Day 2 in Jeevan Nagar today. Another cracker!! We woke up, nice and early as usual (solid 7.30 alarm, and a huge thump on the door from Davey Jessel). Then we had breakfast, for those brave enough we went for bovril and honey on the same slice of toast.
Then we had a brief meeting in Amanda's room, in which we sung a few songs, prayed and Tim said a few words if encouragement. Then it was time to go. In classic fashion, the cars were late, so we left at 9.50 rather than 9.15. The hilarious roads of India made us slow to get there, but when we did we were met with a short shower of petals. We had a quick game of cricket, a particular highlight was when Joel got creamed for 2 consecutive sixes by a 12 year old, the latter losing the ball.
We had a quick pray with the kids, Kulwinder, Anita and Parveen, and sung a few songs, again including Lighthouse. Then the kids were told to go outside, and Parveen (the Community Health Volunteer) showed us her box of medicine, and through Anita's translation we learnt a bit about what Parveen does: it turns out it's everything. She is the go to person if someone is ill, needs a loan, isn't receiving a pension, or is even giving birth. A truly inspirational woman! We then prayed for her and began the activities.
We split into 3 groups. Two painted: one in the Jungle Room. The highlight being Louise's amazing Tiger, and Tommy's snake. And the other in the fish room, the highlights being Lauren's shark and the pink coral, and the quality puffer fish. The others played games with the kids outside, and the amount of energy they had was frankly inhuman, they jumped all over them, hugged, played cricket etc etc.
Then we had an amazing lunch, cooked by Parveen (again showing her range of talents). And it was absolutely delicious!! We had daal and mixed vegetable curry and rice, and it was amazing. Joel had about 4ths, which summed up its quality. We continued to do crafts in the afternoon, which was a picture of the Christmas story. And more painting. And half the team went on a prayer walk round the slum in the afternoon. Which was apparently amazing (I didn't go, but they said it was a fantastic experience).
An amazing day. Bring on Seelampur tomorrow !
Then we had a brief meeting in Amanda's room, in which we sung a few songs, prayed and Tim said a few words if encouragement. Then it was time to go. In classic fashion, the cars were late, so we left at 9.50 rather than 9.15. The hilarious roads of India made us slow to get there, but when we did we were met with a short shower of petals. We had a quick game of cricket, a particular highlight was when Joel got creamed for 2 consecutive sixes by a 12 year old, the latter losing the ball.
We had a quick pray with the kids, Kulwinder, Anita and Parveen, and sung a few songs, again including Lighthouse. Then the kids were told to go outside, and Parveen (the Community Health Volunteer) showed us her box of medicine, and through Anita's translation we learnt a bit about what Parveen does: it turns out it's everything. She is the go to person if someone is ill, needs a loan, isn't receiving a pension, or is even giving birth. A truly inspirational woman! We then prayed for her and began the activities.
We split into 3 groups. Two painted: one in the Jungle Room. The highlight being Louise's amazing Tiger, and Tommy's snake. And the other in the fish room, the highlights being Lauren's shark and the pink coral, and the quality puffer fish. The others played games with the kids outside, and the amount of energy they had was frankly inhuman, they jumped all over them, hugged, played cricket etc etc.
Then we had an amazing lunch, cooked by Parveen (again showing her range of talents). And it was absolutely delicious!! We had daal and mixed vegetable curry and rice, and it was amazing. Joel had about 4ths, which summed up its quality. We continued to do crafts in the afternoon, which was a picture of the Christmas story. And more painting. And half the team went on a prayer walk round the slum in the afternoon. Which was apparently amazing (I didn't go, but they said it was a fantastic experience).
An amazing day. Bring on Seelampur tomorrow !
Hi Everyone! Thanks for all your posts, it's great to hear how it's all going and it sounds like you're having an amazing time. Brings back so many memories of my visit to Mayapuri a few years ago - the crazy journeys to the slum through the mayhem of the streets, the garlands of flowers you were presented with, the painting, the market...Continuing to pray for all of you, your work and the relationships you'll be forming with Asha and the amazing slum community, as well as for protection and safety for you all. Hope you're having a wonderful day today at Seelampur. With love, Jonathan
ReplyDelete