Three Very Different Days

Apologies for the gap in updates...we were experiencing some internet issues (and I kept falling asleep instead of blogging lol).
So, the past three days have incorporated a wide variety of experiences!  On Wednesday, Kendra and I spent our last day at the girls' home.  We presented them with a huge amount of children's books (both in Hindi and in English) to help build their library!  Just a few titles included: Amelia Bedelia, Aesop's Fables, Frog and Toad, Rainbow Fish, and plenty of assorted fairy tales (including my personal favorites by Hans Christian Anderson).  We were even able to find several Tin Tin comics that had been translated into Hindi!  Of course, what gift would be complete without an assortment of candy?  So, the girls also received Jolly Ranchers and Dum Dums, little notes, and mini-flashlights.  The girls spent a good half hour flipping through all of their new books, flipping on their flashlights whenever the power went off, and begging to eat their candy before lunch.  :)  Then, we said our final good-byes and returned to the guest house to wait for our friends from Calcutta to arrive.  P.S. That night I actually got to eat chicken enchiladas!!!!!  I'm pretty sure they weren't as good as the States, but boy did they taste fabulous after a month with no Mexican food!
Thursday was our day at the Taj, along with Agra Fort and another historical site that I could not pronounce if my life depended on it.  Although it was significantly hotter than the last time I visited, I had a great time at the Taj!  Some of us played a game to see who could get the most pictures with strangers.  Okay, that probably needs some explanation...Especially at sites like the Taj, those of us who's skin is fairer in color are constantly flagged down by Indians to take pictures.  (Maybe it's because we're the same color as the Taj?)  Anyway, we thought it'd be fun to turn the tables and ask them for pictures instead.  Most people are more than happy to oblige (they get the pictures too) and it made for a fun day.  I myself was asked to be in 2 photos and I asked to take 1; so I did not win the contest.  For the first time, I saw Agra Fort, which is famous for being the place where the Maharaja who built the Taj was imprisoned by his own son, presumably for spending too much money on what is essentially a fancy tomb.  We also saw the other site with the unpronounceable name, which was home to one of the Maharajas for less than 20 years; but it took 14 years to build!
Today was our first day of debriefing.  Talking through what we've learned or thought or felt or seen over these past few weeks was a great experience...and we'll be delving a little more in depth tomorrow.  We also spent some time just relaxing at a friend's house.  Some of the group went to visit the girls' home; but since Kendra and I had already said our good-byes we opted to stay at our friend's house.  What movie does a group of women choose to watch when we have free-range of our choices? Why, Tangled, of course!  So we watched that and took naps and then the rest of the group got back, so we watched Captain America (which was surprisingly good!)  Overall, a relaxing day before we hit the debriefing hard tomorrow.  Looking forward to a good night's rest tonight.  Only two days left in India!

Why Are You Smiling?

The question came in a hushed whisper, floating across the way.
"Why are you smiling?  Why are you laughing?"
Playfully I whispered back, "I'm happy."
A puzzled look.
"You make me happy!" I reply.
A satisfied smile as my response.
I'm smiling because you painted on your own today.
I'm smiling because the sitting room is covered with paintings of butterflies.
I'm smiling because today I've been the patient of a doctor using paint bottles for pretend medicine.
I'm smiling because I held a child on my lap and read book after book today.
I'm smiling because we just named your teddy bear Rebecca after your sister and mine.
I'm smiling because while you were sleeping, you reached over to grab my hand.
On the inside, there's a different kind of smile...one that knows you'll grow up to do great things; but one that also knows I've only got two days left with you...two days to make one final impact.
That's why I'm smiling.

Don't Hit the Cow!

