History In the Making

In My dream, the angel shrugged and said, "If we fail this time, it will be a failure of Imagination" & then she placed the world gently in the palms of my hands.  -Brian Andreas

We talked about Charity tonight on the rooftop after dinner. About the meaning, the examples we see in our lives, and our friends and families lives. We talked about how charity is giving of ourselves and reaching out to help others- regardless of how it will affect us- charity is the ultimate selflessness. The fact is...we can be selfless in any environment and any place- not only India. Quotes, stories, and verses were shared- all about being charitable. Mother Teresa said (courtesy of McCall) that "if you are too busy judging others, then you do not have enough time to love them." Mother Teresa also said (read by Reagan) "We cannot do great things- only small things with great love." One of the basis of charity is also imagination, and I think that is important. The ability to see a need and to respond to it, change it, or work to inspire the change for it.

Becky is a board member for Rising Star and she came into town today to be able to spend a few weeks here and to see the kids, watch the dedication of the school that is being built right now, and to take care of some house keeping here. We sat on the rooftop after dinner and after our talk about charity we sat exactly as the children have been sitting all week to hear her stories. She explained the caste system in India. The idea that many people who live in India say that the caste system is no longer in effect, yet the way life is lived here declares otherwise. People who have been impacted with leprosy are still considered untouchables. People will scoff in their direction and refuse to acknowledge their existence. The law works in that a person is murdered, a price is owed instead of going to court and the price is determined by what caste the person happened to be part of. If a person murders a neighbors dog, the payment for that crime is higher than if a person murders someone afflicted with leprosy. Shame is brought upon entire villages who have one resident visit a leprosy colony. It breaks my heart... the children are treated the same way as their parents simply because they are associated.

We visited a colony this past week called the Moote colony. Their are only 7 residents- but those 7 make a lasting impression on your heart. One of the men, Girash, sang and danced with us for nearly 2 hours. He barely knows English, but his affirmation of acting like he knows what he is saying is clear. He and one of Steele's children, Oaks who is around 6 years old, had an entire conversation made up of going back and forth with strong facial expressions and babbling noises. These people are so gentle, and loving towards anyone who will pay them attention. The women would sit and smile for the entire time that we were there.

The children at Rising Star are from these leprosy colonies. They are learning English, which can promote them to a higher ability to be given jobs after graduating here. We were told tonight that a doctor in India will average about $500 U.S./month- and this is considered to be a high class job. Since outsourcing has been allowed within India's borders-such as those that work for Dell and other companies. Those people who are given jobs as an outsourcer average an income of $1,200 U.S./month. The children here at Rising Star, even with a high school degree and the means to speak English- because of the harsh caste system they will still often be denied jobs because of their role of being associated with a person suffering from leprosy. Rising Star has managed to build a relationship with these outsourcing companies, and as long as the children are qualified- they become eligible to get a job after they graduate. 

Imagine a child transforming from an untouchable to the highest caste system. Imagine their lives and those that they will influence! This summer here...this place called Rising Star is literally being part of history in the making! People will always say that our children are the upcoming generation to change the world. But LITERALLY- these children that I am falling in love with and spending my evenings reading to and the days tutoring with... These children are going to change an entire way of life because they will suddenly defy a caste system that declares them as an untouchable.

These children are powerful and Beautiful!

Nandhri (Thank You)

Imagine this: Being a Diabetic, I have been trying to take different measures to make sure that my blood sugar would not go low in the middle of the night. I lowered my basal rate for my pump while I would be sleeping, ate a snack before getting in bed, thought about taking my blood sugar before going to sleep but thought it would be wise to save my supplies. I tried to err on the side of caution for the most part, and even set my pump to turn off for 2 hours so that I would not wake up with a low blood sugar.

I remember bits and pieces of the next morning...Like looking at my pump under the covers and being aware that I did not want to wake up my roommates, so I tried to shield the light as much as I could by hiding in the covers. I also remember Sarah talking to me- no idea what about, but I remember seeing her and having her be close to my bed. The next thing I know, I am coming out of a crazy dream surrounded by Indian men and women dressed in Saree's. I kept trying to close my eyes, realizing that what I was feeling is often what I feel like when I come out of a low blood sugar, but hoping with everything inside of me that I could close my eyes and it would not be real. Try as I might though, the world kept coming in clearer and clearer and I was still in the same place. I had an IV in my hand, 3 of the RSO staff were at the foot of my bed, and a man dressed in a blue shirt kept walking in and out from a curtain. I later was introduced to Dr. Kumar, the man in the blue shirt, who happened to be the doctor at Rising Star and the Leprosy colonies. I could not talk for a long time, and Reagan, a staff member with RSO, tried to inform me of what had happened.

