Aftercare Homes for the Holidays

I have recently had two opportunities to visit aftercare homes and spend time with girls who IJM has rescued.  We were invited to the first home for a performance.  The girls had been doing drama therapy for about 12 weeks as a part of their rehabilitation.  As a culmination of the course, they staged a performance and invited all of us at the IJM office to come.  Their teacher, a really lovely woman from the United States, explained that when she first began working with the girls, most of them couldn’t even stand up and say their name without feeling embarrassed.  Now, they were excited to perform an entire show, which they had written and directed themselves. 

The theme of the performance was past, present and future.  The girls acted out scenes of deception and betrayal that they had experienced in the past, followed by scenes of the life they hoped to have in the future.  In another act, they used creative movements and poses to express their new identity and value.  One girl sang a beautiful song in the traditional Indian style.  It was  wonderful to see these girls, who had experienced so much pain, with joy in their eyes.  It was clear that they were proud of what they had done, and it was really encouraging for us.

The other visit was for a Christmas party at a home for children of victimized women.   IJM coordinated the party, and it was hosted by my church.  We had a great time talking to the girls about their interests and their favorite Bollywood stars. They loved to dance and made us each stand up and dance for them.  Later in the evening we ate pizza and ice cream and a few members of the church acted out the Christmas story. 

The Nativity play

                                          My attempt at Bollywood dancing

(I wish I could share more pictures from these special events, but we were asked not to take any photos of the girls for their protection.)

Giving Thanks in Goa

I wanted to do a Thanksgiving post about all the things I’m thankful for, but the holiday really snuck up on me this year.  Probably because it’s still well over 80 degrees every day, and I haven’t seen turkey in any form in this country.  The interns in the office do have American holidays off, so we all took a trip to Goa over Thanksgiving.  Goa is famous for its beaches.  We live on the coast, but (as you can see from the first few picture below) the local beaches aren't really designed with the western tourist in mind; they are very crowded, and the water isn't safe to swim in --  most people stay fully clothed.

  This trip was the first bit of traveling we had done -- it was about a 14 hour drive.  We traveled overnight on a bus, thinking it would be easier to sleep in than a train because it’s air conditioned.  Let’s just say one of the things I’m thankful for is that we made it back alive.  Once at the beach, we had a great time.  We rented mopeds and biked around.  As if learning to drive on the wrong side of the road wasn’t difficult enough, we also had to dodge the cows which were all over the road.  Again, we all survived with no major injuries and had a great Thanksgiving dinner on the beach. (Red snapper cooked tandoori style.)

I did miss my family a lot -- there’s definitely no place like home for Thanksgiving -- but living here makes me constantly aware of all I have to be thankful for.  I don’t know why, when so many people in the world are suffering from lack of money and love and hope, I’ve always had an abundance of all of them.  I am, indeed, very thankful.

                                                                 the local beach

the local beach again

                             The red stuff here is tamarind - the Hindi word for it is "imli". 

   When I told these girls my name was Emily, they made me try it (and laughed at me, because it's sour.)

Goa!  Cows were everywhere, even on the beach.

                                                              Thanksgiving dinner

Free!

