There was much laughter and tears during and after the ceremony, for all too quickly it was becoming clear that we were nearing the end of our time at Basundhara. It was possible that we would have to come again at some point, but we were hoping that this would be the last time, only because that would mean that the passports were easy to come by and that we were on our way to Delhi. This was the only home that Tom had ever known, and we were taking him to a place that was so, so different. He would have to say goodbye to the big, beautiful garden/courtyard that he had seen each day...
...and I would have to say goodbye to one of the dearest women in the world, Soudemani, and to Naomi, the little girl who had captured my heart. I have many favorite pictures from the trip, but obviously this one is right up there. How precious is this?! I love both of them, and I hope and pray that I will be able to see them again someday.
When I got back to the Family Room, everything began to move in warp speed. It was getting late, it was time to leave, and we still needed to meet with the office personnel to receive all of the official documents. I gave Rex the camera and told him to sit quietly and wait. Here's what he captured...
It was tense and it was wonderful. Them asking questions. Us wanting to answer them correctly. Us wanting to get information from them, but not wanting to ask too much. There was a little dance going on, and we were doing the gig blind....but in the end, we must have passed, because they handed us that important manila envelope, and off we went!
Our last stop was to visit once again with the director of Basundhara. It was a summons, really, as in "Saila would like to see you now!" When Saila speaks, you listen, and listen we did! On our first visit to Basundhara, she had questioned us about our love for Tom. On this day, it was more of the same. She wanted to know what we thought of him, how we liked India, if we liked Indian food...and then she ordered a plate of dessert bread to be brought to us. See it in the above picture? It is a treat, and since the orphanage kids were eating it in the courtyard, they brought a huge plate to us. Each of those pastries is hollow on the inside, so you take a spoonful of the green sauce (in yellow dish), pour it onto the center of the pastry, and pop it in your mouth before the whole thing disintegrates. Part sweet, part spicey. They were being devoured by the kids, but for me....well, let's just say that I'm glad Hoffbeast liked them as much as he did (Have I mentioned how much he salivated for most of the trip over all of the delicious food? More than once, he said that he could live in India simply for the food!). Rex and I weren't fans......but I ate them anyway, of course! It would have been rude not to, but I will admit that I milked the whole my-weak-American-stomach-can't-handle-all-the-spices thing a bit.
Upon leaving Saila's office, we had no idea where Tom was. No worries, of course, as he was with people who loved him. Sure enough, one of the nannies had whisked him away for an afternoon snack, and he was sitting shirtless with the other kids, taking in (and enjoying immensely) his last meal at Basundhara.
R (in the middle) and her friends....the next day, a miracle would happen in R's passport case. Stay tuned...
And then it was time to leave....and we did. The drive back to Bhubaneswar that day was very strange. We didn't know what to expect, but we knew that the God who had brought us this far could be trusted to finish it out.
There was one thing that made the drive back a bit easier, and that was a lovely distraction that came our way. Tuna's mother (who lives in Cuttack) needed a ride to Bhubaneswar as she was planning to stay with Tuna's family for a few days. We had lots of extra room in our rental van, so it made perfect sense that we would pick her up on our way back. Of course, we were all so overwhelmed with all that had just occurred at the orphanage that we didn't really know what was going on until she was in the van with us. No matter...we loved meeting Tuna's mom and were so happy that she could join us!
Just before arriving back at our hotel, one of the most precious moments of our trip occurred. I keep writing and deleting, trying to decide how to put the moment into words. In the end, after much insistence on both sides, Tuna's mother gave me her string of pearls. (More like forced me to take them!) It was an extravagent gift that I still don't fully understand, but it certainly was an incredible expression of love that said that even though Tom was leaving Orissa, he would always have "family" there, people who loved him and were praying for him.
I tried over and over to give the pearls back to Tuna's mother, but she refused. With much force. Not wanting to be insensitive or seem as if I didn't appreciate the gift (because I did), I finally agreed to take them...but right then and there I made a decision: someday those pearls will be given to the woman that Tom will marry--perhaps she will even wear them on their wedding day! We know nothing of Tom's birth family, but in giving me/Tom that gift, Tuna's mother handed down a "family" heirloom closer to any other that he has from the land of his birth. I am honored, and I pray that someday, Tom's wife will understand the enormity of the gift as well. I pray for her even now, whomever she may be...and look forward to someday seeing the string of pearls around her neck.
There was one thing that made the drive back a bit easier, and that was a lovely distraction that came our way. Tuna's mother (who lives in Cuttack) needed a ride to Bhubaneswar as she was planning to stay with Tuna's family for a few days. We had lots of extra room in our rental van, so it made perfect sense that we would pick her up on our way back. Of course, we were all so overwhelmed with all that had just occurred at the orphanage that we didn't really know what was going on until she was in the van with us. No matter...we loved meeting Tuna's mom and were so happy that she could join us!
Just before arriving back at our hotel, one of the most precious moments of our trip occurred. I keep writing and deleting, trying to decide how to put the moment into words. In the end, after much insistence on both sides, Tuna's mother gave me her string of pearls. (More like forced me to take them!) It was an extravagent gift that I still don't fully understand, but it certainly was an incredible expression of love that said that even though Tom was leaving Orissa, he would always have "family" there, people who loved him and were praying for him.
I tried over and over to give the pearls back to Tuna's mother, but she refused. With much force. Not wanting to be insensitive or seem as if I didn't appreciate the gift (because I did), I finally agreed to take them...but right then and there I made a decision: someday those pearls will be given to the woman that Tom will marry--perhaps she will even wear them on their wedding day! We know nothing of Tom's birth family, but in giving me/Tom that gift, Tuna's mother handed down a "family" heirloom closer to any other that he has from the land of his birth. I am honored, and I pray that someday, Tom's wife will understand the enormity of the gift as well. I pray for her even now, whomever she may be...and look forward to someday seeing the string of pearls around her neck.
Sleep came easily again that night...
No comments:
Post a Comment