Tonight my team is traveling to a new place in India. This place has a name but I can’t spell it nor do I remember it. We’re taking a bus there and then the pastor we’ll be working with is picking us up and taking us farther. So now we’re off to minister to villages and sleep in a church and who knows the details. I’m excited to be tossed into a new situation much different than what we’ve been in these past two weeks. We’ve been totally blessed here in Ongole. We’ve been working with incredible people and getting to really experience life in India to the fullest. I’m extremely thankful for what India has been thus far.
Just a little bit about what we’ve been up to this week: Yesterday we went to the Home that we’ve been partnered with. We went to clean and to play with the kids. First off we (mostly not me) cleaned out their sewer so it would flow better. The guys took it head on and jumped into the sewer to take out the trash easier. Awesome? Yes. They went at it with a shovel and gloves to pull out tires and rocks and empty coconuts. I was thoroughly impressed by them. India sewage is just a modgepodge of everything and its a blessing to them that theirs can now flow and drain properly. That’s something I will never do again. At least in India.
I fell in love with a kid yesterday. He just got his hearing aid and he is about 10 so he doesn’t know any Telugu. He mirrors what motions you do because he’s trying to learn everything. I taught him the “i love you” symbol in sign language. He wasn’t holding out his thumb though so I wiggled my thumb to get him to stick his out. So then he did the symbol with a wagging thumb and a big smile. He smiles most of the time which only yanks at your heart more. He loves his life. He’s thoroughly happy with all those other kids and the ayas taking care of him. He should be-it’s a wonderful place with wonderful hearts watching over those kids. The ayas (women who devote their days/lives to taking care of these kids) are so selfless, calm, sweet, and thoughtful. It was another blessing just to watch them these past weeks. So here’s a photo of my friend from yesterday:
After playing with the kids for a bit we started to organize their files to speed up the adoption process. I hope this gets finished soon so families can have a serious gift added to their lives. Each of the kids at SCH are precious and are so unique in personality. It’s hard thinking about the fact that I might not see them again. Forcing myself to move on-here’s a picture of the auto ride home. Teresa, our welcoming and incredible contact is on the right. My fab team leader Tabi is in the middle and Ruthpie the wonderful is on the left. In the very back are the brave boys-Phil and Daniel.
and here’s our next door neighboors-look for the monkeys..
