Christmas Photos!

No time to write anything now. But above you will find photos from our holiday, me in my saree and the new terrorist look that I tried out to protect my sunburnt face! Happy new year!

Photos

Oh, and if you are interested, my church has a blog: www.powerhousech.blogspot.com

HOLIDAY AT LAST!

Hi everyone,

Well, I finished work yesterday and now have a break until the 2nd January- we really need it! This week has been the craziest week so far in terms of business, and you can tell by the state of our flat: glitter, paper, pens, clothes, dirty plates, etc covering our floor. And the bathroom has become a cockroach graveyard! But it has also been one of the best weeks so far, especially with all of the special Christmas activities we have been doing.

We attempted to teach the Christmas story to the Balwadi children with no translator and it was actually quite successful. We had a great time journeying around the classroom to Bethlehem, following the star and pretending to be shepherds! I had one of those memory-sticking moments at Balwadi the other day. I was sitting on the floor supervising the cotton wool sticking (we were making snowmen!) and a little girl came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck, as the kids often do (usually to my annoyance!). And I was just sitting there listening to her sing her own version of "If You're Happy and You Know It", in my ear and I was thinking about how privileged I am to be able to work with these kids and spend time with them. It is so rewarding to hear them proudly performing the songs they have learnt or to see a kid who has been crying for the past hour come over to me as I leave and say goodbye. I had to go home that night and comb out a big fat juicy nit from my hair, but I'd say it's worth it!

Fun Station has been excellent this week. We decided to do the classic chocolate eating game, with the knife, fork and dice, and the kids LOVED it! They, of course, went away and told all their friends that we gave them chocolate, so we are now ambushed by children asking for chocolate when we walk through SD Puram. I discovered some "Number One Hits" music on my iPod, so we ended up spending one evening dancing to YMCA with them. I would have never guessed I'd be in a classroom in India dancing to YMCA with a bunch of 12-year-olds! I feel like I have wrapped about a billion pass-the-parcels as we have done them with almost every group we have. But all the preparation was worth it and we had a great time. We could hardly get out the door when it was time to leave because of all of the cheek pinching, kissing, hugging and making us promise to be there on the 2nd January. Oh, and Mum- we gave the stickers you sent to them as a Christmas present and they were VERY pleased!

And, of course, Jacob's Well: it really has felt like the end of term at school there and I'm not sure that the girls have really done much work this week. On Thursday we had parents evening, although actually it is only the mothers who come to hear about a daughter's education. The girls were VERY excited about us meeting their mothers and we had a good chance to practice our Tamil with them! Oasis also held a short health and hygiene presentation for the mothers as they are mostly from the slum, and after that we got the girls to show them their books and folders. I was quite proud of them all! We have had a lot of Christmas activities this week for them, too: singing "The 12 Days of Christmas", playing pass the parcel with forfeits (hilarious), dancing... And then yesterday we had a party with them and brought a big cake in the shape of a Christmas tree- it resulted in a lot of cake-feeding (a cultural thing where it is normal to shove a large slice of cake in someone else's face) and food fighting. We said our goodbyes to them, too- it feels very final even though we will be back in a few days! The girls all come over and say to us, "Teacher, feeling, 10 days," which translates to "Teacher, I am feeling sad because I won't see you for 10 days." It is nice to feel appreciated! Once again, there was a lot of cheek pinching and kissing- I think I need to invest in some cheek padding before we leave for England.

We have had a lot of rain again this week, apparently unusual for this time of year. We have also had to go out quite a lot in the rain, which involves wading through rivers of water thanks to the poor drainage. Vijay has taken to wearing a woolly hat everywhere which we find hilarious. He says it is cold, but I feel just about right now. We were all singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." at the office yesterday, not that any of the people who work there have ever even seen snow!

Our flat is now being infested by red ants who have made their home by our front door. I take great pleasure in pouring boiling water over them every time I make tea. In fact, we also had a bit of an ant issue in the kitchen. And trust me, these aren't just any old ants: they are the most vicious red ants in the world! If they crawl on you they will sink their evil little pinchers in and give you a good old bite. Why God made ants and termites I do not know, but it is my personal mission to remove all of them from our flat!

We went saree shopping this week (a fairly stressful ordeal with all the Christmas shoppers) and I now own a rather beautiful dark brown silk saree that I have no idea how to wear! Becky says she will show us for Christmas cos the whole wrapping thing is pretty complicated. We have decided to start doing sit-ups everyday, given the amount of belly that is on show when you wear a saree!

Naomi left us this morning for Kerala and is then going home to England. It has been really nice to have her with us, although we now have a bit more space in the auto without trying to squash four people in!

So that is pretty much my past week. Last night I was so exhausted from all the late nights staying up preparing, rushing around, trying to get everything done. But we have a nice holiday coming up and are looking forward to going to Ooty next week (so you probably won't hear from me for a fortnight). It feels like our time here is going so fast now- only two working months left, and then we have a two week holiday. I want to make the most of my remaining time here!

There are a couple of things you could all pray for:
- Safety on our holiday that we really need to organise a bit more!
- A good rest over the Christmas break.
- The new projects starting up after Christmas at Vyasarpadi and Jacob's Well.
- Many new ideas, energy and enthusiasm as the three of us plan our work for the next month.
- That in every area we are working in, we really will strive to be imitators of Christ and point people to Who we trust in by our actions.
- For all three of us and our families as we are away from home for Christmas.

So, thank you all so much for the support so many of you have given and for the Christmas parcels and cards and the like.

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year if I don't post again before then! Something Becky was talking about has stuck in my head: how amazing is it that the AWESOME God of the universe would choose to be humble Himself to the extent of becoming a helpless, dependant baby? It is hard to comprehend!

Take care,

Love Kandace

1 Peter 5:5-6
And all of you, serve each other in humility, for
“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

Jeremiah 1:12
Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it."

Nit combs, Byriani and Christingles

Hi everyone,

What a week this has been! It feels like we have been going non-stop since Monday. There is just so much to do, especially with all of the Christmas stuff! I know it must have been a stressful week because we have felt the need to visit the Fruit Shop a total of 5 TIMES. Terrible.

Anyway, last weekend was spent doing some Christmas shopping for each other. Trying to secretively buy presents for each other when we are all in one tiny shop is a tad tricky! And we took Naomi clothes shopping. I am terrible when it comes to clothes shopping here- I want to buy everything! Maybe I will keep wearing Indian clothes when I am home... We also discovered that one of the things we miss most about home is eating boiled veg! I never would have guessed it, but with almost everything being fried here, it is a refreshing taste to have grease-free, boiled potatoes and beans. It is strange, the things you miss. I am also looking forward to having fresh air to breathe. The pollution is pretty bad in the city and my lungs are starting to suffer a bit.

On Sunday we visited Sparky's and were greeted by the most amazing Christmas decorations you can imagine! They really go in for the over-the-top, tacky decorations here. There are so many Christmas events and productions, too. We have been invited to so many that we could spend every night of the week at one if we wanted to. On Monday we did go to a big open-air concert which made us feel very Christmasy. When we arrived, there was a company hading out leaflets on the door- it turned out to be advertising termite killer! Made us laugh. We did enjoy the concert, although it was a bit long. By the end I had stopped noticing if they were singing in Tamil or English. We also found our claim to fame, because the neighbour whose flat we borrowed after the fire was conducting the choir. We didn't realise quite how well known he is in the musical world!

Yesterday we had two Christmas parties. In the afternoon we had our work get together, with everyone's families, too. We carted our Christmas tree and decorations over to make the hall look a bit festive. There was some hilarious dancing going on and we had the joy of Byriani for lunch. Byriani is the Indian equivalent of a roast dinner, but I just can't see what is so special about it. I have certainly tasted better Indian food! I was a bit worried that we would be forced to eat it again that evening at our church Christmas party. Thankfully, though, we had the closest thing to a proper roast dinner that we are likely to get here. Sparky's were catering and we had mash and chicken and stuffing. It was so good! (I know, you are all thinking that I have finally lost it, telling you about my dinner. Trust me, it was good!)

