June 10 ... Banjara Gypsy kids ...

Today, I was honored to spend time with the Banjara Gypsies that live behind the Aldape’s home. We took several Frisbees with us and invited the children to come out and play. I didn’t know what to expect as we walked down the street toward the camp, I’ve seen pictures of people who live in these conditions, and in driving around town you see the these little communities everywhere.

When we first arrived, the mothers seemed a bit reluctant to let their children play with us, but it didn’t take long to convince one or two kids to play. As we tossed the Frisbee for the first time, I turned around and saw little kids coming from everywhere. One of the older little boys was a natural, this kid is an athelete, he could throw and catch much better than I can, I was truly impressed. It doesn’t take long, in honesty, it takes only seconds for the these kids to steal your heart. When you see their smiles, hear their laughs, and watch them light up the first time they catch the Frisbee, your heart melts.
I did, in fact, have these moments of clarity. One such moment was when I looked down at what appeared to be an old, large ant mound. Alyssa and I began, the best way we could, to ask one of the little boys what lived in these holes. It took only seconds to understand that the hand motions he gave us, told us that the holes were snakes, cobras to be exact! Immediately, after the initial shock of seeing this boys little hand make the shape of a cobra, I realized how closely these people lived to this. Literally, a few feet separated their homes, with no doors mind you, and these people from one of the deadliest snakes on the planet.

When you spend time with people who live in these conditions, it begins to put clarity on what we, as “American Christians”, define between “needs” and “wants”. You realize that the things we think we need, are nothing more than comforts, and when we put our lives in the context of these people, these needs become nothing more than luxuries.

Scripture has taken on a whole new meaning to me, even after a day and a half in India. I’m beginning to realize how I’ve spent a lot of my life white-washing, and dumbing down scripture in order to make my life safer, simpler, easy. Using excuses justifying complacency and my desire to live a life for myself, advancing myself, for things of this life that Do. Not. Matter.

The whole process of getting to India; fund-raising, paperwork, shots, pills, writing large checks; every bit of that was pure joy, because of these little kids. Their faces and smiles have today, made me a better person.