Badlapur, May 18, 2008, at 7am

About to take my final bucket bath in India, I stand in the hot and humid "hotel" bathroom--a 3'x5' tiled room--and look at myself in the mirror. I feel very Hindi except for my height, and I am not ready to leave this place yet even though I said my goodbyes yesterday.

As I look at my face, I reach up and touch my hair, soft and silky from being massaged with coconut oil the day before--a weekly event at Ashagram (Hindi for "Village of Hope"), where I worked throughout our stay in India. My Hindi friends offered to oil my hair the last day because they were already oiling theirs--a replacement for shampoo and conditioner and a much hidden beauty secret that explains why all Indian women have gorgeous hair. Mine looks pretty darn good, and I've only had it done once.

Friday, the girls were "threading" their eyebrows and offered to do the same to the girls on our team. Of course, we all jumped at the unique opportunity and now have shapely brows of our own, thanks to Shabana--the girl with the most attitude and cheek ever with a hilarious sense of humor. Having my eyebrows reshaped makes my eyes bigger--brown eyes that earned me the compliment "You have beautiful eyes--Indian eyes" from one of the men at Bombay Teen Challenge.

I fiddle with my nose ring--another feature that brought me attention and made me look more Hindi--before admiring my recent mehendi. Mehendi, or henna designs, is a traditional form of female adornment throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia. In India, women put mehendi on hands and feet for special occasions or for any occasion when they have the time. As May is the hottest month of the year in India, the girls at Ashagram have summer vacation and all the time in the world for henna.

Reflecting back on the trip, I wonder at God's work in India. India is a tough case, but clearly not too tough for God or for His faithful followers. Meeting with our brothers and sisters at Bombay Teen Challenge proved that. I have learned a lot about faith and endurance, joy and hope, and I know that I have much yet to learn.

I have many more stories to come, but I need to continue processing. In the meantime, I need to go shopping for a pattern so I can sew the choli and petticoat to go with my sari that I bought in Badlapur.