Sweet Greetings and Special Moments

So, it has been almost 2 months since I returned from India, and I am still trying to catch up with the blog. I cherish the time that I spent there, and the memories are so fresh in my mind and yet it feels like India was another world- separate from the one I live in now. These people, though, are still in my heart. I love them and the time I spent there. Here are just a few memories from the last days at Rising Star.

Polambakkam leprosy colony

By this part of the trip, the greetings when we arrive at the colony has become one of my very favorite parts. I love holding their hands in mine and seeing their bright smiles. They are truly children of God. The Polambakkam leprosy colony was a nice place with many green trees. We set up our line in the shade as we usually try to do. When we began meeting the people, they gathered together in the front of the colony by the road and sat in a circle. Each of us girls went around in the circle to greet each one of them personally. One specific lady was so darling I could hardly stand it. She loved to chatter, and although I had no idea what she was saying, I just loved listening. She really made me smile. This day I was in charge of clipping toenails- which was a more difficult task than I had ever faced with my own toenails. Their nails had grown very misshapen and thick. Many of them were missing toes or toenails altogether. I clipped one toenail that bled from the very center of the thick nail. Somehow, though, the job was rewarding, and their gratitude made it all worth it.

When I finished working with my patients, I had some time at the end to walk around and see what everyone else was doing. I have distinct memory of Julia interacting with a man named Mari, who was blind. He lived at a leprosy hospital and was here to receive treatment. Julia held his hand and talked to him through smiles. It was a tender scene that touched my heart. I learned later that as Julia, Mari, and the interpreter sat down and talked together, Mari said that he was very depressed- so much that he wanted to die. He didn’t see the value of his life anymore.  Julia spent the rest of the day enforcing how important he was. She later talked to the lady who was in charge of the colony to see about getting Mari moved from the hospital and into the colony. When we were ready to leave, Mari was getting ready to move from the hospital to the beautiful colony.

When we were about to leave and get onto the bus, we were stopped by one of the guys who works at rising star. He told us that there was a man who wanted to give us coconuts as a gift, he was the leader of the colony who had been there many years. Although he was not affected with leprosy, he spent his entire life living among them. When he first moved into his designated home in the colony, there was a tall fence that divided his home from the leprosy colony. Previous leaders of the colony had refused to come in contact with any person with leprosy. However, this man tore down the fence that divided them and welcomed the people into his home. He loved the people and served them intimately.

After we received our bag of coconuts, we got on the bus and went across the street a ways to the leprosy hospital (where Mari was moving from). There, we met several men who were affected with leprosy. We gathered into their large common room where beds were lined up in two rows. We stood at the front and began singing hymns. The room was slightly darker and the light streamed in through the windows. As we sang, I stared into their faces. At first it felt a little awkward, but the singing sounded beautiful because the sound resonated throughout the room so well. I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but our voices sounded beautiful (and I’m not really one for singing). Next thing I knew, there were tears running down my cheeks. As I looked around, I found out that I wasn’t the only one. Several of us were crying. I felt an overwhelming feeling of love for the people we were singing to. I also felt a feeling of love from my Father in Heaven. The Spirit of God was in the room, and I could feel it.

The last week went by in a blur. It started with the Polambakkam leprosy colony and then flew by. The schedule switched around from its original plan, so I know that my memories are out of order.  I’ll just tell of events and memories that occurred this last week.

The night after the Polambakkam colony, we had a break for a couple hours and then we prepared to teach the kids about hygiene. We gathered them into the cafeteria- which is a big pavilion outside. The boys went first and then the girls. The boys were so talkative and anxious that it was hard to calm them down. The group taught them about being gentleman- which isn’t really a thing in India. In their culture, it is common for men to crowd forward to make sure that they are served first. We told them that it is common in America that the women are actually served first.  We told them that the two men in our group (one instructor and coordinator- Craig and David) wait for every single one of us girls to get our food before they get their food each night! They were astonished! We wanted to emphasize the importance of women since they never really hear that in their culture. We also taught them the basics of tooth brushing, deodorant, etc. Next, we taught the girls about hygiene. They were so well behaved it was hilarious. After this, we went to their hostels to do mass nail clipping- they have to keep their nails very short.

I went into their hostels to clip nails, and I made many new friends! The girls loved to surround me and try to do my hair. One specific girl took particularly good care of me as she tended to my hair and then my henna to make sure that it was peeled off appropriately. I talked with a big group of older girls who each told me to repeat their names ten times so that I wouldn’t forget. When I left, they each told me to have sweet dreams. . . about them! One promised me that she would write me a letter and bring it to play time the next day.

