Hi all! This is Becky M from Team 3 finally with some down time to post again! We have been very busy travelling and teaching all over South India, and God's blessings and the incredible experiences just keep coming! There is so much I want to tell you all and feel like the only place to start is where I left off...probably more details than anyone needs, but I know I left some friends back home in suspense after telling them I'd blog about one of my favorite days and then never got around to it...so here it is now...
I think it was Saturday...We spent the morning painting the inside of a big church building. The original colors were dark green on the bottom half of the wall and blue on the top half. We were asked to paint over it all with a light blue color. We worked hard and got the job done, even had time to finish the front entrance way outside when Matt and the pastors returned from their meeting. We went to Bhaskar's house for lunch and we were served a delicious meal very similar to what we had at the welcoming ceremony. After lunch, Bhaskar wanted us to "take rest" - literally, he wanted us to lie down and rest and began began kindly preparing a place to rest. Since we had several hours before we'd be leaving for VBS, Matt suggested that we go visit a waterfall instead.
So we went with Bhaskar and our driver Kumar to the waterfall. Kumar warned us to be very careful of the monkeys, telling us they will take food items and even cameras. I wasn't too worried until we got out of the car and there were monkeys EVERYWHERE! We witnessed several monkeys stealing things from motorcycles and one even jumped into a car...so we heeded Kumar's warnings and kept careful watch of our belongings.
People were selling mangos along the path to the waterfall. Bhaskar bought us one and though I was still full from lunch, I managed to eat a few pieces. It was good and was firmer and more tangy than the mango we had in Nellore. Not wanting to walk around the monkeys with a mango in my hand, I passed it off to Matt to finish before we hiked up to the waterfall.
There were many people at the waterfall, mostly men. There was a place built in - almost like a balcony - where you could stand underneath the waterfall and feel the water. Matt was urging all of us to walk under the waterfall...but with a crowd of men in their underwear laughing and dancing beneath the waterfall, Vanessa and I thought it best for us to stay away from it. Andrew also declined, so Matt went over by himself and he and the Indian men waved to us from the other side.
After we were rejecting more of Matt's invitations to go under the waterfall, Bhaskar told us he knew of a smaller waterfall nearby. We drove a bit to a more isolated location and walked a gravely path by some hills. We came to a small waterfall and a pool of water with rocks, trees, and many butterflies. It was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful and relaxing there. Matt and Vanessa decided to go into the pool of water, followed by Andrew who swung in from a branch. I was only going to dip my feet in but as I was navigating the rocks, Bhaskar kept pointing out rocks I could use to climb into the water, and I eventually decided to go for it and went completely in. Even walked over to put my hands in the waterfall. The cool water felt so good after spending all day in the hot sun.
We sat there for a long time just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful nature surrounding us. Bhaskar picked some flowers off a tree and told us it was the "Lutheran symbol" flower. Its shape did resemble the shape of the rose on Luther's seal.
Eventually we had to go so we could change out of our wet clothes and teach VBS. We were all set up to teach outside that evening but it began to rain as soon as Matt started the introduction. So we a took shelter in the tiny, narrow church. The power was out so we taught in the dark. Someone lit two small candles for light, and we used one to lighten our posters for the kids to see. Andrew also improvised a really neat lesson about Jesus being the light of the world and giving us the light to share with others. To illustrate his point, he passed the candle to a young boy. It was a very inspiring lesson. And it was so touching to see how happy and eager the children were to hear us teach about Jesus, even in the dark with the rain pouring behind them.
On the way home we stopped for KFC. Yes, they have Kentucky Fried Chicken in India! Except, the choices of chicken are Curry Crunch or Hot & Spicy. Thankfully Matt and Vanessa recommended that I get a Chicken Twister which is basically a wrap that had only a slight spice to it. When we entered the KFC, I noticed the young men working at the counter glancing at me and then at one another with smiles and slight head nods as if to make sure they all noticed the blonde white girl who just walked in their restaurant. The cashier I got didn't seemed phased by it however, and I think I probably gave him a slight scare when I made a mistake with my money. The price was 222 rupees and I gave him what I thought was two hundreds and one fifty. He said "no, it is 2-2-2." I didn't understand what the big deal was and why he couldn't just give me change so I said, "I know, but that's all I have." Then I realized my mistake...I had put a 10 rupee bill down instead of 50! Oops! So I quickly apologized and scrambled to dig the 50 out of my wallet, but couldn't find it and flustered gave him another 100 which meant he had to count out a lot more change. I guess I just confirmed the stereotype of ditzy blondes...! ;) In my defense though, I was very tired that night...
Thankfully we had "off" the next morning so we could get some much needed rest!
More stories to come...
Becky M.
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