Time well spent

This is an e-mail I received from my best friend, who is currently in India with her school for 5 weeks, doing missionary work, and experiencing life in India. She sent this e-mail about her first day working in one of the homes Mother Theresa started. I thought it was very challenging and heartwrenching.

"i went to Daya Dan this morning. it is one of the six homes that mother teresa started. of course i will explain more later, but wanted to share initially my thoughts. we spent our time doing very ordinary things. we first woke the children up and took off their clothes. we then carried them into the bathroom, where they were bathed. most of them cannot walk and all of them are mentally handicapped. we then wiped down the beds, changed the sheets and then went up on the roof and washed clothes and hung them out to dry. there was a strong smell of urine and poop, both in the bathroom and when washing the clothes and bed sheets and underwear.......unfortunately, there are more children than helpers, and they are unable to potty train most of them. as i wiped down the bed, i noticed the name of the child taped to the bed. paulino. a girl who knows family only as the strangers who come in and out of her life from all over the world. as i wiped down the bed, i just began to cry......immediately thoughts of the verse "if you do unto the least of these, you do unto Me". good thing that in Kolkata, it is so hot that sweat is constantly dripping off of our faces, noone knew the difference between my sweat and tears. i actually think those are the best kind of tears....the tears and sweat together....doing the ordinary things to serve really are the most important. i wonder why i cannot understand that when living in america. paulino will not know that i wiped down her bed and the sister in charge will not remember the faces or names of the volunteers that come in and out of the house. nonetheless, it was an important act of service to paulino when she lays back down tonight. it provokes the question, in what kind of ordinary ways am i serving in waco?"

If you want to read more about her time in India, click on the name "Megs" in my link section.