Hi everyone,
I am running a day late with my blogging because yesterday we went on our church 'PicTreat'- i.e. a picnic and retreat. We went over to Mahaballapuram (about 1.5 hours drive from Chennai, near where we had our retreat) and had a good day eating lots of food, playing silly games and learning some stuff about spiritual gifts. They were really keen to get people to commit to participating more in church, using the gifts they have and getting involved. But it is really difficult for us as we know we are leaving so soon. It is a great church and we have made good friends, but I still don't feel like it is my home church. On the bus on the way back I was talking to a student who asked me if my freckles were a disease, and did I have them before I came to India! I tried my best to explain, but not sure if he understood me. They really do have a problem with freckles over here! And for most of the day I was followed around by 'Astro-boy', a 7-year-old who is convinced he is an astronaut and enjoys punching me. Just like being at Harvest Church! Another weird thing I have noticed about a lot of Christians here, even from when we first arrived, is that a lot of them use the expression, 'Oh my God!' quite frequently. When you ask them about it, they don't seem to understand why we have a problem with it. Strange.
Church has been good, though. Last week a guy from America who was introduced as a clinical psychologist spoke. We were expecting some really serious bloke, but he reminded me of Kermit the frog! Today we had a fairly famous Indian model visiting who gave an amazing testimony and then our pastor, Jake, was speaking about being missionaries in whatever context we are in, be it 'secular' work or full-time ministry. I thought it was interesting that the word Jesus uses when he descirbes 'casting out' demons (ekkballo) is the same word that is used when we are told to pray that more workers will be 'sent out' (ekkballo) to bring in the harvest. Literally a violent kicking out of our comfort zones.
We had the Bangalore team with us last weekend and for Monday and Tuesday. Visited all the best places in Chennai with them: Sparky's, the Fruit Shop, Spencers Plaza, etc. Suddenly everyone is thinking about buying gifts to bring home, but it feels a bit ridiculous to go spending loads of money on little elephant ornaments when they are not at all what I associate with my time in India. So I may look for some more original things to bring back...maybe a few termites?! We also went to see 'I am Legend' with them. It was TERRIFYING! We walked into the cinema to find that about 80% of the audience were men and then Sabrina and I spent most of the film hiding behind her scarf.
The Bangalore girls came to work with us on Monday. I don't think they were quite prepared for our Balwadi, despite our warnings! Theirs is quite different. It was a particularly bad morning, with a kid being sick and total chaos. I counted 45 kids there and we only had 35 colouring sheets. We visited the Bangalore team's Balwadi while we were there, and it was really good for us to get ideas and have something to aspire to. Nice clean children, separated into age groups with full-time teachers for every class, beautiful displays, and all of them speaking a fair bit of English. Apparently it started a bit like ours but over the years they have put a lot of effort into educating the community and teaching parents how to look after their kids which makes a big difference. We came back with lots of ideas on ways to improve what we are doing- try to teach more basic English and Maths skills to the kids, improving hygiene, separating out the ages. Unfortunately, unlike the Bangalore Balwadi, ours is not run by Oasis and we are really the only point of contact that Oasis has with them. Hopefully in the future that will change. We had all the Balwadi children marching around waving their Indian flags and with painted faces for Republic Day (yesterday). Was one of the funniest things I have seen!
We roped the Bangalore team into acting out the second part of the Joseph story for Fun Station- I played the very convincing role of Potiphar! The kids enjoyed it. We also got to visit Vyasarpadi and SM Nagar with them. At Vyasarpadi we met the group of women who have just started doing the embroidery course. They are all housewives and a bit older than the girls we teach at Jacob's Well, but they seemed lovely. We may be going over there to do a hobby class or similar with them once or twice a week. The Fun Station there is starting tomorrow, too, so hopefully we will be spending a fair bit of time there over our last few weeks. SM Nagar was, as always, filled with children desperate to play and have their photos taken. Oasis is still working there but we are not really involved, so it was nice to get an update.
Before we left on the overnight train to go to Bangalore, we had to clear EVERYTHING from EVERY shelf in our flat because pest control were coming in (at last!). We found several new termite colonies, so it wasn't a day too soon. Arriving back from Bangalore we found our flat still in ruins and absolutely stinking, but it looks like pest control did a pretty thorough job. There were apparently yet more termite infestations that we never knew about! But then this morning I woke up and found a note from Sabrina on the table saying, 'They're back!'. The fear that filled my heart when I read that...! Turns out they are all crawling out of the skirting and shelves in the bathroom and kitchen and then are dying, presumably because of the chemicals that were injected into the walls. I just hope this is the end of them!
We removed our fish to the Oasis office whilst pest control were in, to the amusement of the staff! I'll make sure they sign the visitors book. And the other good animal-related news is that although Archibald is still missing, there is a new Archibald! The tiniest, cutest little ginger kitten. Even Sabrina likes him!
Our visit to Bangalore went fairly well, although it was very brief. We all got on the overnight train to find that out carriage we infested with cockroaches! First we had everyone trying to swat every single mosquito in the carriage, and then the flip-flops were off to whack all the cockroaches crawling around. It was funny to watch! I'm not too bothered by the roaches, but there was something nibbling the train by my head all night, so I didn't get too much sleep.
Bangalore is quite different to Chennai- cooler, much more Western and with far less clutter on the roads. The Oasis office there is also much bigger which gives working there a different atmoshpere (made me realise how much I like being part of a small team). We stayed with a family for a night which was nice. They made us feel very at home and fed us lots of dosa and idli for breakfast. We even had a hot shower and TV- luxury! We visited the various different projects there. Like Chennai, they have a Jacob's Well (although it is much bigger) and are running the Balwadi. There is also a lot of anti-trafficking work going on and a new project working with people who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Another thing I noticed about Bangalore is that it has a very high Muslim population with mosques on every corner and so many women who are totally covered except for the small eye-slit. Watching all the men rushing over to the mosque for the call to prayer made me feel sad. There is something about Islam that gets to me more than Hinduism. Maybe it is the devotion of the people and the lengths they will go to for what they believe, but in the end, what will it achieve? It seems so futile that they are pouring themselves into something that is not the truth.
