As you are looking through the website for Rescuing Lives, many of you may be wondering, “What are some of the things people see in India?” “What are some of the experiences people have in India?” “Is it safe to travel through certain places?” From news stories and internet searches, depending on what you are searching for, you can find just about any story to read about something negative going on in India, or any other country for that matter. Even if you pull up a current news page for the U.S., you will find news articles detailing everything going on in the U.S., from good to bad subjects. It all depends on exactly what you are looking for. I am not going to sugarcoat it. There are always unknown risks in traveling to any foreign country. I wanted to share with you a few hightlights from my visits to India.
One of the biggest issues about traveling for most people, I believe, is not knowing the language and wondering how you will communicate. The second is not knowing the local culture and customs of where you are traveling to, and not wanting to offend people there. This is not due to the lack of respect, but due to not knowing the customs and what is expected. For example, women not knowing what is considered proper attire for a particular region. I strongly recommend doing some research on the beauty of India, the language, and the culture. You will be surprised to know that many of the people speak some English. A lot of the children are being taught English as a subject at school. There are also rich historical experiences to be had in a country where many stories from the Bible took place. These express the beauty of India. When traveling through India, it is like the stories of the Bible come to life.
Some of the things that I saw as I travelled through India, that made a huge impression on me, were seeing women draw water from the village well.
The children of India have such joy and life when you meet them. The style of clothing, that people still wear in many places, resembles the clothing from what is portrayed in the Bible. I enjoyed seeing young girls wearing bright native clothing, walking down a path holding hands, laughing and talking, as they went on their way.
Almost everywhere we went the people were happy to see us. At certain places we visited, the children would greet us with flower necklaces and sing songs. The children were very well behaved, kind, and generous.
We visited a school and some of the girls sang songs and danced to beautiful music to entertain us and thank us for coming to see them.
Also, India is one of the few places that you can take an elephant ride to the top of a mountain and tour a castle.
By the end of a long day of Indian traffic, spicy Indian food, visiting and playing with children, and touring a historical castle, I felt so blessed to be there. There are many buildings and homes built out of stone and clay, the same way that I would imagine homes being built in the Bible days. Many of them have access to the roof as another part of the house. Imagine sitting on top of a stone and clay house with a flat rooftop. As you look out across the city, hearing the faint sound of auto horns and cow bells, in the distance you see the most beautiful Indian sunset and you know that God orchestrated your day from the beginning to the end.
