Every time I lay down I go into a coughing fit, so I figured as long as I'm up I may as well blog.

Today was the hardest day for me so far. I felt a sense of oppression when I woke up that just kind of lingered around all morning. I barely slept at all last night, despite having taken an Ambien. I think my body has built up a tolerance to it now, so I guess tonight I'm on my own. For whatever reason, I didn't sleep and was really tired.

We got started a bit late this morning, but ended up seeing something like 175 people and giving away 100 pairs of glasses. We're running out of certain prescriptions, and the ones we do have in certain strengths are not attractive. There were times today when I really lost my patience, and that hasn't happened any day previously to this one. But I had one man who I spent five minutes trying to talk into trying on a certain strength just so I could see if they made him see clearly because he didn't like the plastic frames. I feel like the people I saw today kind of got shafted because I wasn't at my best.

Nelson had the idea on Tuesday that we should each take 30-minute shifts in the prayer tower to pray over what we are doing here and just find restoration for our own souls. Sometimes we go with one of the people from here, but today I needed to go by myself and just try to hear from God. After lunch I finally felt the cloud lift and received a fresh wind. So if any of you were up and praying late last night, thank you! It made a huge difference.

I can't believe that tomorrow is our last day of clinic. We've been told to expect about twice the number of people we've been seeing because people will know it's their last chance. Should be a long day, but I'm going to try and suck the life out of it.

This lady came through the line this afternoon, and it turns out she is a classical singer. She was a great sport and sang for us. Her voice was like an angel, and did much to lift our spirits.
Every day for lunch our interpreters have been eating some delicious biryani, so yesterday we asked if we could order it for ourselves today. We did, and it was fantastic. Chicken and rice India style. Emme even gave me a lesson in eating it with my fingers. I'm pretty terrible at it, but I think with practice I could get it down. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't go over very well back home, but my kids would definitely get a kick out of it.

Here's Singing David and my new friend Joseph. Joseph has been an interpreter for Jeff quite a bit this week, but I didn't really have a chance to get to know him until today. We got really up close and personal when he drove me on his scooter through the streets of Hyderabad. Don't tell my mom that I did that. (Seriously, Mom, he went really slow and it wasn't scary at all. In fact, now that I've done it I feel much better about seeing entire families of four piled up on one. :))
This is Sarah and Amulya. Amulya interpreted for me earlier in the week, but I worked with Sarah a lot today. Very sweet girl. Our interpreters are worth their weight in gold because our task here would be virtually impossible without them. Amulya turned 21 yesterday, and spent much of her birthday with us. That's some commitment.
Shane is an awesome story. I could tell earlier in the week he was struggling with finding his purpose here. He is in construction, and this is not the type of mission trip he typically goes on. He's been dealing with a lot of health issues while he's been here, and Satan has really been trying to steal his joy. But the last couple of days have been a new Shane. He really found his stride in the testing area of clinic, and now signs all of his paperwork "Dr. Shane." It's hilarious! It has been such a joy to watch him fall in love with India.

Jena has also been struggling with sinus issues and her voice has been in and out each day. It's hard talking so much outside every day in air that is pretty polluted. But she is hilarious and has such a beauty about her when she sees and experiences new things. Her eyes light up like a little girl and her smile is totally contagious.

Royce just makes me smile. What a huge heart and love for Jesus. I've enjoyed getting to know him so much. Last night he told us the story of meeting his wife and how they fell in love, and he was grinning from ear to ear. So Karole, if you read this, know you owe him a great big kiss when he gets home because he paints an extremely flattering picture. :)

This man is a police officer and works specifically with fingerprints. Instead of looking at the reading material, he kept looking at his fingers to see if he could make out the lines. I tried to explain that he needed to make sure the glasses made print clear and not the delicate lines of his fingertips, but he wasn't interested. I hope he didn't walk out of there with magnifying glasses!

Last night and tonight there were weddings in the church. We were invited to attend, but were just too exhausted after clinic all day, and really didn't want to come in our scrubs. Nelson and Jeremy went to one for a little while last night. We did get to see the bride today and she was absolutely beautiful. This is what the church looked like for her.
Tonight, some of the team members went to eat at this place called Barbecue Nation. It was an all-you-can eat place with little charcoal grills built right into the table. As soon as you sit down they bring out all of these skewers loaded down with different kinds of meat and veggies and they grill right there. It was beyond delicious. They also had ice cream for dessert, which I haven't had in over a week. That's saying a lot for me.
This is what all of the guys looked like after they had completely over-indulged. :)

There was a kid selling balloons outside, and I was given three, one for each of my children. It is amazing how much these people love them sight unseen. I can't even explain it, but it is just real. They've asked so many times for us to bring them here that I think we just might. Can you imagine Bryant on a 24-hour commute? Yikes. That would have to be a true calling of the Lord.
Seems my coughing has finally subsided. Going to try the prone position. At least I have a good six hours before I have to be up.

My prayer for tomorrow is that the people I encounter will get as much from me as the ones I saw Monday. They don't deserve less just because I am tired. They need as much Jesus as anyone else, and I'm going to do everything I can to let that light shine.