Vanacam!

Walking the streets of India, we bow our heads - our hands in prayer position, and, with a smile, greet each beautiful Indian person we meet with a warm "vanacam," - commonly known as "hello" or "welcome" in English.

They sweetly smile in return, responding with a similar bow and greeting. This exchange is one that I love and never grow tired of. I love seeing the faces of each person light up with joy and pleasant surprise - the demands of their daily tasks dimmed for but a moment. They are so beautiful.

I can hardly capture a portion of all that I have heard, seen, and felt while living here on India. But thankfully Jesus will enhance my capacity! Oh how I love Him.

As soon as we left the luxury of Chennai's air-conditioned airport, we walked into the hot Indian air, thick with humidity. Each breath was wet and rich with heat. We had entered a world of movement and, to the eyes of a foreigner, chaos. The lines separating the lanes of the streets were mere guidelines to the drivers and pedestrians. Honking was used as a mode of communicating one's presence on the road in any, and every circumstance. People busily ran about - always in constant and purposeful motion.

The streets were lined with concrete buildings, broken and decaying. A thin layer of filth coated everything and everyone.Though the buildings were dead and rotting, the city was full of life and color. The people were beautiful and their big eyes and white teeth glistened against their dark skin. Cows, dogs, monkeys, and the occasional goat meandered about. They were comfortable and content, living amidst the people and they added effortlessly to their chaos. The sounds, the colors, the smells - each are difficult to capture in words but they are priceless to experience.

Alas, we drove out into the country, leaving behind the city chaos and into the village way of life. We passed by men and women bent over, working in rice fields. Coconut trees and lush shrubbery lined the horizon. 

We passed through small villages where little boys dressed in string panties played with sticks and tires. Straw huts and small concrete homes covered in sand dust encompassed the center of village life.

As BYU nursing students, our purpose in India is to care for those inflicted with leprosy through an organization called Rising Star Outreach. 

We also have the privilege of playing with and caring for the children enrolled in their school - giving immunizations, performing checkups, and delousing their hair. Some of the sweetest moments I've had has been with these precious children. I love and adore them.

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But, I won't go into detail about the kids. Perhaps at a later time I will. In this, I wanted to share with you a portion of the sacred experiences I had while working in the leprosy colonies.

Throughout history, leprosy has been known to be the disease of the "living dead." Once diagnosed, these people are cast out and rejected by family and friends. In India, they are shunned to the lowest caste, doomed to be counted among the Untouchables, a life of begging and rejection.

Rising Star Outreach is an institution formed to combat such a degrading stigma. Indeed, it is a privilege to be a part of such a redemptive work. Christ surely is at the head of such a cause. Rising Star provides medical care for the leprosy patients, schooling for the children, and grants to enable the people to rise above their lowly circumstances and to become successful.

Each day, we travel to a different leprosy colony (ranging from one to six hours away). After getting off the bus, we are approached by men and women laden with the disease. They are disfigured and disabled, their hands and feet deformed. Their faces are worn with rejection, trial and sickness. 

And yet, I marvel to see their eyes full of light, joy, and deepest gratitude. They are happy and they continually express their thanks with love. Embracing them in our arms is most sweet and sacred. The love of our Father in Heaven flows abundantly as we laugh and talk with them and as we serve and labor in their behalf.

Though many of the people in India are Hindu, most leprosy colonies are Christian converts. How sweet it is to hold the hands of these people as they praise our Savior for their lives. Several wear crosses around their necks, others look heavenward and express thanks to our Father above. Together we sing praises to our God and King, grateful for the privilege to be in one another’s presence. Though we speak English, and they speak Tamil, we understand one another. The language of the Spirit is one that is familiar to us both.

Each person moves through our mobile clinic - visiting with the doctor, receiving their medications, getting their blood pressure and blood glucose checked. We remove their bandages, wash their feet, trim their nails, oil their skin, and re-bandage their wounds. Each individual is so grateful and lovely.

One day, I had the privilege of washing the feet of these beautiful people. Oh how I thank our Savior for such a sacred experience. It was my responsibility to clean their ulcers of debris and dirt. One sweet woman cringed in pain as I did so. 

My hearted ached for her and I expressed my apologies as I mourned with her. In love and tenderness, this beautiful woman put forth her hand and touched my back, reaching out to comfort me in this her personal pain and anguish. She bobbled her head as to communicate her understanding, encouraging me to press on in what she knew was best for her. 

What Christ-like love, submission, and long-suffering endurance. I continued to work, bowing over her feet in awe and reverence for our Savior, grateful for such a symbolic experience of His time spent in the Garden and on the cross.

Though diseased and disabled, these people are sweet, kind, and happy. Through the aid of this remarkable foundation - Rising Star Outreach - they are not only receiving treatment and wound care, but they have become successful and many have started businesses with the grants and assistance of the generous donations made. Oh how I thank and praise our God! For surely it is He who has inspired and enabled the brothers and sisters who have founded it.

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Before traveling abroad, I had heard much about the culture, lifestyle, and poverty of India. Furthermore, I had been taught about the physical and social plague caused by leprosy. But, even though I had a knowledge of these things, I had not yet understood them in full. I had not yet experienced them.

Surely this must be why Jesus was not satisfied with only having a knowledge of our sins, pains, and temptations. Instead, He humbly experienced them Himself. He wanted to understand perfectly our anguish so that He could succor us in a way that was perfect and complete. 

Such is illustrated in the seventh chapter of Alma: "Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance… And he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:13,12)

Oh how grateful I am for the precious experiences I have had in India with His children sick with leprosy. Through these experiences, I have come to understand more fully. My eyes have been opened and my love for the people of India has grown deep. They are beautiful. 

But surely, it is not necessary for us to be in foreign lands and impoverished cities to learn and experience His life.Wherever we may be, to whomever we may meet, with whatever sickness, disease or ailment they may have, our Father in Heaven will grant us the privilege and sacred opportunity to love and care for one of His beloved children if we ask. How precious, and how sweet. 

With each experience we receive, our understanding grows more complete, our practice more Christ-like, and our hearts more pure.

Father in Heaven has taught me much and I thank Him for the many precious moments I have shared with His beloved children here in India. I love and thank Him.