She explained that my roommates had been concerned for me because I kept making really strange noises, at first they thought it was a bad dream and they were treating it as that. But after a few hours of it not stopping, they came to my bed again and saw that my pump had come out in the middle of the night. They immediately got a staff member involved who called Dr.Kumar and after hearing that I was Diabetic and not being responsive he got on his motor bike and made it from his village to RS in half the time.In the meantime Reagan had mixed some sugar water together and was trying to help me drink it. She smiled explaining to me that half went in my mouth and the other half either drooled out of my mouth or went on the person who was trying to help me drink. Dr. Kumar wanted to have my blood sugar checked and my kit was in my backpack - which was the ONLY bag that had not been searched. It showed that I was 14, and within 2 minutes of finding that out, I had already been carried to the Jeep and my medical bag had been grabbed. Reagen and Jenni, along with Steele, the Managing Director at Rising Star loaded in the Jeep with Dr. Kumar. I was told that Dr. Kumar checked my pulse every few minutes- and my pulse was very hard for him to find which made him even more concerned. The drive normally takes 45 minutes to get to the Changalputt Hospital,  but our amazing driver, T.J. made it in about 25 minutes.  I was immediately given an IV, blood was drawn, and within 45 minutes of arriving I was starting to be able to focus and acknowledge that I understood where I was at.

This is where my memory gets fuzzy, but I was at least awake and aware that I knew people and that the hospital was not where I had fallen asleep. The IV was huge and very painful, blood was drawn 3 times, and I was given 4 bags of fluids. With each change of the fluid in my IV, I would anticipate the movement of the IV from the nurse and found myself close to tears with every fluid change. The sting and the movement of my vein was close to unbearable. After my blood sugar was in a normal range, Dr. Kumar explained that my electrolytes were too low to leave the ER and I had to be admitted for a closer watch and for more fluids. At that point they thought that I would need to stay overnight. (Side note.. the ER visit upto this point was priced at 400 rupees which equals, $8 U.S. dollars)

Keep in mind, this hospital is in a very small village about an hour from Chennai- it was a friend of Dr. Kumar's who owned the hospital though, and he was a person that if Dr. Kumar trusted- then everyone felt at ease.  The hospital had an open airway between the halls, and when I was wheeled up to the 4th floor, I was taken to a ramp on the outside of the building that weaved in and out of the floors as we twisted up. Also, while my room was getting ready- Jenni, Steele, and Reagan had gone on a picture adventure and came back with pictures of monkeys along the sidewalls of the hospital, along with squatter toilets near the steet that Regan and Jenni had an intersting time explaining to the man who was in charge of them- that they were better than American toilets and that was why she was taking pictures.

Throughout the day, I had about 4 doctors come to my room asking very intently and concerned as to why I did not wake up to eat breakfast. The first 2 doctors I attempted to explain that I was unconscious and could not wake up to eat. But by the 3rd and 4th I started just complying and saying that I would do it next time and that I did not mean to skip breakfast.

At one point, I was talking.. well more so listening to Dr. Kumar talk about medical school in India, and about places he had worked since finishing school. But when my blood sugar goes low, I will often see double and triple of some objects or people. So I was trying my best to listen to Dr. Kumar talk, when suddenly his head split into 3 different heads! I started staring at the ceiling and apologized to him about not looking because at that point, I could not handle the movement or the 3 heads. By 5:30 pm I was released from the hospital- having been showered in all types of candied treats, strawberry milk, and banana's provided by Steele, Jenni, and Reagan along with an Indian nightie, and a day full of stories about their fun life adventures.

When I returned back to RSO, dinner had just started, and as I was walking to the rooftop- children were trying to huddle around me asking if I felt better and asking "why [had I] gone to hospital." We ate dinner with the other volunteers, and I took it slow for the evening.  When I went to my families room after dinner, all of the kids were lined against the wall. My house mother, Gandhi Marie, saw me, immediately, got stern with the children and talked to them in Tamal for a while. After she had finished, she looked back at me and translated what she had told the children. Her directions were that I was not allowed to be bothered, to move or rough house. I was only allowed to sit down and read stories and the children needed to pick out books to read. The children were amazing! They did just that. They sat quietly while I read and would constantly feel my hand where my monster IV had been placed, and asked if I felt better. They also had made me a poster that McCall had drawn on and the other volunteers had gathered the kids to have them sign it.

