The Battle of Religions

There were two very interesting events that happened yesterday.
The first is going to a new church plant. We took a rough four hour voyage to a poor village area. The church consisted of around 25 people or so, all sitting on the concrete floor in one small room that is part of someone's house. Several women got up and shared their story of converting from Hinduism to Christianity. Clasping a Bible and with tears of gratitude, they talked of how Jesus had changed their lives.
On the way home we passed a caravan of around 250 cars and buses full of people going to the Southern tip of India for a Hindu rally. The 250 vehicles were from our area of India alone, not to mention the other parts of the state. So all-together there were thousands of people attending this event. Pastor Banuel said that not only do they celebrate their gods during this rally, but they do chants that put down Jesus and Allah. Clearly a lot of Christians and Muslims do not appreciate this, and lots of fights ensue.
It seems like religion around here often becomes a battle of, "My God (god) is better than yours." And like I said, a lot of Christians jump in this battle also.
As I was sitting in the car thinking about the arguing and fighting between the different religious groups, I couldn't help but think about the women I had seen that morning.
Tears streaming down their faces, speaking of the hope they found in Jesus, a hope they did not find in Hinduism. Thousands of Hindus can rally and speak against Him. But in the long run, the sincere testimony of a poverty-stricken lady in South India is argument enough. Jesus changes lives. He's the hope of the world. And that hope needs to be shared, not battled over.

Blue Devils, Dr. Suess, and A Baby

Sometimes I get sad over silly little things that I'm "giving up" by being here. Apparently I missed a historical basketball game between Duke and UNC yesterday. Duke came out on top by a buzzard beater, so at least I have that to be happy about. Go Blue Devils. :)
Or I noticed that they made a movie about Dr. Suess' "The Lorax" which comes out in March. That's hands down my favorite Dr. Suess story.
And then there's things that actually are important, like my sister having a baby! That really is an epic event to miss. Its one thing to not see a basketball game that I probably wouldn't even think about the next day, but to miss seeing my nephew, that's a different story.
Is this worth it? Not getting to see Tristan until he's 3 months old has caused me to really think about that question. And I've come to a conclusion...
The past couple of days in school I've been sharing the gospel in classrooms. I cut out construction paper in different shapes to represent salvation. Kind of a version of the color method where you use colored beads on a bracelet. Anyway, its been really exciting. A few of the kids are Hindu, the majority are Christian, but even then I don't know that they have all actually heard the gospel. You know, sometimes people just assume that because a kid's family is Christian that they understand what Jesus did and are walking with Him.
I don't know if any will start following Jesus because of me showing them that a black heart can turn into a white heart because of Jesus. But I sincerely do believe that I'm in India because God sent me here. And He wants to draw children and adults alike to Himself. I pray He's doing that while I'm here.
So because I'm walking in obedience to my God and because I'm having the chance to share a message with Indians that can change their lives for eternity, its a crazy thing to actually say, but I'll give up anything to do it. Of course I'll give up a movie about Tuffula Trees and Thneads, but I'm serious enough about following Jesus that I'll give up not seeing Tristan. (But man am I going to make up for it when I get home. He's gonna be sick of me probably. haha).
Luke 14:25-27, "Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." There's a cost to follow Him. And yes, this is worth it.

Wedding

I just really need to share some pictures from Allen and Gypsa's wedding. I'm telling you, it was unbelievable.

Allen's side met at the Banuel's house; then, we caravaned to the auditorium for the ceremony. There was a long procession of vehicles, especially several buses full of people.

Gispa had on a total of 3 pounds of gold. We did the math and figured it was worth $40,000! I couldn't afford an Indian wedding.

At the reception, the couple sat on thrones and people would come to give them gifts and greet them. There was a videographer and photographer who would then capture the moment with each person who came.

This picture makes me laugh. Reason number one: Indians rarely smile in pictures, so I was trying to be like them. haha. Number two: I had to go to my friend Santhi's house to have her help me put on my dress. Its way complicated to wear a Sari. And reason number three that this is funny: I look like an amazon woman.

One of several meals I ate during the 3-day celebration. Served on banana leaves, eaten with your hands, and delish. :) They estimated that around 10,000 people ate total. That is correct. 10,000! They all come and go for three days, so there's just always a steady stream of people.

Several pastors from the U.S. came to conduct the ceremony, meaning the messages were in English. I could understand! (And btw one of the pastor's is around 6'9". I thought I look tall here. haha. It was so entertaining to see people's reactions when they saw him.)