Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Greetings from MINNESOTA!!!
4 February 2009
Greetings from Minnesota…the Land of 10,000 Lakes & Home of the Loonie Lady!!!
I’m home again—safe & suffering some jet lag. It was a LONG trip, but I was able to get some sleep along the way.
My plane left Bangalore about 2:30 am Tuesday morning (2 pm Monday afternoon MN time) & I landed in Minneapolis at 6 pm Tuesday evening. My nephew Aaron met me at the airport & we got back to DC about 7:45 pm. My cat, Frosty, set up residence on my lap & even submitted to being brushed quite happily to show his appreciation for my return home.
Yesterday I stayed up all day, unpacking, washing clothes, & straightening things up a bit while finalizing some blog entries & uploading them. I went to bed just after 9 pm (very early for me), but woke up about 3:30 am this morning & couldn’t go back to sleep.
Today I must get the house cleaned because I have company coming for supper & a small Bible study group will be meeting at my house tonight. Since I got up so early, I may need to take a nap later on today so I won’t fall asleep during the Bible study.
I have so many blessings here in the US that I take for granted!!! I MUST choose to thank God for the privileges I have & seek His direction as to how I can share His blessings with those who need my help. Actually, I NEED to help them more than they need my help…I need my priorities changed so I will learn the lessons of unselfishness & the true joy of sharing with others.
Blessings from MINNESOTA…a mission field in some ways more needy than India (because like the Laodicean Church of Revelation, we are satisfied with ourselves & are totally unaware of our abject poverty, blindness & nakedness)…where snow covers the ground & the weather is cold…but my heart is warmed by God’s amazing love & grace for me!!!!!!!!!!
Greetings from Minnesota…the Land of 10,000 Lakes & Home of the Loonie Lady!!!
I’m home again—safe & suffering some jet lag. It was a LONG trip, but I was able to get some sleep along the way.
My plane left Bangalore about 2:30 am Tuesday morning (2 pm Monday afternoon MN time) & I landed in Minneapolis at 6 pm Tuesday evening. My nephew Aaron met me at the airport & we got back to DC about 7:45 pm. My cat, Frosty, set up residence on my lap & even submitted to being brushed quite happily to show his appreciation for my return home.
Yesterday I stayed up all day, unpacking, washing clothes, & straightening things up a bit while finalizing some blog entries & uploading them. I went to bed just after 9 pm (very early for me), but woke up about 3:30 am this morning & couldn’t go back to sleep.
Today I must get the house cleaned because I have company coming for supper & a small Bible study group will be meeting at my house tonight. Since I got up so early, I may need to take a nap later on today so I won’t fall asleep during the Bible study.
I have so many blessings here in the US that I take for granted!!! I MUST choose to thank God for the privileges I have & seek His direction as to how I can share His blessings with those who need my help. Actually, I NEED to help them more than they need my help…I need my priorities changed so I will learn the lessons of unselfishness & the true joy of sharing with others.
Blessings from MINNESOTA…a mission field in some ways more needy than India (because like the Laodicean Church of Revelation, we are satisfied with ourselves & are totally unaware of our abject poverty, blindness & nakedness)…where snow covers the ground & the weather is cold…but my heart is warmed by God’s amazing love & grace for me!!!!!!!!!!
Monday 2 February 2009
Greetings from INDIA Monday 2 February 2009
It’s been a wonderful but sad day!!!
Joy & I couldn’t figure out to get hot water for showers this morning, so we didn’t dawdle around! We met Sue, Vilma & Kotesh for breakfast in the outdoor patio restaurant just after 8:30 am. Since I’m not very fond of Indian food, I ordered plain dosa & ate it without dipping it in the chutney & sauce served with it.
One of our big projects for today was to find one of the FIVE Staples office supply stores Mel had located on the internet for us before we left the school & purchase some plastic file boxes for the medical charts at the school & also some legal-size hanging file folders for Maranatha’s office at the school. We found Staples quickly, but we had to take a circuitous route to get to it because of all the one-way streets. It seemed so strange to see a Staples store in an Indian context. We went inside & started to search. It was fun exploring the store but…they didn’t have any legal size file folders OR file boxes! I had been positive we’d find them there—what a disappointment!!!
Nearby we’d seen a store called Big Bazaar & Sue wanted to get some things there, so we headed there. It was an unusual experience. There were signs outside saying something to the effect that anyone entering this store was accepting their policy of frisking people for security purposes! This store had had three floors & probably is the Indian version of K-Mart. As only God could have arranged things, we had only been inside the store a few seconds when I caught sight of plastic file boxes. Needless to say we were thrilled…and we bought all they had in stock for the school!!! It was a lot of fun exploring this store & checking out all the interesting merchandise for sale. It had a small grocery section with all the ingredients to make Indian food. Sue was delighted to find some canned peaches—a rare treat! In the refrigerated section I even found some small containers of chocolate Silk soymilk!!!
