Today is Sunday.  On Sunday children around the world usually like to enjoy their day off from school and relax…but not the children of Batwadi Sonar.  As soon as the Japanese students showed up to do seva this morning, all the village kids were waiting for them.  Most of the kids got to help a bit yesterday after school, but today they wanted to be there right from the start.

The kids jumped right in and began carrying sacks of sand, running and laughing up the hill to their village.  Those too little to carry a sack on their own found another kid or Japanese student to help them. Then they would race to the top empty their load and run back down to get another sack.  While watching them its hard not to remember Amma’s story of the squirrel helping in his own small way to build the bridge to Lanka with Hanuman’s army.

During a short water break all the village kids were given a name tag that showed their name in English and Japanese.  The kids were thrilled to show off their Japanese name tags to each other and hear the students call them by name.

All the Japanese students are having so much fun working with these kids…kids living in a small hamlet in a Himalayan valley, without the luxurious distractions of internet, television or mobile phones…kids who cannot think of anything they would rather do on their day off than run up and down a hill all day carrying heavy bags of sand…kids who are inspiring us all with their smiles and joy…kids who are reminding us that where there is love, there is no effort.

– Gautam