Seeking Understanding Preceeds Enlightment

Years ago I saw a client who was about 10 years old. He was brought in for therapy by his grandfather, with whom he lived, due to some toileting issues. I had just finished outlining an intervention to try at home and asked the boy if he had “any questions”. He took a moment to think and then asked, “Why don’t plumbers wear underwear?” Although he had obviously misunderstood the context of my question, obviously this boy was seeking understanding regarding plumbers and their underwear.



Now, 15 years later, I am seeking understanding of toileting issues myself. India is a wonderfully confusing place. It presents one with many new challenges and opportunities to explore. Given the nature of our bodies, toileting is one subject to be explored daily. My first challenge was toileting on a moving train. As I was in the toilet compartment bouncing around, I wondered how many people had missed the mark and had saturated the floor where I was standing. Since you had to hold on to a pipe for balance, I wondered how many people had held the same pipe after cleaning themselves with their hand. My next toileting challenge came the next day. We were driving up the mountain on our way to Chamba and the driver stopped to pay road taxes. Fortunately there was a bathroom next to the road since nature was whispering my name. There was no door to the stall that would have provided privacy from the street, but I figured that if I am facing away and not looking at them, I could pretend no one would be looking at me. Just as I was about to find relief, I noticed that there was no pipe connected to the urinal so that anything that went into the bowl would end up on my shoes positioned below it. I quickly suppressed the urge, thinking that dry shoes were more important at the moment. Since then I have had other confusing toileting experiences. I believe I have mistook a shower stall for a bathroom and yesterday there was only a rectangular opening at the bottom of the stall with no water to wash the floor. I aimed at the hole and let it go.


I’m confused! Hopefully I will gain the necessary understanding needed to survive this aspect of life in India. Once I understand how to pee in India, then I can shift my attention to more philosophical issues such as plumbers or perhaps the purpose of life. Anyway, one day at a time …..


Craig Hall

Easter Morning in Chamba

The YMAD team hiked up into the mountains to spend the night at a mountain retreat
for Easter.

There is very sparse internet. You will not see any blog post until Monday. Sorry!

Here is a little clip from an Email Robert sent me. I deleted the mushy stuff.

We are up at Mr Dhamis's resort with is family and all is going well. We all
crashed last night after a great dinner. The teens stayed around the camp fire
until after midnight. The Adults retired early. Most of us neeed the
rest! This morning we had a great breakfast with fry bread, killer
chick peas, fruit and home made plumb jam and fresh honey. I have
never seen teens consume so much. Some of the boys had over ten
pieces of fry bread. The setting is beautiful, overlooking the Sahoo river.
All of the trees are in full bloom.

A perfect Easter morning!

Posted by JoDee

Great!!!

Blake Jensen

The trip has been so great, all the youth have been so great you would be proud of each and every one of them. I’ve seen each of them do many great things, and it has been so fun watching them with the children in the schools they work in. They are such a great team of youth!! I had an opportunity to talk with the local private high school principle and a number of their teachers, sharing with them the work the youth performed to come to India and work with the rural communities, it was fun to see the amazement on their faces as they understood the personal commitment, work, and planning they had put in to come on this trip. They had expected that the parents would have provided all the funding for this experience, when I shared that the youth provided ways to obtain the majority of the funding for this excursion, they were amazed at the dedication and the desire they each have to make a difference in their area here in India. I also spent time with the General Manager of the power facility we are staying in, a very large facility, he also expressed his amazement that your youth would spend the time to come help the rural youth, he expressed a real desire to have his son involved with your youth. They all are able to see the great leaders they are, the light they bring, and the service they are rendering.
It’s such fun to be around this great country with your great youth! Thanks for allowing your sons and daughters to come and experience this wonderful country and culture, their lives are changing and I have seen them grow closer together then they were when we left. They are all WONDERFUL!!!!!

