Lets get real for a minute, yeah? Mission trips get a LOT of stereotypes. To someone who doesn’t know my heart for children and orphans, my photos may look like just another american using her white privilege to get more likes on Instagram.
What you don’t see is the trauma these children have already gone through because previous short term missionaries used those fragile children for their Facebook profile pictures and to feel good about what they were doing.
You don’t see the strict policies the foster parents have on interacting with the children, so they can develop healthy relationships with their future adoptive families. And restrictions on what we post on social media in order to protect their names and identities.
I am just as frustrated as the next person for the way some people use their privilege. It changes my perspective, though, on how I serve those in other nations.
My desire while I’m in India is to serve the ministry hosting me in whatever way they need. It has required a strong scrubbing arm and a high tolerance to cockroaches, but I am furthering the Kingdom of God. I am here to sacrifice my time and luxuries to love the orphans of India in a way that caters to their needs and the needs of their foster parents and caretakers.
It isn’t always glamorous, it isn’t always cute, and what you see on my Instagram is only about 10% of what actually happens. It gets smelly, dirty, and frustrating, but that is where I have learned to lean into Dad.
He loves these children the most, and he knows the best ways to love them. They don’t need white people squeezing hem to know that they are loved. This ministry does a phenomenal job of meeting the needs of these children who need a little bit more than usual. The foster parents, the ayahs, the nurses, and the teachers love these children abundantly on a daily basis that my temporary love isn’t going to make them feel complete.
I am simply a servant of God who is being used in a country I am in love with to be the hands and feet of Him who first loved. I am so thankful to have this experience to “look after orphans and widows” (James 1:27), and experience God in such a rich environment.
