{i wish...}

i wish you were here with me.

i wish you could see the world through my eyes.

i wish i could capture the joy, pain, suffering, laughter, hope, fear, brokenness, and beauty that surrounds me here.

i wish i could tell you how it feels to sit in the car with the window rolled down and the cool stuffy indian air hitting my face, as India expands and passes around me.

i wish you could see the way of life in the country here. the slow steady pace of life, people tending to their needs with no rush or urgency. the simplicity of it.

i wish you could see the old man in his full white garb riding his old rickety bike down a dirt path with fields of green stretching to either side of him.
or the woman hunched over in their fields working with their hands.
or the man barefoot in the valley with his herd of sheep, with callused feet from hard work that are padded by the mossy like grass beneath them.
or the young children walking home from school on the side of the street with their uniforms on, all wrinkled and dirtied from a day of learning and play, with their backpacks that come to their calves they are so large.

i wish you could see how the mountains seem to climb out of no where with lone temples placed peacefully atop them

i wish you could experience the sound of horns from cars passing or the constant swerving of the vehicle and sudden jerks as the car ahead coming towards us gets too close.

i wish i could share with you the feeling of simple innocences that over came me as i watch two small boys ride a bike down the street, laughing and waving, without a care in the world, as though nothing bad could ever happen.

i wish i could capture the way broken pieces of fabric, tarp, string and sticks become a home, a shelter. or the way a mud house looks as though it may wash away in the rain.

i wish you could see the old man sitting completely alone in the middle of his field with a piece of fabric covering him from the rain as it pelts the roof of our vehicle.

i wish i could share with you how dark the darkness is here at night. or what the sky looks like as the sun is setting, streaking rays of light across the clouds as it sets beyond the mountain, touching the last bit of land here for today until the next.

i wish i could tell you about the 3 men sitting on the front steps of a brightly colored concrete building most likely sharing the gossip or news of the town over coffee. the serious lines across their face from years of life, yet the softness that breaks over their smiles.

i wish i could tell you how when it rains, the mud pools and creates small streams along the path we walk each day. or how vibrant the green fields and trees become, as if you can see them soaking in their nutrients.

i wish you could see the shanty houses all crammed into alleyways and parts of town, with young children standing in sheds of clothing.

i wish you could see the children playing with a deflated ball in the dirt parking lot, after hours, most of the times barefoot with the gravel dust puffing up beneath their feet as they run.

i wish you could see the beautiful dark faces with bright white wide curious eyes i pass each day. and the smiles people share and snickers as i smile and wave back.

i wish you could stand in the market with me, to see the vast colors that surround you. the tarps and strings strung together like spider webs above your head to shield the produce from the sun & rain. i wish you could experience the colors of the produce, the bangles and the random array of things as we walk the dirty ground of the market. i wish you could see the people, packed so tightly into one area along with a motorcycle trying to pass.

i wish i could explain how even the dirt and the garbage littered everywhere, the brokenness of my surroundings, make this place beautiful.

i wish i had a camera, a car and time to travel. learning peoples stories, sharing life with them. smiling, laughing, crying and praying with them. capturing the beauty in the brokenness and joy in the simpleness of life all around the world.

i wish i had words to eloquently paint you a picture of all these things and so many more.

i wish i could show you what breaks my heart and what fills it.

i wish i had the words.

i wish...