I just found out that J.K. Rowling has a new book out and I have absolutely no money to buy it. Oh the life of a volunteer worker in a third world country! People sometimes are shocked (or as many Indian people from the Northeast say, "socked") when they find out that not only am I a teacher of college students, but I am paying to be here. I am paying money to teach instead of being paid money to teach.
Some people are seriously nervous or apprehensive about "sponsoring" missionaries or people "in the ministry" blah blah blah, but honestly, it's not like they have to just give money to someone on the other side of the world. Sure, that's the best way to support someone like me, but it's not the only way. We have just enough money to barely cover our rent, electricity, gas, and food each month. Literally, there is not much money left over after the necessities are covered, so we don't get to really go see movies, go out to dinner, pay for cable TV, or even really put more than $1 on our pre-paid cell phones once a month. Trust me, $1 goes a long way and we don't usually run out, the only person who ever calls me is my husband anyway. I bet I get 4 phone calls in a week.
Anyway, giving money is not the only way to support a missionary or volunteer worker. You can give them an amazon gift card or itunes gift card. You can send them a care package full of goodies from home that are definitely not available where they are. You can write them an e-mail. You can buy or transfer Skymiles to their account. You can make an appointment to Skype call them. You can pray for them and write down your prayers and send them. You can actually go and visit them where they are working; see what they do every day; get your hands dirty for a week or two. When they come home on hiatus you can buy them coffee, food, a cell phone, books, or anything really. Or, ask them what they really need right now. There are so many things you can do for them that isn't just giving them cash.
Needless to say, we don't have money to buy music, movies, or books for my kindle as we would like. We can't afford to buy the new iPhone 5 or even an old, used iPhone 3gs. We cannot afford to have "date nights" unless we stay inside and cook what food we already have in the house. We cannot afford to buy that awesome new shirt we saw in Pune on Friday.
We can't afford the things this world classifies as "necessity" and that's totally fine. Sure, it can be depressing when I log into Facebook and see a friend who bought a brand new iPad then a few days later a new snowboard and then a new car or a friend who's going on a vacation, again, across the country or overseas. Seeing people go to concert after concert or constantly uploading photos to instagram which means they must have an iPhone or Droid or some other smartphone. I almost want to delete my facebook account just so that I don't have to see how my "friends" spend their money as I am over here struggling to pay the rent and eat healthy food every day.
But, this is where I am supposed to be. I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing. Living in India, with my wonderful husband, struggling to get by. I think I would not trade it for anyone else's life. I mean, we get to truly trust in God. We truly have to trust that he will provide everything we need. We don't have a job to depend on. We don't have family money to depend on. We don't even have ourselves to depend on. We have only God and that's enough. Our lives are not full by the standards of most people on earth, but they are full by the standards of the Kingdom of God and that's enough for me.
Anyway, giving money is not the only way to support a missionary or volunteer worker. You can give them an amazon gift card or itunes gift card. You can send them a care package full of goodies from home that are definitely not available where they are. You can write them an e-mail. You can buy or transfer Skymiles to their account. You can make an appointment to Skype call them. You can pray for them and write down your prayers and send them. You can actually go and visit them where they are working; see what they do every day; get your hands dirty for a week or two. When they come home on hiatus you can buy them coffee, food, a cell phone, books, or anything really. Or, ask them what they really need right now. There are so many things you can do for them that isn't just giving them cash.
Needless to say, we don't have money to buy music, movies, or books for my kindle as we would like. We can't afford to buy the new iPhone 5 or even an old, used iPhone 3gs. We cannot afford to have "date nights" unless we stay inside and cook what food we already have in the house. We cannot afford to buy that awesome new shirt we saw in Pune on Friday.We can't afford the things this world classifies as "necessity" and that's totally fine. Sure, it can be depressing when I log into Facebook and see a friend who bought a brand new iPad then a few days later a new snowboard and then a new car or a friend who's going on a vacation, again, across the country or overseas. Seeing people go to concert after concert or constantly uploading photos to instagram which means they must have an iPhone or Droid or some other smartphone. I almost want to delete my facebook account just so that I don't have to see how my "friends" spend their money as I am over here struggling to pay the rent and eat healthy food every day.
The hills near our home. It is quite beautiful here.
Ahh, Pune train station. Busy, smelly, and dirty.
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