There and Back Again: India and Beyond

Photo by  Matthew Bedford  on  Unsplash It is hard to believe that just a little over a year ago, I submitted my application for an internship with Global Hope India. It’s funny really; I had spent more than a month considering whether I should dare to fill out the form, and finally, I gave up the internal war I had been fighting and went for it, praying that God would give me clear direction as to how I should spend my upcoming summer. In no way did I imagine how fast things would come together. Just a couple days before I headed home for Thanksgiving break last year, I received the reply – I was accepted! Christmas break consisted of a whirlwind of activities and preparations as I talked to family and friends about what I would be doing, wrote support letters, and applied for my passport. My spring semester was a continuation of that as I learned about the Indian culture, shared with even more people and made decisions about where and how I would be spending m...

Photo by  erik cid  on  Unsplash With all of the turmoil and resulting anxiety of people lately (due to tense situations around the world, the disagreements within the U.S. government and whatever else), it has made me consider whether I ought to say something or not. But, the thing is, I believe I do have something to say and even if it only ends up making a difference for one or two people, it just might be worthwhile. So, here goes. Whenever I find myself feeling discouraged about whatever is going on in my life (or the world) or a complete lack of peace regarding the future, I like to take some time to reflect on where it is that I have been searching for peace or security, and where I ought to be looking instead. As a Christian, I ought to be looking to Jesus Christ. But, because I am an imperfect human being, I often make the mistake of looking in all the wrong places – friendships, music, the solitude of my room, etc. The result is that I end up feeling i...

Photo by  Saksham Gangwar  on  Unsplash I meant to write this “wrapping up” post within a few days of returning to the U.S., but alas, I found myself diving back into life in the States and becoming increasingly busy. So now, after a month-long hiatus, I am back to recap and share a few closing thoughts (which are in no way the end of the story, but rather what I hope will be a transition to the beginning of the next stage – figuring out what to do next and waiting for God’s direction). As of this moment, I am in my dorm room, having just finished the first few days of my senior year of college. While I am excited about this school year, and anticipating all that God will do during the next months, I am dearly missing India. I miss the sights – beautiful mountains in every direction I look, tropical plants in bloom, fields of rice and sugar cane; cows, chickens, dogs and monkeys wandering all over the place; the bustling market… I miss the sounds – car, tru...

Photo by  Sushobhan Badhai  on  Unsplash I actually wrote this toward the beginning of my time in India, but neglected to post it until now; so here it is: A friend of mine wrote on his blog a while back a post that speaks of how, when it comes to abortion, we need to  treat the root causes and not just the symptoms. What he means by that is that women often have reasons for aborting their babies (such as lack of finances or lack of support from partners or family members) and those are the issues we need to focus on solving rather than simply making abortion illegal. I agree, and here is why: if we just pass a law, it will not really solve the problem; it will just cover up the symptom. In essence, it would be like only giving pain medication to someone whose appendix has burst, rather than performing an appendectomy – it is not only insane, but deadly. Now, granted, I do think laws that prohibit abortion do need to be implemented, but that should not necess...

I am sure you all have been wondering when I would write another blog entry, and I apologize for being so long in writing this – I have been quite busy and we also had some issues with the internet connection. I am officially teaching the Standard VII and VIII classes for their English, English Grammar and Computer subjects and I am assisting in the Standard I class for General Science. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience, even when my students occasionally decide to misbehave! Seriously, I never imagined that I would ever teach in a classroom setting; rather, I figured I would just teach in churches or something. But, I have been discovering that I enjoy teaching in the classroom, and who knows, perhaps I will end up teaching Bible and Religion classes at a Christian school or something. A little about my students: they are always doing something to make me laugh – it is so hard to be serious (those of you who know me well know that I laugh about everything, so I am sure you...

