“We can’t do great things in this life. We can only do little things with great love.” – Mother Teresa

This quote ran through my head this morning as I hunched over a set of the grottiest, gnarliest toe nails I have ever seen in my life. With my lower back burning and my gag reflex barely in check, I positioned the clippers and pushed down hard enough to send tingles of exertion up the length of my forearm. Still the thick, greying nail would not give. The smell of industrial cleaner and the spilled breakfast on her shirt mingled with the fresh morning air as I shifted positions and tried to get a better angle. When I finally heard the snap followed by the tiny clatter as the clipping joined a host of others in the stainless steel dish, I looked up in time to see her toothy grin and, for a moment, satisfaction replaced my barely-concealed-squeamishness at the morning’s activity.

As I settle into my second week in New Delhi, my respect grows exponentially for Mother Teresa and the wonderful organization she founded. Way back in October, I got schooled by Oprah when she asked, “Do You Want The Millions or Do You Want The Work?” and now I have the chance to sink knee-deep into the work as I remind myself that THIS is what volunteering is REALLY about. I think many of us set off on volunteer adventures with grand illusions of changing the world, but sometimes it’s really about cutting 65 sets of toe and finger nails, spooning curry into the gummy, bird-like mouth of a grandmother with Parkinson’s, and bouncing a mini basketball alongside a sweet faced Indian angel who also happens to have Down’s Syndrome.

If you read my recent post, The Secrets We Keep, you know how much this volunteer placement with Cross-Cultural Solutions has already stretched the (thankfully) elastic boundaries of my comfort zone. Thank you so much for your many supportive comments and emails in response to this post; especially because mere moments after pressing “publish” my post-writing, “vulnerability hangover” set in.

Every day at Mother Teresa’s teaches me how to sit through feeling uncomfortable; how to practice compassion and connect at a soul-level with people who have mental and physical handicaps, and how to accept the outpouring of warmth and love that many of these women are more than willing to share.