As pretty much everyone who knows me knows India holds a very dear place in my heart. My first trip was a tough 3 weeks in Calcutta that left me thinking I would never go back to India. In fact when I landed in Thailand on my way home I kissed the ground (I have a picture of it) and said, "I'm never going back to India". God has a funny way of nudging me to do just those things that I say I will never do. In college I felt a building desire to go back to India and ended up going for 2 months to work at a hospital in the foothills of the Himalayas. It was amazing and life-changing.
I haven't been in 7 years and have had both a longing to go back and at times a dulled interest as I've been quite caught up in my surgical training. In the past few weeks I have sensed God really softening my heart after a pretty brutal 2 years of surgical residency. Heather, my college roommate, suggested I read, "The Hole in Our Gospel" by the President of World Vision.
Before I even started the book something crazy happened to me Sunday night. Kerwyn and I went to church and they took a week break in the series they are doing and had a "vision night". They are very committed to sending missionaries- both short and long term and were casting vision for the teams they plan to send out all over the world in the coming year. I immediately noted the trip to Chennai but told myself that we shouldn't go on that trip. I had all the usual reasons- the high cost for such a short trip, it wasn't using any of our medical training, and it just didn't make sense. Then they showed a video of a guy who went to India last year and he said, "There's nothing like it" speaking of being in India. I found myself getting teary eyed but was trying to hold it together. Then another man got up and spoke. At one point he played a sound recording of one of the 5 daily calls to prayer he heard for the Muslim community. As soon as I heard the sound it took me back there and I just started sobbing. It was crazy because I'm not one to cry but I just couldn't stop crying for the billion people of India- many of whom don't know Jesus and lack the means to even care for themselves and their families. I couldn't stop crying. I told God, "I get it. I'll go, but can you help me stop crying?" I eventually did and headed home confident that we should take a trip together to India to serve and really listen to where God is leading us as a couple. As soon as Kerwyn saw me crying he knew we were going to be going to India soon. I love that he just knew what was going on in my heart.
So anyways, we're going to continue to pray and brainstorm ideas on where to go and what to do. We had planned on having one big trip before going back to real hospital work July 1st so instead of a crazy European bike tour or some other trip we'll hopefully be going to India together for the first time. Thankfully we have no shortage of contacts there. We're open to ideas so let us know if you have any!