Oh yes, and while we were in Bangalore we watched...THE CHRISTMAS DOCTOR WHO SPECIAL! Made my day- Helen and Alannah are fellow fans, so we watched a recording Alannah had been sent on their DVD player.
We said goodbye to the Bangalore girls until Macrh- a very strange feeling! I find it hard to imagine coming home. We are still trying to organise our holiday for Macrh. It is all a bit of a nightmare. We thought we could do all our flights for 50 quid and then realised we had been looking at just the ticket price and tax is like 5 times that price on top! Sabrina is doing a grand job organising it all and I am moaning about not wanting to be too busy and not wanting to spend too much money (I know, so helpful!) I think it will be a good holiday, though.
The train back to Chennai was fun- it was an evening train and we got fed CONSTANTLY all the way home: sandwiches, samosas, chocolate bars, soup, juice and then a main meal with pudding!
Next week is back to normal. We only have 5 working weeks left- I can hardly believe it! We are getting busier over the next few weeks, tho, what with new work starting and needing to tie up everything we have been doing.
- Please pray that we handle our new work and busy schedule well- Vyasarpadi Fun Club starts tomorrow and we start teaching the Oasis staff English in a week.
- Please pray for the Bangalore team who have had a bt of a rough week with illness, bad news from home and now needing to move flats.
- Please pray for Balwadi and all the changes we would like to make, that we have wisdom in it all.
- Please pray for these holiday plans!
- Please pray for SD Puram Fun Station, that we have no problems getting a translator while Vijay is away.
- Please pray that I sort out where I want to go next with my Jacob's Well lessons as we reach the end of our current topics.
- Thank God for our safe travel to Bangalore and back.
- Thank God that the termite issue is being sorted and pray that we have no further problems!
- Thank God that I am feeling back to normal again and my cold is on the way out.
That's all for now. Perhaps next week's blog will have a bit more work-related rambling!
Take care,
Kandace x
"It is better to burn quickly and melt many souls than to burn slowly and melt none." Sadhu Sundar Singh
"My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
"But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Psalm 131
Sunday 27 January 2008
Saturday 19 January 2008
Photos again
1. Helen investigating the fridge in our super-posh room!
2. Helen and Sabrina at the resort. (Check it out: http://www.nivalink.com/eastwood/index.html)
3. Becky and Herbert playing Uno Stacko with us.
4. After an early morning swim!
5. Sabrina at Pantin Road.
Paradise
Hi Again!
I have just noticed that there are two large spiders at war just above my head- nice!- and little bits of web and flies keep falling on my head.
So another week has passed, and so quickly! My birthday was a really good day. Sabrina and Helen had been plotting and scheming (as I expected) and informed me at the last minute that we were going to Anju's house (as we often do). There were a few of the people we know from church there and I had a cake, nice food, some gifts, etc. It was a good evening! I then stayed up until a ridiculous hour talking to people on the phone.
This week has been quite different. We only worked on Monday! At Fun Station I was asking the kids what dreams they have for the future (we are doing the story of Joseph) and a lot of them want to be doctors, police men, teachers, etc. We now have this new weapon to persuade them to study- "If you want to be a doctor, you have to study hard!" We told them on Monday that we wouldn't be there for the rest of the week, but that they should still come on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because someone else would be running it. Yesterday Eunice told us that none of them turned up because they knew we wouldn't me coming! It makes us feel appreciated, although really isn't the ideal situation! Apparently, if it wasn't for Fun Station, none of them would turn up to tuition classes.
Tuesday was the first day of Pongal. This was a kind of Hindu harvest festival, but has become secular now. On the first day, they cook this dish called Pongal and it has to boil over while they are cooking it as a symbol for abundance in the coming year. The second day is Madhu Pongal (cow Pongal) where they decorate all the cows and basically have bull taming which is very cruel and not nice. The third day is 'going out' Pongal- there is terrible traffic as everyone tries to get to the beach! Anyway, we had Tuesday off and were supposed to be doing planning so we could be free this weekend, but I had a terrible cold and spent most of the day moping and not able to concentrate. Not a great day.
On Wednesday we picked up the three girls from Bangalore at the station and got ready to leave on our retreat. It was good timing- I was feeling quite exhausted, partly from being sick! Becky came with us along with our speaker, Herbert, who works from Scripture Union. She was very secretive about where we were going and wouldn't tell us much apart from that it was nice but basic. So when we arrived at the most beautiful holiday resort near the sea, we were stunned! I will put up some photos. It was like paradise for us, especially as a contrast to our accommodation for the previous few months. I think arriving there gave us more of a culture shock than arriving in India.
We spent three days there, having meeting together with Herbert who talked about destiny and used the Bible characters Jacob, David, Peter and Ruth as examples. I thought he was a very good speaker and really enjoyed our meetings. The main thing brought out was the need to be obedient to God, no matter what he may call you to, even if you don't always know more than the next step ahead. It was a challenge to all of us. We also shared our testimonies and listened to Herbert and Becky's which were very interesting.
We went to the beach while we were there, ate far too much and even got to go swimming in the outdoor pool! It was so nice. Just to live in luxury for a couple of days. Talking about our time here so far and looking back does make leaving feel imminent. I wonder if going home will be a similar shock to the system? Anyway, the retreat was a really good time to just relax and have time to think and not worry about termites and changing the water tank and washing up and planning lessons and all that stuff. I feel refreshed!
The Bangalore team are staying in Chennai until Wednesday, so we are going to do some shopping today with them and hopefully go to see 'I Legend'. It is nice to have their company, although I feel very 'obvious' going around in a big group of white girls! We have very much settled into our two teams.
This may well be my shortest blog yet as I cannot take very long online today cos we need to get off and do things while the Bangalore team are here.
So a few prayer points:
- Thank God for the retreat time and how much we all benefited from that.
- Pray for our visit to Bangalore next week, that we stay safe and enjoy it.
- Pray that we sort out these holiday plans!
