Two stars shining brightly as if with a mission to light up the world and a love radiated from a heart that loves with God's love. Beyond that, a smiling kid that's guick to grab your hand in an eternal friendship grasp, tugging you away to show you her room...

As we we're preparing to depart for India, the above wasn't what I was expecting at all.  My mind's eye was preparing me to see starving kids living on the streets, begging and desperately searching for food. Starving people living between heaps of trash, hoping against hope for a better future. Desperately looking for a solution to their terrible circumstances, unaware that the Solution is with them everyday, crying every tear with them. We did see kids begging and starving and people living, or rather dying, on the streets, but the orphanage was an oasis of safety and love between all the poverty and hardships of life.

We were welcomed at the orphanage with flower necklaces, baskets filled with sweets and cookies, but most of all with smiling faces that were radiating so much love. The air was filled with excitement as the kids were crowding in front of their hostel windows, trying to get a closer look at their new friends for the next few weeks. It's hard to tell who were more excited - the team or the kids.

The first moment we met the kids, two girls grabbed my hands and dragged me towards their room, eager to show me where they live. They were evidently best friends and they invited me into their little circle of friends. God knew exactly which kids should befriend which team members. We quickly became good friends and the friendship led me into taking Indian dancing
classes and regularly checking into Room 6 for a visit. They even taught me their handshake, which the kids love, and I had to do it so many times each day. They danced,lived and laughed with so much love, sharing their whole life with me. They accepted me into their lives, not judging anything about me, just happy to be friends even if it is for only two weeks.

We were prepared to serve the kids and decided to paint their school. From as early as 5 am we we're sanding down the walls and preparing the shcool building for a new coat of paint. We realized that we had a big challenge facing us: Finishing the school within 12 days.  Along with fixing up the school, we were teaching Science and Math, helping out at the office and running a kids program every night. It was a challenging two weeks at the orphanage, but
the most rewarding that I've ever experienced.

The kids taught me more about life than I ever imagined teaching them. They showed me what contentment is all about. They have almost nothing but they smile with so much happiness every day. They don't even have their own beds or toys but they are joyful from day to day. I was afraid of giving my heart and loving with all I' ve got, afraid of being heart broken at our departure, but they love with all they've got every single second of the day. They've endured hardships that no child should ever go through, and victoriuosly they've come out on the other side with a heart filled with love. A heart filled with God's love. They have experienced that love, and only God's love, can change the world.

The orphans of India have proved that they are the generation that's going to change India, that's going to share God's love with India, that's going to change the world. They are the light of the world.