Oct30

DAY 5
SUNDAY MORNING RUN

posted by Tony Chen

I (Brad) went for 3 mile run down the dusty rural road outside the Mission India campus. Like most runs in far away places I found myself connecting observations to the world at large.

As I weave around the many pot holes in the poorly paved road I notice an abandoned factory and many make shift “homes” much like those in the Indian slums we visited on Day 2, dirty shelters of discarded wood, plastic, old tarps and other trash. I pass by stray dogs, passing motor bikes, children playing in the dirt, a squatting teenage boy going to bathroom on the roads shoulder, and a rotting dead dog.

I look up and the sky is blue and the air is clean. I think for a moment that this land is familiar but the circumstances are very different. I feel grateful for growing up in a clean and healthy environment while at the same time disturbed that my brothers and sisters are living like this. As I shift to focusing on my running performance, I’m interrupted with a grand vision. What if that abandoned factory could be transformed into an M121 Artisan Center – where those living near could become part of a world class team who produce the finest CAUSEWEAR and CAUSEGEAR sold throughout the world?Mission India would provide skills training and life values formation. The Artisan Center and the Mission India Church would be the rock of the community, similar to many areas in the U.S. during the early 1900’s. The families would have the resources and community support to build a new life of simple strong homes, and healthy lives. As I near the end of my run, I wonder if this is really possible, but then I remember, anything is possible with faith. That gives me peace.