The creases in Sister Eugenia Muething face run deep. For 47 years, she served in India teaching school children. When she returned to the United States, much has changed for the 87-year-old nun, little to her liking.

"I usually carry my rosary beads when I walk outside" says Sister Eugenia while on her way to the Heritage house. An acid wash denim backpack picked up in Nepal is stuffed with the morning's essentials. "I just love bags. When I was in India I had dozens."

Sister Eugenia finds solitude during morning prayers in Russell Hall Chapel, where a single light provides enough illumination for reading a weathered hymnal. Each morning, she finds her way there an hour before the fall sunrise and well before many of her fellow sisters.

Heated towels warm a cold basement-and fill a nun's early morning hours. Sister Eugenia Muething doesn't have to perform the task, but helps Russell Hall's busy cleaning staff with her perfectly aligned folds and corners. Morning prayer bridges the time between loads.

Sister Eugenia grabs the hands of people along the way. Examining the people around Sister Eugenia, it quickly becomes apparent how much those around her love and care Despite her hurry, there's time for a quick touch and kind words for one of the lay convent workers. Sister Eugenia is always happy to see whoever she comes across, casting off a sometimes gruff intellectual disposition with wide eyes and a big smile.

"I still have my mind," says remarkably fit Sister Eugenia whose thick sun glasses protect old eyes as she walks to a waiting pile of paperwork. The 87-year-old nun spent almost half of her religious service teaching in India. There, she stayed faithful to the traditional Catholic practices she left behind in 1952?and was surprised to learn her church had not. Steadfast in traditional Catholicism, her views were not kept by the church she left behind in 1952. is a time capsule personified. enriched in knowledge

Teaching 10-year-old Madeline Dant on the piano is a far cry from her days in Gaya,India where as a teacher she persued a bachelor's degree in classical Hindu Stani music. Stern teachings are softened with an outstretched arm keep the budding musician in line.

A murder mystery brings a crescendo of applause from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who attend the dress rehearsal before opening night. It's f a tradition for the Bardstown/Nelson County Civic Center to invite the sisters to preview the show.

Most mornings start somewhere around 6am with morning prayers in a small chapel attatched to Russell Hall where Sister Eugenia Muething lives but doesn't call home. "I like to sing the hymns in the morning, even if I am croaking at them."