Learning to Trust by Hudson Markins

“Montezuma’s Revenge” was a phrase I had never heard before traveling to India. And even though I heard it for the first time in India, it wasn’t a phrase I heard from the locals. Rather it was my family on the phone and the other Americans with me on the trip that taught me that phrase. Montezuma’s Revenge is another title for “Traveler’s Diarrhea.” After a third night in India, lots of stomach pain, and many round-trip tickets to the bathroom, I felt like I could take on anything. Although I was also feeling a little confused. I knew that I risked illness as I traveled to a different country, but I was there on a mission trip. Why did the Lord allow me, and many of my teammates, to get sick? We were there in the Lord’s name after all! Also, we were only there for about two weeks. So why did a portion of that have to be spent in illness? It’s possible that I still do not understand, but I think the Lord was asking me if I trust Him. I was reminded of Paul’s many missionary journeys where he was not only ill, but beaten and imprisoned as well, all the while trusting in the Lord.

After two weeks of challenges, joys, hardships, blessings, time with leaders, time with children, learning about culture, and learning about the Lord, I found myself praying this prayer: “Lord, I trust You. Lord, please help me to trust You.” The truth of the matter is that although the temperature was very high and we had to figure out how to sleep on a very hard paper-thin mattress, our time in India was still very comfortable. According to American standards, our time in India was far from comfortable. But every day we were served three meals (Emphasis on served! They were overwhelmingly hospitable!), we had plenty of hours of sleep, we were still allowed to hold onto our Bibles, and we were safe. Therefore, our time was spent in luxury. My “western-self” was being tested as the Lord asked us at every meal, intersection, store, church, and interaction, “Do you trust Me?”

So, what did our time in India look like? From the very moment we stepped out of the airport, we were being served. Our missionary leader greeted us with flowers, a place to stay, gracious company, an air conditioner, and food! Food in abundance. The food was very different from what we were used to, but that did not stop them from serving us very large plates! And once we were done with our plates, maybe even another large plate. They are extremely hospitable. There were a handful of meals that were absolutely delicious, including this dish we had at one of the summer camps we led. I have no clue what the spices were, but it was chicken in some spicy curry sauce that was different from the other curries. I finished two whole plates. Speaking of camps, that is where we spent most of our time. On our third day in India, we started a week-long summer camp for students in kindergarten all the way through high school. In a group of about 150, there were kids from all walks of life. Specifically when it comes to religion, there were both Christians and Hindus, which might come as a shock. It sure did come as a shock to me. Nonetheless, these young Hindu kids learned the Bible that week. Some of which might have never heard from the Word before. That was possibly the best part of our trip. However, parts of India heavily persecute Christianity. The place where the camp was held was not one of those heavily persecuted areas, but it is still not always safe for Christians to live there. That was hard to think through as we knew some of these students would grow up under that tension. It was no coincidence that my time in the Word on this trip was focused on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In Daniel 3:16-18, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego respond to King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down and worship the golden idol. They say, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” There are two parts to their response and both are important. God will deliver us, but even if he doesn’t, we still trust Him.

So, to me and to any others who live in Western comforts and, much more, is not forced to bow down to golden statues or live a life under religious persecution, we must answer this question all the more: Do we actually put our trust in God or do we put our trust in something or someone else? Lord, I trust You. Lord, please help me to trust You.

Hudson Markins

CMP Student to India

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