Tuesday, August 05, 2008

 

I asked God, “What is it you want of me?” The answers keep coming. In strange ways, ways filled with hunger, for food, warmth, medicine, a roof, a shelter, through His face.

I am sheltered in Dharmasagar, Andhra Pradesh India; yes there is poverty, hunger and homelessness. It is also a village filled with love and compassion. A hand that reaches out is there to help and ask for help. The girls when faced with a hungry, hurt fragile old man are quick to feed and take care of his thirst, to offer him a place to sit and some money before he is on his way. They do this without being prompted; it comes naturally to people (in this case, children) who are fed better at the hostel than they might be at home. It is a community of love, the kind that can only come to fruition when God is in the midst of it, when He is the head of the household.

Daily I see people going to the well for water because their home has none. The hut they live in is without electricity, water or sanitation. They dry their clothes on the fields and bathe in the open for all to see, but not notice. Some cook outside on an open; fire rocks being adjusted to regulate the temperature of the stove, because they have no gas. Maybe their home is below street level with two rooms that flood each time it rains. They wear more often than not no shoes, or sandals, their feet leather like, unaware of the heat of the roads or the sharp edges of the rocks. Looking from the back I see zippers that don’t close, pants that are much too short and belts that can wrap around the waist twice. The saris have holes, the blouses are torn, faded and frayed. Yet their hearts are filled with joy because He has called them by name and written each on the palms of His hands.