Ok
so I have been talking with my mother a lot this month since we have internet
and she has assured me that I have not been very good at relaying what I do
each month, so mom here it is.
So
our ministry here in Bangalore, India is working in the slums at a school our
contacts have started. These kids go to their schools in hope of knowledge and
in search for a better life. But that’s not all that is given to these kids.
After they are in school from 3 -7:30 learning Math, English and science
they all get in line for dinner. Talking with our contacts they shared that
many of these kids don’t have places to live let alone food to eat. If it was
not for the school our contacts said that the children would go out begging.
Our contacts shared a story with us about one day when the school was closed
and so our contacts decided they would go follow the children to see what they
did if they didn’t have the opportunity for this education. What they saw they
said brought them to tears as they sat in their car watching their two hundred
slum children, go around begging for rupees or food. Begging for whatever would
be given to them. My contacts then decided that this was not going to be the
fate of these children, not only because of how they felt for them but because of
how God feels for these kids.
So we go to the school at 5pm Monday – Friday and we
try to help tutor the kids. I say try because there math is something I have
never seen even if it is written in English. There are about 100 – 200 kids in
three classrooms, with their Indian teachers trying their very hardest.
If I’m not at the school at night I’m either spending
some time with my team playing cards or in my room arguing with A.J. Wagner
about anything we can because we think its fun. Yet the real joy is playing with the three
children they have. There is Sonny who is the eldest and doesn’t let his little
brother Shaun forget it, and of course there is the adorable Grace who is 1
year and 8 months old. This precious girl was not actually born into the
family. She was left on their doorstep and has become the third child to this
wonderful family. Grace is a little stinker though don’t let her adorableness
fool you. Yes she may come out in a dress or be wearing a shirt with cutie
written across it, but she is as crazy as her brothers.
Playing with Grace you have to be ready for her to
come to you when you’re not paying attention to her and then when you do she
will run from you. That is however if you’re not playing music cause if you do
that then she will bang on your door till you open it walk past you and start
swaying on her club foot and dancing off beat course to the music your playing.
Or if you have paint on your computer be ready for her to take control of your
computer and just move the mouse around. Don’t try to help her though because
she will grab your hand as if she is throwing it across the room.
The boys are usually very busy during the week gone
at school before I get up and when they get home its homework and dinner and
then more homework. The weekends though these two young guys will be set up in
front of their TV with the play station 2 turned on playing Need For Speed. Which means if A.J. and I are in our room they
come down and say Uncle Come help me with my game. So we then become the pit
crew for these boys as they race other cars or are trying to evade police
pursuit. Then if they lose help me becomes play this game for me, and beat the
things I can’t. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy it on the contrary I love playing
with these two, it makes me laugh however that help me means do this for me. I
wonder if that’s what I was like when I was child, probably.
