What difference does perspective make?
What is a lens? What does it mean to see and experience pure hope?
Before my trip to India, these were all questions I had no answers to. Well, I had answers to them, but they likely weren’t the right ones. Perhaps even now they aren’t right quite yet, but now that I’ve begun to add yet another pair of lens to my views, and another insight into who our God really is, I’d like to believe things can only get better from here.
This past January, I embarked on my first mission trip – a dream I’ve had since I was a little girl. However, I never truly felt it was the right time – until one morning, I sat in church and had this feeling that this was it. Now was the time for me to make this dream come to life.
I was actually so thankful that it was India; because of all the places I had pictured in my head, this wasn’t one of them. It allowed me to go into the experience open-minded and ready to let the Holy Spirit move in incredible ways. Throughout the whole process of preparation I felt my anxieties disappear. I admit, I am not one to allow the uncomfortable to bother me; but rather, for me, the comfort of normality is the most difficult thing in the world. I’d come to find this out as God worked on preparing my heart to be wrecked in India.
When we left for India, I wasn’t nervous. However, this was my first time where I had no itinerary, no understanding of the language, and no concept of the culture beyond what I had heard – I was going in blind. But I was ready to experience the world in a new way.
There are not words adequate enough to convey what God did in my heart in India. The perspective I gained through my experience was something I will hold forever.
When I was in India, I met Jesus. When I was in India, I entered into a spiritual battlefield, and I had never had to carry my armor like that before. When I was in India, I saw hope in the eyes of the people. When I was in India, I saw people who were starving physically but spiritually thriving. When I was in India, I prayed with the lepers and saw the love they felt in our touch. When I was in India, I loved on all the children with all my heart – and wanted to give them more. When I was in India, I realized our God is a God of the rich and the poor.
After India, the idea of coming back home scared me. I had a new perspective, a new way of looking at things, and adjusting back into life, seeing the way we live, and processing everything, was hard. However, I look at life with new lenses. I know now that God is at work here, God is at work there in India, and it’s our privilege to partner with Him in doing His work around the world!
By Sierra Perry
Harvest India is working hard to carry Christ’s compassion to every village in India – through physical healing, orphan care, providing education, and sharing the Good News. It is our privilege to come alongside this mission and support them in their efforts through our Global Easter Project! Every dollar from every offering from every Easter gathering will be donated directly to our Global Mission Partners – Harvest India, Empowering Lives International, and The Living Room Ministry.
We have a goal of raising $200,000 for our partners over Easter weekend. Let’s pray fervently and give generously, as we join with God in breaking the chains of despair across the world!