Amazing are Your Works, Oh Lord! : )

Ok people, I have some amazing news! MacResources just donated $500 to the kids bed fund! Its amazing what the Lord will do through people, when those he cares about care. So far, we have a total of $813 (including the generous gift from Mac) out of the $1400 that we need! 313 dollars of the money was raised by selling t-shirts. Thank you, all that have helped us move forward with this project!

Coconuts

Waking up in the morning to the sound of brooms swishing against concrete and little whispering voices, is so wonderful. One morning, I walked out from a interesting bucket bath. Let me take a moment to diverge. *Cough couch* In India, we did not take showers, because there were no shower heads. We did not take baths, because there are no tubs. Instead, we had two ten gallon buckets full of cold, cold water. Laying beside the bucket, was always a little measuring cup like thing. Generally it was a yellow, green or blue color. When I first saw it, I could help but giggle at the interesting opportunities I knew I would have. Ok, back the the beginning.Water dripped from my hair and left big dark spots on my shirt. I tiptoed my way outside and on bare feet, and sniffed in the sticky, salty air. Little voices grabbed my attention, and fingers grabbed my arm. Looking up I saw Solomon, climbing a coconut tree like a little monkey. His feet gripped into the tree, as he scaled the trunk. Before we knew it, almost all thirteen boys were scaling trees like cats on a carpet castle. Their little brown eyes flashed with excitement. As fast as they had scrambled up, they flashed mischievous smiles and wriggled quickly back down. Suneetha chimed nervously“ Slow slow…SLOW!”

Pic on left: top to bottom David, Hamen

Pic on right: Solomon

Mornings

There is no way in the world to describe the love and admiration I feel for the children. Even though they have gone through more than probably anyone of us could imagine, joy simply bubbles up from their little souls. Smiles spread across their faces, and laughter bursts from their little lips. They simply fawned over us while we were there. From the moment that we stepped out of the car, to the tear stricken goodbye when we left, the kids little hands were all over us. Their kisses were on our cheeks, and their love whittled its way into our hearts.

The mornings were generally the most calm and relaxing. Peter, Solomon, Zacheus, Swatekenen, Ridu, Raju, Jonah, Daniel, David, Hamen, Moses, Mathewe and Andrew (all the boys) were normally busy bringing water from the well. At least one of them would sneak into our little bathroom and fill our buckets, for bathing, every morning. Ramia, Renuca, Glory, Esther, Mary and Martha (the girls) were usually busily scurrying, cutting, peeling, sweeping and mopping.

Sometimes, I would sit in the kitchen and watch, while Suneetha and RajKumari cooked. The strong smells of curry always gently wafted its way through the house, hitting your nose with a gentle, spicy tingle. RajKumari took great pride in her cooking and loved to watch as we ate. Glory was the most helpful in the kitchen. Her little pigtails would bounce around as she looked this way or that. I sometimes would catch her cutting onions or cracking peanuts. She always cocked her head and would say, “Hi shishter.”

I miss the soft touch of little brown hands. I miss being called “akha”. I miss the smells, the sounds, the smiles. How can someone get so attached in a week? How can I fall in love with a place in so short of a time? More importantly, how can I get back?

We have seen them face to face

On Saturday, February 13th, we left on an adventure. On Tuesday, February 23, we arrived back home. The only difference between those two moments in time, is that at the moment we left home we knew nothing, had seen nothing, tasted nothing, experienced nothing. But the moment we arrived home, our hearts were bursting with memories and a new love.A love that had secretly been unfolding itself in a space of ten days.

From the moment that we stepped into Visakhapatnam, friendly kindness enveloped us. Suneetha ( the un-boilogical mother to the children and overseer) grabbed my arm and squeezed me. Her head only came to about my shoulder. She smiled and greeted me with excited, broken English. Three of the boys ran beside us, dodging through other people and trying to grab our bags. The fresh smell of the Indian Ocean hung everywhere and people screamed as a political leader paraded down the sidewalk.

We squeezed our luggage into the tiny van, and jumped in. The boys sat in the back huddled on top of the bags. Smiles split on their faces like a ripe fruit and they grinned from ear to ear. Driving to the orphanage for the first time, was the rude awakening to how people, in India, drive. First off you are racing down the oposite side of the road, and secondly, you are dogding and weaving bobbing and honking. Dogs are crossing, people are hobbling, bikes are racing, three wheelers are warbling and giant lorees are plowing around you. ( A loree is what they call a semi.)I think I nearly squeezed Suneetha's arm to death one time, while we raced on the wrong side of the road and a giant loree blared its apporoach.

Seeing the orphanage was an incredible feeling. "It is real." "We really were a part of something amazing." Those are some of the awe inspired thoughts that swirled. When we got out of the car, 20 little voices excitedly shouted "daddy!", "ahka!" ( Ahka means sister in telegu). At least ten pairs of little hands grabbed my arm and dragged me into the little building. White teeth against dark skin, flashed at me in smiles and little pink tongues rolled, in excited words. WE had ARRIVED.

Written by: Shaina

In the picture, (from left to right) is Peter (13yrs), Solomon (13yrs), and Moses ( 11 or 12yrs).