Mumbai!

I arrived in Mumbai this morning about 5:30AM India time. After 26 hours on the train, we had enough of traveling! Along the way we mostly sat and read, napped, and looked out the window. At some of the stops beggars would come in and sweep the train floor and ask for change. Two young children came in during two different occasions. It happened while I was reading a chapter about soul food from Ravi Zacharias's book Jesus Among Other Gods. It talks about how Jesus related so much of his ministry to food, using it as a means to convey God's greater message of the hunger within us all for the eternal. And this boy comes in and simply points to his head with a weak hand. I give him two rupees without thinking. What else can I do. After tapping one of the staff with us, he is given an orange and a loving pat on the back. I choked up. Another stop and another boy. Another gave him some pretzels to eat. To think for some reason, of the nearly 7 billion on this earth, I was born into such a wealthy and loving home. How painful it is to recognize such great need when I've never experienced it in my life. Have I taken my life for granted? A loving home? A warm bed? Food always to eat? And there are so many starving, orphaned, homeless children to see here.
We saw all sorts of great sights here in Mumbai. I got to see the Taj Mahal Hotel where all the hubub took place. It's already reopened for business and you can't see a scratch on it. Wandered all over the city watching people, browsing (or more like fending off the sellers!) and eating delicious new eats. So much to look. So much to smell (good and baaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddd). But one event I think will stand out in my mind.
We were searching Mumbai for a particular candy shop, supposedly world famous. A young girl, maybe 6 or 7 comes up alongside me. She's carry a crying baby. All she says is sir. I don't look for a moment. It's hard to look. And then I do. I realize we are looking for a shop to buy something just because it tastes good. I'm not hungry. I ask a fruit vendor for directions and buy an orange and give it to the girl. She smiles and then points to a banana. So I start to hand the orange back and she changes her mind. The orange would do. We walked away towards our destination. I didn't stop to look. It's hard to look. But I saw her smiling as she started to peel it and I couldn't help but wave goodbye. What more could I do.
We watched Slumdog Millionaire at a theatre here. Everyone should watch it. Even for being here a few short weeks it seems to very accurately portray India. It's sad but uplifting. And I thought of it after I met the little girl. Watch it and I think you'll understand.
We walked back to our hotel in the dark. Many people getting ready to sleep on the sidewalks. Old, young, families, loners, crippled. It's hard to look. I don't think I'll ever experience a more sinking feeling than to look someone with desperate need in their eyes and to look away and walk past.