This month we had the privilege of working in foster homes of children with disabilities and special needs. So I show up by myself to one of the foster care homes. I had a tour of the homes the day before but wasn’t given any instruction on what I would be doing in the home. There were 4 ayahs (caretakers) sitting on the steps and I greeted them with Namaste and was about to head inside to find the kiddos. But then one of them points at my ankles and I was like yes, my anklet. I had just gotten it at a market, they jingle every time i walk, its like Christmas year round, who doesn’t want that?? Anyways she was smiling like she was so happy to see I was wearing it. But then she stopped smiling and grabbed and pointed at my other ankle and had a puzzled look on her face. Then she said 2. I was used to playing sharades and guessing so I realized she was asking why I only had one.
I then went upstairs where one of the teachers, Hannah was with the kids. She’s 32 and lives in the home with the girls. She literally had no clue why I was there but she had heard that someone was supposed to be coming to clean out a cabinet she thought that was me (Hannah just told me this a few days ago at the retreat). It was not me. That job was for someone else but I happily did it. Ya know, why not? I can organize. At first I was super uncomfortable bc no one knew I was coming. No one knew why I was there. No one was expecting me. No one spoke any English except Hannah and one other teacher. However, discomfort soon faded.
I have so many fond memories from this month and getting to work in that home in the evenings. I was invited into their rooms. I was handed chai. The kids would hide a shoe of mine, usually near the trampoline (eye roll) so I couldn’t leave. I got to sit down with the teachers, nurses and an ayah and talk about God, the world race, and show them pictures of my family. I was reminded how tall we are. These women were barely 5 ft tall, if even. I got to play this card memory game with the teenagers on the rooftop as the sunset that was pretty cool.
One day I stopped by the kitchen to see what the cooks were up to and they had just made some chai. One of the teenage girls was in the kitchen and she can speak English so she asked me if I wanted a cup and of course I said yes!!! Chai in hand I followed her to her room and talked with the other girls. I felt like I was a friend just hangin out. I got to just sit and talk with them. I watched them brush their hair. I felt right at home.
I jumped on the trampoline basically every night. The girls had just seen high school musical for the first time and asked me to play the soundtrack. I gladly agreed and we jumped and sang along together.
Once on my way out I got to pet the next door neighbor’s pup. Now if you know me you know how much I love pups and on the race there hasn’t been that many opportunities for me to pet and hangout with dogs. So it made me very happy.
I am truly going to miss all of their different personalities. Some of them were so very affectionate and downright sweet. One of the girls would greet me with a hug and a leg wrapped around my torso. A younger girl about 3 years would motion for me to pick her up and I sometimes would mess with her but she was so sassy. If she didn’t like what you were doing she made that very clear. She would just whack you. It was funny.
One of the ayahs, Chukamma which means star mother, and I quickly became friends. We would hug each other and giggle a lot. She would share her snacks with me. She even offered to give me one of her sarees but I said no way!
One day while I was chatting with the teachers and an ayah I noticed she was wearing anklets. She had on 2 because that’s how you’re supposed to do it here. I pointed but then realized she didn’t know what I was saying so as I was pointing I got really close to touching it to show her what I was saying. However she got upset that I had gotten that close to her feet and backed away from me. Here feet are seen as unclean. Dirty. I had forgotten in that moment.
This past week we had the opportunity to host a retreat for all the women that work at the homes. The retreat is called Beauty for Ashes. We had worship, shared bible stories, testimonies and they did a drawing activity. Then we washed their feet and had snacks for them. These women are the cooks, ayahs, (caretakers), teachers, nurses and much more for the kids. They serve them everyday. They live in the homes with them.
Remember how I said that feet were seen as unclean? Being able to wash their feet was so very moving. It was emotional. It was raw. It was humbling. These were the feet of women that move all day long providing for the needs of children that have disabilities and special needs. These were the women that are truly being the hands and feet of Christ. Wow they were so very special. I felt honored and moved to get to serve them in that way. At first we could tell that some of the women didn’t want us to touch their feet but then they did. Lots of tears. Lots of praying. Lots of hugs. Lots of hand holding. It was beautiful.
The retreat revealed to me how impactful the little things are. By simply holding their hand, and listening to them as they shared their stories. Serving them snacks. Smiling and making eye contact with them. It all made a difference. It showed them that they are seen and heard. It was a way we could bring rest, healing and comfort to them. So grateful we were able to do it. God is so very good.
NEPAL HERE WE COME!!
P.S- My mom has the opportunity to come on the parent vision trip (PVT) where she gets to do ministry with me for about a week in Romania. This is going to be her first ever mission trip so i am beyond pumped to see what God has in store. Below is the link to donate if you feel led to financially contribute towards getting her there.
https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=partFund&selected=Vision+Trip&desc=Harriett+Odom&appeal_id=ODOMHARRIETT