Sabrina and Helen have had a bit or a rough week as they have both had a nasty stomach bug that had them in bed for a day. There was a lot of sick flying around in the flat! Nice. So far I have kept clear of it (the bug and the sick!), and hopefully it will stay that way. Naomi has been fine, too, other than the fact she realized that a lot of the children we are working with have a proper nit farm going on. As a result, she decided to try to buy a nit comb, armed with a piece of paper with 'nit comb' written in Tamil. It was hilarious watching her go into the shops and show the owners the paper, who immediately try to stifle their laughter. I said she should go up scratching her head furiously, just to add to the effect!

We have had some fun since Naomi has been here- it is nice to have some new company, as lovely as Sabrina and Helen are. We are forever teasing Sabrina about her 'poshness', being from Kent and all. The other night I told her that my house didn't have a fire place and she was shocked, informing me that she couldn't imagine a house without one. I also get my fair share of teasing in return, apparently for being too competitive and having bad table manners...

Enough rubbish- I should really tell you all about work. We have taken to walking to work to try to keep fit, seeing as we are no longer members of the gym (it was too expensive in the end). One of the roads we walk down is covered with big advertising posters (something Chennai is famous for) and I found it hilarious to see a group of goats munching on one straight off the wall. Wish I'd had a photo! We are also getting a lot more confident to venture out alone , which is something I really appreciate. Just walking to work on my own is a welcome break from always being in the company of other people.

Tamil classes are going well, although I do need to practice more. Last week I learnt how to say, "You have a big stomach." Could prove useful... We do spend quite a lot of time just chatting to our teacher rather than learning Tamil!

Balwadi has been going well this week. On Monday one of the kids came in with the most horrendously infected thumb I have seen- there was (what looked like) green mould growing all over it. We took him to get some antibiotics and sprayed it with antiseptic, and were glad to see it looking much more healthy and pink on Friday. We are going to try carrying some antiseptic spray with us to put on the little cuts and scratches we see, just to keep them from getting infected. We are doing musical instruments as our topic this month, so I thought I would bring in some household objects that we could use to make music (loo roll shaker, coconut shell clacker, etc.) When I got out my glass bottle and blew over it, for the first time in history, there was silence in Balwadi! Their eyes went so huge and they just stared in amazement. It was hilarious! They then all had to try to do the same, with little success.

Jacob's Well is also keeping us busy. I am getting to know Deevia (the new girl) a bit better now. She knows more Englsih than we thought, but is just so lacking in confidence. I did have one atrocious English lesson this week because my class was split into two warring factions. Whenever I asked one of the girls of one group "What is her name?" (pointing to a girl in the other group) she would refuse to say the name of whoever it was I was pointing to. Made the lessons a bit difficult and I let them know I was not happy about it. The next lesson was much better, though. I guess like most girls they spend all day, everyday together and are often having their disagreemets. We were also talking to them about getting married this week. They all think that we will be old ladies when we marry if we wait for 5 or 6 years! They marry so young. We had fun making various Christmas crafts, with a lot of glitter flying around and far too much cheek-pincing going on (a strange Indian sign of affection).

Fun Station is proving to be more and more exhausting! We get about 10 girls and 10 boys now, but they can be so hyperactive. We did a proper dressing up and acting out Nativity with them which was great, tea towels and all. The wise men brought a pack of eclairs, baby Jesus was a teddy, the kings were wearing our curtains and cuddly Tigger was our sheep! I think we enjoyed it as such as they did. We also went on to look at why Jesus came (to save us) and I did the classic four points with them. We asked them to share stories of when they had been saved / saved someone else, expecting some funny tales. One boy shared about how his mother had had an evil spirit and a priest had cast it out of her. Another boy said that his Dad had tried to kill himself one night by pouring kerosene over himself and lighting it. This particular boy woke up before he had lit it, though, and woke his Mum up, who saved her husband. Playing games and having fun with these kids, it is easy to forget what difficult backgrounds they come from. In many ways they have had to grow up so quickly. The young girl who is usually looking after her younger siblings has been able to come more often and I am getting to know her quite well. Every time we walk past her house she comes out and walks with us for a bit. It is just so good to be able to spend time with them having fun and letting them be kids. We tried to teach them Little Donkey this week, and on Friday we made Christingles. They loved that!

On Thursday (Human Rights Day) we went to Vyasarpadi to participate in a rally that Oasis had organized. It was the first real event that Oasis have held in that community and it went pretty well. The work there is still scheduled to kick off in January, so please keep praying for that. The best part was that on the way there I got to travel by motorbike and for the first time practiced riding with both legs on one side (cos I was wearing a skirt). It is definitely one of the best modes of transport!

It is only one week until our Christmas holidays and I cannot wait! We are spending Christmas day in Chennai, probably with Becky and her family, but that evening are taking an overnight train to Ooty where we will spending 5 days with the Bangalore team. I really feel like I need the break! Being here really makes mes appreciate all the people who are working so hard around the world for God's Kingdom. We meet such amazing people who have given up everything, good careers, comfortable lives, prestige- all to work with some of the poorest people. And I know, particularly from those people who work for Oasis, that the work can be so difficult (living in England it is easy to have a rosy view of helping people and of them being so grateful and accepting) and unrewarding and plain exhausting. But they keep going! Try to take some time to pray for the missionaries you know this week. I enjoyed reading the updates from Mali and South Africa in the Vision magazine!

So quickly, a few prayer requests:
- For our health, that Sabrina and Helen will continue to recover and Naomi and I will not catch this bug. Also that the pollution here will not bother my lungs.
- For a good rest over the Christmas break so we are refreshed and ready for work in January.
- For safety and a good time on our holiday to Ooty.
- For the Jacob's Well girls to have good relationships within the group and also for the new class to come together in time to start in January.
- For the health of the Balwadi children to improve and particularly for the little boy with the infected finger.
- For the kids at Fun Station- thank God for the increase in numbers and pray that we continue to see more kids attending and that discipline does not become a problem.

Have a great week everyone!

Kan x

Sabrina (who is going to Cambridge) "You know, apple is like a fruit."

Psalm 97:5
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.

1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

Photos

2 months gone and it's already December!

Kaalai Vanakaam! (Good morning!)

It is December already- it feels like I only just arrived here. The
first day of December commenced with me layering myself with a
generous amount of sun screen in preparation for spending the day
outdoors in the SM Nagar slum community. Oasis ran a programme for
World Aids Day there, and we spent a good 6 hours helping out with it.
It was so good just to be there again, playing with the kids,
practising our Tamil, getting a glimpse of the lives of the people who
live there. There were various events: a tent with a number of
educational posters about HIV/AIDS displayed, a quiz for the women, a
street theatre. I spent most of my time there walking around with the
street theatre- there was a little procession of kids who we briefed
with banners and slogans and we did a big walk around the whole slum
area, stopping every so often to perform the drama (which was focusing
on HIV/AIDS prevention). There were a huge number of people who crowded
around to watch and there seemed to be a lot of interest. With my
limited language skills, I was put on leaflet handing out duty (along
with a little helper I acquired called Rosie!). This meant that I was
able to walk right into the homes and exchange a few words or a smile
with the women and children there. I got to see much more of the slum
and the lifestyle of its residents than I have on previous visits- it
just made me want to work there regularly even more! There was also a
testing centre open, and a couple dozen people went to be tested, but
there is still a lot of fear surrounding the whole issue and that put
a lot of people off. Generally, though, I think it went well.

The other projects are also going well. Balwadi continues to surprise
us with how enjoyable it can be, although I still find that screaming
children who are pulling my hair brings out the worst in me. The
hygiene there really isn't good at all- sometimes the smaller kids
will pee on the floor and then just sit splashing in it. I disinfect
all of the resources we bring there as soon as we get home! And (not
surprisingly) a number of the kids are unwell and have various
infections and colds. We are wondering about the possibility of
finding a doctor to bring in. Even basic medical care would benefit
them hugely. But the nursery is actually not run by Oasis, and our
involvement is really the only link they have, so this could be
difficult. We spent hours there yesterday, but we did get to meet the regional
director of the Balwadi centres and he seemed pleased with what we are
doing.

