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!