Day Seven

Tuesday:
I have to admit, I am rather surprised at how often I have been updating! This is not like me! Last night was officially my first night to sleep nearly all the way through the night! It felt so nice to wake up this morning and to realize I didn't wake up for hours in the middle of the night! This morning was pretty relaxing. The girls a few days ago went down to the park and saw a bird fly out of a bush where we later realized there was a nest with a few red eggs in it. With that said, today I took the girls down to the park to see if we could get a closer look at the momma bird so we can find out what kind of bird and eggs they are. We have gotten a few pictures of the eggs (red with black specks on them and very small!) but we cannot manage to get a good picture of the momma bird. However, it does have a red head... Anyways, so I went to the park with the girls and one of their favorite things to do is swing. Bekah can swing on her own, but Sarah needs someone to keep her going so my job quickly became the pusher. However, in addition to pushing Sarah you are required to sing songs to her so tonight I will be doing some research into songs I used to sing as I child... I can hardly remember any! Shortly after the park we came up and read book, after book, after book! They LOVE to read! Stephany and I got to sit down for a while and she was able to walk me through the English program for my lessons this afternoon. It is a really neat curriculum. You take different objects such as people of different ages, different house hold items, animals, etc. and state "This is Grandma" you then proceed to repeat that sentence several times and then you would ask "Where is Grandma?" and slowly add different objects and continue to repete it over and over. I was so excited to begin teaching English! I went into the lessons today thinking that 1. I was only teaching on girl and 2. that I was teaching a girl that knew no English what so ever. Well as it turns out, I am working with two girls but have the privilege of having a girl in there to translate for me when needed and also they know some English! This is so exciting to me because I am going to actually get to form relationships with them! The two girls I am teaching are 16 and 17 and my translator is 13. They are all so sweet and I cannot wait to begin having conversations with them! I will be meeting with them for two hours each day until next Friday (except Saturday and Sunday) if all goes as planned! All the girls I am working work (including the translator) are living in a rehabilitation home. The two I am teaching are in their due to rape and I am not sure why the other girl is.. It is so sad, but very neat that this family has decided to start such a large home. Within the center there is school, church, rooms for the children staying there, etc.
After lessons I came back to the house and got to relax a little bit until dinner. After dinner Stephany, Bekah, Sarah and I went next door and got to visit some more with the neighbors. I love getting to go and just sit with them! It is just really neat to hear about their traditions. She was telling us tonight about what all Hindus wear in order to demonstrate that they are married. Here they have several things: toe rings, a long gold necklace with charms at the end, a nose ring, earrings and the dot above the nose. Wow! I couldn't imagine!
One last thing to share! Today I got to experience my first motorcycle ride! What an experience! I was a little nervous at first since the driving here is just crazy to begin with, but it turned out fine! For now that will be my transportation to the center to teach English, but at some point I may switch to taking an "auto" which is a 3-wheeled car that has no doors. It is kind of like a really mini taxi.

I am so excited and grateful that I am getting to spend a month of my summer here in India. It is unlike any other mission trip I have had the opportunity to go on and I am so grateful that God has chosen to let me be a part of His work here! 

Day Six

Monday:
Wow! I just can hardly believe that I left Northwest Arkansas a week ago! Time has absolutely flown by! I am down to three more weeks and they are going to fly by because as of tomorrow things are going to begin to get a little bit busier each week! Today I got the opportunity to experience an Indian waterpark. I was trying not to have any expectations when I went and well any expectations I had were far exceeded! I was pleasantly surprised by the size and quality of the park! It was really great to get out and experience some different things here in Mysore. Tony and Stephany had never been either so it was a new experience for all of us! I was so happy to see how much fun the girls were having! One of the sweetest sounds is giggles of little girls having a great time! We spent the majority of our day there and now we are back at the house just relaxing. While at the park I had a first experience... I experienced an Indian toilet for the first time. It is better known as a "squatty potty". It is basically a porcelain bowl that looks a lot like a urinal that is implanted down into the concrete floor. There is no toilet paper.. Just a bowl of water to use to clean off... The Indian Culture is a toilet paperless culture for the most part... They do not use their left hand for anything because it is considered dirty since that is what they use instead of toilet paper. Something I don't know that I could ever bring myself to do... After experiencing the "squatty potty" once I chose to wait until we came home to go again... An experience I will never forget..

