Last video.

Thank you, with all our hearts. 

WE'RE HOME!

Wow. It's over.

Elaina and I got back to the States at 4:50am on August 10th, parted ways in Newark, and now are safely in our respective homes - Boise, ID and Ypsilanti, MI.

What an incredible journey.

If you've been following our blog, you know a little bit about what we experienced and who we met, but there's so much more than what we were able to put on this little blog. Firstly, we filmed a lot more than what we made movies out of. I've actually got one more end-of-the-summer movie up my sleeve that I'll be posting once I have some time to finish it. I've also got countless movies I could make out of our footage, but it's a time consuming process so I might end up posting clips instead of putting together whole short films.

Regardless, there's more to come.

Also, Eli and I need your address. We'll be sending out cards to our supporters by the end of August, but we only have the addresses of a small percentage of the people who have helped us along the way.  

So please - if you donated money, prayed for us, or supported us some other way AT ANY POINT, send me an email with your address to: heide.loves.veritas@gmail.com

Eli and I want to thank you as personally as possible. I mean, this summer has changed our lives, and, while no amount of thanks will ever be able to repay the gift we were given, we want to try.

Taken at "Daily Bread" on the day before we left India

My Brothers

Despite our constant complaining about being treated differently in India, we can't deny that we have met some pretty amazing people on this journey.  When we arrived in Kolkata, we were scared and alone.  We wouldn't have adapted to this culture or survived the summer if it weren't for the help of countless local Indians here and there - who were more than gracious enough to show us the ropes.  Four boys in particular (five including their boss), have touched our hearts this summer and it will be more than difficult to say goodbye to our Indian brothers.  Their names are Ranjit, Sokamar, Roni, Sona, and Uncle Tony. 

Ranjit, Rani, and Sokamar (It was Sona's day off!)

These boys work at the restaurant, Daily Bread, located inside Seva Kendra.  When we first met them, I had no idea that the seven of us would become so close.  None of the boys wanted to talk to us because they don't speak hardly any English, and they all made Uncle Tony take our order whenever we came to eat.  Fortunately for me, Heide is incapable of meeting someone without at least trying to get to know them.  We would ask Tony how to say things in Bengali so that we could talk to them, we played our fair share of charades in order to communicate, and somehow over the course of ten weeks we became their "didis" or "sisters" in Bengali.  With every passing day, we all became more comfortable with each other.  I didn't know you could have so much fun and so many inside jokes with people who don't speak the same language.

Heide and Uncle!

Uncle Tony speaks English so he is our "go to guy" for information on India.  How much should we pay for mangoes? Where is the best place to shop for clothing? What's the best way to get here and there? etc.  He also has his fair share of "Indian advice" like "don't eat cucumbers before bed!!" or "you can drink the local water just fine, it's all in your head..." (He is very smart but don't worry, we didn't listen to that last piece of wisdom!)  Ranjit is the leader of the Daily Bread gang and definitely the joker.  Yesterday he about gave me a heart attack pretending to cut his finger off while slicing vegetables.  Roni is the young gun, about 16 years old, and so eager to help despite his "chronic clumsiness."  He makes me wish that I had a little brother to look after back home! Sokamar is definitely the Boy Next Door and I can tell he will make a great husband and father some day.  (He told us he wants a love marriage, not an arranged one!) He is very sweet and I can tell he would do anything for us, his didis.  Sona is hard to read, so I'm going to call him the mysterious one.  He seems so nice and professional at work, but I have a feeling he becomes the party animal as soon as he clocks out. 

Making Indian bread with my brothers!

Over the past week, each one of them has made it apparent that they are dreading our upcoming departure.  Ranjit came up to me and asked, "9 of August?" I replied yes and he proceeded to motion a tear rolling down his cheek.  Sona and Sokamar asked similar questions more than once, while Rani asked me to take him to America with us.  I know he was joking but I sure wish we could take all of our brothers back with us!  They have gone out of their way to treat us nicely this summer - buying us mangoes at the market, celebrating Indian holidays with us, teaching me how to make Indian bread in the kitchen, and so many other things.  I am excited to head back home, but I really wish that I didn't have to leave my family behind to do so. 

So much love!
Elaina

They bought us chocolate for Rokhi Day! (Indian festival for brothers and sisters)

Salted Biscuits and Sprite

**Our best intentions don't jive with reality - they started turning off the internet connection between 5pm - 9am, so we haven't been able to post blogs daily (even though we've written them)... It'll all work out in the end though :) **

As you may or may not know, Eli and I have not enjoyed perfect health throughout this summer. Over the course of these 9 weeks, we've each been sick 3 times, including the virus that I'm almost gotten over.

I'm smiling under the blanket. I promise.

