ஒவ்வொரு நாட்டின், பழங்குடி மக்கள், மற்றும் மொழி: Day Two

வணக்கம்! (Hello!)

Our second day in India has been super impacting and EXTREMELY exhausting. After some quiet morning time with two of the dogs, Buddy and Jackson (yes, as in my last name), we headed to an English speaking church about 30km from Sharon Campus. The church was built by IGL for the sake of hosting a church gathering of college students studying at one of the local universities. What we weren't expecting were the number of Malaysian Christians that were studying dentistry! We met three of them, including a girl named Eunice and her friend Kelvin. Kyle and I were able to share our testimonies briefly, and then we were treated to a fantastic teaching on Matthew 4: 1-11, where Christ was tempted by Satan in the desert.

Our schedule was free for the rest of the day, so naturally we were quick to fill it up with things to do.

We had a brief chat with Sam Stephens, the head of IGL, shortly after returning from church. Even though we spent little time talking, it was clear to see the humility and gratitude in his character. We look forward to talking with him in depth later in the trip!

We took a brief walking tour of the Sharon Campus before and after lunch. It's rather large, and by that I mean HUGE. There are many functions and operations established at the campus, including but not limited to a hospital, community college, orphan hostels, dormitories, convention space, and chapel space, just to name a few. The campus is also home to a large number of Rhesus monkeys. Most of which ran off as soon as they saw us, but a couple brave souls (with their little adorable monkey BABIES) stayed put so we could get some good pictures.

Sharon Campus is also home to many orphans, ranging in age from 4-18, they are separated by both gender and age group. Kyle was able to briefly get some footage of all the boys (around 95) walking in a dead straight line from their hostel to lunch, ordered from youngest to oldest.

My heart exploded a little bit (^__^)

We met and talked with a good number of the boys, the names of which I am doomed to never remember nor even BEGIN to try and pronounce. Sorry kids! we played some games with the younger boys on the grounds, which was actually just being bombarded with requests for pictures, being quizzed on their names (…i failed…), doing cartwheels, and learning how to play cricket. That's right, CRICKET. Today also happened to be Friendship Day (Naṭpu tinam - நட்பு தினம்) which is apparently celebrated by tying pieces of ribbon around each other's wrists. I got 9. :-)

We had another team come in today. 4 women, 3 from Hudson, Ohio and 1 from Dallas, Texas. They will be our surrogate mothers during this trip (I will be referring to them as 'our moms'). Their names are Darlene, Lisa, Caroline, and Kathy. They will be leading a women's conference during this week and then will head to Sri Lanka. Today was Lisa's birthday, so we had cake and ice cream to celebrate. One of Sam's grandchildren had the honor of helping blow out the birthday candle. His name is ALSO Sam, and is about 3 years old and drives a miniature 4-wheeler around the gardens. He's also half-asian and adorable. Extremely.

Tomorrow we have our orientation and full visit to the IGL office. There is also a Children's program in the evening. We will be with 'our moms' for most of the day.