Last Thoughts

As I sit in the airport, waiting to depart on my flight home, I decided now would be good time to reflect on the incredible trip that I just experienced. Now, I realize that I did a terrible job of keeping this blog updated while I was in India so this is my attempt to recap everything that has happened since I made my last post way back.

Since my last post, quite a few crazy and amazing things happened. The first major event was Ayah appreciation day. This was a wonderful day to see the love of God do wonders for the people of India. The Ayahs were given footbaths as sign of love and respect for all the work that they have done at the home for all the children. As soon as they were done receiving footbaths, the Ayahs immediately began washing our feet. It was such a humbling experience! I have never seen something like that take place.

After we finished Ayah appreciation day, we gathered up the Ayahs who wished to be baptized and took two autos on a long journey out to a lake where we could perform the baptisms. It was a long ride hanging off the side of the auto before we made it to the lake. What took place at the lake is something that I hope that I do not soon forget. I helped these wonderful women fully dedicate their lives to Christ. It was crazy. I’ve never experienced something like that. It was an amazing example of things that God is doing in India!

preparing for baptisms

A couple days after Ayah appreciation day, we took a large group of girls to the beach. We managed to pack nineteen people in a nine-person van. Welcome to India. We drove to the Bay of Bengal for a wonderful day at the beach. The water was so refreshing! Getting to watch the kids play in the water was so entertaining. Most of them loved the water but a few were absolutely terrified of the water. It was one of my favorite days of the trip. On the way back everyone was asleep. The kids were so tired that they could sleep despite being packed like sardines in the car.

beach trip!

It was soon after this that the World Race team’s time with us was about to come to an end. To celebrate their time here, we returned to the beach a few days later to light off fireworks. The Fadely family, who is currently serving SCH here from the States for two years, bought fireworks for us to light off. It was a great night full of swimming, campfires, and huge fireworks. It was tough to see the World Race team leave for many reasons. One reason was that it meant that I would be living by myself for the rest of the trip. A bigger reason was that it meant that my trip was nearly over as well. It also meant that I might never see these amazing people ever again. I hope that God continues to bless them and those that they serve as they continue their journey.

Things really slowed down once the World Race team left. Natalie became ill and had to be admitted to the hospital. The hospitals here are not the same as the hospitals in America. Natalie had to have someone with her at all times to take care of her and to provide her with food while she got the medical attention that she needed. This meant that Grace had to go with her and stay with her. With both of them at the hospital, I was completely on my own. This was strange for me because it meant that I was going to Victory Home by myself. I had never gone there by myself. It was a different experience for me. It felt a lot quieter. I was actually feeling relaxed at the home. Throughout the majority of my trip, Victory Home had the potential to be an incredibly stressful environment. This day was much different. It was on this day that I realized that I truly loved these kids. I was no longer nervous about being around kids who couldn’t control their bodily functions or made uncomfortable about whatever smells were present. Nothing there made me afraid or nervous in anyway. I now could fully love the kids as Christ loved us. It was a wonderful day.

The Prayer hall only occupied by myself after the World Racers left

The wonderful day was followed by a bit of a setback; I got sick. I am pretty sure that I ate some food that did not agree with my stomach at all. I then had to take a few days off myself to get back to full health. I went and visited Natalie and Grace at the hospital. Natalie was feeling much better and was responding to the many drugs that the doctors and nurses had given her. She was then discharged a day later. Things were finally starting to get back to a somewhat normal place.

As everyone’s health was returning to normal, it was time for me to get ready to head home. I packed my bags and got ready for my last day and to say all of my goodbyes. It was difficult to see all of the kids at the home and to realize that I may never see them again. I do not know if God will bring me back to India or not. Even if I do not come back, I know that these kids will never leave my heart. I pray that SCH continues to flourish and is able to continue to do good in India and to make room for God to make himself know.