- Pray that during our final 5 weeks in Chennai, we really throw our all into the work and look for ways to finish well.
- Pray for health in general- I have lost my appetite since the Gobi incident and my cold is far too persistent!
Thank you so much, I hope you are all keeping well- I hear there is a nasty bug going around.
Take care,
Kandace
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
I have just noticed that there are two large spiders at war just above my head- nice!- and little bits of web and flies keep falling on my head.
So another week has passed, and so quickly! My birthday was a really good day. Sabrina and Helen had been plotting and scheming (as I expected) and informed me at the last minute that we were going to Anju's house (as we often do). There were a few of the people we know from church there and I had a cake, nice food, some gifts, etc. It was a good evening! I then stayed up until a ridiculous hour talking to people on the phone.
This week has been quite different. We only worked on Monday! At Fun Station I was asking the kids what dreams they have for the future (we are doing the story of Joseph) and a lot of them want to be doctors, police men, teachers, etc. We now have this new weapon to persuade them to study- "If you want to be a doctor, you have to study hard!" We told them on Monday that we wouldn't be there for the rest of the week, but that they should still come on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because someone else would be running it. Yesterday Eunice told us that none of them turned up because they knew we wouldn't me coming! It makes us feel appreciated, although really isn't the ideal situation! Apparently, if it wasn't for Fun Station, none of them would turn up to tuition classes.
Tuesday was the first day of Pongal. This was a kind of Hindu harvest festival, but has become secular now. On the first day, they cook this dish called Pongal and it has to boil over while they are cooking it as a symbol for abundance in the coming year. The second day is Madhu Pongal (cow Pongal) where they decorate all the cows and basically have bull taming which is very cruel and not nice. The third day is 'going out' Pongal- there is terrible traffic as everyone tries to get to the beach! Anyway, we had Tuesday off and were supposed to be doing planning so we could be free this weekend, but I had a terrible cold and spent most of the day moping and not able to concentrate. Not a great day.
On Wednesday we picked up the three girls from Bangalore at the station and got ready to leave on our retreat. It was good timing- I was feeling quite exhausted, partly from being sick! Becky came with us along with our speaker, Herbert, who works from Scripture Union. She was very secretive about where we were going and wouldn't tell us much apart from that it was nice but basic. So when we arrived at the most beautiful holiday resort near the sea, we were stunned! I will put up some photos. It was like paradise for us, especially as a contrast to our accommodation for the previous few months. I think arriving there gave us more of a culture shock than arriving in India.
We spent three days there, having meeting together with Herbert who talked about destiny and used the Bible characters Jacob, David, Peter and Ruth as examples. I thought he was a very good speaker and really enjoyed our meetings. The main thing brought out was the need to be obedient to God, no matter what he may call you to, even if you don't always know more than the next step ahead. It was a challenge to all of us. We also shared our testimonies and listened to Herbert and Becky's which were very interesting.
We went to the beach while we were there, ate far too much and even got to go swimming in the outdoor pool! It was so nice. Just to live in luxury for a couple of days. Talking about our time here so far and looking back does make leaving feel imminent. I wonder if going home will be a similar shock to the system? Anyway, the retreat was a really good time to just relax and have time to think and not worry about termites and changing the water tank and washing up and planning lessons and all that stuff. I feel refreshed!
The Bangalore team are staying in Chennai until Wednesday, so we are going to do some shopping today with them and hopefully go to see 'I Legend'. It is nice to have their company, although I feel very 'obvious' going around in a big group of white girls! We have very much settled into our two teams.
This may well be my shortest blog yet as I cannot take very long online today cos we need to get off and do things while the Bangalore team are here.
So a few prayer points:
- Thank God for the retreat time and how much we all benefited from that.
- Pray for our visit to Bangalore next week, that we stay safe and enjoy it.
- Pray that we sort out these holiday plans!
- Pray that during our final 5 weeks in Chennai, we really throw our all into the work and look for ways to finish well.
- Pray for health in general- I have lost my appetite since the Gobi incident and my cold is far too persistent!
Thank you so much, I hope you are all keeping well- I hear there is a nasty bug going around.
Take care,
Kandace
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
Saturday 12 January 2008
The 12th of January 2008
Kaalai Vanakaam!
I hope you are all well and have had a good week back at work/school/university. We have certainly been back into the full flow of work this week!
Balwadi was back in force with at least 35 kids there on Friday. We always leave feeling totally exhausted, and that's only after an hour there! We are looking at 'Festivals' with the kids this month, and this week was on the topic of Diwali. So on Wednesday we decided to make some firework pictures with chalk on big sheets of black paper. My little group of kids very quickly covered their paper in chalk so that it was too white to keep writing on. Stupidly, I then decided to show them that if you spat on you hand to make it wet, you could make a hand print in the chalk powder. Doh! By the end of the session I had been accidentally spat on numerous times and the paper was a soggy mess of chalk and black mush.
Fun Station has also been growing in numbers- I think we have had at least one new kid every day this week. Which is great, because it means that word is getting around and they must be enjoying it, but it does add to the chaos! There is a five-minute overlap when the boys are arriving and the girls are leaving, resulting in about 30 kids in a tiny room making more noise than I thought was possible. We have had some problems with getting rid of the girls this week. They always want to stay on for the boys' session, but obviously are not allowed to. They have also been waiting for us to finish Fun Station and then plead with us to be allowed to come back to our flat. Again, this is obviously not a good idea, but they are certainly persistent and you feel so bad telling them that they need to go home! We have a few kids who are too young to stay for the studying, so we quite often find ourselves dropping two or three kids back at their homes on our way to our flat. There is one little girl (maybe 6 years old?) who has started coming and is deaf, presenting a few challenges! She is lovely and very bright, and apparently does not know sign language or anything like that and just goes to a normal school. So Fun Station is as crazy as ever, but the kids are great and despite the madness we are all enjoying it. Oh yes, and apparently they are all coming back to England with me (so they say) so brace yourselves!
