Bonner Blog
#3… The Week of July 2
I headed to India on July 5 and hit the ground running with intense
training in Texas for a few days. But before I left, I watched my city and my
state burn in the Colorado fires. It was really heartbreaking to see the huge
towers of flames eat away the gorgeous mountain side and know that there was
nothing I could do. I have never been so thankful for the amazing men and women
who protect our country- those firefighters were truly inspiring. Here’s a
picture taken from our local newspaper.
Thankfully, before I completely left the
country the fires were under control. So… India! We had no reception or wifi in
India so these blogs are all taken from the journal I kept (it ended up being
over 80 pages long!)
My
time in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India was AMAZING! Where do I even begin? I went
with 40 other young adults (age 15-30). I was a “MAG” leader to 3 precious 16
year old girls which means I got to pour into them and was responsible for
keeping track of them. I really enjoyed getting to mentor American teenagers
while in India, it allowed me to use my YoungLife skills. By the end of the
trip, our team was so close and it was very hard to say goodbye.
Our team:
In
the month of July I saw so much beauty and so much injustice. India is
colorful, filthy, HOT (we had no A/C ever),
impoverished, and in great need. I have never seen such need. There is a
tremendous amount of caste discrimination and inequality. Women have little to
no rights and are seen as worthless. A widow is treated like dirt because her
horrible sin in a past life caused her husband’s death.
Superstition leaves the untouchables oppressed. Over population and pollution
have led to horrible health issues. There are piles of trash EVERYWHERE. Cows
and dogs roam busy city streets freely and are full of fleas and diseases.
India is the number one producer of child labor and there are few educational
opportunities. However, despite all the horrific stats and even some of the
things we saw, India has so much good to offer. We worked with a wonderful organization that is really making
a difference.
So,
what did we do in India? Our main focus was speaking life into those who have
been told their whole life that they are worthless. We worked in very poor
villages on the outskirts of Chennai and had pastors who translated for us and
made sure we were always safe. Over the month we: donated childrens toys,
encouraged pastors, donated hygiene products and clothing and other supplies.
We went shack to shack and taught the children English and offered family
counseling while preaching the gospel. The pastors we worked with provide
education, literature and supplies to the poorest people in their neighboring
villages for free. I have so many stories, but am going to focus my blogs on 3
main issues we specifically encountered: women’s rights, education, and
religious presecution. I would love to share more stories with you, so if you
would like to know more spefics, please ask . J