I have good news about Jacob's Well- Deepika has come back! And we
have a new girl called Deevia who is only 12 (we aren't sure if she
will be allowed to stay because of the child labour laws). She speaks
virtually no English- I had to tell her how to spell her name- so
teaching her will be a challenge! Sathya who was a very challenging
pupil for me at first has turned into my star student and helps me out
a lot in lessons, explaining things to the others. I never would have
guessed it when we first arrived! We attempted to teach them some
Geography this week, which they enjoyed. Some didn't even know where
India was on the world map. They have never and probably will never
get the chance to travel outside of this state, so it's not really
surprising. We also discovered that there may be a new class of girls
from January- more teaching work! It would be good if they can get enough girls enrolled to make a class. We are looking forward to starting all of our
Christmas activities with them over the next two weeks.

Fun Station has been split into an all-girls and all-boys group, so
we basically run the same thing twice every night now. It is more
work, but we have a lot more kids attending and they are easier to
manage this way- there is less fighting! We also ran the tuition hour
for the girls once this week, a real challenge given our lack of
Tamil. I discovered that they have no idea how to use a western
toilet- you really don't want to know how! The kids here are still
pretty hyper, but our newfound Tamil skills are helping us out now.

We have been having about 40 mins of Tamil lessons every day with a
lovely lady called Beulah. She tells us we are doing well, and I
certainly feel like I have learned a lot! Sit in a circle, listen, be
quiet, etc, are all proving useful phrases. And in Tamil, 'money'
really is 'time'! It feels so good just to be able to communicate a little and
be able to pick up words when people are speaking to each other.
Whenever we talk to anyone in Tamil, they are so surprised that
sometimes they forget to reply to our question and just start talking
excitedly to themselves in Tamil. Either they are shocked that a
foreigner is speaking their language or I'm not saying what I think I
am!

We have spent a lot of time at the office this week, helping to
translate writing, checking and writing reports, doing typing work-
that kind of thing. As we get to know the people we are working with
better, spending time at the office gets more and more enjoyable. We
have a good laugh with them now! The work ethic is a bit different to
the UK- not sure how efficient they are, but they certainly have fun.

We have had more visitors this week. A guy from Switzerland who is
starting work for Oasis in Kyrgyzstan (is that how you spell it?) and a
lady from the UK who is working in Mumbai. We found ourselves really
glad to be able to help out someone else and show them around. It made
us realise how much we have adjusted to life here. And we also have a
new flatmate called Naomi, who is spending 3 weeks here. She is also
from England and is getting some experience over here before going
back to her job as a youth worker and for Save the Children. We are
already looking forward to taking her shopping and to Sparky's this
weekend!

We moved into a new cinema for church last weekend. It is apparently
the only one of its kind in India, and I can believe it! The seats are
amazingly comfortable, to the extent that you are likely to nod off in
church (combined with the cinema lighting it is lethal!) and they
recline, too, just in case you are struggling to doze off. They
decided to close off the seats at the back that look like giant
armchairs and recline to 160 degrees. Probably a good move. And it
has and Egyptian theme, so we get to sing worship songs surrounded by
Egyptian gods.

Anju, a friend from church, invited us over for a film on Sunday
night. We all came home raving about how good it was to sit on a sofa,
eat pizza and ice cream, watch TV...we saw 'Little Rascals' (ok) and
'Meet the Robinsons' (which I recommend). We also went for dinner with
one of our neighbours called Marjory. She is a bit like a lovely
grandmother who fed us far too much- she just kept coming out with
more food until there were about 7 different curries plus meat and veg
and all kinds of stuff. I haven't eaten so much since last Christmas!
It was good food and she promises to give us some recipes. And we got
to talk to her about her work and her family and that kind of thing.
It is a really good way to find out more about the culture here.

In case you were worried(!), our fish are now doing well and I no longer
think they will die. I decided they had white spot and so went into
the fish shop and tried to explain this to the lady, who disappeared
off and then returned with a bottle of medicine. Seems to have done
the trick! Archibald is doing well, but seems to be getting more
noisy. Sabrina and Helen still don't like him, but I am hoping I can
convince Naomi that he is a good pet to have.

Now, for my most traumatic experience so far: on Wednesday evening I
decided to clear out a shelf in our resources cupboard for Naomi to
use for her things. I lifted up some sheets of paper and was greeted
by a colony of billions and billions of large termites. I did scream,
and stuff like that usually doesn't bother me. But they are the most disgusting creatures ever. We sprayed a lot of termite killer spray that night, and some
cockroach spray, too, just in case. I dreamt about lifting up my pillow and
finding termites under it that night. Urgh.

I am feeling quite settled here now. This last week is the first week that I have really felt like this is home. I think having a few friends and being able to communicate a bit has helped the settling in process along a lot. We were reminiscing about home the other night and decided that we will actually be really sad to leave here, even though there are still things we miss about home. I am even getting used to the freezing cold showers now! We have had yet more rain this week and the other morning we were actually cold- everyone here is piling on the jumpers, but it is still in the 20's!

We are enjoying our advent calendars muchly, now increased in number to 10! I am going to be fat when I come home. Another idea we had for advent is to pray for a different country each day in which Christians are persecuted. If you are interested, let me know and I can email you the details. It certainly is eye-opening to read about it.

So, I think that is about it.

Prayer requests:
- Thank God for Deepika's return! And for the new girl, Deevia.
- Pray that the new class in January will work out with no problems.
- Thank God for increased numbers of children at Fun Station and continue to pray for more kids to attend.
- For the swift and painful death of all the termites in our flat.
- For the health of the kids at Balwadi and the possibility of getting in a doctor.
- Thank God that we are picking up the Tamil well and pray we continue to do so.
- Thank God that we are coping well with the busy schedule and continue to pray we have enough time to do all that we need to.

I'm sure there are more, but my mind has gone blank and I haven't got time to sit and ponder. I'm sure that the HS will remind you of anything I have forgotten!

Take care everyone,

With love from Kandace

P.S. Read Revelation- it is an amazing book, even though we always seem to avoid it because it is complicated.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Ephesians 2:9-10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Revelation 22:4-5
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Photos

Goodbye Sparky!

No, it's not Saturday yet- don't worry! I am a day early this week because tomorrow Oasis are running a program in the SM Nagar community for World Aids Day. I am really looking forward to going back there again- it has been about a month since we last visited! But I'll write more about that next weekend.

We did indeed buy some pet fish last Saturday: two small sharks and a sucker catfish! And we bought EVERYTHING for 2 pounds 50 pence: tank, food, stones, net...bargain! But sadly the story does not end there. We moved our fish into their new home and christened the sharks Isaiah and Ezekiel and the catfish Sparky (in honour of our favourite restaurant). They were all doing great until Monday when we got home from work to find Sparky GONE and the net wet and filled with stones. Our fish had been fish-napped! The only person who had been there while we were out was our cook, so we checked to see if dinner was fish. It wasn't. We looked in the bin, we looked down the toilet- nowhere! Since then we have made numerous inquiries but to no avail. Our conclusion is that while the cook was cooking dinner, someone fish-napped Sparky. A sad tale to tell. And Ezekiel and Isaiah seem to have contracted a strange disease so we are anticipating two further losses. Perhaps getting fish was not such a good idea after all...

Anyway, things are going pretty well here. We do seem to be perpetually busy! On Sunday we went to watch Vijay play football and (I am ashamed to say) weren't even sure of the score at the end of the match! That is how carefully I watched. We also went to watch the production put on by the Sunday School of our supervisor (Becky's) church. It was really good, but also really long! In fact, things are getting quite Christmas-y here. We have started singing carols at the office in the mornings. It can be quite hilarious- singing about the winter weather in the blazing sun! And one of the staff has considerable trouble with the Fa la la s in Deck the Halls, and to the amusement of everyone else he insists on singing "Fluff fluff fluff." We now have a total of 9 advent calendars between the three of us and are considering getting up an hour earlier in the morning to make time to open them all! Not that I am complaining... And we have received a record number of parcels this week which adds to the Christmas feel! On Tuesday we had 4 in one day. It was great! And plenty of good tea now.

