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!