Hi, everyone!
I apologize that I haven't been able to post to this blog until now. As you probably know, access to the internet during travels, staying in hotels here, and all the chaos that can go along with being in a foreign country can be sketchy. :P
We are now settled into the place we will be staying for the rest of our time and we are each preparing for the work we will do. We have had the opportunity to be very touristy for the first couple of days in Delhi. We saw the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar (another historical site), and have gone shopping! Let me say that shopping in India is the best experience. :) Indian people have the best clothes-- and for this girl, it is just too much fun.
Obviously the culture is very different. I wanted to share with you some of my observations and reflections during this time. Much of Delhi, with its population of 25 million people, can be overwhelming. I wonder: how does anyone have a moment of peace and quiet? How does a person find some solitude? The extreme poverty, with which we are all familiar -- you have seen the images and movies, just like me --, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of value for individual life... The problems are systemic, massive, ubiquitous, and extreme. It is easy to become despondent over the need.
A couple of days ago, Jim was expressing some distress about this when we were all sitting together over dinner. It's very distressing because you feel helpless. You wonder-- what could I possibly do that would make a difference? And especially when we get to go back to the US in a couple of days, to our safe, secure, wealthy and selfish lifestyles.
Just two days ago in Delhi, a little, undernourished girl, about the age of 10, who lives on the streets came up to the side of our car as we sat in traffic, tapped on our window, and begged for money, indicating that she was hungry. Yet these children are a part of a network, are enslaved to adults who entrap and abuse them, forcing them to beg and taking the money the children get. So, even if we give, we know it doesn't go to them anyway. But your heart breaks. What can you do in that moment? Nothing.
Yesterday we saw a girls home, where some girls who would be living on the street just like the one I saw are given a home, a safe place to live. However, the space and the funds are limited: they can take care of about 30 girls.
This is how it is easy to become depressed and hopeless. Yet we must have faith. I don't know His plan. None of us know His plan. But I do know that He has called this team to be here, to do the work set before us. I know we can do that work. I may not be able to help the millions of children being abused on the streets of Delhi, but I can do what He has called me to do for this day. Even if we try to do things in our own strength, it won't matter any way. It won't have power; it will be meaningless; it will just be burned up in the refining fire. There is no need to be distressed when we are being faithful and obedient to our Father. We should have joy in our work, honor to participate in His plan, and faith that He has the capability to take care of the rest.
