Friday Update

Friday

It’s Friday evening at 9:15pm, the kids are down for bed, Kathee is reading a book, and I’m blogging.  Today was another good day!  The three eldest children decided that getting up before 5am was a good idea (I went in at 5:30 to catch Gideon playing like he was sleeping, as only the eldest and dutiful child could, Hope coming out of the bathroom talking about colored pencils and doing art projects, and Esther standing up gibber-jabbering about something.  When I walked in Esther asked if it was finally time to wake up to which I said that it was way too early to be up dinking around and that they had to get back in bed.  This might explain why Hope falls asleep at the supper table each night and why Gideon puts himself to bed most evenings before he’s supposed to be in bed.  Esther is my night owl and so she’s pretty good to go, although taking being the only kid who takes a three hour nap every afternoon may help her a bit, too!  So, after Grandpa woke up, it was play time and breakfast while the parents slept in… until 8!  

We woke up, had breakfast, and got ready for the day while the children played.  Around 10:30am, Kathee, Gideon, Hope, Esther, and I met Aslam down at the car to go to the Sarojani Market (while Karl stayed home and planned worship services and Eve slept).  We love going to markets, and this was our second or third time going to this one.  This one isn’t a market where Westerners/tourists visit, which actually makes it safer for us with all that is going on in the world lately.  We found two little purses for Esther and Hope and a few other things.  At one point I had Gideon belly-laughing at my responses to the men coming up seemingly every 20 feet asking me if I wanted a belt, “It’s real leather, very nice.  I give you a good price.”  After telling each guy “no” at least 10 times, I started throwing some humor in.  At first Gideon had no idea what I was doing, “Thanks sir, but I’m trying to quit.  I have too many already,” “No sir, I don’t like that color brown, might you have one in a darker shade?”  And after each belt guy walked off, a sunglasses guy approached.  And then a guy selling handbags.  And then a guy selling socks.  And then a guy selling wallets.  All this while we are walking down the market looking at vendor after vendor after vendor.  It was so fun!  We had a blast.  

And each place we go we are a scene.  One that people can’t seem to figure out.  Everyone points and melts over Eve (who wasn’t with us today but it fits here nonetheless) being carried on Kathee’s back in the backpack.  They look and laugh when I’m carrying Hope or Esther on my shoulders (and it’s even a bigger sight to see when I have Hope on my shoulders and Karl has Esther on his).  And they can’t figure out Gideon and how he fits in our family.  Because they can tell he does, but they just aren’t sure how.  And throw in the fact that Gideon is usually holding Aslam’s hand and they are stupefied.  It is quite interesting and funny.  I talked with Gideon about it today as we were walking and he laughed and laughed.  Oh yeah, last night was our first time of a woman and her daughter walking up and taking a picture of Kathee with Eve on her back.  So the market was great fun today.  

(We took this picture as the man is wearing a sweatshirt with Kansas's motto of Rock Chalk Jayhawk on it.  Hope's teacher graduated from the University of Kansas and comes home spouting that every once in a while!  So when I saw this guy sporting the sweatshirt today I knew we had to get a picture of him.  Aren't we subtle?!!!)

On the way home, Aslam drove us through the area around the largest hospital in India.  People everywhere.  Waiting in queues.  Waiting in any grassy area they can find.  Waiting in the median of busy roads.  Waiting.  Sometimes patients waiting.  Sometimes families waiting.  But waiting.  Everywhere.  And too many people to count.  While Aslam said that the queue for getting in to the hospital begins very early each morning, there is laundry hung up on the fencing in the medians, laundry drying on the cement pylons (sp?) separating the medians, and laundry hanging anywhere possible.  All this leads me to believe that all are not going home each night and then waking early to get in line, but many are sleeping right where they are.  It was sad for us to see.  And Aslam said it is like this all the time.  

After we got home from the market, we ate lunch, the kids played, and naps were taken.  

Aslam and his wife came and began cooking around 3pm for supper.  During that time, their son played with our kids and they had a blast together.  Aslam’s son doesn’t speak any English, which I talked to Gideon about (he doesn’t speak any English, but that doesn’t mean you can’t communicate.  Be creative.  Act thing out.  Point to things.  Use facial expressions.  And just have fun together.  Play together.  Make sure you involve him in everything and have fun.  Lots of fun).  Although he was very quiet, it was obvious they were all having a lot of fun together.  They especially loved playing up on the roof!  And as I was up there to supervise, I was taken by the number of rose-ringed parakeets that were flying overhead.  I bet I counted well over 100-150 of these birds flying overhead, squawking as they flew.  I love watching them, and three of them were in the tree outside the dining room window as we ate a couple days ago.  But today they were everywhere.  It was so cool.  

Back to the kids playing together, I love it that our children are able to play with children from other cultures, not speak the speak the same language and yet get along, build friendships, and be kind to one another.  I can’t wait for Christ to return, where all those who know Him will be able to sing and dance and play together, understanding one another, and living the way God created us to live.  I can’t wait for that day!  

While Aslam’s wife (who also doesn’t speak English) cooked, Kathee was right beside her watching her and asking tons of questions.  During the cooking, Aslam made chai and it was so good.  It was very similar to the Kenyan chai Kathee had when she lived in Kenya in college and which she made when she came home from there.  So that was fun, too!  

Supper was rice, mutton in a sauce, fried potatoes, and Indian cookies.  For dessert we had mango popsicles!  All of it was absolutely incredible!  The food was so good.  And I gotta say, I’m becoming a sucker for mutton!  After supper we gave Aslam’s wife some Giordelli chocolate we’d brought (we’d heard that she might be coming) and some candy (Skittles, sour gummi worms, Mike and Ike’s, Hot Tamales, etc) for her children back in the village.  They gave us each very nice Christmas cards.  It was a fantastic evening, great food, and I hope an experience my children will never forget.  We are blessed!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we are going to celebrate Christmas in the morning.  As we have the Christmas Eve service tomorrow night, we wanted the children to have time to open their presents and play.  Thanks to the generosity of the lady from Karl’s church allowing us to use her APO, we sent some presents ahead so they’d be here in time to open them in India!  I think celebrating Christmas will be a HUGE surprise for the kids as we had our family Christmas before we left, where we opened our presents and the one’s sent from family.  So I think our children think present-opening is finished.  I hope they are delightfully surprised!  

We will attend corporate worship tomorrow night at the church (Delhi International Christian Fellowship) and then do the same on Christmas morning.  Karl has asked us to do the Advent reading at the service, so I am assuming that will be at tomorrow night’s service!  We are excited for the service and love being able to worship and celebrate the greatest Gift that has ever been given.  We are so thankful for Jesus Christ and His coming in the flesh!  

That is it for now.  Thanks for reading this Friday update.