I brought 4 containers of beads with me to the LOT Home. I had craft projects for the children, something I do on every visit. Crafts are something the children lack and they always enjoy whatever project I bring. On this particular trip I gave the children bracelets made with plastic, colorful beads with the name of their sponsored spelled out with alphabet beads. The children in turn, made key chains with their names on them, which I will mail to the child sponsors. The project was an effort to connect the child to her/her sponsor and vise versa.
It took several hours for everyone to find the letters to their names, choose beautiful sparkly beads, then to finally string them onto the copper wire of the key chain. Many accidently spelled their names backwards, then started over again, laughing, embarrassed. About an hour into the project, the power flickered out. I sighed. The room was quite dark and this project requires light. Laxmi gathered 3 white candles and one rechargeable light. The older children studied while the younger ones worked diligently making their key chains. When the younger children finished the older ones set to work on making key chains.
Lightning flashed giving brief bursts of light and then the splat, splat of rain. The air was hazy with dust because it had not rained in 6-7 months. Rice and corn should have been planted but without rain, the planting had been delayed. In a few minutes the rain was pounding. In unison everyone jumped up and ran to the door. The rain was mixed with grape sized hail as it pummeled the ground.
The children, who just a few moments ago sat quietly, were stimulated by the rain and hail. They laughed, shouted and darted into the rain to collect hailstones. Jonathan called them back to no avail!! Wind blew the hail sideways, then suddenly there was a sharp crack – 2 large trees fell over on the neighboring property, hitting a small building. The storm lasted about 30 minutes. We were all energized but marched back into the dark room and continued the project. Later we celebrated with cake. I had purchased 4 cakes in Kalimpong, a rare treat for the children and fun was had by all, even in the dim candlelight.
When I was on the stoop watching the driving rain, I was so grateful to Don, a TWAM supporter who donated money last year. Part of his donation was used to pave the ground around the LOT Home. One can only imagine the quagmire that was previously produced when it rained and that is no longer a problem! How blessed we are with something as ordinary as pavement!