Our final goodbyes

It's our final day! I got another lucky break because Chenelle's group was split. Half went to do Education and the other half joined my group in the colony doing medical. So Chen was in my group one more time. I was also lucky because we were headed to the first colony that I went to. It was the colony that changed my life,where I knew that I was doing something good in the world. It's where I knew that I wanted to be a better person. I knew that I would always try and serve. This is where I was also very overwhelmed. There is so much pain and suffering in the world. How Could any one person change that. I was overcome with so much emotion, I wanted to fix everyone and everything and I knew that I couldn't. I can't even put a dent in the work that needs to be done. Then I met that man who changed my life. He was so grateful, and he did indeed need me at that time. Heavenly father sent me here to help him. At that moment I knew that I could change something, I could help someone and put a teeny tiny dent in the work that needs to be done in the world and specifically India!



I was so happy to see this man again. I'm really sad I can't share his name but I didn't understand him when i asked. He was extremely humble and so sweet. I am so happy that I was able to see the man that changed my life. I'm so grateful to him for letting me help him because he will never know that he helped me more than I could have ever helped him!


Every time we go to a leprosy colony I am so touched by the amazing people who live there. They have so much courage and heart. They seem to always be smiling and despite there deformities they are living and are making the best of what life has given them! Our very last patient had an ulcer on his hand, right where his fingers would have been. We watched as the doctor took her scissors and cut out the ulcers. He winced in pain as she continued to go deeper with the scissors. Then she stood up and started squeezing his palm pushing the infection out. He moaned in pain. He was the very last to be worked on so all of us stood watching. A few cried watching him wishing we could take away his pain. After the infection was out and his palm all wrapped he stood up and smiled at us! He walked towards the door and joined his wife outside. This is his life. This is how he lives.


Something India has taught me is that there is beauty all around us. When I first arrived in Chennai and was going to our hotel all I could see was overwhelming amounts of trash on the ground. It looked so dirty. That's where my focus was. After a few days my focus shifted on the people. Soon I looked past the filth and realized how amazing India truly is. The people are beautiful inside and out! The villages are vibrant and green and have so much character! I've loved being here, I love the beauty radiating all around me and I will miss it terrible when I leave.


Just a smile can show someone how much you care, I want to always remember to smile even when life gets hard. The people here have so many problems in their life, and I'm sure they have many days where they just want to know why they have to live with the trials they have. Im sure they feel helpless at times and angry, bitter and much more than I know. But they always seem to be happy with a smile on their faces. I can't explain how beautiful these people are. Inside and out they radiate with the Love of God. I just hope that I can learn from the example that they have shown me and remember to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed me with.



On our way home from the village we stopped to buy some last minute things at the junction. Anand's daughter goes to school in the junction and she had happened to just get out of school so we met her. She is so beautiful and he is such a proud father. It really made me miss my dad, I love my dad so much and I felt so sad that I didn't get to share fathers day with him! I'm grateful to have a father that loves me! He has been so supportive of my journey to India. He has supported me through so much in my life and I'm so excited to see him when I go home! Love you dad!


When every volunteer session ends they get to paint one of the fence walls. They have to paint the theme of the session! Our session's theme was "it's all about love" we painted a mural of hearts and made little hearts with our names in it. Our theme was so perfect. I feel like the thing that I've felt here the most is Love! I love India, I love these kids and the people around them, I love the other volunteers here and have made some really good friends, I love Chenelle and Krissy even more and I didn't know that was possible, I love my family even more, I have learned to love myself and even more so my Heavenly Father and the Savior!

Our last play time was pretty emotional! I knew it was our last play time and so did the kids! Ruthish made me a bracelet. Thank you Chenelle for snapping such an amazing picture of this moment. I will forever love this picture. It shows how sweet and humble he is!



I sat and watched Vishva play with his cousin! He says they are best friends! It makes me so happy to know that he has some family around! They played a game of marbles during playtime. He is so cute, I love Vishva.


I am so excited to say that I am going to be Vishva's final sponsor! He needed four and I'm the fourth. To be a sponsor you pay $30 a month towards the child's schooling and stay. In return I can send him things and I will receive letters from him keeping me posted on his progress in school and in his life! I really wanted to show Vishva how much he meant to me and how much I truly care about him! He changed my life and I want to be there for him whenever he needs me!


