We arrived in Kerala, India on the 1st of February and felt the excitement of being in the place that God has been speaking to us about for the last few years. However, it was amazing how quickly those feelings were overwhelmed by anxious thoughts about why we are here, what we have to offer and feeling the reality of being in India — which for all its beauty and culture also offers a healthy dose of discomfort (i.e. crazy traffic, feral dogs, piles of burning garbage and oppressive heat).
Our initial days in Kochi were spent with a local family, which was a lovely provision but also tested our abilities to sit and be at rest in a foreign environment where we had little control about what happened day to day. For two people used to their independence (and also used to being busy all the time), it was difficult to not be allowed to help with any household chores and also to share a space (and one bathroom) with three people we did not know very well. However, we were grateful for how God had prepared us in terms of teaching us about rest and dependence on Him. So despite our feelings of anxiety or even restlessness, we could simply ‘be still and know that He is our God’ (Psalms 46:10).
When we first visited Kochi in 2022, we came across a local church which in hindsight we felt God had led us to. This church is Jesus-focused, community-focused, and very welcoming. Coming back to Kochi and reconnecting with the congregation of this church was like picking up where we left off, and we have felt embraced with open arms.
After a few days we moved into a serviced apartment only 5 minutes’ drive from this local church and also located near a nice area of Kochi with restaurants and cafes. It has been a blessing to be able to stay in such a safe and modern area of Kochi and has made acclimatising a bit easier.
It has been a discovery to learn more about the people and culture of India. We have been introduced to the incredible diversity of the people within India itself, including the different languages they speak, the different customs and traditions, and even the different food. We have enjoyed tasting authentic Keralan dishes (and learning to eat with our hands), although we find we need to break up the curries with plainer meals to give our digestive systems a break! We are also trying to get used to eating very late, as it is usual here to eat around 9:30pm and then go to bed around midnight.
The other big adjustment is the heat. It was certainly God’s care that he brought us here two years ago as we learned so much from that experience, including that we should try to stay indoors in the middle of the day and only go out for walks in the late afternoon or evening. Sticking to this kind of schedule has certainly made the heat more bearable and we now look back and chuckle at our foolhardy attempts two years ago to walk around the city for the whole day, only to stumble back to our hotel drenched in sweat and feeling entirely defeated.
Before we left Melbourne, Alex obtained his motorbike licence due to the trouble we had last time trying to rent a scooter. We weren't sure how much we would use it, but thought it would be nice to have the option. As it turns out, it has been convenient to have a two-wheeler to pop up to the supermarket or head to church. However, driving on the roads here can be pretty scary and Alex has to be really alert because not only are there numerous scooters and cars, they also don't follow the road rules we are used to. People often drive into oncoming traffic only to dodge aside at the last moment, and we even had one experience where we were turning and a motorbike sped past us on our inside (and on the wrong side of the road). He hit our mirror, but thankfully no damage was done! We thought that we would acclimate to driving here, but if anything we have felt more and more nervous driving any great distance when the traffic is busy, as we have witnessed a few accidents. It has been great having the scooter for local rides in the middle of the day or late at night, but in general we think we will stick to the auto-rickshaws.
One quote that has come to mind a number of times during our first few weeks here is from Zac Poonen’s book ‘The Day of Small Beginnings’ — that if we want to do the will of God, we need to have the ability to “sleep anywhere and eat anything”. We certainly have not been suffering any real hardship, but it is easy to be focused on the kind of accommodation we would like or the type of food we prefer to eat, instead of being focused on the privilege of following Him.