Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
I love that even with the ever changing activities that make up our days here, the schedule of the mission still provides a routine–7:30 breakfast, 10:00 tea, 12:00 lunch, 4:00 tea, 6:00 dinner for kids and 7:00 dinner for the staff and volunteers. For us, we have been regularly helping the girls with dishes after breakfast until about 8:30 and then we move on to our laundry which we finish around 9:15, leaving just enough time to clean up and head to morning tea.
Jeff and I are planning to make breakfast for the mission on Sunday morning so we need to learn how to make the Chai (Chai is a very important part of breakfast and we don’t want to screw it up) and how to do all the little things required for breakfast. So we headed to the kitchen at 6:00 in the morning to learn how to do all of that is necessary to prepare and serve the first meal of the day. While we didn’t actually do much today, we just watched these girls make breakfast for 80 people in just under 90 minutes.
Right after lunch I helped the big boys move some furniture from the old school to the new school; I think I really shocked them when I showed up to help. One even told me that this is man’s work and that Indian women don’t do this kind of work, to which I replied, that “I am not an Indian woman”. They seemed to get a kick out of this and we were able to move all 5 cabinets and a couple tables in two truck loads over to the school. I absolutely loved getting my hands dirty and doing something a little more physical than cooking, dishes, and laundry! I also got to drive the truck, which is really fun because it is a manual transmission, but everything is on the opposite side for me. It felt so weird to sit where the passenger would sit and to have the stick on the left, instead of the right, but I didn’t even stall once! Again, I don’t think they expected that and I just get a total kick out of surprising these boys and making them laugh.
Anjali was super excited to receive a package from her best friend today; she had no idea it was coming and was totally surprised. Thank you Nadia!
As I was hanging out in the Strong House this evening I attempted to video one of the nursery girls laughing. She has the best laugh I have ever heard and I just want a video of it so anytime I am feeling down I can capture it forever. However, her laugh tonight was not the real thing, so this will have to wait until I can capture it!
I was able to help Priscilla and the girls make dinner tonight and I took a photo so I can try to figure out how to make this when we get home because it is absolutely wonderful. This subji is made with potatoes, peas, and cauliflower and served alongside chipati and spicy chutney.
As Jeff and I walked back to our apartment we ran into these two beautiful girls. They are so amazing inside and out, and I feel so blessed to have met them and to get to know them.
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 