On our last night at Rising Star Outreach we were invited by the kids to attend a special performance just for us done by the choir and the dance team.  It was absolutely adorable to see them performing their hearts out the songs that they had practiced so diligently.  The choir sang 3 songs for us, the first one being a song about how each of our lives has a purpose and God has a plan for every single one of us.  Hearing them sing it was a wonderful reminder to me that even though they seem to have such hard lives, they are still so blessed.  They are children of God, and they know it.  They don't care if they have to sleep on a concrete floor every night because they know that God has  a plan for them.  The dancers were super fun to watch also!  It's amazing to witness such talent and know that these kids have received a one in a million chance to develop this talent.  They danced to some fun songs like Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' and also some more reverent songs.  And of course it wouldn't be a true Indian performance if the power didn't go out.  Sure enough it went out right in the middle of one of the dances.  But luckily this is a frequent occurrence for them and thus not a surprise.  They didn't let it bother them one bit and in fact started making up games to play in the dark while they waited patiently for the power to come back.  As soon as it, they picked up right from where they left off and didn't miss a beat.

When the performances were over it was time to say goodbye to the children.  All of the volunteers lined up in front and then all of the kids lined up according to their houses.  They released each house one at a time to walk down the line and hug us or shake our hand goodbye.  It was so heart-wrenching to say goodbye to them and not know if or when you'll ever see them again.  But it was so much worse to see the kids crying and know that they get attached to volunteers and have to say goodbye to them every 2-3 weeks throughout every summer.  It was so hard to say goodbye to the girls that I had gotten to know the best.  I wished so badly that I could just take them with me.

waiting for the power to come back

getting ready to say goodbye

saying goodbye to the kids