RAMP

Have you ever heard the saying, life is not fair? Sure, we all have. "The Vagabond Road" is a video of some thoughts and reflections on the idea that life does not always offer us an exit ramp when we need one. What do we do when we find ourselves in places we never expected to end up? What do we do when the road we are on leads us some place we never intended on going.

I will let the video speak for itself but after watching it share your thoughts with me as I would like to do this sort of thing more but would like to do it in such a way that you will want to watch them.

OCCUPIED

So I walked around Boston today getting some footage for a video project I am working on.  Part of my afternoon was spent walking along the Greenway which curves around the length of where the rt93 tunnel. I saw a large group at the end of the greenway, I decided to check it out. Turns out it was forty or fifty tents and a couple hundred people all part of Occupy Boston. The Occupy America movement is a fascinating sociological event with a branch in our backyard. People (mostly students) staying in tents, with signs for various political, socioeconomic and other issues, and regardless of Republican or Democrat everyone seemed to be getting along. I took in a group meeting to discuss the greatness of Marxist philosophy, there was a veterans for peace tent, I saw a tent where clothing was being given away, they even have a library. Folk music was being played for everyone's enjoyment and it was actually pretty good.

As I walked through the encampment I got the sense that this was a place for the free exchange of ideas and life philosophy (well, I did not see any representatives from corporate America there). I am pretty sure that there was even a small group freely sharing some ganja; they seemed really happy.

This gathering of people in Dewey Square and the hundreds of people who show up for the scheduled General Assemblies tells me a few things about people in general and Boston in particular. First, there is an undercurrent in Boston (and probably every city in America for that matter) of discontentment with "the system". The system is the conglomeration of impersonal regulations, guidelines, parameters, etc. that seem to be arbitrarily superimposed on society and dictate how a person should live their life and spend their money if they are going to be successful. Discontentment has spurred Americans on to technological innovation for generations, it has spurred community organizers on to bring change to their neighborhoods, it has even spurred corporate executives to make shady deals behind closed doors. People from all walks of life experience some degree of discontentment. We all wrestle with a lack of contentment at some point. Discontentment must simmer for a while before it motivates us to try and bring change to something. What is your simmering discontentment?

The second is that people are desperate to be heard, young and old. Everyone has an opinion, but a cause like "Occupy America" gives people a chance to put a megaphone to their ideals and opinions and be heard much more so than if they stood alone. The need to be heard is what many people from North African nations are fighting for right now. When you are heard you are validated; your station in life has legitimacy. All people long for validation, they long to be heard. People want to be heard. Who listens to you??

Third, I discovered that not everyone there was there for the stated purposes of the movement. Some where there because their friends were there and they wanted to support their friends. Some were there because it is where the attention is and they simply want to be a part; they want to belong. Everyone wants to be part of something big, a cause to fight for. It gives us a sense of identity. In some places in the world the cause is your family; you stand for your family and they give you identity. Here in America it is often your ideals. Your ideals give you something to fight for and give you an identity. When you don't have either of these you long for them, you look for them in anything. Many a high school student and college student has gone through this "looking to belong" stage. From what do you derive your sense of identity??? Is it enough? Are you fulfilled?

In some ways these are the longings of every person who has ever drawn breath on planet earth; they make us human. Being discontent, the desire to be heard, and our sense of identity will shape us and define us. We will be healthy people depending on what our source is for these three aspects of our soul. You may be looking for money, or love. You may be motivated by greed or loneliness. The longings of your soul says something about who you are. How you fulfill those longings says something about who you are willing to be and who you are becoming.

Just a Meandering Thought...

BHAGWANPUR

I went to another school in a town called Bhagwanpur. This is a very overcrowded school now and it has a short but impressive history. It started as just a three room school not too far from its current location with just twenty three students. Two rooms were classrooms and one was an office for the teachers. After just three years the school became packed with just over 60 students crammed into their two small rooms. With an increasing demand to take more students they needed to find a new facility.

Their current building became available to rent and so they took the opportunity to move into the new location which had ten or twelve rooms that could be used as class rooms as well as a few offices. The school currently is running around 500 students form K through 8th grade. Their current class size is about forty to fifty students per class.

The Indian people value education so much so that if there is a chance their student can attend classes in a non-government school they do anything they can to get their kids in. It just so happens that the schools that are run by Christian organizations have the best reputation for education so they are the most sought after schools. This one is so full that they are in need of moving again and they have only been in existence for six years.

They have purchased a plot of land that is about two acres in total. The plan is to build something similar to what was built in Pathrie. A large three story complex with classrooms and some offices. And then build some housing for teachers and administrators as well.

One thing that set this school apart from Pathrie however is that this school also has an orphanage as part of the ministry to the community. They only have room for 30 kids. They actually call it a children's home. Each group of six to ten kids has an adult couple that cares for them. The idea is that each couple acts like parents to these kids and each kid is like a sibling to the other in their "family". They try to create some semblance of a family for these little ones.

