Summary

Jack Magruder, GCC's Pastor of Life Missions, has encouraged each of us to summarize the India mission trip experience in to a few simple "takeaways", something we can get our arms around so that it doesn't just become a trip to put in a scrapbook.  So the challenge is:  how can I boil down all that I have experienced to just 2-3 lessons I've learned and how will that change my walk with God?

Lesson 1:  The faithful there are truly faithful.  They are willing to give all to God- their hearts, their souls, their lives, their everday circumstances, no matter the consequences.  Christians there are definitely in the minority.  How would I react in those circumstances?  Could I make the personal sacrifices that they make?  That is my challenge-to not be fearful of the consequences of my beliefs, to be more faithful.

Lesson 2:  Poverty is everywhere, no matter where you go in the world.  However, poverty is more prevalent in India and more out in the open.  There are shacks next to nice buildings.  Litter is everywhere.  The government has given every home a TV, even tho they don't have refrigerators or stoves or other "essentials", or for that matter, adequate food, housing, or clothing.  (It was a political thing--then the people would be able to see the political commercials at election time.)  In one of the newspapers I read that in one particular village (not the ones we were in) the rate of child malnutrition was 75%.  It is amazing that the overall average in India is 46%!  Think of that, 46% of the children in India are malnourished!  The children I saw were very thin, no doubt about that.  And I saw one child begging for food.  The Kalavai team told of one girl who hadn't had a meal in 2 days.  Hopefully our presence enables the pastors there to make a difference in their communities so that they will have adequate food and water.
People have little, but give what little they have to make your experience enjoyable.  They try to make do with what they have, but they will also go into great debt in order to have a dowry for their daughters to get married.  (I can think of ways Americans essentially do the same things--how much does it cost to put on a wedding???) 
The challenge for me:  Can I give what little I have to help others?  What can I do to help make a dent in the rate of malnourishment in children in India?

Lesson 3:  People in India have the same health concerns as people do here-- concerns about pesticide use, food myths about what you can or cannot eat, infertility problems, what causes birth defects, how do you treat high blood pressure, diabetes, joint pain. 
The challenge for me:  what more can I learn about Indian culture and food that would be of help should I take another mission trip there?

These are my 3 takeaways.  However, it is very hard to summarize the experience in just these ways.  The sights & sounds, to give just a few words of summary, would include:
-It is very, very hot!
-Lots of noise, from Hindu music playing all day, from horns honking constantly in traffic, it is so hard to describe!
-Spicy food and lots of rice!
-Indian time is different than Western time.  Very laidback culture, and in a way, that is a very relaxing, less stressful way to live!
-Lots of color, from clothing, buildings, flowers, signs...
-Beautiful countryside!  But lots of litter.  And the sewer is an open trough running down the side of the street in the city.
-Women are expected to be very modest.  Men & women do not intermingle freely. 

Matthew 22:34-40, Acts 9, Acts 22:14-15.  "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from His mouth.  You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard."  Acts 22:14