I love to wake up on a new continent and experience the early morning light with the Word of God and my journal. I love watching a place come slowly alive as people begin to go about their daily work. There is an interesting respect for a person's quiet space early in the morning which I find no matter where I go in the world. It's not rude to simply nod and say good morning without stopping for a chat. Everyone quietly goes about their work, almost as if we are all still half asleep, lost in our own thoughts. Quickly the hush lifts though, as more people get up and those already up become alert and focused on the day's duties.
It is now 8am in Bangalore and I'm sitting on the front steps of the guesthouse. I have seen a few of the group up but not all of us have emerged yet. We are heading off at 9am to visit IEM's headquarters and have morning devotions with them.
We had a warm welcome at IEM and were introduced to many of the staff. We each were presented with a whole bouquet of flowers, which of course I loved. :)
We sang together and listened to Bill's devotion on Jesus and Peter walking on water. I love the way we can have Christian fellowship no matter where we are so long as we're with the body of Christ.
We were given a wonderful Indian breakfast afterwards! The table was laden with dishes full of scrambled eggs with sausages and chilli, porridge, toast and dosa, which look a bit like a pancakes with savoury fillings of meat and/or vegetables. Yummy!
Saloni and I enjoying the beautiful flowers we were given.
Robyn enjoys her gardens. :)
We wandered around the buildings for a while, poking our heads into offices and talking to people about their different roles at IEM. Meanwhile, Bill and Luke enjoyed checking out the General Secretary's son's soundproof studio for his music.
Indian driving and traffic is definitely a new experience! There really aren't lanes that have to be followed and all you really need to know is how to work the horn to hopefully get where you need to go safely. We have two jeeps with drivers from IEM to show us around.
Some of the stickers on the back of the cars made us laugh:).
We drove to parliament and wandered for a while.
There are many road signs encouraging people to follow road rules, but so far from what we've seen they don't seem to make much difference!
We wandered around some shops for a while and crossed some roads successfully:). Keaton and Luke went off to a music shop and Luke came back with a guitar to take with us. I can't really imagine either of those boys without some form of musical instrument with them.
We met back up again and were getting ready to leave a cafe when a little girl came and stood right in front of me, maybe 4 or 5 years old, though Indian children are so petite that it's hard to tell. She held one hand out to me and simply looked into my eyes. She didn't say a word; she didn't have to. My eyes were already welling up with tears as I tried to pretend I was still following the conversation I had been a part of only a few seconds before. It's so easy for me to love children. My first instinct is never logical or practical which is unusual for me, no matter what a child looks like or how filthy they may be. I have an insane urge to gather her up in my arms and hold her tight.
No matter how many hungry and hopeless little faces I see, I can never become used to it.
I always struggle to know what to do in these situations. Giving money for me is the easy, if not lazy, way out. I'm not saying we should never give money, but that, in the end, how much will it really benefit the child? Do we give money just to make ourselves feel better? Tell ourselves that we did all we could do to clear our consciences? One thing we can all do which is never in vain is to pray. I didn't give this little girl any money. Should have I? I don't know.
I did pray for her though and still do for all these little children, even as her eyes still haunt me. One thing I know for sure is that her soul is far more important than her body. God cares for both her soul and body, and I take comfort in the fact that He is a just God Who will make all things right on the earth one day.
_
We returned to the guesthouse and rested for a little over an hour. I played skip-bo on the front steps with Saloni and Alex, we all listened to Luke with his new guitar and Keaton and Robyn went for a walk.
Saloni and I completely worn out, waiting for our dinner.
We walked down to a restaurant and had curry and chapattis with ice cream for dessert. It was great! I think we're all already loving the food.
Of course good food always tastes better seasoned with good conversation. Robyn, Alex, Samuel, Saloni and I were sitting near each other and had some great conversation about different social issues and biblical doctrines. Robyn and I are both very passionate about our opinions and beliefs, which leaves us with never a dull topic. Everyone that knows me well will know that these kind of conversations have me in my element:). I love it when as Christians, though we may not agree on every subject, we can still discuss our opinions with love and grow closer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
I can't wait to share this experience with these wonderful people!
We finished the night with a game of phase 10, more music from Luke and then off to bed. We are leaving for Mysore at 7am tomorrow.
"Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel."
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."
Proverbs 27:9,17
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