The Truth Seekers staff told us that we were going to drive to a village an hour away from Delhi and minister to the people there. I loaded up all the snacks, toys, and trinkets that I had left with the hopes that I would be able to give them away to children in the village. We would be working with an Indian woman named Kanta, she has been a friend of Truth Seekers for a long time and have been involved with social work in villages for 20 years.
Traffic was bad in Delhi (very obvious statement) and at one of the red lights we were stopped at on the way there we were approached by a eunuch. Eunuchs are castrated men (natural or forcibly) who dress in female saris and wear lots of makeup as they roam around on the streets and in marketplaces asking for money. They live in their own communities and are looked down upon even though their blessings or curses are considered to have power.
An hour later we arrived at the village Auchandi. This was a newer village for Kanta's work. She knew several believing women in the village but also knew that there were many women, men, and children who weren't believers. Kanta met us at our vehicles, shook our hands, and spoke english. We followed here to a large house and sat on blankets, cots, and chairs in a large room with a stone floor. Women from the village also joined us and it got crowded. Together we sang both Hindi and English praise songs, drank chai tea, and ate snacks. I was sitting on a cot with four other women and we were unable to really talk with each other, but I tried regardless.Next thing you know, the older woman whose house we had been in was escorted the American women in our group to go pray for the families in the village. The first house we went to had a really sick old woman. She was in a tiny, dark room in the back of the house. We picked her up from the cot she was on to a sitting position. She couldn't really hold herself up because she was was weak. She looked like she was on the verge of death and we couldn't do anything but pray aloud for her for several minutes before we laid her back down and moved on. I felt the Holy Spirit moving and I got really emotional. It continued to be very emotional for me as we walked with Kanta and the women from house to house praying for the women and families. Not every household had an obvious illness - sometimes we prayed against evil in a home, other times we prayed for food and resources for a poor family.
No one was translating our English prayers to Hindi and tons of women and children stood around and watched each time we prayed. I got the feeling that we were being viewed as some kind of healers and it was not a feeling I enjoyed. As I prayed for the hurting and sick in Auchandi, I also prayed that they people there would see God and not us as we ministered to them in His name.
The homes we visited were all concrete buildings that were tall and narrow, most shared walls as they were all lined up along the same street. Alleys and streets looked the same; cows milling around, children running and playing, doorways to homes every 12 feet or so... It was quaint and cozy and quiet. At one home, we were ushered to sit on cots and were served little fruits from a tree and a warm-yogurt-type-drink that was super salty - called a lassi (NOT my favorite by any means!).When we headed back to our hostess' home, we had a few minutes before the food was going to be ready for lunch so we headed to the roof of the home and got the bird's eye view of the village. Dry cowpies were on almost every rooftop and the neighborhood children shyly waved at us from their roofs. We handed out all the toys and trinkets to the children that we'd brought and not been able to give away yet. Most of my gifts were Southwest Airlines treats - thanks boss! The kids (and even some adults) were all excited to see what we had for them.
Lunch was served by a team of 10 or more Indians, with three women still cramped in a 5x7ft room (the kitchen) who kept the food coming until we were all stuffed. It was one of the best meals I'd had yet in India!
We prayed with a few more families before loading up into our vehicles again and beginning the long journey back to the city. All the conversations in my vehicle on the way back seemed to stay in the serious category. Pranjal shared his testimony with us and Winn opened up to me about his life story. I still feel immensely blessed to have met such incredible, loving servants of God.
Because of traffic, we went straight from driving to the book release event for Kancha Ilaiah's new book. He had already written a controversial book entitled "Why I'm Not a Hindu" and this second book is titled "Post-Hindu India." Kancha is a Truthseeker in terms of fighting against the Caste system and many of the Christians involved with Truthseekers think that he might also follow Christ (he's a Buddhist) or at least have a healthy knowledge and curiosity of God.
At the event, light refreshments were served before everyone was seated in a small auditorium. Many important political and religious figures were there. A few white people, our group being the majority (and, once again, standing out a mile). Sunil told us that it was important that we were - that our very presence made everyone else there perk up and wonder that this issue must be important if so many white people were in attendance.
The media snapped a lot of photos of Kancha, speakers, book reviewers, and those of us in the audience during the two hour event. I learned so much and purchased both of Kancha's books to read in order to understand more of the issue of Hinduism and the Caste system.
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