Admit it.  You've all been waiting for it...can't blog about India without having a cow story.  :)  We had just climbed into the auto rickshaw we were going to ride to the metro, when a cow started walking across the road!  Of course, the cows in India aren't the pretty black and whites we think of.  They're more like scroungy, mangy, skinny cows with a wide variety of colors.  This one happened to be the same shade of tan as all the dust blowing in our faces.  I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the cow to face plant into the side of our rickshaw.  However, with a well-timed maneuver on the part of our driver, we were able to avoid this disaster.  Sounds like a once in a lifetime story, right?  Well, the fact of the matter is, there have been several cow stories just like this one.  It's a part of life here in India.  There have been many much more harrowing rickshaw rides than this, and there have also been much smoother ones.
Something I've learned while I've been here is that part of working within this culture is simply living life.  That means riding the rickshaw and almost hitting a cow.  That means praying that you don't run over the random peacock that walked in the road (yes, that happened).  That means sweating A LOT and drinking gallons of water to stay hydrated.  That means relishing the moments when the power works and trying not to move when it doesn't.  That means enjoying your shower whatever the temperature as opposed to using a bucket to dump water on your head.  That means praying over everything you eat that it doesn't make you sick, even at the nicest of restaurants.  That means accepting the fact that Hindi is nothing like English...and you don't understand half of what's being said around you.
This blog has truly only given you a tiny glimpse into the life I've lived while I've been here.  Not every day is filled with powerful God moments and revelations of life direction.  Some days are just filled with praying the water truck comes so the girls can take a bath.  Some days are simple spent sweating.  We've watched a lot of British TV.  I've also watched a lot of Disney cartoons on Youtube.  We've eaten a lot of mangos...and a lot of peanut butter and jelly.  We've had more animal moments that I could count with both hands (and not just with cows! The pigeons here make for great story material!).
Some days the girls don't listen.  Some days they're tired because there was no power to keep the fans running while they slept.  Some days that do really well!  It all just depends.  That's life in India.
It truly makes you appreciate the small joys in life, the little victories no one else may understand.  Today, the girls painted self-portraits.  And you know what?  Only the two littlest ones ended up with scribbles.  Eight girls painted what they were supposed to.  And you know what?  Each one was unique and different.  No one copied each other!  And you know what?  The girl who normally draws only butterflies and flowers no matter what she's instructed to do?  She painted a face, and hers was one of the best in my opinion...even with the flower off to the side (you can't win everything!).  It's little victories like these that make the days fly by.  They don't always make for great blogs, but they sure stick out in my mind.

The Road Less Traveled

Today, the girls painted.  They were instructed to paint a road down the middle of their paper and fill both sides of the road with things that have happened in their lives.  As with most activities, the adults participate as well to provide direction and example.  So today, I painted.
My road was not the prettiest.  It was a dirt brown.  My pictures were vague and more symbolic than representative.  Along each side I lined my road with my strongest memories: the birth of my sister, the day I met God, the death of all four of my grandparents, the places I've visited, my transition to VFCC, etc.  As I look back at my life thus far and reflect on it, I find I've never taken the easiest road.  Most people would spend their summers watching TV and eating junk food.  I spent them overseas.  Most people would go to college within driving distance of home.  It takes me approximately 6 hours of flight and at least one layover to go back and forth.  Most people would choose to do something safe with their life.  I've chosen to make serving God in India my life.
As I look back over the course of this internship, I realize I've learned so much in such a short time.  I've rediscovered God's love for me.  I've rediscovered my love for the people of India.  I've rediscovered where my passions lie.  People say that internships change your life forever.  This one did.
Will I spend the rest of my life working with girls in a children's home?  No, that's not my strength.  Will I use art to work with survivors of horrible experiences?  Maybe, only God knows.  Will I follow wherever God leads me after this point?  Yes, because I know he sees the path where I can't see.
Robert Frost wrote a poem, which happens to be one of the few poems I actually enjoy reading and listening to.  It goes like this:

"The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I'm taking the road less traveled...and I know that makes all the difference.

Let's Talk About Nails...

I've heard a lot about how you should and should not paint your nails over the years.  Paint everything the same color.  Repaint with every outfit.  Repaint only when chipped.  Paint with colors that flatter your skin color.  The list of advice goes on and one.  To be honest, I haven't even attempted this mysterious form of girl entertainment in a very long time.  But today?  Today I found the perfect way to paint your nails: have an eleven year old paint them for you.  With every brushstroke, she glanced up for a reassuring smile or nod of encouragement that said, "Yes, you're doing it right!  Just keep going." It may have taken longer than a professional, and they may not look quite as nice.  But even though one hand is bright red and the other is bright green (I'm all ready for Christmas!), I've never seen a more beautiful thing.  Beauty has nothing to do with what shade your skin is or what color your nails are.  Beauty is about the journey and the love that comes along the way.

