India is a country much less decrepit than people in the
Western world think. To America’s standards, yes, it’s a bit dirty and crowded,
but health care is improving, industry is growing, and big cities are thriving.
The public water may not be safe to drink, but they have a system for treating
it and providing citizens with clean water. India as a whole is no longer a
country that is in desperate need of “western civilization.”
But I don’t want to paint the wrong picture here. Though the
image of a country with no infrastructure is false, the poverty and brokenness
in this country is still heart-wrenching. It is one of the leading countries in
sex-trafficking, and there are still many children on the streets. The poverty
and population lead to starvation, with many people (mostly children) dying
daily from lack of food. The big cities are nicer than you may expect, but the
slums are worse than you can possibly imagine. The cost of living may seem
cheap, but the average Indian family makes roughly the equivalent of $50-$100 per month. Christianity makes up 3% of
the population’s religion, and the rest put their hope in false gods and idols.
Despite the difficulties about life here, despite their
struggles and hardships, these people are gracious, friendly, hospitable, and
incredibly generous. I have never felt so welcomed in my life than by complete
strangers at the New Hope for Children’s Home. The children are beautiful and
filled with joy, and the staff goes out of their way to serve. What they lack
in English communication skills (though most of them know at least some
English) they make up for with love, kindness, and humility. Although we came
here to serve, at times it feels like we’re the ones being served, the ones
being blessed. Tyler and I have fallen in love with the country and the people,
and we’ve been here for a week.
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The children at the orphanage gave us a wonderful welcoming ceremony the evening we got there. |
So what does a day in our lives look like over here? Well,
we get up at 5:30 with the children for morning prayer and exercise time. The
staff heard that we were “exercise people,” as they called us, and asked us to
lead, so we do walking, jogging, stretching and calisthenics. The kids get
washed up, have breakfast, and head to school, where they stay until 4:00 in
the afternoon. Helping Hands India has a small Bible seminary student group,
and they’ve given us a couple of those classes a day to teach. Devotion is at
9:00, and then we teach English at 9:30. We had no idea we could be capable of
teaching English, but it seems that they're actually learning from us, and they
seem to be improving. At 11:30, I teach first aid to the seminary students and
the staff of the orphanage. We were also able to put together a first aid kit
for the children’s home to have, so it’s cool that they are learning how to
better take care of the children.
After first aid is lunch, and then we have the rest of the
afternoon off. We’ve been using it to plan the next day’s lessons, nap, blog,
pray, walk around, or whatever else we feel like doing. When the children get
home from school, they have a little bit of time to play before they start on
their studies, so we play with them and then help them study until around 7:30
when we have evening devotions. So far all they want is for us to teach them
songs and tell them Bible stories, but we really love observing what they
usually do. They know a plethora of songs, from hymns and worship songs, to
kids’ Bible songs, to songs in their language, and it’s one of the most
beautiful things I’ve ever heard. Hearing children singing is usually an
automatic source of joy for many people, but children who have very few
possessions and are singing with all their might to the God who loves and
protects them is beyond moving.
By the time we’re done with studies and devotions, it’s
about 8:00 in the evening and time for dinner. Speaking of dinner, the food has been incredibly delicious and insanely spicy. They've even tried really hard to "tone it down" from the spice level they usually eat, and it's still hot! The days are very long, but
more fulfilling than anything I’ve ever done in my life. The kids go to school
on Saturdays as well, but only for a half-day. When they get home, they have
the entire afternoon and evening to play (no studies on Saturday!). So you can
imagine that makes for a very long day as well…running around non-stop for 5
hours will wear you out. Especially when you don’t have the energy of a
9-year-old. But it’s a blast! They laugh constantly and find joy in the
simplest things. I taught the girls Duck-Duck-Goose, and they loved it and were
content to play it for over a half an hour. Tyler played the children’s version
of hide-and-seek for hours and he still doesn’t understand the rules. We also
learned a game called Lock and Key, which is kind of like freeze tag, except
you freeze yourself.
Please continue praying for us! We love it here, but each
day it’s difficult to give ourselves wholly over to the Lord and His purpose
for us here. It’s easy to want to be selfish and take time to ourselves, but
we’re not here to rest. And don’t get me wrong, we are having a blast and
loving the work we’re doing here. We just want God to bless these people as
much as possible through us, and that means putting ourselves aside, serving
humbly, and giving wholeheartedly. We love you all! Thanks again for all your
support and prayers.
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