The contrasts in India are striking. "Work in Progress" signs line every road, as construction is booming, seemingly everywhere, all at once. The broader economy is clearly growing by leaps and bounds, and wealth is on display. Parts even seem like you could be sitting in the West Village in Dallas (although everything is dirtier here). But abject poverty is also everywhere. A level and scope of poverty that you don't see in the States. Children, covered in dirt, brown teeth, walking and sitting and begging on the streets. Adults missing limbs or with other congenital problems, huddled in a corner or crawling along a dirt path somewhere. Huge numbers of wandering men and women that seem to be shell shocked, making the problem of homeless in Dallas seem easily solvable. The poor walk thru Indian society like the flotsam of a destroyed ship cast away in a sea of riotous economic growth.
Yesterday we visited the Taj Mahal. Our friends in Delhi,
Adnan and Kristen, arranged for a private car to take us the 4 hours from Delhi to the city of Agra where the Taj is located. It is a magnificent work of architecture without question, with a beauty in its symmetry that seems to resonate perfection. But it is also symbolic of the broader struggle that the poor face in India. The Taj is an international symbol of India's rich cultural tradition. And many of us know its basic back story of love and devotion: it was built by a king mourning the loss of the love of his life. But many Indians refuse to visit it, because its construction required the total subjugation of the people under the king's rule, and tremendous hardships were borne by the poor as a result of his act of devotion.
There are many many people working to help alleviate the suffering of India's poor masses. New and old testament scripture alike tells us that the poor will always be with us, but commands us to do all in our power to help those in need. Like the role filled by churches and synagogues in America, India's Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities act as powerful and unending advocates for the poor. One temple in Delhi feeds thousands. But in a nation of over 1.2 billion, with millions upon millions upon millions living in abject poverty, the need is tremendous -- and is not being met. Walking the streets of Agra around the Taj, your heart is torn apart instant after instant. The poverty is overwhelming. But if our effort in India is very meager compared to the needs, our hearts are filled with hope. If our efforts to help some of these in dire need are only but a few drops in the bucket, then at least we squeezed those drops.
Today we fly to Chennai, and tomorrow we start our work with a few orphanages there.
Mike Morath
There are many many people working to help alleviate the suffering of India's poor masses. New and old testament scripture alike tells us that the poor will always be with us, but commands us to do all in our power to help those in need. Like the role filled by churches and synagogues in America, India's Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities act as powerful and unending advocates for the poor. One temple in Delhi feeds thousands. But in a nation of over 1.2 billion, with millions upon millions upon millions living in abject poverty, the need is tremendous -- and is not being met. Walking the streets of Agra around the Taj, your heart is torn apart instant after instant. The poverty is overwhelming. But if our effort in India is very meager compared to the needs, our hearts are filled with hope. If our efforts to help some of these in dire need are only but a few drops in the bucket, then at least we squeezed those drops. 
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