Humility

The past few days have very humbling for me. Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity to go out with the medical van and help our leprosy patients. I always enjoying going with the medical team because I always have the best experiences. Thursday was far more busier than Friday because of the size of the colony. I was there for such a long time, but it was all worth while. My task that day was to help wash the patients' feet. Washing their feet in itself is always humbling for me. Some of our patients cannot wash their feet due to the lack of hands. It really is such an amazing experience to participate it and I am always grateful to have the opportunity to do so. Thursday I was the only one washing, so at times it did get a little stressful. I will never forget my last patient of that day. He was the barber of the colony and a really nice man. He smiles at everyone and seems to be very grateful for our help and very optimistic about his life even in the circumstances he has had to go through. He has horrible wounds on both feet near and around his ankle area. I was pretty tired and ready to throw in the towel for the day, but I noticed this man needed washing, so I came over to him. I was not prepared for what I was about to see. He took off his bandages and laid them on the ground beside him. For a couple of minutes I sat there and just stared almost out of breath. He finally spoke in tamil saying he was ready; I somehow managed to snap out of my trance and began on washing his feet. The smell, the damage and the sight of maggots in his feet made the task at hand almost impossible. I could not help but wince myself each time he did as I slowly and carefully washed his feet. When I finished with his first foot he kissed his hand and tapped my forehead saying, "Thank you." I looked straight into his eyes with a smile and said, "You are very welcome." The five minutes I took washing his feet seemed a lot longer. I had never seen anyone affected as bad as this man was before, so I was totally shocked when his bandages slowly came off. After we cleaned up and were ready to go, I sat in the car with a feeling I have never had. I was just speechless and dead silent the whole ride back to RSO. I do not know what it was; I cannot put into words to describe how I felt. The rest of the day I remained in my dead silent state. Friday was not as gruesome as Thursday. The colony we went to was a lot smaller and took half the time. I was prepared to expect anything this time, but unfortunately my feet washing abilities were not needed. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to having another experience similar to the one I had with the barber, but no worries I was put to good use using my friendly nature to speak with the colonists helping them feel comfortable and loved. Today was Children's Day all over India, so we had a lot of fun with our children as they had a chance to participate in various games. At one point we had to stop due to rain, but thankfully for the kids the rain passed by fairly quickly and Children's Day was able to finish. It was great to have the rain again after a few days of somewhat hot weather. It would continue to rain throughout the rest of the day. Tonight I had the chance to go to Uthiramerur with Vikram, one of our office workers. Vikram is a very interesting guy. He is always happy and has a good sense of humor. He is getting ready for marriage, so before dinner he had me go with him to help pick out some wedding pictures he would present to his future wife's family. I think he appreciated my opinion, but I just hope the family of his future wife likes them. If he does not get married he can always blame me for selecting bad pictures. At dinner he asked me some pretty interesting questions. The topic was on love and what love meant to me. I was sort of shocked with his questions and I had not been planning on being asked about love. I gave him my most sincere and honest definition and of what it meant to me. I used great examples so he could understand what I was talking about. His response threw me off a little as he tried in his best way to tell me that I had been sent from God to help him and that it was God who sent me to answer his question, which he had been meaning to answer for several years. He had asked all of his family, people he worked with at RSO, and many RSO volunteers, but somehow the answer to his question still remained unanswered. He told me I was his angel and that finally after several years his question had been answered. I told him he was very welcome and if he ever had any other questions he should not hesitate to ask me because I would be more than glad to assist him in whatever way possible. I do not know what to say. I am very grateful and so appreciative of someone to look at me in that regard. I have never been told before I am somebody's angel, or that I have sent by God to answer someone's question. I do not feel worthy enough to be looked upon in that sense, but I guess we truly are sent by God to help people only He knows we can help. I was very flattered and blown away, but I felt more good in the sense his questions have now been answered and I now know Vikram is happy, which is what makes me happy. It feels good to know someone can look at you in the highest respect. It really was an honor and an amazing privilege. I will never forget my experiences in the past few days. It seems no matter what I do, or where I go God is always watching out for me. I cannot deny it because I keep seeing it repeatedly. I love the work I am doing and I love the people here. I love and miss you guys! You are all in my thoughts and prayers! I hope all of you are doing well!

Importance of Mothers

With my new alarm clock that my mom gave to me as her departing gift I was able to wake up on time to be ready for the day. With this alarm clock I cannot simply sleep right through it because it has many stages of sounds progressing louder and louder after a few seconds of each sound. It starts off with a simple buzz, then it gets a little bit louder, and the final buzz is so loud it not only wakes me up, but poor Matthew who sleeps next door to me is probably also awake as well, so I guess if I cannot escape sleeping in late neither can he. After I was up and showered, Lucy had me go to Chengalpattu with her to break open the RSO cash box, which had quite a bit of money and a myriad of other important things. I was wondering why we had to go break open the cash box, so I asked Lucy; she told me she had lost the key in Sri Lanka over the break. I guess that explains why we had to break open the box. While Lucy and I were waiting for our driver she noticed a shop across the street which repairs broken shoes and sandals. She needed her sandals repaired, so we walked over there and asked the women and man working there if she could have her sandals repaired, which was only fifty rupees, so a little over a dollar. It was pretty cool how they repaired Lucy's sandals. The soles of the sandals were thinning out, so they put another layer of rubber underneath them and sowed them on adding half an inch to what was already there. They took her sandals, layed them down on the piece of rubber they had, traced an outline of the sandals, carved out the outline, and then they sowed the rubber outline onto the soles of her sandals. It was such a cool process to watch. Lucy and I laughed with amazement about how if you were going to work and your shoes broke on the way you could just simply stop by a shoe repair shop and in twenty minutes have your shoes repaired. No sense in purchasing new shoes if you can repair the ones you got right? Now I know where to go to salvage my shoes if possible. I always love it when Veil is our driver because he loves to blare his Tamil music making it almost impossible to talk to anyone. I had a chance to talk with Lucy more, who I do not get to talk to as much, but since we were the only ones in the car it was nice to talk with her as she asked me questions about my life and family. Later in the day I went out to the junction just outside of our village with Annie, Nicole, and Madi to get some ice cream, parotha for dinner, which I got for myself, and samosa's, which the girls got for themselves. I always love getting parotha as you all know from reading my blogs. It is by far my favorite food in India. On a more serious note, I know these past few entries I have mentioned my mom quite a bit, but it is because I have realized the importance of having a mother and a family while I have spent quite a time away from mine. After finishing Angela's Ashes, a poem from the book stood out to me, which I will quote. "A mother's love is a blessing no matter where you roam. Keep her while you have her; you'll miss her when she's gone." I read this last night after my mother left RSO and I thought about what it meant to me. Mothers are so important in our lives; they care deeply about us; they want us to succeed; they pray for us each night before going to bed; they support us in whatever we do; they encourage us when times are rough; they hurt inside when we hurt inside; everything we do affects them whether we realize it or not. There is no greater friend in this world to have than our mothers. My mother's love has been the greatest blessing in my life and I miss her every single time she is gone. I pray for her every night before I go to bed; I care deeply about her; I want nothing more than for her to be successful; I will always support her in everything she does even if I do not understand it right away; I always encourage her because I know she deserves the best; I hurt inside when she hurts inside; everything she does has an effect on my life and I always look to her as the perfect example of someone I want to become and marry one day. Mothers are the types of people who make us better, which are the kinds of people we should surround ourselves with. We should all have close relationships to our mothers because if we have a close relationship to our mothers then we can come to have a happy relationship with our future spouses. I know from looking at my two brothers who are married today that they have happy lives with their spouses because they have had a close relationship with my mother. They set a perfect example to me in all they do, and I hope one day I can have a happy family like they do. I hope all of us can realize the importance mothers have in our lives, and if we do not already have a great relationship with our mothers I strongly urge you all to do so. It is never too late to tell your mother you love her, to give her a hug, to tell her how grateful and appreciative you are of all she does for you; time is never too short, but rather too long wasted away in pointless affairs. We all have ten seconds now with modern technology to write an email, send a text, or dial a number on our blackberry's or iphone's and say three important words, which will change our relationship with one of the most important people in our lives. I love being in India! I love the work I am doing everyday and the people here! I love and miss you all! I want you all to know you are in my thoughts and prayers each night! Remember it is never too late to tell your mother you love her!

