Shishi Bahvan: day 2

So today was an easier day.  I think knowing what to expect made it easier though I can’t say I was looking forward to it.  Today the entire home was scrubbed from top to bottom and many of the volunteers helped with that.  I was asked to play with the children.  So today I changed diapers…and the diapers are pieces of clothes that are tied around and between their legs.  I changed one girl who is so contorted from CP her legs are crisscrossed and they do not come a part.  She cried most of the time because I am sure what I had to do was not very comfortable.  She is so thin that I can literally feel every bone in her body…she feels as though she could break.   You have to just take a deep breath and jump in.  I was rushing to my hand sanitizer every diaper I changed.  Then I was asked to play with older kids on the rooftop.  And I found my first calling of the morning.  I noticed a little blind girl was lying on the concrete and it looked like she had fallen off a riding toy.  So I picked her up and she grabbed my waist and started pushing me.  She is one of the few who can walk very well…and she wanted to walk.  She would steer me where she wanted to walk all over the rooftop making large circles. We were playing horsey…isn’t that fitting J Eventually she forced me into a slow run as we then ran laps around the rooftop.  I thought this is probably really good for her…when does she ever get such exercise.  She cannot do this on her own…she needs someone to lead her and she trusted me completely.  I could not help but think of Jesus and how that is to be the goal of a disciples life…to grab a hold of Jesus and to follow him completely as if we are blind.  That was a good moment.  And then a sweet little girl noticed the fun we were having and she joined in.  We formed a train on the rooftop…as I sang “Come on ride that train, train…and ride it” J My American friends giggled at my song! 

When I was tired from running in the sun we sat down and I noticed what the Indian woman next to me was doing with a large group of kids around her…she was delousing their hair.  I saw her pick out bugs from their hair and squash them into the ground.  She and an older girl roughly rain a comb through all the children’s hair…catching what would come out onto a dishtowel to examine it.  It was hard to maintain my composure at the sight of this.  And I noticed I began to feel as if things were crawling on me.  One more reason why wearing my hair wrapped in a scarf at all times is such a smart idea!

I was asked to carry a young girl downstairs to eat.  She is a pretty little girl and though not about to move much she communicates a great deal with her eyes.  I sat with her and a little boy named Ronnie. They both are gems to me simply because they are able to communicate some.  I showed them my rather large aviator sunglasses and then put them on their faces.  They took such joy and humor out of looking through my glasses…laughing at each other and having the sisters to look at them surprised by their faces behind shades to big for them.  They loved it and it was my favorite part of today.  I helped to make two children laugh in a room filled with children who scream out and cry so often.   They had a new experience and enjoyed that 30 minutes of play. 

It is moments like playing horsey or train, being silly with a pair of glasses and making faces that I am reminded of how I would play with children as Big Al…not able to communicate with words, but only through silly play.   I am thankful to have that experience when I can draw upon it.

Other asides from today:

1.     We saw our first American walking down the streets of Calcutta today.  You would have thought we were greeting a celebrity because we were all so excited to see someone like us.  Even he looked thrilled to see something familiar.

2.     Then we passed an Indian man lying on the road (which is every few hundred feet), but he had his leg bent under him sticking out shaking his exposed rear end…what a lovely sight.  It was not for our benefit anymore than it was for everyone else’s…he seems mentally unaware of his surroundings.

3.     I am beginning to think that Sheryl really knows how to pray…because my toileting experience in India so far has been pretty good.  Only when you leave your compound do you need to expect Indian hole in the ground toilets with no toilet paper and nastiness.  So I try to stop drinking water an hour before we go anywhere so that I can hold it until we get back J                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

II am feeling a little more comfortable.  A little more used to the smells, sights, noise, and feelings of being here.  I can begin to imagine that if one stayed a great deal of time longer they would be able to see past the affronting things that strike you so much in the beginning and eventually be able to see some beauty and life even in this depressed climate.  Thank you for your prayers and for those of you who have been helping take care of my family back home!  It really means so much to have this experience and I am so appreciative of all you are all doing for us!