The traveler's luggage.

I love to see the beauty of nature; I like to travel to different places to learn of ample culture and nature around me. Yet I was unable to put my dream in reality.

In each summer, when my family went for holiday. I offerred myself to taking care of the house. My choice was usually to be at home. A car or bus always made me sick even I just only saw it, not got into it yet.

Thing has changed from the day when I answered the call to leave my own country for a foreign place, and then I landed in India. I can't help to forget I had made a big mess in a train when traveling from a suburban to the city on the very first day of entering a train. Thank God, in that compartment, there was only my friend and me. Each time of travel, I just became a haft death longing for "resurrection", waiting for soonly free from a vehicle.

I started my life with many up and down trips by different public means; from a slump to a rural village, from a big city to desert dryness.

When returning to my home country, I have completely changed my work. I put on my shoulder a luggage to travel almost my country to work as a researcher, a trainer for many development projects in many remote villages, from a coastal to a hill land. My contacting persons are now street children, trafficked children and women, the marginalized, the voiceless, the poor and illiterate...

Children who have no idea of playing or creation. They drop out from school and spend their whole day in a field or taking care of cattle. They do not know smell of meat or fish, their food is just leaves collected from the forest. Some children can't go to school in rainy season just because of having no extra clean shirt, but the only one that still gets wet on the next day. Heavy rain and flood take away their books and pens even their lives.

They dream very simple dream, however it seems too quite far to get their dream true. I spent my whole day with them, what can I share with them? My listening ears, my hand writing to put their dream into my report for action planning. Offering them my little hand crape skill and to play with them and teach them games until sometimes I lost my voice. They gave me a reward of their shining and cheerful face. To be with them I learn to accept life peacefully, to have a dream no matter it will become reality or not.

Following fisher villagers on the sea while casting of nothing, I experienced that their family could have no food on the next day. With salty or color well water where drinking water becomes treasure, I learn how the poor lives, thus made me lighter my material need and things but heavier in my concern for their lives. I begin to carry within my luggage the need of people, their difficulties when I turn back to the city and put them into my net working or finding relevant supportive projects to improve their condition of living.

Groups of ethic people who fail in their crop that assures a coming hunger season. The illiterate tribal who keep traditionally ways of living and cultivating. Some are beautiful; some burden their lives with diseases and under nutrition. How to approach them and how to adapt their lives and make it abundantly? These thoughts follow me even when I left this mountain to others.

Facing their difficulties, while sharing my work with them, I have gained uncountable graces in contacting them. I came to them as a social worker, a trainer, and a researcher. Yes, they taught me many lessons of life. The lesson of openness, of simplicity and meaning of poverty. God has used these chances to pour out hid gifts into my trip bag. I get no more sickness even sometimes I had to travel hundred km within a day on rough, hilly road, crossing many rivers and stream to various places. The car sick has vanished from me. What remains in me is an open and listening heart.

As I travel more, the luggage becomes lighter on my journey. The more I travel the lighter bag I carry. It gets lighter with material things in order to make more spaces for the heart that can increase of love and empathy. I now understand deeper and clearer why Jesus taught his disciples "Carry no money bag, no sack, and no sandals" (Lk10, 4). Material things may become a burden that lingers our life. Let's free from them so that our hearts have room for many lives and people.

Our physical body is limited. If it is loaded up with a heavy luggage, we will be unable to carry within us mental and spiritual values.

As I look up to heaven to breathe the fresh air, I pray that my shoulder would be lighter and my heart be filled and overflow with much love to those whom I meet, at each spot of my passing feet.

May God's love be perfumed and penetrated into human life.

TD