Time's beginning to fly!

So, here we are on another Mon in Dehradun.  It is sunny and pleasant when you are outside, but still chilly inside, especially in the early a.m. and in the evening!  One day last week it rained, I can't remember which one, and this time of year that generally means that the temps drop, but they haven't, and thankfully the sun has shone brightly ever since!

Another surprise today was that school lets out early on the last day of the month.  There were workmen in my place this a.m. searching for a Christmas tree that was put away somewhere last year, but no one seemed quite sure where!  Oh dear!  They returned once, but I haven't seem them since!  I also spent an hour and a half waiting for the dobi, the man who does your laundry, for a price, of course, to come and pick up some things!  He'll bring the things that just needed ironing back in the a.m. and the things that need washing will come back on Wed.  The labor intensive society is working for me this week!

Last week on Tues and Wed, I helped Mashaphi, who looks after the girls in Boarding oversee the study times . . . school was closed, but the Boarders have to spend four hours in a study hall!  Yikes!!!    So, I had time to work on my devotions, read and even played a few games on my ipad!  It did work for me to have two groups of girls over both of those days!  I have enjoyed getting to know the girls better, and they seemed to enjoy coming over for 'treats' and a chat.  They have wanted to know more about me and have enjoyed looking at the pictures I have in the ipad . . . can't believe I don't have any of when I was in school, young, etc!!!  They think Virginia is beautiful!  Today is Class five, tomorrow is Classes three and the one second grader that is in Boarding.  I know that's young, but . . . Then, I've had all 60 over.  Their parents do a variety of things including Bible translation, teaching in a school setting, medical work, teaching/preaching in a church setting, training, etc.

I gave myself permission to take Thurs (Thanksgiving) 'off' and went to Rajpur to pick up what I had left the week before to be 'stitched' as they say here.  It was a disappointment, but I did enjoy the different kind of a day.  Maria, a former Woodstocker with an American mother, had me over for dinner that night and cooked up quite a tasty 'Thanksgivingish' meal.  Ramesh, her husband is a gem.  Their two little girls are amusing at best.  We had such a good time talking and catching up!  Ramesh teaches at PTS.  Maria's father has been the principal there for quite awhile!

Sat was an inter-house Volleyball tournament . . . houses, its a British thing . . . and I also attended a marathon Christmas songs competition.  It lasted well over 5.5 hours, was in English and Hindi, solos and choirs . . . our English Choir took second place.  I had been warned, but couldn't have anticipated how long and tiring the evening was going to be!!!  I was really tired when I got home, and all of yesterday!

So, with the coming of Dec, I have started thinking earnestly about what I am going to do after the 25th . . . need for some things to become clear . . . in the mean time, I am happily hanging around here, and trusting that the Lord is using my thoughts and words as I live among these 'kids'.

To God be the Glory!

Settling in . . .

So, it has been a week since my return to Dehradun!  For me, things have been fairly quiet here.  The world around me, however, is a busy one!  It has been nice for me to sleep until I wake up and then have breakfast and a Quiet Time here in the flat before going over to the Girls' Hostel for a.m. tea where I am able to check in with the girls and Mashaphi who looks after them on what just might be up for the day.

School ends at 2 and more than a few of the girls are involved in practices for the final program which will be on Dec 18th.  Some are in the choir which practices behind the building where I am living.  Others are practicing for the play Pilgrim's Progress.

I have taken devotions with the Boarders twice this week . . . there are 91 Indian MKs who study here and live in the two hostels.  I shared Tues on what the Lord was teaching me about trusting Him, even in hard times.  On Fri I spoke about lessons I've learned from Joseph on God having the Big Picture which helps us realize in the midst of 'hard times' that we can TRUST him.  I am planning two or three more lessons on Joseph.  I am not sure what the schedule is for this week.  It seems that Tues and Wed are holidays . . . we have lots of them in India because of there are several religions practiced here . . . this week they are Sikh holidays, I believe, and no Sat school!  Yes, they DO go to school two Saturdays a month.

Another thing that the students are practicing for this week is a Christmas song competition between church choirs which will be held on Sat.  Our students sound pretty good to me.  Let's see how it goes.

At the end of devotions, with just the girls, last night I began teaching them FINGERPRINTS OF GOD by Steven Curtis Chapman.  I learned earlier in the week that he wrote than for his daughter which makes it more meaningful for us  girls, I think.  Several have told me that they like it.

On Fri I went out to Rajpur, a town on the way up to Mussoorie.  It is where Sharp Memorial Blind School is located.  It is run by a couple that I was in OM with 40 years ago.  Their children went to Woodstock.  It was lovely to catch up with them, and I also ordered a sweater to be knitted by some of the blind women who live/work there.  Unfortunately, I lost my black sweater the first week I was in India, and have been borrowing one that belongs to a friend that was knitted by a Sharp Memorial knitter.  Of course, the 'problem' is that I need it by Christmas, if possible.  Apparently, their fastest knitter, a woman in her 80s just fell and broke her hip.  They think they can get it done if several women work on it.  I think it would be special to own such a sweater.

