After this we were taken into their village chapel where the children sang for us. 15 years ago the gypsies were living under trees near the side of the road. An amazing lady, auntie Jean, who hosted us during our stay and who works with several ministries in Vellore felt very burdened to do something about it. God was telling her “I died for these children too; life has meaning for them also. I want you to come out and serve them also.” So she left her current job (she was an English teacher for 17 years) and started working with the socially and economically deprived. And now 15 years later, the gypsies who probably had never considered putting their hope in Jesus are now believing in Him and serving. They were given a piece of land, a chapel, and small homes to live in. Although they have all these things, their conditions are still pretty poor and their drinking water is not completely sanitary. Both of these sites are really big projects that eMi hopes to tackle in the future by bringing more teams to help. But in the mean time, our team is providing water treatment recommendations to help mediate current problems.
As we were leaving, they people gave us hand-made jewelry. They put necklaces around our necks and a small girl placed a ring on my finger. It was a moment, I’ll never forget. These people had so little, yet they gave so much. Making jewelry is the only way they make money. I felt so undeserving. As our bus was driving away they were waving goodbye, cheering, and yelling out our names… My heart had never felt so warm, yet so burdened at the same time.
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