Shishya School and Orphanage

Last weekend, Chris and I visited an orphanage called Shishya...and it was wonderful. :)

I connected with Amanda Lehman through our blogs. She commented on mine, I commented on hers, and then we both kind of tabled the connection for a few months...until March 31st, when we randomly (or not so randomly...God?!?!?!) ran into each other in the bazaar. We were out celebrating my birthday, and she and some friends were hiking up in Mussoorie on a long weekend break. We started talking to the group of white people, and suddenly realized that, "hey, you're Amanda!" After exchanging e-mail addresses, we went on our way.

I e-mailed her a few days later, and asked if Chris and I could come for a weekend visit. Amanda has been working at the Shishya Orphanage for 2 1/2 years, and is a WONDERFUL example of Christ's love in action. Needless to say, I was really excited to spend some time with her and the kids.

So, early last Saturday morning, Chris and I jumped in a taxi and headed down to Dehradun/Selaqui village. What should have been 1 1/2 hours turned into 3 (as the school/orphanage is fairly remote and our taxi driver got VERY lost!), but we eventually rolled up to a gaggle of boys splashing happily in the reservoir/pool. YAY!

We spent the afternoon playing Bible Memory Match, putting puzzles together, and just visiting. The orphanage is staffed almost entirely by volunteers - both long and short term, so it was really fun to visit with the people working there. And the boys were adorable. I think those of us who haven't spent much time in orphanages have this "Olive Twist" picture that all orphanages are filled with despair and gloom. Not so! These boys have 20 brothers, 8 moms, 3 dads, and love life! We heard a few of their stories, and while it's evident that life hasn't always been so happy, these boys are very loved.

A few things struck me about this orphanage. First, all the boys learned to speak English. While English is a very prominent language (and I think one of the national languages) in India, it's not a given that everyone will learn to speak it well. These boys, however, DO...which will give them a great footing for success in the future.

Second, this is a Christian orphanage. In a country where Hinduism is dominant and persecution of Christians is alive and well, these boys are living in a beautifully supportive, nurturing, Christian culture. I played bible Memory Match with Bharat, and every time he got a match he'd yell, "Ha! I found Jonah!" or, "There's the angel Gabriel". He knew all the bible stories. At the beginning of each meal, one of the 3rd-5th grade boys initiated prayer. At Sunday School on Sunday morning, every boy proudly recited a memory verse for one of the volunteers. I felt like I was in the presence of a generation of hope for India, and it was so exciting!

Third, the orphanage is almost completely self-sustained. The boys tend a garden, they milk their cow, and they harvest wheat to make the flour to make chapattis. The older boys make all the food, and the younger boys help with lots of the chores. And while it's a lot of work, they seem very happy to do it. It ended up that our visit fell during the wheat harvest. So, at 3:30 every boy threw on his work clothes and headed out to the fields to gather the hay and bring it to the thrashing machine. The older boys worked the machine, and the volunteers/younger boys brought the hay to them. We ended up working from 3:30-7:45...it was exhausting, hot, dirty work. And, the boys never complained. Most of them even thanked us for helping them with the work...with big smiles on their faces! And then, of course, everyone jumped into the pool without a moment's hesitation. :)

**Check out Amanda's blog post about the harvest...gives a good "play-by-play" of the whole process, and has some great pictures!**

Fourth, life is unbelievably simple. Every lunch they eat rice and dal. Every evening they eat chapatti and dal/aloo (potatoes), or something equivalent. Every Friday night is "protein night". Everyone brings their plate to the food, eats with their hands, and washes their plate when they're done. No tea breaks, no snack breaks, and the large gaps in electricity had almost no impact on daily life. One of the volunteers told me she lives on $4,000 a year (and that INCLUDES 2 round-trip tickets home for around $1,400 each!). Life is just simple.

In all, the trip was really wonderful. We were so thankful to get back up into the mountain's cool weather, but were much MORE thankful to have gotten to spend time with our new friends. We brought the camera, but didn't end up taking any pictures. It felt like something we just needed to throw ourselves into, and experience fully - no watching from the sidelines. A truly great weekend!

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Chris was scheduled to speak at school chapel the Sunday night that we got home. It was a voluntary chapel, so not as many students showed up....however, an entire group of boy's from one of the local orphanages DID show up. Chris was WONDERFUL, and after his talk, we had some neat group prayer time. I got to pray with a group of the boys, and again had that overwhelming feeling that this was the generation of hope for India. It was a beautiful time communing with our "little Indian brothers", in the presence of a great God.