Adventures With Dad

These past few weeks have been full with adventures.  My dad arrived in Chennai a few weeks ago; he came to visit for two weeks.  This was his sixth time to India; fortunately he did not have too much culture shock!  He stayed with us in Mahabalipuram for a bit before we traveled all over India visiting friends.  We took him around to see all of the sites: Achiever Academy, Vayaloor (the widows center), and Sparrows of Splendor.  We also went into Chennai and acted as tourists, shopping, eating, and of course I took him to a movie!  After a few days, the Christians, my dad, and I flew to Goa.  Goa is like the Las Vegas of India; it is a party place with beautiful beaches.  We got a tour guide who showed us all around the historic side of Goa—which was once a Portuguese colony. 

From there we flew to Delhi.  Delhi is the capital, and might I add the cleanest city I have seen in India!  It could have been because the Commonwealth Games were held in October this year, but nevertheless I was impressed. We went to visit our good friends the Shews.  Delhi is also the shopping capital of India, so Sharon and I were able to do some bargaining!  One of the other reasons we were in Delhi was to see the Taj Mahal.  The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, about 3 hours away from Delhi by train.   We took the 7 am train to Agra; quite a long day, but so worth it.  A tour guide joined us in Agra and we headed straight to the Taj.  The Taj far exceeded my expectations.  I was more in awe with the enormous marble building than I thought I would be.  Pictures do the Taj Mahal no justice.  We were there for a few hours just admiring the inlaid marble, the gardens, and the grandeur of this massive building.  I highly, highly, highly recommend going to visit it!!  From there we had lunch at the tenth best hotel in the world; we had a spectacular view of the Taj from our restaurant. 

Sharon and I in front of the inlaid marble

Kids from the New Market project

  

New Market Slum

From Delhi we flew to Calcutta.  Now Calcutta is also unlike any city I have seen yet in India.  Poverty is rampant and the streets are so crowded, yet there is still a sense of hope. Calcutta is where I spent most of my time on my last trip two years ago.  Our good friends the Pavamani’s have an organization, Emmanuel Ministries, with wonderful projects all over Calcutta.  We were able to go and visit a few projects all over the city.  Some of these projects include schools, shelters for child drug addicts, non-formal education for street children, HIV/AIDS care and much more. They were so kind and welcomed us with a huge performance from all of the kids involved in the various projects.  There was dance, drama, song, and Bible passage recitation. 

The Dance Performance

I am always so touched by the stories I hear.  The amount of poverty and injustice that goes on here is unimaginable.  Children who live on the street are welcomed in, provided a shower and meals, and are taught about the love of God.  To hear these stories about eight-year-old boys who are alcoholics is just heartbreaking.  Yet, the work that is going on is amazing.  They help them through detox programs and provide them a home and a family.  Another project, Lakhermat, provides a safe place for children of commercial sex workers in a red light district.   New Market is another great project that is in one of the poorest slums.  Here, children are given the opportunity to receive an informal education and try and move out of the cycle of poverty.  Honestly I could go on and on about all of the wonderful ministries in Calcutta.  If you are interested in the work in Calcutta please visit their website http://emcalcutta.org/index.html. My heart was overwhelmed with the poverty and the injustice, but I know that God is working.   I can see hope in these dark places and a joy that only comes the Lord.  I feel so blessed to have seen this work first hand.

Out for my birthday!

We flew back to Chennai were my dad had a few more days to relax and shop!  We dropped him off at the airport last Friday.  Since then, we have been so busy!  It was my birthday on Monday so we had a few celebrations!  Sharon took me out with all of her friends Sunday night.  On my birthday they closed the schools because of a cyclone, so we just hung around the house and went to the city to go to dinner.  I found a fun Mexican food restaurant. Let’s just say it wasn’t the same, but we all had a good time!