on top of the world...

I made this highlight video for Dad to show at churches and meetings to update everyone on India. If you are thinking, "These kids and places look like something you would see on TV", well...they are. Almost all of the kids in the video are from Compassion International Projects (an organization where you can "adopt" kids by sending money each month to help provide food, clothing, and health care). Let me just say, this organization is FOR REAL, and I am so glad I was able to experience it. Enjoy, and sorry if you are one the places where Dad might share this again. Just consider this a sneak peek

Me. I definitely win the stinkiest/dirtiest shoes contest. I don't even want to know what all is on these shoes. In fact, I am wondering if it is even worth trying to clean them, or if I should just throw them away...or maybe put them in a case as a souvenir. All I can say is that it was worth it. I would trade a new pair of shoes for running around in who knows what with 300 kids for 2 hours.

Quote of the day by the one and only Gladys Paul: "I am going to kiss the floor when I get home."

It is hard to believe we will be boarding the plane in about 6 hours. We had a special prayer service asking God to upgrade us to Business Class. Is that bad? We are already planning our first meal, so if any of you guys out there want to provide that meal for us we have one request: NO CHICKEN OR RICE.

Today was a good day. We woke up and went to church with Saju. The people are so into worshipping. They would sing the same sentence over and over again getting louder and faster until finally they ended by saying "Hallelujah" over and over again. That was the only way we knew the song was over because most of them were in a different language anyways. We had a good time. Mom about freaked out when Saju did one of those random "call on the Americans to speak". So of course, I got nominated to represent the girls. Bennett also shared, and then Dad gave the message.

Afterwards we went to Saju's for some chips and cookies (and Fanta of course), and then we headed out to Benju's house. We were so glad to be able to meet Benju's parents and see him before we leave. They were very sweet, and served us all kinds of Indian goodies. Dad really branched out there, I think he tried a banana. In India, a lot of the pastors and ministers like for you to visit their home and then pray for it as you leave. Benju's Dad had a cool vase on the table, and Mom and Dad commented on how cool it was. It was a vase made of Oxen horns. His Dad ran upstairs and brought us one back. We could tell he had taken flowers out of it. The people here are so giving...it's unbelievable.

Our buddy Shiva Kumar just met us for our last supper. He has got to be the nicest person on Earth hands down. He really worked hard to put our trip together and get all of our ministry opportunities lined up. I met him last time I was here, but never really got the chance to get to know him.

So we have had our last shower with our mouths closed tightly, last teeth brushing with bottled water, and we only have one last ride with the scary driver Sonny (Emily was convinced he was going to turn on us after all those terror alerts...he kept ripping us off needing money). Like I said, it is hard to believe this trip is over. It has been an incredible experience, and I will never forget all those hours spent running around with "slumdogs" and village kids. I will definitely miss the people, but I cannot say I will miss all of my bad shoe experiences. But, I wouldn't trade them for the world.

I have been a slacker the past day or so on the blog. Please forgive me. The Indian food/atmosphere got to me a little. In fact, I stayed in the hotel all day today. Internet is bad today, so I will try and post some pictures tomorrow,


Quotes of the day for Friday:

• Gladys teaching a group of little girls how to play: "You shoot with two hands. If you don't shoot with two hands you don't make the team."
• Dad as we were eating chicken fingers at KFC and dipping them in salsa: "I am branching out a little."
• Dad once again holding the video camera as we were trying to take a group picture: "Ok, 1, 2, 3... MOVE THAT BUS"

Friday we played with the girls in the morning again, went to a Catholic school and did a mini-assembly, went back and played with the girls again, and then went to our favorite place: The Compassion International Project. This was our third night with those kids. Let me tell you, words cannot even describe how incredible it has been being with those kids and leaders. We drove up, and the kids had found some kind of ball and were playing basketball on their homemade goal. Then they spotted our van and chased us until we got out. We ended up going out there and playing with them. It was probably us 5 versus 50 little kids. It was incredible. Anytime we made a shot they went NUTS! They surrounded us and high-fived us like we were celebrities.

Then, the men come walking out carrying another homemade goal. Now, they have 2 goals and the 10 basketballs we left with them. After the new goal was put up the monsoon season kicked in and it poured. We went in and sang songs and heard a wonderful story by Sister Emily :) We finally braved the rain and went back out and played and played and played. When it was all said and done, the Pastor held a little "goodbye" ceremony for us. The most incredible statement of the trip was when the Pastor said, "We are sorry we have nothing to give you but love from our hearts." WOW, and that is all we need.

Well, it has been an incredible journey. We still have one more day until we hop on the plane at 1:30 am. Hopefully we can sleep a little on the way home. It is hard to believe our trip is almost over. God has done some incredible things in Bangalore...and He is not done yet.

Gladys quote of the day: "This place is disgusting. I need a mask."

Yesterday was a busy day! We started our day by leading a 20 minute chapel service at a girls school claiming to be Methodist. We sang 2 songs (they didn't know) and then Rojers shared the Gospel crystal clear. Afterwards we found out that the school is 95% Hindu! WOW! We also found out that even though schools are "Christian" schools, they still have to be careful when sharing. They usually just tell Bible stories and share real life applications. Only every now and then will they present "the Gospel". How about that? Just shows you how careful you have to be around here. I guess we were one of those "now and then" times. After chapel we just ran around a bit, and then headed out to the same school to play with their basketball team. We only had an hour, but we showed them a few things and then just played a few games and scrimmaged with them. In fact, Gladys was quite the superstar. We look to the other end of the court and she had a huge crowd of girls surrounding her. Apparently she made a shot, so they thought she was GREAT!