We are STILL waiting for the new class to start at Jacob's Well (the Indian sense of urgency is non-existent!) but have been assured that they are definitely starting with a class of 10 girls and we will be teaching them. Lessons are going fairly well. We have introduced a 'Star of the Week' certificate to promote the good behaviour and I now have a very practised 'angry teacher' face! One of our lessons this week was interrupted by a tiny little gecko that ran across the floor, causing all the girls to hop around screaming for a while. It is amazing how much havoc such a small creature can cause! I was really touched by the card and gift that they all gave me for my birthday. They only found out it was my birthday yesterday morning, and so in their 45 minute lunch break they went to buy me some biscuits and a pen that they wrapped up, pass-the-parcel style. It was quite entertaining opening it with them that afternoon!
On the work front, I don't think there is much else new. We have been doing quite a lot of office work recently and still have heaps of typing to do, but unfortunately there is a fair amount of competition for one of the two computers at the office and so we rarely get a chance to do it. The next couple of weeks are a bit strange: next week, we are only working on Monday as Tuesday is a holiday (Pongal, the cow festival) and Wednesday to Friday we are going on a retreat (I am not quite sure what that will entail yet...) The following week the Bangalore team are visiting us and then we are visiting Bangalore with them. So a busy time coming up!
Oh yes, the other exciting news is that Oasis have officially signed their contract with Vyasarpadi and the work there is just beginning now. There is already a Fun Club running with about 30 kids attending, and once we are back from our busy couple of weeks we will be going there every evening to run it. And Becky told us to expect even more kids by then! I am really looking forward to it. There is also a possibility that we will start the Fun Club in SM Nagar again, which would be great although I'm not sure how we could possibly fit it in.
The other event of this week is that I joined the vast club of 'People who went to India and got sick'. We had a really nice dinner of Gobi Manchurian at a roadside restaurant, but unfortunately I saw my Gobi for the second time later that evening. I don't think I will be able to eat Gobi again for a long time!
In church this week, we watched the 'Indescribable Part 2' video, which was very good. We also paid a visit to Sparky's and sat with some friends form church. Julie had been given a huge block of cheese by a friend who was visiting (cheese is something that you just cannot get over here) and so there was a whole queue of people waiting to try a small sample. Clearly bringing in cheese is the way to make friends here! Sabrina and Helen were VERY excited to have a lump to bring home. I just can't understand all the fuss over the stuff.
I have decided that the Post Offices here are even worse than the ones at home. I went to buy stamps this week, and after waiting for ever and finally asking for my stamps, the lady informed me that because I didn't have the exact change she wouldn't serve me. Grrrr. They are more unhelpful that you can imagine! So that is my excuse if you haven't had a letter from me yet.
Other occurrences: Sabrina and Helen have banned me from tidying the flat which is quite nice! A dead bird almost fell on our heads yesterday. Oh yes, and of course, the birthday celebrations! The office staff spent all week plaguing me with hints of rotten eggs and tomatoes to help celebrate my birthday (they decided to make it yesterday because we are obviously not at work on Saturday). It wasn't too bad, though. I had a stunning Nemo cake (due to the renown of our pet fish!) and we had a pretty vicious cake fight in the office yesterday. It is a bit of a tradition there that after cutting your cake and having it fed to you, someone will put a handful of cream in your face and this eventually ends up in everyone running around the office throwing cream and icing at each other. I found yet more icing in my ear this morning!
Sabrina and Helen bought me two beautiful pot plants as a birthday gift, for outside our flat! I have been wanting to get some for ages, just in case you think that is a strange gift. Not sure what we are doing for the rest of today, apart from going to the Fruit Shop of course!
Well, I think that is everything for now. I will try to upload some photos later.
Prayer points:
- Thank God that the work in Vyasarpadi is starting and that we will be involved there.
- Pray for the new Jacob's Well class as they begin soon (I hope!).
- Pray for all six of us as we go on our retreat, that it will be a good time of rest.
- Thank God for the increase in numbers at both Balwadi and Fun Station and pray that this continues and that we handle more children without any problems.
Must dash, lots of emails to reply to this week! Thank you muchly for those, btw!
Kandace xxx
"Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be explosive; they will make a noise and an impact. Their words, lives and presence will change things."
We were given a Christmas gift called 'Grow Jesus'- basically one of those little toys that you put in water and they grow much bigger, except ours is Jesus. This is part of Sabrina and Helen's conversation one evening this week:
H: "What do you think we will say when we get to heaven?"
S: "Dunno."
Helen walks into the kitchen.
H: "Whoa, look at the size of Jesus!"
I hope you are all well and have had a good week back at work/school/university. We have certainly been back into the full flow of work this week!
Balwadi was back in force with at least 35 kids there on Friday. We always leave feeling totally exhausted, and that's only after an hour there! We are looking at 'Festivals' with the kids this month, and this week was on the topic of Diwali. So on Wednesday we decided to make some firework pictures with chalk on big sheets of black paper. My little group of kids very quickly covered their paper in chalk so that it was too white to keep writing on. Stupidly, I then decided to show them that if you spat on you hand to make it wet, you could make a hand print in the chalk powder. Doh! By the end of the session I had been accidentally spat on numerous times and the paper was a soggy mess of chalk and black mush.
Fun Station has also been growing in numbers- I think we have had at least one new kid every day this week. Which is great, because it means that word is getting around and they must be enjoying it, but it does add to the chaos! There is a five-minute overlap when the boys are arriving and the girls are leaving, resulting in about 30 kids in a tiny room making more noise than I thought was possible. We have had some problems with getting rid of the girls this week. They always want to stay on for the boys' session, but obviously are not allowed to. They have also been waiting for us to finish Fun Station and then plead with us to be allowed to come back to our flat. Again, this is obviously not a good idea, but they are certainly persistent and you feel so bad telling them that they need to go home! We have a few kids who are too young to stay for the studying, so we quite often find ourselves dropping two or three kids back at their homes on our way to our flat. There is one little girl (maybe 6 years old?) who has started coming and is deaf, presenting a few challenges! She is lovely and very bright, and apparently does not know sign language or anything like that and just goes to a normal school. So Fun Station is as crazy as ever, but the kids are great and despite the madness we are all enjoying it. Oh yes, and apparently they are all coming back to England with me (so they say) so brace yourselves!
