On saying good-bye...

I hate goodbyes. Really. 

I would rather NOT say goodbye (classic avoider!) than have to go through it. But we did it. We said goodbye to ayahs, nurses, and hardest of all, the kids. 

They seemed to sense it. Heidi clung to Andrew, which she has never done before. She would not let him leave, and Angel cried and cried when I walked away. I could hear her yelling "mama!" as we walked down the road. (yeah. break my heart) 

Beautiful Angel

Im in the process of creating a slideshow about our time in india. As I edit, delete, and try different songs, I find myself getting all teary eyed. While we were in Hyderabad for a week, I found myself longing to be back at the orphanage. I missed my kids! 

I missed their faces and their cuddles. I missed how they run up to me, arms open, shouting "akka, akka!" (which means "big sister")

Im trying to wrap my mind around leaving these little ones. When I sit down and think about it, the emotions are strong and most often I am left in tears. 

Who will come and love these littles when we are gone? Who will walk with Cedar, colour with Lily, play in the water with Jasmine, sing to Dinah?

Who will see their worth and value, how incredibly special they are? Who will delight in Heidi's precious facial expressions and give her cuddles, especially when she doesn't think she needs them!

We pray often for volunteers to come. 

To look past the garbage, heat and craziness of India. 

To look past the lice and lack of healthcare. 

To see past the social stigma of HIV and being different.

 These kids have been implanted into my heart. I didn't expect it, although Im not surprised at all. God has been working on our hearts, giving us more compassion and love. And when you see people through the eyes of God, you have no choice but to love them.

 We will miss these littles, in a different way than the ministry in Israel. Not better, not worse, just different. These littles don't have parents. They have very little options of a "way out". Their life is pretty much determined for them.

 

Unless.

Unless someone sees their worth. Unless a family decides to adopt them and give them a forever family.  Unless people answer God call to love these little ones with a resounding "yes!"

We said yes, and we are changed because of it. Its funny, you come here to serve and teach, to love and give, but we walk away having learned so much. It always feels as if we are the ones being ministered too. It has been a privilege to serve here. We leave with sadness, knowing that life is not easy for these kids, praying that someone will come and fill our shoes. We also leave with such joy, thankful for all that God has done, His faithfulness and heart for this nation! 

These kids have forever changed me and I am so grateful to each one. Please pray with us for volunteers! 

Our journey to New Delhi.

We left Ongole on the 15th at 4:15pm. There were 7 of us crammed into a minivan, along with our luggage. Lets just say that some of the passengers were not on the…small side... 

So there we were, in the back row, scrunched up and bouncing down the road to Hyderabad. About 15 minutes in I realized that my position (back corner with no view of the road) would not work so well with my carsickness!

 I held on. and on. and on. 

Finally, 4 hours in, I could hold on no more. We pulled over and I gracefully lurched out of my seat and just made it to the sidewalk when lunch came pouring out. Pleasant. 

But I did feel better and we continued on, stopping for dinner (Subway for me! I was so so excited to eat a sandwich!) and then making it to Hyderabad just after midnight. 

We managed a couple of hours of sleep before our cab picked us up at 4:30am. 

We got to the station and waited for the train. Time passed quickly, mostly because people watching is now our #1 hobby! 

We gratefully sank into our seats and the 28 hour train ride began! It was actually pretty pleasant.The scenery was beautiful, the pace pretty slow, but with enough room to get up and stretch or lay down and nap! There are guys walking by constantly selling chai, coffee and snacks, so we never had the chance to go hungry! 

(This is a 3-tier AC car. That means that in our area, there are 3 beds on either side, totalling 6 beds. The middle bunk folds down to make a seat, as you can see in the pictures. When we wanted to sleep, we simply lifted the back into place and hooked it in! Voila, a bed!)

About 12 hours in was when things got cramped. A family of 5 (mom, dad, uncle, 9 year old, 2 year old) came on, but only paid for 2 beds. So yes, 5 people, 2 beds. Figure that one out. It meant that we had to share our space and constantly step over them. But it still wasn't too bad. It didn't hurt that the kids were adorable.  

Very rarely does Andrew actually fit on the beds...

Chai and curry. Yum.

Time passed fairly quickly. I slept well at night, Andrew managed a decent sleep too (which is a miracle if you know Andrew!) but the sharing of air with strangers sleeping 2 feet away from me, seemed to take its toll on me. By the time we reached Delhi I was sniffling and sneezing! 

So ,fun fun, I have a cold. My immune system is just not what it was, India has distressed it! I seem to catch every little thing, which is so not me! 

