An in between day!!!

Everything is over here on the GA campus.  Friday's performance of Pilgrim's Progress was delightful.  I was the Chief Guest which is a much bigger deal than I had realized.  India is a land of pomp and circumstance, and the protocols that were followed seemed a little over the top for me, but . . . I had to make a speech, and kept it short and sweet as I was warned that people don't generally listen to the CG's speech!  I borrowed a sari from a friend, which thrilled the kids, and I have gotten good reviews from friends on the speech!  It was sad to say goodbye to the kids in boarding, and reaffirming to hear several of them tell me in devotions Thurs night what my time here had meant to them.  I have, admittedly taken them into my heart as well.  They seem genuinely sad that I won't be here when they get back on Jan 15.

I am having an 'in between day' because my friends that I am staying with initially in Mussoorie are traveling back from Mumbai today!  So, tomorrow I will lock the door here and look forward to spending the rest of the year up in Mussoorie!  I will 'shift' to a second location on Christmas Day.  More on all of that next week.  I do hope to get to see my second bride and groom while I am up in the mountains, and three of the girls from Grace Hostel live up there, too.

It has become chilly, and I realize that I am not adjusting so easily to the cooler temps with no 'creature comforts' . . . The best place to be warm is outside in the sun, where I am now, or in bed, where I do spend more time than usual once the sun goes down, usually reading or playing games on my iPad!

I sense that one of the reasons that I am on this current 'pilgrimage' is to help me see that although my memories are rich beyond measure, coming back to India to live permanently isn't the best thing for me.  I have a sense of anticipation to see what will happen when I get home, two weeks from tomorrow!  Yes, I have started packing . . . for Mussoorie, and for home!

I trust that you will have the Merriest of Christmases.  I admit that it doesn't seem like Christmas at all.  Perhaps that will change when I get up to Mussoorie, and the people I'm staying with are getting ready to celebrate!

Light to warm us . . .

 Above is the title of the chapter in the book on Advent that I am reading for today.  It couldn't be more appropriate to the situation in which I find myself today here in Dehradun.  You see, the Winter rains came on Fri, and this time it wasn't a 'tease'!  Colder temps are settling in, and it is colder inside than out at times since houses in India are built for the heat of summer, and do not have central heat!!!  Sun, though not our friend in the summer, is our best friend this time of year.  It never managed to peak through the clouds yesterday!  My Yahoo weather assured me that this entire week would be sunny which I was looking forward to, but . . . this a.m. it took awhile for the fog to 'burn off' and the sun to break through.  I wanted to attend the assemblies for grades 3 to 5 and Nursery to grade 2 this a.m.  In the fog, that was a chilly experience.  I got some pics though . . . this is the last week of school . . . I can procrastinate no longer!

Birthdays, mine as well as other members of my family, a special event at church, Christmas, a few creature comforts that I miss . . . I have to admit that I have had a tinge of home missing since the beginning of Dec.  I love being here, but I also miss being there.  I love friends here, old and new, but I am missing out on things with friends there who are going on with their lives without me!  Of course, that is natural, and I know that.  Yesterday I read this on FB . . .

"You will never be completely at home again.  Because, part of your heart will always be elsewhere.  That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."

All I could do was thank the Lord for this reminder.  The quote is actually written for TCKs, and I am not one, but I think I qualify as a TCA and have always been helped by things that I have read about those who have become 'green' as we are neither blue or yellow . . . because our passports tell us we belong one place, but our hearts tell us differently!

My birthday has come and gone.  The lovely cards that the girls made for me were endearing and reassuring.  Many have said that they are sorry that this is our last week together, that they will miss me when they come back, and that I MUST return!

I am the Chief Guest at the final program on Dec 18th.  They are very excited about that especially since many of them now know that I intend to borrow a sari for the event!

I support one of the boys here by contributing to his boarding fees.  It has been nice to get to know him a little bit.

I am going up to Mussoorie for the day on Wed to attend the wedding reception of Birju, and I hope to find out more about the plans of the first set of friends that I am staying with to see exactly when I should head up the hill for the holidays.  I will move to another friend's home on the 25th where I'll stay for a week.  We plan to take a couple of long walks that I have been longing to take for sometime but never seem to have time to do so!

This trip has been so reassuring that all of the years that I have invested in this great subcontinent have been worth it!  Thank you, Lord, for your good gift to me.  I am looking forward to learning what is next!

