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!