We are STILL waiting for the new class to start at Jacob's Well (the Indian sense of urgency is non-existent!) but have been assured that they are definitely starting with a class of 10 girls and we will be teaching them. Lessons are going fairly well. We have introduced a 'Star of the Week' certificate to promote the good behaviour and I now have a very practised 'angry teacher' face! One of our lessons this week was interrupted by a tiny little gecko that ran across the floor, causing all the girls to hop around screaming for a while. It is amazing how much havoc such a small creature can cause! I was really touched by the card and gift that they all gave me for my birthday. They only found out it was my birthday yesterday morning, and so in their 45 minute lunch break they went to buy me some biscuits and a pen that they wrapped up, pass-the-parcel style. It was quite entertaining opening it with them that afternoon!
On the work front, I don't think there is much else new. We have been doing quite a lot of office work recently and still have heaps of typing to do, but unfortunately there is a fair amount of competition for one of the two computers at the office and so we rarely get a chance to do it. The next couple of weeks are a bit strange: next week, we are only working on Monday as Tuesday is a holiday (Pongal, the cow festival) and Wednesday to Friday we are going on a retreat (I am not quite sure what that will entail yet...) The following week the Bangalore team are visiting us and then we are visiting Bangalore with them. So a busy time coming up!
Oh yes, the other exciting news is that Oasis have officially signed their contract with Vyasarpadi and the work there is just beginning now. There is already a Fun Club running with about 30 kids attending, and once we are back from our busy couple of weeks we will be going there every evening to run it. And Becky told us to expect even more kids by then! I am really looking forward to it. There is also a possibility that we will start the Fun Club in SM Nagar again, which would be great although I'm not sure how we could possibly fit it in.
The other event of this week is that I joined the vast club of 'People who went to India and got sick'. We had a really nice dinner of Gobi Manchurian at a roadside restaurant, but unfortunately I saw my Gobi for the second time later that evening. I don't think I will be able to eat Gobi again for a long time!
In church this week, we watched the 'Indescribable Part 2' video, which was very good. We also paid a visit to Sparky's and sat with some friends form church. Julie had been given a huge block of cheese by a friend who was visiting (cheese is something that you just cannot get over here) and so there was a whole queue of people waiting to try a small sample. Clearly bringing in cheese is the way to make friends here! Sabrina and Helen were VERY excited to have a lump to bring home. I just can't understand all the fuss over the stuff.
I have decided that the Post Offices here are even worse than the ones at home. I went to buy stamps this week, and after waiting for ever and finally asking for my stamps, the lady informed me that because I didn't have the exact change she wouldn't serve me. Grrrr. They are more unhelpful that you can imagine! So that is my excuse if you haven't had a letter from me yet.
Other occurrences: Sabrina and Helen have banned me from tidying the flat which is quite nice! A dead bird almost fell on our heads yesterday. Oh yes, and of course, the birthday celebrations! The office staff spent all week plaguing me with hints of rotten eggs and tomatoes to help celebrate my birthday (they decided to make it yesterday because we are obviously not at work on Saturday). It wasn't too bad, though. I had a stunning Nemo cake (due to the renown of our pet fish!) and we had a pretty vicious cake fight in the office yesterday. It is a bit of a tradition there that after cutting your cake and having it fed to you, someone will put a handful of cream in your face and this eventually ends up in everyone running around the office throwing cream and icing at each other. I found yet more icing in my ear this morning!
Sabrina and Helen bought me two beautiful pot plants as a birthday gift, for outside our flat! I have been wanting to get some for ages, just in case you think that is a strange gift. Not sure what we are doing for the rest of today, apart from going to the Fruit Shop of course!
Well, I think that is everything for now. I will try to upload some photos later.
Prayer points:
- Thank God that the work in Vyasarpadi is starting and that we will be involved there.
- Pray for the new Jacob's Well class as they begin soon (I hope!).
- Pray for all six of us as we go on our retreat, that it will be a good time of rest.
- Thank God for the increase in numbers at both Balwadi and Fun Station and pray that this continues and that we handle more children without any problems.
Must dash, lots of emails to reply to this week! Thank you muchly for those, btw!
Kandace xxx
"Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be explosive; they will make a noise and an impact. Their words, lives and presence will change things."
We were given a Christmas gift called 'Grow Jesus'- basically one of those little toys that you put in water and they grow much bigger, except ours is Jesus. This is part of Sabrina and Helen's conversation one evening this week:
H: "What do you think we will say when we get to heaven?"
S: "Dunno."
Helen walks into the kitchen.
H: "Whoa, look at the size of Jesus!"
Saturday 5 January 2008
All things were made for His glory.
Happy new year!
Just as a warning- this will definitely be a long blog! I have two weeks to catch up for, not to mention Christmas and going on holiday.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break. Thank you so much for all of the cards, texts, letters, parcels and phone calls (Burnhamses!). We had a beautiful sunny Christmas day, with a nice breeze so it wasn't too hot. Our church held their usual Sunday morning service which was very good. I was getting pretty fed up of singing Christmas carols at every event we went to, full of ridiculous lyrics like "The ox and lamb kept time" (from Drummer Boy- how do an ox and lamb keep time?!) so it was refreshing to have a really good worship time with plenty of Delirious and Newsboys songs. Our church had also organized a lunch for people who were away from home, but we were invited back to Becky's house so we did that instead. We enjoyed a very good attempt at an English Christmas dinner there, and then (for our second course!) we had an Indian Christmas dinner. Thankfully not byriani but rather delicious coconut rice. Becky and her family made us feel so welcome- they also had a guest from Scotland visiting and Vijay came with us as he doesn't have family to spend Christmas day with. I was speaking to one of our neighbours yesterday who is a widow and told me that she didn't have anyone to spend Christmas day with, so she cooked a big meal and took it over to three of the slum houses that are closest to us. You meet so many people here who really do take the Bible seriously and live out the commandment to look after the poor. It is a challenge for me.