Tomorrow will begin my being able to meet with and teach a girl some english! I am really excited to get to spend some time with her. Starting tomorrow I will teach her English Monday-Friday from 2-4. I am really excited, but really wish that I was going to get to know her, but due to our severe language barrier that will be difficult. I know no Conada and she knows no English. So for the next three weeks I will be working with her. Starting on Thursday I will be leading a Bible Study. I am really excited about that! I am not sure how many girls yet, but I know God is going to work in some amazing ways! I will be using Shana Olinger's "Battle Gear" study and I cannot wait to begin!!

Missing you all!!  

Day Five

Sunday:
Finally caught up! Today we went to church at "Trinity Baptist Church". We went and picked up Brad and Krystal from their house and then headed to church. Today was the first day that I had to wear the full traditional Indian outfit. It consisted of the Indian pants, tunic and also the scarf. Those are not the technical words for the pieces of clothing.. The church was in a little concrete, one room building that had some large windows for ventilation. Unlike most churches that are not of "western culture" we sat in pews. The pastor spoke in English and then had a guy who translated the service. It began with a very long time of prayers and then moved into singing a few songs. The songs were all in Conada so I am not sure what they were saying, but it was beautiful to be able to sit and listen to how all the different voices blended together. Following the singing the sermon began. It was based mainly out of Isaiah 30:18. The pastor used different stories throughout the Bible that described what happens when we wait on God's timing and when we choose to try and make our own timing instead. Following the service they did another song and passed around the offering baskets and then another time of prayer and dismissed church.
Following church we went to eat at "Big Chicken" it was really yummy! It is kind of like KFC but I liked it a lot better than that. I didn't want any sause on my sandwich and it was really hard for them to understand.. For some reason it is difficult for them to change even the slightest things about a meal... It really was rather funny! While we were waiting for the food to come Stephany went downstairs and did some grocery shopping since it was all in the same building.
We returned and took some naps again! I am loving getting to take all these naps! Especially since I am still not able to sleep all through the night.. Last night I woke up around 10:45 and then 1:30-4am, again at 6am and then finally got up at 8... I laid for a while today and read "Heaven is For Real". It has taken me a long time to finally start it, but I am enjoying it so far. We will see as time goes on. I read for about an hour and then I finally went to sleep and slept for about 2 and a half hours. It felt really nice.

This next week is going to be quite a bit busier. I am really excited to see what is in store and how God is going to choose to work! I cannot believe tomorrow marks one week of my being gone! Time has flown and I have no clue where it all as gone! I am going to cherish the last three weeks I have here.. It is going to fly by the busier I get! 

Day Four

Saturday:

Today was neat! I loved getting to see some of the city here. We went to the Mall of Mysore today. It was a lot larger than I was expecting. There were three levels of stores and then a level with a food court and movie theater. The majority of the stores were European based with one department store, just a few stores I recognized such as: Nike, Reebok and Lee, and then some stores that sold the traditional Indian attire. It is a little funny because I have no idea how these stores stay open. They are very expensive and few people were buying anything. I guess the mall is a popular place to hangout because it is air conditioned but the majority just come and walk around. 

After being at the mall we came back and took some naps (I am still really struggling to get over the jet lag) and then got ready to go to dinner at some friends house. Brad and Krystal had us over for some Lasagna, "butter-dip" breadsticks that Steph made and cheesecake! It was delicious! 

When we got back from dinner we immediately got ready for bed.. It was pretty warm all day so it was pretty draining and exhausting! I got the chance to Skype with David for a little bit which was such a relief. It was much needed to be able to see and hear him! 