Next on our to-do list for today was to visit Lowry Adventist College. Founded in 1915 & located in the outskirts of Bangalore, the college stretches out over 50 acres of land & offers several Bachelor & Masters programs of study. Lowry Adventist College serves 2000 students. We ran into Sunny (the Head Master at Cuddapah School’s son) who is studying Computer Technology at Lowry. Kotesh took us to the office of the Vice President, Dr. T. Christian Raj, who gave us some refreshments & a tour of the campus. I really enjoyed visiting this institution that has had such an influence promoting Christianity in India.
When we left Lowry, it was time to head for the airport for Joy to catch her flight to Delhi. Before bidding her goodbye, we gathered around her & had prayer together for the last time.
We had been searching for a hardware store so we could buy some parts for the bunk beds & a stove at the school, but we had no success. As we were all watching the frontage roads for hardware stores, Sue saw an Italian Restaurant & A Chinese Restaurant. We hadn’t had much to eat since breakfast at the hotel, so we decided it was time to eat. Kotesh & the driver dropped us off & continued the hardware store search. The sun was going down behind some palm trees making a beautiful site.
After some discussion, we decided to check out the Italian Restaurant. It was located on the 2nd floor above the Chinese Restaurant. The tables were set with tablecloths & stemmed glassware. We looked at the menu to check prices & then decided to eat there. We happened to be the only customers, so we had wonderful service & the food was fantastic! I ordered vegetable lasagna, garlic bread with cheese, & soda at a cost of 490 rupees—about $10 US.
As we were eating, Kotesh called & I told him we were almost finished eating at the Italian restaurant above the Chinese one. He said he’d meet us there in about 15 minutes. We decided to wait in the comfort of the restaurant. Time passed & I tried to call Kotesh & couldn’t get him—his phone battery was dead. Finally we decided to go downstairs & stand outside while we waited for him to come & get us. In about 5 minutes or so, he appeared, asking us where we had been! It seems that he misunderstood what I had told him & thought I said something about “Italian furniture,” so he’d gone into all the nearby furniture stores asking them if they had seen three Caucasian ladies!!! We all had a good laugh about the miscommunication!!!
We were supposed to checkout of our hotel by 9 pm, but we got tangled up in a huge traffic jam—bumper-to-bumper stop & go travel for miles. Apparently there was some kind of special event going on that created major traffic congestion. Sue & Vilma had wanted to get some food supplies from a store called Nilgiris, located just a few blocks from our hotel, but it was closed when they got there. We didn’t get back to the hotel until about 10 pm & I still had to repack for the trip home! I wanted to pack my carryon suitcase inside a larger one so I’d have fewer pieces of luggage to deal with on the trip home & I needed to get my purchases from Bangalore in, too. I went straight to my room & started to pack feverishly. After the traffic problems getting back to the hotel, I was afraid that it might take more than two hours to drive to the airport.
The Lord really blessed me & I was able to consolidate my bags & still get everything in. Vilma & Sue only had small bags to pack since they’d only come for one night & were leaving directly for the school after dropping me off at the airport. Kotesh used my phone charger to charge his cell phone while he went to pay the hotel bill & as soon as Sue was out of her room she came to mine & pulled bags out to the car as soon as they were full. The driver & Kotesh really had an adventure packing the car, since the back door was jammed shut & wouldn’t open, & the car was already full of plastic file boxes for the school!!! Their persistence paid off, & we headed for the airport by 10:30 pm.
The driver took a different route to the airport, so the traffic wasn’t quite as bad & we arrived there about midnight. I said goodbye to everyone at the curb, so they wouldn’t have to find a place to park & could get on their way back to the school. It was very hard to say goodbye to such precious friends!!!
The Lord really blessed me again because I didn’t have to pay for overweight luggage, I didn’t have any problems going through security, & I found my gate without any difficulty. Kotesh called me to be sure everything went alright & I assured him that I had sailed through the process.
Sitting at the gate, waiting to board my flight to Paris, I reflected on all the blessings of this trip. Although I didn’t spend as much time visiting people in the villages & leading mini VBS programs during the medical clinics as I had anticipated, I had the privilege of presenting messages from Scripture in several churches—especially the AWESOME opportunity of worshipping with my brothers & sisters in the Chelekompalli Church—and also to leave a legacy of a medical record system for the school as well as a computer listing of all the students alphabetically & by standards (grade levels). I was given another glimpse of the great challenge of presenting the good news of Jesus’ love to people who live in superstition & darkness. One afternoon as I was working alone at the clinic, Mr. Principal (that is the polite way to address him) told me that a blind man had come with his twin sons, wanting to enroll them in the school & asked me to sponsor them. Mr. Principal sent me home with the request to try to find people to sponsor seven needy children at the school--$30/month or $360/year provides room, board & education for a student who would not have that opportunity otherwise. I had expected it to be easier to leave India & come home this time—especially because of my little grandson, Kayden—but in some ways it’s harder than ever to leave! This trip I’ve had a chance to see a little more what a commitment to stay overseas as a missionary costs on a personal level, but also what an incredible difference one person, completely committed to follow God’s leading, can make in the lives of others for eternity.
I pray the lessons I’ve learned will not be lost in the hustle & bustle of life back in the US, the vision will not dim, & my commitment to the Lord & willingness to follow His leading in my life will never waver. He is coming soon—MARANATHA!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is changing lives for eternity—including mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s been a wonderful but sad day!!!
