I still haven't gotten a definite answer on when this dump church started. There is a whole lot of "Did we come here last year?" and "Hey this is where the guys all got out to help push that broken truck!" But anyway, this church was built in the slums surrounding the dump within the last 2 years. Either way, we got to visit it yesterday.
We left the orphanage after breakfast and headed into a new part of town. Right away I began to notice the conditions getting worse. I can't put my finger on what the changes were exactly. Something about more trash and shabbier huts. Fewer finished roofs and more palm leaf covered huts. Anyway, we got to the church, a small one room cinder block building filled with women and children. Observation number 2, there were no men other than the pastors there. We were ushered into the front of the crowded room. I skillfully avoided getting put into a plastic chair facing the congregation, feeling like some kind of sweaty, uncomfortable idol, and instead took a seat in the middle of the small group of kids. Kelly gave a message on shepherds again, or I think he did, I wasn't really paying attention. Both the kids and the adults seemed to have more lax social rules about kids and white people and paying attention. I tried to get one little girl on my lap, but she was too scared. I asked a little boy next to me and he climbed right into my lap. This may sound a little odd, but I was delighted to find out that he was a little slow! I couldn't understand what he said when I asked him his name and his reactions were typical of someone with intelligence issues, but he that only made him even more adorable. He was the first Indian child that I interacted with that took some creative initiative. He started playing with my hands and next thing I know, the was pretending to feed me with his hands! Needless to say, I was delighted, if we had been outside, we could have started pretending we were frogs or something. Another girl sitting by me was exceptionally smart and obviously wanted to interact as well, soon we were all playing with each others hands and exchanging kisses on the cheek. When the service was over they promptly grabbed my hands and were smiling broadly. I was soon bombarded with widows wanting prayer, but the kids stayed by my side the whole time (Adam had to wade through the crowd and save me when it was time to leave). I could have stayed at that church a lot longer. These people were hungry to know us more and they were hungry for God, I would love to explain to them that knowing us more and knowing God more don't aren't really interrelated. It is something I felt many of the people we met didn't understand, but I have a strong feeling that is because there is so much about this culture that I don't understand.
Its funny, but I am beginning to fully appreciate the truth in the Bible's insistence that the poor are blessed and the meek will inherit the earth. Blessed are the hungry. The more people know they are weak, the more they hunger after God.
This is the reason why I think the majority of Kiran's churches are made up of women, of widows. Once a woman's husband is gone, either by accident, suicide, or abandonment, a woman is doomed to be poor and helpless, even as young as 25. She has no dowry and with the added burden of children the chances of remarrying are very slim and jobs for women are not enough to sustain a family comfortably. These women know they are in trouble. They know they need the help of a some one more powerful. So when Kiran comes and proclaims the Good News of a protector and helper, it is the women who answer the call first. It takes a while for the men to follow.
We are in Hyderabad now. The team is slowly leaving. Kelly leaves tonight and Nico leaves very early tomorrow morning. Pray for safe travel for all of us and pray for protection and provision for the orphanage. The Kingdom is here!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Gift of Giving
Its Christmas day! Not sure of the schedule but there is a trip planned to the dump church. Last year there were plans to build a church in the slums by the dump. The plans were successful and we get to go celebrate Christmas with the people there!
We started our Christmas celebration early yesterday by giving the gifts to the kids. Kiran started out talking to the kids and having them yell out various thank you messages which we caught on tape. Next he called up one of the youngest kids and blindfolded him and had him pick out a bag at random. He picked out the gift for the one boy who had a birthday that day! Everyone clapped and cheered as the boy pulled out the items in his gift bad one by one. Kiran translated the Christmas card in his gift and everyone got really excited. Next he started calling out names one by one. There was far less chaos than I expected. Even with the excitement of receiving gifts, the kids were well disciplined enough to sit still and wait for their name to be called. Watching their faces as they took each and every item out of the bag was adorable. We got lots of cute pictures of the kids showing us their Christmas cards or pictures. I think every team member saw Lotty’s picture. The kids would take out their brush or comb and try it on their hair or they would mime brushing their teeth with the toothbrush.
