Join me

Wow.  Fall semester is over. The time has come to finally focus on preparing myself to go to India. It all still seems surreal. Am I really not going back to Messiah in the Spring? Wait I'll be flying by myself across the ocean to a completely different time zone? Oh and on top of that going to a completely different culture?

Yes. It's true. I am nervous, excited and all of the above. 

One month from today I will be boarding a plane to go to India.

I've had people ask me, "Why India?" 

At face value, I am excited to wear Indian clothing, visit the Taj Mahal, and see the many colors of Indian wares, temples and landscapes.

However on a more serious note, I want to make it perfectly clear that my mindset for this journey is not one of a tourist. It is getting to know and be present with those I encounter and meet. I want to learn about their lives. I hope to be able to tangibly see what it is like for Christians in India to live in the pluralism of their society. I believe that through understanding these challenges I will grow in my faith and get to know those who are different than me. I have found it is good to be pushed and that it allows me to grow and see other perspectives. I will also have the opportunity to serve during my time there. I want to build relationships with the people and learn how they engage with the poverty in their own country.  With this new found knowledge I hope to serve others in the U.S. as well as worldwide. I don’t want to live in ignorance of what is around me and what is happening but to engage with it so that I can make change. I want to step outside of my perfect bubble of cleanliness, my stability of having more than I need and learn what it really means to live for others who I don't see everyday.

I've had so many people pray with and for me in this next part of my journey and I am so very thankful. I am excited for what this next part of my story will bring with the ups and the downs and all that I will learn. Please join me in this journey to truly live life through the eyes of my creator and not ignore those who live just as I do in a another part of this crazy, broken, beautiful world.