I also went to Chhaya Cafe which is a place where women who are poor and need employment have learned tailoring and cooking.  I had a delicious lunch there . . . nice to eat Western after a steady diet of Indian food . . . they are going to make a skirt for me out of some Indian fabric that has been lying around waiting for something to happen to it for the last 6 years!  It is a tribal 'outfit' that needs to be wrapped, and I have not been able to remember how to successfully wrap it.  I will be interested to see how it turns out.  I'm also looking forward to the return trip, if for no other reason to visit the lady who started the place . . . PTS and WS connections there also!

Church this a.m. in one of my favorite places on this side of the world . . . Presbyterian Theological Seminary . . . sitting on the Chacko's front porch while the children were in SS is another treat that I enjoy!

This week I am planning to have all of the girls over to my flat in Class groups . . . all of those in Class 12, 11, etc.  Otherwise there is just no way that I am going to learn everyone's name, and I don't want to spend 5 weeks with them and not know who they really are.  Of course, I am also interested in what their parents are doing and where they are working.  Several are on the 'count down' for the end of school for this year and Christmas break.  The older girls have lots of extra classes to help them prepare for their so I am hoping it will all work with the time slot that has been given.  Maybe with these two days off that I didn't know about things can be worked out nicely!

Nesting in Dehradun!

I arrived back 'home' yesterday at about noon, just one day shy of two weeks since my departure.  The six days in Nagaland were packed full of friends, food, and festivities!!!  I am very glad I went, but I am equally glad that the travel is history for the next month.  I am travel weary!

I spent my first and last nights in Nagaland in Dimapur with Dolly who is Kedu's, the bride, aunt.  She is so warm and friendly.  We met as I exited the airport, and in a minute or two, it felt like we were long lost friends!  After a quick lunch and being shown to a lovely guest room on her premises, Asola and Meren, sisters, came and picked me up.  The destination was Meren's restaurant where we were joined by three other old Woodstock students.  It was between 15 and 13 years since I had seen most of this group, but it took us no time at all to begin catching up, telling stories and having a grand ole time!!!  I was 'informed' when I returned 'home' at 7:30 that I was 'late'! Dolly and her husband had retired for the evening!!!  I was surprised, but I was given dinner separately, not that I really needed to eat again!  (I'd always been told that Nagaland was very different from the rest of India culturally.  True . . . in Kolkata, for example, no one eats before 8 or 9 and goes to bed much later!  In Nagaland, they eat by 6 at the latest, and go to bed early, wake up early . . . it is very dark by 5 . . . )

Kohima, the home of the bride and groom, is a 'hill station' about two hours drive from Dimapur.  Dolly, her driver and I started out about 8 a.m.  Kedu was expecting us to arrive by 10!  We didn't get there until 11:30 because of several stops, really bad roads, and lots of TRAFFIC!!!  One of our stops was to pick up a friend of Dolly's.  The three of us had a really enjoyable time traveling together!

More eating, meeting relatives, friends who had traveled up from Mumbai, where Kedu has been training to be a surgical oncologist . . . let me stop to brag here . . . she is the only person in the whole of NE India who has this qualification.  And, oh yes, Kedu was struggling with nightly fevers and not feeling well.  In good medical hands, her mother, father, sister and brother in law all being physicians . . . still no treatments broke the cycle.  Even so, she was a gloriously beautiful bride!!!  I didn't get to see or meet the groom until the ceremony.  They look like brother and sister, I think, and are a truly adorable couple! The ceremony was conducted in two languages, one of them being English.  My oh my, what a 'charge' to the couple!  Then, both sets of parents were asked to stand, and they were also given Biblical 'instructions' on allowing their children to leave and cleave!

Nagaland is a Christian state!!!  I have never been anywhere in India quite like it.  Churches everywhere and lots of evidences of people of faith.  Formally headhunters, there are 14 Naga tribes, a rivaval came to the area several decades ago.  Kedu's dad says that they have American missionaries to thank for their growth.

The reception was held at a large Christian convention center.  I was slightly overwhelmed by the number of people who were gathered for a generous buffet meal.  I was equally surprised when not too long after we started eating, the whole place seemed to clear out.  That happens a lot in this part of the world . . . eat and leave!!!  Of course, most of those people greeted the bride and groom, sitting like dolls up on the platform receiving their guests!

I didn't see them again, but was able to do a little touring around Kohima the next day.  There is quite a beautiful cemetery there commenorating many Indian and British soldiers who gave their lives in the area fighting the Japanese.  I was there on Nov 12, the day after American Veterans Day.  It was pretty special.

On the 13th I returned to Dimapur and Dolly's gracious hospitality and spent the afternoon and evening with another very special old student.

I was hoping to see Kedu and her groom on Sat at the airport . . . there are only two flights out a day.  They were due to leave on their honeymoon.  I knew that her older sister and family were also slated to be on that flight.  Word was that Kedu was responding to some anti-Malaria drugs.  Time was already running out for boarding when the sister and family appeared.  The baby boy was quickly put into my arms so that they could finish getting all of their things and other children through security.  Kedu and hubby had changed their departure date.  Hopefully she is continuing to Inprove.