After dinner we all went down to see the choir and life dance performance. Vishva sat next to me. I was feeling nervous but excited to tell him that I was going to sponsor him. Emotions ran high in the dining hall knowing that after the performance we were going to say our final goodbyes. The choir sang a few primary songs and ended with "God be with you till we meet again" then the life dance group danced three numbers. It was so much fun seeing these kids perform. We spent many nights dancing with them, doing only technique. We hadn't actually watched the do a choreographed number. The final dance the did was about lifting those with Leprosy. They portrayed someone who was struggling then had another person represent an angle lifting them up. Almost everyone in the room was crying. The dance fit every emotion I had felt while in India. Plus I love these kids and I watched them work hard in dance and they performed it beautifully. The song they danced to was a David Archulate song that he specifically wrote and sang to the rising star when he volunteered there. Not only did the dance make me emotional but the sound of the little voices singing it all around me. A few kids looked at me confused at the tears running down my face. They asked me "auntie why you cry? Don't be sad!" I couldn't speak, my throat choked up. My friend Becky explained to them that I was crying because I was happy. Happy to see them dance and happy that I came to India. To be honest I was also heart broken. I didn't want to say goodbye and I knew in a few short minutest would be time.


Kala led the program, she kept the kids calm and quite during the mini concert. After the performance they put music on for us to dance with the kids before we had to say goodbye. I was prepared to have so many kids crying. I couldn't hold back my own tears either. I will miss them so much. A year is a long time. I searched for Vishva in the crowd and pulled him aside to tell him that I was going to be sponsoring him. I let him know that he meant so much to me and that I would sponsor him! He shook his head and hugged me. He told me that he would write to me and that he loved me! I hugged him and never wanted to let him go. He went off to tell his friends the good news and I turned my attention to Ruthish. He was sobbing, loud cries came from his mouth. I picked him up and held him tight. I told him that it wasn't the last time we would see him! Chenelle had a huge attachment to Ruthish too. She was crying as she was trying to comfort Basha as well. Ruthish has our hearts. We would sponsor him as well if he hadn't had all his sponsors. We told him that we would write him. I am going to miss his smile, his spunky personality. His cute dimple that he said means he is going to marry a rich woman. I can't imagine my life without these boys. They mean the world to me and I can't wait to see them again!

After we walked the kids to the hostel, I held Chenelle's hand and sobbed. We knew that we wouldn't see the kids again before we left and until we could come back again. I was truly heart broken at that moment and also extremely grateful that my Heavenly Father sent me to such an amazing place. I know I was in India for a reason. I haven't felt so much love, compassion, spirit and happiness. When all the volunteers made it back to the Elephant house we sat in the courtyard to watch a slide show that the coordinators put together of our session. We all laughed and cried and laughed some more. This experience was one that everyone should have. I can't imagine my life if I hadn't come to India. I will forever have a family in India! The Rising Star will forever be part of my life. I will never be the same again. I hope that I can share a little bit of India and the lessons I learned here with my family and friends! I hope they will be able to feel an ounce of how I felt through my blog, pictures and movies of my journey!

Now the chapter of my session as volunteer closes, I get all packed to head to New Delhi for a few days before I go home! I'm sure I'll post a few blogs about my trip to the Taj when I get back. No wifi there!

Thanks again for sharing this experience with me by reading my blog.

Remember IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My final construction project!

Monday was our last day of construction! The plan was to head to the art colony and help clean up the village. Well that all changed when there was a wild fire near the green house. Most of the volunteers went to church on Sunday when the fire started. Benson and Carl both stayed home. When we got back from church Benson said that he and Carl were busy all day trying to put out a wild fire and that it had only been about 20 feet away from the green house. He said they both were scared enough that they grabbed their belongings and passports. I thought he was probably over exaggerating a little bit. Then Carl announced we were going to be doing construction behind the green house instead of in the art colony.
Last week my group raked leafs all day long. We had to deal with spiders, snakes and weird lizards. After we would rake the leafs we would put them on a tarp and throw them over the fence. I had a feeling that it wasn't such a great idea. I was thinking "I wonder what will happen with these leafs after they are over the fence. Will someone come pick it up? Will they burn it?". Well it was just about to be burnt. Dr. Susan called Carl after the Wild fire was out and said that it was super important to get all the leafs we threw over the fence away for the school and the green house. We had to move it all the way behind the school to be burnt in a fire pit.




