Okay, it's only 4 weeks until we go now. We're getting ready to go and a lot of our lectures are going to be geared towards our outreach. On the first of July we will be flying from Kona, to Honolulu, to Tokyo, Japan, to Singapore, and then to Chennai, India. It's going to be quite the trip!

This week we are suppose to research and write about the country that we are going to. So here's a quote and some info about India:

"A burden of contradictions held together by a strong but invisible thread." - The first prime minister of India said of his country.

Populations and Economy:

In 2000, India reached the one billion mark for their population. Only one year after the world reached the 6 billion mark. India is second for population next to China at this time and it is predicted to pass China by the year 2030. As of the summer of '09 the population was 1.15 billion. It's amazing to me that close to 1/6th of the world lives in this country.

The economy in India is booming yet the people still remain in poverty. The main factor or at least one of the top factors of this reality is that the fertility rate is increasing at a faster rate than the economy.

The top 5 historical sites of the country are:

1. The Taj Mahal, which took 22 yrs to build and 20,000 workers to complete. It's actually a ode of an emperor's love her his wife. Funny what love will drive people to accomplish. Another really cool thing about it is the color appears to change in different lights during the day.

2. Hampi, which used to be the capital of Vijayanagar was an amazing Hindu empire in the history of India. These ruins stretch over 10 miles and date back to the 14th century.

3. The Khajuraho Temples, these were devoted to sexuality and sex. (This reminds me of the goddess ashera that God commanded the israelis not to worship but they did anyway. Some of the followers of this goddess worship her with the act of prostitution.) These are Hindu temples and there are 20 such temples remaining.

4. The Ajanta and Ellora Caves, are caves carved out of rock hillside in the middle of nowhere. They are very old and some date back to before Christ (according to the website where I found this info). They boast of extraordinary architecture.

5. Fatehpur Sikri, was also once a capital city but is now deserted. After only being a city for 15 short years it was abandoned because there wasn't enough water. This city is complete with palaces and courtyards.

History:

Thinking of India's history I can't help but think of Mahatma Gandhi. I remember watching the film with my mom one night years ago. He was born in 1869 and died in 1948. It's interesting to me how quite a few people and maybe even most famous people (excluding Hollywood) chose a life that is difficult and where they have to faces opposition during their generation. I'm not saying that I agree with Gandhi or what he stood for, I don't know enough about him or his life, but we can learn that if we want to make a difference it's not always going to be easy.

Social issues:

A very big issue in India (not just India but the whole world) is prostitution. While we are in India, part of our team is going to have the chance to go up to Northern India and work in a red light district. I have included a youtube video about an organization that rescues and helps recovering girls who have been in this modern day slavery. I don't believe that this organization is Christian but I think this video gives you a small look at some of what is going on. There are three videos in this series but really the first two are the more important than the third.

With so many people living in India, it's overwhelming and discouraging to think of all the girls/women are being forced to have sex, those in extreme poverty, and the orphans. Where do we begin and how can we even begin to scratch the surface of making a difference? Well, they told us a story one day during class that I really like:

Sometimes, I guess, in certain areas along the ocean the tide will wash tons of starfish up on the beach. If they don't get thrown back in, they will die. One day this happened and a man was walking along the beach wishing he could do something to save them. However there were too many and he realizing this was impossible so he began to step over them. As he continue to pick his way down the beach he saw a little boy. He watched as the little boy bent over and took one starfish and flung it back into the ocean. As he continued to do this the man pointed out the obvious to the little boy. "There's no way you can save them all and there's just too many!" As the little boy stooped down once more and flung another starfish into the ocean and back to life, he said "well, it's made a difference for that one didn't it?". Wow! That's powerful! When we are overwhelmed by the hugeness of the problem before us and think about how small of an impact we will have, lets not look at that. Lets focus on being faithful in the little things and giving every human life the unmeasurable value it desires!!!

So inclosing, right now I feel like I know so little about this amazing country and it's people. I'm looking forward to learning more and building relationships with the people we will meet. Please pray that I would know whether or not I'm suppose to go up north and work in the red light district. Also please pray that God would prepare the hearts of the Indians and also of our team. India, here we come!