I don’t think I fully realized the impact the gifts would make on each child. I know that if I got a gift of wash cloth and tooth brush when I was a child, I would have been disappointed. Kind of like getting the proverbial Christmas gift of woolen socks. We knew the kids would be grateful since they have so little, but it was something else to see them downright excited! These kids had never really been given a gift all of their own before. We had them make stockings out of felt and hang them up in their room. Each day we would place a small gift like pencils or candy in the stockings. The expectation on the kids faces each night was precious. They didn’t even devour the candy right away, but they would run around holding their candy cane close, showing it to us and their friends, savoring it. At first glance, it felt like we were merely introducing materialistic American culture to these kids, but I don’t think that will be the net effect. I think there is a real chance these kids have gained a better appreciation of giving, and a better appreciation of the gift God gave us in His Son.
We started our Christmas celebration early yesterday by giving the gifts to the kids. Kiran started out talking to the kids and having them yell out various thank you messages which we caught on tape. Next he called up one of the youngest kids and blindfolded him and had him pick out a bag at random. He picked out the gift for the one boy who had a birthday that day! Everyone clapped and cheered as the boy pulled out the items in his gift bad one by one. Kiran translated the Christmas card in his gift and everyone got really excited. Next he started calling out names one by one. There was far less chaos than I expected. Even with the excitement of receiving gifts, the kids were well disciplined enough to sit still and wait for their name to be called. Watching their faces as they took each and every item out of the bag was adorable. We got lots of cute pictures of the kids showing us their Christmas cards or pictures. I think every team member saw Lotty’s picture. The kids would take out their brush or comb and try it on their hair or they would mime brushing their teeth with the toothbrush.
I don’t think I fully realized the impact the gifts would make on each child. I know that if I got a gift of wash cloth and tooth brush when I was a child, I would have been disappointed. Kind of like getting the proverbial Christmas gift of woolen socks. We knew the kids would be grateful since they have so little, but it was something else to see them downright excited! These kids had never really been given a gift all of their own before. We had them make stockings out of felt and hang them up in their room. Each day we would place a small gift like pencils or candy in the stockings. The expectation on the kids faces each night was precious. They didn’t even devour the candy right away, but they would run around holding their candy cane close, showing it to us and their friends, savoring it. At first glance, it felt like we were merely introducing materialistic American culture to these kids, but I don’t think that will be the net effect. I think there is a real chance these kids have gained a better appreciation of giving, and a better appreciation of the gift God gave us in His Son.
Christmas in India
One year at Hartland camp, the theme was Christmas in July. It never really felt like Christmas because it was quite warm. I am experiencing a similar phenomenon here. There are no green garlands or sprigs of mistletoe. I don’t think they even have mistletoe here. The spirit of Christmas isn’t completely absent, it just feels different. On Wednesday evening the orphanage hosted a Christmas show for the children from the orphanage, the local church and children from the community. The kids prepared different dances and songs as well as a Christmas pageant where they acted out the story of Jesus’ birth complete with song finale and little kids acting like sheep. The team shared our rendition of “Go Tell it on the Mountain”. We got a few weird looks; I don’t the whole Gospel style has gained a whole lot of popularity in India yet. We also prepared a skit based on the book Just as You Are by Max Lucado. I got cast as the dancer again… of course. The most interesting part of the evening was our costumes. Kiran’s wife Lakshmi insisted we all wear sari’s. She produced a gorgeous teal and gold sari borrowed from her sister for me to wear. The thing with saris is that they don’t really provide a whole lot of coverage in the midriff area, which I usually avoid showing with vehemence. But we all sucked it up (or in) and wore them with pride. It was quite a hit. I have to say, I was extremely glad of my Jr. Miss experience at the time. I was able to stand on a stage and smile and perform while extremely uncomfortable.
The crowning moment of the night was dinner. We fed over 400 people, about 150 of them were from the surrounding area, most Hindu children. Best of all, the team was allowed to serve them! I got to walk around with a giant bowl of rice and serve everyone who asked. There were a few groups of girls who would call me over and volunteer each other for more rice even though none of them actually wanted more. They just wanted me to walk over to them, because I am just that cool for some reason. We were all exhausted by the end, but it was worth everything it took.
Nothing like this had ever been at the orphanage. We advertized by loud speaker to the community, the staff prepared a large meal. 100 more kids than Kiran planned showed up! Don’t worry, there was still plenty of chicken curry. After all of it was over, we sat down for dinner and we were all smiling and laughing. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We just shared a real Gospel Message with over 100 kids who had never heard it before! We just blessed an entire community in a real tangible way! Kiran was smiling and excited. He hopes to do this again next year but on an even larger scale. Renting out a building and inviting people from the surrounding community with over 1000 children attending!
