Sunday, August 08, 2004

Sunday

So another day of work and cleaning. My house is a mess all of the time. I really need to work harder on that. Ready for another look into India? Let's go....


Friday- ?

Amanda is still sick today. She threw up yesterday and still played ball. These girls have been so willing to try and do anything. I am still sick, Kellinee is now sick and her rash is back. I can't imagine how miserable she must feel yet she is still not complaining and moves right through the day as though she is perfectly fine. I have a cold or pneumonia, I can't tell which. Oh well, I can say I got sick in India. Cool.

We went to the village today and were greeted by many children and other villagers. We were again draped in flowers, and the children of the village sang some songs for us. The head of the village also sang for us. The mission encourages the village to sing in their traditional ways, and it was incredible to be standing there realizing that we were really there listening to this. It is like we are watching National geographic, but from a live perspective.

After we were done there, we were able to walk down the road to a house and were also able to go inside to see the way they live. The whole house was one room, about the size of my bathroom. I think there were four or five people living in there. One room. Next door they are building a new home. It will have three rooms, and a courtyard where they can keep their cows and chickens. They have been building on it for a year now, and it is far from done. Across the way, the well sits which is where they go to get their water three times a day. The water they drink, cook with and shower in, if you can call it that.

The girls and Susie had to leave because they had to get back and play ball, but Kellinee and I got to stay for a little while longer. We went back to the school in the village and got to hand out bibles that were translated in Hindi to some of the children there who had excelled in their studies. They were so excited to receive their gift. After we took more pictures, it was time to leave. I wish we could have stayed longer. I feel truly blessed to have been able to share in this experience today.

The roads here are horrible. Pot hole after pot hole while dodging dogs, cows, cars and people. Crazy. When we got back, I sat with Amanda for a while. She stayed behind to rest because she is not doing too well. She was going to go, but Susie had to throw down the law. She is trying to be so strong, but is going through some major crap at home. Pray, pray, pray.

Next, it was off to see the first graders and to do a lesson. They were so cute! None of them spoke English well at all, but that didn't seem to matter.

I learned from Sheela that Hindi women usually get their noses pierced early in age so that when they get married (at around 13 sometimes!) they can wear a rather large ring in their noses. Also, wearing a toe ring shows that they are married. Funny, because that explains why Kellinee keeps getting asked if she is married. Married women also wear black and gold beads sometimes to show that they are married. Men however do nothing. No ring, no nothing. I have also learned that most Indian food is fried, people eat with their hands, women cover their heads while in prayer, and singing in Hindi is WAY different but fascinating!

Oh, there was this woman in the village who takes care of 60 children while the parents go work in the fields. Usually the mothers of small children would wrap their small children up in their saries and basically wear them while they work. There are rice patties all over the country side. We passed many graves and places of worship as well on the drive. An ox cart is the main mode of transportation in the village. It is also a place Gandhi visited often. What an awesome thing to get to see.

It is evening now, and we all seem to be dragging a bit. The day was long and everyone seems home sick. I know I am. I miss my girls and Shad very much. Sheeba too. I miss sleeping in my bed, with a pillow thicker than two inches. I miss taking a shower, the dry heat, milk, the smell of clean laundry, my girls waking me up, Shad's laughter, ice cream, cold water, being able to brush my teeth with sink water, just to name a few. But I am very glad I made this journey here to meet with David, Sheela and their children. The people here are wonderful and totally live for the Lord every moment of every day. They are such awesome demonstrations of how to truly live your life for God and His work. I feel compelled to write about everything so that I may share it with everyone I know. I feel so much like I can do anything as long as it is for God.


--At this point in the journal, I drew a picture, but will keep it to myself. I hope you have enjoyed my journal from India, and that you will come back tomorrow for another glimpse of just some of the many wonderful, incredible, and amazing things I was fortunate enough to experience. If you want, I have pictures as well. Yep, like 978 of them.Till next time, stay healthy, happy and safe.

1 comment:

Amy said...

I love reading your journal and I can't wait to see all one million of your pictures!

If anyone out there wants to hear more about the trip and see pictures: there is a party Friday night (8/13) at the Carder's. Sherry, Susie, Kellinee and all the grils (with their families) will be there. Email Sherry or call for more information.