Another morning was spent packing for the next journey.
We knew we had a long day ahead of us, travelling back to Hyderabad. We've all enjoyed Chinnoor and are a little disappointed to be leaving so soon, though I must admit that I'm glad we're moving on to a different hotel and hopefully cleaner sheets. Alex got bitten quite badly by something during the night, which always makes travelling that much more uncomfortable.
We packed up the van and headed over to Amu and Joseph's for breakfast. We sat in the morning sunshine while breakfast was being prepared and Luke attracted a crowd of young fans at the gate.
We have felt very welcome here and I'll admit I'm a little jealous of the opportunity Robyn had to stay in Amu and Joseph's home.
Breakfast today was a dish a little bit like savoury couscous which we were instructed to dip in sugar. Very nice but also quite filling. Also, the standard boiled eggs, toast, bananas and coffee.
As we sat and ate our breakfast together, kids from the surrounding community snuck in the front gate and peeked in through the door at us, before being shooed off again.
First thing after breakfast we headed to another church. This is the biggest church we visited for our trip. We were served an Indian sweet sort of like rice pudding in a nearby room before being seated up the front for the church service. They danced for us and we sang for them before Bill spoke and the skit was performed again.
I love all the beautifully coloured saris and also the way that the whole of the women's side of the church sort "tinkles" with the sound of bangles and anklets.
It was another 2 hour service and we quickly left, knowing we had few more places to visit before heading off to Hyderabad.
Second church for the day. Most of the congregation here seemed to be women and children, at least that was the turn out today anyway. We noticed, though, that today our bus driver who is Hindu came and sat up the back for some of the church services.
There was more dancing.
This young boy was called up the front to pray specifically for us.
I couldn't understand what he was saying but I was touched by the gesture anyway.
After the service we gathered on the roof to pray for the new Sunday school room they plan to build up there.
We fellowshipped with one another after the service and met more believers.
Us girls enjoyed meeting some of the little ones. This little girl loved Saloni and was quite happy to stay in her arms.
Keaton and Luke were keen on playing some games with the kids and tried to teach them a few new ones. Here the young boys are enjoying watching them inflict pain on one another in the game of slaps.
We enjoyed lunch here before saying goodbye and heading off again.
Half the time I have no idea what's next on our agenda or where we're headed next for the day. In fact Samuel barely knew today's plans as they kept getting changed. The day began with the plan of some quick stops for prayer in a few churches on the way to Hyderabad but ended up being a lot more than that.
In between church services during our bus rides, Luke entertained us with his jokes and Robyn with her sayings and stories. It was another hot day and we drank bottles and bottles of water between us.
Our next stop was a small village church which we had to walk a short distance to get to. We passed a man on our walk who was keen to talk to us but by the smell of him was quite drunk. Gracia interpreted for us and though the man seemed quite friendly the conversation didn't get very far.
What was meant to be a quick stop for prayer with the believers turned out to be another full length church service. By this stage I was beginning to lose my voice and struggled to lead the standard "Jesus loves me", thankfully we all know the drill and the others carried me through.
More dancing and colourful saris.
More children peeking in the door.
We left almost straight away when the church service finished. It's a shame we didn't get to really meet the people here but we had several more places to get to. A few quick handshakes and a smile will have to do.
We had a slightly longer drive this time and we stopped for a few minutes to pray for a missionary family before continuing on.
We were all getting pretty tired and we visited so many places that it's all a little bit of a blur for us.
We stopped again and were fed a quick snack by another missionary family, something I can only describe as like curry doughnut/pancakes with spicy relish. Just as we headed in to start another church service the power went out. It's probably not the first time this happened to them and candles were lit for the pulpit until the power came back a little while later. This was a tiny little church with a very low ceiling and Alex had to walk with his neck almost sideways which cause a little laughter. :) Despite the size of the building it was filled with people ready to hear the Word of God and Bill barely had enough room to do the skit at the front.
We ate dinner with the family here afterwards and Saloni and I decided to share a plate together to avoid being given too much. I was happily chewing away on my chicken curry when I bit into the liver. I've had chicken livers before and though they're not horrible it's a little bit of a shock when you're not expecting the distinct flavour and texture.
We were eating outside and though the bugs can be annoying, I was excited to see fireflies just above us almost like shooting stars against the night sky.
This was our last stop before driving to Hyderabad and I realised as we prayed with the people here that it was our last church service for the trip. Though I'll be happy if I don't have to sing "Jesus loves me" for a long time, I'm sad to be finishing up this encouraging ministry of visiting these growing churches.
We had hours ahead of us on the bus and we were all exhausted from the busiest day by far of the trip. Despite our fatigue, travelling by bus doesn't really allow one to fall asleep comfortably. Saloni and I managed to find some relief by leaning on each other but even then it was only a few minutes before we'd wake again with a jolt. I've discovered how delirious a person can get from lack of sleep and the groups antics are probably best left to the imagination. That Saloni and I started singing "Joy to the World" in the early hours of the morning randomly is an example of how crazy we could get.
We arrived at our hotel in Hyderabad by 2am and unloaded our bags. Saloni and I took just long enough to exclaim "Look, a real bathroom and toilet!" and "Look, clean white sheets!" before jumping into bed and sleeping quite soundly.
I can't believe we're leaving Sunday morning.
I was thinking this morning on 1 Corinthians 13. I wondered; how can I love a people that I barely understand and hardly have met? Only Christ's love within me can cause the fullness of my heart towards His people, not just here, but believers all over the world. Many of them have such a simple understanding of the Gospel and thirst for more, but they know Christ the Saviour and His joy shines from their faces.
Lord, may Your love grow more and more in the hearts of us, Your people.
"So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
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