Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sweet comments from Sophia

In my last blog I told you about Sophie's Sweet Treats and now I'd like to tell you more about it and share some more pictures with you.

Since my sisters all had a special job to do while we were in India, we decided that my special job would be to share the different treats with the kids each day.  I think I had the best job out of everyone!  Each day I would pick a treat and put it in the bag that cousin Sally made for me and when the children would see me with that bag, they would get so excited and ask me if I needed help with anything.  I had so much fun sharing candy with them and seeing them try different treats for the first time in their lives.  I wish I could go back and give them more of Sophie's Sweet Treats, it made me so happy to see them smile!

The first treat was Fruit Gushers

This is Vijaya, she is the Komro's orphan.  When I gave her the treat
I thought of my friends back home.

We also gave out the Candy Necklaces to all the school children that day which were donated by Scoops Deville in Hartford.  They all loved them so much.  Some of the kids ate them right away and some still were wearing them a couple days later.


The funnest treat to give out was the Pop Rocks.  It was so funny watching their faces when they ate them.  Some wanted more and some spit them out.



This is Rajini, she is Manjula's sister and cooked all our food for us.
She made good rice and was really nice!

Fun Dip was another Fun Treat..



I gave out Gummy Worms to everyone on the bus while we were on the way to the beach...

When I gave out Suckers, some of the kids were surprised to find the chocolate in the middle.



They all had fun peeling, braiding and eating the Licorice ...



The last treat I handed out was bags of little Oreo Cookies.  I was handing them out as the orphans were walking out the door after we all said our last good-byes.  We don't have any pictures of this because we were all crying to hard at this point.

That's all I have to say about the Sophie's Sweet Treats, but wait there's more...
You know we went to the beach and I just wanted to tell you how much fun we had.  I couldn't believe how big the waves were, I could hardly stand up in them.  They kept knocking us all over.  It was so funny watching the orphans run into the water, then when the waves would come they would run back.


On the way there, Siddu (Jackie Nieman's little boy) had put white powder all over his face.  I don't know why he did but he sure looked cute.



The best part about being with the orphans, was that they called me "Akka", that means "older sister" in Telegu.  It's the only time in my life when I wasn't the "Chellie" that means "younger sister".  I loved being an Akka!

The last part of our trip was the Safari up by the Himalaya Mountains.  It was really fun.  I liked riding on the elephants the best.


I would just like to add, that if you ever go to a remote village, you should look past the scary things and look for the good things, because the good things can help make the scary things seem not so bad.  I am very happy I got the chance to go to India and can't wait to go back!  Thank you to everyone who helped us go on this trip.

Love, Sophia

p.s.  Morgan, thank you for sending me the note, it made me smile!  Also Megamind is a great movie, I watched it all the way home too.  I can't wait to play Cream Puff with you!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Here's what Loobie has to say...

Hello this is Loobie signing in.
Well we are back from our trip and I would like to share a few thing with you! First
do you remember the blog about painting the kids hands and making the rainbow, well let me tell you those kids did not get one drop of paint on themselves, not even the nursery kids. But then there's me and the moment they are all done I go and spill half the can on myself!  Whoopsies!




The funny or maybe not so funny part is, is that we didn't realize there was lead in the paint until we got to the airport and the buzzer went off when I was getting scanned.  I had to lift my skirt up and didn't know that I still had paint on me from when I spilled.  When she waved the wand over the paint spot...BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!  There you have it, how embarrassing...like mother, like daughter.




This I must say is really FUNNY ...
there is this little boy (who am I kidding, they're all little) at the school,
Every time we walked past him, He would start to cry, and I mean Really ball!
But the really funny thing is, he couldn't get enough of us. We would walk past him and he would start to cry but then we would wave at him and he would wave back (still crying). We would walk past him again and the teacher would try and take him away but he would pull away and stare at us.   Poor little guy :(


On the Sunday we were at their Church, there was this really cute little boy who was sitting about 7 feet away from me and throughout the service he got a little closer, and a little closer until he was leaning on my leg.
Isn't he cute, by the end of the service we were holding hands!


Those were a couple of little memories, this one has a lot more pictures.
It was after the Beach party that we went to the restaurant and while we were waiting for our food we would play games. I taught Abishek, Nithen, Swamya, Sravani, Syamala and Apparao how to play Hot potato, but not one of the games could match up to eating ice cream





Big Daddy and Solomon

Some of us we're still full from Dinner

But at the end of the Day, They all we're Happy
Here are some pictures that I just wanted to share with you...



When I look back at the time I spent getting to know all these children and how I've fallen in love with them all, it makes me want to do whatever I can to help them.  I hope through these pictures and stories you will know how important this ministry really is to all these little "shine brites" (as my mom would say).
Thanks for following along with us! 

That's It for now,
signing off  ~Lobbie a.k.a. Olivia


Monday, February 14, 2011

Let's get caught up on our travels...

