Day 17

I love the orphanage boys. I love them. I want to adopt them. All six of them. Kamlesh, Savana, Dalu, Pratap, Hameis, and…… Rooplal!

He now has a name!

Rooplal is such a sweet-hearted boy. He struggles in every subject area, but if we ask him to repeat a word, he does so with a smile on his face, always so eager to learn. After we found out his name and how to spell it, Allie wrote it out on his coloring sheet. We almost choked when we caught him trying to covertly copy his name down on the palm of his hand before class was over.

I don't think I have ever seen something so precious in my entire life. How will I ever be able to say goodbye to these boys? I have spent two days with them and I already want to take them home. How is it going to be four weeks from now?

I miss America and I miss home. I miss my family and friends, but I can already tell I am not going to want to say goodbye to this, to India and the feeling of being here.

India and working with the children makes me feel as though my life has worth, purpose and meaning. When I do go back to America I am going to value myself so much more. I realize how much I have to offer the world and I deserve nothing less than the world in return.

A popular Indian phrase here is "saab kuch meilaga" . Roughly translated, it means, I can/will have everything.

It is not meant to be a selfish phrase. I don't believe it is necessarily greedy to desire everything. If you are willing to put in the energy to give all you have, if you work to make your life purposeful, and if you act from your heart, then you already have everything. Having "everything" is not defined by the ownership of wealth but by the value you acknowledge within yourself. Two and a half weeks into India and I have learned my first life lesson: I am worth more than I thought possible.

Saab kuch mei laga

I can and will have everything!