Venkatapuram leprosy colony

We had a great experience at the Venkatapuram colony. I was assigned to administer eye drops. The eye drop line was small, and we often had no line at all, so Alyssa, Madelyn and I spent our time dancing to One Direction and trying to make the people smile. We tried to make friends with the most darling little girl, but she was pretty shy. I made friends with the sweetest man that walked very slowly with his cane. When I tried to take a picture with him, he leaned in to kiss my cheek. The last hour I spent with a woman who had broken her leg falling off of a train. It was heart breaking to see how devastated she was since she was the main provider in her home. I did, however, learn how important and meaningful the small things are. I was able to comfort her by holding her hand and sitting with her on the cement floor of her home.

We spent the afternoon visiting the Barathapuram leprosy colony to see their art school and pearls. The people who are affected with leprosy paint the most beautiful paintings, and I was lucky enough to meet the artist of the painting I bought.

For some relaxation time, we went to the Mudaliarkuppam beach to ride boats. I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out really awesome! We took a ride down a wide river that was surrounded by trees. There were people catching fish with spears and nets in the water, and we made our way to the beach. The waves crashed, and I pondered as I stared at the endless water. Madelyn and I even had a good time throwing sand at the crabs and watching Dave do his back flips. On our boat ride back, our driver told us that he could catch a jelly fish! I didn’t believe him at first, although I had seen so many in the water. Sure enough, he slowed the boat down and steered until he had one in his hand! We all got to pet the top of the jelly fish. It felt just like you would imagine- super jelly.

On our bus ride to the Ramachandra hospital, we looked out the window to see two men yelling at each other. Because it is pretty normal to see men yelling, we thought nothing of it . . . until they started fighting. It was intense, and many of the girls on the bus yelled for them to stop. They kept fighting until many people rushed from their cars to pull them apart. Those men sure had some tempers. 

At the hospital, we got a tour of one of the buildings that offers free service to those who qualify. We saw the labor & delivery floors, neonatal intensive care units, pediatric oncology, etc. We met student nurses who were also about to graduate. It was really neat to see how the hospital functioned. Although they did not have as much as we do in the US, they sure made it work.

It was also interesting to see the mother-in-laws that were there with the women who had just delivered a baby. In America, we are used to having our husbands, mother, and our family there. In India, it is the mother in law who has the honor of holding and caring for the baby after it is born.

After visiting the Ramachandra hospital, we went to the St. Thomas Martyrdom shrine. He had gone to India as a prophet and was killed by a stray arrow there. There were many Christians there celebrating the mission he served in India that converted many to Christianity.

Our amazing instructor, Cheryl, had to leave a day early to catch her flight and it was sad to see her go. She was such an amazing person and good example to me. I’m so grateful I got to know her.

Last day: we treated the Barathapuram leprosy colony which was the colony we visited very first. It was a special experience. I was put at the oiling station where I oiled each patient’s feet to prevent dryness and cracking in their feet which would lead to more sores.

Julia, one of the girls who just got home from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gave Nava Mani (our clinic nurse) a Book of Mormon a few days before this. Today, Nava Mani told Julia that she had been reading the Book of Mormon. She said that she liked it- “The Father and the Son”. Julia spent the rest of the day as we were working teaching Nava Mani about the Book of Mormon and Joseph’s smith first vision. We sang hymns in the background. It was a pretty special experience that made me cry. God loves all of His children, and it is amazing to see His work go forth. Nava Mani said that she felt the Holy Spirit while Julia taught.

One of the highlights of the day was when a dear sweet woman adored Jaclyn. She told her that she had a beautiful nose. One man took plenty of selfies with us on his phone, the clinic doctor sang a few lines of the backstreet boys, and we ended trip by stopping at pizza hut to buy personal pizzas. We celebrated our good times in India by singing Taylor Swift on the way home.

Time was short on our last day, and we were counting the hours hoping that time would go slow. We took the ukg kids for blood testing at a nearby clinic and then went to our last play time. I took lots of pictures and said many goodbyes. At dinner, we shared our highlights and changes that we had experienced in ourselves and the sweet coordinators bought us an Indian cake to say thank you.

We had quite the scare when Jessie ate some curry that contained fish. She didn’t know that or she wouldn’t have eaten it since she is highly allergic. After many prayers and hopes that Jessie wouldn’t be sent home, she was alright. God was definitely watching out for us.

We had to say goodbye to Craig, our other instructor tonight. We were all on our own from there and off to our 3 day trip. He was so awesome. Goodbyes are hard.