MBKG Pannai (Family Village Farm), India
Thandiwe Gobledale – India
“…my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:5-6.
I stand under the shop awning awaiting the bus from Katpadi to Kasam. A motorbike stops in the street in front of me carrying an entire family with two little kids straddling the front, their dad’s arms encircling them to hold the handle bars. Behind the dad, the mother, in her shimmering lavender sari edged in gold, sits sideways with her feet resting on the bar designed for this very purpose. On her lap sits yet another child whom she holds tightly.
Thandiwe Gobledale – India
“…my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:5-6.
I stand under the shop awning awaiting the bus from Katpadi to Kasam. A motorbike stops in the street in front of me carrying an entire family with two little kids straddling the front, their dad’s arms encircling them to hold the handle bars. Behind the dad, the mother, in her shimmering lavender sari edged in gold, sits sideways with her feet resting on the bar designed for this very purpose. On her lap sits yet another child whom she holds tightly.
An auto rickshaw pulls up, and I climb on. This small, three-wheeled vehicle seats five people comfortably. Today, we fit ten! The driver and two other men sit in the front, four of us women crowd into the back seat, another woman perches on the bar between the front and back seats, and two men rest in the luggage are at the far rear. Squeezed together as we are, I am grateful for this ride, as the wait for the bus can be long, and a seat can be hard to come by.
The Indian landscape rushes by: land piled with refuse – paper, plastic, organic waste and who knows what else. A stiff corpse of a dog, feet outstretched, looks as if it had frozen while standing upright and then simply toppled over, its limbs locked in position. A line of four water buffalo walk beside the rubbish pile. One stops and nibbles at something. At a bus stop a tiny black puppy, to which no one pays any heed, stands looking about, as though for someone or something, then trots between the legs of the men around it.
I smile at my favorite stretch of the journey where we cross the bridge between Katpadi and Vellore. The riverbed beneath the long bridge extends into the distance almost always completely dry. Today water has accumulated from the good rains that have fallen. Sometimes I catch sight of water buffalo meandering through the river bed, but not today. Today I see two men dressed in white dhotis, the cotton cloths men wrap around their waists and tuck into place. I wonder where they are going, but not for long because there is so much to see, so much to take in. People walk and cycle beneath the still beautiful but now crumbling arches of a second older bridge, perhaps once a train trestle. In the distance, beyond the clusters of houses and coconut palms, rise the hills, now monsoon-season-green. Their majestic fortress-like rock formations seem to call out, inviting me to visit and explore them. Perhaps someday.
“My cup overflows.” This verse from Psalm 23, which my father taught me when I was a little girl, runs through my mind. As these images of India flow past the open auto rickshaw in which I ride, I realize my own cup overflows. My time here in India brims to overflowing with growth, experience, and the beginnings of meaningful relationships. This verse also seems to be an apt description of India itself – a place full to overflowing of people, sights, smells, colors, sounds, and experiences. While my experience of India does include dirt, unpleasant odors, contact with disease and death, my impression of this place is of life in abundance, a cup overflowing.
The rickshaw drops me off next to the sweet stall where some young girls in their blue and white uniforms giggle as they buy candy after a long day at school. I step down onto the dusty road and hand over a five rupee coin for the ride. As I make my way to the M.B.K.G. Pannai gate, I exchange smiles with the school girls. “Good evening, Miss.” One of them recognizes me from King’s Matriculation School, the school affiliated with M.B.K.G. Pannai. Truly India, and my little corner called Pannai, is God’s house, and I am grateful to dwell in it.
God, open our eyes to see the life flowing abundantly around us. Remind us of the home you have created for us in the world, and help us feel at home in it.
Shalom,
Thandiwe Gobledale
Thandiwe serves as a Global Mission Intern with the Family Village Farm located in Katpadi, Vellore, India. Thandiwe serves in organizational assistance, counseling, accompaniment at the boarding homes, and teaches English and music. Her ministry is possible because of funds provided by the Week of Compassion of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Children at the Family Village Farm can be sponsored through Global Ministries Child Sponsorship program. Click 
here to learn more about Child Sponsorship.