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!