Allen’s Reflection: I Never Thought I’d Travel to India!

I never thought I’d travel to India.

If you had asked me several years ago whether India was a place I’d want to visit, I’d have said to myself that it was well beyond my comfort zone and politely declined with some sort of excuse. Yet when the possibility of traveling to experience Bethania Kids with a group of people from Mount Olive presented itself, I immediately said yes.

It wasn’t just because my wife was asking that I agreed—though she would say that’s reason enough! It was also that I value relationships and this trip is a once-in-my-lifetime opportunity to create relationships with the people that work at Bethania as well as the children and women they serve. I’ve heard about Bethania Kids over the nearly two decades we’ve been at Mount Olive, knew of Gene’s deep and personal investment in this charity and witnessed Mark’s experience traveling to Kodaikanal ten years ago. I also recall hearing about a Concordia Seminary in India as a boy in the denomination of my upbringing, and hope we might be able to see it while in Nagercoil. I imagine this trip will change my perspective on my life and world and help me see the many faces of Christ in new ways. I imagine I will be challenged and prodded by being a stranger who has differently colored skin, speaks with a foreign accent, and belongs to a minority religion.   

This trip is also the second-in-my-lifetime travel experience with fellow congregants. I wouldn’t do this on my own and going with people I know and enjoy means getting to know them in different ways through the adventure of travel.  And I do get to experience this with my wife for whom this is a dream trip!

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