Personal Statement

[N.B. Since I've raised all the money I need for India and I won't be able to write more about India until I come back from my trip in February, I'm giving myself free reign to write about whatever I want in the interim.]

Have you ever re-read something you wrote a long time ago and hoped you were the same person?

Tonight I plugged my external hard drive into my computer to look through old pictures, and I came across some documents from high school. I read through a surprisingly intriguing 20 page paper on poetry analysis, and I laughed at the completely ridiculous papers required for my dance classes. Here's a gem from a paper on dance dress code and conduct:

"I am always in dress code, except a couple of times when I wear the wrong tights, or forget my ballet shoes. I always take off any warm-ups after pliés if I wear any at all. I actively participate in every class and rehearsal."

But I digress. I'm not hoping to be that same girl who forgets her ballet shoes. I'm woefully certain that that aspect of my personality is permanently encoded in my DNA. Of real interest was my Personal Statement for admission to UF, written five and a half years ago. The closing paragraph reads as follows:

"Success, to me, is meeting the standards I have set for myself. It’s achieving my everyday goals that slowly lead to big accomplishments. But I can’t consider myself successful if my life has only impacted me. Success is also having made a difference, for the better, in people’s lives. If I am truly loved by others, and if I love myself, then I have reached the very pinnacle of success."

Well said, 18-year-old Tyler. You were wise beyond your years... even if you didn't always wear the right color tights to dance class.

ধন্যবাদ !!

I'm working on my Bengali because I'm definitely going to India!! (The title of this post reads "dhonnobad" in Bengali script, which means thank you.) I've raised ALL of my funding, and I'm so grateful to everyone who has so generously given! I seriously can't thank you all enough; I'm amazed at how fast it all came together. It's kind of ridiculous, really.

After church today, our little team got together for some Indian food here in Nashville, to get to know each other a little better before we're stuck in a foreign country together. I'd never had Indian food before, but it was delicious, and everyone going on the trip is wonderful... and now I'm even more excited! PLUS, we all got our passports back with Indian "Tourist Visa"s inside them, so we're pretty legit now.

Another cool thing we've been doing as a team is weekly devotionals via email. For the 14 weeks leading up to the trip, one of our 14 team members writes a small devotional about a verse or something that they've been thinking about recently. It's been a great way to get in the right mind set about the trip, get to know everyone a little more, and count down the weeks!

As of today... 12 weeks till Kolkata!!


বিদায় ("bidaa-ye" = good bye)

Ephesians 3:20-21

Almost 75% there!!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

To all 4,350 of my dearest, closest friends...

As of right now, I currently have 13% of the total amount I need to make it to India!

It may not seem like a lot, but I am STOKED! Everyone who has given so far, y'all are absolutely amazing, and I am so blessed by you!

As of four days ago, I had nothing. So this is truly incredible!

Any little bit counts!
If 87 people give $25, I will have reached my goal.
Or if 218 people give $10...
Or if 435 people give $5...
Or if 2,175 people give $1...
Or if 4,350 people give $.50!

I don't know if I have 4,350 friends... but let's find out!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I love everysingleone of you.

"God is good, all the time."

I was stopped at a red light last Sunday, en route to church, probably absentmindedly singing a Christian song without really thinking about the words...

I noticed a homeless man with a cardboard sign walking down the line of stopped cars. Not an unusual sight in Nashville, unfortunately. But I was feeling charitable (and I had just gotten cash back at Publix), so instead of awkwardly trying to pretend like I didn't see him, I decided to roll down my window when the man came near my car.
[Side note: Someone should do a study on when people are most-likely to give to the homeless... I bet "on the way to or from church" would be one of the most common times.]

I know a lot of people believe you shouldn't give to "panhandlers," and they have logical reasons to back their beliefs... but honestly, what do I care about $2? That won't buy me a latte. (Pun intended.) And I'm admittedly naive; I like to think that not every person on the side of the road will spend their "earned" money on booze.