As I sit and reflect about my month long trip, many thought rush through my head. By making the choice to travel halfway around the world, I gave up the ability to work for a month. I gave up many luxuries to sit in a hot and humid room with a bunch of immobile kids, covered in sweat. This decision was one of the best decisions that I have made in my life. Through this trip, I truly learned what it is like to abandon all fear and to fully trust in God and his wisdom. I also got to meet some amazing men and women of God. I got to surround myself with the World Race team, a group of people that have given up a year to travel the world and serve God in many different ways in different countries. I also got to be introduced to the Fadely family. This family was given the desire to serve in India and followed God headfirst into India to serve for two years. This desire to serve wherever God calls is something that I hope that continues to grow in myself. I pray that God continues to use them in amazing ways.

I do not think that I will ever forget this trip. I hope that I do not. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity and I hope that my writings inspire others to follow God wherever they are lead.

Mid Point

It's weird realizing that my month-long trip is about to reach the halfway point. It feels like i just got here. I feel like I have fully adjusted into my place here and feel wholeheartedly that I belong here. This is a wonderful thing because at the beginning of my trip, I was doubting whether or not I was meant to be here. After spending my days with all the wonderful children here, I see now that this is where I am supposed to be.

Yesterday was India's Independence day. We started the morning off with a crazy celebration at Victory Home. All the kids that had been taken in by SCH were there. They had a flag raising ceremony along with a group of kids who sang the national anthem. I think the favorite part for all the kids was the balloon animals made by the World Racers. They were so excited to get to play with all the balloons that were made for them! It was so much fun to get to be a part of their celebration.

Flag raising ceremony

Kids playing with their balloons

Independence celebration

Two of the cutest little girls

I am currently taking a bit of a break. Yesterday I woke up feeling sick only to find out later in the day that I had a fever. I am doing my best to get myself healthy. I am saddened to know that I am missing out on a chance to take some of the kids to the beach today. I hope that I will get to do that later in the month. It's hard to stay back but I need to get healthy. Prayers are greatly appreciated.

What a Monday

Sundays are usually the day that everyone takes off to rest and recuperate. Grace had a strong desire to make dinner for a group from the World Race organization that is staying in Ongole for the month to help out at SCH. The dinner planned was chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes. I was particularly excited for the mashed potatoes, seeing as how I love mashed potatoes. Our plan hit a little bit of a road block when we realized that the chicken that we had gotten butchered the day before turned out to be mixed with rotten meat. We then made a mad dash to get two new chickens before the World Race team arrived. Luckily these chickens were as fresh as they could be because we had them killed right before we through them in the pot to be cooked. The team then came over and we had a wonderful dinner followed by a great time of worship. It was a good night spent with new friends.

The remains of our chicken

Monday was spent at the Victory House, where I continued to get my self aquatinted with the children there. These kids are growing on me the more that I am around them. The main focus today was working with some of the kids on trying to help them learn to walk. The kids that we were working with were all past the normal age for learning to walk. Most of them had Cerebral Palsy, which makes it difficult for them to control their muscles. Walking can be very difficult for some and impossible for others with CP. Some of the kids, in Cedar's case, a mixture of blindess and just having laid around for his first years of life have made it very difficult for him to learn to walk. Natalie constantly is working on getting his leg strength built up. For most of the kids learning to walk, it is very difficult for them. They will cry as they try to stretch their legs out to try and bear their wait. It's sad to see them in that difficult situation, but we know that putting them through the exercises will greatly benefit them if they are able to finally gain mobility with their feet.

Natalie helping Cedar practice walking

I never knew that something as simple as pushing a kid around in a wheelchair for thirty minutes could be so enjoyable until today. I've found that the important thing is that we just need to make sure that they kids are having fun when we are with them. The kids here have been neglected in orphanages and that neglect has done physical and psychological damage to them that will last for years to come. We have to try to make up for the lack of love that they have received in the national orphanages. I am sure that if intervention had not been made by SCH, a lot of these kids would not be on the earth today.