Yesterday we put the Christmas gifts we brought from the States into the bags the kids decorated earlier this week, and we plan on handing the gifts out today. We have a system where every child will write a thank you note to the person who gave them the gift. Let’s pray that it works.
Our system is going to be the foundation for the child sponsorship we hope to start up for this orphanage. CTL isn’t getting enough money to completely support the children here, so Pastor Kiran is forced to go into debt to support the kids with things like medical care and school supplies. If we can create a system to get the word out to people and let them know what their money would be going for, we could really help this orphanage thrive so Kiran could take in more kids and build another story so he could keep the older girls at the orphanage. Pray that would be able to come up with a system that is fair and completely safe for the kids. Also, pray that the orphanage would receive the money it needs to multiply its influence.
PS this post is from Friday morning.
The crowning moment of the night was dinner. We fed over 400 people, about 150 of them were from the surrounding area, most Hindu children. Best of all, the team was allowed to serve them! I got to walk around with a giant bowl of rice and serve everyone who asked. There were a few groups of girls who would call me over and volunteer each other for more rice even though none of them actually wanted more. They just wanted me to walk over to them, because I am just that cool for some reason. We were all exhausted by the end, but it was worth everything it took.
Nothing like this had ever been at the orphanage. We advertized by loud speaker to the community, the staff prepared a large meal. 100 more kids than Kiran planned showed up! Don’t worry, there was still plenty of chicken curry. After all of it was over, we sat down for dinner and we were all smiling and laughing. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We just shared a real Gospel Message with over 100 kids who had never heard it before! We just blessed an entire community in a real tangible way! Kiran was smiling and excited. He hopes to do this again next year but on an even larger scale. Renting out a building and inviting people from the surrounding community with over 1000 children attending!
Yesterday we put the Christmas gifts we brought from the States into the bags the kids decorated earlier this week, and we plan on handing the gifts out today. We have a system where every child will write a thank you note to the person who gave them the gift. Let’s pray that it works.
Our system is going to be the foundation for the child sponsorship we hope to start up for this orphanage. CTL isn’t getting enough money to completely support the children here, so Pastor Kiran is forced to go into debt to support the kids with things like medical care and school supplies. If we can create a system to get the word out to people and let them know what their money would be going for, we could really help this orphanage thrive so Kiran could take in more kids and build another story so he could keep the older girls at the orphanage. Pray that would be able to come up with a system that is fair and completely safe for the kids. Also, pray that the orphanage would receive the money it needs to multiply its influence.
PS this post is from Friday morning.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Lesson 1
It’s funny, I felt an extremely strong calling to come on this trip even before my parents asked me if I wanted to go. However, this entire time, I have never felt more useless. It’s not the language barrier, I went to Mexico without speaking a bit of Spanish and I didn’t feel this useless. Don’t get me wrong, I am still being put to use. The culture is such that people in the villages will flock to see white people. If you are white, it is assumed that you are Christian and have a special connection with God. Pastor Kiran uses this to his advantage, gathering large crowds of people and sharing the Good News, in our case, the Christmas story. Since none of us speak Telegu, Kiran will translate the message that Kelly shares and the rest of us sit there and look pretty. Afterwards we shake everyone’s hand multiple times and share various greetings. Many of the people will ask us to pray for them by putting our hand on their head and bowing. We say a prayer and exchange another greeting and then move on to the next person.
This may seem pretty pointless, but the impact it has made is profound. The few who speak English will ask us about a previous team, inquiring after the individual members by name. The previous teams have done exactly what we have done, sharing a message, handing out some candy, praying… but they have had a tremendous impact and we know the people will respond the same way to us.
But all of this doesn’t answer the question of why God called me in particular. In fact, the first few days were extremely frustrating. Any person could do what I am doing. Literally any person, a walking breathing robot that looked like a white person could do my job. But I think I am beginning to figure out why God called me in particular. He is teaching me about ministry. The lessons have been swift and numerous.
The first lesson is of course about humility. I think pride in all of its forms will be a life-long lesson for me, since it seems to come up no matter what season I am in spiritually. In Ephesians Paul says that we should forgive each other’s faults and forgive those who offend us. Forgiveness is an act of tremendous humility. I have written in my Bible next to this verse that ‘Forgiveness isn’t about ignoring the offense, it is a release.’ For me this requires a tremendous amount of humility. I want to fix it. I want someone to say they were wrong, I want retribution! But Jesus’ blood covered all of that, and I need to humble myself enough to release it up to Him for redemption.
