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keely naughton blog...
monday march 31, 2008
After a week of being home I am already itching to return. Whenever I return home from a vacation or a mission trip I always experience this mild depression. Suddenly reality hits and I have to deal with senior thesis, AP exams, deciding where I am going to college and graduation! India was by no means relaxing, but it was necessarily refreshing.
The culture was a breath of fresh air- a new experience to devour and explore. The people, especially the ministries we were working with, were filled with a faith so pure and so real words can not express it. I saw what it means to have faith like a child from grown men and women.
Last night as I was finally finishing the unpacking process an overwhelming sadness came over me. I was looking through the gift Mrs. Seefeldt made for all of us - our Indian flags, the national anthem, and the postcards and I was moved. This place that many people would argue falsely is the armpit of the world has found a place in my heart, and I hope it stays.
When my friends and I returned to school we immediately were asked, “How was India?” My response: “It was great! I can sit here and tell you about it, but we would be here for at least two hours, or I can simply tell you it was amazing.” Sadly, this is all the majority of my friends, family, and acquaintances have heard from me. I would like to think, however, that somehow when our group returned we brought the same refreshing air back with us that we had experienced in India.
We are already talking of returning as a group after freshman year. And one of the most encouraging aspects is that students who did not originally go now want to return with us.
A friend of mine went to China over Spring Break on a mission trip and continually prayed that God would wound her heart for that country and its people and never let the scab heal. I want that to be my prayer for India. Just because I left doesn’t mean that the children have stopped begging in the streets and suddenly the holes in the soles of their shoes have been fixed-these are stills realities in their lives and I continually want to be reminded of these things.
I hope to return and since Miss Seefeldt is returning the task of staying involved seems much more manageable.
wednesday march 19, 2008
I'm on Spring Break and guess where we went today? School! This morning, the girls at least, rolled out of bed and thought it would be fitting to put on some skirts and dress up in a sense because we were going to school. Not any school mind you-Miss Seefeldt's alma mater and the school she will be teaching at in the fall.
We first began with assembly something I understood to have happen every morning. There we were awkwardly paraded in front of the entire upper school and introduced as a group. We then stood while Miss Seefeldt and Matt Simpson said a few words. Miss Seefeldt introduced herself and us. Matt then talked about being a student who is visually impaired, and how he doesn't consider himself someone with a disability and neither should anyone else. From assembly we then went to classes.
The groups first class was a journalism class. We were interviewed. They were suppose to ask us about our personal lives, but thankfully we mainly stayed on the subject of finding out our similarities and differences. So for an hour we simply enjoyed being people together. That may sound like an odd comment, but whenever I think of kids in another country or even another state they seem foreign as if there is no way they are like me nor I like them. Today, however, taught me that different schools, different countries, even different languages do not change the fact that we are all fundamentally the same-we are all people.
After the journalism class the school day had a tea break outside. Here I met a girl whose name I sadly don't remember because I couldn't really pronounce it. She convinced me to sit in on her English class instead of going to calculus. They read Othello out loud and finished the play. I even answered a question that would have made Mr. Hyde really happy. We had class outside with the Himalayas as the teacher's backdrop-what could be more picturesque. She asked Matt Simpson [who also sat in on the class] about ourselves, and I was pleased to discover that she grew up in Virginia and knew all about sweet tea, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and corn bread.
After class we meet back up with the group and had lunch and then we went down to the Bazaar to go shopping! Now as the day is winding down and dinner is being made as a group we are preparing to have our devotional and debrief, if you will, about what we have seen thus far and what we have yet to see.
I honestly love the group of people that have come on this trip. I don't think I could have hand-picked a better one. As each day goes by I see individuals grow stronger, others more confident, and others gain more and more respect from me. If any of you read this I want you to know how blessed I am to be experiencing India with you. I am thankful for each one of you and the various lessons you are unknowingly teaching me.
tuesday, march 18, 2008
I've always loved dancing. As I have grown my love of it has transformed. Now I love it because quite frankly it keeps me in shape and also because it expresses words, thoughts, and emotions that words can not. I've always felt this on the stage in trying to make my performance convincing or simply looking for some personal healing, but I never thought this magical part of dance would transfer over into a third-world country.
On Monday and Tuesday we went to two different village schools. Sadly I don't remember the name of either. At both we broke into various groups: some people played soccer with the children, some simply held the little ones, some painting murals, some colored with the children, and my group danced and sang songs.
We did the Hokey-Pokey with the little girls and taught them the Macaroni. In return they performed traditional Indian folk dances as well as songs specific to their village and songs they made up. Our songs were obviously in English and theirs in Hindi, but somehow among the giggles and the moving arms, legs, hips, and shoulders I believe we understood each other. Later I was convinced to perform ballet. I had on jeans and my hiking shoes and I was asked to dance on this narrow strip of gravel between a building and a fence separating the wheat fields.
Somehow or other I managed my leaps and turns kicks and other various ballet moves. Despite the language barrier we talked with those five little girls, but with our bodies. I have always and will always believe that dance, or any other art for that matter is a language all its own. It transcends language or cultural barriers just by letting people be.
To my girls back home: Camilla, Catie-Beth, Hutton, Lizzie, Janeesa, and Molly: I love you all and I wish you were here to see this place and adventure through it with me. I can't wait to see you and tell you everything.
