Where in the World is....Audra

I am not sure the exact direction of this journal entry, but I feel the need to write all that is swimming within my head.  
This has been an interesting two weeks to say the least.  I left china with a longing to connect with the people of India…to truly experience the true culture, the heart of the people and the intimate lives that they live.  As I flew into India, I immediately had a great sense of relief that filled my mind and body.  In some ways, it felt as if I was home.  Upon exiting the plane, I was hit with a wave of heat and humidity…my lungs relaxed as I breathed in a sigh of relief.  After gathering my bags, I walked slowly through the small one room airport looking for any signs of the driver I was told would be waiting for me.  As I walked outside, I was immediately approached by a serious looking man with a badge, who most intensely asked if I was “Ms. Bishop”, yet almost before I could answer, he stated “follow me”.  I quickly swung my baggage cart around to follow his hurried pace.  Once at the street, I saw a smiling woman approaching me…we finally met.  After much of the contact we have had over email about my arrival and stay in India, I felt as if I may have known her for years…or maybe I saw pieces of my spirit that mirrored hers…whatever it was, the feeling of coming “home” was reinforced.  Talking until three in the morning, it became more and more excited about the adventure I was about to embark on, professionally, emotionally and spiritually…it was as if I could begin to foresee the immense capacity for possibilities that lie ahead of me.  India, for me, would become a center of nurturing and growth.  
It was a short day and a half of transition before I headed down to the town of Namakkal.  My eyes, my heart and my mind were instantaneously stimulated by the sounds, smells and colors that make up what was once described to me as the “hell of India”.  Over the next two weeks, I began interviewing individuals with HIV.  Both children and adults, their spirits are miraculously strong, their dreams stifled and their needs simple.  This “hell”, in my eyes, is comprised of nothing but inspiration, beauty and new possibilities.  Sitting for hour upon hour listening to and documenting their stories, both myself and James (my own personal “James Bond”: bodyguard, translator, driver and new friend), would sit in awe of these people’s resiliency.  With longing in their eyes, they would share with us their hardships, their tears, their fears of the future, the love for their children, and the solutions they believed would help their community. Before my eyes, a “simple” people with simple needs became so dynamic and complex as they exposed their souls within our many questions and curiosities.  These are women, couples and children, who despite the few exceptions live a life of secrecy.  A life that, if exposed, has the possibility to ostracize them from everyone they know forever.  How brave they were to have shared their secrets with us, in hopes that we could help their community become stronger by giving the individuals within it, a voice.  
I pray that we can represent their voices with the same grace and strength as they presented to us….