It's As Simple As That.

Words can't begin to describe the experience we each are having. Wondering if it is possible to make a difference among all the poverty and chaos? How easy it makes it to be thankful for the love and multitude of blessing we all have at home..... as simple as a solid front door. I can atest to the success of the teens, they have pulled together with the mission to Make A Difference in the lives of these orphans.... they have quickly opened their hearts to one another and the love shared between them is inspiring to watch. I feel so fortunate to be apart of and among these leaders of the world. It's as simple as that.
-J

Nathan's about Koch Perkur School

This morning was our first full day at NISTHA. I woke up excited to visit the village, meet the children, and experience more of India. After a breakfast of hard boiled eggs, flatbread, and surprisingly toast, we set out for the schools, or “coaching centers” as NISTHA calls them. Three cars were waiting out in front of the building to pick us up, and the other three groups loaded in and drove off. My group was left stranded without a car. While Greg went to find us some sort of transportation, we stood outside as a crowd of gawking villagers slowly started to gather around us. After a lengthy few minutes, our transportation arrived in the form of three brightly colored motorized rickshaws, but what looked to me like a couple brightly colored golf carts made of scrap metal and held together by nothing but a few bolts. Already somewhat nervous about India’s roads, I hesitantly climbed into the back of one, and we were off. I was in complete awe as we sped through the winding streets, weaving in and out of trucks, cars, bikes, and pedestrians. The environment out around us was amazing. We drove past decrepit buildings that looked like they would topple over any minute, sickly green ponds filled with garbage and who knows what else, cows, goats, dogs, and cats darting in and out of traffic. One minute we would be surrounded by multi-story stone buildings plastered with advertisements, neon lights, and shops, and the next we would find ourselves enclosed on all sides by jungle with wooden huts and farmers working in their fields. IT was a mixture of two different worlds, but there was one thing similar about them; the poverty. Everywhere I could see evidence of the poor condition that these people were living in. It completely shocked me. But there was one other thing I noticed, and that was the bright, happy colors of the clothes, and the cheerful waves and smiles. I realized that these people have found happiness despite their difficult conditions. These people taught me an important lesson today. I realized that attitude is what makes a difference. You could be in the poorest, most unhappy, difficult situation possible, and you have the choice whether to let it get to you and be miserable or make the most of it and find joy. I will use this important teaching for the next few weeks here in West Bengal as I work harder, am more tired, and experience the most difficult situation I have ever had to live in. I will choose to find happiness in things that may not be the easiest for me to deal with, and make a decision to have a good attitude no matter what happens.

Josh Palmer is getting some love

Susie's First Post

Welcome to the new world.....first impression? I am a mom who goes to work everyday, comes home to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and now today I am riding on a bus into a dark soup thick mist. Surrounding me are honking busy-body vehicles that appear to have just returned from the car derby - all displaying proud colorful dents. No need for car insurance here. THIS IS what fun IS.

It is difficult to grasp the reality of the situation in the dark. The morning of our final destination will soon unleash the pure complexity of this expedition. Driving through the crooked and sometimes very narrow broken streets, I am impressed by the supreme driving skills of all those involved. The three young men riding on a motorbike together, the rickshaw full of drying fish and a stripped dead chicken and the multiple buses full of the people who make up this enchanting land.

Not a perfect enchantment by any means. I am looking ridiculous with my face pressed up against the bus window, frantically trying to take pictures of everything. I stop and wonder why I am upset that can’t seem to get a picture of the cow munching through the trash on the side of the road as if it were grazing in a green grass pasture. I take snap shots of peoples everyday life. A woman crouching down at her make shift kitchen which sits outside of her makeshift home. A child bathing in the sidewalk. Countless rows of self made businesses; some tailors, some bike repair men, some selling baked goods.

I feel that I am intruding into a privacy that I am not apart of. These people so obviously poor and with nothing seem surprisingly well adjusted and content. All seem to be busy doing something. Nothing is wasted - not even garbage. I come to the conclusion that I want to capture this moment in my camera in hopes that others can see a glimpse of what I am seeing.