I just gave up!

Everytime I blog, I run into the frustration of not being able to edit it like I would like to, and I don't want to take the time, or go through the frustration of getting it just how I like it, so I posted!  Now, as you read 'Tis the season, please accept my apologies if there are mistakes.

I left off with the girls liking my hair!  It's now back to normal because I don't have a blow dryer with me nor would I ever have the patience to go through with all that the stylist did!

The other big thing that is happening here this week is a bonfire on Sat night!  The girls are really looking forward to it, there will be more performances . . . something else to practice for.  Apparently, there is also good food, but no marshmellows!!!  S'mores some other time back in the US of A!!!

I am going to spend the week after Christmas up in Mussoorie with friends, and I am looking forward to going on some of my favorite walks during that time.  I still haven't made a final decision about returning to Delhi for my flight on Jan 5th @ 3 a.m.!

'Tis the season . . .

I'm overdue for a post.  I have had very spotty WiFi connections this week, and am so thankful to be up and running here at the flat, at least for now.  My other alternative is to go over to the school.  I can't really concentrate over there, and so I am really pleased to be able to get this done here on my dining table/desk.

It's my birthday . . . the last in this decade, which is sobering at best!  The girls in the Hostel know because when they were over, they guessed!  I have tried to keep a pretty low profile otherwise!  In India, YOU treat on your birthday.  So, I have ordered a huge cake for the 91 Boarders to enjoy tonight, but I don't want to have to share treats with everyone, and I don't want them to feel like they have to do anything for me.  Things are also VERY busy here with the end of the school year activities and seemingly endless practices.  More on that later!

Yesterday I took Maria and Judy out for lunch, they are mother and daughter!  It was kind of an early celebration for me and a thank you to them for their warm hospitality.  In addition to that, the cantata at PTS is largely Judy's 'baby', and I wanted to celebrate with her that it was over, and a success.  I also had dinner with former mission colleagues last night . . . two Western meals, including meat, and no rice yesterday . . . that in and of itself was a celebration!

I enjoyed the time with all of the girls.  I still don't have all of their names straight, but I have made some progress.

On Dec 1st,, the school timings changed!  Because of the cold mornings, and the absence of central heat, school now starts an hour later, and finishes an hour later!  That means it is nearly three when we have lunch, and after three for those who are in the final program, Pilgrim's Progress, on the 18th!  I am the Chief Guest . . . if we are friends on FB, you can check out the invitation!  I've never been a Chief Gues before!!!  Pictures of the girls in their class groupings are also on FB.  Some of the girls race back when practice is over about 3:10, and those who play band instruments have another practice at 3:30.

Last week I also spent a fair amount of time at this table/desk prepping!  In addition to the two devotions a week that I lead for the 'kids in Boarding', I took staff devotions on Thurs and addressed the Sr. School assembly on Fri.  I appreciated the positive feed back from several of the teachers, I get little or no feed back from the kids, though I have a feeling that they like the things we have talked about.  One of the 11th grade girls told me last Fri, "Good job, ma'am . . . short, sweet and to the point!"  That isn't the usual style of some assemblies, appartently!

On Sat I once again spent the day out in greater Dehradun with Maria, Ramesh, Sophia (3) and Nadia (1.5).  Maria's cousin was also with us most of the time.  We went to a food festival at one of the other 'institutions of higher learning' in the area and even took in one of the big new fancy malls here in town.  During my first year at Woodstock, this area formed a new state, and now DD is the capital. It has grown and changed so much over the past 20 years.  Some of that is nice, other factors, like the traffic, make you miss the good old days!

Sun after church, I went to one of my former favorite places to eat in DD, in fact, I would say that WS staff frequented there regularly . . . they even gave us a discount!  A sizzler was among the favorite things to order.  So, I indulged on Sun.  I was there earlier than most Indians eat, and so spent an hour all alone in the restaurant eating at my leisure and reading.  Then, the people started filling up the tables and I exited to return to the Seminary grounds for the Cantata, a favorite thing to do here at Christmas time when I am here.  Tea on the grounds afterwards is always a nice time to meet and greet.

With much fear and trembling, I went to get my hair cut on Mon.  I went where Judy gets her hair done, and I was pleased to find one person in the shop who spoke English.  I got a wash, cut, and style for less than $3.00, and I must admit that I am pleased.  The girls raved over the style which lasted on