Joy & I couldn’t figure out to get hot water for showers this morning, so we didn’t dawdle around! We met Sue, Vilma & Kotesh for breakfast in the outdoor patio restaurant just after 8:30 am. Since I’m not very fond of Indian food, I ordered plain dosa & ate it without dipping it in the chutney & sauce served with it.
One of our big projects for today was to find one of the FIVE Staples office supply stores Mel had located on the internet for us before we left the school & purchase some plastic file boxes for the medical charts at the school & also some legal-size hanging file folders for Maranatha’s office at the school. We found Staples quickly, but we had to take a circuitous route to get to it because of all the one-way streets. It seemed so strange to see a Staples store in an Indian context. We went inside & started to search. It was fun exploring the store but…they didn’t have any legal size file folders OR file boxes! I had been positive we’d find them there—what a disappointment!!!
Nearby we’d seen a store called Big Bazaar & Sue wanted to get some things there, so we headed there. It was an unusual experience. There were signs outside saying something to the effect that anyone entering this store was accepting their policy of frisking people for security purposes! This store had had three floors & probably is the Indian version of K-Mart. As only God could have arranged things, we had only been inside the store a few seconds when I caught sight of plastic file boxes. Needless to say we were thrilled…and we bought all they had in stock for the school!!! It was a lot of fun exploring this store & checking out all the interesting merchandise for sale. It had a small grocery section with all the ingredients to make Indian food. Sue was delighted to find some canned peaches—a rare treat! In the refrigerated section I even found some small containers of chocolate Silk soymilk!!!
Next on our to-do list for today was to visit Lowry Adventist College. Founded in 1915 & located in the outskirts of Bangalore, the college stretches out over 50 acres of land & offers several Bachelor & Masters programs of study. Lowry Adventist College serves 2000 students. We ran into Sunny (the Head Master at Cuddapah School’s son) who is studying Computer Technology at Lowry. Kotesh took us to the office of the Vice President, Dr. T. Christian Raj, who gave us some refreshments & a tour of the campus. I really enjoyed visiting this institution that has had such an influence promoting Christianity in India.
When we left Lowry, it was time to head for the airport for Joy to catch her flight to Delhi. Before bidding her goodbye, we gathered around her & had prayer together for the last time.
We had been searching for a hardware store so we could buy some parts for the bunk beds & a stove at the school, but we had no success. As we were all watching the frontage roads for hardware stores, Sue saw an Italian Restaurant & A Chinese Restaurant. We hadn’t had much to eat since breakfast at the hotel, so we decided it was time to eat. Kotesh & the driver dropped us off & continued the hardware store search. The sun was going down behind some palm trees making a beautiful site.
After some discussion, we decided to check out the Italian Restaurant. It was located on the 2nd floor above the Chinese Restaurant. The tables were set with tablecloths & stemmed glassware. We looked at the menu to check prices & then decided to eat there. We happened to be the only customers, so we had wonderful service & the food was fantastic! I ordered vegetable lasagna, garlic bread with cheese, & soda at a cost of 490 rupees—about $10 US.
As we were eating, Kotesh called & I told him we were almost finished eating at the Italian restaurant above the Chinese one. He said he’d meet us there in about 15 minutes. We decided to wait in the comfort of the restaurant. Time passed & I tried to call Kotesh & couldn’t get him—his phone battery was dead. Finally we decided to go downstairs & stand outside while we waited for him to come & get us. In about 5 minutes or so, he appeared, asking us where we had been! It seems that he misunderstood what I had told him & thought I said something about “Italian furniture,” so he’d gone into all the nearby furniture stores asking them if they had seen three Caucasian ladies!!! We all had a good laugh about the miscommunication!!!
We were supposed to checkout of our hotel by 9 pm, but we got tangled up in a huge traffic jam—bumper-to-bumper stop & go travel for miles. Apparently there was some kind of special event going on that created major traffic congestion. Sue & Vilma had wanted to get some food supplies from a store called Nilgiris, located just a few blocks from our hotel, but it was closed when they got there. We didn’t get back to the hotel until about 10 pm & I still had to repack for the trip home! I wanted to pack my carryon suitcase inside a larger one so I’d have fewer pieces of luggage to deal with on the trip home & I needed to get my purchases from Bangalore in, too. I went straight to my room & started to pack feverishly. After the traffic problems getting back to the hotel, I was afraid that it might take more than two hours to drive to the airport.
The Lord really blessed me & I was able to consolidate my bags & still get everything in. Vilma & Sue only had small bags to pack since they’d only come for one night & were leaving directly for the school after dropping me off at the airport. Kotesh used my phone charger to charge his cell phone while he went to pay the hotel bill & as soon as Sue was out of her room she came to mine & pulled bags out to the car as soon as they were full. The driver & Kotesh really had an adventure packing the car, since the back door was jammed shut & wouldn’t open, & the car was already full of plastic file boxes for the school!!! Their persistence paid off, & we headed for the airport by 10:30 pm.
