, there were three church gatherings, one baptism and short service, an evening fellowship, and then church on Sunday. The people were hungry for God, and also asked a couple of us to share at every gathering. We were also able to share at the end of year teacher’s meeting and the next day at the parent/child meeting. It was definitely hard for all of us to leave the children of the village.
One little fun event that Jeff, Josias and myself will always remember was Saturday. After a way way too large lunch that were just managed to stuff down, the three of us went on a walk to the next village with one of the local men. On the way, we were invited to stop for some chai. After a cup of chai, we thought we would be on our way, but instead were invited into a small celebration hall where a wedding celebration was going on. We were served more chai, and then more food. We all managed to stuff down another plate of rice, meat, vegies and some candied bread. Then, they asked us to dance. We tried to turn down the offer, but after several minutes, with everyone in the building surrounding us, we knew we had to dance. So, the locals watched 3 white boys bust out some not-so-professional dance moves. They joined in with us after a few minutes, and eventually we left and went on to the village. And, we will always remember our ‘cultural experience!’
We’re now back in Darj, just getting ready to head out for Nagaland. We will be there for the week helping out at a large Y. conference of all the leaders in North East India. Then, we’ll be in Siliguri for till the next Wednesday doing some more ministry. We’ll let you know all about it when we get back! Please continue to pray for us!