Reach For the Heavens

Right now in India it is monsoon season, so it rains constantly throughout the day and sometimes even the whole day, which is pretty depressing, but in a way also very beautiful. The rain brings out a different kind of beauty that lies hidden during the normal and miserable hot weather climate. After the rain, everything looks more lucious and colorful leaving everything in a breath-taking state. The rain is always important for India because this time of year the Indian people rely on the rain for a myriad of reasons ranging from personal use to agricultural. Well, having said that about India outside of RSO, let me take you to what life is like in India at RSO. It is a little muddy and difficult to get around, but we are still having the most fun as always and making the most of what is thrown at us. The last couple of days I have had a chance to tutor some of the many adorable kids we have here. It does get a little frustrating every time I tutor the younger ones because they are more shy than the older kids and their English is not all that well, so they have more work to do, but they are still smart and they just need a chance to be helped. The kids are getting ready for their exams, so we are helping prepare them to be 100% ready. I always love tutoring the kids because knowing I am helping them gain something so valuable makes me feel great. Tonight, I went out to Uthiramerur with Radhika, my mom, some of our office staff, and I for dinner. Parotha always hits the spot for me. It was so great having my mom with me because she always knows how to make a crowd smile and laugh. I am sort of bummed to know she is only here till Tuesday, but I am so grateful she is here and I would rather have her with me for the time she is here than to not be with her at all. I feel like I do not thank her enough for how great she is and for how much she has done for me. I am so blessed and privileged to have her in my life and I am so honored to say to people she is my mother. She is one of the most inspiring people I know and it is because of her I push myself to become great because being good is not good enough. She is my biggest role-model and the greatest mother a son could ever have and ask for! I am so grateful for having such an amazing family and wonderful parents who have given me so many amazing opportunities! God really has blessed me and it is so evident. Everyday I think about you guys back home. I love and miss each one you! I love the work and the people here! I have a soft spot in my heart for India and I always will. Make the most of every opportunity that comes along your way and never sell yourself short because you have more potential than you think. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. God did not create us to fail; he created us to succeed making us capable of having the world in our hands if we believe it. I hope we can all keep sight of the road in front of us always moving our feet forward never moving backward. I love you all!

Finally Back!

So I am finally back in India with all my Indian friends and the adorable children. I have to say though my break in the states was quite amazing. I was able to have the opportunity and privilege to accompany Padma, Amy, and my mom as we traveled around the country speaking at different universities and other various places about India and all the work they do to make RSO what it is today and what it will become in the future. During all of this, at each place I went to, I had the opportunity to meet some phenomenal people, so I was blessed and very fortunate to come along. It really was a treat to see my mom doing what she does best with the help of God making miracles happen: soliciting about India in a positive way of course. It would be rude of me to say she was seeking for her own, but we all know that is not the case, but rather she does it with love and that is why RSO is so successful. Coming back I almost forgot how long the plane ride was, but I surely survived. Twelve hours to dubai plus another four hours to India making it sixteen, but with all the waits it is really about twenty, so almost a day. For the first few days I have to admit it felt strange, but after another few days of living the typical routine I was so comfortable with for two months, it all came back to me. The kids are just as adorable as I remembered them to be with the constant crave of love and attention and smiles that rip your heart from your chest. It feels good to be back home in that sense; India, my safe haven of love, excitement, and experience. Today, Ron and Joyce finally made it back! I am so excited they are here because having them around is like having the best second parents anyone could possibly ask for. They truly are one of the world's greatest people alive! So a lady named Macarthur came by from Chennai for one night. She does business here with a designing company and she knew of Rising Star through my sister Dianna when she was living in D.C. for a little while. She is pretty cool and I had the chance to talk to her for a little while before it got too late. I felt bad I was keeping her up, but eventually she had to go because of her jet lag. I know that feeling! We all went out to dinner in Chengalpat, which was very nice because it felt great to have a full stomach in India again. The funny part about dinner was Macarthur telling us she had a brilliant idea and we all had to say yes to this idea. We all ask what this idea was and she says, "I am going to pay for everyone's dinner because I have a job." Some of us smiled and agreed, but I could not let her pay, so I said I will pay, but she insisted and so I let her do it. I said, "We kind of have jobs!" All in all it was a great night and I am just so glad to be back! I am also glad Ron and Joyce are back because they really make things so much more comfortable here. They bring with them an amazing spirit of love and joy making the work we do more enjoyable! I love India, the work I am doing, the people here, the culture, and everything about India! Everyday I thank God for allowing me to have this opportunity to mature and to experience life in another culture with such an amazing people. Being here has been one of the best blessings in my life and I am so grateful! I really have learned happiness comes from serving others and freely giving love to those in need. I hope all of us, wherever we are in the world, can give service to those in need of it. We do not have to give a lot because even if we have nothing we can give love, which is something all of us posses. Everyone has something to give to others and we truly are blessed immensely from doing so. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest people to have ever lived said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." There is nothing further from the truth than this statement. All of us talk about wanting different things to happen in the world, but saying and doing are two different things, and if we want change we have to be willing to make it happen. Look at my mom and all she has done for India because of her influence and want in change. She wanted change and she slowly became the change she wanted, and today millions of lives have been changed and some are still slowly changing for the better because of her Mother Teresa and Gandhi alike attributes to care for the world we live in. We all can be a positive change in the world, but it definitely does not happen overnight. It takes time like anything else needing to be changed. I leave these things with you not to preach to you, but to give you examples of great people who envisioned change, and like them, we too can change the world we live in for the better. We may be one person in a crowd of millions, but I bet the only ones to actually be brave enough to change the world we live in being the world to those millions of lives. I love and miss you guys! I think about you guys everyday and it is because of you all I am able to do what I do here! Each and every single one of you is in my prayers! I love this work and I love these people with all of my heart! Remember you can be the change you wish to see in the world!

Defining Who I Am & Who I Want To Become

Today was an Indian holiday, so we had no office staff or any drivers. It was a very relaxing day, but we all still managed to have fun. I woke up for our morning meeting, which went well, but in the mornings I do not seem to remember much of what goes on in those meetings, which is ok because they are not really all that important. We just go over basic announcements like where people need to be and such and what goes on during the day. It was a short meeting because we all realized it was a holiday, so we spent our time cleaning things which needed cleaning and making up projects to do. I had it pretty simple because I just worked on my art stuff all day. For lunch we had Ron drive us to the junction just right outside of our village where we all caught a bus to Uthiramerur for parotha. Parotha is always an excitement for me, so I always try to go when I have the chance. One of the great pleasures I have had while being out here is time to myself. I get thinking about life and where I see myself in the future. I have had time to really get to know myself better and appreciate certain aspects of my life I had not before, or not as much as I previously had. Happiness flows within me more frequently and I think part of it is due to having time by myself, but also having that time in an atmosphere where I can succeed to my full potential. The upcoming years are going to be the most pivotal years of my life. School, hopefully marriage, but not too soon, and finding a career that suits me comfortably in something I am passionate about. I am so anxious for these next few years to unfold. I wish I could fast forward time to be in them right now. I really have had better insights to my future and where I want to be in life. Some of those things I listed above are achievements I hope to one day make, and it feels great having some direction in my life being able to focus on important goals I know will one day make me happy. I do not know if time by myself anywhere would have made me realize what I realize now, but I am truly grateful to have had these insights. Life in India has truly brought out a different perspective in my eyes of the person I want to become, but do not fool yourself to think it is just simply living here in India which has made me see this; living here has played a small role in my experiences, but it is far more amazing in what I have accomplished and done so far. The work I am doing day in and day out, the people I have an honor to meet and speak with ranging from volunteers who come to people in the colonies, the opportunities I have where I would not have anywhere else, and time to myself to think about my life, my goals, the person I want to become, and what I want to achieve make up all the wonderful reasons of why living in India has so far changed my life. It is not so much of what I seek to become or what I want to do in the future that makes my life different, but who I have become and who I am slowly becoming. I do not want to fool anyone in believing what I have written, for it is different reading words then actually seeing something in real life. I hope to one day show you all my success, share my motivation in life, which has gotten me through my toughest times, be an example to you all and others, share my inspiration with you all, which I have acquired throughout my life and various events I have had the privilege to participate in, and most importantly to use all I have acquired in changing other people's lives for the better not just mine. There is a quote, which I think defines life perfectly. This same quote shadows over my blog with its intent to grasp readers delineating its theme."Life's splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come." Life, which is essential to all of us, can be reached to a degree we want if we seek it out. Sometimes what we want in life does not always turn out to be, or what we expected it to be, but somewhere it waits for each person patiently. Life happens everyday. Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. How we want our life to be and what we want in our life is only up to us and no one else, which is why I love this quote. I hope my thoughts I have shared can give you all a better meaning of who I am becoming. I love the work I am doing and I love these people with all my heart. I love you and miss you all! I hope each one of can strive to become better like I hope to. Never lose sight at where you are going and always keep your feet moving in the right direction.

