this isn't an overly personal message, just wanted to say happy anniversary and I love you debi matthews x mh
Monday 18 August 2008
Sunday 17 August 2008
Recent Update (up to Friday)
Sorry for not posting to the blog for a while. Internet access is not always easy and we’ve been very busy. Just to ease your fears everyone is still alive and pretty well. A little bit of upsets and germs but nothing serious. Tele had a rather nasty fall (of his own making) and now has a shiner. I wonder if he’ll get through security at the airport?!
We’ve been a lot busier this week, working hard at the orphanage every day. Morning and afternoon have been spent painting and playing sports and helping at the school and doing therapy. As well as that we have been given a child each to look after while we are there. They are such lovely children and it’s wonderful to work with them. I think each of us will come away with many memories.
My child is a bit different, he is 46 years old and he runs the orphanage. I have really enjoyed spending time with him, reading the bible and chatting and just encouraging him. His work is very hard and yet he loves those children with all his little heart.
At nights we’ve been going to the church, in fact, we’ve been going to a little house church which is part of the bigger church. Each night we’ve been doing kids club and the kids have loved it. Last night (Friday) we gave bracelets telling the story of Jesus simply. Not only did many of the kids come, but all their parents came and wanted bracelets. It is a very humbling experience to think they want us to be here so much.
At the same time each night we have done bible teaching for the church. It is very daunting because many of them are old and wise and they meet every morning at 5am for prayer and every night to do bible study so they know God’s word well. Over ¾ of the people in the house church are women, I think this is very common in India.
We also visited some slums this week. I went to one slum area where there are 25000 houses. There are water containers at a few street corners where people go for water. There are no real roads. When it rains the whole area is likely to flood because it is down a slope. We met a few families. There are maybe 30 Christians in the area and only 1 church. It has 4 walls and not much else. The whole area only has electricity a few hours a day. Most staggering of all there are kids in the street who are locked out of the house in the morning and left until night. The mother has 2 choices, stay at home and starve with her child or leave her child in the street so she can buy food to feed it. It is hard to know what we can do for these people. What can you do for thousands with nothing? I met one boy and the only man I spoke to was the pastor of the church. The men take the first opportunity to leave this behind.
Today we took some of the teenagers from the church to a town where they showed us the sights. Many of them never had been to a restaurant and despite the fact that Chennai is beside the sea many of them had never been to the beach. It was really good craic and we are enjoying being more busy.
Also some of the guys got results this week for their exams and some will get theirs before they get home. They are looking forward to getting home to sort out what is happening next. Everyone seems to be getting on all right. Some of them are getting on a little too well in my view, but then I get uncomfortable when people hug.
So that’s the update. We’ve plenty more still to do. Next week we have more slum visits and more work at the orphanage and it’s supposed to be a more relaxed week. We hope you are all well. See you next week
We’ve been a lot busier this week, working hard at the orphanage every day. Morning and afternoon have been spent painting and playing sports and helping at the school and doing therapy. As well as that we have been given a child each to look after while we are there. They are such lovely children and it’s wonderful to work with them. I think each of us will come away with many memories.
My child is a bit different, he is 46 years old and he runs the orphanage. I have really enjoyed spending time with him, reading the bible and chatting and just encouraging him. His work is very hard and yet he loves those children with all his little heart.
At nights we’ve been going to the church, in fact, we’ve been going to a little house church which is part of the bigger church. Each night we’ve been doing kids club and the kids have loved it. Last night (Friday) we gave bracelets telling the story of Jesus simply. Not only did many of the kids come, but all their parents came and wanted bracelets. It is a very humbling experience to think they want us to be here so much.
At the same time each night we have done bible teaching for the church. It is very daunting because many of them are old and wise and they meet every morning at 5am for prayer and every night to do bible study so they know God’s word well. Over ¾ of the people in the house church are women, I think this is very common in India.
We also visited some slums this week. I went to one slum area where there are 25000 houses. There are water containers at a few street corners where people go for water. There are no real roads. When it rains the whole area is likely to flood because it is down a slope. We met a few families. There are maybe 30 Christians in the area and only 1 church. It has 4 walls and not much else. The whole area only has electricity a few hours a day. Most staggering of all there are kids in the street who are locked out of the house in the morning and left until night. The mother has 2 choices, stay at home and starve with her child or leave her child in the street so she can buy food to feed it. It is hard to know what we can do for these people. What can you do for thousands with nothing? I met one boy and the only man I spoke to was the pastor of the church. The men take the first opportunity to leave this behind.
Today we took some of the teenagers from the church to a town where they showed us the sights. Many of them never had been to a restaurant and despite the fact that Chennai is beside the sea many of them had never been to the beach. It was really good craic and we are enjoying being more busy.
Also some of the guys got results this week for their exams and some will get theirs before they get home. They are looking forward to getting home to sort out what is happening next. Everyone seems to be getting on all right. Some of them are getting on a little too well in my view, but then I get uncomfortable when people hug.
So that’s the update. We’ve plenty more still to do. Next week we have more slum visits and more work at the orphanage and it’s supposed to be a more relaxed week. We hope you are all well. See you next week
Sunday 10 August 2008
Hello
Well, just a quick message to let you know that we're alive and well. Been busy every day, lots of things to do. The cultural differences are worlds apart, not in a good or bad way, just so different to what we are used to. Food is great!! Everybody in the group has been great craic and we are enjoying getting to know all the different personalities.
