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.
