Colossians 1:10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.
We started our morning helping The girls make breakfast. After breakfast and dishes, I was exhausted. I am starting to feel the effects of living in India for the last 2 months. My lungs are constantly burning and I am finding it difficult to take a deep breath. I have started needing my inhaler much more frequently and am also finding it more and more difficult to sleep at night because I am waking up coughing. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do.
Right after church we went over to Sonia and Malcolm’s where we enjoyed some coffee and cakes, along with some wonderful conversation; I really enjoyed our time with them. It was the first time since being here that we were able to have this one on one time with them and I do wish we had done this sooner. I would have loved to get to know Sonia and Malcolm better.
We had to say goodbye to some other volunteers today, Rosie and Frank. It was so wonderful to get to meet them and spend some time getting to know them.
After lunch, Sareena (one of the big girls) was kind enough to do some Henna (or Mehndi) on my hands. I sat in a chair, soaking in the sunshine while Sareena gently ticked my hands with the ink. Jeff joined me while helping another big girl with some homework. This process was so relaxing that by the time she got to my second hand I kept dozing off in my chair only to be awoken to Sereena laughing at me! What a spectacular afternoon, it was absolutely peaceful with all of the mission kids in quiet time and our kids watching a movie in our apartment. And then it all ended at 3 pm when the kids were done with quiet time and the whole mission sparked to life again with the sounds of laughter and squealing children.
As usual, our kids ate dinner with the mission kids and then we all met back at the room by 6:30 to get them showered and in bed so we could head to dinner at 7 pm. I will say that this quite an undertaking and the time pressure is difficult (we are always late to dinner), but I love these dinners in the strong house. We spend about 2 hours eating dinner, laughing, joking, drinking Chai, and just getting to be adults. I kind of sat back tonight and took in the whole thing, plus I am not feeling all that great. I am really going to miss these dinners, actually, I am going to miss the entire mission here. I feel so torn because my body is really feeling effects of the severe air quality here, but my heart is aching at the realization that we are leaving in just a few short days. The people here have etched a permanent mark on my heart and I haven’t even left yet, but am already wanting to return.
I can’t even begin to describe the constant love expressed here and while I have tried my very best to give all that I could, but I kept feeling that I am getting more than I am giving. I pray that I was able to show the wonderful children and staff here how much I appreciated them and that I had grown to love them just like family–they are my Banbasa family and they will always hold a piece of my heart.
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 