After a great month in Romania my team and I have left Oradea and made our way to Bihar, India. Romania was a lot of fun, the kids we got to spend time with were really amazing. I was able to spend my mornings working in their Garden (which was really peaceful). They have set it up for the kids and their families, to supply them with fresh produce. In my afternoons I play lots and lots of soccer with them, which was great. It was hard for my team and me to leave this ministry behind, we felt like we really connected with this group of kids, and feel blessed to have formed some deep relationships with them, but the month was wearing on me as well, so I was a little ready to go. My body was constantly tired and my energy level very low. Most times I wasn't sure how I was going to run around and deal with their high intensity, but through the grace of God every time we would hang out with the kids I would forget how tired I was and run around and get crazy until it was dinner time. I will admit I was a little sad leaving the kids in Romania , but it's nice knowing they are in good hands, and we were able to leave knowing we reached some of them.
We are now ending our first week in India, and things here are crazy. This country is unlike anything I have ever experienced. There are people everywhere, the driving and the roads I could talk about for days upon weeks. Here is all you need to know about them though; the lines are there, sort of, forguidelines, slash if it's night you know where the road is. To drive directly at another car and swerve at the last moment while weaving in and out of cyclists, cows, pedestrians, and goats and their herd while repeatedly hitting the horn is a common practice here in India. It's like playing a game of "Frogger," with out a doubt the most intense driving experience of my life, but our driver could compete with the likes of Michael Schumacher and the rest of the Formula One race squad any day, I am confident in that. The food is amazing! Every meal gets better and better. We are staying with an organization called Gems, which is this huge group with ministries all over India, and we happen to be at probably the one with the most going on at the moment. This place almost has its own village set up within another village. They have schools for K-12, a Bible college, Nursing school, a seamstress trade school for Women in need of a skill set who have come from broken families, a Polio clinic/ home, a hospital with a dentist office, an auto mechanic shop to service all the school bus's and company cars, pre school, barber shop, canteen, and living quarters for all the kids and missionaries and their families. This is just what I can think of right now. They also have a printing press for assignments, and offices dedicated to the survival and organization of the place. A lot has gone on so far in the short time here. We are responsible for the redecorating of one of the preschool buildings, which means we are cleaning and replacing the ceilings and washing and repainting the walls. One really cool thing is, we get to paint cartoon characters of our choosing all over the walls for the kids to enjoy, which should be fun.
Morning in India is dedicated to the preschools, then we have lunch, and after that it's up to us to find whatever ministry we feel we are being called to for the day or week. I got to play my first game of Cricket last Sunday, which was a blast, and a little more difficult than I had imagined it to be, but lots of fun. At night from seven to eight or eight thirty they play volleyball and Badminton, which my friend Logan and I have been getting down on. We have been hanging out with the kids with Polio, singing songs and playing games, the kids are super funny and a joy to be around. I played soccer with about eighty little kids on campus, which was extremely chaotic and didn't really go as I thought it would. They kept asking me to pick the ball up and kick it as high as I could, and rejoice with screams and laughter if it did in fact go high. They were very high energy and ask us back, but I'm not sure if I can handle much more of a crowd of fifteen or twenty kids hanging on my arms and legs every step I take, we will see. Our escorts and contacts are some really great guys, we do morning devotion with them and they help us out with whatever we need and also translate for us. I played a game of chess with one of them last night and he annihilated me. It was a good experience and I'm confident I will have his number before the month is up. He also plays the guitar for the church and the morning devotionals, and has lessons everyday from five to six that I'm going to sit in and see if I can't figure out how to play one of these things. The people here are so nice it's crazy, unlike any sort of hospitality I have ever witnessed. The weather is nothing like lovely California, it’s hotter than Hades and super humid as well, I am pretty much constantly sweating and wake up sweating too. It has been taking some getting used to, but I’ve never looked forward to a cold shower so much, that's for sure. The family putting us up in their house is really great people as well. The man of the house Joseph has been feeding this flock of doves every morning on the roof of the house for a good while now and has given me the go ahead to take over, which since this morning is really cool. The birds are beautiful and it's really peaceful on the roof, a great place to get some time to myself before the madness of the day begins. I am so glad we have been placed here, and have the good fortune to witness and be a part of something big going on in India.
