Guest Blogger - Makarla Craig

Makarla at work in her new 'Indian Nightie'

Our first Guest Blogger and Visitor is Makarla Craig. Makarla works with Gary and last year did the 'Alpha in the Workplace' Course with him. She is at the end of a seven week European Holiday.

Makarla arrived in India early Sunday morning and leaves Friday night to return home and back to work on Monday.

Day 1 India:

I have never felt so at home, welcomed and at the same time a little out of place. My thoughts were with so many people today, not to mention the girls in the school and their families as well as Gary and Lynn. I had De-ja-vous this morning when I arrived and it made me think of Monica. We kept saying (on our cruise ship tour) that we must have had a past life and known each other in Greece and Turkey and that’s why we were having so much fun and met lots of nice locals.

This morning we went to church which was nice, until it went on for 2 ½ hours but it was good to pray and worship with Gary and Lynn again as I haven’t done so for a long time. I have made a promise to go to church more regularly when I get back home.

Around the school is a good and mostly clean area, Lynn has said she feels safe walking along by herself, even at night time. We hopped into an Auto today that took us through a part of the slums before going to a western café. For some reason I did not feel disjointed when I was seeing their “housing” which is mostly rubbish which they have formed rooms out of. Some are natural products and some are concrete but all are dirty and weathered.

There are a lot of scraps and waste on the ground which is from so many people living in such a small area. I have not seen too many beggars including children but I am sure I will. Lynn has mentioned that they do not really hassle people passing by which was a relief to hear, after the stories Tess (a friend from work) told me before coming over.

India so far is not what I imagined, although I was definitely out of my comfort zone when I arrived in Bahrain and then the Chennai airports. I was wearing black pants and a singlet top and everyone was watching me. I had someone tell me that the flights to India are terrible because of the smell of the people who don’t wear deodorant but my flights were ok. I am very interested in coming back in the future and spending some time living here and learning more about the culture, as well as simply enjoying the atmosphere. I would love to come back to see some of these girls again as well. They have stimulated my spirituality, something I have lacked over the past couple of weeks.

Tonight, as like every other night, prayer took place at 6pm. The girls sung hymns and songs in both Tamil and English and Gary and Lynn coordinated the musical sway. It is peaceful to listen to them sing and they are so passionate about their faith and prayer time.

This vocal prayer time was followed by the 10th form girls coming back to Lynn and Gary’s place to pray a little more in-depth. I was floating, for me this was the best prayer time I have ever experienced and I really felt connected to God and everyone in the room. I prayed for so much; friends, family, events that have occurred or are coming up and Jim. It was certainly an overwhelming experience, a sense of completeness and I can’t wait for tomorrow night.

It is enlightening and uplifting to be here and around these young girls, they have mostly come from disjointed homes and their families suffer from many forms of abusive behaviors but they are full of joy and positive outlooks which put my outlook on life to shame, if I may say so. Their faith and beliefs are what guide them, they are learning in order to provide for their families. An education is highly sought after and the girls are embracing every moment of their schooling career. I don’t believe that one could come here and not be moved by such passion and love that these girls show each other and you as a guest in the school.

The school itself is run by the church and the some of girls are sponsored to be here by people like you and me. The cost of a year of schooling at Jesse Mosses is only $500 per student which I would think everyone I know can afford over a year - money well spent in my eyes and I will definitely be a part of one of these girl's lives when I get home.

God has definitely been with me on my holidays and I will go into more detail about it soon but for now I am going to bed and I will update you with my further experiences in India soon.

Love Always Makarla

Hope you enjoyed Makarla's comments. We will have a few more guest bloggers over the next month as Anna then Kath and Sam arrive.