My vivid picture of the day is Shama, one of our most beloved housemothers, sitting on a low stool with her umbrella, next to our lake (it used to be our playground), small bucket in hand filling bigger buckets for the girls.  Half of the girls were still getting soap out of their hair in the shower, when the water pump quit!  "Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink"--or bathe in, we might add.  The rain has been incessant for several days.  Our huge wells have filled up by a third, at least.  I've never seen rain come down like this.  We have been without power a good portion of the last few days, but until this morning we have had water for all uses other than drinking.  It was quite laughable this morning.  One of our boys brought a small fish to live in our house.  I couldn't figure where it had come from, but as I am looking out the window at the "lake" I can see little fish jumping.  Anyone out there able to explain this to me?

School has been closed the last few days--when the government declares that schools be closed, it means schools are closed! Apparently you can get in big trouble if you don't close. Even private schools.  I suspect no one checked this morning, because after two days with all of us locked in the hostels (locked in by the rain) we were all a little crazy.  By the time the children ran their short distance to the school, they were soaked. Now we'll probably have everyone back sick.  I took a few children with my umbrella, and had to come home and completely start over on my clothes for the day.  To complicate things, the puppies have not left for their new homes.  Their new owners keep telling me that it is not auspicious to take them in the rain!!  Of course I am their adopted mother, which is also a 24/7 job when it rains like this.  At the moment they are locked in our bathroom, because the electrician is trying to fix another electrical problem (joke) and they were spending their time where one of the main panels resides.  Why do I care???

We have been concerned about the news out of Mumbai, but here at the land we feel very safe. No one would have a desire to brave our muddy-rut roads to do harm.  We are not being cavalier about it, but do feel that we are in a good spot.  Ron, unfortunately, had to go to Chennai today.  He called to say they were swimming through the streets in their vehicle.  We have heard that 60 people may have drowned or died in this last rain period.  The rivers run wild with this amount of precipitation all at once, and they live so precariously near the rivers.

This week, picture us not "Walking in the Sand", but walking in the mud!

Our Boys

 




Since we live in the Boys Hostel, we spend most of our evenings having a group of the older boys (6th, 7th and 8th Standard) with us for study time.  They usually come shortly after 7:00p.m. and stay until nearly 9:00.  For many, calling it study time is a very loose term, but they start right after they get home from school, knocking on the door to ask if tonight "they come for study."  I guess they say, "We come for study tonight?"  Two of the older boys who come are on the verge of being sent home, for incorrigible behavior, but when they come for study time, they are great. Wish we could convert the behavior in our house, to their behavior with their house mothers and their peers.  It's a sweet time, so when we spend nights in Chennai, they miss it, and so do we. One added bonus has been that they get to spend some time on the computer, which they adore.  We are still waiting for our desk top computers to arrive, and the number of laptops that we use in the computer class is small, so time on Grandpa's laptop is frosting on the cake.

I am including pictures of several of them, and since I haven't figured out how to put names on them, I will identify them.  Unfortunately, I'm missing pictures of a couple of them--later I will include those.  Boy reading magazine is Deepenraj, Rajesh has basketball, and Grandpa is shown with Madanraj and lots of little friends.  Arulraj is second down on the right and Shankar is busy coloring.  Krishnamoorthy is behind two of his pals on the playground (center).

Our 8th Standard boys are Kartik and Satish.  Satish is pictured above by the vegetables, getting some out for the cooks.  He is nearly 16, very handsome and extremely sweet.  He is so good with the younger boys, and has flourished with the attention he gets from us.  He is way behind where he needs to be in his studies, but he tries hard--we have a difficult time getting the older boys caught up: there is too much ground to cover.  Kartik is the youngest son of one of our long-time employees Mani.  Mani's home is in Chennai, and he is always our driver when we are here.  He is also the land manager, so he directs the work of all our men that work on the land.  Kartik had a major hip surgery this year, and consequently got even further behind in his 8th grade work.  His reading in both English and Tamil is poor, but he comes to "study" faithfully every night.  He is thoughtful and kind-- a little on the heavy side, so he's a big boy. Truly a gentle giant.  Kartik is 14. He is pictured in upper left.

