Hey friends. Sorry It has taken we so long to write something. We
haven’t really had good internet access yet. And when we do, I feel
rushed because others need it too.
So India is pretty interesting…that is kind of an understatement.
When I look to my left, I see a mountain which me, Bonny, David,
Kevin, Hushkush (that is a made-up name I gave him because I can’t
pronounce his name), and two boys: Ram and Shenkar summitted a couple
days ago. You could see the the whole city. It was beautiful.
When I look to my right there is a sleeping Indian baby in a tiny
hammock. And while typing this, Venita a little 6 yr old girl keeps
coming in a pinching my legs. We have a very violent relationship so
far haha. We traveled like crazy at first. We have been in a city near Belgaum for about 6 days now. But we have been to New Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Belgaum, Pune,.
Each town is a little different, but you will ALWAYS see these things
everywhere you go: water buffalo, pigs, deathly skinny dogs, cows,
bulls, goats, motorcycles with FOUR men on them, loud Hindu music, big
trippy colorful dumptruck things, men staring a hole through you,
women carrying like 40 lbs of who knows what on their heads, the smell
of poop, horns honking, rickshaws…ah that’s all I can think of right
now.
So far we have been just setting up the Ashraya Mission house. KB
painted the logo on the wall and it looks fantastic. Shopping for
stuff here is a trip. I now have a new appreciation for Wal-Mart. I
used to hate going there. But when I get back to the states, I think I
might stop and kiss the front of every Wal-mart I pass. Everything you
have to buy here has its own shop. The clock shop, the mirror shop,
the fruit shop, the material shop, the blouse shop, the pants shop,
and so on. It took all day to buy one outfit. And you all know how
much I love shopping.
We went to Pune a couple of days ago so the film crew could get some
footage of the Red Light district. Pune is the craziest, filthiest,
busiest city we’ve been to yet. Driving in I like had to cover my face
because of all the exhaust from cars and the smell of the piles of
trash. It was like Disney World times 10. This past week has been a
huge celebration for the Hindu god Ganesh. At first, you think the
huge shrines to Ganesh are kind of neat because of their color and
intricate structure, but after a while it just gets old seeing
millions of Indians bow in front of these plastic gods. You begin to
feel how dark this place is and how messed up it is. They truly devote
their lives to a large piece of plastic.
That night in Pune we were able to walk through the Red Light
District. The boys actually went up inside to try to get some footage,
but it was difficult because the pimps and prostitues run away when
they see cameras. This is an experience I will not quickly forget.
There were condom wrappers all over the ground. Prostitues lined the
sides of the buildings. They laughed and yelled at us as we walked by.
Women (that aren’t prostitues) don’t really go into the Red Light. So
we stood out..not to mention we are white. They boys said when you go
up into them there are just a bunch of girls sitting everywhere from
ages 13-25ish. The customers are allowed to go talk to them then pick
who they want. James (American name, Indian man) told us that in just
that one area there are over 1,000 brotherls because they go up into a
maze of stairs and rooms. Just walking through that place you feel
overwhelmed with darkness. My eyes filled with tears realizing that
everyone else in that area were there for different reasons than I
was.
Human trafficking is a huge battle to fight here. HUGE. I am so
honored to be surrounded by such brave men who choose to fight this
battle.
Prayers are really appreciated.
My experience has been great so far. I’ve met some really great
people. Hopefully it won’t take me so long to blog next. Much love to
you all in the states!!
Psalm 84: 4-7