It's been awhile since we've been able to post anything due to lack of Internet access so we were not able to share the final leg of our trip with you.  Although we made it home safely yesterday, I'd like to back up so we can fill you in on the last portion of our journey.

Previously I wrote that the beautiful smiles and friendly faces are what we were going to choose to remember about India instead of the poverty and filth...that statement still holds true, but I need to be more specific.  Not all of India is included in that, that would be referring to Kakinada and Madhavapatnam....Delhi is a whole different ball game!  Up until this point I must say the girls were handling all the sights (good and bad) with great courage...I say courage because it would have been much easier to turn away than to look it straight on and accept it for what it is.  However, once we reached Delhi their emotions were put to the test!  The slums we saw were heart wrenching in contrast to the big modern buildings they surrounded.  The people we encountered were the beggars who would approach our bus while stopped in traffic...they would pound on our windows and look for handouts.  The warmth we had experienced in the smaller city and village had turned into something cold and hard to face. 







After touring around the area for awhile in our bus, our driver took us to the Minar Ruins to checkout some of the historical sites.  After some apprehension about actually getting out of the bus, we ventured out to see what there was to see.  Since you had to buy a ticket in order to enter the gated area, we were able to relax and enjoy the sights without the uneasiness of the street life around us.  It was a peaceful area in amongst the chaos of Delhi with many beautiful structures to behold.  The interesting thing is, while we were in "aw" of the architecture around us, the other tourists were in "aw" over us...or should I be more specific and say their eyes were set mainly on Olivia.  Being the tall white wonder that she is, she became the object of people's photographs.  At first we noticed that folks were trying to be discreet about taking her picture, but after awhile they were boldly coming up to her and asking her if they could have their picture taken with her.  Although some wanted their picture taken with all the gals, our Loobie was definitely the center of attention, which you can just imagine was hard for her to handle...NOT!






That night after a long and exhausting day in Delhi, we spent the night at a "bed and breakfast" in the heart of the city.  I wouldn't put it in the category of B&B's of Door County, however it was quaint, clean and gave us a safe place to rest our heads, which is more than the people who lived under the bridge 2 blocks away.


We woke up bright and early the following morning to head up to Corbett National Park for the safari portion of our trip.  The 7 hour drive held many interesting sights, most unfamiliar to us from the US, but a few that made us feel at home.  Can you guess which ones they are??


It was not uncommon to see a whole family riding on a motorcycle,
one child in front of the driver, one in between driver and mom
and one being held by mom (who would sit side saddle, not hold on,
nor wear a helmet).

this is one of the toll booths that we went through,
check out the wires.

Amazingly enough, the food tasted just like back in the states,
however they did have a sign that stated
"no beef or pork products sold here".




All through out India from where we started to where we ended you would
see these little stands one after another.  They all looked the same and sold
the same necessities of life.  Potato chips, batteries, and condoms.
If anyone is hoping to get a souvenirs from us, you can have your
pick from one of those three things because that is basically all that
was available for purchase besides freshly butchered chickens.
see below...


This was the parking lot outside of the sugar cane mill.  We were
curious to know whether you left with the same bike you came on
or you just took anyone, as they all looked identical.
From one extreme to the next...for all the craziness and pollution that Delhi held, Corbett National Park held peacefulness and fresh air!  We enjoyed the beauty of the surrounding nature...from the landscapes which held the Himalayas and dense forests to the animals and birds living amongst us...what a treat!






Termite hill

wild elephants

We heard their roar and saw their tracks, but never
actually spotted a tiger...that's probably not such a bad
thing considering we were in open jeeps and the drivers
did not carry any guns.

The area was also filled with loads of entertaining monkeys who felt right at home in the lodge, and I do mean "in the lodge".  Sophia found out the hard way that you should not keep food in your room without locking your door...she had a visitor come right in and steal the food off the table while she was standing there.  She can laugh about it now, but at the time she was pretty freaked out!

We had an adventurous time riding on the elephants through the thick woods.  It was truly amazing how they ate their way through the brush.




While on our ride, the elephant who was carrying us along with the Mahout (elephant driver) became quite anxious, we came to find out that we had stumbled upon a pair of mating pythons.  It's not in our nature to infringe on others personal space, but really now...how often do you get to see a deadly snake and not have to worry about it harming you (it had other things on it's mind)!


After an enjoyable outing of eating everything in sight, relief was inevitable...


this picture is for you Grandpa Roger!

Our journey back home took us about 31 hours from the time we left the lodge in the park until we reached West Bend.
We were warmly welcomed at church with loads of hugs and happy faces.  We are incrediblally blessed to be loved by so many around the world...life is good!  And, it's good to be home...nothing like our own beds, sufficient toilet paper, and carry out pizza!

Our trip may be over, but our "blog" is not complete yet.  Please continue to watch for updates as the rest of
the family has some closing thoughts to share with you as well as some of their favorite pictures.
Thanks for traveling along with us and by the way, check out the links on the right for some
videos from the orphanage.
Namaste ~ Jenny