The Formative Weeks

I feel so peaceful and blessed about being here, like it was perfect timing, like we are a part of something big. Some of you know that I tried very hard to come last spring/summer, but I’m in awe of how plans work out the way they’re meant to. With my director, Rebecca, and fellow intern, Ali, I am surrounded by true kindred spirits, and we find ourselves equally on the brink of many possibilities. I am so thankful that I get to be apart of such a formative time for Rescue Arts.

After several years of temporarily staying at Project Rescue homes around the country, Rebecca is seeking to establish a permanent presence in New Delhi. We hope for a new PR home here in the future, but in the meantime, we are working hard to network with other NGO’s and social workers in the area, specifically those who run children’s programs in the RLD (Red Light District), to see how we can encourage and help through ESL and the arts. Moreover, we have connected with a young woman who puts on theater productions with kids from the slums, many of whom work "night jobs" as prostitutes. The first "Going Solo" project will cast thirty kids in an Indian adaptation of Oliver Twist, weaving the kids' personal stories into the fabric of the play. Though we will still visit some of the Homes of Hope in other places, the ultimate goal is to leave something permanent in Delhi, and it is a goal we are willing to works towards only knowing a step or two ahead. “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.”

This is the most exciting yet humbling part for me! I was drawn to India for specific reasons in my mind—and while those will be realized—how much more will open up! How much more does He have for us! That is the beauty of this faith journey, but it requires us to be still, patient, and willing. Example: I am going to offer a creative writing elective to some home-schooled international kids in the area – who knew? Why? Because it’s a need that I can EASILY meet! And I’m thankful for this gift of familiarity.

This verse describes how Rebecca, Ali, and I feel right now: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Right now, all of our ideas, possibilities, and contacts have been thrown into a swirling heap without shape. But there is a huge sense that hovering over it all is the Potter at his wheel. We can just feel the initial, quiet, graceful—yet authoritative-- movement of his hands.

Pray for us!