I walked into one of the rooms while the kids were in class as part of a tour I was getting of the facilities and started crying. (No one else was around me). I don't know who the kids are who slept in that room, I don't know their stories, I could not point them out in a crowd, or if they were standing in front of me, but I cried for them. No child should ever be thrown away. What does it do to a child and later on as an adult to know that some one cared just enough to not abort them but not enough to care for them personally. I know that this is not the case for many of the students but it for some. I have personally heard enough stories to imagine what some of the stories in this room might be like.

This is the land that was purchased for the new facility. It is a field today, but hopefully in another year or two they will have the money to build at least the first floor of their dream.

I walked out of the building not wanting to leave. I really wanted to see the kids when they got out of school and give them a hug, and tell them that even if no one else loved them, that Jesus loved them. But I the reality is that two minutes with me is not going to change things for them. It might make me feel better, but it does nothing for them. The heroes here are the couples who have dedicated themselves to bringing up kids who are not theirs to understand the love of God.

This is one of the bedrooms at the Children's home. It is right next to the school. You notice their beds are neatly made and on one of the beds, (it is hard to tell) there is a Bible sitting there. These kids have very few if any personal possessions. To have your own book is a big deal especially if it is a Bible.

No one else in their society is concerned about showing them this kind of love. Not even their own family members. At least the Muslims will care for extended family when they are in need; even the Sikhs, a Hindu reform group which started about 600 years ago will care for extended family who have fallen on hard times. But if you are a Hindu and you fall on hard times it is because you deserve it. And children sometimes pay a high price for this. I am so thankful for the people in these schools and homes who are dedicated to the next generation of Indians.

I don't remember his name, even if I did, I would not be able to pronounce it or spell it, but this man is a teacher in the school and he is one of the house parents as well. He and his wife have two kids, plus the children in the home. I don't know his name but he is a hero to me.

BIRTHDAY...

I was supposed to go to a school today but there was a mudslide that covered the road so I went instead to another school.
There is an orphanage as part of the ministry of the school. They only have room for 30 kids. Each group of six to ten kids has an adult couple that cares for them. They call them parents, and the place is called a children's "home". This is so that the kids can have something close to a family.
I walked into one of the rooms while the kids were in class as part of a tour I was getting of the facilities and started crying.

I don't know who the kids are,
I don't know their stories,
I could not point them out in a crowd,
or if they were standing in front of me,
but I cried for them.

I think I cried because my time in youth ministry grew a conviction in me that no child or teen should ever be thrown away, figuratively and literally and there are places in the world where both happen.
What does it do to a child or teen to always have in the back of their mind to know that some one cared just enough to not abort them, but not enough to care for them personally.
I know this is not the case for many or even most of the students. But at the same time I have heard enough stories to be able to piece together what their stories could be.
No one should ever have to wonder whether or not they are loved.
To never know the soft caring touch of a loving mother,
to never hear the words I love you, or I am proud of you from a father

Today was my birthday...
No one here knew...
I turned 35 years old...
There was no cake
There was no Ice cream
There were no cards
There was no song
There were no candles
There was nothing wrapped

Only a group of people I have met from different places around the world who happen to be in the same place at the same time.
Nothing that resembled a birthday party.

This time around that is okay.
Some kids smiled today because I said hi,
Some kids giggled when I shook their hand,
Some kids felt smart when teaching me Hindi
They took their picture with me and fought over who could see it on my camera
Their dirty faces beamed with delight today
I looked at dirty faces today, I saw something beautiful
That was my birthday present...

Just a Meandering Thought...

Word

Did you know that the second most published book in the history of published books is the boyscout handbook? The most published book in the history of published books is the Bible, but second to it... the Boyscout handbook. Interesting that both are considered by some to be a guidebook of sorts.

I recently read a quote about the Bible. It goes, and this is not a direct quote, we use the Bible as guide book that is supposed to show us the way through life. But the Bible is actually a mirror that reflects back to us who we really are. That sent me on a rabbit trail of thought. The idea that the Bible reflects back to us who we really are is unfortunately a somewhat novel way of understanding the scriptures. That we can better understand ourselves by better understanding God's Word speaks to the passage that God's word is "living and active". However to say that God's word IS one thing and NOT something else is potentially limiting the scope of impact for scripture.

At times in my life I have needed guidance or wisdom and the Proverbs were a guide book for me. There have been times in my life when I was broken and hurt, and the Psalms brought comfort and rest. There have been times when I was not really looking for anything and was just reading in the Bible and out of nowhere, something leaped off the page and like a jackhammer it shook me.

There have been times when I need to learn about leadership and life of David or Moses spoke to me. I think the point is that the Bible is at times a mirror to better understand ourselves, but the Bible is also a guidebook for those who are lost, it is a cast for those who are broken, it is a jackhammer for those who need to be shaken, it is a warm blanket for those who feel left out in the cold. Since God is the author, the Bible really can speak to people on their level. It will speak to you, where you are at, no matter where that place happens to be. God is big enough to handle all of our issues and baggage and struggles and His Word is powerful enough to pierce to our hearts and deal with the core issues that we carry.

How often have we tried to figure our life out on our own. How often have we tried to fix our problems, mend our brokenness, discover who we are, without using the tools that God gave us in the first place, His very words. His Word is usually a great place to start. It will lead you and guide you, it will show you who you really are.

Just a thought...