“It was too close. Too close to the destruction. Too close to the water. They were still very fearful of the ocean,” said Louis Giberson a member of the Greenville College group that visited tsunami ravaged India.

During their ten day trip the team of twelve students and five staff members traveled to Nanguneri, India to fill 2,000 school bags and distribute them to children whose lives were affected by December's tsunami. Here, the students share their stories and experiences in the form of journal excerpts:

March 24, 2005

On the morning of March 24 I woke up in my dorm room, only to find myself half-way around the world over twenty-four hours later. -- Josh Bond

March 25, 2005

I'm an alien. India is nothing like home. I have felt very vulnerable and tired and sweaty. I don't know what God's purpose is for me here. I've already seen such intense poverty and I feel incredibly helpless in the face of it, and small. What can I do in one week to do any good? -- Heather Ryan

March 26, 2005

Here in the southernmost tip of India , where three bodies of water come together, my adventure began. -- Josh Bond

So much poverty and so much beauty all in one. The people are so friendly and eager to know who you are. Just driving back to the mission tonight is so different from our trip here last night. All I saw were dumpy homes, wild dogs, and people I didn't feel I could trust. Tonight as we drive in, I see the city for what it really is. We are so blessed to have what we have in America . God is so good. -- Seth Fargher

March 27, 2005

We woke up on Easter morning and watched the sunrise as a team. We prayed together and brought up the concerns we had. After being spiritually motivated by the most amazing Easter Sunday service, we were prepared to begin our work. Later that day and throughout the week, the team and I packed over 2,000 school bags with basic needs for those people affected by the tsunami. The school bags contained toiletries as well as school supplies. Many hours were spent stuffing these bags and loading them on the trucks and buses. -- Josh Bond

March 28, 2005

We took about a 45 minute drive toward the Atlantic today. As soon as we got there, the children started squealing! We handed out the school bags to them, one by one, calling them by name. The looks on their faces brought many people to tears. They were completely overjoyed! All that hard work paid off! All these children and their families are refugees; their homes were destroyed just a short walk away. One man said that the tsunami took out a bridge and they were trapped. About 150 people died that day in that little village.

They took us down to the beach. On the way, we began to see the damage. The houses grew less and less, and piles of scattered stone became more common. The path led us to perhaps the most stunning landscape we'd ever seen. Even though we sensed mourning, there was hope as well. It's weird how such a devastated area can still be so beautiful and alive. -- Katie O'neall

March 29, 2005

Tuesday already. Last night was very overwhelming. Their president was a very warm and strong man. A man lost his wife and a woman lost her son of 28 years. The president said he saw with his own eyes 45 people swept away by the tsunami. Their entire village was destroyed.

Conversation over dinner with Sirish, the superintendent of the area, gave me much encouragement and hope. I don't always feel very called or chosen in the pastorate but when we talked I could see myself living and working in Bombay/Mumbai doing ministry and making a difference in the lives of many people. -- Louis Giberson

Today there was an 8.2 earthquake off of Indonesia – 300 people were killed. -- Allison Akey

March 30, 2005

On the road again after lunch. I miss my family. It is Wednesday already. I am in India on a bus from Kanyakumari. -- Louis Giberson

It seems to take forever to get from point A to point B. The goats crossing the street … people walking … -- Allison Akey

March 31, 2005

There was one teenage girl who was praying for her family's situation when the tsunami hit. Her family was safe and they became saved and are now attending the Lutheran Church . Looking at the dry ground, it's hard to imagine the place covered in water.

There are metal make-shift buildings set up, but it is filthy. Sewage runs by turning the water streams green. The little girls look up at us with such big beautiful sad eyes. The women look hardened and hopeless.

