Sarah, from Wearside Community Church, went on a gap year placement to South Asia. I hope the account of her time at a mission will inspire and challenge many.
 From a young age I have known that I wouldn't spend my whole life in the same place, doing one thing, but that God would call me to something different. It was that knowledge that led me into taking a gap year, to grasp an idea of mission work and if it might be what God has for me in the future. So in September 2003 I went on a mission to South Asia. I went to learn about a new culture, way of life and almost to strip my life down to basics, learning how God can use me without all the 'necessities' of this culture.
The mission houses over 250 women and over 250 girls. The girls are either orphans, or come from one parent families where there isn't enough money to feed, clothe or educate the children. There is also a facility for the blind and for those with learning disabilities. It owns and runs three main schools as well as a small hospital that serves the whole village.
Living and working there was certainly an eye opening experience that taught me a lot about myself. I hand washed all my own clothes, the water and power would go off at unknown times for unknown lengths of time. I had the same rice meal twice a day and could only heat water by putting a rather old and unsafe looking heater coil into a bucket. |
I taught English in the mornings and in the afternoons I was assigned to work in the 'Family Life Department' of the mission, which is the main office that organises the general running of the 'families' the girls live in. There are 13 families, each with around 20 girls. My task was to computerise the file of each girl and organise it into a workable system. This was an emotional experience for me, as time and time again, I read distressing stories – of a drunken father who deserted and left the family in poverty, or of parents who both died of AIDS or TB. As I got to know a lot of these girls personally, their stories changed from words in a file to real life and hurting people. I found myself moved by both the sad world we live in, and the joy that Jesus can bring into someone's life through a place like this. These girls have been given hope, their present needs have been met, but most importantly, they have been given a future and a real chance to know Jesus. I can hardly bear to think what their lives would be if they weren't at the mission.
For me, forming personal relationships with the girls was by far the highlight of the whole experience. Knowing that I could play a part in their lives just by being there, knowing that I could impact their future by just being their friend is such an amazing feeling. 
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