Camilla and Mrs. Deeter: I think about you often especially [Camilla] in stressful moments. You both are sorely missed and constantly in our thoughts and prayers.
monday, march 17, 2008
My feet hurt. We hiked through the Himalayas today but the pain is worth the pleasure. We woke up at various points between 6:00 and 7:30 this morning to a magnificent sunrise. Miss Seefeldt took me out to see the mountains for the first time when I woke up. Words can not express the sheer awe. Unfortunately I had to go back inside to get ready for our day.
Our day began with breakfast: eggs, toast, bananas, guava jelly, butter, and peanut butter! For anyone who knows me the peanut butter was the best part. It is homemade by a man who lives in Mussoorie and it was wonderful.
After breakfast we began our hike down and then up the mountain to the village. Once we reached the village we introduced ourselves. All of the introductions took the basic form of "Hi my name is ____. I am _____ years old. I want to be _____ when I grow up. And I like to blank____" So I obviously said "Hi my name is Keely. I'm 17 and I like to dance so hopefully I can show you some dances and you can show me some as well." From there we broke into groups.
Matt Wright complete with guitar, Mel and I took a group of girls. We began singing songs that had hand motions: Lord I Lift Your Name On High, Jesus Loves Me, and then we moved on to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and finally we ended with the Hokey Pokey. We did it once inside with the girls and then we moved the activity outside to include more of our group and more students. They knew the words and they seemed to really enjoy the activity. Then they taught us a traditional Indian folk dance. I guess I was good at it...I'm not quite sure but I enjoyed myself.
Finally it was time to leave but on our way back we stopped at two homes of hill people. At the first a man was sick in bed. He was said to have been sick for a week. So we had pop-corn prayer for him. Next we hiked up the mountain to pray for a woman who suffered from epilepsy. She use to have fits but she has stopped now, so we prayed and thanked God for that. We finally began our hike back up to Mussoorie. We made it as far as the village itself and then we stopped and got cabs. Thank goodness.
This place is breathtaking. We are surrounded by mountains-sheer beauty. Last night at the Seefeldt's home we sang "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever and today that song just clicked. As I was walking I was also singing "over the mountains and the sea Your river runs with love for me and I will open up my heart and let the Healer set me free." So from here on out this is my prayer not only in India but also at home.
sunday, march 16, 2008
Welcome to India. My inital reaction was honestly one of well...when we first arrived the airport was under contruction. The line for customs looked like a line for Disney World...included some of the very interesting smells. We left the airport at around 1:30 am. And at that time there were people everywhere outside! Some working, some doing manual labor and some simply hanging out. Yesterday we acted like tourists arpund Delhi. We saw some sights and did some shopping.
Today we are headed to the mountains where we will be doing most of our work. There will be a 7ish hour bus ride. Emphasis on the ish. We get to meet Miss Seefeldt's parents tonight. We're having dinner with them and then tomorrow we will go to the village to work with the children. To Ms. Brenda, Ms. Enger and my dance girls...I know you had family and friends yesterday! I know you did wonderfully. I wish I could have been there with you. But all is well and I can't wait to see you a week from Monday!
Keep checking the site everyone for pictures and more blogs. Thank you so much for the prayers from home.
wednesday, march 12, 2008
Packing? Packing a bag less than fifty pounds? Two eight hour plane rides in twenty-four hours? Excuse me. In less than twenty four hours I will be on a plane and on my way to one of the most eye opening experiences of my life; what to pack seems too trivial at such a time. At the same time, if I forget something there is no Wal-Mart to run to and buy whatever was left behind. What goes in my suitcase doesn’t seem to be nearly as important as what I am doing to prepare my heart and mind.
Sadly, these are the items I seem to have neglected. On the eve of my trip I am realizing how ill prepared I am. I find myself asking why am I going? What am I planning to do over there? Whose lives do I want to touch? What impact to I want do have? What do I want to impact me? Now is as good a time as any to answer those questions.
I am going to India to see another part of this huge and majestic world. I know extremely little about Eastern culture and what better way to experience it than first hand. Miss Seefeldt grew up in India, so who better to go with? The idea was thrown around during junior year and when senior year came around and the trip began to take form, everything fell into place and I knew this is how I was supposed to spend my spring break.
While in India I actually don’t know too much about what we are doing. But the activity is not as significant as my mindset. I want to be a helping hand in whatever the situation and a smiling face to whoever I see. I want to learn from the people I encounter and hopefully they will learn from me as well, lessons about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I want to touch the lives of the people I encounter, but more than that I want to touch the people back home. I don’t want a two-week spiritual high. I don’t want what we do in India to stay in India. It needs to come back on the plane with us and radiate from the group from the moment we step off the plane, through graduation, and onto whatever college campuses we claim residency on in the fall.
These are some of my preliminary thoughts and I can only hope that they change and grow as the trip progresses.
thursday, march 6, 2008
A team of fifteen seniors including myself, two teachers, a mom, a pastor's wife, and two eight year old boys are leaving for India a week from today. I know a very skeletal description of what we are going to do, but in a way I prefer it that way. If I enter India with few expectations then there is no way to be disappointed.
I've been on mission trips before but never to a third world country. My dad thought I was crazy for wanting to go. I told him I wanted to travel the world. His response: "You don't have to start at the armpit." Thankfully though despite his jokes both he and my mom are excited for what I am going to experience.
I can't wait to finally arrive and interact with Eastern culture for the first time! Before I have to opportunity to do that however I must first pack- a task which I have not begun!