Just to keep everyone on their toes, I tried to start a blog at a different address because of the ongoing problems we'd had with blogspot, but it's working now and this is the easiest place to share, so we're back.
Here's a post I wrote weeks ago on the other site... It's relevant because of what I will write about next, a wonderful evening we spent with Rani and family.
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I have floundered a bit, trying to decide how to begin… where to start. There are months of photos and travels to share, stories to tell, recipes to post. I will do my best to chronicle the adventures we’ve had but for now I will leave you with what’s foremost on my heart and mind: the pain, joy, suffering, hope and hopelessness, and intensity in the lives that touch ours here.
I could write a novel about some of these things but this is not the place for that. Rani, the lovely woman who cleans for us and helps with Sarah when I am putting the kids to bed, has grown increasingly dear to me over our time here. Last night she shared about a time when she was 6 years old. She was awakened at midnight by her mother (father had abandoned them early on) and taken to a lake in the center of the city. In utter desperation, her mother had sewn rocks into her sari to weight it down and she waded into the lake to drown herself, calling for Rani to follow. “Come, we will die, ” she said. Blessedly, Rani ran scared and encountered 2 people walking near the shore who then coaxed her mother out of the water, preventing both of their deaths.
Rani began cleaning houses at age 10, was married to an awful, awful man at age 13, and has an amazing story of heartbreak and courage. She is 31 years old, has 3 beautiful daughters (14, 16, 19), and is the sole provider for her household (separated from husband 10 years ago). Though she herself is illiterate, she has ensured that all of her daughters continue with their studies. I am so grateful for a chance to know her and am challenged and blessed by her life touching mine.
Here's a post I wrote weeks ago on the other site... It's relevant because of what I will write about next, a wonderful evening we spent with Rani and family.
---------
I have floundered a bit, trying to decide how to begin… where to start. There are months of photos and travels to share, stories to tell, recipes to post. I will do my best to chronicle the adventures we’ve had but for now I will leave you with what’s foremost on my heart and mind: the pain, joy, suffering, hope and hopelessness, and intensity in the lives that touch ours here.
I could write a novel about some of these things but this is not the place for that. Rani, the lovely woman who cleans for us and helps with Sarah when I am putting the kids to bed, has grown increasingly dear to me over our time here. Last night she shared about a time when she was 6 years old. She was awakened at midnight by her mother (father had abandoned them early on) and taken to a lake in the center of the city. In utter desperation, her mother had sewn rocks into her sari to weight it down and she waded into the lake to drown herself, calling for Rani to follow. “Come, we will die, ” she said. Blessedly, Rani ran scared and encountered 2 people walking near the shore who then coaxed her mother out of the water, preventing both of their deaths.
Rani began cleaning houses at age 10, was married to an awful, awful man at age 13, and has an amazing story of heartbreak and courage. She is 31 years old, has 3 beautiful daughters (14, 16, 19), and is the sole provider for her household (separated from husband 10 years ago). Though she herself is illiterate, she has ensured that all of her daughters continue with their studies. I am so grateful for a chance to know her and am challenged and blessed by her life touching mine.
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