7th Standard includes Rajesh and Shankar.  They are both darling boys, loving, friendly and great athletes.  They both excel in school, particularly Shankar.  Unfortunately, Shankar is one of our boys that spends a lot of time with the General Manager, for behavior unbecoming to a Rising Star!  He's got such potential--can it be channeled?  His father is very crippled with leprosy, and lives in Delhi.  His mother lives nearer in one of the colonies.  Rajesh is a leader of boys.  His mother is one of our house mothers, and his father is dead.  He is a baptized member of the church, and next week will give a talk in Primary, which he volunteered for.  Rajesh has a younger brother, Vignesh, and older sister, Priya who live here.  Shankar is 13, and Rajesh is 11.

In the 6th Standard we have a wide range of ages, sizes, and abilities in the boys.  There are two brothers, who are new to Rising Star this year--Modanraj and Deepanraj.  They are struggling to keep up, but Modanraj (age 14) has taken to working hard, and really trying to excel.  The younger brother, Deepanraj (12 years old), has quite good English (they both do), but would rather play, talk, look at story books or do anything other than work or study.  The boys mother died about 4 years ago, and Modanraj always carries her picture.  The father is very interested in the boys progress, and I think comes down quite hard when they are not doing well.

The other two boys that are 6th Standard, are young, and in the case of Arulraj on the edge of finding a new home.  We are working hard with him, but school is not high on his priority list, nor is following the rules.  He has a sad life at home--father gone, and mother very crippled. We keep hoping he will see the value in what is being offered to him here at Rising Star Outreach.

Krishnamoorthy, also 6th Standard, is just the opposite from Arulraj.  He is a stellar student, and while being one of the youngest in his class, is a solid citizen all round.  He is so kind and causes no problems anywhere.  We love having him around.  He shows for a lot of love from his family; you can really see what their home life is when you see how they behave.  Both of these boys are 12 years old.

It is a joy to get to know these young men.  They are like children everywhere:  the individual time spent with them is invaluable.  They truly thrive with the personal attention.  We insist that when they are in our house that they speak only English, so there are a couple of them, except when they forget, who are pretty silent.  We have high hopes that each can rise higher, than they might otherwise have.  We thank each of you that support a child--what a great gift that is.

Life OUT of the Big City!

We've had a week of not much internet connection, hence the lack of blog entries.  We're getting closer to a secure source, but we're not quite there yet.

This story is actually about life IN the big city.  Sara Tempest sent us a great article from the International Herald Tribune entitled "Urban Cowboys Struggle with India's Sacred Strays." The story is about the attempt to get the cows off the major highways in New Delhi (which they are committed to do before the Commonwealth Games, which will be in New Delhi in 2010.)  In the article it talks of "dozens of men who spend their days roping cattle on the streets of [New Delhi] as a part of a long and frustrating battle to rid India's capital of stray cows.  Since the slaughter of cows is banned throughout most of India, "there is perhaps no more stereotypical image of India than that of a stray cow sauntering down the middle of a busy street, seemingly oblivious to the traffic swerving around it."

These "cowboys rely on rope lassos and brute strength to capture the beasts, which often charge into traffic or kick or buck violently in an attempt to escape."  We have heard that there is a similar program in Chennai of trying to rid the city of it's thousands of cows, but we've not seen it in action.  I have included a picture, but this cow lives in Changleput, which is a much smaller city, and while there are cows everywhere, the town itself rather looks like there should be cows wandering in and out of the wild traffic.  This is an interesting problem that we have not encountered in Laguna Beach!

This week life Out of the big city, has us creating and using what Ron calls our "Indian tractor." We have had such a problem getting any heavy equipment in to smooth out our playing field, that Ron came up with a great design for our own dirt spreader--we think we should write John Deere and see if they wouldn't like to add it to their line of products.  It requires three men, and the one at the back has to be able to make the appropriate noises to keep the operation moving forward.  The guys were hilarious, and so proud of the fact that it really worked!  So was Ron...

