Ratmalana

we spent 3 days at an elder's home called Ratmalana.

when we arrived on the second day they asked us to garden for them.

so we did!

right when we arrived, they said, "we want haircuts."

none of us have ever cut hair before (with the exception of tali, who has trimmed hair), so we figured we would give it our best shot.

i cut alex's hair all on my own, which i am quite proud of!

i gave her a stylish little bob. or something of the sort.

next up was this 26 year old girl who fell off a balcony at age 16, leaving her physically and mentally disabled.

her story is heartbreaking-

her and her mother were really wealthy, but after her father died and she had her accident they were left with almost no money.

so now they live in this elder's home where her mother helps out with the cleaning and cooking. she is the sweetest girl and was so excited to get her hair cut!

it was a group effort.

after we cut her hair and gave her a little hairstyle, we put some makeup on her and painted her nails. she was absolutely beaming! it was really great because she probably has not felt pretty in years, so we hope we helped her to realize how beautiful God made her.

her and her mother!

next i asked if some of the women wanted their nails painted, and they were delighted.

they only wanted one hand painted, though, because they use the other one to cook and clean so i guess it would come right off.

so here is their one painted hand!

and feet.

us with the brother and sister who run ratmalana

the group!

(or at least the part of the group that felt like coming out of their rooms)

next we had a singing sesh.

alex and jesse sang in sinhala for us!

and then charlotte sang for us. it was beautiful!

alex. she has such spunk.

edith, who sat in the back corner by herself all day.

so emily talked to her for a while!

an ominous chair shot

introducing: wanne. he has alzheimer's, and his favorite things to talk about are brooms, going to the zoo, and the fact that he is "30 years old."

here he is showing michelle a broom from his collection.

talking to tali, probably trying to convince her to go visit the zoo.

right before we left (when we were dying from the heat), God decided to give us rain! it was so fun!

overall we enjoyed connecting with the people at ratmalana.

it was fun to serve them and show them God's love by helping them and talking with them!