Alright, so I know what you are all thinking. Did Jayme ever come back from India? Is she still away at Kaleo? Has she dropped off the face of the planet entirely?! For those of you who have recently seen me at church or floating around the Valley know that yes, I have in fact returned, Kaleo is (sadly) finished, and no, I am still very much alive and firmly planted on this earth. Please know that I am terribly sorry it has taken me this long to send out an update and I have felt quite sheepish and conscience-stricken throughout these last weeks. Now of course the whirlwind that occurred upon arriving back at Kaleo from India is in itself a very rational pardon, but nonetheless, it is an excuse. And although valid it may be, I have put off trying to somehow recount my two and a half weeks in India, hoping that in the meantime I would be enlightened with the competence of how to put everything that I was able to see and experience into a mere blog post. I have since come to the realization that to explain everything would cause you great eye strain and headaches, not to mention the magnitude of time it would take up. So I will jabber on no longer, but begin to describe the highlights of my Indian experience that so evidently displayed God’s work and how greatly my own heart was affected and impacted from this journey.
Where to start?! Well I guess with all trips there is some means of transport in order to arrive at your destination, so I will begin things there. Now I have experienced long flights in my past travels, but our flight from Vancouver to Tokyo and then to Delhi was around 18 hours total. There were movies-but they soon got old, there was solid conversation, rest, major hydration from a certain beverage called “Skytime”, and much time to journal and ponder about the upcoming adventure that our Kaleo team was about to embark on. When we arrived in Delhi, the butterflies in my belly did indeed take flight. We boarded a bus outside the port and had our first taste of Indian traffic. Now I thought that I had experienced some insane driving while I lived in Europe, but the streets of Delhi are a whole other matter. So much so, that it made the Autobahn seem considerably normal and somewhat safe. It’s more of a free-for-all on the streets and there is no such thing as not enough room. There’s always space for a rickshaw or scooter to squeeze through. Throughout our entire trip we were blessed with amazing drivers that were very skilled in the ways of the road and knew how to use their horns. Horn honking is very courteous and encouraged in India, also, good breaks come in handy as well. There were many times driving up the winding narrow mountain roads and coming way too close for comfort towards cliff edges, that our group knew that God had His hands of protection surrounding us and that we need not fear. It did cause some perspiration though.
After a few days of adjusting in Delhi and meeting up with the rest of our team, we took a train to Haridwar, which is pretty much a Mecca for Hinduism. Our guide was amazing. He explained all about Hindu religion from a Christian standpoint. He would boldly lead us around the worship grounds, right in front of the enormous idol statue of their god Shiva, and this man would have no fear. He would talk about their gods and beliefs and then openly talk about our one true God. We had done some prior reading about this religion and heard people talk about it before. But to actually be there, beside the Ganges River and truly witness these people devoting their lives to these worship practices and to these gods is a whole other thing. There was such heaviness throughout Haridwar. The evil one had such a power over that place and such a hold on the people, filling them with lies and fear. We walked by the Ganges and watched as hundreds of people bathed and washed themselves, believing that they were ridding themselves of their sin and securing salvation. It was difficult to watch. Our time at Haridwar really impacted our team and filled us with emotions of anger, devastation, hopelessness, fury, deep sadness and disbelief that these people were so lost and blind to the love and joy of knowing Christ.
Our prayer journey through the Himalayan foothills began soon after our time in Haridwar. We trekked about 10 kilometers a day on average. We had been warned that the first day of the trek was the most difficult of the entire trip. During the intense Jacob’s Ladder switchback that was a whole kilometer straight up the side of a mountain, our team breathlessly approved of this cautionary claim. It wasn’t until the next day and even the day after during the hike to the summit (which consisted of snow flurries and a final altitude of 11,000 ft), that we began to wonder if the foreboding source was in fact sane. It was during these winded and weary times that we knew our strength was solely coming from God alone. There were times when I felt like I couldn’t take another step forward or when I wanted to leave my huge backpack behind, or sneak a ride on the pack donkeys but God provided me with the energy and the endurance to press on. Members of our team would shout out scripture and sing songs as we hiked. It was awesome to see our team come together and pray for the villagers and people we encountered along our trek as well as lifting one another up as we hiked, during the breaks, and the most physically draining of times.
The villages we stopped at throughout our journey were one of the main focuses and reasons for the trek. It was here that we were able to encounter the village families and grasp an understanding of how these people live. The children in these villages were so precious. Our team fell in love with these small ones and their faces and names will forever be etched on our hearts. With games like ‘duck duck goose’ and ‘what time is it Mr. Wolf’ it was amazing to see how this would attract the people of the village-even the elders, and they would all come out and watch our team laugh, play and just have a blast with these kids. God definitely supplied us with the strength and a passion for these people after a long, full day of hiking. His love would just resonate through our presence and would be such an infectious example of how even in this remote place of darkness and hardened hearts, our team was able to be that bright light of Christ.
God’s presence was so evident throughout our journey in India. Christ moved and worked in so many amazing ways while we were there. Prayer. There is so much power in and through that. Our team had the incredible experience of witnessing God’s mighty hand at work, through seeds He had planted in this one village family a couple years ago with the first Kaleo team that went out, to now currently, where through the actions and words of a certain Christian, Indian man (that we had the pleasure of accompanying us on our trek), he was able to talk openly about Christ to this family, and God was able to water these seeds of His and this entire Indian family gave their lives to Christ. This was such a huge answer to prayer and it’s super exciting to even think about what God will be doing through this one family and their village and the surrounding villages in the years to come! The husband/father of the family made the comment that if he could gain a better understanding of his new faith then maybe he could start telling others about God too. And if he can change, maybe he can bring change too. God is AWESOME!
India was an incredible experience, one that stretched and grew me, and has left a lasting impression on my heart. There were many things that God taught and revealed to me during my time there, and I am still being challenged with the lessons that He continues to teach and reveal to me now. One of the challenges God has been pressing on my heart is from a visual He gave me of those winding roads and numerous blind corners we drove up and around in the foothills leading up to our trek. Our bus drivers were masters of the road and were well taught in the ways of the horn. The taxi drivers on the other hand, they used their horns now and then, and because of this we had some pretty close calls-collision wise. I felt that God was challenging me to not be one of those vehicles that is silent, and is stuck in that uncertain “wait-mode”. He wants me to be confident in using “my horn”, being completely vocal and taking that initiative to speak without hesitation.
I am greatly appreciative to all of you who supported me financially and with your prayers. Thank you for taking the time to read through some of my adventures and experiences while in India. There are many more stories from this journey and I would love to share and show you all the hundreds of photos of my time spent in India. I will leave you with a few more photos of our trek and travels in this beautiful country. As you look through these images, capture them in your memories. Continue to keep India in your prayers. This place and these people have forever been etched on my heart and it is now my responsibility to always remember them, and the power of prayer, and what God can do in even the darkest and most hopeless situations.
“Let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name”
-Hebrews 13:15-
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