Finally, some photos!

I know, I know, I've made too many promises to post some pictures from the past few weeks. My limited internet access made it a little difficult to upload some pics. Sorry it has taken so long! Without further ado, here they are:


Puppies! One of PB's four dogs gave birth to seven puppies a few weeks ago. The children creatively named them names like George, Rod, Tyrone, and Max (sounds like the members of an eighties hair band). But of course, eleven dogs are far too many for the amount of land here, so all but one of the puppies have mysteriously dissappeared since the taking of this photo. We keep telling the children they have gone to a "new home," but I haven't bothered to ask where this new home is. I'm not sure I want to know.


Here are some of the kids playing Karom on the veranda. This is one of the most popular afternoon activities, second to cricket, of course.


Future Bollywood stars?


We had a going-away party for one of the girls here who left to live with some family. A party's not a party without games, so we played "stomp on everyone else's balloon without having yours burst." No, I didn't win the staff round, but I wasn't the first out, either.


Here's a picture from one of my favorite walks around PB. PB is the cluster of white buildings in the center of the photo.


The walk takes me past some rice fields and berry bushes and ends overlooking a beautiful, green valley. The temptation to explore further died when the kids told me stories about the tigers and snakes that live down there!


While all of the children were visiting families in Mumbai last week, the staff went to a wedding! I want to know where I can get a tent like that!


Here we are, awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom.


First rainfall of the year. Monsoon is on the way, and I need to buy a raincoat.


Last weekend I went to Mumbai to stay with some Oasis staff. The woman I stayed with lives north of the city where it fades into fishing villages. She took me to the yard where the fishing boats are built.






We wandered around an old Portuguese fort. I was told Bombay was given to the Portuguese as a dowry while the Tudors ruled in England. Can someone correct my world history?








That's all for now, folks. I need to buy some new batteries for my camera after all this photo taking!

Aruna

Sachin disappeared into the darkness before me like a train into the mouth of a tunnel. From my place in the sunlight, I peered into the dim hallway, trying to make sense of the surroundings. A woman perched on a stool in a doorway, her silhouette illuminated by the lighted room behind her. Somewhere far above us, a dog began to bark. One woman smiled at us as she peered out from her room; another turned her face and melted into the shadows. It was three o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon. We were walking into a brothel.

The Oasis staff at the Aruna project work on Grant Road, one of Mumbai’s red light areas. “Aruna” is Hindi for “bright morning sun,” and the project is truly a bright presence in a very dark place. The drop-in center provides outreach to women and men in the area by offering counseling, events, connections to medical care, and assistance to those who want to leave the trade. They run programs for children of prostitutes and make referrals to International Justice Mission when they have information about minors forced into sex work. As part of the ministry, the staff daily go out onto the streets and into the brothels to pursue relationships with the women and invite them to Aruna’s programs. And in the midst of these places, they pray

As we climbed the dim, creaking staircase, I looked nervously around. What if the pimp sees us? Do we have to have his permission to come here? It turns out the Aruna staff have befriended many of the pimps and the madams as well, even some regular customers. Their compassion and love make no distinctions; all are in need of love, hope, and deliverance. My own ability to love seems withered and frail in comparison.

We stopped at each doorway, chatting with anyone who would take the time. I introduced myself and exhausted my limited Hindi time and time again. As I smiled and laughed and made small talk, my mind struggled to comprehend the abuse that takes place within those very walls. To think that many women were tricked into the lifestyle or sold by someone they trusted, to think vast profit was made by such pain…I wasn’t sure I could do this--it was too hard. Suddenly, in that dim hallway, I realized that I was witnessing the miraculous. As water dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the swollen floor, words of compassion flowed from the lips of the Aruna staff. Between the lines of sodden laundry, the very air around us seemed to sparkle, thick with love.

So at the end of the afternoon I left Aruna not in despair, but with hope. Women wearing heavy make-up lined the streets and watched us as we walked to the train station. The love I had witnessed must have been infectious; I was amazed at the compassion welling up inside of me. I know that God is at work in this very place. It is not too dark or too broken for him. He has not abandoned the men, women, and children on Mumbai’s red light areas. And I have been humbled by this glimpse of His love.