Being Content...

Philippians 4: 11…Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content…………………
I arrived overscheduled into the Mumbai airport. It was still early morning and the sun had already come up. I got there and went through all the procedures keeping in mind that I had to catch my next flight at 8:05 am. No time to spare, but I needed to find Hitesh (My Gabriel angel). I quickly went through customs and checked with the ticketing office, gathered my bags from International and proceeded to try and find my next flight to Delhi. The shuttle to go to Domestic flights had a huge line, the ticket agent told me: “They’ve been waiting for two hours, you might want to get a pre-paid taxi to Domestic.” I asked: “Where is the pre-paid taxi at?” They pointed in a general direction to the left. So cases in hand I began walking….I finally found the pre-paid taxi and saw Hitesh outside waving his arms at me. I had told him that I would be wearing a red shirt, so I was easy to spot. I went outside the airport and he greeted me with a huge wonderful smile. You could see the love of Christ on his face. He quickly parked me at the taxi stand and ran back inside to pay for the cab. They threw my bags in the tiny little taxi….honestly I thought, how in the world are these bags going to fit, but hey, that’s why they made rope! We jumped inside and began through the crowded streets of Mumbai to the Domestic terminal which is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy over somewhere on the other side of the city! I just prayed….Lord, let us get there in perfect time. Hitesh is this tall 6’ 2” lanky Indian boy of 22. Cute as can be, looks like a young Pierce Brosnan. His heart was radiant with the love of the Lord. We shared just a little bit since our time was so short. He’s lived in Mumbai since his parents brought him here 22 years ago when he was a baby. He has a deep love for the Lord and even though he goes through a lot of battles living here in Mumbai, he is a strong young man. I also learned during our conversation that Hitesh lived two hours away from the airport, and had arrived an hour before my flight was set to come in. How many of us would have done that for a complete stranger coming into our city. Although our meeting was brief, I felt like I had known him for a lifetime. We arrived at the Mumbai Domestic airport safely. I have learned in India, that you NEVER watch the driver nor the cars. If you do, you could be in for a heart attack. You just let the driver do his job and you keep yourself entertained by talking to whomever you are with or watching the scenery. Hitesh took me and my bags through to the security checkpoint and left me with a huge hug. What an awesome young man. He truly touched my heart in seeing his faithfulness.
The airport was not too terribly crowded and so I whisked through security without any problems. No one gets in a hurry in India, so you have to be patient. I boarded the shuttle bus that took me to the plane along with several business men all clad in their nice dress shirts and suites. I was roasting and I had on a simple t-shirt and light weight pants! I thought, how can they even breathe with that suit and long sleeved dress shirt on? But to them it was cold outside, after all this was WINTER! The temperature outside was a freezing 68 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity was about 98%. That 68° was like 80° in San Jose weather. I was exactly on time with no time to spare. God is amazing at how He orchestrates things. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God had given me the peace I needed even though things should have been stressful. He made every little detail to fall right into place. I arrived at the Delhi airport right on time and a Jet Airways official led me out of the airport to locate Pastor Rajan Thomas and his wife Kunjumol. You have to understand that I had NEVER met Pastor Thomas nor even seen a photo of him. All he knew was that I was wearing a red shirt. I was scanning the hundreds of signs to see my name when this sweet little lady came up to me and said: “Are you Jayme?” I said: “Yes!” She said: “I am Pastor Rajan Thomas’ wife we are here to pick you up.” She gave me a big hug. I later learned that they have two beautiful children, Feba and Paul. Feba is in the 8th grade and Paul is in the 6th. We piled into a taxi that was even smaller than the last one. Big suitcase rode on top of the car, me Kunjumol and two other pieces of luggage rode in the backseat as Pastor Thomas and the driver were in the front. Indian traffic never ceases to amaze me. I have never seen so many cars in one lane…or do they even have lanes? It’s like a network of ants actually…even at the intersections, they all know how to merge into each other without colliding or changing speeds and most of the cars there are standard shift cars, not automatics. The driver and Pastor Thomas carried on a joyful conversation as I observed how meticulously the driver weaved in and out of motorcycles and auto rickshaws and buses overflowing with people. Not to speak of the huge cows that walked along side of the rush hour traffic. Never shall I complain of the traffic on the 101!
Upon arriving into Delhi, I had no idea of the family I would be staying with other than they were a sweet couple with two children, a boy and a girl. We soon arrived at their sweet and humble home there in Delhi. They live in a small one bedroom apartment up on the 2nd floor. Their street is very crowded with many other of the same apartments and children playing in the streets. You can hear the man on the street corner hollering “Vegetables!!!!!!!!! Vegetables!!!!!!!!!!” with no need for a microphone his loud voice resonates throughout the neighborhood. The children are playing with a small plastic ball and throwing it as though they were in a cricket match. The ladies are sitting outside holding little ones and some are leaning outside their windows talking to the women below. The laundry hangs from the balcony to dry in the afternoon breeze. Rajan was a pastor of a church that reached out the people on the streets of Delhi. The church has 8 pastors with each pastor reaching out to many of the different people of Delhi…everyone from Sikh to Hindu to Buddhist. Both Rajan and Kunjumol had left their jobs to minister to those on the streets of Delhi…that was 23 years ago. I was received by them with open arms and they took me to their home in the heart of north Delhi. It was a modest little place filled with the love and warmth of their personalities. We spoke a lot about India as a country, and Delhi as a city. Rajan told about how that every Sunday they would reach out and have services for the street people of Delhi….many of them would come and gather under the shade of one small tree and among the songs and sermons were the many testimonies of those whom God had reached down and touched. Some of them healed from ailments but all of them blessed by the hand of God. I thought back to the things we have here in America and then tried to compare what we have to what they have…there was no comparison. These people owned literally NOTHING, yet were the happiest people on the face of the earth. Many of them had no idea where their next meal would come from, other than to trust that God would provide it to them.
We sit down for afternoon tea and Kerala banana chips and a rice snack that Kujumol has made. Very nice. Later in the evening we take a cab in search of an internet café so I can send out a few emails and take down some phone numbers that were on my gmail. Oh how I truly appreciate having the internet so available in the US. It is not so here, even in a bustling city like Delhi. If you want to use the internet then you have to find an internet café. Since the Thomas’ don’t use it they are not necessarily in the “know” about such things, so we had to ask the driver to take us to the closest one. Once I arrived in this tiny little building I saw 3 computers and jumped online and worked quickly since you are charged by the minutes. I sent to those who could also relay the message on to other people. We came home and I was so exhausted that I didn’t even have dinner. I just went to bed and slept for a very long time….when I woke up it was almost mid-nite. I got up for just a little bit to use the restroom and went back down.
Tomorrow I will be going to meet Sim and also to the Mosque ruins in central Delhi. Hopefully I can find an Internet café and post this blog then. On Wednesday, my flight to Nepal is at 6:45 am. I have to be at the airport two hours ahead of that! What an adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!