Today was great! I really enjoyed meeting the children at Bethany Blessing. They were all so friendly and welcoming. At first, I felt like I would be ignored because I'd never been before. That wasn't the case at all. They hugged me and called me sister. It was so nice. We started off by singing! I actually ended up teaching them a new song, which was fun. Then I ended up playing two games before going upstairs to help Dr. Hodson get started.
Dr. Hodson is a local Greenwood pediatrician. In India, the government has stated that every child in orphanage care must have a physical on file. If they don't, the government could come in at any time and take each of those children and throw them back into the streets. In result of this, Dr. Hodson brought papers, medical supplies, and medicines with the intention of giving a physical to every child in all the orphanages. I really want to be a doctor when I grow up, and go on medical missions trips. I job shadowed Dr. Hodson this spring in her Greenwood office, that way I could see that side of things, and in India, I am her nurse, helping with the physicals.
When I went upstairs, she was checking on one of the caretakers of the orphanage, so I was left in the a little hallway to wait. While I'm waiting, I suddenly see this little face peek around the corner and stare at me. Then, it disappeared and another face appeared. This continued for a good two minutes. Then, one of the women invited me inside. There were about twenty kids inside, and all of them had to be five years old or younger. They were playing Ring-Around-the-Rosy, but all of them were staring at me while they continued to play. That makes for a very interesting game, let me tell you. They were all so adorable. There was this one little boy that would wave at me every two seconds, and then he started making silly faces at me too. He made my day. He just had so much energy and joy, and it was absolutely wonderful to see. All the physicals went well, Dr. Hodson and I had it down after the first couple. Ramesh (our own, personal, wonderful interpreter) ended up being very helpful in this process. The only hard part was when we realized that the automatic blood pressure machine had too big of a cuff and I had to do it manually. It was SO hard. Dr. Hodson had to do it again every time because I couldn't hear anything. One thing I loved was that every time I put a blood pressure cuff on them, they would be so shocked at how it squeezed their arm. It makes me sad to think that something so normal for us is completely weird for them. It's sad that they haven't had that done because they can't go to the doctor.
After we finished physicals, I had my first Indian home-cooked meal. It was actually pretty good! Joshua had to teach me how to eat with my fingers. It's weird not to use silverware. I also kept trying to use my left hand, which did not go over very well (see Indian Customs). I ended up having to hold my plate with my left hand, which helped a lot. I also learned that cucumbers cut spice really well, a lot better than water does.
Then it was time for the bible story and craft. Believe it or not, the bible story we read, was one that I had never heard before, but all the kids had. I was impressed with their bible knowledge, even at such a young age! Then, it was time for our craft! Since I had all the little ones in my group, we made fiery furnaces out of sand. It was pretty messy, but so fun! I ended up helping a little boy named Puneeth (seen at right in the purple shirt), and he was so cute!
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| Photo Credit: Jim Hodson |
When I went upstairs, she was checking on one of the caretakers of the orphanage, so I was left in the a little hallway to wait. While I'm waiting, I suddenly see this little face peek around the corner and stare at me. Then, it disappeared and another face appeared. This continued for a good two minutes. Then, one of the women invited me inside. There were about twenty kids inside, and all of them had to be five years old or younger. They were playing Ring-Around-the-Rosy, but all of them were staring at me while they continued to play. That makes for a very interesting game, let me tell you. They were all so adorable. There was this one little boy that would wave at me every two seconds, and then he started making silly faces at me too. He made my day. He just had so much energy and joy, and it was absolutely wonderful to see. All the physicals went well, Dr. Hodson and I had it down after the first couple. Ramesh (our own, personal, wonderful interpreter) ended up being very helpful in this process. The only hard part was when we realized that the automatic blood pressure machine had too big of a cuff and I had to do it manually. It was SO hard. Dr. Hodson had to do it again every time because I couldn't hear anything. One thing I loved was that every time I put a blood pressure cuff on them, they would be so shocked at how it squeezed their arm. It makes me sad to think that something so normal for us is completely weird for them. It's sad that they haven't had that done because they can't go to the doctor.
After we finished physicals, I had my first Indian home-cooked meal. It was actually pretty good! Joshua had to teach me how to eat with my fingers. It's weird not to use silverware. I also kept trying to use my left hand, which did not go over very well (see Indian Customs). I ended up having to hold my plate with my left hand, which helped a lot. I also learned that cucumbers cut spice really well, a lot better than water does.
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