Oh my Soul, Rejoice.

    There's many things I would like to say here.  There's many things I would like to tell the world about and share and show.  But there is only time for a select few. 

   We've been here about a week.  Soon after writing my last blog we left the base in Darjeeling and headed to Sikkim, which is about a 4 hour jeep ride away, just one state over to the west toward Nepal.  Upon arrival we found that we would be staying in a church, on the cement, with the mice, and mosquitoes, and other creepy crawlies all week.  The first few days were really hard for me. Waking up every hour or so because something would bite Ronnie and myself as we were closest to the door, then waking up at 6:30 to read my bible, then worship, then breakfast, then we just did prayer walks at different temples and hikes through the land.  I was having a hard time.  Prayer walks, though they are cool, its rare to see any fruit from it.  Its too easy to think that its not actually doing anything, but my leaders assure me of the importance this plays.  We hike into the mountains, which can be fun, but not when you have to wear jeans, and its hot and sticky and humid and I couldn't find hiking boots here like I had planned as my feet are apparently giant compared to the people here.  I started counting down the days of when I could come back.  Looking for any type of comfort.  In the negative Nancy mood again.
    But this is not where I want to be.  I want to flourish, I want to love being here, I want every second to count for something knowing that I am doing God's work and spreading the amazing news of Jesus Christ.  Its a daily decision to wake up and want to love whatever the day has in store.  This is a life lesson.  Again, I see the beauty in where I am.  All of a sudden the creatures that are eating me alive at night turns into a game, to see who can get less bites. Embrace hiking and get sweaty and realize that I'm going to eat rice everyday... yummy!  Once in a life time opportunity, lets embrace every miserable moment together, because once we leave, I'll miss them.
   There are a few stories I cannot tell quite yet, as some of what we are doing isn't exactly legal.  Its cool to have to be "sneaky" for Christ.  

    I'm finding outreach to be hard, clearly.  But that's one of the reasons I chose to go to India.  I knew it would be one of the harder outreach locations for me and I wanted to be pushed. I'm learning more and more to rely on God and to follow him with everything.  But I'm also taking practical steps on seeing positive in life.   Even when I'm at a bus station using a squatty potty with no toilet paper and a spider the size of a dessert plate is staring me down. What a ride!  What an adventure it is to follow Christ!

    I should be around most of today if you want to try to get a hold of me.  Facebook/e-mail tend to be the best ways. You can read my team blog if you want to know specifically what I'm doing daily.


Chained to Him,
Jeremy

A Whole New World.