From the Mountains of Tisa - Lachhi Thakur

My name is Lachhi Thakur and I am from Tisa in Himachal Pradesh. I am happy and excited to work with YMAD. I am very lucky to have this oppertunity. I have been learning english for the past year and I am catching on slowly. In todays world for me to be successful it is very important to learn english. Even tho I hesitate to share my ability to speak in english, I am trying very hard. If I learn english I can help my community improve their circumstances and their way of life.
I live in a very rural area with out any doctors or hospitals. I am learning how to help women deliver babies in the proper way. With these skills I can make sure that more babies actually live when they are born.
We are talking about YMAD all year long and look forward to seeing them when they come. We hope they will bring more young people from the US to continue helping our community. We look forward to the day when we can take them to our home to meet our parents and be able to speak english with them freely.

Top Ten Weirdest Things I’ve Eaten So Far

By Deson Heynie

10. Chapatti – This is the bread of the land, an Indian tortilla. It tastes like it’s mostly just flour and water, with maybe a little salt, so mom, I guess we actually did make it right when we tried it at home. It’s all right by itself, but with the other foods it’s pretty good.
9. French Fries – Yep, French fries, every breakfast and dinner. I guess our hosts think every American loves French Fries so they try to keep our plates full of them. We even get ketchup!
8. Pranta – A fried chapatti stuffed with eggs or potato. Pretty tasty!
7. Dosai – A huge egg tortilla thing with a little potato in the middle and a lot of different sauces to dip it in. This things about a foot and a half long! It looked like a huge homemade fortune cookie. It’s crazy but good.
6. Dal – Chickpeas in an interesting sauce. Nuff said.
5. Jellabee – “The sweet of Chamba.” It’s basically a really sweet and oily funnel cake made fresh off the streets. They’re pretty delicious, but different from anything we have in the U.S.
4. Samosa – A deep-fried pastry with a potato mixture inside. So good.
3. Fresh Pomegranate Juice – It was yellow! I was expecting a nice, dark red drink, but when the waiter brought it out it was yellow and frothy. I guess they use the not-so-ripe ones for juice or something. The weird thing was that it actually tasted like pomegranate, even though it was completely yellow. Very interesting.
2. Dolma – This actually isn’t even an Indian food. I had it in the San Francisco airport. It’s a Mediterranean food made of grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice. It was kind of like sushi, but sushi is way better.
1. Chikka(?) Ice Cream – I’m not sure how it’s spelled, but chikka is some kind of local fruit they have. We had fresh fruit ice cream and I decided to try chikka out. If I had to give it a flavor I would say it tasted hairy. It was really weird. Definitely not my cup of Joe.

Dancing, Singing and Painting!

Eden Cowart


Dancing, Singing and Painting! We started the day out with a visit to the Hindu temple near our new home at the NHPC this morning. It was a great way to celebrate Eliza’s birthday! The kids had a great time seeing the Hindu culture in action. It was a little different than the Temple they are used to☺ From there we headed to the high school where we were greeted by hundreds of Indian students. We had an amazing time together and the teens did a great job with all of there performances-plus we all had a fantastic time seeing what our new friends had prepared for us. There were some really good numbers and some that were so funny I don’t think we will ever forget them.

After a little culture, we headed to my ashram at Kalsuin to do some painting. It was great to have the whole YMAD team together to get some work done. The teens painted three huge rooms in about three hours. They are amazing young people and I am so glad I have been able to spend so much time with them. They have amazing attitudes and they know how to work hard.

All the kids are in good physical health, a bit sunburned and tired, but if you ask them how they are doing they will tell you “AMAZING!” They are the bravest teens I have seen when it comes to eating Indian food.

My ashram girls at Kalsuin came up to me today and asked if they could show me some pictures. The proceeded to hand me photos of all the YMAD kids who have come to work in their Ashram, yelling out each of their names. “Alisha! Josh! Sarah! Andrew! Ben!...” I looked at probably 30 photos and by the time I was done I was crying like a baby. I have worked with the YMAD teens for almost 5 years now, and I know how hard they have worked to make a difference here in India. I was overwhelmed by the love and appreciation that these small children have for us. My teens looked at me like I was nuts, because I was crying over some pictures. But what they don’t realize is, that next year, when new kids are working in Kalsuin, these same children will be showing them pictures and screaming “Tiana! Austin! Deson! Alexa!” and maybe if I am lucky even “Eden.”

