After being awake and in transit for roughly twenty-eight hours, I'm home. Hello America!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Day Thirty-Nine
I thought Water Fun Day meant water balloon fights and tosses. Little did I know that I would feel like a gatorade-drenched football coach after a successful win. We went to a Boys and Girls home located within a nearby Delhi church with buckets and empty water balloons in tow. Each child comes here with a unique story but most of their parents simply cannot afford to care for them.
As the water relay games began, a few of us filled up water balloons for a toss. Around the corner from the festivites and behind the safety of a wall, I assumed we were out of the splash zone. A teenage girl began nonchalantly filling up her blue bucket at the sink beside mine and she overturned the bucket on my head before I knew it. From then on we were sliding along the floor (no slip and slide necessary) and drenched, even their house mom joined us. This must be what Water Fun Day means in India. :)
As the water relay games began, a few of us filled up water balloons for a toss. Around the corner from the festivites and behind the safety of a wall, I assumed we were out of the splash zone. A teenage girl began nonchalantly filling up her blue bucket at the sink beside mine and she overturned the bucket on my head before I knew it. From then on we were sliding along the floor (no slip and slide necessary) and drenched, even their house mom joined us. This must be what Water Fun Day means in India. :)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day Thirty-Eight
4:30 a.m. -- Our ride picked us up.
6:30 a.m. -- Our train departed from the Delhi station.
8:30 a.m. -- We arrived at the Agra train station and picked up our guide.
9:30 a.m. -- Taj Mahal. WOW. A Mughal emperor built this marble marvel as a mausoleum commemorating his third wife. He intended to build a black Taj across the river as his own mausoleum, but his power hungry son wanted to use finances elsewhere and halted construction by placing his father under house arrest. Thus, the tomb of this Mughal emperor now sits next to his beloved third wife and is the only component disrupting the Taj Mahal's perfect symmetry.
11 a.m. -- Agra Fort. The walled city where the Mughal emperor who built the Taj lived freely with his family and then later under house arrest with tremendous views of the Taj from his windows.
1 p.m. -- Lunch.
3:30 p.m. -- Fatehpur Sikri. This beautiful complex housed an emperor and his three wives, one Hindu, one Christian, and one Muslim. While there, we danced in the rain.
6:30 p.m. -- Dinner.
8:45 p.m. -- Our train left the Agra station.
12 a.m. -- We arrived home safe and sleepy from a full day.
6:30 a.m. -- Our train departed from the Delhi station.
8:30 a.m. -- We arrived at the Agra train station and picked up our guide.
9:30 a.m. -- Taj Mahal. WOW. A Mughal emperor built this marble marvel as a mausoleum commemorating his third wife. He intended to build a black Taj across the river as his own mausoleum, but his power hungry son wanted to use finances elsewhere and halted construction by placing his father under house arrest. Thus, the tomb of this Mughal emperor now sits next to his beloved third wife and is the only component disrupting the Taj Mahal's perfect symmetry.
11 a.m. -- Agra Fort. The walled city where the Mughal emperor who built the Taj lived freely with his family and then later under house arrest with tremendous views of the Taj from his windows.
1 p.m. -- Lunch.
3:30 p.m. -- Fatehpur Sikri. This beautiful complex housed an emperor and his three wives, one Hindu, one Christian, and one Muslim. While there, we danced in the rain.
6:30 p.m. -- Dinner.
8:45 p.m. -- Our train left the Agra station.
12 a.m. -- We arrived home safe and sleepy from a full day.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Day Thirty-Seven
We visited Project Rescue's Girls Home here in Delhi where fifteen girls and one of their younger brothers live. Because many of the children visit their families during school Holidays, we painted the faces of and made necklaces with the six remaining young ladies.
Through developing a trusting relationship with one prostituted woman in Delhi's RLD, this home slowly but surely received familial consent to house all of these beautiful children and adolescents. After personally experiencing the Girls Home in Delhi and the one in Kolkata, I've witnessed distinct yet similarly powerful expressions of Jesus' love for these children.
Through developing a trusting relationship with one prostituted woman in Delhi's RLD, this home slowly but surely received familial consent to house all of these beautiful children and adolescents. After personally experiencing the Girls Home in Delhi and the one in Kolkata, I've witnessed distinct yet similarly powerful expressions of Jesus' love for these children.
Day Thirty-Six
In Delhi!
In terms of culture, Delhi appears to sit midway between Kolkata and the States. Western culture infiltrates this city through a plethora of call centers which employ countless 20 and 30-somethings from all over India. Because of their comparatively substantial incomes, these young employees can afford western clothes and lifestyles. After a two hour plane ride, it already feels like I'm transitioning back to the U.S.!
In terms of culture, Delhi appears to sit midway between Kolkata and the States. Western culture infiltrates this city through a plethora of call centers which employ countless 20 and 30-somethings from all over India. Because of their comparatively substantial incomes, these young employees can afford western clothes and lifestyles. After a two hour plane ride, it already feels like I'm transitioning back to the U.S.!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Day Thirty-Five
We fly out to Delhi tomorrow morning where we'll be staying for 4 days. A friend asked us to write a paragraph reflecting on our time Kolkata. As I pack up and prepare to leave this city, I decided to send the paragraph I wrote along to you. Here it is:
God handed me Kolkata like a valuable coin from His palm. The etchings on one side of the coin depict darkness and desperation. I remember the young girl, fists clenched about the handles of my bag, asking for our dinner with the weight of her body. On the other side, the carvings reflect hope and restoration. I remember the shining face of a young girl as she sings and dances in a sea of children to songs about Jesus during a time of peak activity in the Red Light District she calls home. During this time in Kolkata, I've seen how God uses Project Rescue to ardently rub His thumb against the long-standing desperation, smoothing it out and shining light into the darkness.
Day Thirty-Four
As a group we shared Indian-style communion this evening. We ate Chapati (Indian flatbread) and drank grape juice from small clay cups (usually filled with chai -- yum!). In India, God has daily shown me how expansive his love is and that Jesus truly came to speak redemption into the lives of ALL people. What a gracious God we serve.
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