Monday was our second outing with the Balwadi. It was once again quite an experience! We were singled out as always and made to feel like royalty, being sat right at the front on the stage. I hate that kind of treatment, but I am learning to just enjoy the experience despite it. The girls who we brought to perform their dance looked stunning in their dresses! I will try to put up a photo. In fact, they did very little dancing, but they looked so cute that everyone loved them anyway. We were mortified to find that all the photos taken of us at the last event had been printed and put up on a display board! Embarrassing. But even worse, Sabrina and Helen were both wearing the same tops again. And in India, that is especially bad- appearance is important! It was fun, though. The girls who were dancing were amazing, so talented, and there were ENDLESS prizes to be awarded at the end. They just kept bringing more stuff out! Even the chairs there were prizes for someone or the other. I wondered if they might give away the stage they were standing on. On the way home we observed a new record for the number of people in one auto: 11 plus driver! Amazing. It is interesting that although Balwadi was the project we struggled with the most at the start, the Oasis staff reckon it has really improved since we have been here. So thank you for all of the prayers for it!

Jacob's Well teaching is going really well as usual. Maths is going more smoothly now, too. We did have a few problems with teaching estimating angles this week: I kept telling one girl to estimate a smaller number, but every time she would misunderstand me and write her current answer a little bit smaller on the page. It ended up that you could barely read her answers they were so small! Today we taught them Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- good fun!

And Fun Station is also going pretty well. We are taking the boys and girls separately now to eliminate fighting, and it seems to be working well. They are such great kids. One girl, maybe 12 years old, always has to bring her baby sister with her, presumably because it is her job to look after her. She does such a great job, never complaining about it. Some of them really are old beyond their years. It is nice to be able to have some fun with them!

And our timetable is only going to be getting busier: next week we have language training starting for an hour every morning. I'm not quite sure how we will fit it in! We have also been sent out to try to sell more of the Oasis Christmas cards to the local shops- something I'd never imagined I'd be doing over here! It is good to be busy, though. I like to feel like we are being as useful as possible while we are here.

On the flat front, the termites have been sprayed, but we found they were all in the spare room, too, so that also had to be done. The flat still smells a bit weird, but hopefully that is the end of the termites! Becky did say that they were having some trouble with the landlord and were considering moving us to a different flat- I think she is keeping her eyes open in case anything becomes available.

Today was the monthly day of prayer and fasting and we spent the morning with the staff at the office. I am so impressed by all of the people who we work with. The focus really is always on God and working for His kingdom. I hope I will learn much from them!

So I reckon that is about it for this week. A few prayer points:
- Please pray that we will be able to sort out our timetable so that we can fit everything in. And also for energy and enough time to relax! Sunday is officially our planning-free day now.
- Thank God for how much Balwadi has improved and that he really is making His strength perfect in our weakness there. Please continue to pray for enthusiasm and ideas.
- Thank God for Jacob's Well lessons and the good relationship we have with the girls, and please pray that our teaching will be really effective. I really want them to learn!
- Please pray that the number of children at Fun Station will continue to increase and that we will get to know all of the new kids.
- Please pray for the World Aids Day program at SM Nagar tomorrow (if you read this before then!)
- That we will get on speedily with the Tamil lessons.
- That there will be sufficient funds to get the Vyasarpadi project up and running in the new year.
- For the whole flat situation, that God will guide us in what we should do.
- For our team as a whole, that we will continue to be willing to serve each other and that there will be no strain of constantly being together.
- Finally, for me as I am leading our team of three. I thought this would be a pretty easy task, but actually it can be quite draining having to always be the one to organise things and make phone calls and barter with the auto drivers etc etc. I sometimes just want a day off being in charge!

Thank you so much everyone, for praying for me and supporting me and to those who have sent letters and parcels this week. They are such an encouragement! I love to hear your news- keep on letting me know!

With love and prayers,

Kandace

"All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name." Psalm 86:9

"It's all about you, Jesus,
And all this is for you,
For your glory and your fame.
It's not about me
As if you should do things my way.
You alone are God
And I surrender to your ways."

"He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again." Psalm 78:39

Termites and Goldfish

My front door!

And I forgot to mention the most important news of all- we are getting pet goldfish!

A drop in the bucket...

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all well and are enjoying the nice cold weather! It is still pretty hot here, but I have somehow managed to contract a cold anyway. Most likely from being sneezed over by various children this week...

It has been a VERY busy week for us: several nights we were up until the early hours of the morning planning lessons and fun clubs. But the work we are doing is going well.

Balwadi seems to be improving every time we go there. The kids are getting more used to us now and aren't so hyper when we come! On Wednesday we had our Balwadi trip which was 'interesting'! We took about 7 of the older children from our group along to a late Children's Day celebration hosted by another nursery in the area. We went by auto and somehow managed to fit 7 people plus the driver in (autos are only supposed to seat 3!) And the nursery we went to was in the middle of a community that required driving across a field to reach it. At points I thought the auto was going to tip over because it was at such an acute angle to the ground! There were about 50 kids at the event and we were definitely the centre of attention, being the only white people there. They wanted us to sit on three chairs at the front of the room but we managed to persuade them that we would be fine on the floor like the rest of the people there. It was really nice to talk (or perhaps sign!) to some of the women there with the children. They are so friendly and open. I was just incredibly frustrated that I know so little Tamil. To speak their own language to them would be fantastic! There was much fascination over my pale hair and skin, and then my freckles. The kids participated in various competitions (counting, clay work, singing, races) and we were asked to judge one of them. The kids we brought did really well- Helen said she felt like a proud mother! There was also a photographer there who managed to get us into almost every shot he took. We are just waiting to find our photos on the front page of the local paper this week! It was very enjoyable, though, and one of the teachers of another group was VERY keen for us to visit her nursery, too- if only we had time! Oh yes, and we have seen an increase in numbers this week: we now have a maximum of about 40 kids. Fun!

The fun club we run every night has been going well. We have about 20 children coming now, thanks to the home visiting that was carried out in the slum community this week, but the increase in numbers has made it a lot more rowdy! We acted out David and Goliath with costumes this week and the kids loved it. I only wish I had taken photos! Yesterday we were on our own with the kids (no translator) which always makes for hard work, but it went surprisingly well. We do struggle with the discipline (the boys are often fighting each other) and the group are so noisy! We got into trouble yesterday with the neighbours because of the noise. It is good fun, though, and we are still hoping to see more children attending, although I'm not sure how many more we can fit into the tiny room we run it in!

Jacob's Well has gone really well this week. My English set are doing really well! It is quite slow progress, but I can definitely see the improvement at the end of every week which is an encouragement. One particular girl who normally seems very withdrawn and unwilling to participate in lessons has finally come out of her shell and seems to be enjoying the lessons. And there have been no more disagreements between the girls. Yesterday I was trying to teach them the difference between Kandace and Candles, but the result seems to be that they now think that Kandace is the plural of candle. I think I might just be Candles forever! Maths lessons are more of a struggle as the less able girls just aren't picking up what we are trying to teach, so we need to review where we are going with that. The best aspect of all, though, has just been getting to know them more and more and feeling increasingly accepted by them. I am already sad when I think of leaving! There are two girls (Gowri and Deepika) who have been pulled out of the course by their parents. Gowri told us that the reason for this is that she is engaged to be married to her cousin (she is 18). We asked her if she was happy about it and she replied that she was because her father was happy. Deepika we are not sure about, but I think her parents want her to work. Please pray that God makes a way for them to come back and changes the hearts and minds of their parents. It is such a shame for them to drop out now!