Life In India

Well, honestly I am pretty anxious to be writing another blog. It has been about four days since I have last written and letting you all know how I am doing has been on my mind these past few days. Today was a pretty fun day; the Marriott associates came over to the campus to see all the kids; Radhika had her UKG kids, which is kindergarten in India, and the eight standard girls perform their dance pieces, which were fantastic; we all had a great lunch provided by the Marriott associates, and then a few volunteers including myself took a trip to end our day in Mamallapuram. It was so cute to see our little UKG kids dressed up in their cute little outfits Radhika purchased as they danced for everyone. I wish you all could have seen it because it was beyond adorable. Our eighth standard girls performed a piece from a movie and they too were phenomenal. Mamallapuram was fun as always; Brett and I stuck together as he and I went looking for skirts for his business, which is a pretty interesting idea. Later in the day we met up with Nikesh and it was great seeing him again. I am just going to share a litle background with you guys about Brett Caywood and Nikesh because most of you do not know who these people are. I met them last year when I came out and we became pretty good friends through my idea of the bomb-dot-com-sandwich. It all started with my amazing sandwich making skills, which really is not all that amazing because it is too simple of as task to do, but since everyone was lazy in making food last year I got the credit for making sandwiches. Brett recently finished business school in Arizona and has decided to do some business in India, or with India. His idea is to have people here make indian skirts, which he can sell back in the states, so today we spent a good amount of time looking at different patterns and such for his business, which was not all that bad because every once in awhile we would ask some cute girls traveling on their opinions and advice. I mean we had to have some fun while we were doing something so feminine. Nikesh, one of our volunteers last year as well, is an awesome guy! He lives in Chennai and is my priesthood teacher, which is great because there is no one better for the job. This past week has not been super eventful, but I did get a chance to go out one day to a colony I had not been to since last year, so I was pretty excited seeing how much the colony has changed. I believe the name of this colony is Vilayajabad, but my spelling is probably not accurate. I helped build two goat sheds for them last year, which was a very tiresome and bloody task due to working without gloves. Ron Gunnell has come out for a few days, so having him here is great because he is also a phenomenal person! I had the privilege to speak with him going back to the campus after riding into the city to pick him up from the Marriott. I love talking to people as you all may know, but something I love doing even more is having opportunities to speak with very influential people; Ron is one of them. It has been great being out here because I have met so many successful and influential people. I met one lady by the name of Tony Swarson, who is an author of several books. She had a crazy life growing up and talking to her I learned a lot. Her words, how she expressed herself, and how appreciative she is having gone through what she went through was phenomenal to listen to. I could have listened to her for hours. I plan to look her up in Barnes and Noble when I get the chance and read some of her books. I would list all of the amazing people I have met here, but it would take up too much time, so I thought I would share only those who I thought had a bigger impact on me than others. It truly has been an amazing privilege coming here. I find myself saying it constantly, but I would not say it in my blogs, or to other people if I did not think it was true. A few other cool things I could mention are I am learning Tamil and I kid you not, but I am actually picking up on it very quickly. Thanni, one of our accountants for RSO, helps me everyday for half an hour. I also have a book I look at before I go to bed, which helps with memorizing phrases and new words. It's tough, but the staff is surprised at how much I have learned and how much I try to speak with them. I figured if I was going to be here for a year why not learn the language as best as I can? Learning Tamil is probably my coolest news. My other news is I have gotten another haircut and I have shaved for the first time in 2 months. I was completely shocked when I looked into the mirror because I have not seen myself the way I am in so long. I had to clip some of my facial hair with scissors because parts of my hair had grown out so long. I wish I had taken a picture so show you guys what I looked like. It was great because I have never had an audience watching me as I shaved before, so this was something new and quite hysterical. Some children would stand in awe, others would laugh, and a couple kids would take the scissors and start cutting each others hair. Who knew shaving was so interesting? I am glad the children had a good time though. I will end sharing with you all some thoughts I have conjured while being here. I guess one of the most important lessons I have learned here is how to spend time wisely. I know sometimes time flies by so fast we do not even notice how we are spending it, but the times we do notice are times we should really grasp ahold of our attention and divert our thoughts from wanting to spend it unwisely and rather aim to spend it in ways most beneficial to us. I heard someone once say, "When we are doing things in the right place at the right time we have less of a chance of getting into trouble.." I have found this to be a true statement. When we are constantly moving with full momentum and using our time wisely it is harder to get ourselves caught up in situations we should not be in. It is better this way and I have found it to truly work. I hope we can all spend our time wisely and hopefully this way we will not be distracted by the worldly life, but rather seeking out our spiritual gain and realizing our value of who we really are in life. I truly believe and testify to you all when we are in the service of our fellow man we are truly in the service of our God. King Benjamin could not have said better words. I love the work I am doing and I love these people with all of my heart! I love and miss you all so much! I hope you all are doing well!

Two Months!

What’s the biggest challenge you’re having to face over there? What will be the biggest opportunity you get to pursue? These are just a couple of questions my brother Scott asked me in a recent email. Honestly the biggest challenge here is just waking up everyday knowing I am in store for something new, and asking myself how I am going to focus my day right so I can make myself useful as well as the day ahead of me. It is always hard waking up and starting my day, but once I get moving I find myself not wanting to stop. I have been unable to write for a few days due to internet problems here. Our internet has been down and today it has just started working, so I, in my spare time, have been letting everyone know I am still alive and doing well. I do not know if there is only one answer to "what is the biggest challenge I am having to face" because it changes daily, but if I were to pick one right now I would say the experience I had with Arumagam. Arumagam taught me a lot about myself I did not know. What made it a big challenge for me was for the first time in my life I had to search within myself feelings I never knew existed. I had to forget what I saw in my mind, and look at what I truly saw in my heart. The experience I had with Arumagam may be the greatest experience I will ever have here, but I know everyday I am faced with a new challenge, a new task teaching me to humble myself, or physically push myself; everyday new obstacles are set in front of me. It is hard to answer that question knowing many more are yet to come my way, but I am preparing myself each day for those yet to come through obstacles I somehow tackle. I learn something new through each obstacle I encounter. The biggest opportunity I have gotten to pursue is probably coming to India. These two months have been extremely wonderful. I have learned so much and I am still learning. I thought being here for a whole year was going to be so long, but honestly time has flown by with what I have been doing. I truly am in the service of my God serving these wonderful people. Just like King Benjamin said, "When you are in the service of your fellow beings you are in the service of your God." I feel the Lord's blessings daily and I know he is comforting me when I need comfort, watching over me when I need protection, and guiding me safely to where I need to be at the right place at the right time. He allows me to help those only I was chosen to help. Just like being on a mission we serve and help the people we are destined to help that no one else can. I am truly proud of all the sacrifice my family has made to get me where I am today. It is through them I find my motivation to succeed and determination to persevere. I could not have better examples in my life of people I someday would love to become. Each person in my family has become extremely successful and it is because each one of them has kept their eyes on the path God wants them to be on. God has blessed our family immensely; miracles have occurred to keep our family together; miracles have occurred to start new adventures in far away places; miracles have occurred to bless our family when other families were struggling. I have noticed it is always easier to do good when other people around us are doing good, but the minute we are by ourselves is what really defines who we are. What we do when no one is watching defines the true character within us. I have struggled with this concept my whole life, but slowly I am learning to be the best I know I can be. I love this work I am doing and I love these people with all of my heart! I miss and love each one of you! I anxiously look forward to hearing from you all!

Live Like You Believe

Life in India is getting more and more comfortable as each passes. I don't know, but for some reason it doesn't hit me I am actually in India until I look at my surroundings. Odd as it, but it feels like home here. Sometimes it gets hard because I think about being home, but at the end of the day I am glad God gave me this opportunity to be here and to serve these people. I have been extremely busy the past few days. I have been assigned many projects, which seem to occupy my time, so this is great. One project I have been assigned to do allows me to do something I love. I get to paint a mural on the new volunteer block. I have been researching many ideas, so if yall have any ideas be sure to email me some. Another project I am working on is again art related. I am working with Lucy, one of our girl volunteers staying here throughout the year, to make new RSO t-shirts. The idea is to get all the kids to draw their self-portraits, so we can put them all together on a t-shirt, and on the back somewhere we will put the RSO logo and website. Lucy decided to start this project because she thought the other t-shirts we have are too depressing, so she wanted to make t-shirts to show RSO as being a happy place. I personally love the old t-shirts, but making new ones are always fun. So, with all these new projects I am constantly busy day in and day out. I am excited about contributing to RSO in a way allowing me to do something I love, which is my art. I also have sad news to tell. The old man with the broken hip has passed away. Knowing that he was probably not going to get a funeral service of some sort, Nicole and I went to show our respect for him. We bought a huge flower wreath and brought a picture of him glued to a blue construction paper to bring to the colony so the people there could have a little memorial of him. We wrote his name at the top, which I still don't remember, and the years he lived on each side of the paper. Nicole and I were hoping to have plenty of time to interact with the people there, but we came when they were painting, so we just spent a little time there. It's sad he had to go, but at least he is now in heaven and in a better place. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of news to tell you guys other than the main ones I have written. These past few days I have not really had a chance to go out as much as I would like to, but this is just because I have now begun my projects. Everyday just gets better and better. I have really developed a strong sense of who I am, I feel as if I am maturing in a way I cannot describe, my perspectives are slowly changing as each day passes with the myriad of remarkable affairs I have the opportunity to participate in; my life could not be any better at this moment in time. God truly has blessed and watched over me. Numerous times I have felt His spirit touch my heart and I know His spirit lingers here. I want each one of you to know He lives and He loves each one of you. My path in life has always been a little rocky, but coming here it all has seemed to smoothe itself out a little. As each day continues to pass I hope I may continue to do well and have the strength I need. I leave these things with you not to be puffed up in the things I am doing, but to inspire and motivate each one of you. Each one of you is capable of more than anything I can imagine, but it is up to you to search within yourself to find out how. Live like you believe, do not worry about making miracles happen; you will be the miracle. I love these people and everything I am doing! I love and miss each one of you guys!