In the States, I rarely get sick. I attribute this to my childhood days of playing in the mud, finding "free" gum in the grates near my church, and having 4 siblings. Despite this, India has a way of finding my weak spots - not that I've been exactly careful. I eat street food on occasion, let street kids shake my hands, and forget to sanitize after riding the bus (because I'm usually standing and holding onto a communal bar.) Still, it's almost useless to try to figure out what has caused our illnesses. There are so many things here that our immune systems aren't used to that it's almost luck of the draw as to who will get sick next.

There is a definite bright side to getting sick, though. With each bodily battle, I learn a little better how to love and be loved, especially by Eli (who is now more like a sister than a friend, because she knows so much about me haha.) Let me give you a brief illustration. This current virus has been attacking me for 3 days now. It's been pretty awful - all the usual flu/cold/fever symptoms plus a few exciting episodes thrown in to spice the sickness up a bit. Eli has taken care of me through it all. She cautioned me against leaving the room, which I desperately wanted to do a few times, because the temperature outside was over 100 degrees and I had a fever. Instead, she compensated for my lack of mobility and sent an email for me, took pictures of a small "family" celebration I missed, let me keep the room really cold, listened to my complaining, had our brothers at Daily Bread make me a special tea we brought from America, and, without asking, bought me salted biscuits and Sprite.

For those who don't know, a salty cracker (called biscuits in India), eaten with a good swig of Sprite, is an AMAZING combination for an upset stomach. At this moment, I am now munching on such a cracker because it sounded so good. From what Eli told me, it helps the pH balance in your tummy... all I know is that it doesn't make me throw up, unlike the chocolate I tried to eat the other day.

Anyway, getting sick so often has been a good learning experience for me. It has taught me patience with my body, thankfulness for a wonderful companion, and humility, since I have to share every sickness-related episode with someone else. I couldn't have begged God for a better person to be on this trip with, and, while my heart is almost ready to leave India, I'm definitely not ready to leave Elaina yet. She's been such a strong support to me this summer and I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep it together at the airport when we part ways in less than a week (I live in Ypsilanti, Michigan now.)

On that note, please pray for Elaina, that she won't get the virus I have, because that might mean that she'll be sick on the 15 hour flight from Mumbai. Flying is hard as it is, so pray she'll remain healthy throughout the rest of the trip.

Pax,
Heide

STILL Learning how to Love...

            A couple of weeks ago I (Elaina) decided to stop taking the bus to work at Shanti Dan, and instead I started walking.  It is about a 20-minute walk but for reasons unknown to me, I was compelled to do so.  I have spent plenty of time walking alone in downtown Kolkata, but we live in the boondocks and the atmosphere is a little different here.  It quickly became obvious to me that seeing a foreigner around these parts is a rare occurrence.  Even though I had lived in Kolkata for many weeks, the first time I walked alone to work was stressful.  It got a little easier with each passing day, but even now I still feel exposed the second I leave my safe bubble. 

Every morning I take a deep breath, walk out of the gates at Seva Kendra, and take a sharp right to begin my trek to Shanti Dan.  If I haven’t done so already, I am quickly reminded to put on my reflective sunglasses.  I then put in my headphones to block out the things that I don’t want to hear.  We live across from a school, so there are usually students of all ages hanging around outside.  I smile at the small children who wave to me, and I cringe at the group of teenage girls who point and laugh.  I continue walking as motorcycles and taxis whiz by me within inches of hitting me.  Old, crippled people and families with small children beg me for money – successfully tearing at my heartstrings.  Boys and men shout things to me from across the street or purposefully get in my way, trying to get a reaction out of me.  I pretend like I can’t hear them because of my headphones, but in reality I hear every piercing word.  My vulnerability becomes even more apparent to me as I try my hardest to ignore the stares, the glares, and the laughter.  Parents even point at me to calm their crying children, because my white skin and foreign clothing is such a distraction.  I continue on my way, determined to stay strong.  I step around the piles of garbage, avoid the cows that try to sniff me, and do anything I can think of to avoid drawing attention to myself.    

As you can probably imagine, all of the attention that I receive on my morning walk used to infuriate me.  I wanted to scream at the boys who said lewd things to me.  I wanted to turn around and slap the man who wouldn’t stop following me.  I wanted to stand on my head in the middle of the road and shout at the top of my lungs, just to really give them something to stare at.  After a few days of feeling this way, I realized that my heart was SO in the wrong place.  It was full of hatred towards these people – hatred towards the very people that I had come halfway across the world to serve.  I cannot control how they act towards me, but I can control how I act towards them.  God put me on this Earth to love my fellow human being – even the ones that do not show love towards me.  “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.”  (Matthew 5:44) And that’s exactly what I do now.  I smile at the girls who taunt me.  I say a little prayer for the men who disrespect me.  I ask God to help those who cannot help themselves.  I think about the numerous wonderful and loving Indian people that I have also met. Nothing about my morning walk has changed except for my attitude.  Now my heart is full of love for these people.  I thought I had learned all of the lessons that India had to teach me – But here I am 9 weeks later, STILL learning how to love.  And I couldn’t be happier about it.  

So much love!!

Elaina