February 16, 2006

Friends,

Ten days ago we went with a group from Forman Christian College to visit Harappa, the site of an ancient Indus River civilization. It was a warm, sunny day, and we truly relished the chance to get out of the city and see another part of the country. Our host for the day is a teacher at FCC whose family village is quite near the Harappa site. The village elementary school was originally built by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as a mission school, but was nationalized in the 1970s and remains under government management. It was a deeply affecting day for Nathan particularly, and he has written a story about it, which I’ve appended below.

Thank you for all your prayers and concern for us. We deeply appreciate your interest in what we are doing. Your thoughts and prayers for the people of Pakistan are always appreciated. Please keep them coming.

We hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Robert, Marianne, Nathan and Peter

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 112

My Village School Experiences
By Nathan A.V. Johnson

Last weekend I went to a village near the historical site of Harappa.

(Harappa is an ancient Indus River civilization archaeological site). I toured three of the schools there, the primary, high, and middle school. The first school I visited was the primary school. As we were escorted around the school we found that two or three grades were crammed into one room. Some of the lower grades had to sit on a small mat on the floor. None of the students had decent textbooks or even any pens. Instead of pens, they used carved pieces of bamboo and old cold cream bottles for ink pots. What really got to me was how much the students appreciated what they had and did not complain at all. I told my mom that I would not take anything for granted, especially at school, after seeing how little these kids had.

The second school we went to was the high school. I did not get to see much of the school but what I did see really was amazing. The classrooms had simple, worn furniture. These students go to school six days a week. While my friends were playing soccer or hanging out, these guys were in school, and they seemed glad to be there. There were twelve classes with about thirty students in each class. The headmaster’s office was shabby and dreary but it was the best room there.

The last school I went to was the middle school. There were two classes in each room with a crude brick wall in between. The principal showed us around, and in each class all the students stood very still waiting for the permission to sit down. As we spoke with the principal he told us that the parents pay Rs.150 (about $2.50) per month for their children to go to the school. I pay Rs.100 for lunch each day. The teachers get paid Rs.1000 a month and the principal gets paid Rs.2000. As we were led into the main office we signed the visitor book; the last visitors were in 2004. Afterwards, we went to the family farm of our host (a teacher at Forman Christian College) and then home.

I think this trip has affected me and my view of the world in a good way. These children had so little yet they were so happy with what they had. God has truly put these children on the earth to teach people a lesson about thankfulness and being grateful for what you have. This experience truly touched me and helped me realize what a privileged life I live.