We were asked to write about why we are going on this trip…Here is my story…
“We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don’t get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won’t solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we’re called home.”
I believe whole-heartedly in the power of love- that it is, always has been, and always will be, the one thing we truly need in this life to survive.
I believe that everyone, whether they realize it or not, is searching for someone to love and to be loved. That is the cry of the human heart.
I spent last Christmas in India, throwing Christmas parties at three different orphanages, for over 300 children. I saw how love can change lives. How it can take a broken and shattered heart and make it alive. I saw children who have no earthly possessions, have joy because they have hope.
While hanging out with these orphans, I experienced an immense amount of joy and pain at the same time. Just loving these precious kids gave me so much joy, but seeing the pain that they experienced gave me pain in the midst of my joy.
When I came home from that trip I knew two things. That I wanted to go back, and that I needed to be their advocate. I knew it was my job to fight for these kids. To bring them justice and hope when no one else will. To tough a leper who is shunned from society. To hold an orphan who never gets touched. To feed a beggar who is from the lowest caste.
Last semester I did an independent study with one of my professors to create a documentary about the poverty in India. I interviewed AIM staff, people who had been to India numerous times, and the founder of one of the orphanages. When I heard the stories of the lives that were changed because regular people had brought hope to these hopeless, I knew other people needed to hear about what is going on around the world…that there is poverty, but there is also hope.
I had heard about the Race from an AIM staff member on my India team. By going to 11 different countries and filming the lives of the people there I knew I could bring awareness to the American people.
So here I am about to embark on this life-changing trip. I have no idea what is in store for me, but I do know this:
