Hundreds of eyes staring at me within a couple minutes. Almost every person that passes looks back at us with eyes wide, in a trance like state. Some people will come up and stare at us for hours or at least until a train station employee shoos them away. I’ve tried to stare with the intensity that others stare at me with and honestly it’s either exhausting or I just get bored. It is almost like trying to have a staring contest with a fish. The Indians always win..
I’m sitting there thinking…
“Do I have something on my face?”
“Do I smell bad?”
“Am I dressed weird?”
— Nope its not anything like that, it’s just that we’re Americans.
Thus began our journey from Delhi to Bangalore. For six hours we were surrounded by people in awe of our mere presence. We had to watch our stuff to make sure a thief wouldn’t steal anything but for the most part people who weren’t staring at us were quite friendly. Others ask if we can take a picture with them. So, this is what a celebrity must feel like all the time.
At the station there are all sorts of beggars, some tugged at my heart more than others. One girl in particular told her story to our Indian friend who came to escort us to the train station. Her mother was dead. Her father moved the family to Delhi to make money but soon drank all the time. Occasionally he beats me, she tells us through our translator. This girl comes out every day to beg for money or food to support her brothers and sisters at home. She couldn’t be more than 10 years old.
I felt terrible that I didn’t have any money to give her but I still had a package of peanuts from the plane and so I gave these to her so at least she can eat. Shortly afterwards she is shooed away. Several hours passed we had gotten onto our train and lo and behold this same girl has somehow found her way to our platform and to our train. This time I give her one of the bananas from my dinner to eat. I wasn’t able to capture the smile on her face, but my heart just melted. I wanted to run over to her, and tell her that God loves her. I wanted to fix every problem in her life. Unfortunately, she left before I got the chance.
I really started to think, “How often do ‘the least of these’ get passed by?” I still struggle with listening to God’s voice about who needs a particular thing in any given moment. Please pray that I would hear God’s voice and see through His eyes. May mercy and grace always be the anthem of my life, the utterance of my lips, and the action of my heart.
I am still in need of funds to finish the race set before me. If you feel led to give, please click on the Support Me link to the left side of the page. Thank you so much for all your love and prayers!
