India 2009!

After seeing how much the kids loved working with paper to make the shakers yesterday, today we spent the morning making masks and paper necklaces and jewelry! My favorite moment was when Abishek made me a paper watch to wear. I still wasn’t sure if he was afraid of me or not up until this poit J There is also this little boy named Aman, who is gun-gun’s older brother. He is ADORABLE. He always has this big huge grin on his face and is so eager to try any new arts and crafts activity.

Ok shout out to Kathleen Blackney – after arts and crafts I sat on the couch and tried to teach a bunch of the boys how to beatbox!! I barely even know how to beatbox, I only know what I’ve learned from copying Kathleen, but to these boys it sounded amazing so it was all good. Abishek and me finally BONDED it was so exciting. Learning how to beatbox is always a bonding activity because you basically have to look like an idiot spitting all over the place the first few times you do it. But Abishek is getting so good at it, especially when he puts on Rahul’s sunglasses and starts bobbing his head in time with the rhythm :)

After beatboxing with the boys I got up and danced for while with the girls. They love this one routine Michelle has taught them from her dance class with Mrs. Devenney, it’s always one of the first songs we dance to!! Afterwards I danced with Pooja to some Indian music. I feel very connected with Pooja – she is 13 and Joy has explained to us how much working with Michelle and I has helped her open up and star to trust others. She also reminds me a lot of what I felt like at 13; very unsure of who I was and a little wary of everyone around me. But one thing she is that I was not is an INCREDIBLE dancer!! And because she doesn’t speak very good English, dancing with her feels like we’re having a conversation because it’s really the best way to relate to her. Ahh I just love it. Its so interesting to compare it to the way I first felt dancing – it was still awesome, but I was very self-conscious and aware of myself and all the children watching me. Now I just lose myself in the moment, it’s like it’s just me and Pooja!

While we were dancing the power the power had gone out so the fans weren’t working and it was hot like I don’t even know how to find words to describe to you. At one point Michelle and I just looked at each other and shook our heads because we honestly, no exaggeration, looked as if we had just jumped into a pool. We were very grateful when it was lunchtime to help take our minds off of how hot we were.

After lunch I came outside to find Michelle and a few of the boys stacking pillows on top of each other to make a hurdle for them to jump over! Even little Rohit managed to clear the huge stacks, and they kept adding more and more shoes each time the boys were able to jump over a new pile! All of the adults came outside to watch. I loved how they all clapped for Rahul even though he wasn’t able to jump over some of the shoes, or when Gautam grabbed little Aman and sent him flying over the pile of shoes like he was Superman. Like I’ve said before these kids really take care of each other. It’s awesome to see. What bummed me out a little bit was that none of the girls tried it – Pooja did a few times, which made my day, but then they all went inside. One reason was because a few of them were wearing skirts. Which makes me hate skirts. What a stupid invention. I’ve never viewed pants as a sign of equality for women until coming here, and now I thank God every day that it’s acceptable for me to wear them!

After jumping around Joy basically forced Michelle and I to come sit inside with all the adults, because like I said, we looked like we’d been in a swimming pool and I think he was getting worried about us. Jeanette’s husband fanned us for awhile, which was honestly a huge Godsend. The fans here are shaped really interestingly – they’re designed in this circular shape so that even if you’re fanning yourself or one other person, you’re still benefiting other people in the room.

Joy told me some stories about times in his life when he has received a blessing from God just when he thought there was nowhere to turn. There was one time when a TV just appeared in their living room – the owner of a TV shop had heard that Joy cared for many children and that they would like a TV. Or there was another time when SOUP owed a sum of 530 rupees to a shopowner and someone made a donation to them in exactly that amount. He went on like this for awhile with all these different examples of what Mrs. Woelchke would call “Small Miracles.” SOUP needs another one of those small miracles now. I do have faith that things are going to work out, because they always have for Joy. There is a reason Michelle and I found this organization; there is a reason why we are here this summer. On paper, in many ways SOUP sounds like an organization that might not survive much longer. But in reality, I can’t see this happening. There is something unique and special about this organization and I have faith that things are going to turn around for it soon.

After our conversation I went outside to find Michelle playing cricket with Gautam and Abishek! We spent the next two hours playing cricket with them and the whole family. It’s a very small area so things got pretty interesting when we hit the ball into the street or over the roof of the house, but ahhh I just had such an amazing time playing with all of them! Some of my favorite moments were watching Rinky and Heena do their crazy little happy dance together every time their team scored a point; another moment was watching Grace get up to bat!!!! Their oldest son was actually once a professional cricket player. We also played another game where all the children stand inside a square and then a few people on the outside have to hit their feet with a tennis ball.

Afterwards Brother Joseph, a friend of SOUP who has come to visit for a few days, took us outside for evening prayer. There was no power and it was getting very dark, and it was actually a really wonderful feeling to have us all sitting together, praying and telling Bible stories. I really didn’t expect to be having the religious experience I am having here. Telling Bible stories to the kids makes me realize just how ballin of a storybook the Bible is! Michelle and I acted out Noah’s ark, and I sprinkled water all over their heads and pretended to be a dove with Heena…then we acted out Moses, and we pretended to send one of their baby dolls down the river…like honestly I never appreciated this before, but things just don’t get more exciting than the Old Testament. It makes me really excited to have kids of my own and tell them a Bible story before they go to sleep at night.

After prayer time it was dinner time, which is always delicious!!! Then we came home and spent some time talking about the children’s education. Joy has told us that he needs about $1500 to send them to school for the year. This is money that SOUP just doesn’t have right now, and they all begin school within a week – but Joy has faith that they will find a way to make things work. On a lighter note, Michelle also noticed that her camera was missing…we called Joy, and he found it under Rahul’s bed. Oh Rahul.