I was excited for construction that day because Chenelle was joining me. We weren't that excited about moving a huge pile of leafs and branches that my group had already taken a full day to move and throw over the fence. It felt like day was wasted. I felt like we could have transferred these leafs to the right place the first time. Now we had to take another day on something that I had already done.




When we arrived Monday morning I wasn't expecting to see the fire that close to the Green house and the Rising Star campus it was literally only three feet away from all of the dried leafs and branches. If that fire had reached the pile the green house would have burnt down. There are so many trees on campus that could have caught fire and it could have spread to the Elephant house and worse the kids school or hostels.




After the shock of realizing how bad things could have been, I realized how blessed we were. That Heavenly Father had been looking out for us that day. There was a distinct line where the fire had stopped. It was almost like the Lord had drawn a line where the fire stopped. My anger and frustration left me and we got to work on clearing out the branches.




We worked hard that day but we also had fun. Chen brought here iPod out hooked them up to Carl's speakers and we had a dance day during construction. It's amazing how much music can boost me up. I love music! Chen put on some music from her Zumba classes. We laughed as we danced with rakes in our hands doing some of the movements while cleaning up and packed loads into a trailer. I have absolutely loved going through this process with some of my best friends. I can't imagine this amazing experience without them by my side!




I feel like through this experience I've learned its not what you do but it's how you do it. I could have easily gone to construction with a bad attitude saying I told you so. I could have been grumpy and complained all day about how we had already done it. Instead I had Chen by my side, I let the Lord step into my life and help me realize that it needed to be done and to be positive. We had a great day working, serving and creating everlasting memories.




Just fanning Chen off during a long hot day.




Chenelle was is terrified of the huge jumping spiders. There were hundreds of them in this huge pile. But she worked hard raking and cleaning only jumping a few times.








Spiders weren't the only thing we were afraid of. As we were Sifting through the piles so we could load the trailers we found lots and lots of snake skin! We think that it was only from one snake. A Rat snake! The skin was fresh and there happened to be a few mice that ran from the pile so we were a bit hesitant to search the pile in case the snake was still under there somewhere.




After we finished we all collected the snake skin we found lined it up! Then we made a master plan to put it in Krissy's bed while she was still doing Medical! when she got back to our room and found our little present we left for her she freaked! We laughed so hard. I absolutely love my friends if I haven't mentioned it before!




As I was walking to playtime I realized that we only had two more play times! How could that be? Time went by so fast and I now only have two more times to play with these kids. I wanted to make the most of ever minute spent with them.




Basha (the boy in the orange striped shirt) loved Chenelle! He made her bracelets almost everyday! I have loved getting to know all these boys. I am going to miss them so much.




During playtime Ruthish wanted to show Chen and I his suit! I don't think I ever saw Ruthish happier then the day he put that suit on for us. He stood in front of the mirror smiling so big! He spanned and laughed! There is a special presence about Ruthish! He is so warm and caring. I can't imagine what my life would be without having met him and spending time with him! I will never ever forget him. I know I will go back to rising star and hug him tightly. Until then i will miss him everyday. I looked forward to seeing him everyday! He was the reason I was exciting to go into the computer lab during math. My heart breaks that I will be so far away from him. But I know he will is in such an amazing place getting an amazing education. Thank you Rising Star for the work you are doing!
Monday night was our very last family night! Tuesday night the kids were doing a goodbye performance for all the volunteers during family time ago this was it! As soon as I walked in Vishva came running into my arms. Oh how I love that boy! we sat down and read together. He had to do fifteen minutes of reading. As he read his story I could barely pay attention to the words he was reading. All I could do was stare at his face, trying to memorize his features. All i could think about was that I was going to be leaving him the next day. As I watched him I started to try and figure out how I could bring him home. I didn't want to leave him, I couldn't leave him! I put on my brave face and finished reading with him. After we read we had our last henna party! All the boys wanted our names written on their arms.




Then I let Vishva and Ruthish write their names on my arm! Vishva said because my name was on my arm that I would never forget him! I couldn't ever forget him. I could never forget any of these kids! The kids at the Rising Star are all so amazing. They have so much courage. They have to leave their villages and colonies. They have to leave their parents and live at the rising star. They only see their families during Christmas for three months of the year.




