It isn’t… But it is.
I probably say this about ten times a day, and I am sure my teammates are thinking, “all right, already!” but India has stolen my heart. And it is more than the abundance of garlic and chili powder used in every meal, the afternoon chai, and the vibrant colors of homes and saris alike. It isn’t simply the way the “fitness center” down the street always seems to blare music that tricks you into believing you’re on a Bollywood film set. And it’s not just because of that group of cows always loitering around the gym’s entrance as if they’ve just finished their morning yoga. It isn’t the raw or the ripe mango either, although that is a big part of it.
It is Jireh Children’s Home. It is morning devotions and worship when the key is never quite right, but we sing our hearts out anyway. It is changing your plans for English class because the students convince you that Bible trivia is the best way to practice pronunciation. It is telling yourself that this is the meal where you’ll practice self-control, but still leaving the table with a food baby in your overstuffed belly. It is rooftop barbecues and badminton matches. It is Hong always bringing me juice when the other girls have soda. It is walking for hours in the heat of the day to a church with zero air circulation and seeing it full of youth praising the Lord with absolute abandonment. It is discovering that 12 kids helped build a western toilet especially for my team just weeks before arriving in Bangalore. It is constantly being blessed by people like Brother Marong, Sister Sendme, and Hong through their hospitality, generosity, kindness, and fervor for the Lord. It is watching them live out everyday relying on the Lord’s provision. It is hearing Hriisiio, 14, tell me he misses his family so much, but knows that God has placed him here at the home so that he can get an education and give his family a second chance. It is becoming angry when I hear Thumtha, 12, tell me that his parents sent him away to the home even though they are capable of caring for him, then realizing that it’s because of their love for him they made one of the hardest decisions in hopes of giving him an education and a better future than what he could ever have in his village. It is having eight year old boys hold my hand as we walk down the street. It is being served by teenage girls without complaint. It is being ministered to and challenged by teenage guys. It is realizing that even in my worst times, I have never been denied a meal, the chance at an education, or love from my family and for that I am forever grateful.
For all of these things, these experiences, these laughs- and the tears I’ll shed when it’s time to leave, it is for all of these things and more that India, that Jireh Children’s Home, that each one of these kids and teens have totally and completely stolen my heart. They have broken it up into tiny little pieces and will each hold a part of it even after I’m gone.
“I wish I could tell you, but I just can’t find the words.” -Sandra McCracken, Springtime Indiana
