Home Is Where Jesus Is - 1

Last year, I went to India! While I was there, I wrote some things down. So I thought I would include a (slightly abridged) version of the journal I kept here, because there were a lot of stories I haven't had the chance to tell to everyone, and I originally was writing the journal with the intention for other people to be allowed to read it! And as a disclaimer, this is what I wrote a year ago :P I will admit that my writing is a little cliche at times. Also I think I'll do it a few days of the trip at a time so the posts aren't super long :) Anyway here it is, starting from day one, when I was still at home...

Day 1 - Saturday 24th September, Sydney/Singapore

How do you pack your life up into a suitcase? How do you decide what to leave, what to bring? There are always things you wish you could take that don’t fit in, even when you’re not even sure you will ever use them. And there is always something you forget to bring.
I have just had the experience of trying to decide what the important, essential things in life are. And what I have discovered is that while the amount of clothes and medicine and presents and books are all key things to packing a balanced suitcase, there is nothing I would hold on to more than Jesus. He is the first thing packed; Jesus is the non-negotiable. Wherever I go, Jesus is with me. I make sure to put space aside for Him; not just physical space for things like a bible, but time and love. Wherever I go, I am an ambassador for Christ; He walks beside me at every step, and I am following Him wherever he leads. It is my prayer that wherever I travel, people might see the light of Christ shining and be drawn to his beautiful light.

I will not be afraid. [You see, a lot of people were kind of horrified I was going to India nearly on my own, with only my dad. People said to my mum, 'how on earth can you let your daughter go there?', and I guess it was just because they'd heard all the horror stories. Anyway. Sorry for interrupting! These square brackets mean that I'm writing side-notes in hindsight. Back to the story...] God is my solid rock, my foundation. I will not be moved; I will not be shaken. I am going on an adventure with God, meeting God’s precious children and my brothers and sisters in Christ in the country of my heart. I will see challenging things, probably get sick, be constantly hot and sweaty, and by the end of the day probably more exhausted than I’ve been for a while. But this is my joy; because of Jesus I can bear these things as joys, as privileges, and not sufferings.
And as for feeling homesick - firstly, if ‘home is where the heart is’, I could say that right now, living in Australia, my heart is 10 000km away on the other side of the ocean [aka India :) ]. But even more than this, just like a family of Syrian refugees once spray-painted on their tent in the refugee camp: ‘home is where Jesus is’. And Jesus is always with us.

All packed and ready to go...

Day 2 - Sunday 25th September, Singapore/Delhi

Singapore. The first thing you notice as you arrive in the steamy air is the smell, that Singapore smell - faintly sweet and fruity. The whole city smells like this. Even the water seems to taste how the air smells.

Another interesting thing you notice is the diversity, but unity. A mosque, a church and a temple can all be found almost on the same street. Bus and taxi drivers display their miniature Buddhist prayer wheels or shiny catholic crosses on the dashboard, and on the same road, you can see hijab and shorts-and-singlets being worn.

We arrived at our hotel at about 1.30am, which in Australia time was about 3.30am. I was too excited and full of adrenaline to be tired. I was constantly glued to all the beautiful tropical plants as we drove past, remembering times in Japan and Sydney and concluding that Singapore seemed to be a combination of the two. I eventually went to sleep around 2 or 3am Singapore time, and since our room had no windows we only woke up at 9am. It felt a lot earlier than that.

So we set off down the street next to our hotel in search of some breakfast. I had wanted to visit a church, as it was Sunday, but this didn't end up working out due to travel times and how late we'd woken up. There was a shop beside our hotel selling hijab, and then further down was a fruit shop with bunches of bananas dangling overhead. The air was thick, but pleasant. We explored further down the streets into some markets. As we learned later, this was in the Malay area of town, which was why most of the women passing by wore hijab or scarves, and why that was what most of the shops seemed to sell. We ended up going back to a restaurant right next to our hotel, and were served our food by the same man who had checked us into the hotel. 

A fruit market near the hotel

After breakfast we packed some things for a day out. We hailed a taxi from the street outside and went to the Gardens by the Bay, where we explored the Flower Dome and the Supertree Grove for a few hours. Then we took a taxi back to the hotel, having an interesting chat with the driver. Then we checked out and took another taxi to the airport. The driver of this taxi was a friendly old man, and we chatted about the economics and politics of Singapore (and if we'd had a dollar for every time he mentioned that 'Singapore is just a small island, with not many resources...'). He was a very interesting person, acting as tour guide and telling us some interesting things about Singapore's relations with Malaysia and Britain and how their economy worked.

Eventually we arrived at the airport terminal (which turned out to be the wrong one), and after finding the right terminal and checking in our luggage we went to have some lunch at about 3pm. Then we boarded our flight to New Delhi. I was in a window seat, but it was on the wing of the plane, so I couldn't see very much.

Some flowers in the Flower Dome

It's funny how much bigger and smaller the world becomes when you travel overseas. You can see the world through different eyes, and you can marvel at the world God has made. I was reminded of a bible verse [note: okay so my memory wasn't perfect, I think I was mixing two different verses in my head but the principle still is pretty biblically sound!]:

'And I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth.' [I was pretty close really]

God is right there walking alongside us, no matter where we are in the world. God's sovereignty has no borders. And there is something we are called to do as well [again my paraphrased version, I didn't have a bible in front of me :)]: 'Go out into all the world, preaching the good news of Christ!' [Making disciples of all nations, that's what I meant]

When you are an ambassador for Christ, you cannot simply be objective. You engage with wherever you find yourself, and you are a vessel for the light of Christ.

I don't know what is to come, what the land I have dreamed of for so long will be like, and I don't know what I will be called to do and to be. But I am not afraid, because the King who loves His people and takes care of them, is the King who died for me, and holds my life in the palm of His hand. The truth has set me free. In His strength, I can face anything with a joy that never ceases. I am well loved. And my Father is taking me on a journey that leads home, home to India but also home with God in Heaven. I look forward to it with great joy.

Later...

India. It is like coming home at last, after so many years living away. It is an adventure, beautiful but perhaps a little scary. But my God goes with me, so I am not afraid.

[Okay, so this was my face when I looked out the plane window at the lights of India for the first time :P]