Just the Beginning

Andie, recently returned from mission in India

I will admit with no shame that I spent my last Indian rupees on a large fries at McDonald’s before boarding my flight home. Yes, I was that person who hopped onto a plane in the nick of time with slightly obnoxious aromas wafting through the cabin. To appease a possibly bad first impression, I offered some fries to the woman sitting next to me, Prithi, with whom I was to spend the next fifteen hours. As we talked, she shared that this was her first flight and that she’s meeting her new husband in America following their recently arranged marriage.

There was a mix of excitement and anxiety in our eyes as we gazed out the window at the sea of New York City lights 30,000 feet below us. Both of us were coming home yet anticipating unimaginable change. As the plane was making its final descent, we snapped a picture together, and Prithi said to me that she was so excited to have made her first American friend. After we landed, I walked with her through immigration. We exchanged numbers before she walked away with her husband to start their new life — and I, my own.

Compassion can feel intimidating at first, yet it can be incredibly simple: make room for someone, allow them to make room for you, and extend a french fry or two. I told this story to one of my sponsors, and it became so evident to us that my mission isn’t over: it’s just beginning.