Everything good is better when it is shared with good friends, isn’t it?
A delicious meal, a shared joke, a belly laugh–they are so much richer when you experience them with someone you care deeply about.
One of the privileges of leading DFN is hosting first-time visitors to India. What a joy to watch them experience this incredible country for themselves. Not even the most carefully prepared are fully prepared. From the moment the plane touches down, you know something is different. Planes from the US typically arrive in India in the middle of the night – like 2:00 AM – but the airport and the streets are alive. Like at any airport in the world, there are exuberant hellos and tearful goodbyes, jostling at the baggage claim, and loud hailing of taxis. But the people … there are so many! When India surpassed China in population last year, it was a milestone for the country, but it was no surprise. First-time visitors, surrounded by people going about their business everywhere, are frequently stunned into silence at what seems overwhelming … and it’s not just the jet lag! It’s the crowds, the traffic, the unfamiliar sounds meshing into a brand new sensation in the middle of the night.
After a few hours’ rest and a good meal, the group comes together for the first time and we head out for the day’s activities. It could be a market, a school, or a clinic in a remote village. Typically, the group members are complete strangers, yet they are about to share an intense experience together. Bonds are formed quickly.
The last team went in July, during monsoon season with its tropical flooding rains.
The torrential downpours come at a moment’s notice throughout the day. But life in India goes on as usual despite traffic snarls and stalled motorbikes due to high water. Women dodge deep puddles and raindrops and still manage to look stunning in their saris while buying vegetables from the roadside stand for dinner. Children in crisp school uniforms head off to class in torrential downpours. They take whatever weather comes their way in stride.
What seems like an inconvenience to the bedraggled team of tourists with our wet shoes, wet hair, wet clothes, and zapped by the humidity that comes after the rain, is a blessing to our Indian friends. After all, the arrival of monsoons means a welcome respite from the blistering heat of the prior months.
What does this have to do with anything? Everything!
Life in India is lived together. Family and community are highly valued. The way the world is perceived is through the lens of relationship – how people connect. It’s a beautiful aspect of the culture. We in the West (at least in typical suburbia) drive home in our air-conditioned cars, punch our garage door openers, and go inside to our well-insulated homes. We wave cordially to our neighbors, exchange pleasantries at the grocery store, but we can go days without a meaningful interaction with people outside our close families.
We could learn from our neighbors on the other side of the world.
Community – living together – is everywhere in India.
And it is visible, out there for all the world to see! Young women learning a new skill in one of our training centers giggle shyly as they welcome our team into their lives. Young men beating a drum call us to attention as they escort us into their school, proud to be chosen to play the drum that day. Girls dancing in cultural programs they have created share their rich heritage with us. Proud fathers eyeing us as they pick up their children in an auto rickshaw from school, maybe wondering why we are there that day. Collective goodbyes and waves as our team drives away, moved and humbled by what we have seen and shared … together.
Because of our lived experiences on these trips, strangers become fast friends. Often lifelong friends. We become our own community. We share joys together. Sometimes we share pain. And it is all beautiful. Even if it is just for a brief moment, we understand what Paul says,” If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
Friends, we are connected. Even if you never visit India in person, you are connected to those we serve. As you give, pray, and become more aware of the transformational work God is doing in India, you’re part of the community coming together to be His hands and feet. Thank you.
Get Social