This whole trip has been a sort of object lesson about having faith in God’s provision. I have been able to see first had what happens when a believer throws themselves completely into service for God without leaving God room to work. When God radically changes your life, it is easy to want to do everything for Him, but in our pitiful human ways, we can try so hard to please God that we lose the whole point. God appointed Gideon as a judge and told him to rescue Israel from the Midionites. He then stripped away 99% of Gideon’s army and delivered the Midionite army into his hands in an awesome display of the power of His Spirit. Why did God have to strip away the vast majority of Gideon’s army? Wasn’t the point of the whole this to deliver Israel from her oppressors? The answer is no. God did want to deliver his people, but he also needed them to understand that He was their heavenly Father who loved to give them good gifts. God isn’t an indifferent taskmaster, sending us into a mine field and ordering us to get to the other side. All he wants from us is to say yes. When we try to do more and take God’s mission into our own hands, the results are stress and tears and pain. It is a lesson I began to learn about a year ago, but seeing the direct result has really made the message stick. Sorry if this seems a little vague. Some of this has been inspired by things that I don’t have the authority to put on the internet…
In conclusion, God didn’t bring me here to break my heart more. I can say with confidence that He has already accomplished that. But he brought me here so that I can be more effective in any future ministries.
This may seem pretty pointless, but the impact it has made is profound. The few who speak English will ask us about a previous team, inquiring after the individual members by name. The previous teams have done exactly what we have done, sharing a message, handing out some candy, praying… but they have had a tremendous impact and we know the people will respond the same way to us.
But all of this doesn’t answer the question of why God called me in particular. In fact, the first few days were extremely frustrating. Any person could do what I am doing. Literally any person, a walking breathing robot that looked like a white person could do my job. But I think I am beginning to figure out why God called me in particular. He is teaching me about ministry. The lessons have been swift and numerous.
The first lesson is of course about humility. I think pride in all of its forms will be a life-long lesson for me, since it seems to come up no matter what season I am in spiritually. In Ephesians Paul says that we should forgive each other’s faults and forgive those who offend us. Forgiveness is an act of tremendous humility. I have written in my Bible next to this verse that ‘Forgiveness isn’t about ignoring the offense, it is a release.’ For me this requires a tremendous amount of humility. I want to fix it. I want someone to say they were wrong, I want retribution! But Jesus’ blood covered all of that, and I need to humble myself enough to release it up to Him for redemption.
This whole trip has been a sort of object lesson about having faith in God’s provision. I have been able to see first had what happens when a believer throws themselves completely into service for God without leaving God room to work. When God radically changes your life, it is easy to want to do everything for Him, but in our pitiful human ways, we can try so hard to please God that we lose the whole point. God appointed Gideon as a judge and told him to rescue Israel from the Midionites. He then stripped away 99% of Gideon’s army and delivered the Midionite army into his hands in an awesome display of the power of His Spirit. Why did God have to strip away the vast majority of Gideon’s army? Wasn’t the point of the whole this to deliver Israel from her oppressors? The answer is no. God did want to deliver his people, but he also needed them to understand that He was their heavenly Father who loved to give them good gifts. God isn’t an indifferent taskmaster, sending us into a mine field and ordering us to get to the other side. All he wants from us is to say yes. When we try to do more and take God’s mission into our own hands, the results are stress and tears and pain. It is a lesson I began to learn about a year ago, but seeing the direct result has really made the message stick. Sorry if this seems a little vague. Some of this has been inspired by things that I don’t have the authority to put on the internet…
In conclusion, God didn’t bring me here to break my heart more. I can say with confidence that He has already accomplished that. But he brought me here so that I can be more effective in any future ministries.
Friday, December 17, 2010
My first impression on India
The kids here are crazy well behaved… or maybe they just have the attention span of... something with a really long attention span. The people here take some kind of weird pleasure in feeding you until you burst, then asking you if you want more. The vices that are common in America aren’t universal. For example, Indians don’t lock their bikes if they are just going inside for a quick minute. No one has told me to watch my bag or my pockets when I am in public.
The past few days were a blur of travel and food and introductions, we went to villages were Pastor Kiran has a church and shared a message, gave candy and prayed for people. Today, finally, we got to do a little bit of what we had planned, a sort of abbreviated VBS for the kids in the orphanage. Because of scheduling, we had to combine two half days into one full day. That meant that we got to have all the fun, chaotic, hilarious moments with the kids and the language barriers. For part of the day, we read a children’s story to all 115 children. Nico would read one sentence and the translator would talk for a good paragraph or two, including a few question answered by the kids. It was pretty entertaining to guess what they were saying when they were ‘translating.’
