India: October 21

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 25
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

We’ve decided to start off each morning with a team devotion. One person will lead this each day. Today, we were challenged to consider our own personal reasons for being here and make sure they were truly in line with the Lord’s plans and purposes for us.. Then we reported to the Operation Mobilization (OM) dining hall for a tasty Indian taco breakfast before heading off to visit the Good Shepard’s School in a village called Uddamarry, about a 45 minute drive from the OM Campus. The School greeted us with a whole presentation and had us sit down on stage in front of the whole student body (pre-kindergarten to high school). We were given flower leis and the children sang a series of songs, recited the Indian pledge, and quoted Bible verses. We were then each asked to say a few words in front of the 400 students and faculty members. We went from class to class, led by the principal of the school, and we were introduced to each of the teachers and the students in all the classes.

The manager of the school then taught us about the other ministries of the Good Shepherd schools. This is the official name of all the OM schools in the country. Since the Dalit uprising in the early 2000’s, OM has made it their commitment to provide education for as many Dalit communities as possible. Once the schools are established, OM makes it known to the local community that they also provide services including micro loans, health and dental care, local church participation, and helpful seminars on parenting, women issues, etc. We were all so impressed by all the services that OM provides for the Dalit communities.

We were then driven a slum area where we were greeted by more smiling Dalit children who move with their parents from job to job. We walked into the middle of their makeshift shanty town, filled with homes made of tarps and mud. The children and adults that came to greet us seemed no different from those who approached us in the downtown areas of Hyderabad. But their lives and homes were quite different from the city dwelling Indians. Remarkably, OM has set up a school in this slum and has even made the school out of tarps and mud to fit in with all the other dwellings.

We all are so drawn to these kids! They are so open to us and so happy just to receive our hugs, hold our hands, and take pictures with us—and they never asked for anything! I was so taken back by that—they didn’t ask for food, money, nothing. I left their homes so convicted by my lack of appreciation for what I have in the USA. These children are content with virtually nothing, yet I always find myself wanting more. I found myself wanting to give them anything--everything I had, yet they didn’t ask me for a thing. They seemed to be content just to be with us and touch us. The Dalit “Untouchables” (as they are sometimes called) had been touched by four guys from America, Ambassadors for Christ.

The rest of the afternoon, we were in meetings with lots of OM staffers and leaders. We learned about everything from how their finances are handled, to the child sponsorship program, to the advocacy work that’s being done, to the books and resource materials that are being sent out all over India by OM. The more we learn, the more impressed we are with how God is at work here and the level of integrity of the team he has assembled to serve him in India.