Last night after the concert we sat at the table with a lady who is a state senator in India. She was very curious about American values especially our youth. We talked for a long time and I left feeling as though in comparison we have lost much of the family structure that is core in this culture.
We stayed at the hotel last night since it was late and everyone was tired. It gave us a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed with a hot shower. I enjoyed it so much I took two showers! (Sherry would be proud) I have not been sleeping very well at night, probably because I do not have anyone to snuggle with. Once we got to the church I met with Pastor David who wanted to know the details of the games I had come up with. I have managed to come with three options: Gorilla – Man – Gun, Thumb Wars, and Digits (a hand number game I thought up). Pastor David was happy and asked if there were anymore. He would like to have 6 games tomorrow. I have no idea what I will do now. I had a chance to sit and chat with the gate guard today. I did not understand much of what he was saying but I shared pictures of Sherry and the kids and I think he told me all about his family. I then got a great opportunity to pray for him. We also had a lady that Jeff was able to counsel and pray with. We helped decorate the church almost all day today in preparation for the youth rally tomorrow. They estimate between 5000 – 6000 people will be here tomorrow. The courtyard is covered by a huge tent to seat the overflow outside.
I got to have a great experience today. A few of the guys let me and Jeff take their motorcycles for a spin. It was so intense. The bikes are not real powerful, only 150 or 250 cc, but the traffic is insane here. They drive on the opposite side of the road. The right of way belongs to biggest vehicle and loudest horn. There are no traffic laws. The road is filled with everything including: people walking, motorcycles, three wheeled taxi cabs, cars, busses, bicycles, trucks, vans, hand pulled rickshaws, and I have even seen a few wagons being pulled by cows. Scary but oh so fun.
My night is coming to a close now. It is about midnight here. There are still a lot of people decorating in the church. I am sitting outside watching an intriguing process. In the courtyard sit six men in a circle. Next to them is a stack of about 75 freshly slaughtered lambs. They are butchering the animals. Working in pairs, one will quarter the whole lamb and the other will skin the fat and cut up the meat and bones. They are preparing for the briyani tomorrow. They waste none of the meat. It was truly fascinating to watch them work. Pray for us before you go to bed tonight. It will be dawn here and it is a big day for the church and the city of Hyderabad. Pray I will get enough rest. Also pray for Brent, he is one of the main speakers tomorrow.
You should teach them to play Ninja! You stand in a circle with your hands together in the center (like a praying hands), then shout 1-2-3 NINJA! On "Ninja!" you jump back and freeze, and keep your hands away from anyone in the circle. The first person who was picked to start at the beginning can move ONE MOVE and try to hit the hand of any person in the circle. Once they move, they have to freeze - while they are moving, the person they are coming after can also retaliate with one move, preferable away from where the first person is trying to hit. Then you are stuck there. The 2nd person gets to try to reach the hand that is closest to them and so on. The hardest part is that there is no time frame or set time to attempt your shot, so if you aren't paying attention, the person who moves after you might just be waiting for your move, and then they will get you quick! it is hilarious & I have some pics of Jason playing in the airport in Halifax on my fb profile. He tries to be sneaky and put his hand in places where no one wants to try to hit! Flexibility is a good advantage for this game!
ReplyDeleteI hope it made sense! Our youth had something like 55 people playing it at the same time at camp! The more, the better!