The driver took a different route to the airport, so the traffic wasn’t quite as bad & we arrived there about midnight. I said goodbye to everyone at the curb, so they wouldn’t have to find a place to park & could get on their way back to the school. It was very hard to say goodbye to such precious friends!!!
The Lord really blessed me again because I didn’t have to pay for overweight luggage, I didn’t have any problems going through security, & I found my gate without any difficulty. Kotesh called me to be sure everything went alright & I assured him that I had sailed through the process.
Sitting at the gate, waiting to board my flight to Paris, I reflected on all the blessings of this trip. Although I didn’t spend as much time visiting people in the villages & leading mini VBS programs during the medical clinics as I had anticipated, I had the privilege of presenting messages from Scripture in several churches—especially the AWESOME opportunity of worshipping with my brothers & sisters in the Chelekompalli Church—and also to leave a legacy of a medical record system for the school as well as a computer listing of all the students alphabetically & by standards (grade levels). I was given another glimpse of the great challenge of presenting the good news of Jesus’ love to people who live in superstition & darkness. One afternoon as I was working alone at the clinic, Mr. Principal (that is the polite way to address him) told me that a blind man had come with his twin sons, wanting to enroll them in the school & asked me to sponsor them. Mr. Principal sent me home with the request to try to find people to sponsor seven needy children at the school--$30/month or $360/year provides room, board & education for a student who would not have that opportunity otherwise. I had expected it to be easier to leave India & come home this time—especially because of my little grandson, Kayden—but in some ways it’s harder than ever to leave! This trip I’ve had a chance to see a little more what a commitment to stay overseas as a missionary costs on a personal level, but also what an incredible difference one person, completely committed to follow God’s leading, can make in the lives of others for eternity.
I pray the lessons I’ve learned will not be lost in the hustle & bustle of life back in the US, the vision will not dim, & my commitment to the Lord & willingness to follow His leading in my life will never waver. He is coming soon—MARANATHA!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is changing lives for eternity—including mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Sunday February 1, 2009
Blessings from INDIA!!! Sunday February 1, 2009
It was a short night!!! After I went to bed I laid awake thinking about the wonderful time I’ve had in India & wishing it didn’t have to end so soon! I’ve missed Isaac (my son), Kayden (my grandson), & the rest of my family & friends back home, but the needs here in India are so great & it has been such a blessing for me to have had the opportunity to meet some of those needs.
We all got up early to say goodbye to Sharla & Kevin. After they left, the rest of us ate breakfast together. Sunita had brought some dosa & samosa for supper last night while I was sleeping, so Vilma saved some for me to have for breakfast this morning. I like the dosa, but the samosa is too hot for me.
Joy & I visited the dorms & children’s homes to take photos & to say goodbye to the children. The kids were busy cleaning the dorms & also washing their clothes. We stopped up at the clinic for the last time & I took a picture of Sue & Mel in front of their house—located on the 2nd campus across the road from the school.
We left the school about 9:30 am. The early part of the trip we drove through lots of little villages & then we came to an area that consisted of switchbacks as we had to cross over some high bluffs. After we crossed the bluffs we drove through some flat lands with sandy ground, huge rock formations & very little vegetation. As we got closer to Bangalore, we came to lots of road construction & speed bumps. With all our luggage, 5 people + the driver, it was a pretty bouncy trip, but all the passengers except me were able to nap a little.
About 2 pm we reached the north side of Bangalore & stopped at a Café Coffee Day to have lunch. Kotesh contacted Lowry College & they didn’t have a place for us to stay. When Vilma & Paul had stayed in Bangalore they found a little hotel to stay in downtown that was inexpensive, so Kotesh contacted them & made reservations for us.
Bangalore is a huge city with lots of one-way streets & our driver had a little trouble finding the shopping district Sue had recommended, but we finally found it & miraculously found a parking spot very close to the stores. It was fun checking out the different shops. We went to two different Indian handicraft stores—one had very steep prices & the other was much more reasonable. We were looking for gifts to bring home & also just enjoying seeing all the different things available. The streets were filled with shoppers as well as peddlers of all kinds of stuff. The first street we shopped on had a KFC (with western toilets) & lots of large shops appealing to westerners’ tastes Then we went to another street that was lined with little shops with goods appealing more to the less affluent & more economical prices.
Everyone had a successful trip--Sue found some curtains & a rug for her house…I bought Isaac a Nehru shirt, Kayden a toy train & a little Indian outfit to wear to church, a stainless steel bowl, a bedspread made in Rajasthan (a state in northern India), & some shirt fabric to give to Kotesh as a thank you gift...Joy bought some neckties & Indian blouses…Velma bought a pair of shoes, a shirt for Paul, & an umbrella for Mrs. Principal. I’ve probably forgotten some things, but we had a lot of fun.
About 9 pm we checked into The Palms Residence—our hotel for the night. It was a no-frills place, but it was clean & both rooms had two beds at a cost of 805 rupees for each of us (approx $34 for 24 hrs/room). The odor of moth balls was very strong, but I’ve found that to be common in hotels in India. Joy & I had been roommates since she arrived, so we decided to continue that tradition for our last night in India.