Day Three

Friday:
Today Tony and Stephany both had meetings so I got to stay with the girls for just a little while. I am loving getting to be a part of their family here! The girls are a lot of fun and so sweet (most of the time)! It ended up being a pretty relaxing day. Bekah had a friend over for the majority of the day so it was a good day for catching up on sleep and trying to get over the jet lag... I mentioned in my last post that I got to go next door and meet the neighbors. Well Chunada, the girl my age next door, was expressing how she wanted to learn to bake, so Steph invited her to come over on Friday (today). She came over around 11am, but since Steph was at her meeting she came back around 6. It was a lot of fun to be able to sit and teach her how to bake with an american recipe and measurements. While we waited for the cake to bake we just got to sit and visit. I have been told that it is a really neat thing when Indians are comfortable to come to an American's home. The majority of the time we are the ones that go visit people, very rarely do people come to visit in our homes. I am really glad I have gotten to spend a little bit of time with her and really hope to spend more before I leave in June!

Day Two

So this week is going to be a slow week of recouping. It is great to be here, but man is jet lag hitting me hard! I woke up last night at 1am here (2:30pm back home) and then again at 7am (8:30pm) and couldn't go back to sleep. I got a great nap today though and that helped a lot!
Today began meeting some different people. I went and met the lady that works with Special Needs children today and I also got to meet some of the students. Right now school is out here so they are actually not in session of the school year until June 4th. So starting June 4th and through June 8th I will be going each day from 9:30-2:30 to help there. I think I am going to even have the possibility of being able to help teach in the classrooms. I know God has something great in store and I just cannot wait to see what that is going to be. In addition to that, in the weeks before then I am either going to get to work with a girl that is 16 and has been sex-trafficked, in teaching her some english, or I will get to lead a Bible Study once a week with a group of girls who have also been sex trafficked. I guess that is extremely prevalent here, which is so sad.
After the meetin today at the school, the "principal" invited us over to her house so we got to meet with her, her husband, and her two twin boys for a while. It was really neat to be able to meet in the house of some fellow believers. Such a sweet sweet family! I am really excited to work along side them my last week of being here.
Tonight I was also able to go meet the neighbors here. They are Hindi have twins also, a boy and a girl, who are nineteen and attending college. They are both going to Engineers. Education is highly pushed here. It actually begins at the age of 2... Oh my.. There is also a very high increase of suicide here during finals week. I absolutely cannot imagine! They were so sweet though. Tomorrow one of the girls wants to come over so she can learn how to bake a cake! That will be another exciting opportunity to meet and talk with her.
I cannot Believe I am over halfway through a week. Before I know it I will be back on a plane making my 24 hours journey home!

Miss you all! 

And the Journey Begins

Hello Friends!

I am officially in India and all settled in! I am so excited to be here and cannot wait to see what God is going to do! The plane rides all went smooth. I almost missed my flight in London, but I made it! Thank goodness. I got to sit by some of the sweetest people! I met a lady from Fort Smith (what a small world) and we even got to sit together! She has such a sweet story and I loved being able to meet and talk with her! I also got to sit next to this Indian man on my last flight and he was so polite and helpful! I just love the people so far. India reminds me so much of Nicaragua!

I arrived in Bangalore this morning around 5am and then had around a 4 hour drive. So I finally arrived around 9am. It feels so good to be out of a plane and to have showered. Traveling this far of a distance makes for a long few days. I was expecting to arrive in Bangalore on Tuesday morning, but little did I know I would really arrive here on Wednesday.. So my first week is already half over... I cannot believe it.

I am so thankful for all of ya'lls support and all that you have done to make this trip possible. I am loving the Wood's already! They are such a sweet family and I have loved getting to meet their daughters Sarah and Rebecca! I have been given my own room, closet and bathroom! What a blessing to have! I even got the privilege of using hot water!

I will update as the week goes on! We are planning to go meet a lady at one of the schools tomorrow so that I can possibly get involved there!

Cannot wait to see what is in store!
Kaylie