Days I Will Never Forget

I will begin by telling you all about yesterday and what a fun day that was. I did not write because I was too tired and exhausted from my day doing absolutely nothing requiring hard labor, but sometimes I have noticed myself getting tired just because. Weird right? Well, I went to the colony with the Bindu Art School again to visit my old friend with the broken hip. For some reason he was in low spirits and by the look of it when we came in did not want to be seen, cared for, touched, or even looked at. We brought him food, but he said he did not want to eat. We brought him water, but he did not want to drink. He said he was full from milk. I looked over to Paul and asked him to translate if he was happy, which he said he was, but all the emotion given off by him did not look like it. I asked Paul if I could bathe him, and at first the man said no, but after a few seconds he shook his head and said ok. Kristin, Nicole, and I all bathed him, and as we bathed him we sung a few hymns we knew hoping he would regain his happiness. I don't know why he seemed so melancholy. I asked myself several questions hoping I could come up with an answer, but nothing came. Was he lonely because he wasn't with his friends? No, his friends came and saw him when they had time. Was he humiliated or possibly embarassed? I think a part of him was whether we came or not, and the humiliation and embarassment he felt would probably be of one I could never fathom. He was more so the first few times we came, but after a while he seemed to let it go. Every question I could think of I had an answer to it, but these answers were probably not ones he would give, for mine were just from a few minutes of contemplation and hypothetical assumption. I finally thought about one question I did not want to know the answer to, for it was too depressing to think about. Had he lost hope thinking it better to give up? From the looks of him it seemed the question was rhetorical, but I did not want to believe it. Nicole looked to Kristin and then to me softly whispering, "Do you want to say a prayer for him?" I felt a little bit overwhelmed, but in what seemed to be one motion, I slowly bowed my head, closed my eyes, and put my hands together. Thoughts were moving at a thousand miles per hour; words were uttered I was not forcing to say. I felt as if I was learning to run before I knew how to walk. I prayed words of comfort, so he would not feel alone or abandoned, I prayed for strength, so he might be able to do certain tasks better, and most importantly I prayed words of hope, so he might feel happiness and joy in however long he has left. Words cannot describe how overwhelmed I felt praying to this man, but somehow I knew he would be happy. After staying there for what seemed like two minutes, we left to go back to the campus where I got to talk to Padma. She was there speaking with Ron and Joyce, but also glad Nicole and I went to visit this man, so she wanted to catch Nicole and I to appreciate what we had done. I did not know Padma tried to get people to come visit him to a point of offering a thousand rupees, which is about twenty dollars, to go visit. I thought Ron and Joyce one day felt it was great if Nicole and I went, so for me to be appreciated felt great, but I was more honored to have the opportunity to go. Padma told me out of any experience so far she has had in India it would be this one she would always remember. She gave me a hug and told me she was very proud of me. I have never felt more honored in my entire life than I did in that moment. It came time for Padma to leave and a few of us came along because we had to make a few errands in Chennai. It was great talking to Padma about her life and RSO's success and how she is excited about its future. It also was very cool to see her many awards inside of her home. Today was a very quiet day. We had three new volunteers come, which is nice because now we have more people to add to our group. I hope it is not so quiet anymore. One of them was Sharon Thompson, who apparently remembered me from when I was little, but I had no clue who she was, but we talked for a little while and she seemed really nice. Today I really just spent cleaning and organizing things around, so not a lot really happened. Dinner was Chappathi, which is one of my favorite meals here in India. It is this huge tortilla looking bread thing similar to parotha, but has more of a thicker consistency, and you wrap it up like a burrito with this chunky sauce with rice. Sorry my description is not too great, but it is the best I can do. It is one of those things you just have to be there for, so come to India and try it! I promise you will not regret it! Well this is what is happening out here in India! I hope all is well back home! I miss and love each one of you! I love the people here and I love what I am doing! Please try to be great in everything you do and count your blessings everyday because I know for a fact each one of you is blessed beyond what you may think! I love you all!

A Mark, A Brand, A Statement

I had a very calm and rather relaxing day as I had the opportunity to assist Nicole tutoring kids, go on a walk listening to my ipod pondering about life and opportunities I would love to have in the future, look out at the beauty of India admiring its serene feeling along with its picturesque views, and go out to eat parotha with everyone. Tutoring kids can be a handful as I have mentioned before, but today was not. I tutored Karthik, one my favorite kids, which is Mani's son, who is one of our drivers and in charge of our land. I know I am not supposed to have favorites, but Karthik, to me, is one kid I connect really well with. It is not his huge smile or how smart he is, for all the kids have adorable smiles and brains to cure cancer, but it is his example to all of the other children making him more special in my eyes than any other kid. Everytime I look I see him helping another child. Karthik always leads by example, but not in the self-righteous way thinking he is better than others, but in a positive way making others better. He does not use his age as a way of belittling other children, but as a helping tool showing others his maturity. Karthik, to me, is a perfect role-model for other children and I know through his example others will want to become just like him. I am proud to sit here and tell you about Karthik because his example to the children has significantly impacted my views of how I want to represent and carry myself throughout the future. "The children here can be a guide to you and each child has something to offer if you just let them in." These were words spoken by Amy Antonelli at a devotional one night here at RSO. Amy is an amazing women and someone I look up to immensely. Everytime she speaks at RSO I feel as if her words reverberate thousands of miles, and all of India hears what she pours out from her amazing heart. I figured this out slowly, but surely by letting the children teach me instead of always trying to teach them. It always amazes me how much children teach me. I never thought by looking at a child so much could be seen, but it is the same with anyone we admire or look up to. If we watch them closely there is always going to be something interesting. After tutoring, Nicole asked me if I wanted to come along and walk with her through the village. She said she always takes walks back at home listening to her ipod just pondering about life, and so, I came along. Walking through the village we greeted many people with Vanakkam, tamil for hello. It was great to see smiles as we walked through. It felt so serene listening to music as I walked looking out into the beauty of nature God created. In the horizon, clouds were swiftly moving together to form one huge ominous mass of violet-gray. Behind us, clouds remained in its clear blue state seen on a perfect day. I felt as if I was in a painting depicting armageddon. Earth itself was not ending, but the beautiful picture nature sometimes paints can be beyond beautiful; awe-inspiring is an understatement describing what I had seen. I always enjoy taking time for myself pondering on life's mysteries and how truly blessed we are to be living a life of great opportunity. For dinner all of us went to Uthiramerur for parotha! How great is it to eat a meal less than a dollar? I would have to say FANTASTIC! After dinner we all had ice cream, which in India is so good! I always get the choco bar, which is chocolate on the outside and vanilla laced with dark chocolate inside. I would have to say today was a great day! I saw more of India's beauty, learned to view people around me and myself in a different way and I noticed how blessed I truly am to be living life. Life, to me, is a privilege and opportunity not a right. How we decide to live it is up to us. Do we want to go about it just walking through the motions not getting anything out of it, or do we want to make a mark, a brand, and a statement to the world letting each person see the light all of us possess? I know I want to make a positive statement to the world leaving behind a legacy full of greatness becoming better when good is not good enough. I leave these thoughts with you, so you, like me, can ponder them and search for the answers you seek. I miss and love each one of you! I love these people and the work I am doing! Continue to do the best you can in all aspects of your life!

We All Can Do Great Things!

