Jasper resident Jim Odom is no stranger to traveling abroad.

Despite many trips outside the United States, Odom said none of his travels have impacted him to the extent of most recent journey.

For two weeks in June, Odom traveled to India to work at a boys home in the small town of Pune, which is about 150 kilometers from the country's capital, Mumbai.

"This trip changed me," he said. "I've been back over a week and I'm still processing the things that I saw. I'm also already wanting to go back."

Odom and four others from the Birmingham area left for India on June 7. The group stayed with missionaries Eddie and Macarena Aldape and worked at the boys home the two started several years ago. The youth at the home come from a group of people known as the Banjara Gypsies, which is considered one of the lowest groups in India's caste system.

"Their parents can't afford to send them to school," Odom said. "The home gives them a place to stay, feeds them and makes sure they go to school."

Odom said he and his fellow missionaries spent most of their time with the children, who ranged in age from 5 to 15.

"We did a lot of turoring in basic English and math," he said. "These were some of the coolest kids that I've ever met. They automatically steal your heart as soon as you meet them. They were very smart, and I can't wait until I can go back and hang out with them again."

Along with working at the boys home, Odom's group also spent time in some of India's most desperate slum areas. Odom said one of his favorite times on the trip was spending a Sunday in a Mumbai slum.

"That morning, Eddie, me and two other guys went to Mumbai to a church service," Odom said. "I sang, another guy preached and it was a really cool experience."

That evening Odom said the group traveled throughout the slum, which more than 80,000 gypsies call home.

"These were the friendliest people on Earth," he said. "They don't have much, but they will give you anything. They will do whatever it takes to be hospitable to others."

While going through the slum, Odom said they came across a church service taking place.

"I've never seen anything like that church service," he said. "They were singing songs and giving praise to God. These people are persecuted for their beliefs, but they were all singing and dancing. It was incredible.

"They were singing in their own language," he added. "I thought that was cool. The missionaries don't just teach them a bunch of Western praise songs. They have them write their own praises in their own words."

Evangalising to the Hindu people of India takes some time, Odom said.

"They automatically accept Jesus as one of their gods," he said. "You will often see people with statues of gods and then over to the side is a picture of Jesus. As missionaries build relationships with the Hindu people, they continually talk about Jesus. Usually after some time, the people will ask if Jesus is the only god the missionary serves. That's when the missionaries tell them about Jesus and often time the conversion to Christianity is almost instant."

Odom said evangalism in the United States should be similar.

"That's what happens when you build relationships with people and let the Holy Spirit reveal himself to them," he said.

Odom said seeing the people of India made him quickly start thinking about scriptures that discuss God supplying people's needs.

"What we think as needs and what they think as needs are completely different," he said. "Most of our needs in America are simply luxuries. They need clean water, food and not to be murdered. Those are things that most of us can't imagine. The poorest people in Jasper would be some of the richest people in India."

Odom said he hopes the American church will do more for people in need at home and across the globe.

"We've been blessed more than any other church in the history of the world," he said. "We've really done nothing with that. I saw children sleeping in the streets that have basically no hope for a future. I see those real needs that they have and it makes me think how little the church as a whole has done to help meet the needs of the world. For those that God give much, much is required.

"I love my church, but I don't see the urgency to give God praise in our churches like I did there," he added. "The things that keep us divided as the Body of Christ here doesn't matter to believers in India. They have bigger fish to fry."

Odom said he appreciates America more after being in India for two weeks.

"It's easy to get angry at our country when you go somewhere like that, but that doesn't do any good," he said. "I appreciate our country, and it put an urgency inside me to not take any opportunities that I may have for granted."

During the trip, Odom's group also participated in a 24-hour, 100-kilometer walk-a-thon to help raise money for the boys home.

“I made it 20 kilometers before something happened to my leg and I couldn't go any more," Odom said. "We had three guys complete it. That was about 64 miles they walked in 24 hours. During the event, I was talking to some folks about 3 in the morning and suddenly I saw a huge pig. It was the strangest thing to just see this massive pig walking around."

The biggest adventure of Odom's trip came a few days after he arrived in India. He and a few others were going to a theater when a large rain storm started.

"This is monsoon season there, so it's not uncommon to see a lot of flooding," he said.

After starting their trip, the group noticed the water beginning to rise, but they didn't think they could turn around. Moments later a rush of water roared passed the small car they were inside.

"It was like a river went right in front of us," Odom said. "We saw some bike riders just over from us grabbing trees to keep from getting swept away. They were frantically waving for us to turn around."

By that time, Odom said the water had reached the windows of the car. He said the two men in the back seat of the car suddendly bailed.

"They said, 'We need to get out of here,' and the next thing I heard were car doors," Odom said. "I looked back and they were gone. I tried to open my door and the force of the water was too strong. I had to climb through the window of this very compact car."

Odom said it was a scary experience, but after walking away from the flood, he realized what an incredible experience it was.

"Just before we left, I was listing all the new experiences I had been blessed with over those first few days in India," he said. "As I was walking up the hill, I could hear Eddie saying, 'This is all your fault Jim!' He said it was another one of my new experiences. It was a joke from that point."

Odom said he is now hoping to raise money to help fund the boys home where he worked in India. He said all proceeds from his recent compact disc project will go directly to the boys home and to NeverThirst, a well-building initiative in India.

"I have been changed so much by this trip," he said. "The children at that home have impacted me more than I ever thought they would have. I want to do my part to help them."

For more information on the cd or on Odom's trip to India, visit www.jimodomonline.com, www.youtube.com/jimodommusic or www.facebook.com/jimodom78.

"I've got a lot of photos and videos from the trip on those websites," he said. "I just want to do what I can to help this group of people that have changed me forever. Anyone interested in helping can also contact me through those sites."