We are now ending our first week in India, and things here are crazy. This country is unlike anything I have ever experienced. There are people everywhere, the driving and the roads I could talk about for days upon weeks. Here is all you need to know about them though; the lines are there, sort of, forguidelines, slash if it's night you know where the road is. To drive directly at another car and swerve at the last moment while weaving in and out of cyclists, cows, pedestrians, and goats and their herd while repeatedly hitting the horn is a common practice here in India. It's like playing a game of "Frogger," with out a doubt the most intense driving experience of my life, but our driver could compete with the likes of Michael Schumacher and the rest of the Formula One race squad any day, I am confident in that. The food is amazing! Every meal gets better and better. We are staying with an organization called Gems, which is this huge group with ministries all over India, and we happen to be at probably the one with the most going on at the moment. This place almost has its own village set up within another village. They have schools for K-12, a Bible college, Nursing school, a seamstress trade school for Women in need of a skill set who have come from broken families, a Polio clinic/ home, a hospital with a dentist office, an auto mechanic shop to service all the school bus's and company cars, pre school, barber shop, canteen, and living quarters for all the kids and missionaries and their families. This is just what I can think of right now. They also have a printing press for assignments, and offices dedicated to the survival and organization of the place. A lot has gone on so far in the short time here. We are responsible for the redecorating of one of the preschool buildings, which means we are cleaning and replacing the ceilings and washing and repainting the walls. One really cool thing is, we get to paint cartoon characters of our choosing all over the walls for the kids to enjoy, which should be fun.
Morning in India is dedicated to the preschools, then we have lunch, and after that it's up to us to find whatever ministry we feel we are being called to for the day or week. I got to play my first game of Cricket last Sunday, which was a blast, and a little more difficult than I had imagined it to be, but lots of fun. At night from seven to eight or eight thirty they play volleyball and Badminton, which my friend Logan and I have been getting down on. We have been hanging out with the kids with Polio, singing songs and playing games, the kids are super funny and a joy to be around. I played soccer with about eighty little kids on campus, which was extremely chaotic and didn't really go as I thought it would. They kept asking me to pick the ball up and kick it as high as I could, and rejoice with screams and laughter if it did in fact go high. They were very high energy and ask us back, but I'm not sure if I can handle much more of a crowd of fifteen or twenty kids hanging on my arms and legs every step I take, we will see. Our escorts and contacts are some really great guys, we do morning devotion with them and they help us out with whatever we need and also translate for us. I played a game of chess with one of them last night and he annihilated me. It was a good experience and I'm confident I will have his number before the month is up. He also plays the guitar for the church and the morning devotionals, and has lessons everyday from five to six that I'm going to sit in and see if I can't figure out how to play one of these things. The people here are so nice it's crazy, unlike any sort of hospitality I have ever witnessed. The weather is nothing like lovely California, it’s hotter than Hades and super humid as well, I am pretty much constantly sweating and wake up sweating too. It has been taking some getting used to, but I’ve never looked forward to a cold shower so much, that's for sure. The family putting us up in their house is really great people as well. The man of the house Joseph has been feeding this flock of doves every morning on the roof of the house for a good while now and has given me the go ahead to take over, which since this morning is really cool. The birds are beautiful and it's really peaceful on the roof, a great place to get some time to myself before the madness of the day begins. I am so glad we have been placed here, and have the good fortune to witness and be a part of something big going on in India.
To all my supporters and my friends and family back home. I miss and love all of you, and can't thank you enough for your support and prayers. Without you people this wouldn't be possible and my group is absolutely thankful too. We are all being well taken care of and are healthy as of this moment. We are praying for all of you and I can't wait to find time again to have a few moments to write more and fill you in on all of the stuff going on. I will admit I have been slacking on the blogs, but will let you know most days I am just too tapped to get my brain working by the end of the day. Forgive me and I will try to be more enthusiastic and motivated to get these things pumped out. In the mean time thanks and God bless.
Hanging with the kids on the trampoline
Me and my new friends from the Garden
the view from the roof out back
the Doves that get fed on the roof. They are awesome!