I'm so grateful that their parents are so selfless and love their kids enough to give them better by sending them to live and go to school with the Rising Star. I can't imagine how these families must feel to see there children leave them. I am sure they are missed so much. I have only known these kids for three weeks and I miss them so much I can barley stand it. Thank you thank you to these families. These kids are getting more than I think they can possibly know! And they are giving so much then I think they possibly know!




After the younger kids laid down for bed Kala showed Chenelle and i how to wrap a Saree. She used her own personal ones. I know I've mentioned how much I love Kala before but seriously I Love kala! What an incredible person! I will miss her as much as I miss those kids! She told us to wear them back to the Elephant house and that we could return them to her the next night.




When it came time to say goodnight we lingered long after we should have left. Chenelle and I kept looking at each other knowing that we both didn't want to leave. It was our last family night. We weren't going to get this personal time with the again. Vishva asked when I was leaving, I told him early Wednesday morning that I had one more day with him. I made him promise to spend time with me during play time. He said he would as he wiped tears from his eyes. I held my emotions in as I kissed his cheek and walked out the door. Chen and I walked back in silence for a few minutes, she grabbed my hand we looked at each other and started crying. We didn't want the night to end. We weren't ready to leave these boys. Three weeks wasn't enough time for us. As we walked back we talked about how we were going to make it possible to be back next year!




As I look forward to one more day with my Rising Star family I am dad that the journey is over but also excited to come back! I have a new perspective on life and I plan to be back in India serving again. I know that it won't be the last time I see these kids!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My first tut tut experience!

This entire time in India it took until our last week here to ride a tuk tuk! We have had a driver the entire time. But one day after church we had some last minute shopping to do so our new friend Carlie, Chenelle, Krissy and I took a rickshaw or known as a tuk tuk to the mall! This was our first time and man it was crazy!




Yes we fit the four of us in the back seat! And yes it was a tight squeeze. We told the driver where we wanted to go and just trusted that he understood? About twenty minutes into the drive and after we drove in circles a few times we all started to worry that he didn't know where he was going. But alas he found the mall and we started our fulfilled our of shopping before we had to head back to meet the vans.








We stopped to eat in the food court. Krissy had KFC and Chen, Carlie and I had Pizza Hut. Pizza hut in India is like fine dining! The best part about us eating is that they wouldn't let Krissy in the Pizza Hut corner of the food court with "outside food" so Chen and Krissy ate behind a half wall on a table and we sat next to them in Pizza hut. Everyone looked at us like we were crazy. But hey we get a lot of that here!




With twenty minutes to get back to meet the rest if the group we headed to catch a rickshaw. Once we exited the mall a man approached us saying "you go to the Mormon church? You with the Rising Star?" I asked him how he knew and he said he knew the Rising Star very well. We were happy about this because we didn't have an exact address to the church and we didn't know our way back. He told us the price to get back but it was double what we paid to get there. We said no thank you. He laughed at us and told us that no one else would take us for any less than what we offered. We declined and started asking other drivers if they knew where the Mormon church was, we pulled out a picture of the church and one man said that he did know where the church was and said we could pay him what we paid to get there! We all jumped in and then he got out. He said something in Tamil to the man who told us we wouldn't find a ride.




About five minutes into the ride he turns and said he had a vague idea where he was going. He hardly spoke any English and didn't understand what we were saying. After another ten min he pulled over in the middle of a busy street and told us to get out. He asked us for more money than we agreed on we battled with him for a few minutes paid what we agreed and we got out. Not knowing where we were and in the middle of a busy intersection! We had to dodge cars and run across the street to the nearest side walk. After we thought about the events we realized he never knew where he was taking us. He was friends with the man we made mad and he took user away and dropped us off in the middle of nowhere asking for more money. I wish now that we had never paid him but at the time we all just wanted out of his car.




Thank goodness Krissy had taken one of the coordinators phone and we could call and tell them we were lost. We tried getting to the Marriott we stayed in on our first day but none of the drivers seemed to know where it was. Oddly enough when we said we wouldn't go with them because they didn't know how to get us there they would be upset. About 40 minutes of standing in the hot sun and walking around lost in Chennai one of our vans passed us, called the other driver and told him where to find us! We were saved! What a crazy experience!




