My body came home yesterday but the rest of me arrived this morning after a good nights sleep.  I don’t think I have been this tired since I had newborn babies.  I slept 11 hours last night without waking up.

On another note, it is good to be with family again.  My husband and kids took great care of me in my jetlag state.  They forced me to stay awake so that I would be able to sleep during the night.  They finally let me go to bed around 7 pm when I no longer could keep my eyes open and drool was hanging out of my mouth….I looked good!  Really good! 

On the last day in India we visited the Temple of Kalighat.  This is the place where people come to worship the god of destruction.  Our India staff wanted us to see this place because it would help us understand Hinduism and how it affects the people.  I call the disturbing visit “5 minutes of darkness.”  From the animal sacrifices to the temple priests and the smells of incense and animal flesh, I just about passed out.  Sounds a bit like the Old Testament doesn’t it?  The difference in this was who they worshipped.  Oh the darkness, it overwhelmed me spiritually.  The only thing that kept me going was my responsibility to the group.  Luckily our visit was quick.  (Notice the blood on the ground.  Yuck.)

As if that wasn’t enough to rock us emotionally, our staff then took us to the home for the Destitute and Dying founded b y Mother Theresa.  What an amazing ministry to those dying on the streets with nobody to care for them. 

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.” – Mother Theresa

We were not allowed to stay because of an outbreak of Tuberculosis in the home.

These experiences were such a contrast to my previous day of being with our sponsored child, Remya.  The 6 hours I spent with her were joyful and full of love and lots of life. Being with her was like being with Jesus. 

I did not want the day to end.  The feelings of being with her is what I want to remember about India.  Remember my post on day one when I said “6 months of emotions in 1 day overseas”?  It’s because of contrasts like these:

Darkness and Light

Death and Life

Richness and Poverty

There is much to think about and remember. How are we supposed to live in this world with such contrasts?  How do we take what we know in the Bible and make it real in our lives?  Our faith needs to be lived out with actions or it becomes dead.

This morning, Stephen and I discussed some changes we need to make in our lives with money.  Tonight we will be discussing some of these changes with our kids.  With two trips overseas in one month, my heart must respond or what good is it? 

By the way, I haven’t asked all week, but if you don’t sponsor a child yet, I am asking you to get on board and do so. Your sponsorship will help a child with education, nutrition, medical care and spiritual growth. It will also help a child know that they are wanted and loved.  It’s been such a blessing for our family.  I know that many of you might be struggling financially, but it’s such a great investment and it has helped us keep our priorities straight.  Click here to sponsor a child.