We have been asked to take over the English lessons that the Oasis staff receive as the previous teacher had to resign recently. We are not quite sure how we will have time for this but are trying to rearrange our timetable! As well as this I have been asked to design and paint some Christmas cards by the guy in charge of Jacob's Well, so that will keep me busy tonight.

We have spent a bit more time with the Oasis staff this week which was nice. One lady who we work with, Bensi, invited us to her daughter's 1st Birthday party this week. 1st Birthdays here are a VERY big thing- even more so than our 18th Birthdays. There were so many relatives there, friends, a huge cake, masses of food. It was fun! Very 'Indian'. We did find out that we made the mistake of eating the sweet pudding mixed with our rice (they put all the food on the same plate) but it tasted good anyway! We fitted squished 7 ADULTS into the auto on the way home and one of the teachers at Jacob's Well spent the night at our flat as her home was too far away to travel back to. It was really nice to talk to her, show her photos, find out about the previous teams and all that kind of thing. We were also showing photos to another Indian friend this week and he was fascinated with the picture of snow. People here have never seen it before! We also went out to dinner with all the staff plus some visitors from the UK and Zimbabwe. It was a good evening and we had a great time, helped by the fact we went to Sparky's!

Church last Sunday was a family service and guess what- we watched Veggie Tales! It was really well done, actually. After the video, a lady was speaking about being a living sacrifice and it was a challenge to me. God gave His only Son for me. If I just consider what Jesus has done for me, how can I complain about having to do the washing up for someone else or go to bed a bit later in order to help someone else finish off their work? "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." And "If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

As I am here for longer I am seeing and realising more and more of the reality of the poverty that some people live in. It seems like such a hopeless situation and it is easy to feel totally overwhelmed. On Wednesday I was feeling a bit inadequate and unable to make any difference. In the words of Delirious, "I have nothing to give- just a life to live. This mountain's high, too high for us." How do I fit into what God has planned for this city? How should my story intertwine with His? How can I be doing more to impact the lives of the people who I work with? And yet God doesn't NEED us to do anything for Him. He is quite capable to do all that He desires without me! All that he has called me to do right now is what I will pour my efforts into, even if some of the things seem small and insignificant to me. Little things can make a big impact. "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

I really want to do more work in KK Pettai, SM Nagar and Vyasapardi, but right now it just isn't possible. We have had severe rains and the houses at KK Pettai have been demolished. Oasis are struggling with how they should help. There is still opposition and funding problems, so please continue to pray for those areas. I am especially excited about Vyasapardi. I spoke to one of the leaders of the church there yesterday and he says they are hoping to start work in January.

Anyway, prayer points:
- Wisdom and ideas for the Maths lessons at JW.
- For Gowri and Deepika to be able to return and finish the course.
- Thank God that the Balwadi trip went so well and that that area of our work has improved so much!
- Pray for the work in the slum communities, for funding and less opposition.
- Thank God for the increase in numbers at the fun station.
- The people at KK Pettai who have lost their homes.
- The planning sessions that Oasis are having at the beginning of next week- for ideas and inspiration, especially regarding Christmas plans.
- Please pray for Sabrina and her family as her Grandma died this week.

Thank you all!

Kandace


"Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

An update from Candles the Masterchef

Howdy everyone,

I have just looked in my inbox and discovered I have more emails to reply to than I thought was possible, so I am sorry if you don't hear from me personally for a couple of weeks. I always read them all, it's the replying that takes a while!

This week has been such a busy week. There is so much to say! First I will tell you a little story: in our bedroom we have a large wardrobe in which we keep all of our clothes, valuables, electrical things - everything really! When we go out we always lock it and put the key in a safe place. Last Saturday we had just moved back in to our newly painted flat and put our belongings back in the wardrobe. On this particular day we put the key on the top of the wardrobe. When we came back, the shortest resident of our flat (Helen) tried to rescue the key from the great height it was at. Unknown to her whilst she was groping for it, there is a small crack in the top of the wardrobe. You guessed it- the key fell inside of the locked wardrobe! We spent about an hour trying to pick the lock, with no luck (I have no career as a criminal ahead of me) and then had to phone one of the Oasis staff for help. Trying to talk on the phone to an Indian is always difficult because of the accent, but try explaining that you have locked your wardrobe key inside of the wardrobe. It was not easy! Anyway, we has to survive for a couple of days until the locksmith could come but it is sorted now.

We feel quite bad about all of our flat problems. There seems to be one after the other! The plumber came this week and sorted out the various problems, and the painting has progressed further. But now we have discovered that there are termites in the front door! They fall on our heads when we come in or go out. And last night we came home to find there was no power in our flat (we have a lot of power cuts but this was just our flat). We have no idea why (I reckon a rat chewed through a cable or something!), so are waiting for an electrician to come today. It was a very hot night last night with no fans! The most frustrating thing is being so dependant on other people to help us. At home I would sort stuff out myself, but here we can't just call a plumber or locksmith or whatever. We feel like we are always asking for help! It is a good lessons for me though.

We also visited Marina beach on Saturday, the second longest beach in the world. It was nice but not what I expected. It was FULL of people and there were market stalls going right down the the shoreline. We also stuck out like a sore thumb there and drew a lot of attention to ourselves which was a bit uncomfortable. The number of times I got asked if I would let someone take a photo with me! I have decided that next time instead of saying no, I will charge Rs.100 per snap. We also walked past a man who had no legs and was dragging himself face down through the sand. It was an image not easily forgotten. How desperate must he be to do that? What kind of life must he lead? What should my response be? That kind of suffering is all too common here. Everyday I see people who are so much in need, and it is so hard to know how I should respond.

Church was very good this week. We watched the 'Indescribable' DVD which I think some of you have seen. How hard it is to stretch your mind around the fact that the God of the universe cares about and knows each of us tiny people individually. We also went to a Bible study group on Tuesday evening which is looking at the role of women in the church and what the Bible has to say about that issue. It was VERY interesting and I am looking forward to the rest of it! I did discover that we have a rather nice church bookshelf which I will be raiding shortly. AND I found a shop selling English books not far from us. I just need to find some more time to read!

Time is always in short supply. In particular it is very difficult to find time alone, as I am almost always with at least one other person. That is the culture here: people live constantly with each other. Just outside our flat there are some slum houses where a family with 7 or 8 kids all live in one small room. I usually have 2 precious hours to myself in the mornings before Sabrina and Helen are awake, but that is about it! We are still getting on very well as a team, though.

Work is going really well. Thank you for all who prayed for the Jacob's Well classes this week. We have split the girls into two ability groups for both English and Maths after much deliberation. I am teaching the both of the lower ability groups, and Helen is assisting me in Maths. It is quite a challenge but I am looking forward to it. I discovered that several of the girls in my group have no idea how to read English, even though they have been copying down notes from the board, so I have been working on teaching basic letter sounds this week. Please continue to pray for real wisdom in all of the teaching that goes on. I do have two girls in my group who don't get along particularly well and we had a few tears yesterday, so it would also be great if you could pray that my group will get along well and smoothly.

We have had so much encouragement from the girls this week. We were reviewing what we have taught so far and it was nice for all of us to see how they can now do questions which they had no idea about when we arrived. Usha was telling me how she is 'very happy' when she is learning English and Devika would now class us as her 'close friends'. Several of the girls wanted to take home their folders to show their families because they are so proud of what they have done. We are hoping that this will help to build up their confidence in themselves. Oh, and someone asked me how old they are: the ages range from 14 to 20.

A final prayer request for the girls is that I would have opportunities to share what I believe with them. I love to teach them and I know it is so important that they lean, but it is so much more important that they hear who Jesus is. It is difficult with the language barrier, but not impossible.

Balwadi is going well. We did come in yesterday morning to the pleasant sight of a floor covered in cockroaches. We are teaching the children fruit names, having fruit tasting sessions, playing games, singing, screaming... We have had good feedback from there, though. Apparently from Monday we may have up to 20 ore children added to the current 30- yikes! And no increase in the one or two teachers normally there. I don't know how they cope. We are going on an outing with the kids on Wednesday, but I'm not quite sure what it is so will let you know next time!