Storytelling

The sun was boiling down on the tile as we made our way towards the infamous Lotus Temple.  If you haven't heard of it, look up a picture online.  The entire ceiling is shaped like a Lotus Blossom!  Interesting fact, it is an actual working temple for...well, I'm not really sure what religion.  The point of that little tidbit is that temples in this area of the world most often require that you remove your shoes before entering.  Remember the opening line about the boiling hot sun on the tile?  Yeah...not exactly easy on the bare feet.  We hopped skipped and jumped our way up to the temple and back to where we'd stashed our shoes.  The pain was very real as our feet felt like eggs in a frying pan; but, the temple was beautiful!  It certainly makes for a great story anyway.
Yesterday, we talked with the girls about sharing our emotions and expressing ourselves through drawing.  Our two new friends led the discussion as the girls shared memories of feeling sad or angry.  But, my favorite portion of the day was riding in the van on the way to our friends house.  I sat in the backseat, leaning over the hold the hand of two girls.  They played with my rings, rubbed my hands, and simply leaned against my arms.  It may not be as exciting as scalding feet; but it's still a great story!
So, while I was riding in the van with both of my hands entwined around two little girls; I realized something.  There are so many different ways that we can tell stories!  We can obviously tell them, we can write them (my strong point), or we can draw and paint them.  As I look at the two stories from the past two days, I find two different stories.  One about the Lotus Temple and one about two little girls in a car ride, told through the eyes of my hands and my feet.  If you look at my feet, would you be able to see that story?  You might see the dirt from the dust and the black flip flops I wore.  You might see the red skin where it burned as it touched the hot tiles.  But would you look beyond that to see the fun we had or the pictures we took as we laughed at our aching feet?  The common thread?  My hands and feet. If you look at my hands, would you be able to see the story there?  You might see the rings the girls played with.  You might feel the bones the girls massaged until they cracked.  But would you look beyond that to see the faces of two little Indian girls?  Of course, the greatest story of all was told with hands and feet: a story of love and redemption, grace and mercy, all through the scars of nail pierced hands and feet.

Something's in My Shoe...

The pricking feeling came too soon for me to call out, although I made a little squeaking sound to punctuate the sharp object breaking through the sole of my flip flop and jabbing into my foot.  We were just leaving the market and the guest house was still a few blocks away.  After a mad dash across the weaving traffic and a relaxing walk back to what would be our home for the next couple of weeks, during which I limped to stop whatever impending doom might befall me from the unwanted visitor in my shoe piercing my skin, I finally bent to remove the offending flip flop.  No worries everyone!  The staple is now sitting on the desk and my foot is still intact.  (And my flip flop's no worse for wear either...)
Today we transitioned from our friend's house to a guest house closer to the girl's home, due in part to some more friends arriving to volunteer with us at the home.  They actually led the activity at the girl's home today, where we decorated prayer journals for the older girls and the younger ones painted pictures.  Stickers and paint and flower petals were everywhere!  But in the end, we had successfully completed the project.
After that, we all went to Surojeny (yeah...I have no idea how to spell it, but that's what it sounds like when you say it!) for some shopping.  I bought a beautiful set of six mini-tea cups (My Grandma collected tea cups through her whole life and split them between me and my cousin when she died.  It seemed appropriate to add to that collection.) and the beginnings of a sari.  This in and of itself is quite a process.  First, you pick out the color and type of fabric you want the sari and the bodice made of.  Then you haggle down the price (I only spent 10 bucks for mine!).  Then you have to buy the petticoat that goes underneath the sari, and since mine didn't have a drawstring with it, I had to buy the drawstring.  (So, now we're up to about 12 dollars and some odd cents.)  Lastly, I'll need to find time to take it to a tailor, who'll do all the measurements, sew the bodice, and hem the sari for me.  That was my big expenditure today!
After we rode the metro back to the guest house, we trekked down to the local market to find dinner.  We ended up at a restaurant that was actually part of a hotel.  I had probably some of the best minestrone soup I've ever had accompanied by french fries.  Not very Indian I know, but it was sooooooo good!  This was really our first day of freedom, where we could choose where we went and what we ate and how we got to and from.  Of course, freedom doesn't come without it's price...besides the shoe incident already mentioned, we had to brave the scorching heat at Surojeny and, on the way to the market, something akin to a nut that looked very much like a miniature lemon fell from a tree and hit me in the head!  Battered and bruised (slight exaggeration there...) I have arrived back at the guest house and am looking forward to a well-deserved rest.