The evening of Christmas day we caught a 10 hour overnight train to Mettupalayam. We were all a bit apprehensive about travelling alone, especially when as soon as we got on the train we were approached by a eunuch asking for money. But it tuned out to be a good journey. We were sharing a section with a family going on holiday and it turned out that their cook is the mother of Sathya, one of the girls in my class at Jacob's Well! So we got to tell them all about Oasis and they seemed interested in funding the work. The overnight trains are very communal but reasonably clean and you do get sheets to sleep on and under. Once I had squeezed up into my bunk bed I slept for most of the journey. Definitely the best way to do long journeys.
Catching the hill train up into Ooty after that was more of an ordeal, as we discovered we hadn't reserved seats, but thank God someone had two spare seats which they gave to us and we squeezed in. It was a beautiful 5 hour ride up 6000+ feet into the Nilgiri hills. I spent quite a few hours talking to the Indian lady sitting next to me who was very friendly. She studied zoology and so I sat on this little hill train, sipping chai, watching the mountains go past and talking about penguins! The beauty of the place was breathtaking. I guess because we have been living in a city for so long that we really do appreciate the beauty of these places: rolling hills, mountain peaks, eucalyptus forests, pine trees, tea plantations, all dotted with colourful little villages. And the fresh air was so good! My cough had completely gone by the time we left.
Ooty itself is reasonably tourist-orientated as India goes, although this was actually quite nice as it meant we could go exploring and not get too many stares or draw too much attention to ourselves. Saying that, we still had a number of people keen to talk to us and ask us where we were from, quite often leaving us with their mobile number "just in case we need anything"! I will have quite a collection of random telephone numbers by the time I leave. We also had so many people asking to take our photos when we visited the Botanical Gardens. I felt a bit like a celebrity, always pleading, "No photos, please!".
In my opinion, the best part of our holiday was a day's trekking we did with a group of tourists from around the world and an Indian guide. We walked abut 18km through all the different terrain and in the afternoon climbed a small mountain with the most awesome view you can imagine. All that day I had the song, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, and all things were made for His glory!" going through my head. It reminded me of the indescribable DVD and how true it is that all of creation is set there to give glory to God. It also meant that I got the chance to talk to some of the other tourists- you meet some very interesting people!
We also did a 'tour' while we were there. This involved sitting on a crowded mini-bus all day and driving for about 2 hours, stopping at some obscure location for about 20 minutes, then driving for another 2 hours and so on. They took us on a 'wildlife jungle ride' during which I nearly fell asleep and saw a grand total of 2 bison and numerous trees that at first glance could possibly be animals if you use your imagination and have a major eye problem. The driver wanted to kill us all and drove far too quickly around the hairpin bends going up the mountain side. I kept thinking of those films where you see a bus hanging off a cliff! Thankfully, the worst that happened was a brush with a jeep that took our wing mirror with it. And to top it all off, the driver ASKED us for a TIP at the end of the day!
It was a lovely break, though. We got to catch up with the three girls in Bangalore while we were there. We did end up spending almost 2 hours scarf shopping and I was incredibly bored, but everyone else seems intent on taking home as many different scarves as they can fit in their bags. Meredith, I will try to force myself to buy one for you! Oh, and at the YWCA one evening they made roast dinner! It was like a mini- Christmas because Alannah from the other team had brought some Christmas crackers, so we had those with our roast and then played 'Uno Stacko' (our gift from the Bangalore girls) and watched Jurassic Park 3 on TV!
The weather in Ooty is ridiculous. In the day it is warm but there is a really scorching sun, so I got VERY sunburnt (hence the terrorist look the following day). I am still peeling although appear to have a bit of a suntan now! The nights, on the other hand, are FREEZING! We were so cold that after the first night, Helen and I bough an extra jumper, socks, and all three of us slept in one double bed to try to keep warm. I guess we are so used to the heat here in Chennai.
Our journey home was not too bad, although we had to stay the night in Coimbatore (where our train was going from the next morning) and we booked in to a pretty seedy hotel. It cost us a total of 4 pounds to stay there for one night, and the accommodation was what you would expect for that price! We asked for a double room with an extra bed and on the way up to our room I saw an old piece of mattress lying on some ant-infested steps and jokingly said that that would be our extra bed. Low and behold, what did they bring in 10 minutes later but that very mattress?! Once again, we all slept in one double bed.
We did get back to Chennai safely, though, feeling quite proud to have negotiated trains, buses and hotels on our own. Coming back to Chennai I was surprised to find how much like home it feels to me. I even like the weather now! And I also found how much I had missed our lovely little flat. The good news is that the new AC unit and window are in. The bad news is that I discovered a new termite infestation in the kitchen! I gave them a good spray of termite killer before I left this morning. Naomi had also returned to the UK now, and she left us some little gifts for when we arrived back on the 31st which was nice. We will miss her!
Our new year's eve was pretty uneventful- we were quite tired from traveling. We were invited to a party at Sparky's, but in the end we didn't go and ordered pizza instead. Sparky's parties are generally very expensive affairs! We had a church service at 11pm - 1am on new year's eve and it was held on the roof of the shopping mall we usually meet in. It was a great service, singing and watching the fireworks going off around us and then hearing various prophesies for the next year that were brought by the congregation. It seems strange that it is already 2008. What a year it has been!
This week we were back to work, officially on the 2nd, although we spent the 1st sorting out work stuff and doing planning. We don't start back in full force until Monday, so this week has involved quite a lot of planning, office work, typing up resources and report writing. It is easy to feel inadequate and overwhelmed by how much there is to do!
We were pleased to see the Jacob's Well girls again. We have another new addition to the group who is quite a bright girl and a great addition to the class. We are waiting to see if there are enough new girls to start the new group on Monday. Several churches have expressed an interest in sending some girls along, but we are waiting to see if they actually will. If this group does take off then we will be spending even more time teaching every day. Fun Station has also started up again. I am finding more and more of a problem with discipline as the kids get to know us better- sometimes with Jacob's Well, too. They can be so talkative and disruptive! So I am going to try out a couple of different ideas I have to encourage good behaviour- hopefully they will work. The other challenge I am finding with work is not to grow stagnant and just plod through the same old routine that I have developed. I want to be always looking for ways to improve what I am doing and introduce new, fresh ideas. I want to finish the work here even more enthusiastic than when I started.