After we got all our luggage & treasures from shopping into our room, we headed out for Pizza Hut for supper. We had to wait for about an hour to get a table—we had been told it would be 10 to 30 minutes! By the time our waiter came, I was just about brain dead. Fortunately, Sue was still together enough to order for us. Vilma wasn’t as hungry as the rest of us—she had eaten a couple of ears of roasted corn from a nearby street vendor.
It was after 11 pm when we got back to the hotel tonight & it’s time to get some shut eye!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a short night!!! After I went to bed I laid awake thinking about the wonderful time I’ve had in India & wishing it didn’t have to end so soon! I’ve missed Isaac (my son), Kayden (my grandson), & the rest of my family & friends back home, but the needs here in India are so great & it has been such a blessing for me to have had the opportunity to meet some of those needs.
We all got up early to say goodbye to Sharla & Kevin. After they left, the rest of us ate breakfast together. Sunita had brought some dosa & samosa for supper last night while I was sleeping, so Vilma saved some for me to have for breakfast this morning. I like the dosa, but the samosa is too hot for me.
Joy & I visited the dorms & children’s homes to take photos & to say goodbye to the children. The kids were busy cleaning the dorms & also washing their clothes. We stopped up at the clinic for the last time & I took a picture of Sue & Mel in front of their house—located on the 2nd campus across the road from the school.
We left the school about 9:30 am. The early part of the trip we drove through lots of little villages & then we came to an area that consisted of switchbacks as we had to cross over some high bluffs. After we crossed the bluffs we drove through some flat lands with sandy ground, huge rock formations & very little vegetation. As we got closer to Bangalore, we came to lots of road construction & speed bumps. With all our luggage, 5 people + the driver, it was a pretty bouncy trip, but all the passengers except me were able to nap a little.
About 2 pm we reached the north side of Bangalore & stopped at a Café Coffee Day to have lunch. Kotesh contacted Lowry College & they didn’t have a place for us to stay. When Vilma & Paul had stayed in Bangalore they found a little hotel to stay in downtown that was inexpensive, so Kotesh contacted them & made reservations for us.
Bangalore is a huge city with lots of one-way streets & our driver had a little trouble finding the shopping district Sue had recommended, but we finally found it & miraculously found a parking spot very close to the stores. It was fun checking out the different shops. We went to two different Indian handicraft stores—one had very steep prices & the other was much more reasonable. We were looking for gifts to bring home & also just enjoying seeing all the different things available. The streets were filled with shoppers as well as peddlers of all kinds of stuff. The first street we shopped on had a KFC (with western toilets) & lots of large shops appealing to westerners’ tastes Then we went to another street that was lined with little shops with goods appealing more to the less affluent & more economical prices.
Everyone had a successful trip--Sue found some curtains & a rug for her house…I bought Isaac a Nehru shirt, Kayden a toy train & a little Indian outfit to wear to church, a stainless steel bowl, a bedspread made in Rajasthan (a state in northern India), & some shirt fabric to give to Kotesh as a thank you gift...Joy bought some neckties & Indian blouses…Velma bought a pair of shoes, a shirt for Paul, & an umbrella for Mrs. Principal. I’ve probably forgotten some things, but we had a lot of fun.
About 9 pm we checked into The Palms Residence—our hotel for the night. It was a no-frills place, but it was clean & both rooms had two beds at a cost of 805 rupees for each of us (approx $34 for 24 hrs/room). The odor of moth balls was very strong, but I’ve found that to be common in hotels in India. Joy & I had been roommates since she arrived, so we decided to continue that tradition for our last night in India.
After we got all our luggage & treasures from shopping into our room, we headed out for Pizza Hut for supper. We had to wait for about an hour to get a table—we had been told it would be 10 to 30 minutes! By the time our waiter came, I was just about brain dead. Fortunately, Sue was still together enough to order for us. Vilma wasn’t as hungry as the rest of us—she had eaten a couple of ears of roasted corn from a nearby street vendor.
It was after 11 pm when we got back to the hotel tonight & it’s time to get some shut eye!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sabbath 31 January 2009
Greetings from INDIA!!! Sabbath 31 January 2009
I really slept well last night, so I’m ready for another busy day. It’s a beautiful Sabbath morning & I woke up to the sounds of happy children’s voices outside our house. Our team is in charge of Sabbath School & church today & I’m in the Kindergarten department. It will be interesting to see what their Sabbath School is like!
Later…
Sharla had to go to the village where she’s been treating a little girl with Cerebral Palsy. The girl’s family wanted to give her a sari to thank her for all she’s done for their daughter. She wasn’t back before it was time for us to go to Sabbath School, so we adapted our plans. Some of the girls led the singing & I had prayer. Joy sang a beautiful song followed by the mission story by Kevin. Kevin told the story out of the Mission Quarterly, & then he told a story that happened to his grandparents & father while they were serving as missionaries in China.
His grandfather was called away from where their family was stationed in central China, leaving his grandmother & two little children. The war was getting closer to them & so his grandfather contacted his wife & urged them to leave that area as soon as possible. She bought train tickets for them to leave a few days later.
