Back to India. Tuesday morning was our first opportunity to get to spend time with orphans. They have a morning devotional every day at 6:00 a.m. It made for an early morning, but it was completely worth it. When we arrived, the girls were all sitting in the front of the church waiting on us. They were singing songs together and it was a beautiful sound. There are fifty girls in the orphanage, ranging from 4 or 5 all the way up through teens. Most of the little ones didn't know any English, so it was hard to communicate with them other than smiles and squeezes. But they could all sing in English, and it was amazing to hear. Tuesday morning they did several songs for us, including action songs. This was good because we needed a little action to wake up.

Charmaine did the devotional on Tuesday. She spoke about how there are five fingers on your hand, and they are all different. She talked about the body of Christ, and how we are all different as well, but equally important and valuable. She talked about the parable of the talents, and how the man with only one talent should have invested it wisely. Just because you think you may only have one talent, you should commit it to God and use it to the fullest. She did a great job.

After she spoke, I had the opportunity to pray with them. I asked them to all come up to the front and gather around me, because I wanted to be able to touch them. I wanted to pray with them, and not just for them. But even when they came up to the front, they still kind of stayed in a safe circle around me. I couldn't get them to come very close. I realize that there is no telling what these girls have been through, and the touch of a stranger may not be all that welcome. But I just wanted to grab up every one of them and pack them in my suitcase and bring them home. They were just delightful girls.

Sarah had sent gifts for the girls, so after we prayed we were able to hand out pencils, pens, erasers and (the most exciting) Snickers. They were so grateful for these small things, and their faces were just lit up. They thanked us so much that my heart just broke on the spot.

One of the things Sarah's mom told us about was that they buy all the girls new dresses for Easter, and she told us about how much it cost to do that. I'm so happy that we had enough money left over at the end of our trip that we were able to donate the money to buy all the dresses for them. And I plan to continue to send money as often as I can for these sweet girls. They are doing an amazing job with this, and I want to continue to be a part of it.
The rest of Tuesday was an "off" day for us. Our hosts wanted to take us for some sight-seeing around Hyderabad. The first place we went was an amazing 16th century fort called Golconda. Being such a history lover, I was soaking up every minute. How surreal to be in a place that was constructed so many centuries ago. It was absolutely beautiful. Solomon was so excited to show us this place. He's such a scholar.

This was our tour guide. Had I written that day, I'd probably have been able to tell you his name. I do know that he had 4 small children, and he'd been leading tours for 15 years. His granddaddy taught him everything he knew. He was fantastic.
There were about 400 steps up to the top of the fort, so here's Pastor David catching a breather on one of our many rest stops. We were all worried about Dick because he has a replacement knee. But he was such a trouper and made it all the way to the top. He's such an awesome guy. I just love him!

Once we made it to the top, we had a gorgeous 360 degree view of the city. It was a clear (and hot!) day, so we could see for miles around. It seemed like a great time for a group photo. The folks on the left are Sanga, Megha, Moses and Sagar. I miss them so much.

I also took the opportunity to have my picture made with the very famous pastor reverend Kim Cox, associate missions minister. It might be worth some cash one day...

The amazing thing about the fort is the way it is set up acoustically. From way down at the bottom of the hill, if a guard clapped in a certain area, the guards up at the top could hear it clearly and be warned of coming danger. There were so many fascinating things about the place, but the genius of construction for acoustical purposes was the best.

Here's Laura and Megha taking a water break.
On the way back down we went into the area where guests of the king would stay. This room was designed so that the paranoid king could eavesdrop on everything that was said. In this picture, our guide was whispering into the corner. If you stood in the other corner, you could hear him as clearly as if he were standing next to you. Apparently the sound also carried up and over into the area where the king stayed. Pretty cool. I so wanted to just close my eyes and open them to what the place was like all those centuries ago. I think it would have been an amazing thing to see.
After the fort we went to the Salarjung Museum. We were all pretty tired by this point, but there were some cool things to see. There is a statue called Veiled Rebecca that is absolutely mesmerizing. It's a depiction of the bride of Isaac, but she's completely covered in a veil. It's unbelievable.

After we left the museum we went to eat lunch. We passed by the Charminar, which is Hyderabad's most famous landmark. The thing was built in 1591, and still looks amazing. One of the many gifts our hosts gave us were lamps with a replica of the Charminar inside. My glass broke on the way home, but the statue inside was fine. I love having it as a reminder of the city.

I think I wrote about lunch the day that it happened. It was the first time that I felt a physical sense of danger while we were there. When we got out of the vans, the guys were rushing us inside and up the stairs to a back room. Megha was telling me that it wasn't really a safe area for us to be. This part of town is entirely Muslim, including the radical kind. Actually, we found out that there had been a bomb set off near this area the month before we came that was set off by a Muslim in an attempt to start a riot. Not a great feeling. But I felt completely bathed in prayer the entire time we were there, so I had no doubt that the Lord would protect us through lunch.

While we were waiting for our food, I had the privilege of listening to Laura share her full testimony with the girls. She is an amazing woman who has lived through some really tragic things. But she has used them to make her stronger and they have shaped the person she is today. And I love the person she is today very much. I hope that I could be half as strong as she is if faced with similar circumstances.

Friday afternoon we had a little bit of down time, and then we were back out that evening for a night tour. They drove us up to High Tech City, where all of the computer companies are. We were out for a while, and this is when Pastor David brought up the subject of demons. He told us some pretty freaky stories. I can't imagine what it is like to literally be faced with the presence of demons in someone you are ministering to. But it's happened to these guys more than once.

We stopped at a roadside juice stand where the guys are sitting there with the fruit ready to make it for you as fresh as possible. They had everything from pomegranate to pineapple to a cocktail of everything together. It was the best juice I have ever put in my mouth, truly.

When we got back in the vans, I assumed we were still really far away from the hotel, but it turned out we were just minutes from there. It was really a great end to an amazing day.

As for life in the States, things are getting better for me. The grief of separation is passing, and I'm getting to the sorting out stage. I have to figure out how to take everything I saw and experienced in India and merge it into my life here. I don't want to get complacent and go back to life as usual. I want to strive for the kind of relationship I experienced with God there, and make it a reality in my life here.

Gotta run... life is calling. More to come.