1 month left

Hello everybody...my apologies before I begin because it has been so long since I last blogged. For about the past month I have been traveling on and off. I would be working all normal and at my flat, then go away for a week or so then come back, and so on. But now, I am back in Hyderabad, with one month left. There are a lot of random things I want to talk about this blog, so I will break them off in short stories for you. I hope you enjoy:)

At the end of May, from the 26th-29th, I went and attended a youth camp. It was great. Not a usual way I would celebrate my birthday, but it was still great nonetheless. G-d moved in such powerful ways. So many of the youth encountered G-d, were convicted of sins, were spurred further on in their relationship with Him, and even some came into a relationship with Christ for the first time. Also, there was a lot of spiritual warfare. However, I don't want to just talk about it lightly on my blog. If you would like to know what happened, feel free to email me or message me on facebook. Any how, it was a wonderful weekend, and it was very encouraging to see so many people worshipping their Creator.

After I got back, I had a few days of regular work, and then I got to travel to Pune and Bangalore. Bangalore was the first city I ever visited in India, and it is where I fell in love with this country. I went simply to visit some friends there I haven't seen in years. It was so encouraging, relaxing, and refreshing. It was just what I needed. Even more so, I was so blessed to be back in Pune again. Not only did I get to see people I used to work with out here and live with, from 2008, but I got to go back to the slums and visit all the people that I had come to love so much. There are 3 places in the slums of Pune that are powerful places for me. I don't know if you have ever had this but I will ask anyways: Have you ever had a memory or an experience that was so powerful, so vivid, and so life changing? Well, there are 3 areas that hold such significance for me. They are the types of places that you almost are afraid to go back to, in case it has changed, because you don't want it to ruin the lasting memory. The type of place where one smell just sets off the rest of your senses and you are immediately taken back to the exact time and location from years before...I hope you understand what I am talking about. Well, I got to go back, see the people that had become like family to me, and visit. Honestly, it was like visiting a holy place for me. It felt almost sacred for me to be back there. Because G-d worked in my life, in those places, in such a powerful way. Pune was, and always will be, a sacred place for me.

As I was in Bangalore, I got to go out and see one of the slums I had never seen before. It was a place where 70% of the population are Muslims, and 30% and more are Dalits. It is considered a sensitive area. Anyways, I got the chance to go see a local feeding program. The picture you see above is from that feeding program. I just want to share one little moment that I will never forget. As I was leaving the program, we came across a blind woman. Her eyes were covered in this grey film. She was blinded at the age of 5. Long story short, she was impregnated by a man, who upon hearing of the pregnancy left, then her mother passed away, and then her sister, who had her own 2 children passed away. So, now she lives on her own, blind, and cares for 3 children. She is also extremely poor. However, as I looked at her scarred and damaged eyes, I was overcome with absolute beauty. Have you ever heard the term "crows feet"? They say it's the lines that your eyes make when you smile. Well, I have never seen such beautiful crows feet in my entire life. I watched as this woman held her malnourished 3 1/2 year old, and a local worker in the area just started loving on the kid. The woman, who is now a believer, was filled with joy, simply because she knew she and her child was loved. I saw the way this local worker loved this child and helped this woman, and I was moved. I saw the way the malnourished child longed for a loving touch and I was moved. And finally, I saw something powerful in that woman's eyes. She smiled so bright with her eyes. It seemed that the grey scarring just faded away. I know she physically can't see, but I also believe she sees a hope and a joy that many of us don't. She has found it in her Creator.

I know this is long, so if you read it, thank you. But, as of now, I come home in 1 month. Wow. I can't believe I have been gone for 5 months so far. It is already becoming bittersweet. It is hard to leave the family and friends I have found here, but at the same time, I can't wait to see my family and friends back home. See you in a month.