The bus from the rear view mirror:
Church in the slums:
Day 22:
Two amazing days, I am learning so much every second that I am here. Yesterday (Sunday) night we went to church in the slums, it was literally breathtaking. There were probably about 20 women in saris and Indian night gowns worshiping in the basement of the flat we have in the slums. One guitar, all songs sung in Hindi but luckily the work “hallelujah” is the same in all languages. I was absolutely speechless as I stood behind this tiny Indian woman as she raised her hands during the songs, as her hands and face had been burned by acid (a common way women are terrorized, both in brothels and not). It appeared as someone had thrown acid in her face and she tried to block it with her hands and almost everything was burned badly. Then came time for the offering and all of these desperately poor women walked to the front and gave money. How is it that in America where even the poorest have tons more than these people here, we cannot let go of even a little of all that we have? Yet these people with nothing to give still find something to give. They read psalm 138 and it was so encouraging, especially hearing these women read it:
I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD,
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
When I called, you answered me;
you made me bold.
when they hear what you have decreed.
May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
The LORD will vindicate me;
your love, LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands
This morning when we got on the bus, crowded of course, the bus conductor pushed Katie and I into the cage that the driver stays in up front- which was actually a huge blessing and nice change because we are separated from the crowds and even get to sit! The only downside was I got a front row view at the road and got to see exactly how close we get to running into oncoming traffic haha. But we survived! I will post a picture that we took of everyone squished into the back of the bus, it does not do it justice, there is no way I could explain how crowded it is- and a picture of Katie and I in the cage. Today the Lord really blessed my time with the women in both the morning and afternoon classes, it has been so fun everyday seeing these relationships grow. One woman in the first sewing class, Indra has a son who has been involved in a court case for 6 years. She has had to put her other children in an orphanage in order to pay the lawyer bills and now the lawyer says that if she can pay one last payment of 50,000 rupees (about $1000) then it will all be over. This is an outrageous amount for Indra, one that she will never be able to afford. Prayers for this please! The second sewing class went really well too, Kamla came and I haven’t seen her in about a week- and I got to visit her house later tonight, which was great. The nutrition class afterwards went well with the women, but we had a child show up with a horrible burn down the back of her leg that was badly infected. After some questioning and requests to take her to the hospital, she said we couldn’t take her to the hospital because her mom would get mad, and it was her mom that hurt her in the first place. Her mom had gotten mad, taken a large knife and put it on the stove then held it to her leg, burning the skin entirely off her calf. If this infection does not kill her or cause her to lose her leg, then she will be scarred for life. I honestly could never understand why a mother would treat a child that way, but these women are battered themselves by their husbands and families and in some cases it leads to them hurting their children I assume. After that, we went on house visits and I got to go to Kamla and Durga’s homes, which were deeper into the slums than I have ever gone before. Durga speaks little English and has a baby, when we got to her house (which is half the size of my room at home, and holds 6 people) her baby was suspended from the ceiling in a makeshift crib made out of her sari. It is the only way they can make a place for their babies to sleep and was like a little hammock, I wish I could have taken a picture of it. Kamla’s home was even smaller and she lived there with her husband, everyone told me it was a love marriage, the first I have heard of since ive been here. Meaning she wasn’t arranged to marry her cousin or uncle in a child marriage. Kamla is from near Bangalore and moved here with her husband after they were married in a courthouse because her family wouldn’t give them a large wedding. Kamla speaks English well and it is easy visiting with her because of it, we didn’t even need a translator which is a nice change. On our way out of Vasco for the evening we stopped in a store to pick up some Indian clothes some of the girls had ordered and 3 women in Burkas came in and it was the first time I had found the Burka truly beautiful. These women were clearly upperclass and had beautiful black burkas rimmed in gold and dark eyes, they wore gloves and socks with their sandals, only revealing their eyes. Recently I have seen a lot more women in burkas then I did when I first got here, and because some women wear them to sewing class I have learned that they actually wear a full outfit underneath it and it is more of an overcoat that they remove when inside closed doors. I cant imagine how hot they are.
That is all for today, about to go make some dinner and finally take a shower! It was a hot one today. Learning so much about how the Lord protects us, his sheep:
“My sheetp recognize my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Theif. No one could ever get them away from him.” John 10:26-30
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