My favorite part of the day was leading the children in learning songs. Dana and I would perform the song for the kids and then our translator would have the kids learn the songs by rote. Then we would all sing together and learn the motions. There was lots of jumping and clapping and waving. The kookier we got, the more fun the kids had. I loved the little boys in front who would completely forget about singing and just jump during the entire verse, completely off beat and completely oblivious.
We are all exhausted from the long day, but we are wrapping up VBS tomorrow. I am definitely excited to give the kids their Christmas present after all the hard work from so many different people. I know the kids will love it and it will be a powerful blessing for the kids.
One prayer request, yesterday we visited a tribal village and we shared a Gospel story in a little one room school house where a church meets. The area is strongly Hindu, but because everyone there is an untouchable, no one cares that they are learning about Jesus. They were very, very poor. It was obvious that they don’t have the money for food, hygiene, etc. All of the kids faces were dirty and their hair and clothes in disarray. Most of their protein comes from any snakes or rats that they catch. We found out afterward that about 50% of the village has HIV. With sexual abuse with the community, it has been hard to control the spread. We met Evangeline there. She is a 9 year old girl who was left on the street when she was 6. During her three years on her own, she was raped and abused regularly by strangers and passersby. During this time she was infected with HIV and she now has TB. It is against the law for her to stay in the orphanage with the other children, so Kiran pays a widow to take care of her. After police officers called Kiran and asked him to take care of her, he choose this village because it is the place she felt the most comfortable and it is quite likely that she is from the area since her facial features seem to match. She is still obviously scarred from her three years of trauma. She never smiled or engaged in the story, but kept to herself. It was more than shyness, she still doesn’t trust people. So pray for healing over her body and her life.
The past few days were a blur of travel and food and introductions, we went to villages were Pastor Kiran has a church and shared a message, gave candy and prayed for people. Today, finally, we got to do a little bit of what we had planned, a sort of abbreviated VBS for the kids in the orphanage. Because of scheduling, we had to combine two half days into one full day. That meant that we got to have all the fun, chaotic, hilarious moments with the kids and the language barriers. For part of the day, we read a children’s story to all 115 children. Nico would read one sentence and the translator would talk for a good paragraph or two, including a few question answered by the kids. It was pretty entertaining to guess what they were saying when they were ‘translating.’
My favorite part of the day was leading the children in learning songs. Dana and I would perform the song for the kids and then our translator would have the kids learn the songs by rote. Then we would all sing together and learn the motions. There was lots of jumping and clapping and waving. The kookier we got, the more fun the kids had. I loved the little boys in front who would completely forget about singing and just jump during the entire verse, completely off beat and completely oblivious.
We are all exhausted from the long day, but we are wrapping up VBS tomorrow. I am definitely excited to give the kids their Christmas present after all the hard work from so many different people. I know the kids will love it and it will be a powerful blessing for the kids.
One prayer request, yesterday we visited a tribal village and we shared a Gospel story in a little one room school house where a church meets. The area is strongly Hindu, but because everyone there is an untouchable, no one cares that they are learning about Jesus. They were very, very poor. It was obvious that they don’t have the money for food, hygiene, etc. All of the kids faces were dirty and their hair and clothes in disarray. Most of their protein comes from any snakes or rats that they catch. We found out afterward that about 50% of the village has HIV. With sexual abuse with the community, it has been hard to control the spread. We met Evangeline there. She is a 9 year old girl who was left on the street when she was 6. During her three years on her own, she was raped and abused regularly by strangers and passersby. During this time she was infected with HIV and she now has TB. It is against the law for her to stay in the orphanage with the other children, so Kiran pays a widow to take care of her. After police officers called Kiran and asked him to take care of her, he choose this village because it is the place she felt the most comfortable and it is quite likely that she is from the area since her facial features seem to match. She is still obviously scarred from her three years of trauma. She never smiled or engaged in the story, but kept to herself. It was more than shyness, she still doesn’t trust people. So pray for healing over her body and her life.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Where did Monday go?
We arrived safely in Hyderabad at about 5 am this Tuesday morning (Indian time). The first 10 hour flight wasn’t too bad. We all had aisle seats near each other and the seat next to me was empty so I was able to stretch out a bit. Very nice.
