Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to grow up an orphan. I wonder how it would feel to know I have no parent’s love or care. What would it be like to come home from school to no afternoon snack or questions about the day’s happening? Who would hug me goodnight or look after me when I was sick? Could I even fathom such a life? Who I am and what I have become cannot be separated from the love and support of my parent’s so to try to remove their presence in my mind is impossible. I cannot image life as an orphan.

I spent the this week living at Shyshia orphanage (Shyshia means ‘disciple’ in Hindi). It was begun 25 years ago by two young ‘hippies’ who came to India in search of truth and purpose. Through several powerful events, they found Christ to be the end of their pilgrimage, or perhaps only the beginning. They’ve given their life, their family and their love to the children of India ever since. What started as 20 acres of rocky, desolate soil, has now grown into a school for 400 children, a large agricultural farm, and a community of families to care for 50 boys from leprosy backgrounds or those without parents.

 

This week, we live in one of the campus houses and have been adopted into the Shyshia community. Ever lunch and dinner, we join the boys for rice and dahl. They line up, smallest to tallest with their little silver plates. Shyshai proclaims equality and foreigners are treated no different then homeless. We take our place at the back of the line and wonder how we’ll be able to consume another plate of rice. We sit along side them, digging our fingers into the warm mix of lentils and rice, and discuss the events of the day while drinking water from the well. Beginning at 5:30 am and not finishing their studies until 9:30pm, their days are full and exhausting. For boys who would otherwise be on the streets begging, they are learning the value of work and that they have the capacity to provide for themselves. Nearly half of the boys who move on from this place, return to the places they are from and share with their fellow villagers the hope and purpose they’ve found in the Syshia through a loving community and a loving Christ.

The purpose of my time here was to create a 20 year master plan for the campus. I pray for vision and clarity as we discerned Ken & Frieda’s dreams of what could be and what steps the organization needs to take in order to get them there… more hostels to house 150 boys, a home for widows/AIDS women and their children, new school additions for up to 900 children. And of course, most importantly, a regulation sized cricket field so Shyshia can proudly compete against the other private schools.

As I shared the plans with the boys and school staff, the excitement in the air is contagious. This isn’t just another project, another building to be built in India. This was their home. This was their future. They knew they would be the ones pouring the foundations and learning to place the bricks, and they couldn’t wait to get started. If I could, I’d give every cent I have to make it happen. I’ll never be an orphan, or come from a family with leprosy, or grow up in India. But if I did, this would be where I would want to be. This is the place I’d want to call home.

If you are interested in donating to this project and purpose, please contact me at jsornson [at] gmail.com

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