Sunday, January 22, 2012

A day to remember


Mornings are filled with such peace and solitude here at New Life Children’s Home. As I sit here Sunday morning I watch the sun rise and listen to the roosters crowing and view the haze moving over the hills in the distance. The kids aren’t up yet for their normal morning worship which begins promptly at 6 am because they will be having a church service later so the American luxury of “sleeping in” is in full force. Usually by this time of day the sounds of pray and singing are filling air with serenity.
I may not be adding photo’s for the duration of the trip, I let my camera out of my hands for the inevitable “one photo” by some of the kids and by the time I got it back it only was working when it was plugging into the wall. While this normally wouldn’t bother me much, I doubt my writing skills are as vivid as the color and imagery of my trusty Kodak. I may add some later that were from previous trips if they seem to work.
Yesterday was quite special in a few ways. The morning started very early for me as my sleeping cycle hadn’t quite adjusted to Indian time yet. I was up around 3:30am and sitting under a mango tree on a cement barrier and two boys had gotten up to “do their business”. Afterwards, they came over and sat down next to me, they saw my bible and started looking through it and asking me to read certain passages they knew. Since they were both small, and being chilled by the early Indian morning, they wanted to sit VERY close to stay warm. One boy sat between my legs and the other between his, to conserve heat and make it easier to read. After a few minutes, I began to notice just how special this time was. All three of us began breathing in unison as we sat and read, and watched the sun rise together. Although our verbal languages may have been tense, the common bond of simple companionship abounded and was both relaxing and refreshing for body and soul.
Later that day, I was walking through the schoolyard while the kids were in class. One of the staff had told us to just walk in and listen in to some of the teachers while they instructed the kids: I think they were setting us up! As I took off my sandals and was walking to a desk towards the back, the teacher grabbed me and asked me to TEACH the class. Now for a person with a barely  working knowledge of the english language, you can imagine how difficult this task would seem to a group of semi english speaking students. I was sweating bullets as I walked up to the chalkboard and looked at the “lesson” they wanted me to ex plain. A love story about desire and marriage…to 20 teenagers. I don’t know if all the chuckling was about my method of teaching or my obvious discomfort with the situation. I found it very disheartening that the teacher had actually left the room leaving me to the wolves so to speak. I doubt HE wanted to teach that subject! Anyway, I survived, although they probably know less know than before I was here…
So anyone out there, if you think you aren’t qualified or have any talents that could help on a mission trip…rethink your thought process. If you can hug a child, or smile as they laugh. You are SO ready to come and get the experience that will last you a lifetime. Having the best time here with Sandy, the group, and our kids. Wish everyone could be here!

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