On the day of their departure, they knelt as a family & prayed for God’s direction & protection. They got to the railroad station in plenty of time, but the train had already pulled out of the station & was a long ways down the track. When grandmother inquired about it, she was told that since the train was already full they decided to leave early! The ticket master offered to get them tickets to leave in a couple of weeks, but she told him that wouldn’t do. He rummaged around the office & finally found some tickets for the next day’s train, so they went home.
The next morning they got ready, had prayer together again, & headed for the station again—earlier than the day before. On the way to the station they heard a paper boy heralding the news that yesterday’s train had been attacked & destroyed by an air raid! The family was very sober the rest of the trip to the station. They boarded the train & started down the track. Some time later their attention was called to look out the window where they saw the wreckage of yesterday’s train still smoldering in the ditch beside the tracks. They hadn’t gone too much farther when the train suddenly stopped. They were told that the Japanese planes were coming again. There was a lake on one side of the train, a field on the other, & if they tried to go back they would be on a bridge—a prime target for the bombers. With no place to flee they just stayed on the train and prayed, recited Psalm 91 & sang hymns. Soon they saw the planes on the horizon & watched breathlessly as they circled the train several times before turning & going back the direction they had come from!!! God had delivered them…AGAIN!!!
When Kevin finished this story, it was time to separate into the different classes. I followed the girls’ dean to the classroom where the kindergarten children were meeting. The Sabbath School materials we were given were confusing to follow, so I decided to take some of the coloring book pages & crayons left over from children’s programs in the villages & use that for my part of the program. It was fun to hear the children sing some of the familiar Sabbath School songs I grew up with!!! After they colored their papers, they all brought them up to me to have me write my name on them.
Before church started, Sharla played several songs on her violin. She had to fill some extra time--Kevin was wearing a lungi (sort of a skirt) & he was worried that it might fall off, so he went back to the house to secure it with his belt.
My role for church was to tell the children’s story, so I told the story about the Christian in jail who was fed with the bread the jailer’s cat brought him. Joy gave an awesome message focusing on the story of David & Goliath. Kotesh was our translator.
I guess I haven’t mentioned before that while most of the children speak & understand English, some of the younger ones only understand Telegu. That’s why it was such a blessing to have Kotesh translate our messages to the children at the school.
After church we all posed for photos by the guest house in our Indian garb & then ate lunch together. I can’t remember if I told you that Sue & Mel have been eating all their meals with us because they have to get propane for the stove in their house & I think their stove has some other problems, too.
JesuDas (the pastor & boys’ dean) & Mel have discussed having Bible studies on Sabbath afternoons for the boarding students. Many of them come from Hindu backgrounds, & even tho’ they have Bible classes in school, it would be such a blessing to have something available for them to attend on Sabbath that would ground their faith & give them a better understanding of Scripture. As Mel & I were talking about this idea, all of a sudden I remembered that I have some Bible studies (Lifting Up Jesus by Karen Lewis & Parables of Jesus by Stephen Bohr) downloaded on my computer. Mel was delighted, & went over to his house to get a jump drive & his computer so he could get copies of what I have. While we were in the midst of this process, it was time for the team to leave for a church close by & do an afternoon medical clinic for them, so I stayed a the house & copied lessons for Mel. Put together, that gives him over a year’s worth of material.
I really enjoyed visiting with Sue & Mel as they shared how God led them to leave Alaska & come to India to be Maranatha volunteers, overseeing construction and maintenance things at the school as well as Sue teaching music & helping the principal as his secretary.
During the late afternoon I developed a severe migraine, so I took my meds & went to bed about 7 pm & slept until close to 9 pm. Consequently, I didn’t get over to the clinic to finish entering information on the computer for the students we saw on Friday. It was time to start packing. John (a photographer working for Maranatha) gave us each a cd of photos from our project & we exchanged contact information with each other.
Sharla & Kevin are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning for Tiraputti & then on to Bangalore to catch their plane to Frankfort shortly after midnight Monday morning. Their trip will take probably 12+ hours because of their stop at Tiraputti to visit a student they are sponsoring at a school.
Joy is going on an excursion to see the Taj Mahal & her plane leaves Bangalore for Delhi late Monday afternoon. My flight back to the US leaves Bangalore at 2:15 Tuesday morning. Joy & I had the option of staying at the school until Monday morning, but we’ve decided to go to Bangalore & do some site-seeing & shopping instead. The extra cost to hire a driver & vehicle to take us tomorrow is 2000 rupees—just under $40. Sue & Vilma have decided to go with us to do some shopping, too. Some foods like butter, peanut butter, soy milk, & canned vegetables & fruits aren’t available in Venpalli or Cuddapah—they have to be purchased in Bangalore when someone goes there. Things we take so much for granted, are much more complicated in India. Kotesh will be going with us. We are hoping to be able to stay at a guest house at Lowry SDA College, located on the outskirts of Bangalore tomorrow night.
I’m almost packed & it’s about 12:30 am Sunday morning—time to get a few hours of sleep before we leave!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really slept well last night, so I’m ready for another busy day. It’s a beautiful Sabbath morning & I woke up to the sounds of happy children’s voices outside our house. Our team is in charge of Sabbath School & church today & I’m in the Kindergarten department. It will be interesting to see what their Sabbath School is like!