Well it's been about four days since I have last written and I am anxious to tell you guys about everything. Friday, which was the 28th, was a very interesting day. From the time I woke up to about 6 in the evening it was pretty calm, but when I had the chance to go to Uthiramerur again it got very interesting. Entering the small town of Uthiramerur eyes cannot help but look at a huge tower that stands high casting its eyes down upon the people. During the day this tower, which marks as an entrance to the temple behind it, stands shining in the sun, but during the night is when its true beauty can be seen. Standing tall as a pillar in the night its lights in each one of its crevises glows lighting a path to an ancient temple still used for people today. One of our teachers is a very devout Hindu. She wanted to come with us, but to go pray, and of course we tagged along because we were curious. Inside the temple were many locked cages of what looked like Hindu Gods. At each one our teacher would stop and pray. I just did the usual indian salute of respect by putting both hands together and bowing my head. I felt I could at least respect the Gods, but worshipping them was too much for me. The priests inside wore white skirts wrapped around them like towels and all of them had prints on their foreheads as respect to their Gods. It was a great experience to be inside an ancient Hindu temple and to be a witness among people as they worshipped. After the temple, I had parotha for dinner. Since I come to the diner often I am now known as a local and the cooks always greet me with a warm welcome. Saturday the 29th I had another chance to go visit the old man with a broken hip. I came with Radhika and Nicole to not only check up and take care of him, but this time hoping I could learn more about his earlier life and who he was as a person. I could not believe how hard his life was. He had been married, but his wife died trying to give birth a long time ago. He said he was fine and doing well after the loss, but it was his accident that changed his life forever. He was on a bus and had fallen off breaking his hip. I could not imagine the pain it would cause me breaking my hip and never fully recovering. The hospital he was in saw no hope for him and threw him out with nowhere to go. He obtained leprosy at some point in his life as well. All these moments in this poor man's life slowly ate away his hope. I made sure he would regain it. It was great seeing this man smiling, laughing, and living like he should have been. I hope I get another chance to visit him before I leave here. Sunday the 30th was Swathi's engagement, which I did not have the opportunity to go to because I was in bed all day feeling pretty awful. I knew my time would shortly come when I would get sick here, and I guess being here for a month already was long enough. The rest of the day nothing too exciting happened. Monday the 31st, which was yesterday, happened to be a rather cool day. It felt nice to have cool weather for a change. I am still preparing everything for my new project, so yet again I am left with nothing else to do, but during the kids' playtime I am helping them learn a different sport. Each day I spend thirty minutes with the kids teaching the basics of whatever sport I decide for that day. The kids are great and love to learn anything new! Today was also a cool day and I loved it! I wish India was like this everyday! I got the chance to teach another family home evening lessson, but this time it was on goals. I had three rows of dominoes laid out each one different than the other. One row was divided by a gap and could not connect to be a perfect line, another line had one dominoe jutting out making it again a not perfect line, and the last line was completely perfect. I told three different stories about kids who had goals. One kid wanted to do well on his science exam, but decided not to do his homework. I had a kid knock down a line of dominoes. The line still had a few left and I explained how we need to do all the small things in order to make our goals come true. The next story was about a girl wanting to become a dancer, but decided she did not want to practice. I had a kid knock down another line watching all but four dominoes fall down. I explained to them we still have to practice if we want to become great dancers. I explained to them the importance of doing the small things again. Finally, the last story told was about a boy who wanted to finish all his homework so he could play outside. He checked every subject twice to make sure it was all done. I had another kid knock down the final line watching every dominoe fall. I told them once you have obtained your goal you will feel better and want to continue to make new goals. I explained the importance of never giving up and even though we will get discouraged it is still better to keep pushing forward. Learning from our mistakes is where we truly become a better person. The kids loved the lesson and I felt great to give it. I think family home evening was a perfect way to end my day today. Eventhough my last few days have not been too eventful I want you all to know there can always be lessons taught as you go about your day. Sometimes I have noticed small things I do end up being some of the biggest things. Somedays we are too blind and cannot see opportunities crying out at us, but if we truly look I bet we could find a myriad of opportunities. My mother once said, "You do not have to be great to do something great, but if you have love anything great is possible." I did not fully understand what she was talking about when I first heard her say this, but now being in India I think I have come to understand what my mother was trying to teach me, and for that I am truly grateful. Mother Teresa quotes, "It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving." With love in anything we decide to accomplish the outcome will always be greater and more meaningful in our lives than simply doing them. I hope each one of you can share love to someone who is in dire need of it. Mother Teresa quotes,"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them." We all know what it is like to hurt from not being loved and we know how badly we long for love in those times, so why not share love with people that truly need love and give them the feeling we at times desire. Open your eyes so you are not blinded from opportunity, open your minds so you may be mentally ready, and most importantly open your hearts so your love is not locked away, but ready to be given. I pray for each one of you back home and I miss every single of one you guys! A day does not go by where I do not think of you! I love what I am doing here and I love these people! This work here is truly amazing!

One Lesson Learned, Another Taught

The past two days have been so amazing and unbelievably touching! Yesterday I didn't have a lot to do. I was sort of getting tired and about ready to shutdown for the day until Joyce asked Nicole and I to go visit an old man who had been thrown out of the hospital with a broken hip. This man is 84 years old and all I knew was the hospital he was in did not want him there because the doctors thought it pointless to keep him alive. When I heard about his situation I was shocked! How could the hospital act so cruel to actually throw a man who was dying out into the street? My heart ached for him and I gladly went to help. He had been sent to the Bindu Art School, an art school for leprosy affected. I did not know, but this had been his home for quite awhile. Thoughts were rushing through my head not knowing what to expect, and all I could think about was this poor man who was in complete despair and misery. I shortly arrived with Nicole and our nurse. Nicole and I had brought food and water for him thinking he would be hungry, and he was. This man was laying down on a mat with his head comfortably placed on a rice bag. His whole body was completely emaciated. It was difficult looking at this man, but for some reason unknown it did not bother me. Paul, his art teacher at the school, told both Nicole and I he has no hope, and looking at him I noticed it. The nurse treated all of his wounds while Nicole and I helped out with as much medical knowledge we knew, which was close to none actually, but somehow it got the job done. After the nurse left, Nicole and I sat with him holding all that was left of his hands. Humming silently I prayed for this man to receive comfort and hope. For the longest time I sat there pondering to myself how lucky he really is. As each day passes, this man gets closer and closer to celestial glory. Paul came over to where I was sitting and we had a short conversation about how it would be better if this man died, so he could go to heaven instead of suffering in pain and agony. I told him if he is alive there is a reason God wants him alive. Maybe he needs to learn one more valuable lesson before going to see God, but whatever is holding him back from being in heaven I know is all through the Lord's plan. Nicole and I wondered what he was like in his youth as we sung silently the children's hymn "A Child's Prayer". Tears raced down my eyes as I sung, and the feeling of the Spirit was so powerful. I cannot describe in words how I felt, but the feeling was one of comfort and joy, and I knew this man would be ok. There is a line from "A Child's Prayer" I really like, and it seemed to suit this occasion. "Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray..." This line hit me powerfully as I sung because heaven for this man did not seem so far away, but actually within reach. I asked Nicole if she wanted to pray for this man, and as we began to fold our arms the man seemed to understand what we were doing, and slowly he did so as well. We prayed that he would find hope, comfort and joy in this time of suffering, and we told him God has a plan for him. Our time to leave slowly sneaked upon us, but I did not want to leave this man alone with no care. On the way back home, Veil, Nicole and I stopped for parotha in Uthiramerur to ease our emotional evening. The rest of the night I was in a state of peace, but not the kind of peace usually felt being at ease with yourself, for this kind of peace was one words cannot portray. I hope one day you all may be able to feel this feeling I struggle to express. Today I had the opportunity to go with the medical van and check up on the man. Walking into the school, Paul saw Nicole and I coming in, so he kindly came over to greet us. Paul was shocked we came again, and all the words he could utter were God bless you two! Nicole and I brought him breakfast, and again we sat with him for awhile. I asked Paul how this man was feeling, and Paul said, "Yesterday there was no hope, but today he is happy, he is laughing, and he has hope." God had answered my prayer, and in that moment I felt the same feeling come over me again. As Nicole and I sat there with him I noticed an awful stench coming off of him. Smells of urine and infection stung my nose. I asked Paul if we could bathe him, so he would not have to feel so ashamed and humiliated. At first, Paul looked at us like we were insane, but after awhile he got us a bucket of warm water and a bar of soap, and surely enough we began to bathe him. It was really sad because any small movements made would hurt him immensely, so we had to be extremely careful making sure we were fragile with every touch. Paul could not believe what we were doing, and every so often he came to tell us God was going to bless Nicole and I. To see him happy and laughing was amazing! He even sat upright as we fed him! I could not believe how much improvement he had made in one day! I do not know the next time I will see this man, but he has a special place in my heart and he will always be in my prayers. The rest of the day Nicole and I helped with the medical unit. We gave out different medicines as people one by one came up to our van. One man outside of this building, in the colony we were in, with the only English he knew told Nicole and I the same thing. He told us thank you for the medical services we had offered to the people, and God is always going to be watching over us. The gratitude of these people always amazes me! Small acts of kindness I see as nothing are huge to them, and because of these acts their lives will be completely altered. I held the hands of this man and told him God will always be with him. Today, again, was another remarkable day! Everyday is a remarkable day for me, but these past two days have completely altered my life. The experience from this man, the feelings I have felt and the overall joy I have attained while being here are incredible! I can never portray my feelings about what I feel here sometimes as well as I would like to, and for that I apologize, but hopefully the times I do explain my feelings well can give you all an idea of what it is like to be fully immersed in an amazing work! I never thought about life and certain things the way I have seen them here, so hopefully all of this will stay with me when I come home. I miss and love each one of you! You guys are always in my thoughts! I love this work and I love these people with all of my heart! Goodnight or nalla thoungunga, which is Tamil for goodnight and I love you all or naan unnai virumpukirén, which is I love you all in Tamil!

Great Expectations!

