The Fort

by team journalist Rynn Davison

A very long time ago, someone went to a lot of work to build a colossal fort. Our team drove an hour outside of Aurangabad to visit this famous tourist spot and to pray.

Just one of the many Hindu gods.

This Fort is also the location of a shrine built for the goddess Mahimata, or “Mother Earth.” Tall pillars stood sentinel round the courtyard. A breeze cooled us from the hot glare of the sun.

While we prayed and worshiped God, Hattie read from Isaiah 40, declaring it as a promise over India. The words were powerful. The verses spoke of God being the one true God, the Creator, who cares for His people like a shepherd holding a lamb in his arms. We prayed that all of India would know Jesus is the way to knowing their Creator. We know that many more people need to come to India, need to pray for this nation, but we were glad to play a part.

Walking to the Fort. The colorful punjabis are made more brilliant by the bright sunlight.

After the prayer session was over, we climbed to the top of the Fort. To get to

Intricate, ancient pillars in the Fort.

the top, we went through ‘the caves’! These caves were pitch black, filled with children on school trips… and even bats. The stairs were steep and narrow.

At the top, a glorious view awaited us. The valley stretched out below, hazy with heat. A vivid blue lake lay to our right, hedged in by mountain slopes.

“Incredible,” P.D. said. “Just the sheer size of it!”

To top it off, there were monkeys who played in the courtyard. (P.D. was chased by one who resembled a slightly less-cute Curious George.)

It was a special day for Travis and Katie, too. “It was Travis and my six month anniversary,” said Katie. “It was such a “God thing” to be able to climb to the top of the fort. For our ‘special’ days we would always do something active, like exploring a bike trail or hiking. We got to do this in India as well! And the view was spectacular.”

From the top of the mountain, the DTS team looked over the valley below.PD makes a new friend.