Even though it was a rough day, coming back to RSO felt so great, and being able to hear from everyone else their stories of how the rough start to the morning had impacted them (or made their low part of the day...we share high/lows at dinner..I happened to be nearly every ones low). It also helps, since I do not remember anything after going to bed at RSO and then waking up in an open airway hospital. We adjusted my insulin again- and I have promised as much as I am able within my ability to not let it happen again.   

I am extremely grateful though to everyone who was part of that day, and also to Reagan, Jenni, Steele, Dr. Kumar and Dani (who kept everyone at RSO closely informed of what was happening during the hospital adventure). I am etremely grateful for the efficiancy, concern, and the many stories that I have been told about and throughout that day.

A day told in Pictures

This is on top of the roof where we eat our dinner to watch the sunset. We also eat dinner on Banana leaves because people from India believe it to be more sanitary. We also have the privilege of having an option of the native Indian food (which is amazing!) as well as a fruit salad and/or cucumber/tomato salad. Dinner is so relaxing and really makes you feel like you are connected to something much bigger.

We get the Indian version of a siesta everyday from 2-4 and it is our downtime where we can relax, journal, hang out with friends, or anything that we choose to do with our 2 hour break. I hope when we get back to America that I can continue to adopt this down time, I feel like it will be hard to go back to the high expectation that you are worth how hard you work and how many hours you put into a job. I have never been an advocate of the "Rat Race" that many people try to achieve while living in the states. The mentality of "more, more, more" and still not being satisfied. After being in this country for 2 months though, it will take me a while to adjust back to the American culture. During one of our down times, the girls were all hanging out in the courtyard (except for Sarah who fell asleep!) But there is a hole in the middle of the courtyard, and Danni, who learned how to play the Ukulele in Hawaii, whipped out her Ukulele and started singing sings in the middle of the courtyard! We had such a fun time and ended up turning it into a photo session for the afternoon.        

The Children here are SO impressively sweet! They are the children of people who are afflicted with Leprosy, children who in the eyes of India should never receive an education or health care. The children are so very respectful of their teacher and of their house mothers.  They immediately love you upon meeting you, and they surround their lives with laughter and smiling faces. The children have prayer before their dinner, and all gather to listen to one of the house mothers talk. It is spoken in Tamal, which is the language of India and has 216 letters- all beautifully scripted and images of circles and swirls. All that I can make out of their letters is swirls and circles, but it is beautiful to see. The children love to play games, and pose for pictures, and they all LOVE dance. At night when I am with the boys in my family, they will do different dance moves and challenge me to reenact them. I showed them a few yoga moves, and they immediately started their own forms of stretches and imitation what I led with. I know that a volunteer last summer taught a yoga class to the kids, and they had loved learning it and quickly wanted to show off everything that they knew.

Beautiful Children

It was our first official full day at Rising Star Outreach today. The kids here are beautiful! They have such a heart for learning, and a large amount of respect that I feel is often lost in the U.S. The children who I am working with have parents who have been afflicted with Leprosy. With that knowledge, many of these children were raised in an environment where they were taught to beg and to be consistent with people until they give in. Rising Star Outreach has worked very hard to break the children of this habit.

It was explained to us today at our morning conclave, that the society of India rests on the idea that if a person learns English then, and only then, will they have a chance of being successful and not succumb to poverty. The idea that children who previously lived in a leprosy colony with their parents are now learning English is unheard of in this country. These kids know that, and when they are in school- they are focused and determined to understand what is being taught to them. The kids wake up in the morning at 6:00 to start their morning chores and to get ready for their schooling that starts at 9. It is so amazing to watch these children throughout the day, and how much they strive to learn an education, play as if they would never play again, and constantly ask questions to better understand life.

The children are extremely enthralled with my lip ring- which has made me somewhat of a "must see" because the children have never seen one before. The way that people from India say "Yes" is that they shake their head from side-to-side, much like the way in the US we would shake our head no. When the children ask to see my lip ring and have my show them the inside of my mouth, their heads are constantly shaking "yes/no. They also keep saying "Take Out?" I asked one of the older girls tonight what that meant, and if it was offensive to them or not. She laughed with a big smile and said that it was very beautiful and everyone loved it. They were saying "Take out" to see if I was able to take it our or not or if I kept it in throughout my day. They also wanted to know what it was like to eat with something in my lip during meals. And I am very thankful that I was able to get that cleared up.