So, in my haze of feel-good pre-church charitability, I gave the man a whopping $2. His response is what made the encounter even memorable at all. He smiled and said "Thank you, young lady... God is good all the time!" Now, I'm used to hearing "God bless you" -- or something to that effect -- but I have never gotten this particular response before. And it made me think.


Wow, God IS good all the time!


Not only is he good, just in his very nature, but he also promises good things for us. Here is just a taste of the many verses that proclaim His goodness:

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,

"The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

maintaining love to thousands,

and forgiving wickedness,

rebellion and sin."

Exodus 34:6-7

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5

It's the simple truths, the ones that I've heard time and again, that can absolutely come crashing over me sometimes. And this particular crashing-truth came from a man with likely nothing to his name but a piece of cardboard. I am immeasurably blessed. With all that I've been given, I want to bless others in whatever small ways I can. But most likely, as was the case last Sunday, I will only find myself doubly blessed in return.

Who knew that a sermon could come before the actual church service?



**Disclaimer: This story is not analogous with my India support-raising. If you donate $2 (which would be amazing!), you will not necessarily receive any form of spiritual wisdom, enlightenment, crashing-truth, etc.

Raising Love

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.”

These words came from Mother Teresa, lifelong missionary to the city of Kolkata, where I'll be going. So in my attempt to raise love, kindness, understanding and peace... here's a more personal look at the faces I will soon be seeing.

My pastor, Pete Wilson, made a trip to the Khalpar slum in Kolkata this past February. Follow these links to his blog to read the stories of two of the beautiful children I get to meet in four months...

The story of eight year old Bishal: "More Pastor Than I'll Ever Be"

The story of five year old Puja: "A Father To The Fatherless"

If you have the means to support me financially, anything you can give would be so much appreciated. (Read the previous post for details.) I have no doubt in my mind that God will provide.

Your prayers are very much coveted!

Love to all (and TGIF)!

February 2011

Dear friends and family,

As some of you may know, I will be traveling to Kolkata, India this coming February. I will be in "The City of Joy" for ten days with a team from Cross Point Church here in Nashville, TN. [You can find out more about Cross Point at http://www.crosspoint.tv/.] Here's a picture of where I'm going, for those who are geographically-impaired, like me:

Kolkata, which you may know as Calcutta, is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. About 1.5 million people, nearly a third of the city's population, live in slums. We will be serving 500 of these people - the people of the Khalpar slum - and more specifically, the 65 children that currently reside there. The men of Khalpar typically work as rag pickers and rickshaw pullers, and the women work as maid servants. Unfortunately, they are forced to leave their children at home alone while they work. They can barely afford food, much less childcare. More recently, Cross Point has helped establish a school for these kids during the day. This school has an aged graded curriculum, features Bible classes, and provides the students with a daily hot meal. Here's a picture of some of the kiddos that I will soon be meeting:

The sign they're holding says "Thank you Cross Point" in Bengali.

I will have more details soon concerning the exact itinerary of our trip, but for now I know that we will be working with an organization called SEED (save, entrust, equip, disciple) while we are there. Much of our efforts will be focused on the children, but we will also be doing some general clean-up. I'm so excited to see how God will use us on this trip!

I have to say, it will be quite the adventure. Never before have I been overseas - I've traveled over the Gulf of Mexico, but somehow I doubt that counts. And I hate to admit it, but I've never even tasted Indian food. However, when I heard that Cross Point was sending a team to India, I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go. I've always had a strong desire for missions, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The only thing missing is financial support. The cost of the trip comes to approximately $2500 - mainly because of the plane tickets. I would be so grateful if you would consider giving to help send me to India. (You can click on the "Donate" button at the bottom of the page, or contact me at tyler.m.shores@vanderbilt.edu if you prefer an alternate method.)

Even if you are unable to give monetarily, I would greatly appreciate your prayerful support - for the team, as well as for the residents of Khalpar. I know that God has some amazing things in store for this trip, and for the futures of all the children living in Kolkata. Nothing is impossible with Him!



Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

             proclaim his salvation day after day.

        Declare his glory among the nations,

                 his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

1 Chronicles 16:23-24