The Greatest Act of Love Ain't No Act At All.

I'm missing my babies in India today. There are days when I miss them so greatly, it aches. I hope the aching is them feeling me there with them. That sounds completely silly, but India works in this way. It flows and works from all the noises, smells, sights and acts of love. It's a very symbolic and "everything has meaning" type of place. So for today, I blame the aching of my heart on the fact that the kids feel my love today.

One story sticks out in my head today so significantly, I can hardly work. While on my most current tour in India, we took all 200+ kids at the orphanage to the Bay of Bengal. Some of the kids hadn't been more than 2 miles outside of the orphanage walls, so this was such a treat for them.

As soon as the bus was in park, hundreds of kids ran straight towards the ocean, cloths and all. It was the happiest moment of my life; to see the complete and utter pureness of this joy come to life right before my eyes.

That day, we also celebrated one little girls 4th birthday. This was her first time to have her own cake and blow out candles. It was the day that stole my heart and the reason why I feel like I left my heart there...with all the kids.

 

If you think this day didn't get any more amazing and heartfelt, you're wrong.

On the way home, I witnessed the greatest act of love I have ever known. I sat next to two little girls on the long bus ride home and watched as they both struggled to find comfort long enough to nap during the bumpy ride. They finally took one sleepy look at each other and hugged, laying their heads on each others shoulders and fell asleep.

It amazes me that these beautiful babies are so robbed of loved, yet they never fail to teach me more about love than I know is possible.


And just for the record, it's never a bad sign when nuns hula hoop better than you. They've got the big guy on their side.

Namaste.

India Dreaming

The other night, I had an amazing dream about India. I dreamt that someone surprised us with a visit to Sooch Village while we were in India. Tears began rolling down my face in excitement of getting to see how much all the orphans had grown in the past year. When I look back on this dream, I can still feel the complete and utter excitement that overwhelmed me when they told us the news. This one little girl in particular, Mooshkawn, has been on my mind nearly everyday since I returned from India last March. I have never felt a yearning to be a mother, but Mooshkawn is this little girl I worry about daily. She was the initial reason I wanted to go back to India.

Tearfully, I told my mom one day that I couldn't get this little girl out my head and that I worried about her so incredibly. I also told my mom that I thought I was crazy, but that I felt as though I was supposed to be this little girls mother. I thought my mom was going to tell me I was insane after telling her this, but her response was "Well Mona, go find her." I love how my mom says things that are so simple & beautiful, it doesn't matter if she says it to me in Farsi or English, it always translates into the same simplicity. International adoption isn't legal in India and I am so far away from ever being a mother, but the impact this little one has left on my heart is felt every single day.


I can't believe I am getting the opportunity to go back to India as an Ambassador. It also amazes me how often I feel as though I ruined my last trip. Before going to India, I felt like I could conquer anything. I came home feeling more weak than I ever had in my life. A lot plays into feeling that way, but one good start is my lack of writing while I was there and the lack of what I did to send the message of these children once I returned. No matter what you do, you cannot prepare yourself enough for India. As soon as you step off the plane, the immense amount of sounds, smells and sights is enough to make you feel completely out of your element.

Almost a decade ago, my Senior quote for high school was by Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

I'm still working on it and I have a long way to go.