adventure walker

One day, a traveler walked into an adventure. “The Prelude” was gradual like most introductions to new experiences are. It was easy, full of promise, and flecked with the occasional delusion of grandeur. September and October were fueled by feeling, an eager desire, an earnestness to be busy. The most overwhelming part of the beginning was simply being acquainted with the cultural differences that would later become somewhat normal due to proximity and frequency of the current circumstances. Though there were minimal times of doubt and wondering if a mistake had been made to begin the adventure at all, the Prelude’s major moments were ones of confidence and excitement.

November showed up and met with the traveler and so began “The Settling”. A two week holiday in the big city was to be the only preparation for the non-stop journey ahead. For nine long, busy weeks, the traveler never went anywhere, but instead remained and found time grew short with more business. This time was not so easy. The promises had seemed to fade and the few delusions that had been were now utterly gone. Energy was no longer drawn from the heart, for the soul was quickly depleting from the long lesson in abiding. Patience ebbed and energy was tested in long nights of practicing daily self-discipline; the mind was doubting often and the heart was feeling less adventuresome. Confidence and excitement were replaced with the focus of how to be stayed.

By the beginning of the year, everything had changed yet again. “The Closure” greeted quickly and was more abrupt than the previous two had been. A change in living space and leadership responsibilities threw the dynamics of daily life and the need for cadence together. The end seemed foreboding of loneliness and overwhelming responsibility. And in truth, it was just that. Stress within the confines of both limited resources and time available was a dangerous mix bordering on the verge of emotional insanity and upheaval. Doubt no longer had time to subsist and so left behind only the hope of a well-ended journey. Though weariness was present, there was still a need to be focused on yet another transition.

Transition is by definition a shift, a change, an alteration. But this move will not be typical. This transition will involve a binary effort – a going back while moving forward. Ironic that closure should involve both procession of time and progressive movement. But all is to the end of finding the finish is at the beginning where the adventure began. In a week, the 6 months will find its end. The trip will be left in the past with all its times and hopes un-deferred, trapped in memory. And the traveler will go home, to rest. And then, in the future, in a time known only to One, another story will begin,  “One day, a traveler walked into an adventure…”

“Have you ever been to a slum?”

That was the question last night that was posed to the girls last night. As the discussion went on, my thoughts drifted to that day back in December where I met a boy named Christopher in the city of Ooty.

The first time I saw Christopher, he was outside of his house. The only walkway leading to his home was a steep, well worn line through the hillside grass. His home is made out of mud and cow dung that his mother collected by hand. She had to do it all herself because Christopher’s father is blind.

I could see the cracks where the unstable walls were beginning to crumble away from rain and weather, the pathetic efforts of patch jobs that only heightened its futility. Where there were gaping holes, I saw torn pieces of shirts and sheets. Some holes were just stuffed with anything – trash, clothes, plastic bags, torn tarps. The roof was laid flat across the top. Sticks stuck together with the same compounds that created the walls and holes filled with garbage. To enter his house, I had to put my head down. My eyes had to adjust from the lack of light – it was pitch black.

I stared at the room that was no more than 10ft by 10ft. Christopher and his 9 siblings sleep together on the floor with their parents in the bag his mom pieced together from old saree material. In the other room, half its size, only a 5ft. pile of clothes with a dozen water jars filled with unfiltered water occupy the rest of the space in their house. There is no kitchen. No bathroom. No furniture. No electricity.

When Christopher’s mother finishes the odd jobs she finds during the day to earn what she can, she stops by the bakery. But not to buy bread. She can’t afford it. So, she offers to sweep the owner’s floor. She will collect the crumbs and bundle them together and take it home for Christopher to eat for dinner. When there is no food, Christopher must go to school without a lunch. He’s been caught stealing other’s food because he is so hungry.

This is Christopher’s life. This is where he lives. And sadly, this is what defines his life. He is a slum child whose only offense in life is being born poor.

But there is hope on the horizon…

The question asked last night was sparked out of a need for prayer. Because there is a vision. And the girls want to pray over it. So, last night they did. They prayed that the vision of Christopher’s family having a nice house would be realized someday. That his parents would be able to be given a cow, so they could sell milk and make a decent living. That there would be an opportunity through a growing friendship with Christopher’s mother that would allow some of the Impact Team’s staff into her home to teach her how to clean and keep her house for her family efficiently. They prayed for hope. They prayed for Christopher.

I knew it could be nothing but a sincere, heart-moved prayer. They met Christopher when he was here for VBS last year. And they are aware of the differences between his life and theirs. They know. And they care with all their hearts about those who are hungry. They see them when they look out at the villages as they pass by in the Impact’s school bus to school. They know there are always going to be poor and needy people. Jesus knew that, too. He referred to Himself as the Living Water, The Bread of Life, everyday things that people were well aware that they needed daily.

So, please pray with them for this vision. Specifically for Christopher’s family. As the Lord is familiar with both the physical and spiritual needs of His children and can “sympathize with our weaknesses…let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”

Please take a moment to do this before you leave this page…

Runnin' Down a Dream

Well, I am proud to say January went well! After a 4-day break for a Hindi holiday, celebration and festivities for India’s Republic Day, and a full three days of monthly tests, everyone is alive and well. But though the day-to –day things happen, transition is still very much a part of life here. Just as January began with the departure of Susan, so February began with the departure of Rachel. I saw her off at the airport to catch her Dubai-Dulles-Denver flights and I’m so glad she arrived safely!

February for the past few days has been good so far. Different. Studying times are no longer geared for a monthly test, but for Term III exams! But there are still remnants of January to be seen. I attended a Sports Day breakfast this morning. It was a thank you to all of those who organized everything on Republic Day and who placed 1st,2nd and 3^rd in the events. Mostly it was a time of fellowship (complete with a bowl of homemade peanut butter) but there was some informal discussion of what the Bible school students learned about leadership, teamwork and what it means to win/lose.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (the apostle Paul’s words from 1Cor.9:24-27).

About a month before I left, I read Richard Foster’s book on spiritual discipline and though I was eager to read it, it stated some very difficult facets of obedience, endurance, and commitment. With just over a month to go here in Coimbatore, the infamous words of my Bible school days ring in my ears. “Finish strong” we were told… Finish strong.

“But as for you, go your way to the end…” (Dan. 12:13).