My name is Anand. I live in Dallas with my wife, Lindsey, and our four children, Sophia, Damien, Giovanni, and Elliot. When I was a child, I had the opportunity to meet Mother Teresa, and this experience ended up changing the trajectory of my life. Like most Indians, I grew up in a small house, walked to my school, played cricket barefoot, worked hard in college, got a moped, and landed a good job by the grace of God.
At 22, I moved to the land of opportunities to further my I.T. career, but the teachings of Mother Teresa led me from the corporate world to serving the spiritually poor on college campuses. During that time with FOCUS, I began conducting mission trips to India.
In 2013, I began organizing trips to India for all age groups, so everyone could enjoy the beauty, goodness, and truth about Jesus Christ from a very different culture in a completely new way. When I’m not leading guided tours to India, I’m making videos with bishops to communicate the life and faith of the Catholic Church.
These pilgrimages usually last 11 days to three weeks, and allow participants to journey in the footsteps of St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Francis Xavier and St. Teresa of Calcutta.
The pilgrimage is built on three pillars:
Experiencing the Culture – You will be immersed in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of India. It will be an explosion of the senses. We’ll visit the places that make India distinct and beautiful, like the majestic Taj Mahal, the royal Palaces of Jaipur, and the historic monuments of New Delhi. We’ll also visit the southern state of Kerala, which has been called “God’s own country” for its natural beauty and peaceful backwaters. We will ride trains, tuk tuks, houseboats, and elephants too!
Serving the Poor – We will visit the home of Mother Teresa, attend daily mass at her tomb, and serve the poorest of the poor alongside her sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. Our service to the orphaned babies, children with special needs, and the dying homeless will take us into the heart of need in Calcutta — the surrounding slums.
Cultivating the Heart of a Pilgrim – Along with the missionary spirit of service, we will also take time for a pilgrimage to South India. St. Thomas the Apostle built the earliest Christian churches in Kerala. Tracing his footsteps, we will visit some of those churches, experience Eastern rite Catholic Mass, pray in silence and retreat on a houseboat, and unpack our experiences of the trip together. In Tamil Nadu we will visit the place where St. Thomas was martyred and attend Mass at his Tomb. From there we may take a quick trip to Velankanni, the most visited religious site in India. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health draws nearly 2 million pilgrims every year. Finally, we will immerse ourselves in Portuguese culture in Goa. Five centuries ago St. Francis Xavier reintroduced Catholicism which later spread to all corners of the nation. His incorrupt body is still at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.
Upcoming India Trips
Our mission trips are very rewarding, our pilgrimages are very uplifting, and our immersion experiences are incredible. You will make memories for a lifetime regardless of which trip you go on. SUMMER TRIPS start the weekend before the 4th of July. WINTER TRIPS start the weekend before Thanksgiving in November. If there are groups that prefer a different time during the year, custom trips can be arranged as well. Teens must be accompanied by parents or approved chaperones. Our trips are not suitable for pre-teens and seniors who cannot walk 3-5 miles a day including some stairs. Tight on cash? No worries. We’ll help you fundraise, so you can travel for FREE!