Inspired

My Indian summer is rapidly approaching.  I only have a few weeks until I leave.  Things are crazy right now, with finals next week, moving out of my apartment, and my India preparations.  However, amidst the craziness, I have found moments to stop and soak in all the blessings in my life.  I have the greatest people in my life right now, and I'm so excited to add even more incredible and resilient spirits to that list this summer.  Over this past week, I have found myself feeling the "rightness" of this adventure more than ever.

On Saturday, I was blessed to be able to spend some time with my amazing, inspirational friend Kimmy.  Kim and I have been great friends since high school, and I treasure the time I get to spend with her.  She is the person who introduced me to Rising Star.  Reading her blog and seeing the light in her eyes when she talks about India has been such an inspiration to me.  We were able to just spend several hours talking about Rising Star, the children, and life.  She again demonstrated her incomparable generosity by giving me so many things that I can use in India, as well as a packing list and a ton of encouragement.  She really boosted my excitement and reminded me that this is what I'm supposed to do.  You can read about her many beautiful moments in India on her blog.

Another thing that really inspired me this week was reading this blog post by a girl named Kenady.  I have never met her, but she is a friend of Kim's and I have been blog-stalking her for a few months now.  She has been volunteering at Rising Star for the past year. The beautiful comments from the children about their dreams for the future had me tearing up.  I am blown away by the strength of these kids.  They have been through true horrors and have faced trials I can't imagine.  Yet despite all this, they are the most bright and joyful spirits in the world.  I'm so excited to meet these children and show them they can achieve their dreams. Please read her post, it will help you understand why I'm doing this.

I still have a few more preparations and a lot of packing.  But, India, I will see you soon!