Reunited

"If we would see others as they see themselves, our shyness would soon turn to compassion."

I have been thinking about the quote a lot as I have been here and how it relates into my experience in the colonies. These people are severely disfigured, speak a different language, and live in a whole different culture and at times it can be easy to stay within your comfort zone and be shy with them. But as you think about what they have been through, the stigma in which they physically bear each and every day, and the isolation in which they have suffered, being shy is the last thing you want to do. Everything about you wants to throw your arms around them to show compassion, give them love, and hold a hand, or wipe a tear. Your shyness and hesitancy quickly transforms into an overcoming wave of God's love for His children that stirs within you and moves you to get down on your knees and wash their feet. Or sit down beside them and tickle their back, hold their hand, and look into their eyes. Every worry about yourself dissipates and all that you care about is spreading God's love and letting those around you know that they are loved. That they are not only seen, but they are of value. That they mean something to you and to our Father in Heaven. That happened to me today as I approached Moot.

I reunited with old friends today. Friends I will have and remember always. Friends in which age isn't a barrier, appearance doesn't matter, and differences don't separate. Friends that have shown me how to see through eyes of gratitude and praise, even when the waves engulf you time and time again until any remnant of familiarity has disappeared from view. Friends that have taught me the true meaning of rejoicing. Friends that have enriched my life, widened my perspective, and etched their legacy upon my heart. Friends that have exemplified pure love and devotion to God. There is something very special about my friends. Who are theses friends, you may ask? These are the people of Moot Colony. Let me introduce you:

(Starting from the top left picture: Me and Jayaraj reuniting; Me and Krishnan--married to Saroja; Kotesswari, me, and Paramasivam--husband and wife; Me and Saroja; Me and Periyasamy--with a picture of his wife who passed away 5 years ago; Me, Jayamary, and Jayaraj--husband and wife)

Meet the happiest man on earth, Jayaraj and his wife Jayamary. The minute you step out of the car he is there to greet you with a warm smile, a loud hello, and lots of love and laughter. When I came last summer I had the privilege of meeting him and before I even knew him name I knew we were going to get a long great. We did an elephant dance with him last summer and when he saw me this summer he pointed at me, threw his arms in the air accompanied with a "Yaaaaaaaa!", and followed by our elephant dance move. He remembered me. Jayamary stands by Jayaraj and takes good care of everyone. She is always smiling, just like her husband, and is so very very sweet.

Meet the worlds most beautiful woman, Saroja. Saroja contracted leprosy when she was only 14 years old and has lived her life ostracized from society since. She only speaks Tamil, but even despite the language barrier you can feel of her love in just one simple touch. Last summer she didn't join us outside, she kept her distance from us. So this summer I made a special attempt to reach out to her and let her know that she was safe with us and that I loved her. When I first saw Saroja I walked into her home and sat at her feet, greeted her, introduced myself and kissed her hands. My eyes welled with tears as she took my hands and kissed them. I invited her to come and sit with the rest of us outside, and hesitantly she did the Indian head bob and agreed. I watched as she began to walk, at least the best that she could. She is missing majority of one leg, and from the knee down on the other, so she gets around like a monkey by using her hands to walk. I silently stood there and observed as she managed to complete those menial tasks that require no effort for me to do--like turn off the lights, the tv, and shut the door. As I walked out of her little home to where everyone else was sitting beneath the tree I turned around and saw that she had stopped in the doorway, but I motioned to her to come sit by me and I watched as she took her first few moves away from her house to come and sit with us. She sat by me and immediately reached for my hand. She did it. The rest of the time, she wanted to be right by my side and held my hand the whole time.

Meet the rest:
Krishnan never ceases to amaze me. He is a sweet sweet man, missing his hands, and feet, eyelids, and most of his nose. And yet he is so happy and sweet. He has this tender calm smile and voice and seeing him smile and laugh is a priceless, beautiful moment to be apart of. I love this man more than I can say.
Koteeswari and Paramasivam are such a cute couple. Paramasivam has made all of the beds for the 7 remaining colonists, and speaks pretty decent English. He is a small man, with a lot of love to give and his smile is contagious. Koteeswari is a woman of courage. She herself does not have leprosy, but gave up her life of comfort and society approval to live with her husband when he contracted leprosy and here she is today, still taking care of him and everyone else. She loves holding your hand and making you smile.
Periyasamy is so strong. His wife passed away 5 years ago and he is the only one left in the colony that does not have his spouse with him, but he always has a smile on his face and is always there to greet you, dance with you, and play games with you. He'll clap his hands as we sing songs, and he never gives up. Ever. I love him for that.

We played Jenga. There is nothing quite like seeing disfigured hands delicately maneuvering little wood blocks that belong to a game made for those with a steady hand. Truly, it is something moving to witness. Krishnan doesn't have any remnants of fingers on his hands anymore, so we set up dominoes for him and he would blow them over or put his stub out and push them over. To see how happy he was and the pride of his face as he did it made my heart overflow. I never thought something so simple as pushing over one domino could be so deeply powerful. Jayaraj sang the national anthem for us, then asked us to sing ours. They all were trying to sing along with us and were clapping their hands as we would sing. It was a tender moment as we each shared a piece of home with one another. We taught them once there was a snowman, and popcorn popping and they all loved it. They asked for more songs to sing and we just started to sing Zippity Do Da and as we got to the end singing "Wonderful feelings, wonderful day" we all had tears in our eyes as the song so perfectly summed up the feeling we all felt. We also made up our own music as we danced and danced and danced. As I was saying goodbye I went around to each one individually and grabbed their hands and got a picture with each of them and said "Nandri. Romba, Romba senthosam" ...meaning Thank you. I am very very happy." When I got to Krishnan he threw his arms around me and gave me a hug, and all he could keep saying was "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." in English. Then as I was holding his hands he kissed mine and softly said "roomba roomba sethosam".I kissed his then told him I was happy too. When I said goodbye to Saroja she kissed my hands and I kissed hers. She kept putting her hand over her heart and saying she was so happy. Then when I went and said goodbye to Jayaraj, as I walked up to him I saw the tears filling up in his eyes so naturally the same happened to me. He told me God bless, and to never forget him, and that he will remember me always, and to come again soon because I make him "romba romba sethosam."

I had the hardest time walking away as they kept waving at all of us...and as we drove away I just cried and cried and cried as they blew kisses and waved as if they were saying goodbye to their closest of friends. It is truly like heaven there, and leaving them, leaving that feeling was so hard for me to do. As I drove away and reminisced our all-too-short reunion, all I could do was look forward to when we will reunite again, where they will be stigma free and leprosy free. Where they will be made whole again. I look forward to that day, and to be reunited with my old friends once again.

Today's high: going to Moot.
Today's low: leaving Moot.