This Wednesday was Children's Day over here, so we had a special 2-hour fun station session. It was really good! The kids put on a few little dances for us and did their own versions of some of the dramas we have performed for them over the last few weeks. We found out that the lack of numbers there has been due to complaints from parents about the club being mixed (some of the kids are young teenagers) so from Monday we may be running two clubs, one for boys and one for girls. Hopefully this will encourage attendance!

So that is about it on the work front. We are really busy but loving what we are doing here. It is nice now to feel part of the work and to actually know the women, children and young people we are working with. The work in two of the slum communities is still suspended, mainly due to opposition from some of the people in the slums (they have different ideas to Oasis about what they need) and lack of funding. Please pray for both of these areas. There is such great need in these areas and it would be a real waste to stop the work now.

Now, I must explain why I am now a Masterchef. This week we have cooked, on our own: gulab jamun (a sweet pudding thing), chapattis and chutney and stewed apples (not so Indian!). The chapattis weren't great, but we are hoping they will improve with practice! For lunch today we are making dosas, a very traditional Southern Indian dish. I am amazed at how quickly and easily our cook can do the meals. It takes me hours and I make a huge mess in the kitchen.

Archibald is becoming progressively tamer. He now waits meowing outside of out flat for the leftover rice and we did catch him trying to come into the flat. Helen and Sabrina are not too pleased about his friendliness, though, and persist in calling him a mangy fleabag. They have their own little obsession with making an advent calendar, though, and want to spend hours sewing little stockings out of green and red material to put sweets in. I recommended just buying a big bag of sweets and eating one per day, but they say that isn't the same. And they were very jealous that I had a card this week which is also an advent calendar! It doesn't feel like it is coming up to Christmas because it is so hot!

We have paid multiple visits to the Fruit Shop this week which is officially my favourite place in Chennai. I love it! We even took our lessons planning there to do on Tuesday.

I have just finished reading a book about two missionaries to Albania (whilst it was still a closed country) and their experiences there were amazing! It did make me think a lot about prayer and what an important weapon it is. Do we really believe the words of that kids' song, that 'every prayer is a powerful weapon'? And if we do, do we use it like that? I don't! But prayer DOES change things. If I really believed that, I think I would spend a lot more time praying and a lot less time doing. It is quite a challenge.

So in view of that, thank you so much to all who are praying for me and the work over here! Your prayers have more impact than you can imagine.
- Keep praying for wisdom with the teaching at JW, for good relationships within the group, and good attendance and health of the girls and for opportunities to share the gospel with them.
- Please pray for the Balwadi outing and also for discipline in that group. There is a lot of hitting and kicking that goes on among the children! Please pray also that we cope with the extra kids.
- Pray for the work in the slum communities, for funding and less opposition.
- Pray for the fun station attendance, that the new groups will work well and more kids will come.
- Praise God for his protection and strength and for all of the encouragement we have had this week. I am generally just overwhelmed by the privilege of being able to be doing what I am over here!

I am a bit concerned about the split personality I met this week, Lyzzia. I think you girls need to get psychological help!

Take care everyone, I will be praying for you all the more this week!

With love from Candles.

"One afternoon in eternity is nothing to lose!" Lydia Burnhams

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us,"
WHY?
"that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among ALL NATIONS."
Psalm 67:1-2

Deepawali

Vaanakam! (the general Tamil greeting)

Have you had your breakfast/lunch/dinner? (The other question everyone sems to ask us here.) I don't really want to know the answer, btw.

Another week has passed- and how it has flown by! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting here writing my blog. After I had written my blog last Saturday, we went to see Ratattouile or whatever it is called. There is a big-ish cinema about 20 mins away from out flat, so we went there to watch it in English. I'm not sure whether the film or the strange Indian sense of humour was more funny- they laughed hysterically in the most strange places! We also discovered the Fruit Shop (a bit like Jamba Juice if you know it). They sell the most delicious smoothies and there is a branch just around the corner from our flat. We will definitely be spending some more time there!

Now, Sunday morning. Imagine: you are lying in bed (or on the floor). It is 5:15am and you are blissfully asleep. You anticipate at least another hour in bed before the horn honking starts to wake you up. And then: BOOM! Yes, there are fireworks going of outside of your window! This week has been Diwali, a 5 day Hindu holiday. As far as I know, the only major form of celebration is to let off incessant fireworks and 'crocs', basically fireworks without any of the pretty colours to look at- just the bang. On Thursday, the main day of celebration, there were fireworks ALL DAY LONG. We decided that we could record the soundtrack for a war film whilst sitting in our flat. The kids set off their own fireworks on the streets, often lighting rockets from their hands. There is rubbish EVERYWHERE from spent fireworks. It is crazy! We did go up to the roof (it is flat and you can walk on it) to watch fireworks and have our rather tame sparklers. It was quite nice to have about 10 free fireworks displays going on around you. Nevertheless, I am still not a fan of Diwali. Far too noisy for my liking! Although we did have Thursday off work to make pancakes and fish fingers and chips (all fried as no oven- healthy!)

Sunday we had a couple from the Delirious? home church (Arun) visiting Powerhouse. And after the service we went to the welcome lunch for new people. It was really nice to have a chance to talk to some more people and find out more about the church. They were curious about our home churches, and all were familiar with New Frontiers. I am told there are nfi churches in Bangalore and Mumbai which several of the church leaders have been to. They are keen for us to be involved in kids' work, but we aren't sure- that is what we are doing all week! We are hoping to attend the women's Bible Study group on a Tuesday evening, if we finish work on time.

It is striking how different our weekends are to weekdays. At the weekends, we do very affluent and western things in general- shopping, visiting places, etc. And most of the people we know at church are from pretty rich backgroungs (by Indian standards) and speak good English, drive, have nice houses, etc. But then during the week, we are almost always around the very poorest people who live in the slums, and we also live quite simply. It is strange, but both sides are equally part of India. The very rich and the very poor, side by side.

Work wise, things are going well. Balwadi is still challenging but fun. I still find it hilarious that we usually sing "If you're happy and you know it..." to the backing of several children bawling their eyes out. I have been doing quite a lot of art and drawing this week, unusally for teaching aids and work sheets and things like that. I have certainly enjoyed doing that! At the Kids' Fun Club, we had some Bonfire night celebrations (we told them the story and made a guy) and also did some pumpkin carving!

It was also one of the boys birthdays on Wednesday, so we had a little party and some cake. Musical bumps was a VERY popular and VERY painful game!

We have also made friends with a couple of the neighbour kids, and so spent one afternoon playing 40/40 in with them. Dorothy, who lives next door to us, has also been to visit. She is a Christian lady who seems to have memorised the entire Bible and always seems to want to talk about curses. Quite a character! We had some lively debate with her for a couple of hours, and if anything it certainly challenged me to learn more of the Bible by heart. I expect we will be seeing more of her.

Jacob's Well teaching is going really well. I absolutely love it! Please continue to pray for wisdom with the teaching. We have been teaching them as a whole class, but I think we need to split them up because the standard ranges so much. This means a lot more work for us, but I think it will be worth it. I would particularly like to spend more time one-to-one with the girls who struggle more. Teaching long division this week has been a challenge, for us and them! We are also continuing to teach the fun classes. This week we made puppets (the photo is of me with Devika, one of the younger girls. She had a huge smile for the rest of the afternoon after we had made the puppets!) I have also been able to get to know the two teachers a bit more this week as they have been over in our flat to supervise the painting going on.

So, the flat: it is looking much better! We move back in today. The bedroom is painted and we have new mattresses, recycled from the old ones. Still waiting for the burnt AC to be removed and the window to be repaired, but that should happen soon. And we are very pleased that they have decide to paint our main room as well!

There is still a bit of a smell, but it is getting beter. We are all feeling ready to move back now! I think the fire has made us very thankful for what we have. Before, there was a fair bit of moaning going on about little things like a broken toilet seat or dirty wall. Not anymore! A comfy bed and clean clothes is enough for me. And soon we will be able to eat off a table again. The excitement! This is Helen and Sabrina getting ready to eat their Hot Breads sandwiches on the floor of the new flat.

