A Glance Back: India

To say that I miss my days of traveling would be like me saying, “Hi, my name is Lauren and I am a blonde.” The statement is almost laughable because it is so blatantly obvious and true.  If you know me at all you know that I have a heart for the nations and I love more than anything to be out in the world exploring new cultures and loving on the people of those lands.  When I came home just under 3-years ago I never thought I would be stationary for so long. I have not been on a plane since my flight home from Israel in August 2009 and the furthest I have gone from Texas is Kansas City.  Since I can’t go anywhere right now and I don’t know when I will get to travel again I thought I would do a series on looking back at the places I have been. . .

First stop, New Delhi, India.  Meet Jemma, she was one of my outreach teammates from YWAM, completely sweet as and a total gem from Australia.  I was lucky to have her on my team.  We both were super excited about going to India and had no clue what to expect.  I still remember that flight like it was yesterday.  I was giddy and a little loopy from lack of sleep. We arrived late that night and we were off to the House of Prayer.

A House of Prayer is place where believers gather to well, pray.  The group of young men and women there were outstanding.  I was blown away by their passion for God even in the midst of adversity, they had recently lost a friend to an illness.  While we were there we had the opportunity to join in their prayer meetings and cry out for God’s love and mercy to fall on New Delhi.  I find God amazing and how He answers even the simplest of prayers. While I was still in New Zealand I heard about houses of prayer for the first time and I wanted to experience it more than anything and then our first stop was the prayer house.

While we were still in New Delhi we did a couple of children’s programs in an area that our friends at the House of Prayer served.  Getting the chance to love on kids always makes me happy and everyone seemed to enjoy having a very pale blonde girl around.  I am always amazed of the joy children can have even in what we see as the most bleak of situations.  We also were able to lead a church service on a Sunday morning for a group of christians that had fled Orissa from the persecution they were facing.  The chance to encourage and lift up these brothers and sisters was an honor.

After our time in New Delhi was through we were able to take a slight detour before heading to our next ministry location and stop by the Taj Mahal.  The excitement in our team to see this iconic structure was electrifying.  To go to Agra and see this odd shrine in person had been a dream of mine for a number of years, thank you Rick Steves.  To get there we took a train and let me just say a train in India is like no other train I have ever

been on.  Before even getting on the train our team got separated and we almost missed it, while running through the station I lost my footing on a flight of stairs and went sliding down a few steps on my knees.  The fall was painful but the fact that I kept my balance and I was able to get back up on my own still impresses me to this day. (I was carrying my big pack on my back, my day pack on my chest, a team bag on one shoulder and Jemma’s drum on the other).

Our time in Agra was short but incredibly fun.  We stayed at a small lovely hotel where they arranged everything for us and fed us delicious food.  The hotel is ran by the Colonel and his wife.  Jemma and I were able to share a room together which was fun for the two nights we were there.  The Taj Mahal is a peculiar place, the history and folklore that surround it is legendary.  I am amazed by what people can do with marble.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the Taj:

Our Team: Beau, Raph, Jemma, Loren, Lauren (Me), Melanie, Grace and Catherine

And my feet, I had a thing about taking pictures of my feet wherever we went.

Oh, and I almost forgot. . . These are my ankles, if you can call them that, from the plane ride to India.  From that point on I had some lovely nicknames like, Sissy Cankles and Python Feet.  Good times.  (I don’t think my ankles were this swollen when I was 9-months pregnant with Judah)

To keep from boring anyone for too long I will do another post for my time in Jaipur, India another day.

Happy Travels!