The murder of Benazir Bhutto has been all over the papers for the last week or so. It has caused quite a stir here. The pictures that the papers printed over here were horrific- I wonder if you had the same over there?
Another thing that has struck me recently is the worthlessness and futility of the huge amount of idol worship that goes on here. In Ooty I noticed how every tiny village will have its own shrine or temple and how they sacrifice so much food and money on their gods. On the way to work we walk past countless Hindu temples and often see people praying the the gods. It is so sad. I can begin to understand why God was so angry with His people, particularly in the OT, when they gave up their pursuit of the Living God and went after worthless idols. All the glory that belongs to God they are giving to useless pieces of wood and stone.
What else is new? We had our three month in India anniversary this week, celebrated with a chappatti fight and foot pampering session (I was given lots of foot stuff for Christmas. I wonder if it is a hint...); we have a new sucker fish called Spurtank (the road that Sparky's is on); after going out and buying new cutlery when we first arrived here, we have now taken to eating with out fingers for almost every meal; Archibald hasn't been seen since I got back- I fear the worst; and we are coming up with some grand traveling plans for our two week holiday in March!
Prayer points:
- Thank God that we had a safe holiday and that he protected us as we traveled.
- Thank God for the rest we were able to have over Christmas and that we now feel refreshed and ready for work.
- Thank God that Christmas was a good day and none of us felt homesick.
- Pray that we will continue to be fresh and enthusiastic in our work, right up until we leave.
- Pray that we have wisdom for how to deal with the discipline problem in Fun Station and Jacob's Well.
- Pray that we do not get too busy or bogged down with work, but at the same time give it 100%.
- Pray for our holiday plans in March, that these come together and we are able to get good flights, train tickets and accommodation and that all six of us are healthy for it.
- Pray for the new Jacob's Well girls, that the two who have recently joined will quickly become a part of the group and that there will be enough girls to begin the new class.
- Pray for the work in Vyasarpadi that is set to start next week.
Thank you all again for the encouragement you have given me! Have a great start to 2008...
With love from Kandace
Psalm 115:1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 112:5-8
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
Surely he will never be shaken;
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
Just as a warning- this will definitely be a long blog! I have two weeks to catch up for, not to mention Christmas and going on holiday.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break. Thank you so much for all of the cards, texts, letters, parcels and phone calls (Burnhamses!). We had a beautiful sunny Christmas day, with a nice breeze so it wasn't too hot. Our church held their usual Sunday morning service which was very good. I was getting pretty fed up of singing Christmas carols at every event we went to, full of ridiculous lyrics like "The ox and lamb kept time" (from Drummer Boy- how do an ox and lamb keep time?!) so it was refreshing to have a really good worship time with plenty of Delirious and Newsboys songs. Our church had also organized a lunch for people who were away from home, but we were invited back to Becky's house so we did that instead. We enjoyed a very good attempt at an English Christmas dinner there, and then (for our second course!) we had an Indian Christmas dinner. Thankfully not byriani but rather delicious coconut rice. Becky and her family made us feel so welcome- they also had a guest from Scotland visiting and Vijay came with us as he doesn't have family to spend Christmas day with. I was speaking to one of our neighbours yesterday who is a widow and told me that she didn't have anyone to spend Christmas day with, so she cooked a big meal and took it over to three of the slum houses that are closest to us. You meet so many people here who really do take the Bible seriously and live out the commandment to look after the poor. It is a challenge for me.
The evening of Christmas day we caught a 10 hour overnight train to Mettupalayam. We were all a bit apprehensive about travelling alone, especially when as soon as we got on the train we were approached by a eunuch asking for money. But it tuned out to be a good journey. We were sharing a section with a family going on holiday and it turned out that their cook is the mother of Sathya, one of the girls in my class at Jacob's Well! So we got to tell them all about Oasis and they seemed interested in funding the work. The overnight trains are very communal but reasonably clean and you do get sheets to sleep on and under. Once I had squeezed up into my bunk bed I slept for most of the journey. Definitely the best way to do long journeys.
Catching the hill train up into Ooty after that was more of an ordeal, as we discovered we hadn't reserved seats, but thank God someone had two spare seats which they gave to us and we squeezed in. It was a beautiful 5 hour ride up 6000+ feet into the Nilgiri hills. I spent quite a few hours talking to the Indian lady sitting next to me who was very friendly. She studied zoology and so I sat on this little hill train, sipping chai, watching the mountains go past and talking about penguins! The beauty of the place was breathtaking. I guess because we have been living in a city for so long that we really do appreciate the beauty of these places: rolling hills, mountain peaks, eucalyptus forests, pine trees, tea plantations, all dotted with colourful little villages. And the fresh air was so good! My cough had completely gone by the time we left.
Ooty itself is reasonably tourist-orientated as India goes, although this was actually quite nice as it meant we could go exploring and not get too many stares or draw too much attention to ourselves. Saying that, we still had a number of people keen to talk to us and ask us where we were from, quite often leaving us with their mobile number "just in case we need anything"! I will have quite a collection of random telephone numbers by the time I leave. We also had so many people asking to take our photos when we visited the Botanical Gardens. I felt a bit like a celebrity, always pleading, "No photos, please!".
In my opinion, the best part of our holiday was a day's trekking we did with a group of tourists from around the world and an Indian guide. We walked abut 18km through all the different terrain and in the afternoon climbed a small mountain with the most awesome view you can imagine. All that day I had the song, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, and all things were made for His glory!" going through my head. It reminded me of the indescribable DVD and how true it is that all of creation is set there to give glory to God. It also meant that I got the chance to talk to some of the other tourists- you meet some very interesting people!
