A note before I go

Instead of going back to campus for the first semester of my sophomore year, I am flying half-way around the world to South India with a team of 9 other students from St. Olaf! We will work on biology related projects under the direction of Indian researchers. We will also get to learn about the Indian people, their culture, see their architecture, the landscape, etc.

We will fly out of LA on Malaysian airlines to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and have an extended five-day layover so that our group can get to know each other before we reach India. We will then fly into Chennai (formerly called Madras) and stay there for about 5 weeks. While in Chennai, we will hear different Indian experts talk about India, Indian culture, etc. and learn how to ride the train, shop in the market and other survival skills in India. After that, our group will split up into twos and threes and going to several other sites to complete 2 research projects, both taking about 5 more weeks each.

My first research project will be in Kodaikanal, a town SW of Chennai. Kodaikanal is in the mountains, so the temperature will be considerably cooler than on the plains! Most likely, my project at Kodai will include water quality testing/monitoring. After Kodaikanal, we have a two week travel break--during which I hope to head north to see the Taj Mahal and the Himalayas! Next, I will head to Kuppam for my second project at RUHSA. RUHSA is a rural hospital that began as an offshoot of the Christian Medical College in Vellore.

All of the above is very exciting, but it doesn't explain the more exciting reason of why I even want to go to India in the first place. I believe that God is calling me to go make disciples (=followers) of Christ in the nations (not just home) and that my time in India will be used to prepare me for that purpose. I believe God will use my time in India to further open my eyes to see the needs of people of everywhere and increase in my heart a love for Christ that will in turn move me to pour out my life for them. When asked what the great commandment was, Jesus said you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The second was that you love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-38). Please pray that God would make these loves evident in my life--no matter where I am.

The most loving (=best) thing I can do for anyone is to pray that they would love Christ and share Christ with them. In saying that, I feel that I have been a very selfish person. I have not always loved my friends the way I should have. Its so much easier to leave Christ out of the picture when you try to comfort a friend who doesn't love Christ. It is easier to shy away from weighty matters like what you believe because it is uncomfortable. Doing nice things for someone or encouraging them without giving them Jesus is not loving on my part. Friends, if I have done that to you, I am sorry and I ask that you would forgive me--even if you don't think it is something worth asking for forgiveness. :)

It is so hard to resist the urge to blend in and put on a mask, God help me resist that urge.

On this blog I plan to let you all know what I am doing in India and some of the thoughts that go through my head while I'm there. Sometimes the posts will tell about what God is teaching me at different stages, and other times they will more informational about the places or people I am visiting. Sometimes short and sometimes long. Regardless, I hope that you are encouraged by what you read.