Update #4: South Asia

Hey, Mackenzie here! ✨🤍 The past two days at our new location have been full of excitement and plenty of heat and humidity . The city our team is in is beautiful with all sorts of murals everywhere you look. Yesterday we had a slow morning, praying over our lovely hotel and all the people within it. Then we tried South Asian McDonald’s, very American of us, I know, before heading to a local mall to go share the Gospel. Each of the small groups we split up into had some different experiences, some had fruitful conversations, but my group had a bit of a tougher time. The people here are very hospitable and love to chat with us, but they’re not all down to talk about Jesus. Anytime we tried to steer the conversation back to Christ, the people we talked to managed to skate right past it with surprising skill. Still, we weren’t too bummed out and left with the knowledge that we left an impression for them to think back on as well as more encouraging stories from the rest of the team.

Today we got to visit a church! We walked into the room incredibly early but were welcomed in immediately. Six of us got to listen to worship in both English and the native language of the city and it was an amazing experience. You could feel the joy and energy radiating from the small worship team and the congregation. The small room, which was tucked away on the third floor of a giant convention center through a maze of stairs and dizzying hallways, was packed full of families and individuals ready to be in community with each other. The message struck out hearts and lined up with everything we’d been studying and preparing for in advance for this trip, it’s amazing how God works! It was an encouraging day to be with other believers in a completely different culture than our own. Not to mention, we had the best chai I’ve ever had! The other members of our team also had an encouraging time at another church and got to have lunch with the pastor and his family.

For those curious, our stomach troubles are still hanging about, but we’re getting better day by day and appreciate your prayers! To my family and friends, don’t worry, I am in fact alive and thriving through the heat and the sweat, struggling not to pet all the stray cats and dogs I see. (Especially the cats, they’re so cute. The dogs are cute too but kinda sketch not gonna lie. Please see the included photo of a cat napping on a motorcycle.)