Thankfully, our son arrived safe and sound last night. Even on time. Small mercies. I don't know how he got through customs. He came back with an unusual amount of weapons and knives, as well as a dead scorpion that he had caught under some Indian rock. The guys who had lived there for over 5 years didn't even know there were scorpions in that part of India. Leave it to my son to find them. He apparently became known as "Rock Turner" because he was always lifting rocks looking for them or unusual bugs. We saw that from the time he was a little boy. Still does it!
It sounds like from what we heard so far that it was all we had hoped for. He was able to deworm hundreds of horses, cows, sheep and dogs as well as assist in surgery. He even learned to stitch up animals which is a great skill if you become a vet! He saw diseases that are apparently very rare here but run rampant over there. He was treated to Indian hospitality whatever village he was in and learned to drink salty tea, which he didn't love, but knew he had to try it!
It was also great to work with the local missionaries who are not called or known as missionaries there. It is a Muslim area and there is no evangelizing allowed, so they are there under the premise of running a business. They then hire locals and have seen several come to Christ. It was good for our son to see this and meet the families that are risking their lives every day for the gospel. They could easily be thrown out of the country at any moment.
I was so curious if he had packed enough warm clothes. Had he forgotten anything that he had wished he'd brought? The week before he left we had been sent a list of all the essential things he would need. Some of it he had, but some of it we needed to buy. My husband was willing to make the investment and go all out and buy new at MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op). I couldn't stomach it. I knew, even if he went another year, we didn't have to buy new, did we? I suggested we take one trip to the goodwill store and see if they had anything and then, if not, make the trek to MEC. I think what pleased me most was that my son was open to that. He was willing to go to goodwill. Off we went.
We scoured the racks and to my pleasure we were able to find EVERYTHING he needed at the goodwill store, including what could have been a pricey vest, jeans, hiking boots, windbreaker, etc. The rest of the things he needed we got at the dollar store! If we had bought those things at MEC, we would have been looking at a bill that was hundreds of dollars. I felt God blessed us with the exact things we needed at a fraction of the cost. Thank you God and goodwill!
His new marine mammal caregiver job will start next week, so he has the weekend to recover from jetlag and then he's off to a new adventure. We will hear more and more about his trip as the days unfold. It sounds like it was a great experience. The vet/friend of mine he traveled with took me aside and told me she tried not to mother him! She watched out for him, but said he did fine, so I got the true story out of her, I think! She's gone on this trip for 5 years now. Will he go again? I don't know, but he's open to it! Praising and thanking God for his safe return, for the opportunity to travel and gain experience in the veterinary field as well as his first exposure to overseas missions - he sure packed a lot into one trip!
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