Wow, yesterday was a long and crazy day and there is lots to report so I'm just gonna get right down to it. We started the day bright and early--we left campus at 6am. Sunday was a big day because the first session of volunteers were here. This first session is an all medical session so things are a little different than normal. We had four vans and a car in use to get everyone picked-up and either taken to church or back to RSO. So, the five coordinators (Kim 1, Kim 2, Derek, CJ, and myself) were up and out the door at 6. Vel was our driver and Shaun Kar and Vikram were in the van with us. On the way to Chennai (which is about 2 hours away) we had Vel stop so we could get jasmine flowers for all the girls to welcome them. Vel and Shankar went to get the flowers and while they were buying them they got another surprise--balloons! They had decided it would be a good idea to blow up balloons and hang them from the ceiling of the van. All of the drivers at RSO are so great and nice and absolutely LOVE the volunteers. So, the rest of the way to Chennai was spent blowing up balloons, tying them together, and taping them to the ceiling of the car...all while Vel was still driving. It was seriously great to have such a fun time with the drivers tossing balloons around the car and hanging them up--I just love them all.
Shankar: master balloon tyer
Vel--you know he's a skilled driver when he can talk on the phone AND look back for a picture all while driving.
We were just finishing hanging all the balloons when we finally reached the Marriott. We were all so excited to meet all the volunteers and show them just how amazing RSO is. We picked up the volunteers, loaded up the luggage, and went on our way to church. The branch we go to in Chennai (there are three branches total in the city) has some really amazing people that I am excited to get to know while I am here for the next year. There was a baptism that day so we were all able to see one of the young members get baptized. It was a great experience especially because Vikram had gone to church with us that day and was able to see someone get baptized. Vikram has been reading the Book of Mormon and is interested in the church. He told me at the end of all three meetings that his first day at church was the best day. Vikram is one of my favorite people at RSO and it was awesome to see him loving church and wanting to come back.
Once the baptism was over we headed back to RSO campus. We did orientation for the volunteers, gave them a little tour of the hostel and campus, and had dinner on the roof with banana leaves. I had been missing this essential part of RSO so it felt so amazing to be doing it again. After dinner, we took the volunteers over to family time with the kids. it was amazing to see the volunteers connecting with the kids and having similar experiences to what I had last year. I know they will come to love the kids just as much as I do.
Well, that was basically the whole day. Still have tons of bug bites but I'm getting used to it. The kids are still wonderful and beautiful, and I'm very excited to really start working with the volunteers--it's going to be a great summer!
Vanakkam
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