Only 3 days!
I am going to India in 3 days.
It doesn’t feel real.
I’m not even packed.

But I’m excited.
I am blessed with the opportunity to experience a new culture,
new foods, new people …
and I get to meet women who are in desperate circumstances,
women who are shunned, even hated, by their society,
women who are abused by men who should be protecting them.

I get to be a small part of their lives and offer them a hand up.
I get to see what they can do … and how I can help them accomplish their goals.
THIS breathes life into my soul!
Helping women.

AND my trip is fully funded!  For that I am incredibly blessed!!!!
—————

We have a rough itinerary for our time there.
We leave Thursday @ 845pm.
We arrive in Hyderabad at 5am on Saturday.
(It’s an 11 1/2 hour time difference)

Saturday – Sunday we will be at the OM (Operation Mobilization) HQ.
We will have time to adjust and someone on staff will give us a tour of Hyderabad.
They also have church services there – and it will be Easter!

Monday we will visit Lydia Project, which is on site.
For two years now, we have been buying product from the ladies at Lydia.
I’m so excited to meet them and see their workplace!
Monday afternoon, Solomon will pick us up.
He works for Melanie, and also has his own shop.
He will also introduce us to Ruby, an artisan who used to work for Lydia.
We will be staying with Melanie at her apartment at this point.

On Tuesday, we will visit My Choices centers.
Melanie (Fa-Bricks) is now the product designer and trainer for My Choices.
It’s an organization that is primarily working with muslim women.

Tuesday night we will take an overnight train to the leper colony.
Another overnight train ride on Wednesday night will take us to a second village.
A third overnight train ride on Thursday night will take us back to Hyderabad.

Friday, we will be in Hyderabad, possibly meeting and visiting other artisans.

Saturday will be a day of rest and shopping.

We fly out Sunday morning at 7am and arrive back in Denver at 7pm!

I’m thankful to have Shawnie going with me.
She is a gift and a fabulous traveling partner!
No doubt we will be exhausted, but enlivened.