Last night we went out to another Compassion International Project. This one was located in the city area. It was a very nice church, and I believe it was 4 stories high but not very wide at all. We were stuck inside because of a big storm. We sang, shared, and played some games we made up with basketballs. I will tell you what, there is NO such thing as having a plan around here. It can get a little stressful at times, and then we are reminded that these kids don't care. They just want us there. You never know what you are going to get. Those kids were wild and crazy. It was awesome. I asked them if they knew a song and they said, "YESSSSSSSSSS". So we started singing, and they were singing a completely different song. We just went with it. It was awesome. That has happened quite a few times actually.

Afterwards we found out that the city has recently threatened to shut down the church because of too much noise. What is that all about? How can you quiet church? These kids were so loud, I am suprised they didn't come in right then. They told us we were fine, that they had shut all doors and windows. Apparently they do not complain about the kids too much, probably because the church is babysitting some of their very own!

Well, it has been a great trip so far. Hard to believe we only have 3 days left until we hop on a plane. We are going to make the most of these last few days in Bangalore. Who knows, we may never have this opportunity again.

The U.S. has issued a travel advisory for India. One of the major Indian terrorists has been set free, and there is a high threat for terrorism right now. Keep everyone in your prayers. Luckily, we are not doing any more touristy things, and those are the areas that are of main concern. We were already pretty worried after the AirFrance plane crash knowing we will be traveling AirFrance Sunday night. We know that all these things are just to divert our attention from the main purpose of serving Christ. Pray that we would put the fears aside so we can complete the work God has for us while here in Bangalore.

He's got the whole world in His hands.

It is about 7:30 am here and we just finished up eating breakfast. Yesterday was a good day. Dad met with the guys from India, and us other folks headed out on rickshaws to Commercial S treet. We were afraid about shopping on our own, but we sure did get it done! We bargained with the best of them. Emily could get whatever she wanted with that blonde hair. Actually, we were thinking about just letting her walk down the street with a bag of basketballs and attract a crowd...that might work! While shopping, we would pull the old, "We will tell our friends about you if you give us 40% off". I am not sure if they actually believed us or what, but they gave us the deals and sent us off with their business cards. We also would say, "This same elephant is 150 rupees down the street! I have his card!" That worked as well. So if any of you blog readers out there are planning a trip to Bangalore, I got some shops for you. I came back bragging about our deals to Uncle Mohan (the big dawg over here in charge of the Indian missionaries), and he said, "So, you are getting the deals and hurting our economy at the same time". I said, "That's right...now we are in the same boat." Gotta love Uncle Mohan. It has been awesome having him here with us.

One of our rickshaw drivers said he would wait for us to finish our shopping and take us back. So we did some shopping, and looked behind us, and he had been following us the whole time. It broke our hearts...one rickshaw ride from the hotel to Commercial Street is 20 rupees, which comes to less than 50 cents. He spent the whole morning following us for 50 cents. Wow, just shows you how much people can get by with around here.

When we got back, we went to a Thai restaurant near the hotel. The food was AMAZING and they treated us like royalty. Bringing us washcloths to clean our hands, putting food on our plates, etc. They even brought out the cake we got for Dad with a candle lit on it, and they had decorated it with their own flair. That really made Dad feel special. You can see it in his eyes...he loves the attention! He needed a little pick me up. As of 2:30 yesterday (before we went to lunch), we thought we had nothing to do all day. That was such a disappointment. It has been great to visit and look around Bangalore, but that really is not what we came for.

Luckily, something came through at the last minute. God doesn't leave you hanging. At 3:30 we hopped on a bus and headed out to a Compassion International Project, and pumped up basketballs on the way there with a foot pump (we didn't have a needle until then). We had an incredible time. You will not believe the conditions these people live in. We had over 300 kids, and we had a BLAST. First, we split into about 3 groups and played with them. There really wasn't an open area to play, so we had them passing and dribbling in the streets. I had about 50 of the younger girls and one basketball. They don't care, they just like having you there. No need to entertain. We then headed inside and sang some songs, told/acted out a story, and then Dad shared with them a Bible story.

Probably one of my favorite parts was their dinner time. Everyone jumped up and pitched in. Mom, Em, Christina, and Gladys walked around helping the women serve (see their food in the picture above). We then passed out Dum-Dums for dessert. They loved the suckers. It was incredible and such a humbling experience to see what a typical afternoon for these children is like. We were also able to encourage their leaders just by spending time talking to them and even just sending a smile their way. We did have one major incident while we were there: Mom had to use the restroom. Not once, but twice. Talk about an experience...but you will have to ask her about that one.

India is great, but we are still praying that God would send opportunities our way. This is not an extremely open country, so going out on the streets talking about God would get us in trouble. Which means we have to find areas where people can come to us and be brought to us. We are still praying...and still hopeful. Even if it is hard to believe, we know it is all a part of God's plan.