passion @ uwa

Day 1
The awaited time of the India missions trip had finally arrived. 7 months of preparation, heaps of prayers and countless meetings later, we were stepping off the plane in Dehli international airport staring into the endless queues and queues of people with the marauding crowd shoving their way towards the customs point it was almost akin to a stempede.

Road dividers were obviously a non existant item within India as cars (and the taxi we were travelling in) were crossing each other with the constant "I'm coming through" beep of the horn as the usual saying in Perth goes, "if you can survive driving in KL you can drive anywhere" after the life shortening experience in the Indian traffic, I reckon the word KL should be changed to India. But all was good (thank God) we survived the ride, though thoroughly shaken by "roller taxi" ride we had.

We took 3 taxis to the train station for the next leg of the journey to Udaipur. By the time we boarded the train, it was well past 6.30 p.m. The train was going to be an overnight trip arriving between 8 a.m and 9 a.m. The train itself wasn't that bad, we had a time of worship and prayer before calling it a night and going to sleep (lots couldn't sleep and the other passengers were snoring!). The next morning, tired and sore, we had finally arrived at Udaipur. Our friends picked us up and away we went to the Bible school. It was a Sunday morning, we freshened up, had a light breakfast and then it was time for church! It was such an experience to be having attending church on the first Sunday of the year in India. Worship was great, although we didn't know the language for the songs, the message from Pastor Finny and Pastor Paul was awesome, ask anyone of us when we're back. From the message, we moved on to a special time in the service, Holy Communion! How cool is that? Having our first Communion of the year in India! Soon after, we ended with a few more worship songs (sounds familiar anyone?) before concluding the service. And since it was the first Sunday,the church prepared lunch for the whole congregation, thats 500 - 600 people! And lunch was good! Take it from Esther who's never, NEVER had Indian food.

After lunch, we showered and took some time to rest. The girls took this time to prepare for their dance which was going to be performed on Monday. In the evening, we joined the Bible college students in their evening devotions. We as a team lead in praise and worship and generally the whole devotion session. Ziech shared to the students about "knowing Jesus" as a relationship rather than "knowing about Him."

After the devotion session, We had a meeting with Pastor Finny to discuss what we're going to do or what we can do while in Udaipur. Following that meeting, we were served dinner. This time we had dinner with Pastor Paul and Pastor Michael from Florida, another guest at the college. After dinner, we had a bit of free time, the girls again practiced for the dance in the guys room while Jason and Andre went to the men's dormitory for some fellowship. It was really a good time of fellowship, getting to know the students better, sharing our knowledge and getting to know their heart and desires. Each and everyone of the students already has such an amazing testimony and their passion for God and to serve Him really encouraged us. It was 10 p.m by the time we left the dorm to get some sleep and there is the morning devotions at 5.30 a.m tomorrow.

Day 2
The guys got up at 5.20 and were ready to share for the morning devotion but we were told there would be no morning devotions for today because most of the students arrived back at the college last night or early in the morning. So off to bed again for a few more hours of sleep. We got up again around 7 and went down for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time for morning chapel. It started at 9.45 and it was basically a mini service run by the students. The girls then presented their dance after the message and it was well received. Students were excited to see what we were doing for them and for the church, it was something new. It's usually the little girls who dance during worship on Sundays but to watch a worship dance by our young women, it inspired the young women who are studying at the college. Then we announced that Cindy and Fenny would be conducting a workshop for the dance and we'll also be conducting a drama workshop the next day after performing a ZPH drama.

After chapel we frantically got ready to take a "45 minute" journey to one of their missions in the field where our friends run an English school and a orphanage for about a 60 children. Ziech just told us it was in the mountains ... which is somewhat undescriptive!

The ride up to the mountian was a bumpy one leaving a few of us with rather weak stomachs. The view of the mountains were however breathtaking! The children were glad to meet with us and definitely, the feeling was mutual. We sang songs, did a short skit on the story of Noah's Ark and taught them how to fold an origami boat! Taking photos of the kids was a delight as they rushed to Andre each time he previewed a photo to them on his camera.

2 days are over! But what an experience already. It feels like its been a week. From the comfort of Singapore and Perth, to the masses of Delhi, to the riviting traffic and dreadfully long train ride. Our next stop would be Navapur where we would be spending time and living in an ophanage and children's home!

PS: Chai is really really good tea!

Esther