After a night in Delhi and a short flight, then a long ride from the airport, I arrived back at Grace Academy.  I very happily unpacked and sorted out two weeks worth of dirty clothes!  Long story short there, I was able to get everything clean by washing some things by hand and by doing others in the principal's washer!  They even have a dryer!!!  So, everything is clean though I was expecting the dobi to come this evening to take some things to be ironed.

It has been nice to have time with the 60 girls in the Grace Hostel for meal yesterday and today.  Their dorm parent and I both thought of the same song . . . Mary Did You Know? . . . for the students to learn for a Christmas song competition coming up.  I am not sure who the other competitors are, but . . . surely I will know before long.  I also spoke with the principal briefly today, and he would like for me to be the 'Chief Guest' at the final program on Dec 18th.  Of course, I accepted, and hope to be properly briefed before hand on exactly what that means.

Before I close, yesterday the big news from those returning from church was that a young girl had just died over at the Seminary.  She was just three, a student of the Nursery Class here.  It seems there were complications from pneumonia.  Very sad!!!

The weather is cooler here which is welcome to me.  During the middle part of the day it warms up, but it is 5:30 p.m. as I write, and it is definitely time to close the windows and doors.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am confident that He is in it with me!  I am so grateful to belong to Him!!!

What a week!!!

So, here I am again on a Sat with some much needed down time!

So much for thinking that flying from Dehradun was such a great idea.  It is a tiny airport, so the flight to Kolkata last Mon began with a flight to Delhi!  As the clock ticked well past our departure time, with the lay over in Delhi a short one, and with only one boarding pass in my hand . . . well, I just wondered how this was going to work out.  I wasn't the only one 'sweating' the connecting flight. But, I decided that there was absolutely nothing I could do, but trust the Lord for the outcome.

Yes, the flight had left for Kolkata without us when we arrived in Delhi!!!  The Delhi airport is huge and directions that I found easy to follow were not forthcoming, though I asked several people.  Finally after several askings, I ended up at the luggage 'belts' and was told that my luggage could be picked up . . . what a relief!!!  I was then given instructions as to where to rebook my flight, that also took several askings to get me to the correct place, and I was the last of my fellow travelers to get a booking on the flight out at 7 a.m., and was then wisked off to a nearby hotel which was certainly nice enough . . . bill footed by the airlines, and told that I could get dinner, also on the airline!  I crawled in bed about 11 p.m. with my alarm set for 4 a.m. as the car was leaving to take us back to the airport at 5 a.m.  Happy to report, I slept well those five hours, and was in the lobby at 4:55 a.m.!

We took off and landed according to schedule, and when I exited the airport, an EMC driver was there to meet me!!!  Unfortunately, he had started for the airport the night before as I hadn't gotten word to the correct person in time.  Gracious as ever, it took us almost as long to get from the airport to the office, where I am also staying in the Guest Room, as it did to get from Delhi to Kolkata!!!  The traffic would not have been so heavy the night before, but it was rush hour in Kolkata!!!

It was my first time in the new airport here, and my oh my there are lots of new roads, flyovers they call them here, that do help with traffic.  We were almost here when I finally knew where I was.

This feels like home, too, and the welcome was very warm.  There has been lots of skepticism about the fact that I am only here for a week, lots of  comments on the 'new do' . . . most don't like it and don't mind telling you so!  So goes life in India.

On Wed I made my way to Calcutta Emmanuel School and spent time with friends there, then walked across campus to visit the girls in Pauline Bhavan, where I lived for a total of 10 monhts.  The evening was finished off with dinner with the RoyDas family . . . a very nice time to catch up.  Craweled into bed latish that night and again, slept like a log!!!

Thursday all of the Pavement Clubs . . . there are four . . . celebrated Children's Day here at the EMC HQ.  Several of the teachers at the Pavement Clubs have been my English students in the past.  It was special to have this day with them and many of the children who get some 'informal' education at these clubs but do not attend school.  They are from various slums around the city.  At times it was hard to tell who was having more fun the children or their teachers.  These women and a few men are really so committed to these children.  Many expressed a desire for me to return to help them with English, something that I am open to.

Yesterday I returned to S. Kolkata to CES for Bible study, which I took, for the girls at PB and a few of the school staff.  I shared about Joseph and how God has the big picture even when life doesn't go your way.  Those girls really know the details of the study.  We also talked about ABIDING in God as that has been such the theme of 1 John.

Later today I am going over to see the boys at Anandoloy.  I have seen most of the ones who attend CES, but some go to Bengali medium schools.  It will be great to see them all.  We're having a special dinner together . . . my treat!

It is hotter than I thought it would be, which has been draining, and the traffic jams . . . oh my, but the reunions have been sweet!

Tomorrow is church.  Monday a.m. I am off to Nagaland