Today started out slow because I woke up late. I still have not started on my project, so I do not have a schedule to follow. I am still talking and planning about it all, so when I have more details on it I will be sure to let you guys know. I am anxious to find out so I can begin, but in the meantime I am helping tutor kids with Nicole, our tutoring coordinator who was a volunteer, but is now staying till December. She's so fun to work with so I think this will be great until I get started on my assignment. Tutoring the kids today was a little stressful like it can be, but some of them were so smart and managed to do the work without our help. It is so great to see the kids wanting to learn. One of the kids I tutored today was on a roll getting everything I was teaching him, and he noticed some of the other kids struggling, so as I taught he would translate everything I was saying into Tamil for the other kids, and then he would help them. At first I was not aware of this, but after awhile I finally saw what this kid was doing, and to watch it happen totally caught me off gaurd. This kid may not know how great of a thing he did today, but what he did, and if he continues to do so will greatly shape the future of India. A handful of our kids struggle with English, so it is extremely important to teach them properly. I am always amazed when children set a better example for me. The innocence of a child can teach us a lot if we look closely. After tutoring, Nicole and I went with the teacher drop to go run a few errands. Shama, one our house mothers, came along with us. Shama is a perfect example of the most loving person. She loves the kids with an undescribable amount of unconditional love. She is one our youngest house mothers, but by far the best! I always see her with a huge smile on her face knowing the work she does could never make her happier. I both admire and look up to her, and someday hope I could reach a state of happiness in doing something I love to the amount she does. One by one we dropped off the teachers at their designated stops, and I could not help myself, but to say a few words to Shama. I indulged myself in our conversation, and from it I picked up a few words in Tamil. She told me pretty soon she was going to be married off, and by next year she would probably not be with RSO anymore. I cannot imagine RSO without her. Every house mother tries to follow by the example she sets, and the children love her with the same amount of love she gives to them. I got back to RSO in perfect timing to be able to teach my first family home evening lesson to the children. I taught the lesson of making both wise and foolish decisions. It was great seeing every child looking at me with full attention ready to learn. I told the story of the wise man building his house upon a firm foundation, and how we should makes choices beneficial to us. I also told the story of the foolish man and how he built his house upon sand, and choices he made are symbolic for detrimental ones. All the children knew this story, but I hope and pray they will grasp the concept of it carrying it with them throughout their lives. Everyday we make choices. I pray for the children here at RSO, the staff making this possible, my family, who I love dearly, and myself to make the best choices. After family home evening, before dinner, I ran into Jon, one of our security gaurds. Jon is one of the most amazing men I have ever met! Jon, when he is not in his uniform is teaching at his ministry The Book of Mormon to many people. Jon has given out so many books here in Tamilnadu they now cannot print anymore, so people have to patiently wait until more copies are printed. His knowledge in the gospel is phenomenal and his faith in the church is extraordinary. Jon's faith is so powerful; a church closer to our campus may get built, or better yet India's first temple might be built because of Jon's remarkable faith. We talked a good bit about The Book of Mormon, and his misunderstanding of The Tree of Life. He inspires me to seek more knowledge from questions he asks, and I told him to come back if he had more questions. I know Jon is going to bring thousands of souls unto Christ, and from doing so he will be blessed tremendously. I love what I am doing, and I love the people here! I would not trade this experience for any other! I miss and love each one of you! I pray for each one of you back home, and I hope you strive to do your best in everything!

The Search for Greatness

Sunday I woke up feeling really tired. Going to church was slightly weird, and not because the idea of going was weird, but weird because there were 3 of us in the car when normally there are tons of people. So, right now there are 4 other people staying here if you do not count me, but I have been hearing some rumors about a London girl coming here next week, so I am excited to meet her, and welcome her to RSO. Church was fun, but due to being tired I slept through all of sacrament, which I guess is bad, but even when I am awake I want to fall asleep because the talks are always in Tamil, and I know none. After sacrament, Mrs. Mitchell, the woman I stayed with when I was with Esther, called me to play piano for her primary class. She knew I did not play well, but she said any help was needed. Seriously I had no clue what to do because all the help I gave them was playing the first key of every hymn they wanted to sing, and to me that is no help, but hey if helping people is that easy then I love helping. I do not know what is worse. Is it worse doing it one Sunday thinking you will never have to do it again, or being permanently called as the primary piano player, and expected to know hymns by January, so you ecan play for their program? I do not know what sort of blessings are to come out of this, but I think I will find out in a very painful way. I think back to when I was taking piano lessons, and now I regret having quit them. Mom I think quitting piano was a bad idea, and now you can tell me that you told me so. It is nice because I am not completely alone on this, but I am sure you can see the frustration/humor to all this. Anyway, after church, I had a nice, but rather quiet ride back to the campus. Later that night, I got to experience an Indian wedding reception, which was very fun. Dr. Senthilkumar, our doctor, is now getting married! I arrived there with a few other people from RSO, and our car went up this huge ramp to the entrance. I was greeted by this lady standing behind a table. As people walked in, she would dip her finger in orange stuff lightly placing it on their foreheads, and then shake some sort of shaker, and little drops of fragrance would come out to sprinkle you. It was so cool! Loud music was being played inside by a band called The Nightingales, and quiet honestly they were no nightingale. The experience of how our ears would feel after was best put by Ron Hanson. He said, listening to the band felt like getting your eardrums thoroughly cleaned out, and he was right. Now do not think I mean to offend the band because they were great, but it could have been a little softer. We sat down and listened to the band while drinking a fruit drink of some sort. We sat in the front row, which was nice because we could see pretty much everything going on, but bad because the cameraman's light blinded everyone. There was a t.v. screen set up showing everything the cameraman would view. On top of the stage, there was an enormous golden couch with flowers and beautiful decorations all over it. It was quite the couch. After sitting down for awhile, I had the pleasure and honor to meet Padma, the daughter of the former president of India. She is such a remarkable woman! I told her I was going to be here for awhile, and how I would be staying at RSO. We talked for a little while, and I enjoyed every second of it. Finally the screen changed, and now it was showing Dr. Senthilkumar and his beautiful wife making their entrance, but instead of entering right away they stood there being blessed by many women. I guessed it was some sort of good luck for marriage from the Gods. After their blessings, they walked up the stage, and had their picture taken. I am sure from the light they too were blinded. The line to congratulate them was huge, so being one of the many people to go first was great. After I had the chance to greet Dr. Senthilkumar and his wife, we all went to the dining hall to eat. The food was great, but the best thing I had was the ice cream. The ice cream here in India is amazing! I must have gone to get somewhere close to about 6 bowls of it, and I even grabbed one to go for the road! The reception was awesome and I totally had a blast! When I left I received a bag with a coconut inside it, which was cool, but odd. I was completely exhausted afterward. The whole way back the thought of laying down was the only thought in my head. Today was not too exciting, but it did have its moments. I had to move out of my room and into this other room, which I guess is nice now because I have my own room, but the room I moved in has now become the toy room, so I am hoping I do not get bombarded with kids everyday. I cleaned out the kids' supply closet, which is good because now you can see everything inside, and I am hoping it stays this way, but anything cleaned here does not have a long time until it gets messy again. The staff is hoping through this new system things will stay organized better, but who knows. T.I.I.(This is India). Later in the evening I went to Uthiramerur with Radhika, our dance teacher and Nicole, one of our volunteers staying here until December. Radhika needed to buy some bangles, and Nicole and I are always excited to see more of India, so we went. We had parotha for dinner, which is my favorite thing to eat here. The parotha was so much better in Uthiramerur then in Chengalput, where we usually go. We did not spend a lot of time there, but it was still fun, and places new to my eyes are always fun! Before we came home, we stopped at Selvi's house in the village, and gave her some parotha. Selvi does our laundry back at RSO. She always greets us with a huge smile on her face. She is going through a tough time right now because her husband is losing his eye, and on top of that she can barely feed her three sons, so helping her out was the least we could do. I do not know the full details on how her husband lost his eye, but they do not have enough money for the surgery, so the only way to fix his eye is to remove it. I can't imagine losing one of my eyes. I use them everyday, and this man can't use them in the same way ever again. I pray for Selvi's husband, so hopefully he can overcome this tough trial. Everyday I learn something new. I love these people and I love everything I am doing out here. I hope each one of you back home is learning something new and worth your time. My dad wrote in his latest weekly reader, which I will never forget that sometimes being good is not good enough. Out here I am doing great things, and I know I am becoming better, but sometimes it is never enough. Everyday I want to become better than the previous day, and I want to carry that same ambition to do so everywhere I go, and in everything I do. What my dad wrote inspired me, and from the inspiration it brought a new logic into my thoughts. I had never thought of ambition to become great the way my father had, but I am now understanding what it truly means to be great. I still have a long way, and in the eyes of some I may be closer than I think, but there is no road to perfection man can simply teach me, for God is the only one to teach that path for me. I know in time I will learn more about becoming great, but as for the journey here I do not think I will learn it fully, but yet a part of it, for there is more than I could ever imagine on becoming great, and certain people in my eyes have that greatness. God, my parents, and my family are the people that obtain the greatness I desire. I know this type of greatness will come to me in time with patience in myself, faith in God, and humility with others. The greatness I desire and speak of will fulfill me, and make my life complete. I love you all so much! I miss each one of you! God has a great plan for each one of you, and you do not have to be thousands of miles away to see it.

What A Month Can Do!

