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My heart misses India today. 

The sights, the sounds, the people. I miss that day where I walked into a run down hospital room filled with leprosy patients lined up on beds with hanging heads. I miss the feeling I got when I sang to them, and was filled with an instant and overwhelming love that brought me to so many tears that I couldn't go on. I miss walking out of that room seeing smiles and hearing clapping hands. 

I miss interacting with the leprosy patients. I miss their cute Indian accents greeting me with an Indian hello [vannakam]. I miss holding their hands, most of which had been worn down to simply nubs and knuckles. I miss washing their feet and looking into their eyes. 

I miss going on drives through the "downtown" and seeing the dirty, busy streets that used to gross me out. I miss buying goods off the streets and feeling pretty proud of myself when I got a water bottle for 50 cents. 

Oh do I ever miss the kids--with their unconditional love and cheerfulness that brightened some of my toughest days. I miss their laughs, their "auntie" calls and their tiny hands that would wrap around my own. I miss their brown eyes and white teeth and gorgeous faces that I loved to hold in my hands. 

I miss being hot and not having air conditioning (oh wait..just kidding..definitely don't miss that). 

Most of all I just  miss the tender feelings that I constantly felt over there. I miss having my heart softened and being exposed to a place with so much need. 

I left my heart in India!