Here are the things I’m loving about India: the clothes, the living conditions (Western toilet, Wifi in the house, shelves, beds, hot shower), the flowers and other plants, KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks, street food, the fact that we have a legit schedule for the first time on the Race, the ministry.
And the kids. Did I mention the kids?
This month my team is working with Sarah’s Covenant Homes, which I am SUPER excited about! It’s a branch of a large organization called India Christian Ministries. Sarah’s Covenant Homes provides care for orphaned or abandoned children who have a wide range of special needs. They have four homes – Joy, Jubilee, Courage, and Rescue – each staffed by American “foster moms,” Indian ayahs (caregivers), nurses, teachers, and “cleaning aunties.” The kids and staff refer to us as “sisters.” It’s an awesome ministry! You can read more about SCH at http://icmin.in/project/sch/.
I mentioned the legit schedule. Here’s how my weekdays look here: from 10-1 I get to help with preschool at Courage House. There are around 10 kids who mostly live in Courage House that attend the preschool. We do circle time, centers, and outside play. Then I have a 3-hour break for lunch and free time. Sometimes we walk to a street vendor to get food, and sometimes I come back to Joy House (where my team is staying) and make PB&J. The street food is so good – especially when you remember to say “no spice!” I can get a big plate of chicken fried rice for 45 rupees (66 rupees=$1). Then from 4-6, I go to Rescue House. For one hour I have one-on-one time with a little girl who has cerebral palsy. My main jobs are to hold and cuddle her, sing to her, read to her, and just generally be a loving person for her. For the second hour I have one-on-one time with an active toddler who, I’m told, is quite the attention-seeker. I basically do fun preschool stuff with her, like reading, blowing bubbles, doing puzzles, and playing with shaving cream. The teacher, an American, also said she might have me start working on some speech therapy with her. At 6 we are technically done for the day, but we come home to a house full of little girls. They are more than happy to include us in their 7-8pm movie time!
I’m excited to be in this place for Christmas. My team lives in Joy House, with 18 girls from ages 2-12 (most are school age). I think celebrating Christmas with them is going to be awesome!
I know that’s a fairly quick update, but we actually only started ministry last Friday (prior to that we were together as a squad for some rebooting time). As I spend more time with the kids I’m sure the blogs will become more frequent!
Thanks, as always, for being a part of my journey!