We are also getting down our new walkways, which will allow us to walk from one hostel to the

other without slogging through mud in the rainy season, and sand in your shoes on dry days.  I have included only one picture of this, but we loved this man carrying the tiles on his head, as all building materials are moved.  It has been so fun to watch them making their cement, creating the base with very large rocks, moving the materials around, leveling with a long stick, and finally putting the tiles in place.  Next week a picture of the finished product!

Divali (or Dewali or Deepvali)

We have just completed the designated five days of the most important Hindu holiday in India, which is celebrated by Hindu and non-Hindu alike.  It is also a  special occasion for Hindus throughout the world.  Divali, as most of us here call it, is known as the Festival of Lights.  We have thought of it somewhat like Christmas, New Years and 4th of July, all rolled into one big holiday.  As I have read about Divali, I realize our celebration at Rising Star, was very small, compared to how it is celebrated throughout India, but our children loved what occurred, and seemed happy with it all.

A little history that I have learned about Divali.  The festival is calculated by the lunar, Hindu calendar.  It will appear somewhere in the end of October or early November.  The word Divali means "rows of lighted lamps" so, it is traditionally marked by lighting deeyas (or diyas), which are made from clay and filled with oil or ghee (they remind me of the ones we purchased in the holy land that are replicas of those from Biblical days.)  People get ready for this great holiday by cleaning their homes and surroundings, the purchasing and wearing of new clothing and giving charity to the needy. The stores were jammed the week before Divali began.  Fireworks are a big part of the celebration, which was one thing we did with the children:  firecrackers and sparklers are especially important.  Sweets are distributed (ours were more in the form of several sweet dishes as part of the meal), gifts are exchanged, homes decorated and oil lamps are lit.  We also had two goats, alive on Sunday, but covered with a curry sauce on Monday! Don't quite know how that fit into the Hindu holiday! We had a lot of nice clothing in the storeroom that people had donated to us, so each boy and girl got a new article of wearing apparel for the day, although for the evening excitement the girls had lovely outfits (many new from their families) especially for the holiday. 

Being the festival of lights, one thought is to wake up from the slumber of ignorance and pursue knowledge.  As light dispels darkness, so should knowledge dispel ignorance.  Through learning, man is expected to advance to the stage of enlightenment in which he realizes that God is the Light of lights, and that God brings warmth, love, and illumination to all being and therefore there can be no light greater than God.  The aim of Divali celebrations is to get man moving on the spiritual path and ultimately attain illumination by becoming one with God.  As they light the lamps in their houses, those celebrating divali are reminded to light the lamps of wisdom, goodness and God-consciousness in themselves.  It is through this, that they can attain the "Light of Lights"--God.

The festival is held in honor of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.  They pray to Lakshmi for good luck in the coming year.  The lights are left burning all night, so that Lakshmi may feel welcome and enter.  The more lamps that are lit, the more likely it is that Lakshmi will be tempted to visit them.  Hindus believe she brings wealth when she visits.

Our employees all took at least two days off (plus the weekend)--family gatherings are very important, so many of them have to travel quite a distance to be with family.  Including the weekend, our children were out of school for four days, so that in itself was a celebration for them.  Our fireworks were very minor, but across Tamil Nadu they were incredible--even the most humble home has a display that makes our big 4th of July celebrations look pretty minor. I have never heard so many firecrackers in my life!  

It was exciting to be a part of this great holiday.

 

Birthday!