As much as I enjoy the food and festivals and cultural experiences here, my favorite thing, without a doubt, is being able to contribute to the life-changing work that IJM does. Every day in the office is busy.  Some are extra stressful – when we face power-outages, or tough deadlines, or both combined.  But this Monday, as we gathered for office prayer, the room was filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and thanksgiving.  Typically during this time we share updates from each department and prayer requests and praises, but today the same praise was on everyone’s heart – through an operation that took place over the weekend, five women were free to see the sunshine for the first time in years!  It wasn’t the first operation that has taken place since I’ve been here, but this one was special.  The women had been forced to stay in very small, filthy rooms with no windows for as many as seven years.  Reports indicated that they were forced to serve 7-13 customers a day for payments of 120-600 rupees, all of which the brothel keepers retained. One of the rescued women said she was beaten repeatedly throughout her time in the brothel. Another indicated that she had been kidnapped and forced to undergo an abortion upon arrival. All of them were very fearful of the brothel keeper, and of what would happen to them if they tried to leave. But through a series of miracles, these women are now out and starting the process of recovery.  Our Field Office Director canceled the agenda that was set for the morning and just let staff members share stories from the operation. One social worker told about how she felt compelled to reach out to one girl who was too fearful at first to admit that she was being forced, but who later in the night convinced other girls that it was safe, that they could tell the truth and be free.  Someone shared a story of another woman who wandered out the door while the police were trying to gather information.  She was just smiling and staring at the sky.  Everyone talked about the joy on the girls faces. Even the police had been moved by the girls’ stories, and the way they were able to help them. Our work is not easy.  Every day it seems like there are new obstacles and challenges, but on days like this none of that matters.  We sang a hymn – “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” – and closed by reading a passage from Isaiah that seemed to be written just for this occasion: “This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,  who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Praise God!

Stranger in a Foreign Land

Psalm 146 speaks of a God who cares for the hungry, the oppressed, the fatherless, the widow, and the alien.  For some reason, the widows and orphans have always gotten more attention in my mind, but over the past week I have come to understand all too well why the foreigner belongs in this group of people to be pitied.  When you move to a place with a different culture than your own, where people do things differently than you do and speak a language you don’t understand, just about everything is harder.  It seems like any task takes five times as long to complete as it would at home.   But it’s great what a sense of accomplishment I feel when I finally figure something out.  Small victories this week include learning how to unlock my door (actually an outer and inner door, three different keys, special jiggle;) learning how to direct a rickshaw from my apartment to the office and back; learning how to turn on hot water (NOT as easy as it sounds) and washing a full load of very sweaty clothes by hand.  By next week I hope to learn how to find someone who I can pay to do this for me.  Sometimes learning these things is exciting and sometimes it’s incredibly draining, but I can sense God’s hand taking care of me all the time.  My landlord and people from work have been very helpful, and I can see already how God is using these experiences to shape my character.   All the waiting and depending on others forces you to have patience and humility.  And learning about God’s concern for the alien not only makes me understand his heart more, but gives me a much greater compassion for the immigrants in my own country. 

The pictures below are just to give you a glimpse of what life looks like here.  (1) my apartment building (2) apartment inside (& roomate!) (3) a rickshaw (4) the coastline (5) some kids hanging around the beach.  (Later we gave them Silly Bandz, which they loved – thanks Donna!)

Starting Off With A Bang

I arrived safely Tuesday night!  This first week has been a crash course in food, culture, language, and geography. 

I came at an exciting time, as my first day on the job also happened to be the last day of a festival known as Ganpati, a holiday celebrating the elephant-headed Hindu god, Ganesha.  The culmination of the festival involves entire communities parading huge statues of Ganesha through the streets and all the way to the sea, where the idols are immersed.  The processions take hours since they stop every hundred yards or so for dancing, fireworks, drumming, and throwing pink dye powder on everyone.  Our office let out early because so many streets would be closed down for the processions.  I came home to take a nap, but the festival music being pumped through loudspeakers for the enjoyment of the neighborhood made that impossible.  My friends and I finally decided to give in and walk just outside of our apartment to watch.  We were quickly swept up in the parade and colored Barbie doll pink by the curious kids who reached out to touch our faces. 

It was stimulation overload.  Our relatively small neighborhood street was suddenly every bit as crowded and colorful as Times Square or the Las Vegas strip, and just as overwhelming.  The religious aspect of it all was disconcerting as well.  The shiny, smiling Ganeshas looked more like the cars from the Dumbo ride at Disney world than Old Testament Baals, but I still felt sad watching all the children singing and dancing to Lord Ganesh.  The words of the Psalms I had read that morning came back to me, and seemed particularly fitting:

“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. . . May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth.  May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.” – Psalm 138

Thank you, again, to everyone who is supporting me and praying for me here.  Please continue to pray for God’s kingdom in South Asia and for the work we are doing with IJM.