Bring Hope (Mime) to India
Senior Shaye Sutherland in costume for her senior thesis ‘Hope Mime.’
By Tina Somchit
Because of the success of last semester’s performance, “Hope Mime,” led by senior Shaye Sutherland and Dr. Kristen Paul as a faculty adviser, the recruiting progress began to form a smaller group that will go to India at the end of this year.
“As I had an inside seat to see how it has developed and produced, I just got to thinking ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful to share that performance somewhere else?’ Just after that, I happened to met John Howe who works with an organization called GoServ Global, which is a human service organization based in Iowa,” Dr. Paul said.
GoServ Global has done projects in several countries including Peru, Haiti, Guatemala and India to embrace God’s love by transforming the world to a better place through hands-on involvement. For this India mission, Howe will also travel with the performers to assist them because he has experienced and done several trips to India.
Dr. Paul found that, in India, Mime is a popular art form because it reaches across language barriers. From that initial idea, she began to explore the possibility. She contacted the team that performed last semester on campus. Some students will be graduating and wouldn’t be available, but there is still enough remaining to put together a team. The mime will have to be modified due to the size of the team.
Isabelle Rothbauer, a Junior majoring in English, will return to join the crew. Last year, her character was Our Girl, one of the people who was tempted by the devil in the story. “I’m ready to get thrown head first into the culture, and I’m interested to see issues firsthand, such as the lack of clean water and the orphanage we’ll be staying at. I’m expecting an emotionally exhausting, eye opening, and worthwhile trip,” Rothbauer said.
Leaving campus on December 10 and returning on December 21, the crew will stay with the orphanage run by Immanuel Masa and his family who visited Waldorf University on August 29. The orphanage is located in Andhra Pradesh, which can accommodate a maximum team of 12. “That was a special treat that our students are able to meet them and ask them questions directly,” Dr. Paul said.
Cassie Ruud, a Waldorf Graduate who attended to meet the Masa’s, is joining this mission as well. She did not participate Hope Mime last semester. However, she is really excited to go and be a part of the Hope Mime crew this time. “With much thought and prayer and talk with others, I know I need to go. I feel it is something I was called to do and very ready for,” Ruud said, “We actually do not know our roles yet, but I’ll be helping or leading worship and prayer.”
At the moment, there are 7 people who are committed on the team. The trip costs approximately $1,500 for flight tickets and roughly $700 in miscellaneous cost that the crew will have to fundraise through various upcoming events in the next few months. Dr. Paul is also looking for donors and sponsors who can help students who are interested but are concerned about their financial situation.
In addition for students who are interested but unable to go, there will be opportunities for volunteers to support, like participating in upcoming events. One of the events that the crew is hoping to do is “Service Saturday,” in which students will work for businesses or individuals around the community for a Saturday morning or afternoon in exchange for a $100 donation to the trip.