I am so extremely thankful to be here right now. Between the girls that I am volunteering with, the children I am building relationships with, and to witness the extreme need that the children have (even though they do not realize it) is beyond me. These children are all still looking for sponsors, and I have never seen a program in real life where I am interacting with children who proudly pronounce who they are being sponsored by and the excitement they show as they draw pictures to send or even just a voiced "Thank you!" that they will shout out for anyone to hear that they have someone sponsoring them.

Tonight, Roz and I were hanging out with our family (We have families that we will spend evenings with, and Roz and I are paired with the boys aged 4-12). One of the boys had gotten a hold of an empty box that had the front cut out. He loudly pronounced that he was going to watch TV, where upon all the boys eagerly followed him,m carrying books and blankets. The oldest boy sat down and draped the blanket over part of the box- only leaving the part of the box without a side exposed. He then quietly put the book inside of the  box, and announced that he was going to "start" the movie. These kids have never watched a Television before, and here right before my eyes, I witnessed the leader of the group concoct a makeshift TV, complete with the storybook inside that would serve as the "picture" being shown, It was priceless!

The "Squatters/ and the "showers"

Side note: I had taken these pictures and then went to spend some time with the kids pretty soon after. They LOVE cameras and love to look through pictures that the volunteers have already taken of America, and the plane ride to India, basically anything that they do not get to see in thier everyday lives. Well...they were going through my camera and saw that I had taken a picture of the squatter toilets and immediatly started laughing! They kept pointing and saying "Bathroom....Bathroom!" If they could only see the difference in the western style toilets and their "oh so familiar" squatters.

How to Start

I honestly do not know where to start to explain the past few days of my life. I was able to make it onto the plane out of Houston at 8:45 pm and travel the 10 hours to Doha and then back onto a plane for 9 hours and arrive in India at 4:00 am Sunday morning.Flying over the Atlantic Ocean was amazing- and it was something that I got very excited about being able to see and do- but the other 2 guys that I was sitting next to did not share the same amount of excitement and kept laughing or giving me looks. The 4 am arrival time on Sunday morning was somewhere around 5:30 pm for Texas on Saturday.The time difference is something that I will have a very hard time getting used to. I did not sleep too much on the plane because the flight I was on (Qatar) has over 150 movies to watch on a personal screen as well as interactive games, endless amounts of food and drinks can be served- and I was just excited to be finally traveling to India. When I got to the hotel, my roommate had already checked in and was asleep- so I quietly got settled in, ate an amazing buffet breakfast, complete with a morning scoop of ice cream! Took a quick nap and was able to have a quick Skype date with Jeff.

Sunday: I met the 5 other girls that I will be living with for the next 3 weeks and after meeting them, I became even more excited about the trip and meeting the kids and being able to find out more about the Indian culture. We took a trip through Chennai, which is laid out much like the bad parts of town in New York City. But we were able to stop and get a tour of a Hindu Temple, called the Kapaleeswarar Temple. It was interesting to hear about their beliefs, and why they worship the way that they do. The Hindu's were explaining their 3 main gods and how they can take on different shapes, but you can always tell which god it is by what animal they travel by. We had a private person of the temple attempt to explain the belief and the tradition, and he blessed each of us by putting ash on our foreheads. He said it is similar to the Christian belief of  "From ash we come - and to Ash we will go."

Monday is when we were all picked up by the RSO van and driven 2 hours south of Chennai to a village that I cannot begin to pronounce or spell.. The village still, is about 10 minutes from the Rising Star campus, but upon pulling into the facilities- it was an amazing drive and I look forward to working/volunteering here for the summer. The kids have a new school and it will be dedicated on July 10th! The school is beautiful with open air and chalkboards for all the teachers to use as well as desks and chairs for the kids to sit in. The hostel that the volunteers will all be sharing is one donated by the Marriot family (of the Courtyard, Marriot, and it is beautiful. We have about 6 beds to a room, and a total of 6 rooms each for guys and girls, with a courtyard in the middle and a kitchen to be able to use. The toilets are Indian style, and they are called "squatter" toilets. Ill post a picture of that later. The showers are taken with 2 buckets, and there is only 1 spicket that provides safe RO water to be used. We eat dinners on the rooftop of the kids homes and it is beautiful. You are about 3 stories high, overlooking a beautiful sunset among the Indian jungle full of monkey's, and all types of jungle wildlife. We have been advised by the summer interns that they have yet to see Monkeys or cobra's, but they have heard stories about them coming onto campus. 

