Day 14 (Sun)

I made my own way to the service this morning, on foot. I took a wrong turn somewhere because I thought I would be able to take a short cut. It turned out alright however and I arrived at the church on time. I really enjoyed the worship because they played songs which I had grown up singing, for example, ‘Lord I lift Your Name on High’. The worship group were really united and passionate about what they were singing or playing and the worship leader, Josh, seemed to be very receptive to the Holy Spirit and it all seemed to flow really well. Even though I felt like an alien and out of place, I still found it very easy to worship.
After the worship and the notices, Raj grabbed me and took me out of the service to meet with the teens. We met in someone’s lounge nearby and I was introduced to everyone. Raj put me on the spot and asked me to share about myself and why I was here and what I will be doing. I sort of expected this to happen and didn’t mind sharing, I shared a bit of my testimony and how I became I Christian and said about what God has done for me. Then I went on to explain a little bit about why I was here and what I would be doing, working with them and others who come to Vacation Bible School. I gave them the chance to ask any questions and they all seemed quite shy. Hopefully once I get to know them better I’ll be able to share more with them and encourage them in their walk with God. I am becoming more aware that one of the main reasons I here is to come among young people like these and encourage them in what God has in store for them.
After church I got talking to some of the lads from the teens’ group. One lad in particular called Sandeep, talked to me about the struggles he has with his parents. His mum is a Christian and his Dad is a Hindu. I didn’t really know what to say because I wanted to be sensitive to the situation. I felt some encouragement was needed about God’s love, and nothing being able to separate him from it. I said something like, ‘you can turn your back on God, but he’ll never turn his back on you because he loves you too much’. I told him about my plans of travelling without any input from God at all and then told him about how much help and support came from God as soon as I let him in on my plans. Some of you might not know this, but at one point in my life not too long ago I almost jacked in everything to do with God. Because I was practicing Jiu Jitsu and working on a bar and training to be a door man, my plans were to travel to Brazil on my own and train in Jiu Jitsu down there for a year. Then travel to San Diego, then New Zealand, then Nepal and then home. I had plans to work for a year, save money and go and live my life on my own and do what I want. However, I came to realise that I could do all this and so much more with God on my side. I also made the decision that I could never really deny what Jesus has done for me. So I decided to start trusting in God, and as soon as I did and started listening to him, many more doors started opening. Like India, Brazil and I believe even Africa somewhere down to line. I also realised that my desires to go off on my own were so selfish and worth nothing really but life experience. This is the short version of the story and there is so much more to it, but I thought I’d just fill you in. Anyway back to Sandeep, I think he was really encouraged by this and I hope to build a good friendship with this young lad.
Raj and I went to lunch with a lovely couple called Josh and Sarah. We went to an Andra restaurant and ate off banana leaves. I didn’t have a clue what sort of food it was and so just dug in and tried everything. BIG MISTAKE! What Raj hadn’t told me was that this type of restaurant specialise in chilli chicken. This flipping blew my head off and was spicier than most of the curries I had ever tasted back in the UK. I’m gonna get him back somehow. The food was really nice though and so filling. Indians can eat so much rice! Raj had three helpings whilst I could just about manage one.
In the evenings I thought I’d go to Raj’s and watch the Everton FA cup match against Man Utd. We went to get a couple of bottles of beer to enjoy whilst watching the match. I thought Raj was going to watch it with me, but he had to go out to a friend’s place. So I thought, ‘Lovely, a night in watching good football with a couple of cold beers.’ There were only three things that went wrong;
1) The match was on later than expected (2 hours later) so I had to channel flick for two hours
2) The beer wasn’t really very nice
3) THERE WAS A POWER CUT!!!!!!!!!!
So, a power cut just before the match was about to start! I found myself sitting in the dark four two hours with only lightening, heavy rain and the sound of a Muslim singing from the local Mosque. This place is surreal. Apparently power cuts are a big part of life here and when they happen (and they happen frequently) there is nothing you can do! Raj eventually came back from his friends place, soaked to the bone, to find me sweating alone in the dark.
We decided to chance a trip home when the rain had stopped so that I could get some sleep. Unfortunately we got caught in a torrential downpour from the heavens. Raj was getting more and more concerned about me getting ill from the rain and kept insisting that we took cover until the rain had stopped. I however was keen to get home, explaining all the way that rain is the everyday weather of the great nation that I’m from. I had to tell him every two seconds that I’d be fine and to keep going. In hindsight, the rain was pretty heavy and I reckon Raj had trouble seeing where he was going more than anything. WHOOPS!