When we arrived in London, we met up with Nico, a good friend from Romania who will be part of the team this trip. After a short but joyous reunion, we climbed aboard the plane and left London for yet another 10 hour flight. This one was a bit more difficult. There were 4, yes 4, infants sitting in the bulkhead row in front of me and it seemed like they had organized a rotation, crying in turns so that there was never more than a half hour of silence. I did manage to catch a small nap, since I can sleep almost anywhere as some of you know, but I can’t say I enjoyed the experience. It is all over now though. Yay! We got a hotel in the city to wait for our 10 hour train ride this evening. After a shower, breakfast, and a walk, I feel much better.
My first impressions of India have been that it’s like Romania and Mexico combined. The side streets are dirty and shoddily paved in a Spring Break Mexico Trip kind of way. But the door locks and the air fresheners are distinctly Romanian. The incessant honking, however, is distinctly Indian. I have already noticed the three of us girls are getting quite a few second looks from pretty much every Indian man. I am still not sure whether I should be flattered or creeped out. Maybe a little of both.
I have already seen many people sleeping on the sidewalks whose only possession seemed to be the thin blanket covering them. There was one man with only one foot sliding down the street on his bottom. It’s the kind of thing that is common in the poorer places of the world, I’ve seen it many times before, but it still makes my heart ache. It is so easy to feel defeated by the sheer magnitude of need in any place I visit. Sometimes I feel so callous, but I have to turn the emotions a notch down and focus on the task at hand.
Having a language barrier all over again is really annoying. I know that it is something everyone has to overcome, but after hurdling one barrier in Romania, being back at square one in India is frustrating. On a lighter note, it has provided for some entertaining moments. For example, the word ‘guy’ pronounced with an Indian accent may sound like the word ‘gay.’ It’s terribly funny when you are running on as little sleep as we all are. Also, hearing Nico converse in slightly Romanian accented English with Dileep in his Indian accented English is something that could entertain me for hours.
Anyways, sorry there aren’t any pictures (and probably won’t be many since I will have to bum all my pictures off of other people), but I can assure you that everyone is doing fine. All the adorableness begins tomorrow. You can’t go wrong with crafts and songs! Please continue praying for safe travel as we finish the last leg of out journey.
When we arrived in London, we met up with Nico, a good friend from Romania who will be part of the team this trip. After a short but joyous reunion, we climbed aboard the plane and left London for yet another 10 hour flight. This one was a bit more difficult. There were 4, yes 4, infants sitting in the bulkhead row in front of me and it seemed like they had organized a rotation, crying in turns so that there was never more than a half hour of silence. I did manage to catch a small nap, since I can sleep almost anywhere as some of you know, but I can’t say I enjoyed the experience. It is all over now though. Yay! We got a hotel in the city to wait for our 10 hour train ride this evening. After a shower, breakfast, and a walk, I feel much better.
My first impressions of India have been that it’s like Romania and Mexico combined. The side streets are dirty and shoddily paved in a Spring Break Mexico Trip kind of way. But the door locks and the air fresheners are distinctly Romanian. The incessant honking, however, is distinctly Indian. I have already noticed the three of us girls are getting quite a few second looks from pretty much every Indian man. I am still not sure whether I should be flattered or creeped out. Maybe a little of both.
I have already seen many people sleeping on the sidewalks whose only possession seemed to be the thin blanket covering them. There was one man with only one foot sliding down the street on his bottom. It’s the kind of thing that is common in the poorer places of the world, I’ve seen it many times before, but it still makes my heart ache. It is so easy to feel defeated by the sheer magnitude of need in any place I visit. Sometimes I feel so callous, but I have to turn the emotions a notch down and focus on the task at hand.
Having a language barrier all over again is really annoying. I know that it is something everyone has to overcome, but after hurdling one barrier in Romania, being back at square one in India is frustrating. On a lighter note, it has provided for some entertaining moments. For example, the word ‘guy’ pronounced with an Indian accent may sound like the word ‘gay.’ It’s terribly funny when you are running on as little sleep as we all are. Also, hearing Nico converse in slightly Romanian accented English with Dileep in his Indian accented English is something that could entertain me for hours.
Anyways, sorry there aren’t any pictures (and probably won’t be many since I will have to bum all my pictures off of other people), but I can assure you that everyone is doing fine. All the adorableness begins tomorrow. You can’t go wrong with crafts and songs! Please continue praying for safe travel as we finish the last leg of out journey.
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