More Than I Thought It Would Be

Kelly Jensen


What an incredible time we all are having! I’m not really sure where to begin? The YMAD kids have been adorable with the children. The kids are constantly wanting to be hugged, and played with. There is so much LOVE you can feel in each orphanage. The weather has been beautiful! It does get hot at noon time, but you hardly notice the heat because of the amazing beauty of the landscape that is everywhere.

I’ve been going to the health clinics with Joslyn. We’ve been training the mid wife’s how to resisate infants. The women are so kind and they just want to learn everything they can. Most of the women we teach had no idea that you could get a baby to breath by blowing air into the babies mouth. They love receiving the baby delivery kits and new born kits. They all think I should have a white baby doll instead of a dark one, they just think that is so funny!

This experience we are all having is a once in a lifetime experience, and I knew it was going to be a great experience, but it’s so much more then I thought it would be.

Little Did I Know

Robert Baird





The days go quickly as we try to make a difference in the lives of the women and children of Chamba. Like so many time before, things don't always go as planned. It is miraculous how the right things seem to be presented and the right people seem to show up to allow for things to happen in a way far better than one could conceive. That has been my consistent observation in all of the years I have been coming to this beautiful part of the world.

Some of our team were disappointed when we discovered that the children who live in the ashrams had been sent home for a holiday prior to our arrival. What has occurred in the wake of that news is that we have been able to serve so many of the small children of the rural villages that in some cases have less than those children we originally intended to serve. We have also discovered some other rural villages that we would have never known about if that had not happened. One of our teams is now working in one of the most beautiful locations I have seen in Chamba. This school is situated overlooking the Chamera II reservoir, surrounded by wheat fields and fruit trees. I met the first downs syndrome child I have ever seen in India. His big brown eyes captured my heart!

Making a difference means experiencing failure on a daily basis as well. It seems that as we make positive progress there are set backs always looming around the corner. But through the failures come small miracles. I have the best team of translators we have ever had in India. They were all introduced to us because of of a project in another community that has had some set backs. They saw what we were trying to do in Himachal Pradesh and have stepped forward to help with no agenda. It has been so great to seem them interact with our youth and help us

with situations in each of rural communities we are working in.

One of the great rewards of working with people is to see the progress some make after crossing our paths. Over a two years ago I met some girls struggling to get an education, from a very remote area of Chamba called Ronikot/Tisahh, two small villages on the Cashmere boarder. A year ago three of these girls came came out of the mountains to be with our team to learn some english. Yesterday one of the girls heard we were coming to Chamba and showed up at the NHPC where we are staying. As we embraced after such a long time it was confirmed once again why I am here. To discover she had just completed her 10th standard class made my day! Giving hope is what it is all about. It is something money can't buy! It takes continual effort, enduring the disappointments and having enough faith in someone greater than us that the right things will work out!

Little did I know over nine months ago when the youth named this expedition Ummid, hope in english, that it would be so relevant! Gotta Love this work!

I love so many things, places, people.

David Shaw


I love.



I love so many things, places, people.



This world has so much to offer, so much to give, so much to learn.

This last week I have learned about another culture, another language, my teammates, and myself. If I had not attended our first YMAD meeting in the church in the dip, I wouldn’t have realized that vegetables aren’t as bad as I thought, YES MOM, I AM eating. I’ve had more vegetables this week than I have my entire life. I’ve been good on health, except for two days ago when I developed this crazy infection in my mouth, the skin on the inside of my lip and lower gums became gray and squishy, I could move it around like playdough, it really was pretty cool. Turns out it was only caused from the canqer medicine that I used, it may be expired and had some wacky side effects.



BUT



I love the mountains.

I love the weather.

I love the people of India.

I love mo-mos

I love teasing people.

I love sleep.

I love limca.

I love car rides in the country.

I love name brand knock offs.

I love Good day, Tiger, and Bourbon.

I love Zulfa and Reshma.

I love my Mom and Dad. And their support.

I love the Church.

I love the Scriptures.

I love India.



If I hadn’t gone to the meeting, I wouldn’t have the love I have for these things I do now. Everything has been changed over the last year in preparation for the work that we are performing right now. I love Serving others, in this I find my happiness, a self-less life, is a life gained. I love service. I love kindness. I love others.



I love, love.

