India 1

Let me just start this blog post by saying that I have no idea how many installments it will take to cover my India trip.  Simply that much happened.  I am finally in a place where I have processed what happened and I think I can recap it in a couple of posts, but we’ll see where this takes me! 

This trip was by far one of the most amazing mission trips, not to mention trips of any kind, that I have ever been on.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  This trip was a work trip, one of those that makes me stop and think to myself, “I get paid to do this?!?”  Indeed, yes, somehow miraculously, I do get paid to do this kind of thing.   

This whole trip started as an effort between my co-Director, Julie, and I to figure out where we wanted to take kids on our Easter Break Mission Trip (or more importantly, where God wanted us to go).  We had some destinations in mind ranging from the Philippines to Mongolia and Nepal, but everything worked out perfectly for India to happen.  
 

We have a couple in our church that work at a local ministry that serves the South Asian community in Hong Kong (primarily Nepalese immigrants).  This couple is extremely knowledgeable about the region as they are both from Northern India, so we set up a meeting to talk about the possibility of taking a group to Nepal.  During the meeting it became clear to all of us that Nepal would be a great adventure, but what might be really incredible would be to go serve at the Children’s Home that Tryfina (the wife of the couple)’s parents established more than 30 years ago in India.

And so it began.  We took this idea to our boss, and I honestly expected him to laugh when I told him we wanted to take kids to India.  But he didn’t.  He asked us about logistics and safety and asked us if this is where we felt God was calling us to go, and we were able to provide satisfactory answers to enough of his questions that he agreed.  We publicized the trip to our students and parents.  

On the day that sign ups were due, I had a minor panic attack when I got in the office and we had received only one signup.  Julie, my co-Director and I, decided that in order for the trip to be feasible we needed at least 5 students.  So 5 was our goal.  I sweated it out as the hours ticked on but as we got more and more responses, it became clear that we were going to meet the minimum.  

The preparations were different than lots of mission trips I’ve been involved in as we weren’t working with any type of mission trip organization, per se.  We coordinated the flights, the ground transportation, the projects, everything was basically worked out between us and the children’s home.  So, I became the travel agent as Julie started working on the content during the trip and things began to come together.  We booked flights, fundraised, applied for visas, prayed a lot, had team meetings, got supplies together, were commissioned as a team, prayed some more, and finally we were off. 

And in that moment it was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  I didn’t really realize in the beginning how crazy it would be to coordinate travel for 12 people AND to work out the details to make the trip safe and well communicated to parents.  But somehow we pulled it off.  The moment the wheels left the tarmac, I just had this feeling that all of the work we put into the preparations were going to be totally worth it.

So Many Supplies.

And they were.

India is a very diverse country – in fact, probably one of the most diverse countries on Earth.  There are so many dialects spoken in India I couldn’t even begin to name them, the terrain varies from beaches to deserts to the highest reaches of the Himalayas, and the people, culture and lifestyle can vary significantly from region to region.  Our trip took us to West Bengal, a long and skinny state in the Eastern part of India that encompasses all of the climates I named above.  It is, in and of itself, extremely diverse.  After connecting for just under 12 hours in New Delhi, we took off for our final (airport) destination at Siliguri.  Siliguri is a small town in Northern West Bengal and is the closest airport to the Children’s Home at about 3 hours drive away by Jeep. 

As we landed and breathed in the scorchingly dry air, I felt almost like I was home again in New Mexico.  I immediately wondered what I had been thinking when I packed long skirts and long sleeved shirts! The airport is really basic – something like a small local airport in the US is.  Crowded when flights are in, but only servicing a few flights a day.   After collecting our luggage, we headed to the Jeeps that would take us up the mountain.  They were older models, but sturdy with luggage racks on the roof.  Our drivers deftly scaled the Jeep and began tying down the luggage to the top of the Jeep.  Just a few moments later, we were off, radio blaring Indian music and bumping down a half-paved road.  

Indian Traffic is CRAY CRAY

As we turned on the main road that would lead us out of Siliguri, it was like a complete sensory overload.  Cars everywhere were honking, the smell of exhaust wafted in through the windows, and larger cars roared around smaller cars and bikes without any regard for oncoming traffic.  There were stalls all along the side of the road selling everything from electronics to hand carved headboards.  We even passed several cows right in the middle of the road, seemingly oblivious to the racket going on around them, safely protected by Hindu custom. 

Very Large River

Women walked down the road in ornate saris, kids rode bikes two and three per bike and I looked out the windows wide-eyed.  There are very few things anymore that truly astound me, but this was one.  As our driver pulled a “veer into oncoming traffic to pass a slow car” maneuver for the first time, I grabbed my bag a little tighter, but somehow, we all made it through.  As we shot out of the density of the city, we entered into a military base that was tree-lined and natural.  It was such a strange transition from the city.  Of course, there were still ample cars to be passed, honking all the while, and I noticed for the first time a jeep that must have been packed with at least 15 people including lots of babies and kids.  

Monkeys!

We wound up increasingly steep hills until we saw a large river off to the right of our vehicle.  As we ascended the mountain, the river kept getting larger and larger, and the cliffs that dropped off the right side of the car kept getting steeper and steeper.  I thought to myself on several occasions that surely the drivers wouldn’t do the veer into oncoming traffic move in the middle of a narrow, windy roadway with a sheer drop off on one side and no guardrails, but I was definitely mistaken.  The rules of the road apparently prevail everywhere. 

On the journey up we saw wild monkeys that were at least the size of a 5 or 6 year old (human), passed through small towns with Tibetan Buddhist flags strung over the road, and went through a larger city, Kalimpong, on the way to Pedong, our final destination. 


 Arriving at the Children’s Home seemed at first like a bit of an anti-climactic moment.  One minute we were driving, and the other we were pulled over on the side of the road.  But as I peered out the windows behind me, I noticed many small shadows (it was dark outside at this point) with smiles and eager hands.  We got out of the Jeep and already our bags were being unloaded off of the roof and into these little hands.  Before I could say “We can get them” the kids had turned up a hill and into darkness with bags that must have weighed at least what they did.  

As we followed some of the older kids with flashlights, I truly understood for the first time what Tryfina meant when she said “pack lightly, the home is a 15 minute walk uphill”.  I don’t know what I was picturing, but the walk uphill is a steep walk, with uneven stairs and grassy patches and roots all intertwined at places.  When I saw it in the light, I marveled that nobody in our group had broken a leg (nobody meaning me.)

Going down the hill (in daylight!)

As we saw the warm lights glowing from the home, I stopped to catch my breath and put my backpack down.  Everyone was a little bit awkward – the kids wanted to be with us, and we wanted to be with them, but none of us were really quite sure how to start.  After a few minutes, we were introduced to everyone at the home and we got some time to talk with Pastor Jonathan and Usha, the couple who run the home.  They had prepared a beautiful dinner for us that was so welcomed and appreciated

 Our kids reluctantly headed to bed with the promise that we would have plenty of time to get to know the kids the next day, and elated at the possibility of what the week would hold.

There is so much more to share and I will definitely do so, so check back for the next installment! 

(Photos are mostly mine but a few also belong to our amazing team photographer, Dennis!)