A day in the life of . . .

Well, a lot has happened since our last entry. We finally got access to the internet.  We weren’t able to get access at the hostel initially, so we are happy it's now working. 

Sunday and Monday

The flight was long of course,  . . .  not enjoyable, but not torture either. During our second flight my neighbor spilled coffee all over me, fun :)

We arrived safely in Chennai at 3:30 am.  Every time I travel, I am always reminded of how many kind and wonderful people there are in this world!  During our flight, Tyler sat next to a man from Chennai, he gave us his card and told us about the best taxis to get from the airport.  As we waited for our luggage, we were surrounded by people that wanted to help.  Multiple people were very anxious to make sure that we knew what to do for our taxi to the hotel.  We went through customs, and one of the men that we had been talking to came up and talked to the prepaid taxi service for us, and got us a great price.  As he was finishing helping us, another family that we had talked with came by wanting to make sure that we were all cared for. 

Got a sweet ride to the hotel, and Tyler got to experience the wonderful rules of driving in many third world countries . . . ie. there are none.

We arrived at the hotel at 5 am: a mere 5 hour wait until our ride arrived.  The hotel kindly let us wait in their lobby.  Due to their kindness in letting us have a place to wait, and not wanting to give the hotel a bad image by having a couple of Americans wiped out in their lobby, we attempted to keep ourselves alert reading books.  It was a long wait.  One of the hotel concierge people came up and gave us a portable breakfast that we were very thankful for!

We went for a short walk and around 8:30 we could tell that part of our group were venturing from their rooms in the hotel.  We met some of the volunteers and got anxious to get going.  The buses arrived and we had a wonderful two hour drive in an air-conditionless vehicle :)

Day one was basically to orient ourselves to the layout of the hostel, the activities that we will be doing and the rules.  I always get to wear a sari, or salwar - Indian women's traditional dress.  I love them!  They are colorful and cool - as in not hot :)  During the day we are split up into groups.  There are three groups . . . construction, school and medical.  Construction goes to the colonies and works on various projects, the school group goes to the school and works on an individual basis with the children, and the medical either works in the leprosy colonies with the patients or any other medical activities that are necessary for the school children.  2 – 4 is free time, 4-6 is playtime with the children, then dinner, then family time where we go and help the children in a “family” with their homework and activities before going to bed.

We began our official activities with the children for playtime – total chaos and excitement.  I think almost every volunteer became a human jungle gym for at least part of the play time.

Tuesday we were assigned to team “SCORPION” and got the opportunity to work in the school.  The children are adorable.  We read with them and worked on their math.  It was great to get to know some of the children on a more individual basis.

I loved the opportunity!  One thing about this trip that I have especially enjoyed is watching Tyler with all the little kids.  They all gather around him.  He is a natural, and they just love him!  Smart kids :)

A quote in the school . . . Books are our friends.  Spend time with them.

A couple of the thoughts that have been shared by the team leaders – Kim, Kim, Lex, and Derek that I really like.

                Joy isn’t based on circumstances.

 I’ve thought a lot about this whenever I travel.  Especially to third world countries.  Sometimes I find myself pitying the children and families that are living in such poor circumstances, in such poverty and often pain and hardships.  Pretty quickly wherever I go, that thought is quickly replaced with the impression that many of the happiest people that I have met have been from these circumstances.  Those with success, wealth, material comfort etc. definitely do not hold the market on joy.  It is very often more likely to be the other direction . . . joy is in your attitude and expectations not in circumstance. 


The poor give us much more than we give them.  They're such strong people, living day to day with no food.  And they never curse, never complain.  We don't have to give them pity or sympathy.  We have so much to learn from them.                                                                                      -Mother Teresa

                A parent’s greatest challenge can often be their children’s greatest blessing.

The children that are in the school are the children of the parents that are in the colonies and have leprosy, or children of families in the village nearby.  (Side note:  This in itself is remarkable.  There is such a stigma on leprosy that not only the individual, but their entire family is shunned.  One of Rising Stars goals is to break this stigma.  That families in the area would enroll their children in a school with children of individuals with leprosy and some children that are being treated for leprosy, is a huge step in the right direction!)  The reason that many of the children have the opportunity to be educated in such a wonderful school is because their parents have leprosy and are living in the Rising Star colonies. From what I understand, the parents pay 1000 rupees each year for their children to be enrolled, which is “only” about $25 and yet a great sacrifice for the parents.  The parents in the colonies are taught and given micro-loans to help them accomplish this and to break the chain of poverty and begging.  In school the children are taught normal subjects as well as an emphasis on the value of hard work and managing money.  Once they graduate, all the money that was paid to the school is then put towards a college education for the children.  It is such a magnificent program!  So essentially, because their parents have leprosy and are in the colonies, their children are getting a top notch education and being pulled from poverty!

As I thought about this concept in this situation, I reflected on its applicability to so many challenges in life.  As we are blessed and given the means and strength to overcome our challenges – the strength we obtain strengthens those around us, and the lessons we learn are passed down and each generation becomes stronger and stronger.

Overcoming challenges always brings great blessings – not only to us, but often to those around us!  We are so blessed!