April First-Chaidee Woods

• Diarrhea Maria actually became Diarrhea Maria (True to her name)
• Ate an Indian ice cream cone – Tasted like chilled cool whip with the mega foam button pushed
• The Stupid Intern made some little children cry – and then didn’t know what to do with himself
• Got a sunburn upon a sunburn so my skin now radiates heat
• Watched Trevor dance around the market while Indian men told him “Very good, very good”
• Eliza (My Soul Mate) got her nose pierced
• It rained all day
• Libby got her backpack stolen
• We had to walk 3 km after we got a flat tire back to the NHPC
• I saw the prettiest view of the lake by Rajnagar – Super green and the reflection is so beautiful too.

Now comes the real test. Four out of ten of these are April fools. So your job is it decide which ones to believe.
Love, ChaiDee
P.S. I’m having a great time! I’ll be safe don’t worry. Love you all and have a great Easter!

Chamba Love!

Even though it says that Eden is posting the blogs, she is not, it is me ,JoDee Baird, posting under her name. So, occasionally I will post random pictures. Well, because I can, and it makes me smile.

Exchanges of Love and Culture!

Here are pictures of the teens at the Cultural Exchange with the local high school. A Great time was had by all!

More Medical Miracles

Here are pictures of Joselyn, our nurse, teaching, passing out Safe Delivery and New Born Kits that people from back home made and we brought over! Thanks everyone!

When Miracles Happen

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

This quote, as many of you know, was said by Gandhi and was one of my favorite quotes long before I knew I was going to India. I used to think that it was actually supposed to mean, “If you want to make a difference, make it happen.”
Now, I understand it more.
You have to be the change.
Nothing happens over here that isn’t fought for.
Nothing amazing happens without hours and hours of logistics and planning.
Nothing truly inspiring happens when you’re talking about how bad conditions are over here.
Something starts happening when I, JeiCee Mendez, work my butt off to get to come here and then get butt sores from sitting down traveling for two days straight to get to
Chamba, India.
There’s a lot of butt work involved apparently.

I do all of this to let kids know that there are people who care that they succeed and are happy.
However, MIRACLES start when I change.
When I become more compassionate to be able to teach these orphans.
When I change myself to be able to help people less fortunate.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned its not enough to wish for a change.
To wait for a change.
To hope for a change.
Not even encourage a change.
Not even –I know some might disagree- contribute TO a change.
You have to become the change and believe in it to make a difference.

That’s when miracles happen.

-JeiCee Mendez

India is AMAZING!

India is amazing! Everyday that I have been here it just keeps getting better and better. Even though I am pretty sure that we are all sleep deprived, we still make it through the day. I am in the group that goes to the Mehla oshrim and it is just awesome. We all fell in love with the kids when we first saw them. As you read yesterday probably, you would understand that things were pretty hectic with our translator bringing 88 kids to our school. We pushed our way through it though and when we came back from our lunch break all the kids that were actually supposed to be there and were there the first day came running towards us screaming and yelling with joy. Wow. You have no idea what that feels like. I love Mehla and all the kids! That all happened yesterday though. Today we got go to go to a temple and the local high school. It was lots of fun and very neat, we got to sit in the schools courtyard and we took turns performing our dances and songs that we have been preparing for the past months and months and we all had a lot of fun. Then we got to go to another orphanage called Kalsui and we painted the three rooms that they sleep in. It was a lot of fun. Everyone in YMAD is bonding and just having a great time! I love you Mom, Dad, Scald, and Jack and miss everyone!

-Justin Calder

Ten Things I Could be Doing Instead of Blogging!

Ten Things I Could be Doing Instead of Blogging
1. I could be doing ChaiDee’s sprinter workouts around the compound in India and having random Indians stare at me.
2. I could be going into town and looking at tons of different beautiful fabrics for pant suits.
3. I could be eating mouthwatering food from street vendors, even though the food might give me diarrhea but would be totally worth it.
4. I could be getting sunburned from being outside playing with tons of little kids that hands and will never let go of yours even if you need to use the potty.
5. I could be catching up on much needed sleep.
6. I could be taking a bucket/pale shower and washing off my dirt tan.
7. I could be retrieving a soccer ball that went down a hill while we were playing with it on the parachute and run into a patch of hard core stinging nettle.
8. I could be playing a new Indian game I learned today called Kabaddi that’s way super fun.
9. I could be walking through giant fields of wheat that go on forever.
10. I could be figuring out how to destroy all of Trevor’s Celine Dion music before it reaches my ears again.