So much has happened this past week so all my thoughts are boggled up with memories and I may have a hard time putting them in chronological order. Tuesday, the 18th, I went back to Thiruttani, the colony that was run by the corrupted president. It seems like everytime I go to Thiruttani I never have enough time to spend there to talk to all the people, but is just due to the colony being so far away. It takes two hours to get there if you guys don't remember me telling you in my previous blogs. It was still great! I love driving to Thiruttani because the landscape always takes my breath away. There is a bridge you cross before getting into the city where the colony is located, and looking out you can see a huge valley that is so picturesque. I can only imagine when monsoon hits what it would look like. Seeing it full of water with mountains in the backgroud would make quite a serene and breathtaking landscape. Everyday India takes me by surprise of how beautiful it is. I think my favorite times are being in the bus listening to music and looking out of the window staring and pondering about everything. In Thiruttani I had the opportunity to only speak with one family, but this family was truly worth the time. I don't remember much of what was said because Tamil does not stick with me, and even though it was translated to English I am not great in remembering things, so I will try my best to decipher my thoughts for you guys. This man was diagnosed with leprosy at the age of 17, so he came to this colony to find hope and acceptance. He later found his wife there and they had two kids who are still there helping each day with the most love for their mother and father. The son is not married and he works in the colony. The daugther is married and has one adorable child. She takes care of her family, but also, she does the cooking because neither the mother or the father are able to. The story behind this man, the daugther's father, is one similar to all the rest here in India, but for some reason his story hit me harder than the others told. This man had enormous amounts of faith and perserverance like all the other people in colonies I have spoken with, but the way in which he told it was far more inspiring than all the rest, and the feeling I had sitting there listening to him was a feeling that I felt somehow connected to this man. I cannot describe in words of how it felt, but I can say the feeling was remarkably strong. As I was leaving the colony, I prayed for the family to be blessed and safe. I do not know how or why I had this connection, but a part of myself believes it is because God was sending me some sort of message about myself. I am not the most religious person as most of you may know, but my experiences here have been nothing short of amazing, and I know God has been watching over me. Wednesday, the 19th, and Thursday, the 20th, I spent time with Esther before her leave from India. We stayed in Chennai with the Mitchell's, a family here from the states, and good friends of my parents. They are the family who took Esther in for her last year of high school. I see them at church every Sunday. They have a nice home right by the beach, so it felt nice to stay with them, and for a change sleep in a comfortable bed, and take a nice refreshing shower instead of crawling on all fours with a little bucket. Levi and Jessa, their two kids, are super fun to play with. Levi, is their adopted child, and he is totally just like I was when I was younger. He is always getting into fights, loves being all over the place, and has tons of energy. Jessa, is their birth child, and she is a sweet girl. Esther and I had tons of fun those two days. We went to City Centre, which is the Indian version of the Mall of Georgia. It is really nice with tons of shops giving you an American feel, so I guess you won't miss home, it has an Imax theatre there, but they called it Inox, and the food inside is awesome! It's great because if I want to eat American food I have a plethora of options to choose from. Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald's are some of the places I can choose from to get food I miss back home. It was great spending time with Esther. We talked about her upcoming marriage, and how she is so excited, but the same time worried because it's all new for her. It was great because I do not think I have ever bonded with Esther the way I did here, and for that I was truly grateful. She is an amazing friend, and a wonderful sister. I am so excited for her to have this new chapter in her life. I know she will be an awesome wife, and a remarkable mother. We left the Mitchell's Thursday evening to go back to RSO, and it was so cute to see Levi on his bike chasing after our car to say goodbye to Esther. The drive back we drove along the beach, and again my breath was taken away at the beauty of India. Seeing the sunset in the horizon as the clouds slowly drifted to cover up the "God" praised for millions of years by every ancient civilization; the color of the sky metamorphosized into a red-orange reflecting off the whole world it shined down on was beyond beautiful. Sometimes there is nothing more beautiful than seeing nature be itself. Friday was a very depressing day, for it was the last day the volunteers had before they went home. I spent the day helping them clean and pack. As evening came around, it was time for the volunteers to leave. The kids would scream and holler at each one of them to see if they were really leaving, and sad faces came upon them when they discovered the truth. Since all of their flights were not till 1:30 in the morning we had a lot of time to spend in Chennai. I came along to say goodbye to friends I had made in the short three weeks time, and for me it was sad to see them go. For a few hours we spent our time in Spencer's Plaza, another big shopping mall in Chennai. We did not have a lot of time to be inside because we had gotten there at 9:30 and the mall was to close at 10, so everyone rushed their last minute shopping to get all they wanted before going home. Saying goodbye is never easy for me, and especially even harder after making friends with awesome people in such a short amount of time. It honestly felt like I had known them all my life. I guess when I am around people that share the same experiences as I do, and feel the same feelings that I do, I feel connected to them in a stonger way than if I had just gotten to know them through conversation. In the bus, on the way back home, I was contemplating about how I have already been here a month! It's amazing how fast time flies by! Today was a rather slow day, but still a fun one. Usually on Saturdays I go out somewhere, but due to no available drivers it wasn't possible. All day I spent answering emails and talking to people about my project that I will be starting up in September. I am going to be running the micro-lending program here for the kids, so the kids can learn the business side of life. It's a great idea teaching these kids discipline, and teaching them to work hard in everything they do. Who knows, but maybe in a few years our kids will grow up and become successful businessmen and businesswomen? I know so, and I know with all my heart these kids will make the future of India become what it has never dreamt of becoming. I miss and love you all back home! Everyday I think about you guys, and how excited I am to come home and tell you all that I have experienced and learned out here! I know I have my blogs, but there is so much more to say, and words in a blog will never fully describe it. It is truly amazing to sit back and watch yourself from the outside becoming someone you never thought of becoming, and changing lives when a thought of doing so never existed. The power of one person may seem very small, but it is not. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you are the world. Remember it is never too late to help those in need, and it doesn't have to be thousands of miles away, although it sounds better, but I can assure you back home there are lepers waiting to be touched, talked to, cared for, and simply loved. Each one of us can become the world for someone else, so keep an eye out for those that need us. I love this work and I love these people! Never lose sight of where you are headed, and always have hope, and faith in those certain circumstances where it all seems to be going bad, for in those times is where it truly matters!

A Myriad of Memories!

So much has happened in the last few days and I don't know where to begin to explain it all. Satuday was great because I got to go back to Mamallapuram. I spent the day their with a bunch of the volunteers that I have met here, and I can't even put to words how awesome they are! We walked around, shopped, and went to the beach. I was so excited because I got some really nice shirts in one of the shops for like 2 bucks a piece! I know right? Well after spending our time there all of us went to eat some parotha for dinner. While I was eating, I noticed on the wall these huge gecko-like lizards eating all the flies. The sight of this wasn't to appetitizing, but it was still pretty cool. Sunday was a very depressing day. We all went to church to hear Raja, one of the kids that is from RSO, who is now leaving for his mission to Provo, Utah give his farewell talk. If you don't remember me talking about Raja before go back and read my earlier blogs. He is one of the coolest guys and I know he will make a great missionary! It was sad because his wisdom teeth were coming in and he wasn't able to give his talk, so Esther gave it for him. He talked about all of the people in his life that he wanted to thank and how grateful he was for his parents and all the things they had done for him. Church was good, but what made it even better was when it was over. All of us went to the Mariott and had lunch there. Can I say real food finally! In the Mariott they have this huge buffet with a plethora of foods, and everything there is just awesome! On the way home I slept like a baby from all the food I ate. It was great because it's rare to be super full here. Later that night we all had a group devotional. Each person had to share a thought, experience, an entry from their journal, or just something cool they thought would be pleasing to hear. Everyone shared something amazing. Today was a very cool day, and for a change it felt nice! It rained pretty much all day, which I guess would be considered as depressing, and it was in a way, but even in today's sadness nature still looked so beautiful and picturesque. India is always beautiful in it's own way, but today with the rain something was different. Everything seemed so lucious and fruitful. We went to the colony of Bethel Nagar and it was sad because I found out this would be the last time I would visit the colony for the summer. Knowing this, I decided to have a better experience than usual. All of the colonists stayed in their homes and slept, watched t.v., or whatever seemed to please them. To make their rainy day seem more happy, all of us played games with them. One of the games we played was an indian version of the game sorry, and it was really hard to follow, but really cool to watch. Jenga was another game we played, and it totally made their day. When the blocks fell they would burst into laughter. Seeing these people laugh is a rare sight, so when it happens I try to keep them doing so. To some of these people we're all they have, and to others we're kind people with huge amounts of love. The little things we do like playing games with them, holding their hands, or just acknowledging them as real people, truly do touch their lives. As I walked around the colony and greeted people with the limited Tamil I knew, I noticed how everyone there would smile at me. The only downside of today was being so tired. The minute I came back to the campus I slept until dinner, which was fantastic because we had chicken briyani. Three of the girl volunteers left tonight to go home, which is sad because there are now less girls to choose from, but also great because I can get to know them easier. Well I am going to have to go to bed because I can barely keep my eyes open. I miss you all back home and I love all of you! Take care and be the best you can be!

It's the Small Things that Count!

Today was a great day! I got to go out to the colony of Muut, which my mom started. I do not know the entire story of how she started the colony, but I know that she did send tons of rice to them and other things that they needed. This colony is the smallest colony that we go to with only seven people, but each one of them are so happy to see us every time we arrive. It was great because when I arrived one of the men remembered me from the last time I had been there when I helped him carry rice. He told our translator that I have changed in size and I don't talk as much or joke as much as I did last time. It felt great to know that I was remembered. Talking to these people you really get to know them and it feels like they really get to know you back. I can't really explain that feeling that I get because I guess you just have to experience it, but it feels so amazing as you take the time to get to know these people that are outcasted from their society. It's sad because the rest of India is truly missing out on some awesome people! While we were there, Radhika, one of our translators and teachers for our school, danced for them. To see these people light up with joy as she was dancing was hysterical! The man that remembered me had these huge burns on his feet so he could not stand, but to see him clap and sing and laugh was just so touching to me. I think it is so remarkable to see them with nothing and yet still have room to be full of joy and love! I don't know what I would do if I was in that position. The great thing about this colony is the location of it. It's an hour away from where we are, but in the middle of the country. There are huge fields and even though it is hot and dry to the eye it looks beautiful! I asked the people what they do for fun, and what seems to be a big time passer for these people is watching T.V. and listening to the radio. It's not much, but to them they appreciate it greatly, and that is what counts. I also asked the ones that do not have leprosy as bad as the other people if they go out anywhere. It was cool to hear they go to the movies sometimes when they get welfare money, which is similar to our welfare system of food and etc. It's pretty shocking to me that majority of these people we visit in the colonies are Christian. I definetly did not expect seeing pictures of Jesus everywhere in their colony, but it made me feel more comfortable knowing they have full trust in God instead of all their thousands of Gods like the rest of the Indian culture. After talking with them and getting to know about their lives, the girls got their fingernails painted with all the women, and that was pretty funny to see. Instead of getting the nail like it should've been they just painted away and sort of sloshed it on their nails and made it look pretty wild, but it was great and you could tell they had joy in sharing their time. Leaving the colonies always gets hard for me especially after learning so much about them. As I was reading later in the day, I came across this quote from my book that totally hit me about the people here in India that we visit. "I came from nothing too. Sometimes I think it's easier. Ambition is natural when you don't have anything. You know what you're driving for." When I think about this quote I relate it to my personal life as well as the lives of these leprosy-affected. I appreciate things so much and even though a lot of the times I take things for granted I know at the end of the day that I was blessed. I have worked hard to get to where I am today and who I have become. It's the same in the lives of these people here. They have nothing, but they have ambition and a drive of where they want their lives to go. Everyday I visit these people and their trust and faith is in God. I am truly amazed. I never thought that somewhere, being India, could teach me so many things. I want each one of you to know that when you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, never give up then, for that is just the time the tide will turn. I love these people here and I love the work i'm doing. I hope all of you are doing well back home. I miss you all and love each one of you!