Joyce survived another birthday!  It's never been my favorite day, but this one was memorable, to say the least.  Jenny had informed the world that her already old mother, was going to turn a year older on the 21st.  You get to this point, and it seems like it would be nice to just coast past the day, without too much notice, but that was not to be the case this year.  She had asked a number of people to email me, to let me know that they were sympathetic, happy, understanding, thinking about how old I was, whatever!  I received close to 85 emails, and a few late ones are still coming in.  What fun it has been!  I was up at 3:00a.m. and went to the computer, and started reading emails.  I've never had such a nice night awake!  The real day began at 7:00 a.m. with the children putting signs all over our door, knocking loudly, and singing happy birthday at every opportunity.  They had wrapped all sorts of little packages, with toys from somewhere, made beautiful pictures, written cards in their best English, and found all kinds of reasons to be in our house with us, watching each new thing that arrived from someone.  One of the teachers gave me a beautiful blessing (Hindu or Christian?), everyone wanted to shake my hand (very traditional), and the traditional wish of "many happy returns of the day" was uttered all day long.  Never have I had more hugs and kisses.  The cook had made several delicious dishes and invited us for a special birthday lunch. Ron gave me a pretty gold necklace and earrings, and the women have been especially pleased with that, as it signifies that I am a married woman.  They all wear a gold chain that rests inside their saris or clothing, and I think they have been worried about me not having one.  Anyway, I do now.  Memorable day--a never to be forgotten birthday in India.

Our daughter sent me some of her thoughts on India, after her visit, that I wanted to share. Some of it was a bit effusive about her mother and father, so I have edited out a little, and some I have left.  Just remember, these comments come from a loving daughter who always says only the best!  Once again, I reiterate what a joy it was to have her here.  She wrote this as a letter to someone, and copied me on it.

"India was wonderful and horrible all at the same time.  It was great to be with my parents.  They both look great, their skin looks so good and they have a glow about them  Probably because everyone sweats 24/7 there due to the heat and humidity.  They feel good and they are happy.  It was a relief to see them doing so well, thriving in fact.  And this despite the very difficult living conditions they are in.  India is not for the weak stomached or faint of heart.  It is taxing on every level.  Nothing works well.  Most things don't work at all.  It is frustrating for them but they are learning new depths of patience.  The school and the children are a beautiful oasis in a country that is indescribably poor.  Living conditions for the majority of the population are beyond anything I could have imagined.  I have seen awful in Africa and parts of Mexico but that was nothing compared to this.  It is just so expansive in India... there is no end to it.  This was the horrible part of India.  After a week at Rising Star Outreach, Ann Tempest and I flew to Delhi for a few days.  We took a 5 hour car ride to the city of Agra where we visited the Taj Mahal.  The Taj exceeded my expectations.  It is magnificent.  I was so glad to see this wonder of the world, but the traveling was very difficult.  The roads in India are so dangerous.  There are no rules, or if there are any, no one follows them.  And then it is mile after mile of desperate poverty, filth, beggars, etc.  After a while I just had to close my eyes.  You just can't physically take it all in.  Needless to say, I was happy to get home.  The journey back was over 31 hours and by then I was quite ill with an intestinal bug.  I was pretty sick for 4 or 5 days.  Now that I am home and back into life, it's hard to believe I was really there.  While I was there, I was worried that would happen.  I don't want to forget the feelings I had there.  The work of Rising Star is miraculous.  The children have opportunities now that will change their lives and future generations.  The children are so beautiful.  They are happy and loving.  Joyce and Ron are Grandma and Grandpa to 171 students.  It is such a great thing.  What my parents are doing is incredible, admirable and inspiring.  They are giving so much but I know they are receiving much in return."  

Thank you Elizabeth.  She gives us way more credit than is due.

Week of Firsts!

We wondered if the sacrifice that our General Manager offered this past week on his birthday, as he attended the Temple  (most costly religious edifice, second only to the Vatican) in Andre Pradesh, resulted in our most recent additions.  He came to work on Monday with a baseball cap on, covering his newly shaved head.  He had given his beautiful hair to be used for wigs, fertilizer, other things to help the poor.  When, night before last, we were blessed with five new puppies from mama Snowball, (we still have two of her last batch), Ron asked Maren, our GM, if this was his doing.  He laughingly said, I did pray for prosperity for Rising Star, and we received all these new puppies!  Needless to say, we didn't need five new dogs--we've all agreed that we really don't need any dogs but we are not very good at getting rid of them.  We have worked on the neutering program, but it got bogged down in the three bid rule for everything we do or purchase.  This month, for sure!  We now have nine Indian dogs--they all look alike in India except for their coloring--and they are everywhere.  We have not helped the problem!