We also got to meet Becky this week- she is the one who has been on holiday but is our official co-ordinator. She is fantastic! Already she has been really helpful to us. The kind of person who gets things done, which is of particular value in India... You get the impression that she would do anything for you when talking to her. And she brought us chocolate from the UK (where she was on holiday for a while). We have actually had a rather chocolate-filled week, as I had a wonderful parcel from my family containing some declicious Lindt chocolate. Sabrina and Helen are busy emailing their families to let them know they are being out-done in the sending of chocolate supplies!

I did spend one evening while we were on the roof looking out over the slum by our flat. Even after being here for over a month, the poverty still gets to me. It is hard to accept. I often try to imagine what it would be like had I been born into a slum. Would l be like the kids playing on the side of the road? Like the girls busy washing and cleaning in the dirt? Like the old women bent over from years of hard labour? And all of them living in the same room, eating, sleeping, coooking in one place. The problem is so vast! There are millions who live like this. And the needs are so basic- toilet facilities (kids just use the side of the road), clean water, a space to cook, shelter. I see this all every day, but there is no way to know what to do. I am really glad that I am here with an organisation who makes it their aim to work with the very poorest people.

What a contrast between that last paragraph and the one before! My chocolate supplies followed by the slums. It is difficult to keep a balanced view of it all.

The photo below is of our road, Kuttiappan 2nd Street.

And this is Archibald.

He is my adopted pet who gets the leftover rice from our lunch. Sabrina and Helen don't like him, but I am working on it.

So that is all that is new here. Please do continue to let me know what is going on for all of you! I love to hear the news.

Some points for prayer:
- Thank God that our flat is being sorted out swiftly and that we are moving back in! Please pray that the work is finished well and at minimal cost.
- Thank God for the friendships we have been making and the fact that we are all feeling far more at home here now. Pray it continues.
- Please pray for the lessons we teach, that we have wisdom in the best way to do them and that the girls enjoy them.
- Continue to pray for good health- I saw an ambulance on the way here and I don't fancy having to ride in one!
- Pray that as a team we will continue to keep our focus on God and spend time together in prayer.

Thanks so much everyone!

As they say here, ta ta!

Take care,

With love and prayers from Kandace

"Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." Pslam 62:8

"If riches increase, set not your heart on them." Psalm 62:10

Scroll down!

I put some photos up but they have appeared for a different day, so scroll down to see them!

God is good, all the time!

Hi all,

I am informed that my blogs get longer every week. Sorry about that! I was going to give you a break from reading and put some photos up this week, but as it turns out I have way too much to say. So sorry! Feel free to skip to the good bits...

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:11-12

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Well, this week hasn't been a particularly easy week! On Monday night, at about 3am, we had a fire in our flat. It was due to the air conditioning unit which for some reason had malfunctioned and caught alight inside. It is right by our beds, so we woke up pretty quick and got out. Now most of our neighbours were still unknown to us at this point and we cannot speak Tamil and we are trying to convey to the night watchman what the problem is. I don't think they understood the urgency until they saw the flames! Our phone was still not working at this point so we were incredibly glad that one of the Oasis staff lived just around the corner. We gathered quite a crowd and managed to persuade them that water was NOT the right thing to put on an electrical fire. There was still no sign of the fire service, but our neighbours managed to put out most of the flames with sand. Unfortunately, in the bedroom there was a wardrobe where we kept all of our things and we had to keep reminding ourselves that posessions count for nothing. I now have an accurate answer to those questions of "What three things would you save if your house was burning down?".

The fire service did eventually arrive after the fire had been put out and they checked it over. Obviously not very well as a mattress started burning again in the early hours of the morning! I am so thankful that there was very little damage to our possessions. It would have been such a hassle to replace them all! In the end, the bedroom was totally black, as were areas of the rest of the flat, and our bedding and mosquito nets got burned. I also lost my photos, but they can be printed again so it is nothing major. And, of course, EVERYTHING smells like smoke.

We are also so thankful to be able to stay in the spare flat of one of our neighbours, a really nice couple. They are fairly well known muscicians and we have been hearing a lot of piano playing this week! Mer: I met a 15-year-old guy who is a professional pianist! It is nice to have somewhere clean to sleep at night, and to dry our clothes, etc. There is only one bed, so it feels like camping atm, but it is a million times better than our burnt flat. We even have a TV!The whole of the Oasis staff were in on Tuesday morning cleaning out the burnt flat, washing walls, scrubbing the ceiling. It is a do-it-yourself job here! We have had some painters in this week, too, who are working on the room. Sabrina always said the walls needed painting! We are hoping they will do the whole flat.

It has been a bit overwhelming and unsettling- the flat was just beginning to feel like home! The reality of a burnt flat started sinking in on Tuesday: trying to live between two flats, wearing smelly clothes, cooking in the dark and burnt flat, sleeping on the hard floor. We all felt a bit down. But there is a promise in the Bible that has come up repeatedly during this week: "I will not leave you comfortless!" And God certainly hasn't. We have had cake 4 times this week! Romans 8:28- how God works all things together for good- has been another promise we are holding on to. We have been able to get to know people better and we are now famous as the English girls who burnt down their flat! I think we are moving back in in a couple of days, but it is going to be a long time before everything is back to normal. Some photos of our flat post fire!

On Tuesday evening there was ANOTHER fire in an area of the slum a few hundred meters from our flat. It was all quite surreal- apparently there hasn't been a fire in the area for a long time. Again, we were reminded how priviledged we were to have somewhere safe and dry and clean to go, to have food, to have our possessions still. The people in the slums would lose everything.

We have also had flooding in Chennai this week! On Monday (during the day), there was a lot of flooding in the area (the monsoon season has come!) and so the government declared it a holiday. Everything was closed! We were riding through feet of water in the autos. It reminded me of the water rides at the theme parks! The rains have obviously hindered our work in the slums as running kids clubs when the houses are falling down in not the best idea. There has also been quite a lot of opposition from some members of the community, so please pray that Oasis will be able to resume work in the slum areas soon.

Church on Sunday was not very well attended due to the rain (there is very poor drainage here and everything basically stops when it rains). But it was a good service. A lady from YWAM who is working over here spoke about heaven. It was especially poignant as she lost her husband last year. She spoke a lot about having an eternal perspective which was appropriate for this week! How often do we think about heaven? This world is not our home if we are Christians.

"He is no fool who loses what he has, to gain what cannot be lost."

We also met two English guys who are working with the church for their year out. It was nice to hear an English accent again! There have already been plenty of jokes made by other members of the church about setting us up. They obviously think we are desperate!

On the work front, things have been going well! We do usually turn up a bit sooty looking... I am loving Jacob's Well and the girls there. They are so lovely! It is hard to actually 'get to know' them with the language barrier, but it is amazing how a relationship can develop despite that. The teaching is getting easier as we settle into a routine and they seem to be warming up to our method of teaching. We have been looking at the question, "Who is this?", in English this week and it was touching to know that they would now call us their friends- no longer am I merely 'teacher'!

Balwadi has gone better. We attempted craft again and it worked well- pasta necklaces. The kids are getting more and more used to us and the little ones will sit on my lap without crying their eyes out. They were even sad to see us go on Friday! A vast improvement to bursting into tears every time they saw us. The little girls have also decided I need a Hindu spot, so every time I come they try to draw one on or stick their one to me.

The kids work in the slums has been limited, but we are enjoying what we can do! Lots of crazy games and crafts. They all like to offer you food from their pockets (it is a nice gesture) and it can be quite forceful. Usually I refuse (I want to stay healthy!) but yesterday I did give in and try some crisp thing. I am still alive today...so far so good. They also persist in calling me 'Candles'. Grrr!

It was one of the staff member's Birthday this week and we discovered the way that Indians celebrate for this occasion! There was a lot of cake and messy faces involved. I am a bit concerned about my own birthday, given the talk of tomatoes and rotten eggs! And you thought Kids Klub was bad... foam pie is nothing!