Shea Aldana

While You Were Sleeping

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING.
While you were sleeping I have….
1. I have Turned 18! So did Libby!
2. I have spent 7 amazing days with the group + my soul mate.
3. I have drove through Chamba, and I know I will never get sick of it.
4. I have painted bedrooms for the kids.
5. I have ate the most amazing foods here. You wouldn’t even believe it.
6. I have sang and danced for the school students here.
7. Fixed Justin’s shorts.
8. I have learned Hindi phrases, that I still cant say worth my life.
9. Sang and danced on the roof of the building we are staying.
10. I have been on the most insane cars rides of my life. With no seatbelts.
11. I have met the most amazing children.
12. I have taken a bucket shower or two… not bad at all.
13. I have gotten so dirty, and I don’t even care.
14. Did I mention I am 18 now?
15. I have shared a room with two of the most amazing roommates. Ever.
16. I have now blogged. On Justin’s stomach.
17. Played with the amazing Kalsuie, Malla, and Temple kids. Love them.
18. I have gone on a morning hike; it was hard-ish but totally worth it. Best way to start the day.
19. Partied in our room. Cause it’s the official party room.
20. Swatted away 10 thousand+ man-eating-flies.
21. I have seen so many dogs; you would never be able to count them all.
22. I have said my prayers and been marked for it.
23. I have been fitted for the most amazing outfits ever.
24. I have fallen in love with what I am doing here. I am very content.
25. Oh, and I turned 18. Happy April Fools day.
India has been Amazing. I know I will come back, I don’t know how I couldn’t after seeing it. I have fallen in love with it.

Eliza Pullman—

The Summit

Austin Allen




The unavoidable consequence of procrastination is that all the information I have gathered from this past week cannot be recorded in one go. That doesn’t matter though, the past few days in the Kalsuin school has by far been the summit of my experience thus far.

Not surprisingly, all the little boys love me. I have been around little children and these kids are no different… except I can’t talk to them. I want to be here to play and teach these kids and I can tell the children feel the same by the way they use their hands and try to speak English to communicate back to me. I haven’t had little kids try so hard for my understanding before. It will be difficult to leave them, especially my select buddies who are always on my shoulders.

The food here is simple. Rice, tortilla things, fries, and chicken. Every day, all I can eat. I have a feeling this is what the MTC will be like, and unlike everybody else’s disapproval, I’m looking forward to the food.

Duck, Duck, DUCK!!!

Liz Bird




I never knew chaos could be so much fun!!!!

Today in Melah when we arrived we didn’t have any kids, but slowly kids started to trickle in. As soon as we got to our ashrum (which I am convinced is the best) we only had two children, who lived at the school we are teaching at. As Jatin (our translator) had suggested we went and got kids from the village to come and join us in our activities. We went into a school up the road, and after talking to the heads of their school they agreed to let their children come. Unknown at the time they were going to have 88 kids come to play at our ashrum. We were not prepared for that large amount of kids. So we got together and played duck, duck, goose (or how they play it duck, duck, DUCK). We finally got it organized to a point where we had stuff to teach them.

I am completely in love with a little girl in our ashrum, her name is Radha, she is one of the most amazing little girls i have ever met. She is so adorable and completely and utterly shy. She is starting to come out of her shell and she will grab my hand to walk with me. I have another love, his name is Deepanshu. He is also so shy and was so cute when we were playing the numbers game where you call out a number and you have to get into groups of that number. As soon as we started, Deepanshu started to come with me, by the end he was grabbing my shirt in the back and coming with me. At one point we had one too many so I was going to get out and loose but he would not let go of my shirt. I am so in love with all of these children. I am sure I am leaving my heart in Melah.

India wouldn’t be the same without...
Flies completely covering you and ALL of your things.
Getting within 1 inch of another vehicle while we are driving down the road.
The most amazingly gorgeous children that we get to teach.
Amazing food that is filled with amazing spices and flavor, and ice cream to die for.
Squatters.
Monkeys gathering in bunches on the side of the road.
Approximately 50 pot holes per square foot.
Stray cows, donkeys and monkeys instead of cats.

