Upendo Ministries

Thick fog, cool breezes, and smokey air as we waited for our Pakistani brothers to pick us up at the airport. They arrived two hours after we had landed at 5am. I was filled with excitment when Bro. Hasroon, Bro. Haroon, and Joshua approached our group. I had finally made it to Pakistan. I’ve had a dream to come here one day ever since my family came here in 2019, never really thinking it would come true, yet by the mercies of God, here I am.

We loaded the private van with our luggage, and then started off from Lahore to Fasalabad. Through the dense fog, I looked out the window to see colorful buses, street vendors, motorcycles and vehicles passing six inches away from us, and donkeys galloping down the road pulling carts and people.

Joshua was with us, and was showered with questions of all kinds. He knew the most English of any of the Pakistanis with us, so he was the translator when we needed to communicate with the people in the other vehicle. I began to attempt to say the words in Urdu that Anna (Bro. Shazad’s daughter) had taught me through WhatsApp voice messages.

It didn’t go so well… a mixture of me not getting it and Anna saying some incorrect translations, ended in me saying, “Salaam Baba ji” to Bro. Hasroon. I was told that it was a respectful greeting to a man. Bro. Hasroon laughed when I said it to him, but I didn’t think much of it, because I thought I just said it with an American accent or something. When Joshua later heard that I said that, he began laughing and said, “That has the meaning, ‘Peace, respected father.’” So much for my attempt at learning their language!! Halfway through the drive he was no longer Joshua, but Ustad (Teacher) Joshua. I guess we’ll see how our Urdu goes now… hopefully better!

We stopped at a mall so the boys could get kurtas. We went to CarreFour in there to get groceries. I have noticed the respectfulness of men towards women here and it is greatly appreciated. When just us girls went to the grocery store, Bro. Hasroon and Joshua would be either be six feet in front or behind us, so we could have our privacy, yet still have a watchful eye out. Once we got in the store, they let us shop alone, but they would walk by the isle frequently to make sure we were okay. I needed non-dairy milk, so I asked the clerk for almond milk. They led me to a little carton of almond flavored cow’s milk. It’s an adventure every step of the way!

Before going to David Villa to meet Bro. Shazad, we stopped to get a mobile hotspot wifi pack. David Villa is like peace in the midst of beautiful chaos. We got out of the van and Bro. Shazad, Sis. Sobia, Joshua, Abram, Anna, and Bro. Hasroon began throwing flowers on us as a welcoming. Greetings were made, luggage was quickly unloaded, and we all went up into our room and discussed our weeks schedule. Between triping over my water bottle and my hijab falling off over and over, I was a little embarrassed!

Bro. Shazad’s health is not in a good condition, so after we had finished talking plans, he left with his wife and two younger children. Joshua and Bro. Hasroon stayed and took their car to meet us at the storage hall to show us the mountains of work they had done to prepare for this time.

We saw the endless amount of items and boxes purchased for distributions. Many, many hours and days of work was shown and appreciated. I had a bit of a health incident in front of everyone which was embarrassing, but I’m thankful God has given me a bit more strength.

We went and ate supper and then came back to our room. And that brings us to now, 2:40am. Time change is great!😅 I’m looking forward to the days to come and pray for a soul to find their Savior.