So that sums up our journey to New Delhi. It was long, but not so bad, which we are so grateful for! 

Just another day...

Its almost midnight, so this will be quick. I wanted to share some pictures from this week. We have been soaking in these kids and their precious lives! It hasn't hit us that will say goodbye in 48 hours (so lets not talk about it mmmkay?)

 We have had amazing weather, breezy at night and not-too-hot during the day! 
Joy joy joy! 
India seems to be tempting us to stay longer, but alas, the trains and flights are booked, so its off we go, on thursday evening! We drive to Hyderabad on the 15th, arriving late at night (3 cheers for avoiding the night bus!) and leave at 6am the next morning on the train! Its a 27 hour train ride to New Delhi, putting us there on the 17th around 9am. We spend 5 days there, visiting with ministry friends (Edolbina with midwives who run a rural hospital!) and seeing the Taj Mahal! 
Cross that off the bucket list!
 We are Thailand bound on Nov 22nd! But more on that later people! 

Anyway, my run away tangent has distracted me. Where was I? Oh right. Ongole!

Here are some pictures from this week!

Victory Home

 Even the lizards in India has mustaches! 

This face makes me day, every day.  

Snack time! 

I love finding her in the crowd! 

A view from up top!

Its so green after the rain!

Spa time with Lily!

Jackie doesnt have fingers or toes, so no nails to paint! No problem, we improvise!

Melt my heart. 

Peek a boo!

Big man Cedar! 

Our neighbour!

Theres trouble in those eyes!

Guess who found soap and thought it was candy? Yup. Jackie. 

Those 2, always in trouble! 

Heidi wasnt thrilled at Jackies presence. I love these 2!

Spunky girl! 

I really must be going to bed. Andrews glancing at me frequently , giving me the "Wife! Know what Im thinking and get your butt off that computer!" look. Gotta go, much love to you all! 

Heidi.

Hello friends! 

We have had a pretty emotional week so far (and its only tuesday!) 

We have had ability camp for the past 3 days, soaking up every possible moment with our special 4! (I will blog more about that tomorrow.)

Along with that, of course, is precious time with Heidi and Angel, who have, obviously secured themselves into my heart! 

Sadly, Heidi has some sort of infection in her throat. Her throat is swollen up quite badly. She has a golfball size lump, thats hard as a rock. Its uncomfortable and painful for her.

You can see how swollen it is in this picture (Although it actually was bigger than it looks)

 Of course, I was quite concerned about it and asked if we could take her to the hospital. It was 9:30am (yesterday) and I was told "Yes sister, but we are waiting for someone to bring us money." 

Ok, fair enough, I will wait. 

And wait. 

and wait.

 When I left at 5pm, I was told "We will go to hospital at 6pm sister!" This morning, when we got there, I immediately went to see Heidi and ask how she was. I was told "Sister, the money never came, we can not take her!" 

So I did what I should have done 24 hours before, I forked over the money and insisted that they take her to the hospital immediately.

 "Immediately" is a bit slower in India than Canada, but 2 hours later, they were on their way. Turns out, we were right. She has a bad infection, but they are hoping it will go away with antibiotics (Im not so sure, but anyway!) and return in 3 days if it isn't better. 

I admit, I am worried. 

What if the infection doesn't go away? 

What if no one notices that she is feverish or lethargic? 

Will they notice that she isn't "herself" or will is just be looked over in the busyness of an orphanage. 

This isn't a jab at the ayahs or anyone, it just hurts my mama heart that Heidi might be looked over. She is so special to me, I get all teary at the thought of saying goodbye. I pray that someone will come and love her. I pray that their heart jumps when she smiles at them, like mine does. I pray they swoon at the way she melts into their arms,always ready for cuddles. I pray that they look forward to seeing her everyday, to sharing the simple joy of her life.

 I wish I could bring all of you here. I wish you could see these kids, their smiles and tears and feel connected to them. God has been putting that on my heart so much. We are the ones communicating and representing these kids to you. We are the voice for the voiceless, we advocate for their benefit and we are blessed to do so. You would melt at Heidi's smile, or the way she waves goodbye. 

Thank you for your love and support. We have had some donations specifically for Heidi and her medical bills (the money that is not used up, will be put aside for the next time something arises) and we are so grateful, as Im sure Heidi is! 

  (How can a man with a handle bar mustache be so attractive? I was just thinking the same thing!) 

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU! Thank you for praying and for giving.

Baby Theo!

(I wrote this yesterday)

I'm writing this from the hospital bed. 

No, not me.
Little Theo had surgery this morning, where he had his spinal cord detethered. Theo is 2 years old (although we aren't sure about that, he doesn't have any official papers or birth certificate) 

Look at this precious boy?! I dare you not to fall in love! 

