Genesis 24:58-67

July 6, 2008

Mark S. Bollwinkel and Dave Pilz




My name is David Pilz, I live in San Francisco but grew up going to LAUMC and am a Starfire alumni. I am here to talk briefly about a recent experience I had, working with children in India.

I had been living and working in San Francisco for a number of years, and last year I was unhappy with my job and knew that I wanted to take some time off, I figured that if I am going to take some time off, I should use it towards having a good life experience where I could grow as a person. I had always wanted to do some volunteer work abroad which never materialized for one reason or another, but I figured that this would be the perfect time for this. I won't delve too much into why I chose India, but suffice it to say that I chose it in part because I didn't know very much about it, and the more I read about it the more fascinated I became. I decided to work with kids, also because this is something I had not done before. So with the help of an organization that places volunteers around the world, I went and worked at the Love Care Center orphanage in Kanchipuram, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for two months.

I got there not knowing what to expect at all, and I really didn't know anything about the orphanage, where I would be staying, or what the kids would be like. As it turns out, this orphanage was actually operating two sites, and I was at the bigger site, which had 90 kids. It was very small, with kids taking up every inch of the floor, kids sleeping on the roof, and more kids sleeping on the roof of the volunteer's apartment.

By far my biggest fear was that the kids would not like me or would be distrustful of me. This turns out to have been 100% completely false, they were absolutely loving and wonderful and full of life and a pleasure to work with.

The first night at the orphanage, the woman who runs it (who is absolutely amazing) took me into the main room, where there were 90 kids sitting waiting to meet the new volunteer. And I should mention that usually they have 5 or more volunteers, but at the time I was the only one! They had actually gathered for prayer time, which takes place before dinner. Prayer time consists of a few things. First, they sing many songs together, with loud clapping and lots of hand motions. (My favorite was "Jesus power super power"). Then, as the volunteer, I had to read a bible passage, which was then translated into Tamil, the area's language, then I had to explain what it meant and how they could apply it to their lives, and then I had to lead them in prayer. As a side note, it would have been really nice to know about this, even say, five minutes before putting me in front of 90 children. The next day I emailed Dirk and Carol for some advice on teaching the bible to children, and with their help, I became quite the pastor over the next two months!

Anyway, after that, the kids stood up and rushed towards me and gave me the biggest hug you ever did see, and from that point on for the next two months, I had kids wrapped around me everywhere I went.

Being there was not a vacation by any means; I worked harder there than I ever had before. Some of the things I did: I helped to get them ready for school in the morning, I walked them to school, I taught a home school class for children who were either too young or did not know enough English or Tamil to go to school, I picked the kids up from school in the afternoon, then spent the rest of the evening organizing fun activities for them, I taught them to read, I helped them with their homework extensively, and administered the prayer. I also helped a lot with medical issues, which was by far the least appealing part of the job. I had to deal with a lot of boils, fevers, and administering lots and lots of band aids.

I think that the most important role I had there was to provide the love that they so desperately crave. The volunteers are the only ones they have to simply be there to play with them, have fun with them, sing and dance, act crazy, make them feel as loved as they truly deserve to be. I really wanted them to understand how loved they are, how special they are, and I tried above all else to teach them how important it is to fill their hearts with love, and that everything else comes from that.

It's funny to think that beforehand, I was afraid that it would be a very sad and depressing environment, because that couldn't have been further from the truth. I show people my photos of the kids, and the most common reaction is "these kids look so happy!" Despite what they've been through in their lives, the truth is that they're just all a bunch of crazy kids who love to play, sing, dance, and are (for the most part) very excited and appreciative of the opportunity to go to school. Being there in this environment was absolutely uplifting and heartwarming. I realized that deep down they are no different than any other kids in the world, whether it's a kid who is raised in a loving family in America or an orphan in India, they're all a bunch of crazy kids!

But indeed their back stories are very sad. Many children are there because the father left the family and the mother committed suicide, or the mother took up with another man who didn't want anything to do with her children. There are some children who have one parent or grandparent, but they are too poor to take even basic care of the child. About 1/3rd of the children are from Manipur, a state bordering Burma which is torn by civil war, with militias kidnapping people and an underground where there is a lot of drug use and HIV.

It was in reading their back stories, in their files, that I really came to understand how amazing this orphanage was, to not just take care of their basic needs as humans, but to bring them together in this loving and caring environment. It really is like one enormous family. I know that Dirk likes to talk a lot about the importance of community, and I really agree with him. I've seen the community of Starfire and how loving and supportive it is, and I just feel so lucky to be a part of this new community, and to share my experience with all of you.


Mark Bollwinkel:

What is it that compels us to leave our comfort zones and risk in order to serve others? David experienced that call. We hear some answer to that question in our Hebrew scripture text this morning.

Abraham is getting real old and wants a bride for his son Isaac, so he sends his most trusted steward back to Abraham's country of origin to find just the right woman. The one God has promised that the salvation of the world and history itself will be entrusted to Abraham's lineage. A lot is at stake here.

When the steward arrives at the city of Nahor, he asks God to intervene in Abraham's request. At sunset as the young women of the city come out to the well to draw water, the steward asks God to show him who the right woman would be by a sign; "Let the girl to whom I shall say, 'please offer your jar that I may drink; and who shall say, 'drink and I will water your camels...'" (Gen. 24:14) be the bride intended for Isaac. Sure enough Rebekah, who just happened to be a cousin of Isaac, says the right words and the servant follows her to Bethuel son of Milcah's household. There the servant describes his divine mission and the desire of his master Abraham to find a bride for Isaac. Seeing the hand of God in all of this drama, her father and uncle instantly agree that she should travel with the steward back to Abraham and become Isaac's wife.

After dinner and a good night sleep, the servant begins to unload the dowry from ten camels in a hurry to return to Abraham. Rebekah's brother and mother hope she can stay a little while longer when the steward insists that they get going. The family leaves it up to Rebekah who agrees to start right away....to leave her family and city with a total stranger on a journey to an unknown land to marry someone she had never met.

Why? Unless of course, at some level we can't know from the text, she too was convinced that the hand of the One God was guiding all these events and she was not only being invited to marry but to become an agent in the salvation of the world.

As out text today suggests, Rebekah is a woman of faith and courage, fated to fall in love with Isaac, a total stranger in a far and distant land. They will give birth to Esau and Jacob, who will be renamed Israel, whose 12 sons will become the 12 tribes of Israel, who will be united under King David, give birth to the prophets and almost 2,000 years later see that the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem as the completion of the promised covenant for the salvation of the world.

Sometimes it takes faith and courage to follow the mystery of God's guiding hand in life. Dave Pilz did and that has made all the difference in his life. That guiding hand in my life has made all the difference to me. How about you?

Amen.


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