Day 8

Packed up and ready to go this morning.  Our driver showed up right on time, allowing Jessica to get some help from the girls at the crisis center getting her sari put on.  A great service, followed by many, many hugs and goodbyes.  The question was always the same: “When will you come back?” Even from the hotel staff, maybe we tip a bit too much!!

Also made a contact with a group from Goa that has a school and would love us to come do what we do here.  Emails were exchanged and we will follow up with them. I am amazed at the contacts we continue to make here.

On the way to Bangalore, we did what we had not done the last 2 years, and that is to stop at the bird sanctuary.  OK, I admit, I expected to see a few birds and some trees.  Last year, on the same weekend, our driver had told us that “there are no birds there this time of year”.  I think he just wanted to get done working….

We paid our entry fee and a fee to take a boat ride.  There are supposedly crocodiles in the lake.  There was a tire on the end of the dock, so of course I told someone on the team that it was a croc.  Their scream confirmed that they believed me, their threat of bodily harm was expected.  Fortunately Celeste was gone already, she would have hit me!!

There were thousands of birds around the lake.  Our boat was rowed around the lake, our guide pointing out the various birds: pelicans, storks, cormorants, and herons.  There was also a huge group of very large bats hanging from the trees.  We saw 3 or 4 crocs, within 20 feet or so.  It was a very unexpected treat.

We then continued our trip to Bangalore, found our hotel, and reunited with Amanda.  She has had a great time while here.  Got caught up with her experiences, had a wonderful dinner with the hotel restaurant all to ourselves, lots of laughter and sharing of experiences from this trip.

We attempted to Skype Grace Community, but the very poor Internet connection only allowed us to communicate verbally, not visually.  Probably a good idea, we were all pretty tired by the 10:30 pm interview time.  We got to share a few words with Grace, looking forward to seeing them all again on Sunday.

Busy day tomorrow, then the long ride home.  Probably no updates till we are home, we will see what tomorrow night brings.

Thank you all for following along on this adventure.  We get to be His hands and feet, but it is the support and prayer from all of you that makes it possible. 

This has been a great trip.  With 9 of the 18 making their first mission trip, and 10 never having been in India, one is always concerned about how the new people will handle this country, and the sights, sounds and smells they will encounter.  Will they be overwhelmed, and unable to function?  Will they be so angry at the injustices they see that they shut down?

This group responded so well to everything we encountered.  We had a couple of people miss a day due to illness, others picked up their responsibilities and the job got done.  We had a nationwide strike that shut down schools, kids still showed up to be examined. 

The kids are why we come.  As I was plotting their heights and weights, I would look back on the 2011 marks on their growth charts.  I marked EVERY ONE of those charts in 2011, and for many of the kids this was my 3^rd mark for them.  I still couldn’t pronounce their names, probably never will, but I tried, and I looked each one in the eye and gave them a smile. 

New, lasting friendships were developed among the team.  Daniel, from Maryland, who worked with John and me last year, said that even at the end of the week he couldn’t tell who was from TEAM India and who was from Flatland, there was no division in the team.  Thank you Flatland, we could not have done this trip without your help, and I have a feeling that there will be some of us who will be working together here again.

We are at a very bittersweet time…one day to go.  Anxious to get home to our families…sad to be leaving this place we all love.  Dreading the 36 hours of travel it will take to get home…but looking forward to returning again.  Saying goodbye to new and old friends here…knowing we have new friends in the States.  Sad that I won’t have chai with breakfast, happy that I will have ice in my Dr. Pepper!

Ok, it’s really late, so I better end and get some sleep.  Thanks again.

Stan, for the team.