Over the past week, my duties have consisted of teaching some of the classes at New Life Academy. I believe I had mentioned something about this in my last blog post, but here I will elaborate. Some of the teachers who have been hired for this school year had not been released from their previous schools and hopefully, will be arriving this week! Since they have not yet arrived, I filled in with the Standard I (first grade), UKG (upper Kindergarten), and for the last four days of the school week (Wednesday – Saturday), the Standard IV (fourth grade) classes.             It has been quite challenging, especially during the first couple of days as the students in the lower-level classes do not speak very much English. Thankfully, when I was in the UKG class, I was assisting another teacher who could speak Odia (Oriya) and Hindi. I was quite relieved when I was placed with the Standard IV class as they understand English quite well...

This past week has been quite relaxing. I assisted in the office, designing name cards and an agenda for the Church Leader’s Meeting, which was held on Saturday. All of the church planting missionaries under the ministry gathered for worship, fellowship and the sharing of their work. In addition, we gave a number of them new bicycles, which they were very excited about because they will be able to more easily travel around their villages and the surrounding areas, allowing them to better minister to their people. I enjoyed getting to meet several of them and briefly converse. They were very curious about where I am from, as every Indian I have met so far has been! I also am continuing to play games with the children and am enjoying the opportunity to meet new children as they have been arriving over the past few days. Last evening, a group of the girls took me for a walk around the area that the ministry is in and we had a wonderful time laughing and enjoying each other’s company. ...

My first week in India has gone by far too fast. The strange thing is, however, that I feel as if I have been here for a lot longer than just a week. So far, I have quite enjoyed my time here and look forward to the next couple of months. This week has been busy, as I have painted doors and benches, helped move the library and offices, and spent time teaching some of the children games and songs. I have also started to learn a few Indian games, as the children have been teaching me, as well. Speaking of the children, they are so much fun! Even though it can be frustrating (for myself and them) due to the fact that I cannot understand their language, and even have trouble understanding when they speak English, they are such a joy. I know that I can wake up each morning and walk out to the main room to be greeted by smiling faces and "good morning, sister" and each evening, I can spend a couple of hours playing games and singing songs with them. I can hardly wait until next w...

Photo by  Dewang Gupta  on  Unsplash Thinking back over the past week and a half, I must say that sometimes when one chooses to say “yes” to whatever God may call him or her to do, surprises just may be around the corner. Take my case, for example. A week and a half ago, I was all set to intern with a special needs orphanage in Andhra Pradesh, India and now, I am currently sitting in my new “home” for the summer in Orissa, India – a ministry site which houses a school, orphanage, church, and a church planting ministry. Yes, indeed, God’s ways are mysterious and one never really knows what may happen when human plans and ambitions are placed into His hands. Already, I have been made to feel quite welcome by everyone here. I am looking forward to seeing what God will do throughout my stay here and am excited to serve in a variety of capacities. I will be spending a couple of weeks working in the office, primarily helping to move the offices to their new quarters an...

It has been far too long since I last posted anything and quite a bit has happened since then. I now have my passport and visa and have pretty much finished raising all the money I will need for my internship in India. God is so good and I have been incredibly blessed by the many people He has placed in my life who have jumped at the opportunity to support me through prayer and financial support. I will forever be grateful. In other news, I have officially decided to intern with GHI’s partner ICM. I will be working in orphanages that house special needs children of all ages, both ministering to the children as well as performing administrative duties. I am excited about having the opportunity to serve these precious children who are so deeply loved by my heavenly Father. Earlier, as I was pondering what aspects of leadership I ought to include in an assignment for one of my classes, which involves designing a leadership training event, and looking up Bible verses on being a serv...

Photo by  Casey Horner  on  Unsplash The other night, I was reminded once again of how great our God is. I was walking back from my evening class where we had been discussing the marvelous work of God in giving us His written Word through the penned manuscripts of so many authors. In addition, I was pondering how even from the first chapter in Genesis, God’s sovereignty and His intimate care of His creation, including men and women, has been proclaimed. It never ceases to amaze me when I think of the psalmist’s words: “When I look at your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” ~ Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV) I mean, seriously. Have you looked at the splendor and majesty of creation lately? Even now, with the snow falling almost every day and those beautiful days when the sun beams glisten on the pure white snow-covered ground, the beaut...