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Although the weather has been very hot for us, (daytime 40C in the shade + rain = high humidity = sticky skin), we have been busy each day.  Mid afternoons are reserved for times to ‘take rest’ as is the culture here, and we are thankful for it!  The power is on and off at times and during a rest time you might just find one of us laying on the marble tile floor which seems to be the coolest place – not the softest.

Here are some of what we’ve been doing this week:

*Spoke in a church, a ladies group and to students at a Bible school.

*Visited a man who has set up a free education center in a village where most have no power. He provides a place with light for children to come and do their studies in the evening as well as schedules sports games on the weekends.  This man is about 55 years old and grew up in this same village and wants these children to succeed.  Thirty children came the evening we went to spend time with them and to share stories with them – Jamie’s fishing stories and pictures are always a hit with men and boys of all ages.

*Foot care clinic – a friend of the family is a doctor with a private clinic, so he made space available that Jamie could come and offer free foot care service to whoever wanted.

*Visited a pre-school set up in a tribal area – a lady is taking care of the children so that the parents can go to work.  The little kids were so cute…although it was the first time I was so sad that this little 2 year old saw my white face and began to scream! It created a good laugh for all of us.

*A visit to a leper and AIDS colony.  Visiting with a man who has lived as a leper for 20 years at this colony.  These people are cast aside with no hope for a job and survival is very tough.  The colony was started may years ago by a catholic priest and since each family has a little house to live in.  The dream of those in the colony is that a school could be built so that their children have a future to look forward to.

*School for Mentally challenged – a compassionate man quit his government job as a special educator and started a school for those who are dear to his heart.  Family members often see their special needs child as a punishment from a sin in the past, thus the child is often neglected and set aside.  This man has built a school with his own money and unfortunately there are no toilet facilities due to the lack of funds.  Children must go in the field.  There is a team of teachers as well as an Occupational Therapist who comes in to work with the students who attend each day.  Special programs are created for each child and education is also given to the parent on how to help their own daughter or son.

The week had more outings and opportunities but these were the highlights and we felt privileged to participate at each place.

Today we speak at a church in a village and then this afternoon we will catch an overnight bus for the 16 hour trip to Munnar in the state of Kerala.  We don’t know what next week will look like, but trust it will be filled with more lessons in culture as well as opportunities to serve these wonderful people.

This past week has been a wonderful week getting to know our new family as well as serving in ministry at many places.  Nine years ago we met a young woman who was part of Jamie’s Health Care team.  She was only 19; her name is Mahiba – the same age as Bobby.  It wasn’t long before we our hearts melted together and we were family.  It’s been 8 years since we’ve seen her, but we’ve kept in touch, thanks to the internet and the occasionally time when we’d phone her.  Not only our lives have full in the past years, but she has been able to accomplish many things as well.  Mahiba continued to work with YWAM for a bit and then went to nursing school where she obtained her BSc in Nursing to become an RN.  This fall will be 3 years that she has been married to a wonderful pastor, Dickrose.  We’ve had the privilege to be staying with her and her husband who live with his mother.

The week has been filled with so many cultural lessons that one would never experience if you were just a tourist.  Family members were here each day, and some days even

staying for night as we talked late into the evening (yes, it was late as dinner in South India is around 10 pm!).  When we were not outside the home visiting a village, doing medical care or speaking to students, you might find us playing a game of Carom with our nephew (10), reading to our niece (4), watching a BBC wildlife program from our laptop with 6 kids around us, eating amazing food or just talking together and sharing the similarities and differences of our cultures.  “Mum” who is the head of the house (55 years old) has been single for many years since her husband was bit by a snake and died.  She rules the house and although she does not speak much English, our communication is not difficult, and we have been blessed by how she has served us all week with every type of Indian food she could cook.

Brother-in-law has taken time off of work to drive us to some sights as well as show us his office where he works as a legal advocate and the court house where his line of work takes him.  The past few days we have also seen many of Mahiba’s family as they have come to visit.

Today we say ‘so-long’ until we come back for a couple of days to catch our plane at the end of August.  Although we have been blessed that this family has shared their lives with us, we should not be surprised as Indian culture is all about hospitality.  And they do an amazing job!