Another Exciting Day!

Everyday seems to be another adventure here, but I am loving it because everyday I learn something new either from the people here in the colonies, or from just within myself. Wednesday I went out to the colonies again. This colony was about two hours away so I had a lot of time to relax and listen to music. It was great because looking out the window I saw the country of India and it is truly beautiful! We had Raja come with us, one of our translators. Raja is one of RSO's kids that is now shortly leaving for his mission to Provo, Utah. He is the first kid of any RSO kid to leave the school. Raja is such a funny guy and he always keeps us entertained. Thiruttani was the colony we went to. Thiruttani is a pretty interesting colony because we first started to go there last year to help build them a community shelter. When we arrived there a year ago they had their doubts about us working because we were apparently "soft" and "American" and so that meant to them that we couldn't do hard labor, but little did they know that we would come in there and work so hard. In a week we had built this community shelter and they were stunned and so grateful. The people and the president of the colony didn't want us to leave and kept asking when would we return. Today they have a new president and he is corrupt. He has been taking the money we have been giving the colonists for their businesses and using it for himself and his family, so we stopped sending the colony money. It is really sad because they now have crawled back into their old lives of begging and for those that don't beg they have shops along the steps leading up to the temple in the village next to their colony. When we were sending them money we tried to teach them the importance of being independent by having a business, which we setup through our micro-loans, but without the money they cannot afford to keep their businesses running. It really is sad how the wrong doings of one person have caused this colony to suffer. As I was going up the steps of this temple I would notice beggars of all sorts shouting rudely at our group and translators. The beggars would yell telling our translators to try to get money from us so they could get money. This lifestyle is just so sad, but when their country is so poor there is just not a lot they can do. I wanted to help them, but it's against our rules to give out anything to the people because it takes away everything we have set up in order for them to become independent. At the top of the stairs you see this beautiful temple and the view that looks out across the valley is picturesque! One of the cool things about being there was we saw this elephant that was trained to give you his blessing. The way it worked was you had to give the elephant a 2 rupee coin and place it on his trunk, he would then curl it up, hand it to his master, and then lightly tap his trunk on your head. It was by far one of the coolest things I have seen here in India along with that really weird festival. Since we only had a short amount of time that day we didn't get to talk to as many people in the colony as I thought we would, so I only got the chance to talk to one family, which I was bummed about, but still very grateful. It was great to go to Thiruttani and see how much it had changed in a year. Today I went out to the colonies as well. This colony I had been to before and it is my favorite colony because there are two women there that are so amazing! Marianne, one of the women, has sacrificed so much to be where she is now. She gave up all she had so her kids could have a future. She came to this colony and helped build it before her leprosy got bad, and now she is slowly working to pay off her house debt that the government help her build. At one point she thought about putting her house up so her son could keep his job! Marianne is so full of faith. For all those times that I have doubted God I wish I hadn't because if someone who has less than I can have more faith, then to me, I have a long way to go in becoming faithful in all things especially life! Another woman there that is just so remarkable is Mumtaj. This woman was diagnosed with leprosy at the age of seven, had shots for it, but after she got married and pregnant it came back. She fled with her daughter to this colony because she didn't want to be a burden on her husband. She told us about how hard she has worked in order to make her daughter's life the best it could be. Mumtaj is a devout christian. She goes to church every Saturday and Sunday and then goes back home where she is usually laughing with the other women colonists. These two women have taught me what sacrificing really means. It just amazes me how they do not have anything and yet they still are giving to the ones they love and to others! It takes a lot of faith and courage to sacrifice all you have. God truly blesses those that have room to give no matter how much or little we have. I love being here and I love these people! I miss all of you guys so much and I love each one of you as well! Don't lose sight in where you're headed and always have faith in yourself and in your situations. God bless all and take care!

A Couple of Days

So almost two days have passed since the last time I wrote and I do apologize, but what's great about it is I have twice the stories to tell. Yesterday my group went out to Bethel Nagar, our favorite leprosy colony to go to because the people there are just so awesome, and it is the colony that Rising Star has gone to the most since it's establishment. There is one man there who is just so funny to talk to because every time we come he always greets us with a huge smile and his laughter is endless. I do not know his name and even if I did it would be almost impossible to pronounce, so I will just tell you the story about his life and what makes him so remarkable and unforgettable. He got leprosy and was brought to this colony, but besides leprosy he was also blind. Dr. Kumar, who is our doctor, wanted to operate on him and try to recover his eyesight, but the other doctors told him he was too old and the operation would never work, but this did not stop him. This man told our doctor that he wanted a chance to see his grand kids and his family before he died. With all of Dr. Kumar's faith in this operation, he made sure that was the reason he would see again. The operation miraculously worked and he was able to see in one eye. Since that day he has been the happiest man alive! Every time we enter in the colony he is the first one to talk to us. He walks by and shakes our hands with his nubs with joy because he can finally see again! That day we set up all of our medical equipment and began to do our work. We had this huge line that started with all the patients sitting down waiting for Dr. Kumar to write down what was wrong with them or if their sores had gotten better or worse. After they had been checked out, they went over to get their blood pressure taken, and then they would come get their feet washed and bandaged up. I, again, was taking photos, but this time instead of just taking photos of their feet I had to write the picture number from the camera as well as their name because Dr. Kumar did not have his laptop. To see our other doctor dig into their infected sores was pretty gruesome and many times I had to look away. I just can't imagine the pain this disease causes them. After all of our patients had been treated, they walked to our medical van to get their medicines and soap. We try to teach our patients to wash their feet during the time they have to wait for us to come again so their leprosy will get better the next time we come. A lot of these people are very grateful, but others are not, and they would rather take medicine, or a pill as they put it to get rid of leprosy. It would be great if all the worlds problems could be solved with a pill because this way I would already be rich and with a lot of women, but unfortunately this is not possible. It was very touching though to get to talk to each one of these people as they were being treated. I got a lot of smiles which felt good, but the best part of getting smiles is knowing wherever you are in the world when someone gives you a smile it is understood and you don't have to worry about deciphering it. I truly do love these people because they teach me so many things about myself and life that I didn't know before, and for that I am truly grateful. Today was a very hard day. My group stayed on the campus and we dug in order to find the water pipeline, the power line, and the internet line. Last year one of the lines got broken and so to make sure that didn't happen again we had to dig up and find each line to know where they were in the future. This is another funny example of how unorganized Indians are! Usually back in the states when we build things we have blueprints, but here they just do everything by ear! Well after about 4 hours of digging none of us could find this mysterious internet line. We managed to find all the other lines, but honestly I felt like 49ers digging for gold without hope of knowing that it actually existed. This was really frustrating, but being so determined to find this line all day, I had it in me to keep digging. Out of everyone else that was digging looking for this line my partner Catelyn and I were the first to find it! I felt so relieved because I knew I could finally shower and escape the scorching Indian heat. The shower felt so surreal! I guess out of all the other things that I have done here in India this was one of the many that I asked myself in what way is this helping! One thing that I have learned here in India is exactly what Mother Teresa said. "There are many people who can do big things, but there are few people who will do the small things." This quote is so true in everything that I have done here. No matter how many monuments I help build for these people what they will remember most will be the small things that were done for them because those things that we look at as small to them they are beyond anything we can fathom. Washing their feet, touching them, and showing them love we see as small things because everyday we do them, but here in India especially when they have leprosy they never see those things and to them that is a huge thing! Later on in the day all of the volunteers went out to Chengalpat for dinner and we had the famous parotha. It was crazy because Esther won eating 12 of them beating her old score of 11! I don't know how she did it because I eat 4 and I am done! Well it's 9:25 here and i'm supposed to be putting my kids to bed so I hope all of you enjoy my thoughts and stories! I love you all and I miss you all! I think about each one of you often and I hope that you guys are doing well! Keep looking out for many more stories!