With only a week and a half left of my India adventure, I am trying to soak the Indian life all in. I have been doing my last minute shopping and eating as much delicious Indian food as I can. My time has flown by so quickly and I am in panic mode to make sure I cross off all the things I wanted to do while here.
In this past week, I have made a new friend. Sukanya is sixteen whose parents forced her to leave their home to work as a maid. Now I know this sounds harsh, so let me explain. She comes from a family of eight who live in a poor village in a one room house. Often, Sukanya would not be able to eat because her family could not afford to feed her and her siblings. Unable to pass tenth grade, her parents made her work in the rice patty fields to make some money. To avoid this back breaking work, they tried to find a family who would take her—and we found her! When she came, I could not believe how young she was and wondered how this could even be allowed. I still do not understand why this could happen, but I have accepted that this is normal in the Indian culture, after talking with Carol. It is very common for families to have helpers like Sukanya. Carol and Sharon make fun of me because I feel bad having her prep all the food for dinner or wash the dishes because she is sixteen! I just keep thinking that she is the same age as Matthew—and cannot even imagine him leaving home—let alone doing someone else’s dishes! I know that she is in a better living environment, is able to eat three full meals a day, and is protected from the violence in her village. Still, it is a challenge for me to understand. So Sukanya and I have become good friends. We are unable to communicate, so both of us have resorted to facial expressions and hand gestures. I am trying to teach her English and she is teaching me Tamil. I have probably learned more Tamil in these past two weeks than I have learned these past three months. She follows me around the house rattling off in Tamil like I know what she is talking about. And she is always so proud to make me tea (chai), so at 6 am every morning she dutifully barges in my room chanting, “chai, chai?” It is quite entertaining.
Now I have a very inspiring story—although I suspect many won’t believe its validity. This is all truth and it is worthy of sharing. As you know, Carol and I are leading a Bible study for the teachers at Achiever. I wanted to give each individual their own Bible so Carol and I drove an hour to Chennai to buy them. I went to a Christian book store and bought 9 Bibles for the teachers. As we were leaving the store, the clerk realized we were missing a Bible and called to us back to put the ninth Bible in the bag. While on the car ride home, I thought it odd that he hadn’t given us the right number of Bibles, so I counted to make sure I had nine – and yes, there were. Once I got home I realized that I needed 10 Bibles, not 9. To say the least, I was a little disappointed because we had gone all that way to pick up these Bibles for the next day’s Bible study. Not having enough, I decided to not give one of the teachers a Bible and buy one the next time I was in Chennai. My plan was to write a note to each teacher in the Bibles. As I was writing the notes, I was about to grab the last Bible out of the bag, and I realized that there were two Bibles! I was a little shocked so I counted the Bibles 5 or 6 times, and there were 10 Bibles! I looked at my receipt and I was charged for 9 Bibles. Carol and I both watched the clerk put 9 Bibles in the bag. While we were in the car driving, home I wanted to double check that I had the 9 Bibles, and I counted 9. The next day there was 10 Bibles in my bag! So I am calling this the mystery Bible miracle! The inspirational part of the story is not only the 10th Bible, but the day before I wondered if I would ever witness a miracle. You hear of miracles happening, but I am the first to be skeptical, and this time it happened to me!
Saturday we had a huge science fair at Achiever Academy. The students’ parents came to see the exhibits and were so proud of their children, ages 2-10, and the school. Achiever is truly making a difference in the community by beginning to properly educate those who would never get an opportunity otherwise. They take children from the poorest villages and teach them to be respectful, confident, and caring young men and women. Without an education, it is so difficult to get out of the cycle of poverty and injustice. Achiever is making a huge difference and I am really proud to be helping in a small way at a school like Achiever.
This week we are going to a wedding in Kerala, the neighboring state. I am very excited because I have heard wonderful things about Indian weddings! Although, I will be missing my family’s annual Thanksgiving in Tahoe. We have planned to make our own Indian Thanksgiving this week. I am hoping it turns out! Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!