Our other excitement of this week, was the delivery of our first batch of milk from the village. 

We gave a micro-finance loan to five women in the nearby village to purchase 5 water buffalo. They will provide our milk (we will purchase it from them), which will then help them to repay the loan on the animals.  We have been told that the milk is very rich and will be nutritious for our children.  The rest of us think maybe we will continue to drink the milk we buy from the market!  (Cowards that we are.)  The milk will be picked up by us twice a day, we boil it, add protein powder in the morning and a bit of sugar in the afternoon, and it is then carried up to the children's rooms to be shared.  They love it--we're hoping they like the water buffalo milk as much as they have liked what they have been drinking.

Work has proceeded this week in spite of the rain.  The low wall around the playground, a pad for the big generator that will be coming to keep us in power at the school and the hostels, and a guard house at our front gate are all under construction.  The soccer field is still a bumpy, muddy surface, but all we need is a big piece of equipment to smooth it out.  That has been hard to come by.  The kids had a great game on it on Thursday, in spite of obstacles.  

Rain!

The rains have started!  Probably not the real monsoon yet, but enough in the last two days to make a big mess of all our roads, play areas and walking between the two hostels and out to the school.  Today, we finally loaded a big bunch of kids into the vans and drove them to the school. Anyone who was out at the wrong moment really got soaked.  Tonight we have a load of laundry still strung all over our room, that failed to dry--it has been inside hanging since early this morning.  Lots of moisture in the air!

Yesterday, we had a group of the older boys that went out to work on the big piles of sand that were dumped on Saturday, to try and reduce some of our lake areas.  They were so great as they organized themselves, carrying loads on their heads, and tossing the wet, heavy sands into the low spots.  The tool they use to toss the sand is like a large, short-handled hoe, and it is quite effective when used appropriately.  The boys worked for a couple of hours and the five or six mountains, were reduced to flatland.  This was all in the rain.  Next, the little boys were climbing out windows (not literally, but nearly so!) so they finally came out in the downpour and played on the playground.  They were such a mess, when it was all over, but I think the housemothers would not have kept their sanity without having them out for a while. Big problem with these rainy day weekends, is finding creative things for 140 squirrels to do!

It will be a new experience to observe when the day after day rains begin.  The average rainfall is 51" with about 40" of those in the fall monsoon (September through December), so we all may be web-footed by the time it's over.  Our wells (three of them) are so low, it's a bit scary. While we don't drink the well water yet (we're working on a reverse osmosis plant right now) it would be very bad not to be able to shower or flush a toilet!  We have noticed a change of the bugs that we are seeing in abundance, a lack of flies, louder frogs, and many more mosquitoes. 

One of our number (Amy Kirby -- doctors wife) had a funny experience (only in India is this funny).  They live in what we call the DLH (darling little house.)  It is cute looking, but is not very big, so they are tight with Karl and Amy, and their three little children.  They have had a lot of things not working quite right in the DLH--the toilet (American), the toilet (Indian), the electrical outlets (they burn everything up), the bedroom door handle (Karl had to break down the door the other day to get out), and several coconut trees that had not been picked and were dropping their heavy loads, barely missing the children!  They also came home on Saturday from celebrating Karl's birthday with a day out and discovered they had no water!  They had been at the beach surfing, so finally the parents came to our place to shower and get the sand off.  They are the best sports I have ever met about many difficult things!  The other day, however, took the cake.  Amy was in using the Indian toilet (the squatter we call them), and they had a drip of water that couldn't be stopped, and it made everything very wet. Her foot slipped and went down the hole of the squatter--a long ways!!  Luckily she didn't break an ankle, which surely could have happened.  Today in the rain, there were four workers over trying to solve the problems (they had all been there before), but Ron was assured tonight that they had a working American toilet, among other amenities.  I haven't talked to Amy yet!