Later…
Sharla had to go to the village where she’s been treating a little girl with Cerebral Palsy. The girl’s family wanted to give her a sari to thank her for all she’s done for their daughter. She wasn’t back before it was time for us to go to Sabbath School, so we adapted our plans. Some of the girls led the singing & I had prayer. Joy sang a beautiful song followed by the mission story by Kevin. Kevin told the story out of the Mission Quarterly, & then he told a story that happened to his grandparents & father while they were serving as missionaries in China.
His grandfather was called away from where their family was stationed in central China, leaving his grandmother & two little children. The war was getting closer to them & so his grandfather contacted his wife & urged them to leave that area as soon as possible. She bought train tickets for them to leave a few days later.
On the day of their departure, they knelt as a family & prayed for God’s direction & protection. They got to the railroad station in plenty of time, but the train had already pulled out of the station & was a long ways down the track. When grandmother inquired about it, she was told that since the train was already full they decided to leave early! The ticket master offered to get them tickets to leave in a couple of weeks, but she told him that wouldn’t do. He rummaged around the office & finally found some tickets for the next day’s train, so they went home.
The next morning they got ready, had prayer together again, & headed for the station again—earlier than the day before. On the way to the station they heard a paper boy heralding the news that yesterday’s train had been attacked & destroyed by an air raid! The family was very sober the rest of the trip to the station. They boarded the train & started down the track. Some time later their attention was called to look out the window where they saw the wreckage of yesterday’s train still smoldering in the ditch beside the tracks. They hadn’t gone too much farther when the train suddenly stopped. They were told that the Japanese planes were coming again. There was a lake on one side of the train, a field on the other, & if they tried to go back they would be on a bridge—a prime target for the bombers. With no place to flee they just stayed on the train and prayed, recited Psalm 91 & sang hymns. Soon they saw the planes on the horizon & watched breathlessly as they circled the train several times before turning & going back the direction they had come from!!! God had delivered them…AGAIN!!!
When Kevin finished this story, it was time to separate into the different classes. I followed the girls’ dean to the classroom where the kindergarten children were meeting. The Sabbath School materials we were given were confusing to follow, so I decided to take some of the coloring book pages & crayons left over from children’s programs in the villages & use that for my part of the program. It was fun to hear the children sing some of the familiar Sabbath School songs I grew up with!!! After they colored their papers, they all brought them up to me to have me write my name on them.
Before church started, Sharla played several songs on her violin. She had to fill some extra time--Kevin was wearing a lungi (sort of a skirt) & he was worried that it might fall off, so he went back to the house to secure it with his belt.
My role for church was to tell the children’s story, so I told the story about the Christian in jail who was fed with the bread the jailer’s cat brought him. Joy gave an awesome message focusing on the story of David & Goliath. Kotesh was our translator.
I guess I haven’t mentioned before that while most of the children speak & understand English, some of the younger ones only understand Telegu. That’s why it was such a blessing to have Kotesh translate our messages to the children at the school.
After church we all posed for photos by the guest house in our Indian garb & then ate lunch together. I can’t remember if I told you that Sue & Mel have been eating all their meals with us because they have to get propane for the stove in their house & I think their stove has some other problems, too.
JesuDas (the pastor & boys’ dean) & Mel have discussed having Bible studies on Sabbath afternoons for the boarding students. Many of them come from Hindu backgrounds, & even tho’ they have Bible classes in school, it would be such a blessing to have something available for them to attend on Sabbath that would ground their faith & give them a better understanding of Scripture. As Mel & I were talking about this idea, all of a sudden I remembered that I have some Bible studies (Lifting Up Jesus by Karen Lewis & Parables of Jesus by Stephen Bohr) downloaded on my computer. Mel was delighted, & went over to his house to get a jump drive & his computer so he could get copies of what I have. While we were in the midst of this process, it was time for the team to leave for a church close by & do an afternoon medical clinic for them, so I stayed a the house & copied lessons for Mel. Put together, that gives him over a year’s worth of material.
I really enjoyed visiting with Sue & Mel as they shared how God led them to leave Alaska & come to India to be Maranatha volunteers, overseeing construction and maintenance things at the school as well as Sue teaching music & helping the principal as his secretary.
During the late afternoon I developed a severe migraine, so I took my meds & went to bed about 7 pm & slept until close to 9 pm. Consequently, I didn’t get over to the clinic to finish entering information on the computer for the students we saw on Friday. It was time to start packing. John (a photographer working for Maranatha) gave us each a cd of photos from our project & we exchanged contact information with each other.
Sharla & Kevin are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning for Tiraputti & then on to Bangalore to catch their plane to Frankfort shortly after midnight Monday morning. Their trip will take probably 12+ hours because of their stop at Tiraputti to visit a student they are sponsoring at a school.