We all got picked up and headed to get pizza for the rest of the group. We don't have a cook on Sunday so we had to pick up dinner for everyone!




These three beautiful ladies are my roommates. From left to right its Taylor, Becca (blonde) and Emily!




These are our beautiful hand made shoes we got Saturday In Mamallapuram!





Later that night we were all craving chocolate! Emmalee was going through her bag and pulled out a bag of chocolate that had previously melted! We got a plate and a knife and went for it. The longer we sat there devouring chocolate the more chocolate we found. We ate every piece of chocolate we could find that night. We all became chocolate wasted. We laughed until our sides hurt! I have loved my roommates and I will miss them like crazy! Go Room Parakeet












Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mamallapuram!

It's Saturday again which means its time for another field trip! We are always excited to spend time all together and to get off campus for some fun in the sun! We left the Rising Star at 8:00 Saturday morning to head of to the beach aka Mamallapuram! On our drive there, the van got stopped at a railroad crossing. Apparently trains are scheduled around certain times. So they block the crossings at certain times not really knowing when the train will come. It doesn't matter how long it takes we wait until the train comes. Since we had been sitting there for twenty min Chen and I decided to paint our toe nails. Luckily I got mine finished before the train came because when we started moving again along the very bumpy, pot holed roads it was her turn!


When we reached Mamallapuram an hour and a half later the first thing Krissy, Chenelle and myself wanted was ice cream! All three of us felt pretty hungry at the time but after we shopped in Mamallapuram we were headed to the resort "Ideal Beach" for some time on the beach and swimming in the pool. And we had heard that they have good american food. So we decided that ice cream and Pepsi could hold us over until then!


We were dropped of by these Indian ruins and that was the same place we would be picked up in!


This place was known for its stone work! It was amazing watching these people carve stone and make designs! I wish I could have brought it all home with me! They are pretty dang talented!






As we were walking down the street shopping two little kids walked up to me and shook my hand! They were so sweet. They looked as though they had been wearing the same clothes for days and that they hadn't showered or washed their hair either. They asked me my name and told me I was pretty in broken English. Then they started begging for food. In this picture Chen caught me looking at her for help. At the rising star we aren't supposed to give in to anyone the begs because here they teach self reliance. It was extremely sad and at the same time I looked up and saw their mother pushing them on to do it while she sat in the shade and watched them, it made me mad. So I pulled some food out of my bag handed it to them and walked away. In that moment I decided I would always put my children and family first!



Benson is the best! He is really good at bargaining so he hung out with us all day so we could get better prices! We stopped at this cute hat shop and bought hats for the beach! Haha we looked like tourists so bad! I loved it!




This is where we all bought our shoes! They were making them in front of our eyes! It's probably my favorite purchase so far! It's amazing to actually see all these people making what they are selling you. I hardly see that at home! I have loved seeing and experiencing so many new things here, I'm truly going to miss it here!


As we made our way to the beach this is the first thing I saw! This is the kids rides on the beach. It looked like it wasn't working but I thought it was pretty funny but mostly pretty clever! Sometimes I feel as though I stepped back in time here, like they aren't caught up in technology. I see it everywhere. When we do construction they don't have any big machines to help get the job done, the tools as simple as a shovel. Their shovel looks hand made and is t very effective. They don't have a Lully system to move products so they use the women and the carry bricks and sand on their heads as they walk up two stories. So when I see these rides I feel as though they haven't realized that there are actually rides that aren't made from kids toy cars.








Yes we went horse back riding on the beach! So romantic right?! Gotta love my friends. We had a ball, riding these horses down the beach! Even though people were staring at us like we were crazy!





We always get so lucky! We have made friends with our drivers and they stay with us all the time! They make us feel safe and they help us get good deals and show us the best places to go! I love them and already miss them just thinking about leaving!


We headed to the resort Ideal beach, this was the sign we read before we hit the beach!














Sandra Rigby enjoying the water! Oh how I wish I could be in a pool at this moment! When we arrived to the resort we were starving! We headed down to the beach to order food. It was way expensive and once it came it was awful. I was pretty disappointed. Other than the bad American food everything else was beautiful! I felt like I was in Hawaii. It was weird thinking that so much poverty was outside the gate! It felt great swimming and cooling off and having fun getting to know each other!







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad