It’s nighttime here in India.  I am sitting in my room listening to the music blaring outside my window from the street below.  The traffic seems endless with the cars and horns, and I can smell the trash that is burning across the street. This was my view this morning.

  Between the smoke in the air and the mothballs in my room, the aromatherapy is quite exotic to say the least. Stephen and the girls are going love my new scent that I bring home.  I am excited to share the love!

I am in a decent hotel, however, I am also sharing a room with 50,000 bugs tonight that come out to visit when it gets dark.  Last night, one crawled into my ear and woke me up.  You should have seen my reaction…it was AWESOME!

Despite the bugs, the smoke and the mothballs, India is brilliant.  All the colors, the life, the sounds, the food, the haze in the sky from the burning trash, the traditions, the cows that roam the streets, the beautiful people, the cars, the rickshaws.

There is so much to see, there is so much life, and everything about this place seems exotic and foreign.

Yesterday, I rode a train for 7 hours. You haven’t lived until you have been on a train in India.  It shames any Disneyland ride or any New York subway experience.  The smell of the train station, and the mass of humanity crammed into a small space, makes the Greyhound Bus station look like heaven.  The ride itself was good.  Yes, the train was a bit dirty from American standards, but I loved seeing the countryside and having this experience.   Next to our group sat a man who put his feet up on the seat right next to one of our team members.  His feet caught my eye.

This is just a glimpse at the things that I am seeing.

It’s no secret that the poverty in India is massive.   Today, we went to a Compassion project that is settled in the middle of a mining area.  The booming sounds of the mine and the dust in the air reminded me of a war zone. The living conditions were horrid. It was hot, dirty and dusty and everywhere I looked, there was garbage and rubble. Yet in the middle of it all, something precious and beautiful exists.

But the children at the project were dressed in color and beauty…and they smiled, and danced with joy and life!  It was hope amongst the minefields.  It was brilliant.

When I see these children who live in such difficult places, and I look into their eyes, I see a glimpse of our Creator. 

He lives here with them.  He never leaves them.  He brings hope.  He brings life in a place where the dirt and dust try to steal away their beauty.  But God conquers and this is the good news!  This is the hope that can exist in such a place.

Seriously, could this boy get any more handsome???

My heart is overwhelmed, and I am in love with the children of India.