I learned a lot about myself on this trip and grew in my faith. My heart
broke and re-broke for these people. There was so much that happened and the
list of incredible stories is endless.
One day we went to a government school and the kids did a drama for us
where four little girls held Styrofoam signs that said “terrorism”, “child
labor”, “poverty” and “illiteracy.” They handed thses sing s to us and asked if
America would help India break these things. There is still so much to do, but
I am so grateful for this experience. I loved encouraging the pastors and
helping them serve some of the most out casted people of Chennai. I also gained
a greater awareness of the intensity of these issues. I didn’t realize things
were this bad. Overall, the thing I will most take away from this crazy month
is that in the midst of this great darkness there is always hope. People with
nothing have shown me more about true love then people with “everything” by the
world’s standards. I have also been so encouraged by the people who are
literally giving their lives to bring hope to the nation of India. I would
really love to spend a full year serving in India at some point, in fact I
promised one of the pastors that I would eventually come back and visit his
city.
One of the hardest things for me physically was not what I would have
expected. I expected the bugs, the heat, the lack of real showers, the odd food
and the strange clothing. I did not expect to not eat a single vegetable the
entire month. I was already missing running and feeling very anxious, but it
was hard to also surrender my diet. It was totally worth it though. In the
future, I will take way more vitamin supplements and WAY more toilet paper. I know
I am leaving out so much, so if you’d like to hear more specific stories, I
would love to share. Also a lot of amazing spiritual things happened on the
trip and in my heart and if you’d like to hear about it let me know. Thanks for
reading friends and I can’t wait to be reunited with you all soon and welcome
our new Bonners! J
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