As I watch the happenings outside of the bus, the awesome YMAD kids are singing at the top of their lungs. All are happy and all are full of excitement and wonder. They are being very well cared for and are doing a great job of taking care of each other.

Susie Cooper (to my dear family - I miss you and love you)

I guess I was saying it wrong?

So sometimes just when you think you have it all under control adventure takes a little turn. I learned something yesterday about coming up against an obstacle and what a small change of perspective can make.
So here we are having an extremely successful journey by India standards. We’ve only have lost one bag and we haven’t lost any teens. I even still like them. We leave the bus with our bags for our connecting flight to Kolkata passports in hand and they won’t let us in the airport because we don’t have boarding passes. Well, no kidding we haven’t gone to the check in counter yet, how can we get our boarding passes without going into the ticket counter. So I explain that we have e-tickets and we have to check in to get our boarding passes. Nope. Explain we came in last night and went through customs and now need to check in to get boarding passes for our flight to Kolkata. No go. These men seemed pleasant enough with their rifles and mustaches. Let me try to explain it another way. “See here, (pointing) where the number on the ticket receipt matches the number assigned to a name that indicates this is a valid ticket and we should be allowed to get into the terminal to check in at the ticketing counter...”
“No, this flight was yesterday.” They say. “No,” I explained, “We came to Dehl yesterday and now we need to fly to Kolkata.” Easy explanation. “No this ticket is invalid and the flight was yesterday.” So I thought I’d change my approach a little. I say, “It looks like I don’t have what you need.” “What can I do to make this situation work for both of us.”
Sir you need to go to the counter and get new passes.” Now I’m getting pissed. I’m trying not to lose my cool but I’m really about to lose my cool. I call Rakesh our in country contact. He is just getting to the airport in his cab, maybe 5 minutes.
Now cue angel music....My friend Sara Kime takes the papers I’m holding shows them to the nice man with a gun and proceeds: “See here, (pointing again) where the number on the ticket receipt matches the number assigned to a name that indicates this is a valid ticket and we should be allowed to get into the terminal to check in at the ticketing counter...” She smiles, puts her thumbs up and says, “Thumbs Up?”
“No Problem” he says and we are allowed into the terminal just as Rakesh arrives. Funny how looking at the problem from another angle can make all the difference. On a side note, I have the best adult leaders. 
Greg Stewart


Namaste

My first two days of this adventure have been filled with new experiences and little sleep. We have been traveling for much of the time mostly by plane. When we got off the plane and walked through the Delhi airport, there was an overwhelming smell of burning stuff and other weird smells. Also, the night-time air was characterized by a thick, orange glow which was from the lights reflecting off of the extremely polluted air. On all the streets there are wild dogs that are kinda gross but are at the same time kinda cute because they just want to be loved and seek attention from us. Another new thing was the roads, especially the more rural ones. They rarely, if ever, have lines to differentiate lanes and they are wild. there are no rules or regulations it seems and there probably could’ve been 1,000 car crashes. Last, I had the opportunity to pass the sacrament in and LDS church that only had room in the chapel for about 30 people. With all of PRAKASH in there it was a cool experience. There continue to be new experiences and each one is awesome and I hope that the rest of the trip lives up to the first couple days.

Andy Sorensen

Hello Americans!

Hello Americans! How are you? Good, me too. India? I thought we were going to Indiana!? shoot! It is really awesome to go foreign in India! These past 2 days have been a complete blur for me, I don’t even know what time it is! The plane rides were very interesting in their own ways. They got worse and worse as we went on, till we finally flew in on our 4th flight into Kolkata, where the airport wasn’t even built yet! Now that we are finally done with traveling, it is smooth sailing.....until we have to wake up at 6 AM tomorrow morning!! I guess that’ll be like 6 PM back in the US of A. I just wanna say that it is so awesome here, and i love it! I’ve never been in a stranger place, and it seems like I’m in a movie. The people here are nice, especially the herds of stray dogs that greeted us at the airport. One downfall is that I’m still kinda iffy on how to use the bathrooms...but that’s ok. Well it’s almost time for dinner (so far the food is great), so I’ll have to chat with y’all later.

Namaste!
-Logan Hardy