I have also named one of our stray kittens Archibald and am trying to tame him, to the despair of Sabrina and Helen. He sits by our door now.

Oh, and this week is Diwali so I am anticipating lots of fireworks! It will feel just like home with bonfire night.

I feel that is quite long enough! Sorry. I start writing and just can't stop.

Prayer pointers:
- Prasie God that we are all safe after the fire and that He has provided for us.
- Praise God that we are all helathy still and pray that it continues.
- Pray for the work in the flat, that it progresses swiftly and is completed well.
- Pray for the Oasis staff here in general. It is proving to be quite a difficult season in their work.
- Pray for the slum communities, especially during this time of year, and also that the work we do there will be able to begin again soon.
- Pray for the Jacob's Well girls, that they continue to learn well and that we find ways to share what we believe with them.
- Pray for continued patience and fresh ideas for Balwadi!

Thanks to you all. I have had an overwhelming number of emails this week and also a few cards and letters which has been great- just what was needed. Thanks Mummy! I am thinking of and praying for you all, or at least as much as I remember to!

Take care, enjoy the 5th Novermeber!

With love from Kandace

Cows + Cars = Bad Idea

Hi again everyone,

It has been really nice to hear some news from you all back in the UK this week! Thanks for that. I am still alive and doing well, although the dreaded mozzie bites continue...

So- the news from this week:
The weather has changed here lately. We are finally having some monsoon weather, but everything has apparently been a bit upside down since the tsunami. After quite a few deluges and thunder storms, the streets are looking rather muddy and my feet have turned a permanent brown. Not a pretty sight! We have also had a few power cuts lately, including one in the middle of the church service at the 'Powerhouse' church- ironic!

We have also made a couple of friends here (hard to believe, I know) including some people from church and one of the guys at Oasis who has been really helpful to us. It has been really encouraging to hear his testimony and about his goals for the future. Literally, his life has turned around since he became a Christian, and now there is no stopping him. It was also interesting that he was asking a lot of questions about the UK and Christians there, because he views England as somewhere equally in need of missionaries as over here- and I would agree with him totally. So all of you in England, take note!

We are getting practiced at riding around in rickshaws now. On the way to work one morning this week, we were surprised to find our rick about 2cm behind a bicycle with half a dead cow hanging off it. All dragging though the mud. Nice. We ate beef that day. There is also a little 'dairy' near our flat, consisting of 3 - 8 cows. The number varies due to the number of cows that are wandering around the streets at any one time. There have been many near-misses with cars and cows involved!

Work-wise, we are settling in to a routine now. The Balwadi Nursery has been the greatest challenge! I am not good at working with small children anyways, so it is even harder when they are crazy and dirty and want to climb all over you. We had rather a discouraging session on Monday: never, ever try to do craft with 3 year olds! We had kids eating crayons, ripping each others work, screaming, etc. You get the picture. Because they have so little, bringing anything at all with us can cause huge problems! And they really are desperate for individual attention, which is hard to give with only three of us. So we were not really looking forward to Wednesdays session there. No idea what to plan or do, etc. BUT while we were there, I was playing with a couple of the kids and the part in the Bible where Jesus tells his disciples to let the children come to him came to mind. Now before I had always thought of clean, quiet, shy kids. But it struck me that actually these kids at Balwadi were probably precisely the kind of children he was referring to! If I am going to be Jesus' hands and feet, I need to just go there and love them and have time for them. So I have enjoyed it more since then. I am still filthy when I leave and they have a fascination with trying to pull my arm hair out, but it is good all the same. It is so rewarding to give time to a kid who never normally gets any attention. Oh yeah, and Sabrina is teaching them a dance for children's day at the teacher's request- good luck to her!

The Jacob's Well class is going well. I love the girls there! They are more confident around us now, and are settling in to the lessons. Sabrina and Helen are both great at the teaching which is fantastic, and we are getting by with our limited language skills. We have one girl who is particularly helpful as she is very bright and has reasonable English skills, so helps to communicate to the others what we are trying to do. There are also several more frustrating cases who don't want to work, but already this week we have seen an improvement. They all call me either 'teacher' or 'sister' which is quite funny. Soon I won't respond to Kandace anymore! I do look forward to our lessons there. As well as trying to bump up the English and Maths skills of the group, we have decided that increasing the self-confidence of the girls is a major aim. Most of them have no belief in themselves, even thought their abilities are good. We have made a few arty things with them in the Hobbies lessons, and they were so pleased to be able to take them home. They really are grateful for everything!

Other than that, we have done a LOT of Christmas card making with the girls this week. I never want to see another one in my life! It was fun to hang around Jacob's Well for most of the day and just be with the girls, drinking lots of chai. We have also been doing the Fun Club for the local slum children which is great fun. Had a bit of a sheep theme going on this week! One of the sessions did involve a rather messy after-sun lotion fight. Next week we should be doing the Kids Clubs at the other two slums. More on that next time I hope.

We joined the gym this week! It is so nice to run again. I was amazed to see women there in their full Salwar suits (the long tops, baggy trousers and scarves) running on the treadmill, using the exercise bike, etc! It looks so strange. Even in the gym you have to cover up. We have also come to the conclusion that Indian people just don't sweat. Seriously. We were the ONLY sweaty people in the gym. I was worried they might throw us out for being too sweaty and disgusting!

We are still having a few plumbing problems in our flat. Apparently the plumber they did have has been sacked as he has a tendency to turn up to work drunk. When we hear strange noises in the night, the old joke of it being the 'Crazy axe murdered' has turned into the 'Drunk plumber'. The other minor problem is that our SIM card has been cut off. It appears the last team who used the same one failed to pay their bill. So we will hopefully sort that out on Monday! I can still receive texts, just not send them.

I am still perfectly healthy, probably more so than I would be at home now that I have joined the gym! The food is good, apart from the beef which we have removed from the menu. With all the cows we see here, it is hard to stomach chewy, hairy beef. Veg is good for me! We do have an increasing number of sugar cravings and I am ashamed to say we have nearly worked our way thorugh all of the chocolate and sweets we brought from home. We did try some Indian sweets today which were good!

We also had Pizza Hut food today! We ventured into the richer area, Anna Salai, today, to do some shopping. It felt strange because I am used to living next door to a slum, and I wasn't expecting the western-ness of the richer area. There really are so many contrasts here! Our Pizza Hut lunch cost us about as much as it would in the UK, but then earlier in the week we ate out at an Indian place down our road for 50p a head!

There have been so many festivals here- every week it seems. I guess it is the huge mish-mash of religions. Last weekend there was a festival that entailed the worship of machines- all the cars were decorated. And there is loads of Diwali stuff in the shops. It is interesting that here everyone seems to be one religion or another, whereas in the UK the majority do not even believe in a god.

So I think that is about it. It has been an exhausting week! I felt so tired last night. I have realised how little I have to offer and how I am not quite as strong and invincible as I thought I was. Alone I can do nothing- it is very humbling to realise that. So I just have to depend on God. I have been challenged on not trying to do things on my own strength, but out of the strength of the One who sent me here. "Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of God.".

Thanks to all who have been praying for me! Prayer / praise points:
- Our team is getting on well and we have started to make an effort to pray together every day. May it continue!
- I have started to teach myself Tamil- please continue to pray that I pick it up quickly!
- An answer to prayer: the homesickness has decreased dramatically now.
- For the provision of a translator for key skills.
- That the flat's plumbing will get sorted out!
- For energy and strength to do the work we have to do. I want to give it my best effort, but there is only so much you can fit into a day. Please pray for good ideas and creativity.
- For the Balwadi nursery, that we know what to do with them during our time there.
- For India as a whole country. There is so much need!

Thanks everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Impact guys- let me know how Slum Survivor went! Takes lots of photos. Uni guys- do you actually do any work?! I get a lot of emails that have nothing whatsoever about doing work in them! Enjoy your British weather. I actually miss the cold! Take care and see you in a few months...

"It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in 5 minutes."

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10