Its hard to explain where I am and what I've been doing for the last few days.  My physical location is simple enough.  I'm sitting at an Internet cafe in Darjeeling, India.  It's about a 5 minute walk away from the YWAM base here.  But It has already been quite an adventure just to get here.
      We flew into Calcutta (Kolkatta) on the 16th of June.  Sunday.  We went through Singapore as most of you know. But Calcutta was a whole new world.  I'll try to put into words what I saw: I was nervous, I had heard that Calcutta was the exact opposite of America, which is what I wanted to see, but that doesn't make me any less nervous.  We had to stick together and watch each others backs, especially because we flew in late (10:30pm) and needed to get to our hotel.  I threw on my 40 pound back, and a small day pack in the front.  Walked outside and instantly started to sweat because of the heat and humidity.  Instantly people were yelling for our attention, which is intimidating to a group who doesn't really know what we're doing.  We picked one driver that knew where our hotel was, all we had was the address.  He started to lead us away from the other taxi cabs, my internal sensors went off to not go down the ally.  But, against my better judgement, we pressed on with little hesitation.  He threw everything in the back of a tiny van, the size of a 4 door car in the states an another small taxi cab that resembles ones that you would see in classic photo's of England.  And we were off.  You haven't lived until you've been in a Taxi in Calcutta, especially at night.  Weaving through traffic and people, small huts everywhere, trash everywhere, the smell of burn and sewage, all while its so dark you can hardly see things.  Once your eyes do finally adjust to the dark and focus on something, you're already past it. 
     We get to our hotel soon after, the driver pulls Ronnie aside and says "This is not a safe place for you guys, you must be very careful."    That didn't help anything
     No sleep, the sun finally comes up.  All I can think about is, how can we get out of here.  We get in cabs and head to the train station to buy tickets.  But its the wrong station.  We have to go to the foreign station and sit and wait, and wait, and wait.  All the while knowing our chances of getting a ticket for that night are getting smaller and smaller, which might just leave us in a bit of trouble, knowing that we don't have a hotel room lined up.  Then, an answer to prayer showed up.
     Americans.  Its weird to say that they were an answer to prayer, but only an American would understand the true culture shock we had all been experiencing as well as thinking everyone was out to get us.  Thank the Lord.  A few guys that recently graduated from Pepperdine.  They had been there a while and gave us a few tips and up lifting words, they also said we had to try the tea.  It was their new addiction, they would have 4-5 cups a day!
     All of a sudden my eyes were open to just how beautiful this smelly and dirty place was.  People actually cared about me and wanted to help me, any time I asked a question there would be 4 people around me that wanted to give me a answer, and not even in a hope to get money.  Locals just wanted to talk to me about life, and see pictures of back home. The ones that were better at English would help to translate. Every street is filled with people selling things, from banana's to movies, to cloths Oh and the tea! My goodness. It's 3 Rupee's which is about 5 American Cents.  Comes in a handmade clay cup that's not much bigger then the average shot glass.  We know its safe because we see them boiling it.  Too hot to even drink at first.  And when you finish that beautiful sip of heaven in a cup, you just throw the jar onto the street gutter. 
    We ended up having to stay an extra night in Calcutta, which I didn't mind.  I liked it there, I had made some friends, even exchanged E-mail and Facebook accounts with.  We got to go to the Mother Teresa House which was a beautiful moment of peace.  I've always been Inspired by her, ever since 7th grade math with Mr. Babb.  He showed us a video of her.  A women who truly gave up her everything for the well being of others. 
   10 hour train ride got us to where we picked up a taxi.  For that 4 hour taxi ride, I got to fall in love with Darjeeling.  The beautiful views in the mountains as we slowly climbed higher and higher.  Constantly going through little towns we watched the locals interact and noticed just how kind they are and how excited they are to see us coming through.  I've only been here for a few hours, but India, though you're greatly intimidating, I quite like you.

I'll hope to have photo's soon. 



Jeremy
Jcrob33@gmail.com

This has been said so many times, I'm not sure if it matters

Follow God with everything you have.  It is so basic.  Nothing else matters but following him.  But its something that we all know, we've all heard, we are reminded of everyday.  But actually doing it every single day is so much different.  Once we can get this fact into our heart, soul, and mind, it changes our perspective on everything.  "Yes, Everything else is worthless when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8)  

      My team leaves for India in 3 days.  Its the same feeling I had when I came here.  Nervous and excited.  I have no idea what it is going to be like.  We talk a lot about what bad things and warnings and dangers we could potentially have there, but rarely do we actually talk about the good things, which I know are there in full.  My prayer just keeps being that I will fall so in love with the people and culture and even the food, that I don't want to leave.  This would give me and my team true excitement and energy to keep moving on and pushing hard.  As for now, I'm realizing more and more, with everything, just seek after Jesus Christ.  Nothing else matters but to glorify his name.  Thats what keeps my nervs down about leaving for outreach.

    We actually fly into Calcutta for a day, which we have been told that it is the hardest place for westerners to visit because of the huge culture shock.  Which is actually what I wanted.  Then we'll take a 17 hour train up to Darjeeling.  Should be pretty crazy.  Then, we'll be staying at the Darjeeling YWAM base, going from there we will be headed out into the villages for a couple days at a time.  Here we will be doing everything from running kids ministry to running churches to house visits.  We are going to have to be flexable and be willing to do anything because we are there to serve.  There is a chance that my team and I will get the opportunity to speak in a Bible college there.  No clue what it would be about, but it would be pretty cool to talk some basic theology. :)

Here are some pictures of what we were doing last week in Roma on the Pass It On Tour.  We are just there to serve the community.  

    

Nursing home worship!

We were at a pastors house, helping to redo some church chairs
and we took a break.  Ronnie and I broke the Trampoline.

Emmelee.  I'm bringing her home.