Hello again! It's been a while since I was last on here, so I figured I needed to get on and post something! Overall everything has been going really well. I feel like I really have a place here and am able to love and serve on both the girls and the Sisters working here. Jenny and I finally have a bit of a routine, although time isn't very important here so we don't keep track of it perfectly. We have been having so much fun with the girls! The more we get to know them, the more their personalities come out and the more we get to encourage and call out the sweet things we see in them. They inspire me with the ways they work hard and go above and beyond what's expected of them. Most of them are trying so hard to do well in school and get good grades so they can change their futures! Getting an education is so important for them and it will make all the difference if they're able to graduate well and get good jobs so they can support themselves. Tests are coming up so prayers for them would be so appreciated!
Jenny and I have been having so much fun getting to be a part of life here! One of my favorite parts of the day is the evening watering of the garden. The girls get home from school at around 5pm, have a snack, and then head to this huge tank thing full of water. Each girl has a kind of plastic jug thing to carry water in called a kudam. They balance it on their hip and wrap their arm around the skinny part at the top and carry it just with the one arm. It's actually pretty cool. They'll draw water out of the big tank and then water the specific trees or bushes or plants that they've been assigned. The garden is beautiful here, with lots of banana trees, papaya trees, vegetables, bushes and flowers that need lots of water every day. We live in the hottest part of southern India, which means the plants will wither unless they're watered often. I love this part of the day because Jenny and I get to jump right in and help. Often one of the girls will be carrying two kudams or one kudam and a bucket. Jenny or I will swoop in and take one, despite their protests, and help them with their assigned plants. The first few days we were terrible at it! We would slosh water all over ourselves and pour the water the wrong way and the girls would correct us. Now, we're much better and are actually helpful. I'm starting to know which tree is assigned to which girl, so sometimes they'll just tell me "Allie akka, [which means 'older sister' in Tamil] water my tree!" and I'm able to go take care of it. This part of the day is so fun because we're able to laugh and talk with the girls while still working.
One of the things I have been struggling with recently is feeling like I'm not "doing enough", whatever that means. Like there is a list of things I should have accomplished by now, but haven't. It's not even something I can define, just a general feeling of being less than satisfactory. Sometimes I feel like being here should be more dramatic, like I should be seeing miracles and healings every five minutes, or something like that. The thing is, that's not really how God works. His plans are not my plans and his thoughts are high above mine. And the exciting thing is, his plan is ALWAYS better than mine. I'm learning that having a big dramatic ministry isn't always the best way, and that's why he hasn't made that happen yet here. I can always hope and dream of seeing the lame walk and the blind see, but maybe that's not what the girls need right now. Maybe they just need someone who will sit with them and listen. Someone who will draw them a thousand pictures of giraffes and elephants and camels. Someone who will tickle them and chase them and "accidentally" splash water on them. Someone who will pray for them every night. Someone who will hug them when they're crying. Someone who really wants to know them and know how they feel. Someone who will just love them and love them in every way they can think of in every moment throughout the day. I think that's what God is asking me to do here. God IS love, so the best thing I can do for these girls is imitate him and just LOVE. So that's what I'm going to do.
Thank you so much for supporting us! I fell so encouraged just knowing that you are praying for us and supporting us. We appreciate it so much :)
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