India. What a place. It really does give all your senses a crazy ride, as the stereotype says. The sights and sounds of being on the streets of Ongole are crazy, car horns going off every second, men peeing on the side of the road, trash lining the road, and statues of various gods and political figures all over, just to name a few. The smells of food can be great and make you hungry or the stench of trash and urine can make you want to vomit (as I did more than once during the month). The food was definitely spicy, included a lot of rice and no beef, chicken was about the only meat to eat (its what happens when the people of the country worship the cow). As far as feeling goes, I was constantly sweaty and sticky, until the last week or so and we had some cooler weather.
Dealing with these things can be a real challenge. India tested my patience and tolerance level of things. I was frustrated and at times just wanted to leave. But the Lord has did a work in me, and came to love this country and it’s people.
This was largely because of the ministry I had the pleasure of being part of. My team and I worked at an orphanage called Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH) for children with disabilities. It was an exhausting ministry, but so worth it. Seeing the smiles and joy on the faces of the kids when we spent time with them playing, listening to music, dancing, taking them on walks, going to the beach or the park, and throwing water parties on the roof was wonderful.
We all had a “best buddy,” a child who could really use some extra love and attention that we would spend one-on-one time with each day. I had a sweet little girl named Caroline. She can’t talk, but definitely loves to laugh. She can sit up on her own but cannot walk without being supported. She loves jammin out to some tunes on my portable speaker and would get a nice head bob goin. it was so much fun taking her on walks with the other kids and seeing her smile and laugh at all the sights outside the orphanage.
It may sound sweet and heart wwarming, but it was rough and exhausting. Those kids can be wild and a real handful at times. Caroline pissed on me twice, once right at the start of the 45 minute drive to the beach. She was also a drooler, it was like a waterfall all the time. SCH has about 5 homes in Ongole and one of them, Victory Home, is for the older more mobile boys. Going there was a challenge each time. The boys are will jump on you, hug you, and grab you. They are strong and don’t have a good sense of boundaries or discipline. I really loved this boys, but it was not always easy to feel it.
I could really go on about all the things that happened while in India. All the stories, all the funny moment I had with my team and squad, all the amazing people I met, all the heart wrenching moments, but I will leave you with one story. A simple story of a seemingly insignificant encounter. But it was one that I will never forget, that put things into perspective for me and helped me understand why I am here or anywhere:
I was with a few of my teammates spending time with the boys with cerebral palsy in their room at Faith Home. We were playing music and singing for them. I was sitting on a bed with one of the boys and his head in my lap as he laid there taking it all in. As we were listening to the music I tap his nose a couple times with my finger as one do to a baby. I looked away from him a bit right after, but when I looked back down at him he had begun to raise his hand up to my face. Once his hand was high enough, which took a bit because of his CP, he reached out his finger and trapped my noise twice, just as I had done to him.
It was a very simple yet very tender moment for me. This little boy had limited mobility and little reaction to things, but he always knew what was going on. He could understand love and affection he was getting, a language that knows no communication barriers. We all need and desire love. We all know when love there and when it is not. This is why I am on this race, to show the love of Christ to all that I meet. And really it is a calling we all have on our lives.
1 John 4:19-21
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
