Day 13

India Time: 4:58 PM (July 7, 2013)

CST: 6:28 AM (July 7, 2013)

As you are going.  It's something my Grampa talked about a lot.  You don't need to go to India, Nepal, Africa, or Peru to be carrying out God's work and furthering His kingdom.  Rather, you need to make it your business in how you live your life that other's see Christ in you.  I have been truly blessed to spend the last twelve days teaching alongside some amazing Christians in India.  I've been privileged to work with them as they are going, making it their business to teach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I cannot imagine a better way to have spent three weeks and it is incredibly sad to have it end.  

Even as I type, it's hard to look out the train window knowing we're putting the miles between us once again.  It's not any easier to write knowing that this is the last time I will be talking about wonderful children and working with some phenomenal men, Pastor Jyothi and Brothers Solomon, Prem Kumar, and Santosh.  (At least in writing, I can't imagine that I'll stay quiet once I get home).  :-)    

Church this morning was once again amazing.  The children were so excited to see us.  While we were high fiving and getting started with shaking hands, a mother brought up her son.  When I reached out to shake his hand, Pastor Jyothi pointed out that he couldn't reach back.  He had some sort of palsy.  But he smiled at us the whole time.  He was absolutely beside himself with joy when Brother Nathan went back to high five him. As they were singing to prepare for the service it was hard not to get choked up knowing that this was our last one.  The church was probably the biggest we visited.  The children listened attentively to the program.  Brother Nathan and I decided that if our voices weren't gone by the time we got done with Father Abraham we wouldn't have put enough into it.  The congregation loved it!  The kids were on their feet, spinning around and laughing right along with us.  

It was so hard to say goodbye this morning.  Not just because it was our last program, but because no one at the congregation wanted to let us leave.  The pastor thanked us over and over and thanked Brother Nathan and I especially for our "action song."  They had so many questions: Are you married?  What is your husband's name?  Do you have children?  Don't you want children?  We prayed and prayed and prayed.  We shook hands and took pictures, and smiled...a lot!  When we finally left, the children chased the car out of town waving all the way.

When we got back to the hotel we presented gifts to the gang (Brothers Solomon, Santosh and Prem Kumar).  I know I have said it, but I don't know that I could ever do justice to everything they did for us.  How much they became part of everything we did and how much they loved us as much as we loved them.  They adopted us as siblings and joked with us, even though we couldn't understand each other.  They threw sand at us and dunked Brother Nathan when we went to the beach.  They took pictures and made us laugh and smile, and encouraged us by letting us make them laugh and smile.  They showed us the ropes.  Not to mention everything they did to make sure we got where we needed to go, everyone could hear us, or to make sure we had light.

Goodbyes were very brief as we went running for our car at the train.  It was such a quick boarding that there we no hugs or long goodbyes--Just quick waves and kisses blown.  The train was pulling away before we even found our seats to wave out the window.  And now, sitting here watching us get further away, I can only be grateful for a quick goodbye as a long one would have been much harder.  It feels like we're saying goodbye to better than family and I can't wait to come back.

As you are going,

~Becky Haddad