Deceptive Strength

Bowling with newspapers and plastic bottles.  A classic childhood game, although sometimes the materials used changes (I know I had a miniature set of plastic pins complete with little plastic bowling ball).  The difference today was that the plastic bottles were labeled with things like darkness, loneliness, fighting, and...cockroaches (these are still little girls remember).  The newspaper weapons?  Labeled with things like love, peace, and kindness.  The story of David and Goliath is one that is quite popular among Christian circles, especially because it is accessible to children.  A young boy attacking a huge giant with nothing but five stones and a slingshot; and then there's the happy ending we all love: the giant is slain with only one shot.  Today, our little girls were practicing defeating their own giants of fear with the weapons God gives us.  Even though newspaper doesn't seem like a strong "weapon", it certainly does wonders against piled up bottles and boxes.  :)  Of course, the weapons of God are far stronger!
The strength of David was deceptive strength.  He appeared to be weak when he walked up to the giant; but his strength didn't come from his muscles...it came from God.  Yesterday I spent time with another who revealed deceptive strength: the woman who is the Indian director of the home.  Currently, she is battling brain cancer and the complications that come with that.  Yet yesterday went I sat with her for a few hours, we talked about God.  We talked about His faithfulness.  We swapped stories about how he'd worked throughout our lives.  Her strength doesn't come from her body.  Her strength comes from the giver of all strength: God.  It's deceptive strength.
I ought to explain where this idea of deceptive strength came from because it's slightly comical.  As with many lessons that God teaches us, it started as something literal.  Those of you who know me might compare my level of strength with David...perhaps less because he'd killed lions and bears and me?  Well, I'm too scared to kill a spider.  But, over the years I've discovered this deceptive strength of my own.  As I was helping yesterday, the woman asked me, "Are you strong?"  What she was really asking was, "Are you strong enough to lift me when I need help?"  Without a doubt, I answered yes.  And then I showed her, by helping to lift her up with one arm.  Her eyes registered astonishment at this weak young lady who could lift with such strength.  My eyes smiled back as I said, "Yeah, I'm stronger than I look."  Whether literal strength or spiritual strength, God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

Abandon

The past few days have been filled with so many new lessons and things that God has been speaking to my heart.  Here's just a few examples:
Lesson #1: There are people just like you
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get to know one of the young women that works at the girls home.  It had been a difficult day for everyone as many of the girls left to visit their extended families for the next couple of weeks.  The girls who remained returned home with us, looking forward eagerly to the return of their playmates.  As the evening went on, they went to visit a friend's home, while the staff member aforementioned and I went to the market to pick up some vegetables.  What started out as a short trip ended up as an adventure where I discovered Dreamsicles that are mango flavored instead of orange flavored, got to ride in a pedal rickshaw (which is basically a carriage seat fastened onto the back of a bicycle), and drank a mango-banana milkshake from a street juice stand.  The two of us talked and laughed and just had a fun time.  We have a similar sense of humor, like the same kind of things, and think the same way in many respects.  It was nice to find someone to connect with, even if they live on the other side of the world.
Lesson #2: God keeps His promises
When the girls had gone to bed last night, the staff member and I went upstairs to her bedroom, where she showed me a little porch overlooking the neighborhood...and more importantly, gave a great view of the stars.  We watched as the clouds hid the stars and then revealed them again as they drifted by.  We talked about watching the stars as kids.  We simply enjoyed God's creation, these stars that are so far off and yet near.  It made me think about the story of Abraham.  You know, where God tells him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars?  I love that God chose the stars to illustrate the promise!  You know why?  The stars are always there!  You can see them wherever you go!  There's no way to forget the promise!  No way to feel abandoned by God!  His promises are meant to be fulfilled, no matter how long it takes.  Our job is to hold on to those promises.
Lesson #3: You are free!
Today, I danced.  I moved without choreography.  I found my inner rhythm, of sorts, and danced with utter abandon!  After we talked to the girls about joy and how God gives it to us, Kendra and I put on some fun worship music and danced to it.  The girls love to dance.  :)  I myself am not really a dancer, mostly because I'm not good at it.  But today?  Today I danced.  The girls were not sure how to proceed, so I started off by kind of spinning them and jumping around...not really moving myself.  Then, I don't really know what happened.  It's kind of hard to explain.  It's like a cord was cut and I snapped free of what had been holding me back.  And then I danced.  Three little girls gathered in front of me, moving as I moved.  Laughing when I laughed.  Dancing with the same utter abandon that I was expressing.  When I finally stopped to breathe and struggled to keep myself from having an asthma attack, I felt that gentle whisper, "You are free.  Free to do whatever you want.  Free to worship however you please.  Free to use the gifts I have given you.  Be free!"