We'll keep in touch with any new developments on the way.
Chris and Grainne xx
We'll keep in touch with any new developments on the way.
Chris and Grainne xx
Friday 8 August 2008
Big Scott loggin on:
well everything's goin great, managed to get here with no incidents, was pretty shattered for the first couple of days, been trying some of the food over here, its alright, been waking up with a dodgy stomach every morning, but im fine by 10.00, the orphanage has been an amazing experience, the kids are all so happy that were there to help, its all went through to fast, been here a week but it only feels like 3 days, missing all my family and friends at home, i'll c u all soon, i'll try to keep in contact, much love scott
General Update
On Tuesday night we went to a wedding. All the girls looked lovely as you can see but the wedding was very long. The guy preached longer than me! There were over 1000 people there and I get the impression it was a bit of an honour for them to have white people there. It was an honour for us, but we didn’t understand a word of it and some felt the highlight was pizza hut on the way home. Peter also learned the words to “O fluffy sheep!”
On Wednesday we went back to the orphanage and got to do some proper work with the kids, playing sport and face painting and doing some therapy. Rab and Tele were fixing bikes for them which they really appreciate. We went to the church at night face painting and singing and doing bible stories. Norm does some pretty interesting actions and the kids loved the face-painting.
On Thursday while everyone was working again at the orphanage, Rab and I went to get some tyres for their bus because they’ve been so good lending it to us. They pick up the school kids and drop them off every day and it has been wonderful that they would pick us up in the morning and lend us it at night. Beth is also getting some of the guys to paint one of the dorms with bright pictures for the kids so we picked up some paint. They take ages doing everything, I’ve never spent an hour in the paint shop before.
Some of our girls are teaching some of the girls from the church dances and drama so they’ve been meeting up with them on Thursday night and now today. They’re going to perform them on Sunday and are pretty excited about it. Also on Thursday night we went for dinner with the staff from the orphanage.
The bus driver, called Peter is a funny guy. His English is basic but he loves mucking around. He was telling us all jokes and he and I shared a whole lot of food. We agreed on everything: share it 50-50! We also ate everyone else’s left-overs! That man can eat!
Today we took all the kids from the orphanage to Camp Gloria. It’s just a quiet seaside place with walls so they can’t escape but they loved it. Cricket, Duck duck goose and football. I also danced although the kids were convinced that I wasn’t quite up to scratch. You’d be surprised to see some of the guys working with the disabled kids, it’s just lovely.
So some of the girls weren’t very well today, tired mostly. Mike is looking a lot better, he has a bug and was feeling very rough and didn’t sleep one night but nurse Tele looked after him. Everyone has been fantastic, getting stuck in.
On Wednesday we went back to the orphanage and got to do some proper work with the kids, playing sport and face painting and doing some therapy. Rab and Tele were fixing bikes for them which they really appreciate. We went to the church at night face painting and singing and doing bible stories. Norm does some pretty interesting actions and the kids loved the face-painting.
On Thursday while everyone was working again at the orphanage, Rab and I went to get some tyres for their bus because they’ve been so good lending it to us. They pick up the school kids and drop them off every day and it has been wonderful that they would pick us up in the morning and lend us it at night. Beth is also getting some of the guys to paint one of the dorms with bright pictures for the kids so we picked up some paint. They take ages doing everything, I’ve never spent an hour in the paint shop before.
Some of our girls are teaching some of the girls from the church dances and drama so they’ve been meeting up with them on Thursday night and now today. They’re going to perform them on Sunday and are pretty excited about it. Also on Thursday night we went for dinner with the staff from the orphanage.
The bus driver, called Peter is a funny guy. His English is basic but he loves mucking around. He was telling us all jokes and he and I shared a whole lot of food. We agreed on everything: share it 50-50! We also ate everyone else’s left-overs! That man can eat!
Today we took all the kids from the orphanage to Camp Gloria. It’s just a quiet seaside place with walls so they can’t escape but they loved it. Cricket, Duck duck goose and football. I also danced although the kids were convinced that I wasn’t quite up to scratch. You’d be surprised to see some of the guys working with the disabled kids, it’s just lovely.
So some of the girls weren’t very well today, tired mostly. Mike is looking a lot better, he has a bug and was feeling very rough and didn’t sleep one night but nurse Tele looked after him. Everyone has been fantastic, getting stuck in.
From Blain:
Everything's been going fine so far, working with the kids has been great, looking forward to visiting the slums tomorrow and hopefully will be going back to them later on in the trip. The food is emm different, i've had enough rice to last me a lifetime, missing my cheesy chips and battered marsbars! Ma an Da hope use are well, have a great time in Moldova Nicola and dawn hope your ok. Much Love, Talk Soon Blain
From Rab:
all got here safely. Having a good time and enjoying working with the kids from the orphanage and a church near by. The heat is unbelievable with the odd storm at nights, hard to work in the heat though. Some people have been ill but not to bad and others have been fine so far. Finding it hard to get used to the Indian meals,(missing the fish to go) also starting to get used to the Indian culture. Talk Soon Rab
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