Lessons from India 5 Years Later
In July 2010, I traveled with a group of students from the LeadershipNOW program to Bangalore, India on a "Summer Global Experience." Now, five years later, some of my team members and I want to share five lessons we learned from during our stay in India or through the ongoing adjustment to our lives in America. Join us in celebrating our 5 Year Mission-versary!
1. Desire to Work Harder
Kolar Gold Fields || As I walked through the small villages of Kolar Gold Fields, India, my inner Frank Lloyd Wright raced to find an architectural cure for the dismembered community. The following year was my senior year of high school , I knew that there was one major I was looking for in my college applications - architecture. Upon being accepted into school, I spent countless hours and sleepless nights with a sketchbook, pencil, and Revit pouring out ideas on the pages and screen to change those villages. This never lessened even with studio on my plate. In every interview after graduation the "career goal" I shared was: "I ultimately want to move to India and create self-sustaining communities for the Untouchables." Those dismembered homes are still the forefront of all I do in my industry. Though I spend hours reading drawings for commercial and residential projects along the east coast of the United States, my heart is still in the small broken down villages. Those villages are my motivation for my career - the force behind everything I do.
2. Giving All When You Have Nothing
Bangalore || When we landed in Bangalore late at night in July 2010, we were greeted by a short woman outside the airport. Her name was Nalini. Nalini and her husband had a small bungalow on the campus of United Theological College. She was our host from the university. She was adorable and generous and desired that we all experienced her country, all of it. I had the chance to visit her in her home one day. It was small, crammed, and not much for such a distinguished university professor. I didn't quite understand her generosity. I never would by talking to her, I'd have to travel to her "secret" she had kept from others she had hosted. We took a four hour journey on a crammed bus and exited outside a vacant mine. Nalini shared with the the story of an explosion resulting in water contamination, lost lives, and broken families. She took us down the road further to a campus. This was where the "secret" was kept. This campus was a community for Dalit women to learn life skills (cooking, dancing, sewing, education) to help them better live their lives. This campus was a ministry run by Nalini and her husband. That small, crammed bungalow was the result of selfless giving. But it didn't stop there. Nalini shared that she was once part of those villages. She lived a life similar to those in the dismembered villages of Kolar Gold Fields. Out of nothing she gave everything she had to those just like her. I think Nalini set an expectation in my life. My last year of college was trying. I felt like I had nothing left, and that's when I got a glimpse of a gift Nalini had given me. That physical gift was a reminder of the internal gift, the desire to give when I have nothing, she had given me. And out of that mess I chose to give all I had (time and money) to a local charity. It left me tired for days and my bank account drained, but the joy I felt was like the joy I saw in Nalini's face when she walked off the bus and shared her "secret" with us.
Kolar Gold Fields || In the middle of a rundown village in Southern India, we entered the home of a family with one wall dividing it into two rooms - a kitchen and a bedroom with one twin-size bed. The family of three spoke to us through a translator, telling us about their jobs, their health, and their child. The mother clinged to her boney toddler as she shared that her brother had just died of cyanide poisoning. Through tear filled eyes, she offered us a seat on the bed and a cup of coffee. Against the tradition, we kindly refused. They had nothing - no food in the pantry, no bed for the parents, no water to drink - yet she offered us the three things she did have - a seat, coffee, and love. At our last debriefing session, my group talked about selfishness. We all felt it. As I look back to my encounter with that woman in the village, I think that is what I felt most selfish about. She offered me EVERYTHING she could give, yet I'm quick to deny even those three simple things to my closest friends, yet alone give them everything I have.