Each day spent at Victory House is physically exhausting. When the day at the house is over, all my energy is spent. It is a good feeling though, because I know that the kids there got all the energy from me that I could give.

A view of the city from the apartment

First Visit

Today was my first visit to Victory Home, the main home run by SCH. It is hard for me to process everything that I had seen while I was there. It gave me hope for these children to know that they are at this home being cared for rather than neglected at one of the national orphanages where they are left to take care of themselves, something that they obviously cannot do with their disabilities. It also made me wish that I had obtained some sort of Occupational Therapy training so that I could really help the children. This visit gave me an even stronger desire to continue on my profession track to being an OT. Having no training, the best thing that I can do for them is to just hold them and keep them company so that they do not spend their whole day doing nothing.

The vist was physically and emotionally draining. On one hand, there was simply not enough of me to go around to all the 85 children there. This attempt to give attention to those around me mixed with the high heat and jet lag, quickly drained me of the energy that I had arrived with. Being introduced to the home for the first time also took a toll on me emotionally. These are children truly in need. It was also draining to see all the children at the home who had been abandoned by their families. Knowing that these kids had no family of their own was saddening. I am truly thankful for the work that Sarah has managed to do through Sarah's Covenant Home to give these children the love and care that they so truly need. It was a great experience to get to see the work that God can do through someone whom he has given a great vision.

I am very excited to get to continue to visit Victory Home and see these kids. I think that this is going to be a wonderful month here. God is doing things in India.

Arrival

Yesterday morning, my flight to Hyderabad landed at 7:30 AM. Before this I had been on two 8+ hour flights and a 7 hour layover in Mumbai in the middle of the night. I then rode for about over 6 hours in a car to my final destination of Ongole. During my travels I learned that it is difficult for me to travel such long distances on my own. I am naturally a rather social person, so going over 30 hours without really talking to anyone or any of my friends was pretty difficult. I can say that I am very happy to have finally arrived and am with some familiar faces. Everyone that I have met have been incredibly kind and helpful to me. I am so blessed to be around these people.

After I arrived, I slept for about 2.5 hours before going out to dinner with a lot of the SCH team. I think this is going to be a great month. Trying to get a good night's sleep proved to be rather difficult. My jet lag only allowed me to get about maybe 4 hours of real sleep. Prayers for quick adjustment to the time change would be greatly appreciated. It looks like today will be spent visiting the different homes that the children are living in. I hope that I have the energy to get through the day.

I have been recently wrestling with thoughts about whether this trip was the right decision. My exhaustion from traveling has made me very susceptible to these kinds of negative thoughts. I ask for prayer over my ability to get the rest that I need so that I can combat these negative thoughts. I know that God wants me here. If he did not, I would obviously not be here.

I will hopefully have another entry at the end of the day about meeting the children.

Thank you for your prayers. 

Anticipation and Excitation

In a little over twelve hours, I will be on a plane. That plane will be be the first of a few that will help me to reach my destination on the other side of the world. I am going to India. I will be there for a month. During this month, I will be working at an orphanage that takes in children who have different forms of disabilities. I am currently studying to become an Occupational Therapist with the focus of working with children with developmental disabilities. This trip will serve to give me a chance to gain more experience with working with disabled children while allowing me to show them the love that they so desperately need. I am also anticipating to be challenged spiritually as well as physically. That is where my excitement stems from. I have been exposed to poverty in third-world countries before but i have not been exposed to poverty on this scale. I do not know what I will see, but I know that I will experience things that will challenge me. This is both good and bad; I have fear of the challenges but I also have hope and excitement. I know that God is active in this place and that I will take part in things that will be remembered for the rest of my life. I cannot wait to get to meet all of the wonderful children at SCH (Sara's Covenant Homes). I have been working on making this trip happen for quite a few months now and it is finally time for it to start!

I hope that what I am writing will be a good read for everyone. I've never done a blog before so let's hope that all the grammar that I learned pays off.