We got to spend a small amount of time with the kids, but we will have jam packed days of being with the kids as early as 8:30 in the morning and then not retuning back to our hostel until nearly 9:00 pm. 

I am so thankful and excited to be here though! It truly is going to be a magical experience. Later in the week, we get to go to the Leprosy colonies and work a little there, although I am not sure what we will be doing yet, whatever it is, it will have a strong meaning and purpose.

Gentle Push

                                              
I am not an advocate of long distance. It is something that I had dreaded happening most of May. Randomly, at least once a day while in Managua (besides the fact that I was sick) I would break out into tears, dreading the way that I was going to feel when I had to step onto that plane by myself and tell Jeff bye for 2 months. I know serving with Young Life in Managua has been something that Jeff has desired to do all semester. I could just see a strong desire to serve in his expression and in his eagered anticipation. I rarely spoke regarding myself or my own emotions, but I knew that if I would explain my selfish desire to keep him close and in the states, would be merely that, a selfish desire. Therefore I kept my mouth closed and tried my hardest to keep the tears back and silently dreaded the anticipation of the summer separation.

Fast forward to me crying the distance of 3 countries back to Texas, and barely being audible trying to explain to the American customs that I was fine and not in danger- but merely being an emotional girl, was not necessarily my greatest day. I was able to talk to Jeff unexpectedly a few days later (Monday night) on the phone. During that short conversation, he explained that he had drawn the verse Philippians 1 from a hat and was going to be teaching the other YL interns the following day when they got together for their devotional. After hanging up, I read the verse, and knew instantly that I needed to stop my worrying and that the summer actions, travels, and plans, were ordained by none other than our God.

 "I thank my God every time I remember you. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

    

 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God. "

I love how God can always give those gentle pushes in explaining to our minds, that he knows exactly what will happen- and exactly the purpose it will play in our lives. In this verse, Paul is in prison and thanking God that he has had the ability to meet these people, and regardless of what is happening to him in prison- people are still spreading the good news and praying and building their relationship with God. It is not because Paul has encouraged it- but because the people desire and want it on their own- and to follow in obedience, no matter the risk. Paul explains how much the people had played an impacting role in his life, and how much the distance and separation takes a toll on him- but that he knows it is in the goodness of God that all things play out in His manner. I need to rest in this actions of this summer as being just that- the distance will be a toll, but all in all we are still serving God.

4 days until I start my 30 hour flight towards India!

Pictures from Managua

               Texas Pete's Hotter Hot Sauce! I was excited about the Texas
               Pete being at the hotel... I was only allowed to have a small dip
               bc It was my first meal to eat since I got sick...
                              But that one dip was awesome :-)

                              

                    Power aid was my "save all meal" in Nica.

...Can't stop Time...

I just came back from leaving Jeff in Nicaragua this past weekend. I knew it was going to be hard but I did not foresee it being like it was at all. While we were in Nica I was sick most of the time so everything that we had planned to explore and make adventures out of turned into me being sick and bed ridden. We had a lot of good talks because of it though and we started talking about important life lesson's that we had learned from our childhood and how they reflected in our lives now. One that I brought up was the fact that life does not stop for any one - or for any reason. People always wish they could put the world on hold while they get their life in order. At least to be able to give a certain person more time or even one last embrace. It is something that we have no control of and we are often expected to live out life normally no matter the situation we are experiencing. I knew that I was expressing a lesson that I was going to feel on Saturday morning when I got on the plane by myself- but it is still a lesson that is very strong and true. We always wish for that one extra moment as if it can make the impacting difference in our lives.

I know this summer is going to be good for us. I know it is something that God has a bigger plan for than I cannot understand now- and it is probably a potential time to draw closer to Him while I am in a country I do not know the people or even understand the language. This summer has great potential for some amazing Personal, Life, & World growth, so that is how I am going to need to embrace it.

I leave for India in 10 days and in my preparation for the leaving and getting medicated- I have had some interesting reactions to the vaccines. I was part of the 5% of the population that actually contracted a mild form of typhoid from the vaccine- which caused me to be sick while in Nica. I am also on a preventative medication for Malaria and apparently I am allergic to that medication. A rash across my arm and lips 2x their size gave us the direction to stop that medication. I keep telling my mom it's God's way of helping me transition to not having Jeff in the same country because even if he were here, I would not be seeing him with my clown lips. It hurts to laugh, cry, and even to smile- but the Dr. said they should be back to normal in 2 days :-) 

I hope he is right, because this picture was of me trying to smile!