Celebration of Life

Perhaps Disney was on to something when he opened The Lion King with the celebration of a new life.  Today we had the opportunity to celebrate the life of two girls in the home: a birthday celebration.  The morning started with two little girls in Princess crowns sitting in the places of honor.  Around the room sat the rest of us, eagerly awaiting our turn to wish the special girls happy birthday.  Each girl, staff, or volunteer shares something positive that they like about the girl being celebrated along with their birthday well wishes.  Then, we brought in the cupcake with glowing candles, one for each birthday girl as a chorus of children's voices serenade in their somewhat off-key manner to the tune of "Happy Birthday".  When they'd blown out the candles, the girls were allowed to open their present.  Each girl receives a new outfit, which we had purchased at the mall a couple days ago.  Jeans and a cute top for the older girl.  Cute dress with leggings for the younger girl.  Then we transitioned to the dining room for the rest of the cupcakes, which were definitely a hit!  Then again, chocolate tends to always be a hit!
We took a break before lunch to make bracelets, which resulted in a lot of chaos...but also a lot of beautiful bracelets.  When we'd collected up all the stray beads, the girls dispersed to amuse themselves until it was time to eat.  This meant more playing with hair and playing hand clap games, mixed in with some dancing and picture taking.  After lunch, I got to help one of the girls practice reading in English, perhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip so far.  (I'm an English teacher at heart...)
The celebratory atmosphere of today contrasted sharply with our brief trip to the red light district yesterday.  The sun shining on the streets is rather deceptive, leading you to doubt what lies beyond the shadows.  Project Rescue has opened a center in the area where the mothers of the girls can come to talk, to get prayed for, and to find out how their girls are doing.  Meeting with the woman who runs this center was an amazing experience.  That is truly a life to celebrate!  She has dedicated her life to showing these women that there is a God who celebrates their life and that they are worth celebrating.  Truly, God loves to celebrate life; he loves to celebrate us!  We are His creation, His treasure, His children.  He celebrates our victories.  He celebrates our lives, and we are meant to celebrate right along with him.  Makes me want to spontaneously break out into singing Disney songs...

Two Questions

My apologies if this blog post is a little longer than normal and splattered with literary references, but I am an English major. :)
First Question: Who are you?
The age old question posed by the caterpillar in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is one that has been stalking me throughout these past days.  I suppose now is a good time to explain that I'm doing quite a bit of soul searching on this trip, trying to discover who I am, and in particular who God thinks I am.  As I go about each day, I find occasion to ask, "Who do you think I am, God?  How do you see me?"  I've received a variety of answers, but today's answer struck me while we were doing our activity with the girls.  Today we talked about owls: how they are associated with wisdom, how God has wisdom, how He gives us wisdom, etc.  Part of that discussion was spending time in prayer to ask God to give us wisdom.  As I was praying for Him to give wisdom to the girls, I felt Him whisper, "You are loved.  Show them that love."  A derivative of a line from The Miracle Worker spun through my head, "But, they aren't even my children!  How can I love them?"  I again felt God's gentle whisper, "You are loved.  I love you unconditionally.  You're not loving them; you're showing them my love."  (Get ready for another literary reference!)  It was at this point I remembered the book I was reading this morning.  Yesterday we were still sticking close to home to make sure everyone was feeling healthy again; so I had downloaded a book to read on my Kindle to pass the time.  It was actually a series of books that I had read before, two years ago: Ted Dekker's Black, Red, White, & Green, which if you haven't read them, I highly recommend them!  The chapter I was reading this morning was sharing the main character's first encounter with the love of God, described as the Great Romance in the book.  God tells Thomas, the main character, that He created him, that He loves him, and that it is his task to share that love with others.  The love of God is described with lots of action verbs in this passage: cherish, rescue, choose, protect, and lavish, just to name a few!  God's purpose is wrapped up in love, which makes sense since the Bible tells us that God is love; and love is meant to be an action!
Second Question: How do I show them your love?
So, then my second question arose.  How was I supposed to show God's love to these girls?  I don't speak their language; I barely even know them!  I've seen them three times at this point?  Four if you count church.  I was definitely at a loss for how to proceed as we continued with the activity.  It wasn't until we'd cleaned up the colored pencils, the papers, the trash, and dispersed to amuse ourselves until it was time to eat lunch that I found my answer.  I'll admit it.  I was still kind of at a loss as I floated from place to place in the home, trying to find a place that felt right.  I was rather confused about the whole "share love" mission; and I was simply trying to find some way to be productive.  I finally found myself sitting on the floor while one of the girls played with my hair.  She'd walked me through several steps to get to this point, like when you play house with a child and they role play what's been modeled for them.  Put your shoes under the bed.  Straighten the furniture.  Take off your glasses.  Pretend eyeshadow.  Pretend lipstick.  Pretend to put in your earrings.  Sit on the floor.  Let down your hair.  (At some point in there I did put my glasses back on...)  And then nothing but the gentle fingers of a child running through my hair.  As I sat on the floor, I began to realize what had just transpired.  This was how her Mom showed her love.  While I was still thinking about this, another girl came and curled up on the floor with me, placing her head in my lap.  Unconsciously, I began to rub her back and her hair, softly singing as I did so.  That gentle whisper in my heart: This is love.  Can you picture it?  Little Indian girl, sitting on the bed, playing with the American's hair.  American, sitting on the floor, playing with another little Indian girl's hair.  A chain of love.  Love is playing with hair.

