It's funny because I had no issues adjusting to life in India but coming home was very difficult. Seeing so much hurt and poverty in India and then coming back to the U.S. where money is thrown away on a regular basis is hard to take. I began to re-evaluate how I spend money. Do I really need that shirt or to go see that movie when that same money can pay for a child's education for one month. Everything just became so much more real to me. These are things that I had never thought about until I was exposed to extreme poverty and saw that donations actually do make a difference. We are told as a society to make sure our money is getting to where it is actually needed. It was so refreshing to see money put to good use buying shoes, uniforms, and put towards resources for construction projects at the orphanages. Donations are keeping children alive.
All I thought about when I was home was India, how I wanted to be there all the time and make a difference in these children's lives. God was stirring up this new passion in my life. Thinking of what I was doing at home and what I had done in India was hard to take. I felt like I had made such a difference in people's lives in India and at home not so much. I began to understand that India would be a part of my life for the rest of it. I never thought I would have been impacted that much by the mission trip. I had to get back there as soon as possible. I started to talk with Back2Back about the possibility of me working for them in India. Some things came up in my life, health issues in my family and with me that put the process on hold. I still had that desire though.
I knew the next trip to India was in March 2012 so I signed up eager to see the kids again. By this time I had quit my full-time job with the intent of raising support to move to India. I was still dealing with my own health issues but by the grace of God was able to go on the trip in March! I wasn't sure what to expect on that trip but it was even more amazing.
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