I am completely in constant awe here. I love it and never want to leave. I love India :)

Liz Bird

The world is much bigger than I originally thought or ever imagined.

Alexa Barnes


The world is much bigger than I originally thought or ever imagined. I have always thought that in order to travel to somewhere that could completely knock the air out of you, a shuttle from Kennedy Space Center would be a necessity. This superfluous theory has been proven wrong time and time again over the past few …how many days?

It is surprisingly relaxing to seldom know where I am, what time it is, or even what day it is. My withdrawal and the imaginary vibrations of my cell phone have almost disappeared by now, no better cure.
Kalsuin has provided much more fulfillment than anything else ever could. In one day I have held hands with more children, received more kisses, played more “duck, duck, goose,” and “hokey pokey”, and gotten my picture taken more times in one day than my entire life! (…mom and dad, I have taken more pictures this trip than my entire life!)
I would never have thought I would like it here, but I love it.

P.s. Vegetarians eat great here. I’m getting braver by the day as far as food goes.

Regards,
Alexa

Three Things

Trevor Swanson




Hey everyone. India is crazy and so much has happened since I left Salt Lake Airport. Since so much has happened I decided to just write three things I have learned each day since I left.
Day 1
- Long plane rides are not so fun.
- Airplane food should not be considered food.
- Only seeing a country from its airport is very lame
Day 2
- Long plane rides are not so fun.
- Know when your plane leaves. That way you don’t have look stupid as you run through the Singapore airport trying to find gate E11.
- Changing time zones is very, very tiring.
Day 3
- There are no trashcans in Delhi… or India! NOT ANYWHERE!
- Delhi traffic is more intense than any roller coaster I have ever been on.
- I think that there were like eighty million people at the Delhi train station this night.
Day 4
- Train rides are very fun.
- I kind of like being stared at by all the locals.
- Things in India are so much older than anything in the U.S.
Day 5
- Bottled water is good. Water that is not bottled is bad.
- Indian Girls are so funny and beautiful.
- The markets are crazy and I am not very good at bartering prices.
Day 6
- Charades is the best tool for breaking the language barrier.
- Little children are so cute and they have so much energy.
- The Himalayas are extremely beautiful!
India is so amazing and so are the people. I am having the greatest experience. I am going to end my blog here because typing on a computer is kind of a waste of time in India. I love you all!!! See you soon. : )

Didi

Tiana Chambers

No matter what anyone tells you Kalsuin is the best ashram! We have the cutest orphans ever. I love them so much already. I’m already sad when I have to leave just for the night; I don’t know how I’m going to leave them forever in a few days. I loved the kids within the first five minutes, and it grows every second I’m with them. In our ashram we have boys and girls, ages 1-13. Everywhere I go I have kids dangling from my every limb. They fight over who gets to hold our hands and love to ride on our shoulders.

These orphans have so much love it’s amazing. They are constantly smiling and giving hugs. One girl held up a plastic flower to me and placed it in my hand, she folded my fingers over it and said “please keep! Please keep!”. All day the girl was making sure that I still had my flower. Yesterday the kids skipped lunch because they were having too much fun. Today we made them go to lunch and as they were leaving one girl, Tanya, pulled me down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was so sweet and ever since then I have been receiving non-stop kisses.

I was anticipating the language barrier to be a big problem, but it really hasn’t been an issue. It’s amazing how well we can speak to them, I keep forgetting we don’t speak the same language. Halfway through the morning I noticed the children calling me “Didi” or “Tiana Didi”. I asked our translator (who has an unpronounceable name) what Didi meant, and he said “elder sister”. I love these kids so much and it feels like we are one giant family.

So far, this experience has been amazing. India is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I am so in awe at every moment at how incredible this place is. The mountains are so green and everything is colorful. I absolutely love it here and I am so thankful every second for this opportunity!

Early Morning Hike

Today the brave got up early for a morning hike in the Himalayas. It was beautiful. They hiked across the bridge to a Hindi Temple. Here are some photo's of the event.