jingling bangles

yes, im alive! sorry for the long delay in posts - but in Kolhapur we really didn't have internet access that was secure, and we felt it was better to stay on the safe side - not wanting to jeopardize anyone's safety.
so - im not sure i can capture everything that happened in the last 10 days, but i can give some glimpses.
as i sit here in the hotel room in Pune once again, my green sparkling bangles jingle as i type. They were given to me as a gift at the girl's hostel nika, consuela and i stayed in for two nights - in Kadooli - a small village outside Kolhapur. The girls live there and some are sponsored, some are not. Some are from poor families, some have no family, some have mothers in the redlight district, and they are all lovely, bright eyed balls of energy who love to dance and tell stories and sing songs and call me Sarah Diddi (sister sarah) - pulling at my hand to come and see. Clapping games, eating rice, the electricity goes out in the midst of a song and they laugh in the complete darkness and continue singing. candles are brought and life continues - this is a common occurance. the gass goes out, so breakfast is cooked on an open fire. the uniforms are white colored shirts sewn to blue jumpers. red bows tied to their jet black beautiful braided hair. Why do they wish for lighter skin and eyes? why do they see the characters on TV as something to aspire to? What is beauty? what are their true hopes and dreams?
The first time we visited the hostel the whole team went - and we just went in and sat with them, and they sang for us, and we taught them a song... and we moved on. AS we were in the van driving back to Kolhapur i wrote this poem:

Children watching

stern, wonder

Sitting quiet in a row

Dark hair

big eyes

Who are these strangers here?

"nameste" smile, nod, watch.

" please sit"

Down in a row - on chairs

Who do they see looking at us?

Who do we see

Looking at them?

Children watching

stern, wonder

Dreams and fears

Lessons learned

Standing up to be a doctor, police

or an engineer

Future leaders

of this state- our world.

Sing a song

dance and clap

Is there joy here?

hope- love- peace?

Perhaps once forgotten

abandoned, neglected

hurts and fears

hope seems lost.

But a smile cracks

dark eyes shine bright

Dreams are alive

do you hear them?

"nameste" smile, nod, watch.

We drove for hours nearly every day visiting small villages all over the surrounding hills - passing fileds of sugar cane where the "migrant workers" set up teepees of gras and tarps while they were working all day in the fields for around $2.50. Sugar factories billowed smoke in the distance, young children ran about here and there - apparently the plantation owner is supposed to provide some schooling for the kids, but i wonder how often that happens? Passing the brick cilns reminded me of the stories of debt bondage where whole families were trapped for generatons "paying off" a debt that just keeps increasing. I could tell these people lived there among the bricks - their houses blended into the red brick landscape, dark doors into tiny little dwellings where two adults would hardly fit lying down. Again, children climed amongst the bricks, carying loads twice their size. And we drive by.

We enter the villages and see the animals wandering here and there - we are ushered into the houses and churches and offered flowers and tea. honored in a way that tested my ability to go with the flow sometimes... it is a form of humility, as nika was reflecting, to receive gifts and honor - as its a part of culture, and their joy of seeing Sheba and Ramesh and honoring them for the work they have done... we just get to join in and watch.

poverty lives at the doorstep of wealth - litterally. India is a land of contrasts and comparisons. Who is lighter, who is richer, who is of what family, who is of what education??? What religion, what caste, what background?! This defines a person, a future, a life. A girl with nothing, in this context can very easily be seen as nothing. She ceases to exist - and is merely a thing - that takes up food. This is harsh, but it is the truth is some contexts. When there is starvation, when survival is the goal to life, what would you do?

So often in scripture we are called to give thanks. Some of the days i've been weighed down by the overwhelming reality of the brokenness - often more in the little things. And I am reminded to give thanks - especially in the little things. Like green bangles, and rain as we crossed the mountains, and dancing with 100 brightly clothed giggling girls, and singing to Jesus in a remote village surrounded by sugar cane, and chai tea, and masala dosas and friends and joy and hope, and even sleep.

with that i will wrap this post up - as it is very late, and breakfast is early - and im tired. I will try to write more tomorrow, as i have much more to share!

blessings!