 

Theo is a spunky, precious little boy. He is always ready for cuddles, lifting his hands up to be picked up to anyone who comes into the room! Theo has spina bifida (a congenital defect of the spine where parts of the spine are exposed through a gap in the backbone. It often causes paralysis and mental handicaps) and hydrocephalus (fluid surrounding his brain) which causes his head to be quite large.
A church from America graciously gave enough enough money for him to have this surgery.
Andrew and I came along, to help shuttle the kids around (there is another girl who needed intestinal surgery) do paper work and spell off each other at the hospital.
When we walked into the room after his surgery, there was Theo. The hospital gown dwarfed him, his head was shaved and he has 2 IVs in his tiny arms.
He whimpered in pain and seems out of sorts, but he is a brave little boy, and we are so proud.

 

The shaved head makes him look so sick! But don't worry, he is doing well!  It was heartbreaking to see him with IVs and stuck in the bed. We aren't able to pick him up (the incision in is his lower back) and that's hard. He constantly puts out his arms to be held and we have to resist! Sad for this mama heart of mine! 

I was able to coax some smiles from him.

 When we left, he dissolved into tears, which is oh so hard to walk away from!

 We are thankful to be with him through this time, he is a joy and blessing! We are really hoping that when he heals from this surgery, he will be able to walk (eventually!), isn't that so exciting?! Please pray with us, that he wont get an infection! He had this surgery last year, and had a really bad infection, which kept him in the hospital for a month! We are praying that this time will be different!

When in Hyderabad!

Here are some fun pictures from last week! This girl is so precious and wild and funny. I LOVE her! In this picture, Andrew told her "smile!" and she kissed me instead. Like I said, so precious!

They have an intense friendship. They argue and wrestle and it makes my heart happy!

When it pours outside, our room become the laundromat!

Our local "trash lake". 

A new friend, hanging out with Evan and Theo!  

This week was, once again, not what we expected! We were asked to come to Hyderabad with an american nurse and 2 of the kids from the orphanage. Theo needs spinal surgery and Maggie needs immediate intestinal surgery.
We have been here for 5 days now and plan to head home to Ongole tonight, with Maggie.
Maggie did so well in her surgery! She hardly seemed in pain (which is great, since she is in soooo much pain normally!) and we are thrilled! 

Cuddles with Theo:

When we first got to Hyderabad (haven't been here in 2 months) we were shocked! We hadn't seem such "luxury" in 2 months! There are stores and toilet paper and hot water! We are staying in a (VERY) basic guesthouse, across the street from the hospital. This alone has been an experience! The staff come into our room, without knocking, at all times of the day or night. Seriously. 6:30am they are banging on our door (we lock it, nobody else seems too!), sweeping our floors, or taking our garbage and they also come as late at 11pm! Its all a part of the culture, at least thats what we tell ourselves late at night when we answer the door, just to have the maid stare at us and smile for a few minutes (I wish I was joking!)
We have been enjoying the change in street food and even ate at Chilis!

 

 We have never been before, go figure that we would go, for the first time, in India! What we are struggling with is the price change. We spent WAAAAAAY more on dinner at Chilis than we have in 8 months, it kind of traumatized us. We walked away saying "Imagine how much we could have done with all that money in Ongole! We could have bought rice for our kids!" but then realized that really, $30 is $30 and we need to get over. It was a wakeup call though, our hearts and priorities have changed so much. We are not ok with regularly spending money on ourselves. We pause and say to each other "do we really need this?" when we buy juice at the store. Juice people. Its a bit silly, but I'm thankful that we have this mindset. I know we have to be ready to face these issues when we are back in Canada. I know we will be hit with culture shock, with consumerism and the love of money, and it will be hard. 

But Im so thankful for the lessons we have learned! 

How adorable is he eh?! Oh Theo!

This was at the local "Cafe coffee day" and it made me laugh.

A mall!! Whoa, we were fascinated!

Our dear friend Audrey!

Salad for the first time in....8 months!

Co-sleeping at its best!

Fresh fruit juice! Pineapple is our favorite!

Welcome to Hyderabad!

Getting gas for the rickshaw!

Our "private" driver!

4 hours in the train station to get our tickets to New Delhi? Why not!?

Our favorite street food vendor. They love having up eat there, I think it gives them "white-people-know-us" status!~

Precious Theo! Oh how we love this little man!

So there you go, a little glance into our week, I have much much more to post about and will do that soon! We haven't had internet (hence, 55 notifications on facebook!) until today! Let the updating begin!