Saturday
My team and I walk into a room the size of a large classroom. Fifty or so kids are seated on the floor, dressed in beautifully-colored clothes characteristic of India. They are seated in perfect rows, four or so across, with near exact spacing between each child. They are not talking or looking around much, but their eyes are fixed on their new visitors. We come in and take our places on the floor, forming the front row, but are soon asked to come and sit on the stage area and face the children as they sing songs and clap. Modhava, their leader, has to motion for them to quiet down because their voices have raised with their excitement. Their singing is as beautiful as their faces.
After the songs, we are again seated on the floor, where Modhava proceeds to introduce us to the children. He begins with John and Scott, our two team leaders, who are asked to take their seats at the long table on the stage. He then introduces Kelly and Evan, the two other boys on our teams, and then “the angels” – all of the ladies, either as a compliment to us or because he can’t remember all eight of our names. We take our seats on either side of the boys.
Modhava tells us that they would like to show honor to us in an Indian way. Some of the older students come into the room with beautiful flower necklaces, and they are presented to each of us individually, followed by applause. We feel like royalty and are taken with emotion at their gesture of hospitality!
We then introduce ourselves one by one, say where we are from, and tell the kids something about ourselves, with the help of Rajish who is translating. He then has several of the children come and dance, and they do so beautifully. Anne brings her guitar from the room and we sing Revelation Song for them. They love it. The children sing some more and several of the boys perform a mime, which portrays a young man who studies the Bible but is distracted by the sin around him. He eventually finds his way back to Jesus. Rajish tells us that this mime has been performed in the surrounding communities during outreach events.
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My team and Team Fugees are working this month and Mercy and Grace, a Christian orphanage in Vijawada, India. We arrived early this morning to a sea of beautiful children waiting for us in the courtyard. They made a sign for us, drew a welcome message in chalk on the stone paving, and sang songs for us.
We are blessed this month for many reasons. For one, Mercy & Grace is a first-time World Race ministry site, which is an exciting opportunity. He refuses to let us pay for our room and board this month, which means that our entire team budget (apprx. $10/day/person) can be used to minister to these children. We don’t yet know what that may look like, but we may be purchasing supplies or organizing a trip for the kids. We are excited to have that opportunity to bless the children here. The weather is unbelievably perfect, and life is pretty easy going so far.
Monday
Modhava would like for the ladies on our team to wear traditional punjabidresses during our time here. We will blend in better and will be more welcome as we visit the local village and church. We went to a local store this afternoon to pick out our new attire. We each purchase 2 punjabi dresses and a sari, which I wasn’t planning to buy while I am here, but they were cheap!! We got ice cream, crammed back into the truck, and headed back to the main junction, where we stopped at a jewelry store where Modhava’s best friend works. He and his family are new Christians, so we prayed that their business would be successful and that they would be a Christian influence in their community.
Tuesday
Apparently, we’re teaching right after lunch! We will be teaching English, math, drawing/crafts, exercise, music, and Bible in pairs. We’ll see how this goes!
