Shared Hope International Travel Blog

A member of Linda’s management team makes her first trip to the Village of Hope. While you followed this blog have you wondered what it would really feel like to pack your bags and take off on this journey?  Surely, there are a lot of unknowns- but once you see it (as you now have!) you realize that it really IS a place where miracles happen EVERY DAY!  Patricia takes us through her experience:

Before going to India I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When I had learned that we would be staying at the Village of Hope for two nights, I began to ask questions. I knew the Village was on lush property- maybe a jungle? That made me a bit concerned about critters. I then found out that the village was not air conditioned, which meant the windows would need to be opened at night. I imagined being in bed and having large spiders crawl through the open windows or ending up with malaria from mosquito bites. I really have traveled quite a bit, and have stayed in some rough environments, but I wasn’t in the mood to cope with large critters. I actually started to dread these two nights at the village and I worried about the food, water, bugs and my comfort. I prepared for the worst. I bought mosquito nets, power bars and the strongest bug spray on the market. I had prepared myself for extreme conditions. Sadly enough, all this worry distracted me from thinking about the people I was going to meet. I was far more concerned about my comfort.

God surprised me with an experience of a life time. The Village was beautiful. It was like a refuge. The food was great and the dorms were very nice. The bugs stayed outside so I actually got some sleep.

The women at the village were so joyful; it made it hard to imagine their pasts. These women were incredibly friendly and welcoming. They hugged us over and over saying “thank you”. I felt incredibly humbled by their kindness.

One afternoon I interviewed a woman who had been recently rescued. She shared her experience of being sold at 10 and moved to Mumbai to work in the brothels. As she described her experience I could tell she was embarrassed and felt ashamed. I couldn’t help but think of my little Gracie at home who is now 11 and how innocent she is. I can’t imagine what this would be like for a child. As I listened to her story, I wanted to cry. My heart ached at the idea that this person lived through such despair and abandonment. She said that one night she went to the church in the Red Light district and met an outreach worker. This worker invited her to escape and come to the village. As she was telling me this part of story she got this huge smile on her face and said, “That night I went to church, and I never went back, instead I came to the village.”

The rest of my time at the village I watched this woman. I felt like I was watching God’s grace in action. I watched her sing and dance with so much joy. I was amazed that God had taken her despair and turned it into dancing.

Now as I look back to how I felt about going to the village I feel incredibly humbled. I feel a bit foolish at all my food, bug and critter worries (I still used my nifty mosquito net however). In my life, God has continually amazed me. Every time I worry about something, I end up being amazed by God’s faithfulness. All my worries about the Village were completely unnecessary. In fact, God showed me a picture of His grace through these women and allowed me to dance and sing with them in a way that I haven’t done since I was a kid.