It's been a longggg day

Day 34 - November 14, 2021

There was an earthquake this morning around 7 AM that shook the whole house. Apparently there was also a loud noise but I had headphones in so I didn’t hear it. I don't think I have ever experienced an earthquake before today so cheers to new experiences!


There are two drivers for my hosts and the second one I will call Ani; so we have Suri and Ani. I have spent some more time with Ani recently and gotten to know him a little bit more. He has a wife who is pregnant and a son who is a toddler. He has worked since he was 15 years old. He will say full sentence to drivers who cannot hear him if they are driving badly. He claps when he laughs. He also called my ma'am for the longest time and I finally asked him to call me either sister or Alexis. That bothered him a little bit because he wants to put me in a different place of hierarchy but I'm not about it. I do not want to be above anyone else. I genuinely don't like that because I believe that God made all people equally and although we have different jobs, different lifestyles, and different beliefs we are all human and no one is better at being human than anyone else.


Anyway, my hosts went to church again and ya girl still can't speak the native language so I asked if I could sit with the other women so I could listen to my own sermon without all eyes being on me at the front. That was a hard no. So because I am who I am...I put in my earphones and listened to my own sermon with all eyes on me. No shame. Forty-Five minutes later I got to giggle with some little girls on the floor and they were adorable. They kept putting their little hands on my knees and looking straight into my eyes before laughing and pulling back. I had the best time.


I listened to two sermons today:

Sing Conference by John Piper & Desiring God

  • Words are not always enough to express how we feel about God so we borrow the language of song to help us express how we feel about our God. 
  • My pleasure in God’s presence is not selfish. My pleasure is a measure of His treasure to me.
  • God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. 
  • God has given us singing so we can express the gladness of his goodness. 


The Gladness of Godward Singing:

Sends lovers of Christ to the nations

  • Declare His Glory among the nations 
  • Sing to the Lord a new song
  • “We rest on thee our shield and our defender...” 🎶 The song the martyrs sang in Equador when they were speared to death.

Sustains the servants of Christ among the nations 

  • Jesus sang with His disciples and then said to them “you will all fall away.” 
  • They all fell away. But He didn’t. 
  • Even though they blew it that night they didn’t blow it forever.

Sets the captives free in the nations 

  • Acts 16
  • Paul & Silas were singing in jail and they were set free
  • When Jesus fought the devil He used scripture. 
  • Demon possession can be freed through song

Shows the all satisfying glory of Christ to the nations

  • Why do missionaries sing? 
  • The great commission is a global command of God to be glad in God. 
  • Let the nations be glad. Let them sing for joy! 
  • Will you not sing? It’s not a burden it is an invitation. 

Sign that the kingdom of the earth will glorify Christ

  • All the kingdom’s of the earth will be glorify the Lord. 
  • The singer gets the joy and the Savior gets the glory. 
  • God doesn’t get the glory He should have without the gladness in the nations. 
  • The united goal of the universe is the Glory of God


REST by DAVID PLATT

Mark 2:23 "Six days you will work and on the 7th day you will rest."

  • We are made in the image of God and He doesn’t sleep. 
  • Sleep is a reminder from God that we are not God. God makes us helpless for several hours everyday.
  • God designed us to need rest.
  • Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Lord of rest.
  • Rest is found by trusting everything in your life to Jesus for Him to handle. 

Psalm 131

  • We were created for rest and relationship with God but because of decisions we made there is unrest in our lives.

Psalm 116

Galatians 2:20 "It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me."

  • Find anything you need in Christ and He will supply it with supernatural rest.

1 Peter 5 "Caste all your cares on Him because He cares for you." 


Continuing with the day...

Today was a long day. We drove for a hour and a half to 2 hours this morning and then we had to drive back and go to a wedding event. At the wedding event I was able to sit with some of the girls who were present for the event and get to know them a little bit better. We played several games to pass the time. The games were One 1-Two 2 which is a rhythm game and Cop & Killer which is where one person is the cop, one person is the killer, and everyone else are helpless victims. The killer winks at people to kill them and the cop is trying to catch the killer in the act. We played 10-20 round of this one and about died laughing. We also talked about trying to be a plus size girl in India in the challenges that come with that. Apparently, there are almost no stores that provide clothing for bigger women even if they are just curvy. So what they do is buy fabric and have things custom made which costs a whole lot of money OR they just wear things that are too tight and therefore uncomfortable. The struggle is real.


They went to the wedding event which involved another turmeric war and because I did not bring my camera to this event this time I did not go. There were some other women who were not able to attend the event because they were there to work so I stayed with them, watched the baby, and chatted a little bit. A lot of the people here are allergic to turmeric so it surprises me that they keep using it in these wedding events. Dinner was fried rice again. My back is in a lot of pain for as much riding as we did in the car. I am ready for bed.


We finally arrived back home at 12:30 AM.