What Makes You Beautiful?

Today I had the chance to go out to one of the colonies with the medical unit. We entered into this colony and got all of our equipment organized and began to work. The looks on their faces as we washed their infected feet were looks of great gratitude! Again, these people are so amazing to me. I still can't imagine how they have so much faith! My job instead of washing their feet was to take pictures of them after they had been dried by the other volunteers. Looking at this old guys foot was pretty horrific. His foot had been eaten out so much that you could see his bone. Brittany, one of the girl volunteers, was washing his feet, and she told me that you could feel his bone as you were washing his feet. I can't imagine the pain that it causes him each day as he walks around. After washing their feet, we wrapped them up in these huge bandages, so they wouldn't get it infected from the ground. Another colony that we went to today was a fairly well off colony. They had food, shelter, and no leprosy, so that was nice. This colony was a school colony. These little kids that were there were so adorable. We came in as they were eating, and the funny thing about this situation was that they looked at us while they ate as if any minute we were going to rob them of their food or something terrible was about to happen. The girl volunteers painted the nails and toe nails of the little children and to see them so bewildered was really funny. Tonight we had our first family home evening lesson with the children on the topic of honesty. The younger kids couldn't really understand the lesson because they didn't know English very well, so that was sad, but the older children I hope got the message. At dinner we had our tradition of highs and lows. This is when we go around the table and each person will tell their high and their low for that day. My high was going to the colony and seeing these people being so grateful that we came. It always touches me when these people look me in the eye and tell me thank you. I just love getting that feeling knowing that I did something great for these people that have nothing. This work is truly remarkable! My low was just being so exhausted from the day. The minute I came back the campus I just passed out! Tonight we also had an amazing slide show. This slide show was a compilation of pictures put together to show what the true meaning of beautiful was. We all have our own meaning of beautiful, but I think sometimes we get blinded by what is happening out in the world that we don't actually see what the word beautiful really means. Tonight looking at these pictures it really hit me that God has made everyone beautiful in their own way. The regular world doesn't think that these leprosy infected people are beautiful, but the truth is they are. Seeing pictures of them smile without teeth, watching them hold your hands to praise you because you're actually talking to them, hugging them, and just giving them love, totally makes their life more complete not just their day. I guess when I first came out here I didn't really grasp the meaning of what I thought was beautiful, but the real truth is the word beautiful means a lot more than just what is on a cover of a magazine, or some supermodel taking some photos. Everyone in the world is beautiful! I love being here, and I love being with these amazing people! India is truly a remarkable country and it is filled with so many life lessons that I keep learning each day. People here in India these two weeks have honestly taught me so much more than anything I have ever learned in the last 13 years of my life. I want each one of you to think about what you think beautiful means. I think you'll be surprised with the kind of meanings you can come up with just by pondering on the word. Again, I love each one of you and I miss all of you back home! Take care and do the best you can with your time!

I Got a Haircut!!

Well today was a pretty relaxing day. I woke up and did the normal routine of showering in a little stall with a spicket. This honestly, at first, was so hard to get used to because i'm not so flexible, and bending down and trying to wash myself while being on all fours isn't all that appealing, but being in this hot weather you sort of start to appreciate these cold showers! I headed over to the school after my shower to tutor the kids which went well. Gopi Nath, one of the kids I tutor, is just so cute because every time I finish tutoring him he looks at me and says, "Thank you uncle." It really is adorable. It's cute because all the kids call the boy volunteers uncle and the girl volunteers auntie. It's like we're all one big family! All my kids are cute so I shouldn't leave anyone of them out, but this one in particular is one of my favorites. He works so hard and tries to get all the right answers, and just looking at him while he's struggling to get it right kind of makes me appreciate my education a little bit more. Most of these kids are abandoned, so teaching them is very important. What's really remarkable is if these kids learn English, and not only English, but English with an American accent, their income in India increases 500%, so that is really important. All these kids work so hard and we're so proud of them! Another exciting thing that happened today is I got a haircut! One of my really good friends from Utah came out for this last session and she is a hair stylist, so before she came out I told her to bring her scissors and all her accessories so that she could cut my hair. This is quite a thing because here in India it's so hot, and so ever since I've gotten my haircut I feel like it's 5 degrees cooler! All the kids keep telling me that I look like a American movie star, so I guess I really am that handsome. It's great that these kids have learned to boost all the volunteer's self-esteem levels up so well because now I know why all these girls keep coming back. The kids truly do have so much love and it's great because if you're ever feeling down you can just spend some time with them and afterward you feel like a million dollars! Eating here is also another hard task. In my case I eat all the time. I know that's surprising because before I came out here everyone kept saying, "Oh well you'll hate all that rice." The truth is I LOVE THAT RICE AND EVERYTHING I EAT. We have this kitchen that is full of food. We have cereals, bars of all sorts, beef jerky, and just tons of snack foods. Well surprisingly enough I have gained a little weight since I have come out here. The trick is to just combine all sorts of foods with your meals, so you get all the nutrients and you get tons of calories, and calories here in India are your best friend. After dinner we read to the kids before they go to bed and we will sing to them. This part of the day is my favorite. The kids are so amazing to watch because the innocence that they possess really hits you hard in the heart. When you can give so much love to these kids and these people out here, you can also receive that same amount of love back, and sometimes you can receive more than you give, and that feeling feels greater than any other feeling here. I love being out here and I love these people. I have come to know that God has made everyone special in their own way. These people here in India are so full of love and gratitude. They have sacrificed so much so that their children can have a better life, and to me, that stands out far more than anything else these people possess. It just amazes me that the people in the leprosy colonies who don't have anything are still sacrificing things to make sure that the future generations of India will be great! Trials to these people happen everyday, but no matter how big the trial is they are always happy to be alive and they are still grateful for everything they have. I guess my message to you all is to never take anything for granted, but always take full advantage of opportunities that come your way and the things that you possess because somewhere out in the world there are people who would kill to be in the same position as you. I hope all of you are doing great! I miss all of you and love all of you! Keep looking out for more blogs!