I’m going to get fat. One of my biggest worries was that I was going to get sick of the food and stop eating it. Well, I’m honestly enjoying the food and Lakshmi is making sure that I eat about 6 pounds of rice, handfuls of chicken, bread, eggs, and fruit every day. They also bring me coffee and chai tea 2-3 times a day and periodically offer me snacks. If this wasn’t enough, I still have 33 cans of tuna, 4 cans of chicken breast, poptarts, nutri-grain bars, beef jerky, fruit snacks, fruit cups, crackers, goldfish, dried fruit, chewy bars, peanut butter, and protein powder + a few other things I probably left out. There is no way I’m going to be eating all of that! Man carbs are filling!
Yesterday morning my Dad and the KCC team left CEM campus to make the 33 hour trip home. I imagine my dad is probably about to land in Amsterdam about now. I had a very hard time saying goodbye to my dad, harder than I thought I would. I’ve never been away from my parents for more than 3 weeks, and every time that I’ve been away from them I’ve always been able to call them and even come home if I really needed to. This time I can’t come home and I can’t call them, I am truly on my own.
My dad wrote a blog on the Communitas website (http://www.communitasnyc.org/craigs-blog/post/leaving-something-one--behind) about how hard it was to say goodbye and in a sense, give me over to God. I’m only here for 2 months, but when I get back I’ll be in NY for 9-10 months and then who knows where I’ll be going to college. I’m growing up and I don’t like it, I feel like I should still be 7 years old and playing starlight moonlight out side late at night with my dad, brother, sister, Josh Griffin and the Droste kids.
The fact is that I am growing up and my parents can no longer give me the protection and sense of security that I had when I was 7 years old. As soon as I said goodbye to my dad, and got on the bus to head back to CEM campus it sunk in and took me by surprise. I was alone. My dad was about to get on a plane and start flying away from me at 600 mph and right then that feeling of security that I’ve had since I was 7 left me. And I know I will never have that same feeling again, at least not from my parents.
Luke 14:26-27
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
I came to India because I want to devote my life to God, I want to follow and obey him, I want to be his disciple. And if I’m going to be his disciple I have to be willing to put him before my father and mother, brother and sister, and before myself. Leaving my mother in NY and letting my dad leave me in India was the first real step in putting God before them and myself.
The amazing part about this is that God offers me so much more than my parents can which is honestly hard to wrap my mind around and I constantly doubt it. God gives me unconditional love, overwhelming peace, he shows me constant patience and he is my rock in whom I take refuge in.
Now that the team is gone I’m going to have a lot more time to myself. I’ve brought 8 books with me, 9 including my bible, and 3 journals to fill. This is what I think my schedule will look like, wake up at 5:30-6, go to chapel with the GCH kids, eat breakfast and then somedays I will walk the kids to school. Once I’m back from that I will go upstairs on the roof where I have my prayer room. I will pray, read and journal and maybe blog until 1:30 and then I’ll take a break for lunch. I will continue praying until 4:30 when the kids get back from school. I will play with them for a couple of hours and then have dinner. After that I will spend some time with Prasanth and Deepthi and then have a quiet time before bed, at 9.
It will be interesting to see how I do with being alone for so long.
Prayer request,
1. God reveals himself to me.
2. God speaks to me and gives me clarity in how he will use me
3. Pray for my parents and sister. Pray that God gives them peace while I’m away.
4.Pray for my health, a lot of eye infections are going around, nothing serious though
Packing up.
Waiting to leave for the airport.
Saying goodbye, I will be standing here in 2 months.
Pulling away from the airport.
~Caleb
hey man it's great reading about your experiences in India. Your words here make it seem like there's a whole different person in you I didn't get to meet playing poker and watching south park! I hope him and I can get together so I can get to know him when you get back! You've been in our prayers every day, and also your family. I know it's really tough on them to let you go.
ReplyDeleteSince you'll have so much time praying, I'd like to make a prayer request. I had my 2nd interview at Brick Presbyterian Church to be the assistant to the senior minister. It went just as well as the first interview, and now we're just praying that if it's God's will for me to be there that he puts it on their heart to offer me the job.
love you man, stay strong!
Hey Harry.
ReplyDeleteSome would say I'm like the green onion, I have lots of layers and jokes on the outside but there's an inside you don't know. lol, sorry dad, I couldn't resist.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to coming back but loving my time here. I will definitely pray for you, I have a prayer book and every day I've been adding people to it. It takes a long time to pray for so many people! haha. I have the time though.
Love you man, I'll talk with you soon.