Whenever Ravi has a chance to return to the Indian house he was raised in, he sees a different picture. The family who lives there now is composed of a husband and wife with two daughters.
They are Hindu.
He still loves them.
He asks the girls of their dreams, one wants to be a teacher. The other wants to be a doctor.
"The father tells me, in so many words, that his greatest burden is [not poverty or health, personal-gain or greed, but] for his children to get an education, because none of his family did. Yet he doesn't have the wherewithal to send the two girls to college. 'Anything you can do to help them get the best education... is my heart's deepest desire.'"
Ravi says he can help through RZIM scholarships toward those who wish to become educated, but lack the financial means.
The father's "eyes get moist, hoping that this dream for his children might come true."
The last time Ravi was there, he tried to give the father some money, some support. But, he wouldn't take it. "He said, 'You gave to me last time, sir. I am just honored you have come. That is enough for me, to see your face.'
The mother has taught the girls to practice Hinduism, worshipping a tree in their back yard for its sustanaince. Her "eyes reveal the inner quest for piety." And, Ravi's "heart longs to tell her that God does not live in temples made with human hands. I trust that the time we spend together during my trips here will present the right moment."
"They are simply more of the beautiful people of my homeland with whom God has chosen that I cross paths."
Imagine that.
The care.
The love.
The selfless gratitude.
The hope.
The witness.
The trust.
When was the last time you can say that you've seen these actions within you?
These quotes are from pages 9 and 18-19 in Ravi's Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows.
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