I was at the top of the world. This is what makes feeling so filthy and exhausted worth it. One girl, Ceeta, held onto my hand and kept calling me “sister.” I wish I could've known what else she was saying. -- Allison Akey

April 1, 2005

Our last stop and the highlight of the trip occurred in the evening when we reached a children's hostel to spend time with the people, listening to their tsunami stories. I was expecting a large building and lots of people, especially adults. But it was a little shack of a place with a palm branch roof out in the middle of nowhere. We piled out of the bus and children got in line and put a flowered “lei” around our necks. Lilacs, clover, and orange goldenrod; it smelled so good! We sat under the palm branch ceiling and listened to Shiresh introduce a boy on crutches who is the “keeper” of the place, kind of like a security guard. Then a girl spoke. She's older and wants to be a nurse's aid some day. All of these children, around 40-45 of them were “rat pickers” in Bombay . They lived off the streets and were destined to be criminals or beggars their whole lives. Their parents either died or couldn't afford them. So, eight years ago, the FM church brought them out of Bombay and have been taking care of them ever since. By faith, they bought this land and hope to one day build a building there. God is definitely working there. He spoke to Shiresh to strike the ground and when he did, water sprung up. They now have a well that is constantly bringing forth water. The people nearby were amazed at how valuable the land is. Also, right before the tsunami hit, God's spirit moved in their hearts and they began to earnestly pray. Moses is confident of God's presence as he said a bright light came down upon them. Faith is carrying these people and giving them hope. I am so amazed at their trust. -- Allison Akey

April 1, 2005

It's not my job to save the world, its God's job. It's my job to be faithful in my own story while remembering the big one. -- Heather Ryan

April 2, 2005

On the bus ride to the airport I kept thinking about Suganya. I will never forget how she slipped her hand into mine. I want to know everything about her, but because of the language barrier we did not understand each other enough to get past our names. But I know that we can both understand the language of love. (Suganya is the girl I am now sponsoring. She is a student at one of the hostels we visited.) -- Meghan Maltby

April 3, 2005

Once again in the air. Movie and music. Stretch and stand. -- Louis Giberson

April 4, 2004

I'm back, but I left my heart in India . This song was stuck in my head all week, I clung to it:
"Your love is deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I've traveled
Wider than the gap You fill” -- Heather Ryan

The people of India displayed God's glory, even though many of them probably weren't Christians. They were so affectionate to one another, so respectful to one another, so happy to be with one another, so content. I realize now that God wasn't with us as we came over to them, He was already there. I just hope that I showed Christ through my love and service to them, as they showed Christ to me through their love. I think that we did more service than just stuffing bags and meeting with the victims. I would make it a point to smile and wave at as many people as possible even if we weren't in an affected area. Philippians 4:6 was a verse that I came upon one of my first days in India . It reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” This verse helped me throughout the week with the many unexpected setbacks, the scare of a second tsunami, and everything else that I doubted. -- Josh Bond

I have found that the God I worship is much bigger than the tiny scales that I am used to measuring. For people to have everything in life wiped away and still be so joyous - to just receive a simple hello and handshake - is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed. The thought of me being so blessed has finally hit me and now I have just begun to understand the true meaning of what it is to live free and loved by God. That is what the people of India have and it was unbelievable to witness. -- Derek Robinson

My Trip to India
-- By Jatinder P. Singh

I did not know the word, tsunami, nor the meaning of it until December 26, 2004 . I could not have imagined the powerful force of water, nor the havoc and disaster it could wreak. India is my native country and I was very emotionally affected when I saw on the news that parts of India where I grew up had been destroyed. I thought I understood the devastation from the stories on the news, but soon realized that, after seeing the damage in person, it was so much worse. Our mission was to provide help wherever we could, especially for the children, to meet their most basic needs. As soon as our bus pulled in to our first stop, children of all ages came running to the bus and started to cheer. My heart started sinking and my eyes filled with tears after looking at such beautiful children and knowing how what they had gone through had been so heart-wrenching. These children just wanted to reach out and touch us, and they did, so profoundly, and in such a way that none of us who made the trip will ever be able to forget the beauty of their response.

These families had lost everything they had. They were living in temporary shelters, in an area no larger than 8 feet by 10 feet. Whatever was in that small room was all they had left of their former lives. Some had only clothing and a pot in which to cook. What remained of the town was only 50 meters from the shelters. We had the opportunity to walk through the ruins of the town left by the tsunami. There were houses leveled to the ground. Every palm tree was flattened. It felt just as if we were walking through a ghost town. At our last stop we visited an orphanage in Kanyakumari where we were greeted by students bearing garlands for us to wear around our necks. Listening to all of the students tell of how they had arrived at the orphanage touched our hearts. Students and faculty members adopted children there and pledged to pay for their education and school expenses. I have promised to my adopted student (Chinta Mani), who wants to be a pastor in his life, that I will try my best to make sure that he achieves his goal.