When It Rains...

So, the saying goes "when it rains, it pours".  Today was kind of a perfect example of that saying.  The day started with the water from the faucet coming out orange, which meant we were out of water for the moment.  The good news is that was easily resolved once the water truck came to refill the water tank.  When I went out to the living room to inform my host about the water, I discovered that both her and Kendra had gotten food poisoning from something they ate yesterday.  (Don't worry, they both appear to be feeling better now!)  Thus, we would be staying home today, which was okay as it provided an opportunity to work on some homework for my American Lit class.  So, I spent the day reading.  In the afternoon, the power went off for around 2 hours or so (there was a half hour where it was on in the middle of that...) which meant no AC; but thankfully, the fans still work because there's a back-up generator!  Oh, and we literally got 20 minutes of rain this afternoon...which is highly unusual since it's the dry season.  Imagine the sky suddenly turning gray and semi-torrential rain like in a thunderstorm (minus the thunder and lightening).  But, it brought the temp outside down considerably!  Moral of the story: "in every cloud, there's a silver lining".

Make Mine Gahna

So, yesterday we went to the girls' home, where we were met with the calm before the chaos.  There were so many guests coming yesterday that the staff was in a tizzy trying to get ready for everyone!  So, Kendra and I occupied the girls for about half an hour with our first activity we'd prepared.  Using a mirror as a visual aid, we explained to the girls how God does certain things (like love others) and we are supposed to reflect Him because we are made in His image.  Then, we played a game that I've seen used in a lot of theater circles: "The Mirror Game".  Each person is paired with a partner.  One of them is the leader, and the other is the follower, a.k.a. the reflection.  The girls seemed to have a great time playing!  They jumped up and down, played with their hair, and several of the older girls incorporated some Indian dance moves into the exercise!  When we were finished, we took some time to have the girls talk about what they experienced.  They had really good things to say about learning to follow where God leads them and walk the path He sets out.  Lastly, we incorporated what appears to be one of their favorite mediums: song!  Dividing them into two groups, Kendra and I taught them how to sing and do the movements for "Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu".  (It's that traditional kid's camp call and response song where one group is the "hallelu" and the other is "praise the Lord".)
By the time we were finished, the guests were arriving!  The two American couples from church on Sunday, along with the Indian director of the home, another Indian pastor and his wife, and a new volunteer who had just come that morning all piled into the sitting room, where the girls entertained them with some original gahnas (Hindi word for song) that they had written themselves.  They also say one song in Hindi that they had learned at church.  All of the songs were accompanied by actions, so it was quite fun to watch!
Following a quick lunch, we laid the girls down for nap time and headed home.  The rest of the night we spent relaxing and eating some Indian food that the maid had prepared for us.  Ice cream for dessert and off to bed, although we got to watch a fascinating documentary about Windsor Castle and several episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance" before we finally called it a night...