3. Peace in the In-Between
Philadelphia, PA | Kristin Vines | After returning from India 5 years ago I was disturbed by the thought of what to do with my experiences and how to incorporate it into every day life. It was easy to think that I could become less materialistic and more appreciative of the blessings that I be in life, but this would not be enough. I was searching for a driving force for my entire life. India came at a very formative time in my life. After returning from India I went on a tour of colleges and began thinking about how I wanted to shape my future. One of the things I was most struck by in India was the beauty of the religious diversity around me. We were staying at a Christian college but were interacting every day with our Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Sikh neighbors. The grace that we were shown by all people from all religious groups was astounding. Seeing this society that was so beautiful in its difference lead me to want to strive for that in all of my interactions. It directly lead me to choosing to pursue a religious studies major so that I could learn everything possible about the world's religions and how they interact and intersect. It also lead me to my primary major and current career path of social work. I have recently graduated college and am currently pursuing my Masters of Social Work degree. All of the social work practice and research that I conduct is informed by India. I search for the opportunity to incorporate religious knowledge and acceptance into my social work and personal life every day. Until I am able to directly give back to India for what it has given to me I will be living in the in between, but I am seeking to do everything possible to make that in between count.
Lancaster, PA || As I've grappled with this space of no longer and not yet, I needed something to fill the desire to do something. Sitting still is not one of my strengths. I needed a something that made me feel like I was still giving to the country that means so much to me. A family friend and her family started working with Humankind Water. She got my parents hooked, who eventually got me hooked. My desire to feel like I was doing something for India was filled. One bottle of Humankind Water gives 100 days of clean water for 1 person in countries like India. So I made a personal pledge. On my weekly gas trip to Turkey Hill [a HK supplier], I will buy 2 bottles of HK Water. One for me, and one to give away, so that the message and impact would spread. My commitment alone provides 28.5 years of drinking water to one person. In one year I'll be almost 23, my impact is longer than what I have lived! In two years, my impact is longer than what my parents have lived! I cannot even imagine the impact if every person I gave my second bottle to even pledged to buying HK Water once a month.
4. Surrendering All
Bangalore || If you have ever been on a mission trip or to church camp, the last conversations with the group are usually about "how do we take this home." This trip was no different. We sat in the classroom on our last full day [my 17th birthday] and one of our leaders tried to prepare us for the journey home. He had us turn to the person beside us, take their hands and say, "I love you, God loves you, and you were made to serve." And tearfully, you would pass it to the next person. We talked about our time there and this overwhelming feeling of wanting to do more, to which he responded, "You don't gotta save the world. There's a guy named Jesus and He's already done that." He continued, "You have a community behind you that loves you and wants to help." This speech is one I reference mentally every day, when I think I haven't done enough to "save the world." In the end, I do play a part, but the victory has already been won.
5. Difficulty in Adjusting
East Berlin, PA || I remember coming home after a few days after landing in America. I had missed most of the debriefing session because of a hospital stay and bed rest, so I wasn't quite ready for the next few weeks. My parents had gone to work and I remember sitting at my computer doing nothing but staring at the screen. I was bored and the Internet was my outlet, but the humbling experience of India made me feel guilty for even having the Internet. And then I logged into my blog account and opened a blank post. An hour later I put my hands on the keys and began to type fiercely. The result? A letter. It was a letter to a little girl I had met, the reason I had narrowed my sorrow and guilt down to. The little girl whose eyes I could see when I closed my eyes at night. The little girl whose smile made me smile when dealing with that guilt got tough. The little girl whose tears I felt in my eyes (and still feel) when I think back on that trip. That letter was the beginning of my transition back to America. That letter was also the beginning of this blog.
York, PA || I tearfully experienced the last two weeks, like I have for the past five years. The last two weeks of July for the past five years have been tear filled and a time of reflection. It is hard to believe it has been that long, but the fact that it still means as much to me now as it did in 2010 means one thing - God's not finished with me and India yet. I always say, "I left my heart in India so that I would have to go back."
"Give everything, but up."
To learn more about the Contributing Authors, LeadershipNOW, Dalits and the Caste System, Indian Ministries Fellowship Kolar Gold Fields, or HumanKind Water please check out the "Resources" page.