Joy is going on an excursion to see the Taj Mahal & her plane leaves Bangalore for Delhi late Monday afternoon. My flight back to the US leaves Bangalore at 2:15 Tuesday morning. Joy & I had the option of staying at the school until Monday morning, but we’ve decided to go to Bangalore & do some site-seeing & shopping instead. The extra cost to hire a driver & vehicle to take us tomorrow is 2000 rupees—just under $40. Sue & Vilma have decided to go with us to do some shopping, too. Some foods like butter, peanut butter, soy milk, & canned vegetables & fruits aren’t available in Venpalli or Cuddapah—they have to be purchased in Bangalore when someone goes there. Things we take so much for granted, are much more complicated in India. Kotesh will be going with us. We are hoping to be able to stay at a guest house at Lowry SDA College, located on the outskirts of Bangalore tomorrow night.
I’m almost packed & it’s about 12:30 am Sunday morning—time to get a few hours of sleep before we leave!!!
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday ~ 30 January 2009
Greetings from India Friday ~ 30 January 2009
Another beautiful day at Cuddapah School! Because we were unable to see all the students during the three days last week we held medical clinics, we decided to hold another clinic at the school & try to see the children we missed before & also dispense the medications to the students that Dr. Naik ordered.
It was absolutely WILD at the clinic today!!! I don’t know for sure, but I think we saw over 100 students today—new ones & ones we’d seen before to dispense their meds. No matter how many times I’d already told them to line up in single fine by the door, within a matter of seconds they were pushing & trying to get to the front of the line so they could see everything that was happening to the persons in front of them. We needed more people than we had available to handle the registration of the new children & also to find the charts of the students previously seen.
I had the charts for the children with orders from Dr. Naik in order & a box of charts for the kids with vision problems, but due to a lack of boxes, the other charts of children previously seen were in a large box in random order. When those children came in with complaints, I had to search through all the boxes to find their name. Another complication was that there are many duplicate names.
During the initial registration, we were unable to get complete names and didn’t get birthdates for the children or their standards (grade in school), so the only way I had to differentiate the different children was by the height listed in their charts. I was also trying to go through the standard lists I had entered on the computer to identify the students we needed to call out of class to come & get their meds.
Joy & I were planning to go into Cuddapah this afternoon for an hour or so to look around, but because we were so busy at the clinic we canceled our plans & stayed at the school and worked. I really need to spend Saturday night entering all the new students we saw today on my computer spreadsheet, so those needing glasses will be listed all together.
I should mention that I’m sorry some of my blog entries are so late getting posted. Internet service here is dial-up & only available at the clinic. Some days I haven’t been able to get on at all. The electricity here in interesting, too—it usually goes off about 11 am for 15-45 minutes, & again at 6 pm for about the same length of time.
Surya went into Venpalli & picked up our clothes from the tailor late this afternoon, so we’ll all be dressed in our Indian clothes tomorrow for Sabbath School & church.
I had a little chance to relax tonight between clinic & supper & before vespers with the boarding students. Sharla played her violin & then we showed the Jesus DVD (in Telugu) for vespers & the children seemed to be very attentive. I slipped out of the meeting early because I am exhausted, so I’m signing off for tonight.
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another beautiful day at Cuddapah School! Because we were unable to see all the students during the three days last week we held medical clinics, we decided to hold another clinic at the school & try to see the children we missed before & also dispense the medications to the students that Dr. Naik ordered.
It was absolutely WILD at the clinic today!!! I don’t know for sure, but I think we saw over 100 students today—new ones & ones we’d seen before to dispense their meds. No matter how many times I’d already told them to line up in single fine by the door, within a matter of seconds they were pushing & trying to get to the front of the line so they could see everything that was happening to the persons in front of them. We needed more people than we had available to handle the registration of the new children & also to find the charts of the students previously seen.
I had the charts for the children with orders from Dr. Naik in order & a box of charts for the kids with vision problems, but due to a lack of boxes, the other charts of children previously seen were in a large box in random order. When those children came in with complaints, I had to search through all the boxes to find their name. Another complication was that there are many duplicate names.
During the initial registration, we were unable to get complete names and didn’t get birthdates for the children or their standards (grade in school), so the only way I had to differentiate the different children was by the height listed in their charts. I was also trying to go through the standard lists I had entered on the computer to identify the students we needed to call out of class to come & get their meds.
Joy & I were planning to go into Cuddapah this afternoon for an hour or so to look around, but because we were so busy at the clinic we canceled our plans & stayed at the school and worked. I really need to spend Saturday night entering all the new students we saw today on my computer spreadsheet, so those needing glasses will be listed all together.
I should mention that I’m sorry some of my blog entries are so late getting posted. Internet service here is dial-up & only available at the clinic. Some days I haven’t been able to get on at all. The electricity here in interesting, too—it usually goes off about 11 am for 15-45 minutes, & again at 6 pm for about the same length of time.
Surya went into Venpalli & picked up our clothes from the tailor late this afternoon, so we’ll all be dressed in our Indian clothes tomorrow for Sabbath School & church.
I had a little chance to relax tonight between clinic & supper & before vespers with the boarding students. Sharla played her violin & then we showed the Jesus DVD (in Telugu) for vespers & the children seemed to be very attentive. I slipped out of the meeting early because I am exhausted, so I’m signing off for tonight.
Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven is blessing us richly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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