Ganapathi and Laxmi
I know I posted an update just a few days ago, but something really amazing happened the other day and I really wanted to share it with all of you before I leave for Nepal!
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:5
God does amazing things. As some of you may know, I’ve spent the past month working with young adults here in India. The students here at the school graduated about a week ago and since then, our ministry has changed slightly from learning about instruments and how to lead worship to doing house chores and cleaning. The other day we were asked to help fix the cots on the side of the house. We had spent most of the morning bent over cots in frustration, attempting to yank out tons of rusted and stripped screws, and we were ready to be done. We didn’t get the chance to finish them that afternoon, and we were feeling pretty defeated, but we all definitely needed to take a break to calm down.
On a side note, while we were working in frustration, for some reason I thought to pause and take a picture of my hands; my hands that were caked with dirt and my fingers that were aching from repeatedly twisting and pulling out screws. I sat and collected myself for a second, trying to keep myself from completely losing it on the front porch, and then the thought came to me. We are literally being the hands of Jesus. I’ve heard the phrase “be the hands and feet of Jesus” my entire life and I always associated the saying with serving others in kindness, compassion, and humility. I never fully thought of it as physically serving until then. Never in my life would I have ever thought that being Jesus’ hands would look like living all the way across the world pulling screws out of rusty, old cots. Before, I let my frustrations and selfishness get in the way of serving our ministry hosts with a grateful and humble heart, but now I am reminded that I should be all the more encouraged and joyful to be His hands in the difficult and “not so enjoyable” moments in life.
Our team decided to go to one of the massive parks here in Hyderabad to walk around and talk with some of the young adults that were hanging out at the park. We were told that we should avoid using the words ministry or Christian and other similar words, but we could talk with them about really anything else. We were all super pumped to get away from the cots and get to know some new people, but the moment we got to the park we all felt super awkward. As soon as we walked in and split up into groups of three, we realized that we were pretty much the only people there who were 1) white, and 2) not on a date. It was definitely awkward. All around us there were young couples who were obviously dating and then along come three white people walking through the park looking for people to talk to. We were so out of place! Our excitement turned into nervousness and what courage we had started out with was quickly evaporating. Finally, the guy in my group, Aaron, walked over to this guy who was laying in the grass and asked his name. Megan and I followed and eventually the three of us were talking with him and taking selfies and it ended up being a lot less awkward than we thought it was going to be. Soon enough, we were talking with lots of people at the park and all of my nervousness was gone.
One couple walked up to us and there was something different about them. Normally we were the ones to introduce ourselves first, but these two came up to us. After talking, we found out their names were Ganapathi and Laxmi and we learned that they used to be in love but they weren’t a couple anymore because their parents didn’t approve and they wanted to be respectful of their wishes. As we continued to talk, we watched as their moods just dropped and we saw how disheartened they had become. While we were talking, Laxmi noticed Megan’s tattoo that read “In Christ Alone,” and she asked if it was talking about Jesus. We told them yes, it’s about Jesus and that we were all Christians. When we talked about being Christian, they seemed to grow more interested, instead of walking away like anyone else would. Ganapathi opened up to us and told us that they were Hindu, but that they were praying to their gods and were losing hope. Laxmi, who had been quiet for most of the conversation, started crying and told us that she was arranged to marry someone else and that today was her last day to see Ganapathi. Both of them said that their prayers to their gods about wanting to be together were not being answered and that they had lost all hope. My heart was broken for them and I had no clue what to say to them. We gave them hugs and comforted them as Ganapathi told us to keep them in our prayers.
As we said goodbye and walked away, our group felt that for some reason our conversation wasn’t finished and that there was more in store, but we had no clue what was coming. After talking with other people around the park, we found ourselves walking back up to Ganapathi and Laxmi and Aaron decided to be bold and to share about God’s love and the hope that we, as Christ followers, can have in Him. Immediately, their eyes lit up and their faces were filled with joy. In his boldness, Aaron began to pray over them. Together we all held hands, while Aaron prayed and asked God to fill Ganapathi and Laxmi with His overwhelming hope, love, and joy.
I couldn’t say anything. I was in awe of what was happening, and I knew if I tried to speak, then the floodgates would open and I wouldn’t be able to control my tears. After we prayed, we hugged them both so tight, and I could see the hope radiating off of their faces. I was overwhelmed with joy and wonder. Just as we were about to leave, Megan, sweet loving Megan, reached into her backpack and pulled out her bible. She began taking all of her papers and bookmarks out and then handed it over to Ganapathi. She told them that it was the Bible and that it is the most amazing book anyone could ever read. We told them to start with John. Ganapathi took it and told us that he was filled with hope and that he knew it was fate for us to meet. He said he believed that somehow Jesus created a way for us to meet and for us to share God’s love with them. After another round of hugs and our final goodbyes, Ganapathi told us that he hopes to one day have the same hope that we have in Jesus, and we told him that he already did.
As I walked away, I heard God whisper to me that kingdom ground was gained and that we had given hope to the hopeless. This is one of those moments that I don’t think I will ever forget. God is so so good. He uses the most awkward situations to reach people, and He uses ordinary people, like me, to make a difference.
I just wanted to share the verse and this story with all of you because it really encouraged me. It showed me how God is constantly working through each one of us, even if it’s through the tiniest acts of kindness. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers!
~ Hannah