Exactly one year ago, I was traveling home to the US as part of a team from Granger Community Church (GCC) after our mission trip to India. Now if you’re asking yourself, as I have often been asked, why would you willingly use your vacation time to go to India?, watch this:

I’m filled with all kinds of thoughts and emotions as I read through my journal, look at pictures and watch videos from that week. The time we spent with the Irula colony in Kalavai, Tamil Nadu was easily one of the best weeks of my entire life. It was there that I learned how much I have, how great the country I live in is, and how truly happy and generous people can be, regardless of their lot in life.

Here are some quick videos that more or less summarize my entire week:

http://www.facebook.com/v/10150136842755573

http://www.facebook.com/v/10150136838540573

A couple more pictures:

There are more pictures and video where that came from; just head to my Tim Burkey to India Facebook Group.

Also, if you want a more detailed description of my trip to India, you can read the letter I sent to my supporters after I had been home for about a month.

Finally, there’s an amazing book about the work our church is doing in southern India and the movement to grow the Kingdom of God that is spreading like wildfire. It contains stunning pictures (taken, like most of the pictures in this post, by Dustin Maust) from the trip I was a part of, as well as lots of stories from people in the village and local pastors. The book is called Share the Well; it was written by Rob and Michelle Wegner, and it is easily worth the $20 it costs to buy it because, along with the beautiful pictures and the heart-warming and inspiring stories, all of the money from the proceeds of this book go back into the work being done on the ground in India.

You can get your copy from the book’s website or on Amazon.

Thanks for letting me share a piece of my incredible trip with you!  This certainly isn’t the end…

Thanks to Dustin and J for the amazing pictures and videos!