We also did a 'tour' while we were there. This involved sitting on a crowded mini-bus all day and driving for about 2 hours, stopping at some obscure location for about 20 minutes, then driving for another 2 hours and so on. They took us on a 'wildlife jungle ride' during which I nearly fell asleep and saw a grand total of 2 bison and numerous trees that at first glance could possibly be animals if you use your imagination and have a major eye problem. The driver wanted to kill us all and drove far too quickly around the hairpin bends going up the mountain side. I kept thinking of those films where you see a bus hanging off a cliff! Thankfully, the worst that happened was a brush with a jeep that took our wing mirror with it. And to top it all off, the driver ASKED us for a TIP at the end of the day!
It was a lovely break, though. We got to catch up with the three girls in Bangalore while we were there. We did end up spending almost 2 hours scarf shopping and I was incredibly bored, but everyone else seems intent on taking home as many different scarves as they can fit in their bags. Meredith, I will try to force myself to buy one for you! Oh, and at the YWCA one evening they made roast dinner! It was like a mini- Christmas because Alannah from the other team had brought some Christmas crackers, so we had those with our roast and then played 'Uno Stacko' (our gift from the Bangalore girls) and watched Jurassic Park 3 on TV!
The weather in Ooty is ridiculous. In the day it is warm but there is a really scorching sun, so I got VERY sunburnt (hence the terrorist look the following day). I am still peeling although appear to have a bit of a suntan now! The nights, on the other hand, are FREEZING! We were so cold that after the first night, Helen and I bough an extra jumper, socks, and all three of us slept in one double bed to try to keep warm. I guess we are so used to the heat here in Chennai.
Our journey home was not too bad, although we had to stay the night in Coimbatore (where our train was going from the next morning) and we booked in to a pretty seedy hotel. It cost us a total of 4 pounds to stay there for one night, and the accommodation was what you would expect for that price! We asked for a double room with an extra bed and on the way up to our room I saw an old piece of mattress lying on some ant-infested steps and jokingly said that that would be our extra bed. Low and behold, what did they bring in 10 minutes later but that very mattress?! Once again, we all slept in one double bed.
We did get back to Chennai safely, though, feeling quite proud to have negotiated trains, buses and hotels on our own. Coming back to Chennai I was surprised to find how much like home it feels to me. I even like the weather now! And I also found how much I had missed our lovely little flat. The good news is that the new AC unit and window are in. The bad news is that I discovered a new termite infestation in the kitchen! I gave them a good spray of termite killer before I left this morning. Naomi had also returned to the UK now, and she left us some little gifts for when we arrived back on the 31st which was nice. We will miss her!
Our new year's eve was pretty uneventful- we were quite tired from traveling. We were invited to a party at Sparky's, but in the end we didn't go and ordered pizza instead. Sparky's parties are generally very expensive affairs! We had a church service at 11pm - 1am on new year's eve and it was held on the roof of the shopping mall we usually meet in. It was a great service, singing and watching the fireworks going off around us and then hearing various prophesies for the next year that were brought by the congregation. It seems strange that it is already 2008. What a year it has been!
This week we were back to work, officially on the 2nd, although we spent the 1st sorting out work stuff and doing planning. We don't start back in full force until Monday, so this week has involved quite a lot of planning, office work, typing up resources and report writing. It is easy to feel inadequate and overwhelmed by how much there is to do!
We were pleased to see the Jacob's Well girls again. We have another new addition to the group who is quite a bright girl and a great addition to the class. We are waiting to see if there are enough new girls to start the new group on Monday. Several churches have expressed an interest in sending some girls along, but we are waiting to see if they actually will. If this group does take off then we will be spending even more time teaching every day. Fun Station has also started up again. I am finding more and more of a problem with discipline as the kids get to know us better- sometimes with Jacob's Well, too. They can be so talkative and disruptive! So I am going to try out a couple of different ideas I have to encourage good behaviour- hopefully they will work. The other challenge I am finding with work is not to grow stagnant and just plod through the same old routine that I have developed. I want to be always looking for ways to improve what I am doing and introduce new, fresh ideas. I want to finish the work here even more enthusiastic than when I started.
The murder of Benazir Bhutto has been all over the papers for the last week or so. It has caused quite a stir here. The pictures that the papers printed over here were horrific- I wonder if you had the same over there?
Another thing that has struck me recently is the worthlessness and futility of the huge amount of idol worship that goes on here. In Ooty I noticed how every tiny village will have its own shrine or temple and how they sacrifice so much food and money on their gods. On the way to work we walk past countless Hindu temples and often see people praying the the gods. It is so sad. I can begin to understand why God was so angry with His people, particularly in the OT, when they gave up their pursuit of the Living God and went after worthless idols. All the glory that belongs to God they are giving to useless pieces of wood and stone.
What else is new? We had our three month in India anniversary this week, celebrated with a chappatti fight and foot pampering session (I was given lots of foot stuff for Christmas. I wonder if it is a hint...); we have a new sucker fish called Spurtank (the road that Sparky's is on); after going out and buying new cutlery when we first arrived here, we have now taken to eating with out fingers for almost every meal; Archibald hasn't been seen since I got back- I fear the worst; and we are coming up with some grand traveling plans for our two week holiday in March!
Prayer points:
- Thank God that we had a safe holiday and that he protected us as we traveled.
- Thank God for the rest we were able to have over Christmas and that we now feel refreshed and ready for work.
- Thank God that Christmas was a good day and none of us felt homesick.
- Pray that we will continue to be fresh and enthusiastic in our work, right up until we leave.
- Pray that we have wisdom for how to deal with the discipline problem in Fun Station and Jacob's Well.
- Pray that we do not get too busy or bogged down with work, but at the same time give it 100%.
- Pray for our holiday plans in March, that these come together and we are able to get good flights, train tickets and accommodation and that all six of us are healthy for it.
- Pray for the new Jacob's Well girls, that the two who have recently joined will quickly become a part of the group and that there will be enough girls to begin the new class.
- Pray for the work in Vyasarpadi that is set to start next week.
Thank you all again for the encouragement you have given me! Have a great start to 2008...
With love from Kandace
Psalm 115:1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 112:5-8
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
Surely he will never be shaken;
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
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