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| Looking back and looking forward |
Well, this is it. As of Wednesday, I didn't have to take anti-malaria pills with breakfast anymore. That means a full month has passed since I returned from India. After a month of being home, everything's different and nothing's different. It's strange how these two parts of me - the part forever changed by India, and the part that feels completely comfortable being home again - can coexist so peacefully. Only time will tell what the full impact of India will be on my life. For now, I am thankful that I lived in India for a season, met some awesome people, worked on two meaningful projects, and learned a whole bunch about God, life, and myself in the process.
Would I go back to India? Yes, definitely. Probably not tomorrow (I need to get a "real" job in the US for a few years before I can get my Professional Engineer's license and be really useful), but some day, if the opportunity arises, I would go back. We'll see.
I can't properly capture India (or even my brief experiences there) in a blog post, but I can share more stories with you. I've posted some new photo albums (with good captions!) to share a few more vignettes of my time in India (click the link below each picture to go to that photo album):
*NOTE: this 4th album is not on Facebook*
Now that I've posted those pictures/stories, I have to admit that it's difficult to write much more about India. There's just so much I could say. And sitting here at my laptop (in my bedroom in the US), India feels distant. I could (and would be glad to!) sit down with you in person, scroll through pictures on my laptop, and tell the stories behind each one. For example, I could tell you about...
...how Indians are so resourceful and efficient with their transportation
(as evidenced by this picture I took in Hyderabad)...
...or how awesome it is to have fresh veggies *come to you* on neatly-stacked carts every day...
...or how mind-boggling the Indian electrical system is (the real question is not "Why are there so many outages," but "How does it even work at all?!")...
...or how this gate (which I walked past every week on the way to church) was a vivid and sobering reminder of Matthew 7:13-14 ("...wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.").
. . . etc. . .
*Sigh* ...I guess part of the difficulty is knowing that no matter what I write, you will never get the full impact of India unless you go yourself. So I would encourage you to go. Seriously! Maybe not India, maybe some other developing country, but definitely try to get outside of your comfortable bubble in the US if you ever get a chance. It will (a) make you appreciate the blessings of the US *so* much more than before, and (b) open your eyes to ways that you are broken that you never realized before. Plus it might even give you some great opportunities to serve others. ;)
However, please know that an American going to India is not a clean-cut case of "rich-healthy-person going to help poor-sick-person." Yes, Indians (like Americans) need to meet Jesus, and many of them (unlike Americans) also have unmet physical needs like water, sanitation, and healthcare. But there are some things that Indians have/understand that Americans don't. Go to India with your eyes and heart open, and you will see them.
If you're curious, there's a really good book called When Helping Hurts that talks about how you can effectively help others escape poverty. I'm reading it now and it's rocking my world:
So what's next?
That seems to be the question that everyone's asking me lately. It's certainly a question that I frequently ask God! Many things are still up in the air right now, but I can say that in general, I'm trying to find an entry-level engineering job so that I can begin my professional career and start working toward earning my PE (Professional Engineer) license in a few years. Once I get to that point, I'll be much more useful for serving people, both in the US and abroad. Who knows where I'll eventually end up after that (short term or long term). I'm just planning to take it one step at a time, following the Lord's lead.
For now, if I could choose all the details of my life, I'd like to get an entry-level Water/Wastewater Engineering job in Charleston, SC, since that's where my girlfriend lives. Job applications have been submitted, and at least one interview is in the works, so we'll see what happens. I'm not sure how many more personal details are appropriate to post online, so if you have questions, please come find me and we can talk about it. :)
The final word(s): THANK YOU!!! :)
Thank you, friends, for all of your support, encouragement, donations, and prayers during this journey! I truly could not have done this internship without you.
- Those of you who donated, thank you for sacrificing your hard-earned money to allow me to go.
- Those of you who wrote letters to me, thank you for your thoughtful kindness. It boosted my spirits on days when I was feeling really discouraged (there were a few of them!).
- Those of you who prayed for me, thank you for your powerful assistance and encouragement. There were many things that happened in ways impossible to chalk up to coincidence (the uncanny sequence of fortuitous events when I visited Shanti Niketan Children's Home comes to mind as an example). Prayer is powerful - that is one lesson I keep relearning!
- Those of you who read my blog, commented on my pictures, or even just "liked" something that I posted on Facebook - thanks for caring. It means a lot to me. :)
Most of all, thanks to God all of his gracious gifts: food, air, life, clothes, friends, education, grace, peace, freedom, and Jesus. As one pastor put it, "I have reason enough in the gospel alone that should Christ call me, I would leave everything and follow Christ, even to the ends of the earth."
This is the end for now, but really it's just the beginning. I've finished school, finished my EMI internship, and now I'm about to begin my professional career (whatever that will mean). Here's looking forward to seeing how God will use the small thread of my life as it's woven more and more into the grand tapestry of his redemption for all of creation. Woohoo! :)
This is the end for now, but really it's just the beginning. I've finished school, finished my EMI internship, and now I'm about to begin my professional career (whatever that will mean). Here's looking forward to seeing how God will use the small thread of my life as it's woven more and more into the grand tapestry of his redemption for all of creation. Woohoo! :)
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon the earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you!
Psalm 67:4-5 (ESV)
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