An Unusual Day

My life is never ordinary. The fact that I am interacting with people from more than 20 countries on a daily basis means there will never be a dull moment.  Some days (as in my last post) I find myself eating rose petals!  But almost every day, there is something.  I think I have just gotten used to these amazing things that happen every day, and they have become normal to me.  But I have decided to try to keep track of a few of them.  You can decide if they are normal or not!

So, yes, I think yesterday qualified as an unusual day.  I am part of the IGSL Admissions Committee, so I often do interviews for incoming students.  Usually we do the interview after we have reviewed the applicant's forms.  But yesterday, our president asked me to do a quick interview with a student who was just submitting his forms--he wanted someone to give the applicant a bit of feedback to let him know if it was worth his time to pursue the application process.

Since IGSL focuses on training leaders, we really don't want kids.  We prefer that college graduates get a few years of ministry experience after their bachelor's degree.  Generally, we prefer applicants who are at least 25.  Occasionally we will accept a 23 or 24 year old if they seem exceptionally mature.  And many of our students are in their 30's or 40's or even older.  Yesterday's applicant was 16!  It seems he is a boy genius -- he was home schooled for elementary and high school, then started college when he was 12, and just graduated recently. 

The interesting part is that he had a good deal of ministry experience and had even coordinated some major outreach ministries at his church!  And he was president of the Student Council at his college!  He was articulate, pleasant to talk with, and confident. He has a full-time job, but felt that he could adjust his hours in order to study.  He wants to be used by God!  I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing him, and couldn't really think of any good reason to tell him not to pursue the application.

So, now his application will move to a committee who will evaluate him.  I will write a summary of my interview -- but I am guessing the committee will ask to interview him again because no one will believe the things I am going to write!

Incredible India

The tagline used by the Indian Ministry of Tourism is Incredible India!  While I was in India last week, I said to myself again and again, "Yeah! Incredible India! It sure is!"  I went there to visit Ebi and Sarah, some of our IGSL graduates from a few years ago.  They live in the city of Trichy, in Tamil Nadu.

India is a land of endless variety.  This photo was taken in an upscale clothing store, selling mostly saris.  There were six floors, and this picture shows only about one tenth of the options available on one of the floors.  I did finally make a choice, but it was hard!  You can also buy clothes from vendors sitting on a mat in the dusty streets, and from every kind of store in between.

Most women wear flowers in their hair every day.  It was so fun -- for just a few cents you could buy a garland of sweet-smelling blossoms. It's just part of the endless variety of flowers, foods, languages, people, colors, smells, sights and sounds...

This is a "sweet shop" with endless varieties of Indian cakes and candies.  One evening we were talking about different kinds of candies, and Ebi decided I needed to taste one of their favorites.  The shop we were in did not sell it, so we went outside and he jumped on his motorbike, and drove off to find a street vendor who had it.  We sat on the steps outside the shop, and Sarah unwrapped it and gave it to me, eager to hear my opinion.  I took a bite and chewed--it was very nice, with brown sugar and coconut and another taste that was somehow familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.  I said to Ebi, "I know this taste!"  He said, "Of course you do!  It's rose petals!"  What could I say?  "Oh, of course!  Rose petals!"  Somehow I neglected to capture that Kodak moment, but the next day I got a photo of Sarah drinking Rose Milk.

I loved visiting their campus and meeting the students.  It was so much fun to hear the stories of what God was doing in their lives, and to see their excitement at being used by Him. I got to speak several times to groups of students, and I also had a few chances to spend one-on-one time with people who were part of their ministry. This picture shows Ebi meeting with a group of college students, many of whom are not Christians yet. I loved it that these Hindu students felt so comfortable to attend a Bible study where they could ask questions to learn about God.

This was my fourth time to visit India.  I am sure it won't be the last.  We have graduates all over the country, and each new place is totally different from the last place.  Yeah, Incredible India!  Endless variety!

Still Alive

So, yes, I am still alive!  When I first found out I had shingles last March, I googled it to try to find out how long it would take to recover.  The resident doctor laughed when she came into my hospital room and found my laptop propped on its side on my pillow as I tried to educate myself.  Most articles I read said it would last about six weeks.  In reality, it was very painful for about two months, and still made it hard for me to sleep for about two more months after that.  By the end of July I finally felt that I could say I was totally normal again.

Lessons learned?  I think I can be more compassionate toward those who are dealing with chronic pain.  I remember in the early days, when the pain was very severe, crying to God that I couldn't see any purpose in it.  I was reminded of Romans 8:28, where God promises that He will cause EVERYTHING in our lives to work together for good somehow.  So I told God, "Okay, I don't understand what your purpose is.  But I believe that you have a purpose, so I will just cling to that.  It will be enough."  And it was.