Before I start, I just have to say, Mom, Dad, and Family..... I bet you're missing me like crazy! Well, you should know I miss you guys too.
Anyways, I believe its safe to say that the team has lost all hope of returning sane. Monday was one of the craziest days yet, from breaking a sweat in the onion fields in the (very) early morning to the witty German humour of Frank at dinner. However, while we may not return with our sanity in tact, I think we will all return very happy and with a new outlook on life. God has asnwered both your prayers and ours as we keep on trecking through these two weeks, so here's a taste of some of the things that happened to us at the start of our second week here.
The morning started out with a lot of bending over and sitting in the morning sun picking onions in the fields near the back of the school. As usual, Errol brought our Chai tea for working SO hard, and let me tell you, there is nothing better than stopping for a break during work for Chai tea. The highlight of the morning, though, was when Mike pointed out some strange figure out in the far fields. At first we all thought it was a wandering human being. This was not the case. As they came closer, we begin to distinguish very long tails held high in the air, and noticed the creatures strange galloping run. At this point, some of the team had begun to devise an escape plan to get away from the monkeys, for that's what they were; very large, and a little nerve-wracking to say the least! (my parents will laugh when I mention the giant "jack rabbit" dream I once had where strange creatures came and carried me away). Thankfully, the monkeys never came very close, but we still went inside for breakfast just to be safe.
Breakfast and devotions went as usual, then with a hop skip and a drive we were in the heart of Nagpur, searching for the supplies to buy that many of you donated so graciously. This was another of todays great blessings! Not only did we find a great sports store, but we managed to get so much sports equipment for the schools that Bapu said they didnt need anything else! From there on it was chaos on the roads. I'm sure Mike has mentioned the traffic patterns in India, or the lack thereof, but it gets even worse when there are 12 white people standing on the side of the road! One street got so blocked with people watching us that no one could get by. So much for a low profile.
After stopping around town in a few shops, we ate at a great resturant called "Hot Spot". The place was adequatley named too, at least in my opinion. The food was delcious, but it defientley cleared up the sinuses! When everyone had filled themselves to the point of bursting, we left for the school. Unfortunately, we didn't make it back in time for our scheduled English classes, but we did still get to help with the music lessons. One thing that we will never be able to relay to you is the pure passion for Christ these kids have, especially in worship. Many were shouting the words to the songs, even if they didn't know them. As we say "music is the universal language". You don't need to understand the words to worship Him.
Soon, it was time for games with kids. Card games, field games, simple games, hard games you name it. It was overwhelming, the sheer mass of faces that wanted to play so badly. Overwhelming, but astounding at the same time. There are things you can never forget, and this was one of those moments. Still, the limitations of the human body can only go so far, and soon it was time for us to take a break. While the kids went to go do their homework, much of the team went to their rooms, cranked the fans, and just did nothing. This was another of those rare life moments.
Before dinner, the team got together around the baptism tank and sang all kinds of songs. Worship songs, camp songs, modern secular pop songs turned into worship songs... (by now many of us were laughing hysterically at nothing). Yet I must say that it was very obvious that the team was bonding. We harmonized to a few songs, and I would even go so far as to say that we sounded like professionals! Acting like professionals... well now that was a different thing entirely, but we're working on it.
The last event of the night was dinner. Fried chicken and rice has never tasted so good. By the end of it, all of our tummies were full and our cheeks hurt from laughter. Frank's house is truly the place to be at the end of the day. He is very very funny, along with the other teenage volunuteer from Germany Josh, but one thing I've learned on this trip its to watch out for those Germans! They are very witty, and our (and by our I mean my) gullability is a very entertaining thing for them. Still, we were all so giddy at this point that everyone laughed. Finally, our long day was done, and while some went to bed, a few of the young blood's stayed up and worked out in the weight room and explored the campus. Soren, Josh, and I all slept on top of the dorms outside with some of the older boys, and it was great to fall asleep under the twinkling lights of heaven.
Its been a long trip, and there is still much more to be done and stories to tell, but I'll leave that for another time. Your prayers are being heard by Him as always, and are appreciated so greatly by us. So for now, this is Connor Harrison, signing off from India!
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Arvid and Ruth Olson
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Verse for This Week
Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful! Psalm 90: 14-17 (NLT)