Jolly Good Holiday

Well, today was my first Sunday in India!  We went to church this morning, which was awesome.  I had one of the girls sitting on my lap during worship.  :)  We attended the English service so I understood all the songs and were familiar with most of them.  There were quite a few hymns and traditional choruses, some that I hadn't had the opportunity to sing in a long time!  The pastor had been raised to a prestigious position of leadership within our denomination this past week; so, the church took the opportunity to celebrate him.  I got to meet him and his wife after the service, and they seem to be very wonderful people!  Ironically, we weren't the only Americans there today; there were two other older couples visiting the church, including the guest speaker.
After church, we went to another market for lunch at a cute little Italian pizza place.  Sundays are a pretty slow day for most markets usually, so there weren't a whole lot of shops open.  In fact, most markets are completely closed, with this one being the exception because of the tourists that come to the restaurants in the area.  At the restaurant, I had this fantastic pizza with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, and black olives!  (Can you tell I'm into chronicling food?)
The rest of the day was spent relaxing...and for my part sleeping.  I woke up just in time to watch the beginning of the Diamond Jubilee celebration on BBC.  Because India was a British Commonwealth for many years, the TV stations here revolve around British television; so, BBC is a big deal.  Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating 60 years on the throne in this Diamond Jubilee, which lasts for 3 days!  The celebration began with a parade of 1,000 boats on the River Thames, which we have been watching for the last hour or so.  God save the Queen!

So Many Words

Today being our first day with the girls, I used a wide variety of Hindi words.  Here's just a sampling:
Aap ka naam? This means, "What is your name?"  With 16 girls in the Home, I had to continually ask for names!  They're all very unique and pretty, so hopefully I'll have them down soon.
Bat-toe, which means "sit down".  We were visiting another friend today (with air conditioning), so we all piled into a large van/bus for the half hour trek to her house.  Of course, buses don't have seat belts, so we spent a lot of time reminding the girls to sit down. :)
Sundra the Hindi word for beautiful is a great compliment to share when you're working on coloring pages, which is what the girls were doing for the first part of their visit.  They all love to color, even the littlest ones!  Sometimes I got to help them, picking out colors and shading this or that.  Each action is accompanied by this little compliment, which I can mix up by adding the word behout to make it behout sundra or really beautiful!
Kahna (which to me sounds like carne...root word of carnivore) is the word for food.  We had our first official Indian meal today!  Rice with vegetable-type curry and yogurt curd, which I think is called daal?  It was very good, and the girls like it too.  Theirs was accompanied with some chicken nuggets to go along with it.  We even had cupcakes for the girls to celebrate someone's birthday, who was turning five today!  The adults had chocolate peanut butter bars graciously provided by our host.
Shapatoes...shoes.  When you enter a home in India, you generally remove your shoes to keep the floors as clean as possible.  It sounds like a great idea, until you're trying to get 16 girls to put on their shoes to head home!  With a lot of laughter, and some help all the way around, everyone arrived back home with two shoes on their feet.

*Of course, Hindi doesn't use the Arabic lettering system like English does, so I'm writing my approximation of the phonetic sounds.

Markets, Mangos, and BLTs

Well, I have survived my first day in India, with jet lag, and appear to still be in tact.  It was a pretty slow day, mostly just doing some shopping and trying to stay out of the heat.  (Apparently, it was approximately 117 degrees today.)
I tried a mango this morning, which was definitely worth eating again!  Normally I'm not a fan of the flavor, but this was super sweet and tasty.  After breakfast we went to a market where we were able to buy some kurtas (shirts), dupaches (scarves...although I'm not sure if that's how you spell it or not), and pants (which I do not know the special name for) that'll be a lot cooler than our jeans and t-shirts!  Then we got to experience the Indian form of grocery shopping.  Everything is in little stalls that are laid out kind of like a small grocery store, just with the addition of flies, stray dogs, and lots of Indian men trying to sell you things.  It was certainly an experience!  We bought a lot of fruit and vegetables, which have to be bought fresh quite often because they go bad so quickly in the heat.  (Notice heat is a common theme?)
Ironically, our first meal, excluding breakfast, in India was not Indian.  :)  We had BLT sandwiches instead, which was much appreciated on a stomach still having flashbacks of tasteless airplane food.
In the afternoon, after a nap, we went to a department store version of the market, where we were able to buy some more kurtas and pants at a bit of a higher price.  But, there were dressing rooms and actual sizes on the clothes and air conditioning and fun music playing in the background, so it was completely worth the higher price.
Now, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open for just another half hour or so before I head off to bed.  We just finished a walk up the street to one of the many freelance tailors who sit along the roads or in stalls in between shops.  (Some of my shirts needed to be let out a tad bit.)  There were some more stray dogs along the side of the road and I think I almost got hit by a couple cars while crossing the street.  Overall, a pretty relaxing day!  Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings!