Another wonderful Sunday
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2005
1
21
29
Trip End
Nov 05, 2005
Delhi, India
Sunday, October 23, 2005
I woke up this morning to a text message from Todd about going to Dilli Haat with them... He forgot I had church to go to! But it woke me up, which was good. I also got a call from Anoop, who is a guy I've met at the office. His team lead sits very near my desk and he's always over there goofing off, so we've laughed at each other a bit. On Friday, he was sametiming (like IM) me about my weekend plans, and I mentioned church. He said he'd never been and wondered what we do there. I told him, and invited him to come along, which he said he would. I was surprised, but very pleased! He is Hindu, but was very curious about what church is like (remember that Hindus don't attend services or have a "holy day"). He asked me to pray for him to my God, and I assured him I would. However, this morning he called to say he was not going to be able to make it, but would go next week (which I may be out of town, but perhaps the following week he can join us). It was a pleasant surprise to hear that he was still interested in going. He told me on Friday that it was a pleasure to meet such a good and nice person, and that is why he wanted to know me. Praise God, because it's only through Him that I have any good qualities at all to show to people!! I hope to have some chances this week to talk to Anoop more about church and God, and Jesus.
So we went back to the same church as last week... on the motorbike of course! This time, we arrived at the correct time for the English service. It was more on the message of vine and branches (and again, I giggled as he talked about "wine"). Another thing I thought was so funny: He was telling us a scripture to go to... "Sam" 40something. So I flip to 1st Samuel... no chapter 40something. I turn to 2nd Samuel... no chapter 40something. Confused, I listen as he reads... from Psalms! "Sams" is what he said, meaning Psalms. I thought it was so cute, so I had to tell about it.
I sat on the side with the men today (I'm a rebel, am I not??). There were other ladies on my side, behind us, but all in front of us... only men. Next week, they're having a special service where everyone is coming dressed in their regional clothing and worshipping in a regional way. Then the men and women are "permitted" to sit together in the same section. :-)
They also had baby and child dedication this morning. There was one little girl and one baby. We all reached our hands toward them and prayed over them and their parents. It was very special, and a treat to see this done here, much as we do at home.
After church, we went to lunch. The church was near a neighborhood that is not too far from where Robin went to school, so he was very familiar with it. We had south Indian food... Masala Dosa (quiz - remember what that is??) and uttapam (I know I spelled the wrong) - which is like a pancake cooked with vegetables in it, and idli (no jam!). I also had a mango smoothie... yum! By the way, they have such a great selection of fresh juices at the restaurants here. I love it!
Then it was off to Sheena's. Sheena is one of the QASs, and offered to host people at her house for the first ever Nikki Edens movie marathon in Delhi! :-) The people at the office were fascinated by my "other life" of acting, and so I had my films brought to me a week or so ago by another travelling associate. We hung out at Sheena's house and played a "Truth" game (in which I got very embarassed by the question I was asked about who I thought was the best looking guy in the office!), and then watched 4 of the films I did and the end of Believe Again (the scene).
Sheena lives at home with her parents in a very cute apartment in West Delhi. I met her mom and dad, I think maybe her grandmother, her sister and her nephew, and another little girl which may have been her niece. Her nephew was so adorable!! He had these huge brown eyes, and couldn't stop staring at me!! It was great! (see pictures) Entertaining here is taken very seriously. Her family cooked up all kinds of great stuff for us while we were there. While I would put out a bowl of chips and some dip perhaps, they kept serving things up. We had chips, nuts, zesty fries, kabob, some kind of noodle or rice stuff, popcorn, fried cheese... It just kept coming out and getting passed around. So here we all are in the living room with Sheena and her mom is just cooking and cooking!! :-) It was so sweet! I liked her family a lot. It is the first opportunity I've had here to go to someone's house and see them in their own environment, and I found it really special!
About the game. We played "pass the pillow" (which was Ansch's idea), in which everyone passes the pillow around the room to music, and when the music stops, whoever's holding it is asked a question and has to answer honestly. (Like hot potato and truth or dare without the dare combined.)
When we left Sheena's, Robin drove me back to the hotel. It was about an hour, due to distance and traffic, and it was freezing in the wind! It's getting quite chilly here at night. We decided to hang out in my room, eat chips and salsa (which mom shipped in after I found out that Robin really liked them when he was in Florida... thanks mom!), and watch a movie. We watched some of the student films I had, and a good portion of the Trees DVD. He was in awe, I think, of the size of the church, and the number of people in the performance and attending... Christians are a small population here, and such a production wouldn't happen. Watching it made me so reminiscent and reminded me how much I love my church! It was like home being right here in my hotel room for a little while! And how fortunate I am to have so many other believers to worship and fellowship and grow with. It's just not so here. Even the Christmas carols in the show were unfamiliar to Robin. Christmas is not a huge holiday and not largely celebrated here like in the US, although the churches do something I think. It seemed so strange to me not to know the 12 days of Christmas or little drummer boy. I liked watching it with him and talking about it. I also told him about our Easter presentations and the drama of the life and crucifixion of Jesus. It excited me to do so. I love it so much, and love my God so much!!
We also ordered up a movie - Shakespeare in Love - which he hadn't seen. Afterward, he admitted had he been in the theater he would have been a little teary eyed at the end! He pretends to be "hard", but I think he's not so much!
I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have met Robin, and have someone here who shares my faith and understands my priorities and passion for Christ. And it's just an added bonus that I find him a great conversationalist and endlessly entertaining! When I came here, I knew I would be sad to go... I get that way anytime I travel or have a very exciting experience. This time especially, I thought it would be after being here so long, and then having to go back to "real life". But I think it will be that much harder, having someone here that I care about now. It's so much easier to leave places than people!! But I wouldn't trade it for anything!! So Praise God for knowing exactly how to meet my needs and always sending just the right people into my life. And please pray for me to enjoy and make the most of the next 2 weeks, and to be hopeful and positive in my return, and not too terribly sad!
Blessings to all, as I prepare to start week 5 in India!!
