Day 8

India Time: 10:00 PM (July 2, 2013)
CST: 11:30 AM (July 2, 2013)

I know I say it every day, but today was as fabulous as any of them. We woke up early enough that we had some time to connect with our friends and families back home. A few of us (Sister Jennifer and Brother David) also spent some time exploring. Most of the rest of our day was figuring out our craft and gift situation since we only had about two full churches left on the gifts we had. Pastor Joythi found some crosses made of a scratch off material, so we will be subbing those in for the puzzles. Since we now have two projects that need crayons (the puzzles and the books) we'll pair those.

It really sank in with Brother Nathan and I today just how much concern Pastor Joythi has for our well being. He's been concerned anyway about making sure we eat enough and are having a good time. With Sister Jennifer not feeling especially well (but feeling much better today!), we overheard Brother David thanking him for his concern. He responded with, "You're my responsibility, brother." I don't know that we really had a full understanding (and probably still don't) of just how much he feels he needs to look out for us.

Last night was as wonderful as any. When we first got to the village, two boys chased our car into town so they could greet us when we got out. Since the church is just getting started, we visited the church, but didn't teach there. Currently, the church is a thatched room frame (very short--even I had to duck) with concrete bags around the sides. We prayed for the church and it's growth as well as the pastor and his family. While we were there, they showed us some of the ground peanuts, this time more mature than the ones we saw on the road (not quite mature enough to be peanutty).

From there, we headed back into the village. (The church is on the outskirts of town). We had our teaching outside in the center of town rather than in a building. The kids were so excited to see us! Before we even pulled up and stopped we heard shouting and yelling. We got out of the car to see about 60 children yelling and waving with big smiles on their faces. There wasn't much for electricity in the town, so it took a little while to get the generator and lights set up. Nathan and I started with the high fives and hand shakes. We walked around the group a little bit and before I knew it, I was on my knees with about 10 girls swarming to touch my hands and ask me questions. The kids wanted to see us dance, and they started singing the chicken dance! They knew all of the motions and were thrilled to do it right along with us! :-) We also sang "I Just Wanna Be A Sheep," and they thought it was especially funny when we did the Saducee (Sad You See) part of the song.

Our teaching went well, and for the most part we did it by camping lantern and very loud talking since the generator wasn't cooperating. The kids were so excited to sing Rise and Shine and were very active in their responses to us. They would comment on every picture holding up fingers for "ok" and saying "beautiful!" Pastor Joythi has started having us sing Father Abraham twice--Once so the kids can see all the motions, and again so they can do all the motions with us. It's working out pretty well. :-) We talk so much about the kids excitement, but that same excitement makes it tough to say goodbye at the end of the night.

Today was the half way point. We had our half way lesson (6/12), as well as our half way all together (9/17). It's hard to believe that we've already been gone for a week and a half. The nights especially (that's when we teach) go way too fast. I imagine that they'll only go faster from here. Thank you for your prayers and for keeping us in mind! I think I can speak for all of Team #1 when I say we're having a fantastic time! We are incredibly blessed to be here!