Last Day in India

Today is my last night in India for this year. I traveled down the Ghat Road, today, to Madurai to catch my first of three airplanes to Chennai. I will leave for London at 5:30 am on Tuesday morning and arrive in the United States at 8:30 pm on Tuesday evening.

It has been a long while since my last blog so I am going to try to catch you up on what I have been up to.

I spent my last week, entire week, in Poombarai. This is where I truly felt comfortable and at home during my trip. I connected with all of the students at the special school as well as all of the teachers. I am truly going to miss them, they were an inspiration to me.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had typical days in Poombarai. We started with exercises and snacks in the morning. The students then did their daily lessons on chalkboards. In the afternoon we played on the roof and watched some Indian dances on the television. On Tuesday Paramadas came to the center, so I watched and played with the students so that they were able to have a staff meeting. On Tuesday, Paramadas also told me that Copel was at the Respite Center once again. Thank you for all your prayers, God has truly been looking over the people in India especially at the Respite Center.

On Thursday I went to Poombarai. The morning was a usual day with exercises, sitting outside, and having snack. In the mid-morning, Paramadas came to the center. Before the lunch, the kids had a race with water. They filled water bottles using their tea cups to see who was the fastest. It was really fun to watch and the kids had a blast. Martun was completely wet after the race. It was great to see all of the students involved.

In the afternoon on Thursday, the staff had a going away reception for me. Paramadas spoke to the teachers about the privilege of me being there and sharing with them. He thank me for spending so much of my time in Poombarai. I then thanked all of the teachers and students for allowing me to spend most of my days with them. It was truly great to feel comfortable and welcomed every morning when I arrived and throughout the day. The teachers gave me a going away gift of a purse and the students made with a card with all of their fingerprints on it. It was very surprising and unexpected.

On Friday, I went to Poombarai for my last day. It was a sad afternoon as I slowly had to say goodbye to all of the students and teachers. We ended the day with friendship bracelets, stretchy frogs, and candy. I also gave each of the teachers a scarf that I had crocheted throughout my time in India, as a thank you gift for their graciousness throughout my time there.


















On Saturday, I took it easy and started to pack for my return trip home. Jay and I went for about an hour walk throughout the villages.

On Sunday morning, I went to Poombarai with Jay for the last time this year. We went to pick up one of the local school kids. The kid's name is Kannan, he is a semi-orphan. His dad has passed away so he currently lives only with his mom. He also spends a lot of time with his uncle. They currently live in a rented place that is no bigger than a small closet. It was a very humbling site to see, I sometimes forget how fortune I am as an American.


Jay has kind of adopted him as a son, which is inspiring. Jay is such a man of God and does amazing things with the kids and residents of Poombarai. Kannan came with us to Madurai for two reasons. The first reason is that he has never seen an airplane or airport so he asked his mom for permission to come with us. The second reason is that Kannan currently has stomach pain. His stomach is sensitive to touch so Jay is going to take him to the hospital in Madurai to get checked out. Please Pray for Kannan's health and for his mother also.
Kannan is a very fun kid to hang out with. He is trying very hard to learn English so we conversed in both Tamil and English throughout the day. I am very thankful that I was able to spend my last night with such an amazing kid.

I am not ready to leave India for multiple reasons but I know that I will be returning many more times. I love being in India and being surrounded by people who are open and friendly whether they are a stranger or someone you have met before.

Thank you to all who have commented on this blog while I have been in India. I am very much appreciative and your words have been inspiring and encouraging throughout my adventures.

Respite Center

On Thursday, due to still having a little cold, I went to the respite center and spent the day. In the morning, we did exercises and yoga. After the yoga session, Vijay and Rueben went for a walk. Vijay has down syndrome and diabetes so he walks around the block in order to get exercise. The last time I was at the respite center I joined Vijay on his walk so this time I was expected to go also. This time we walked three times around instead of just two. After the walk, we had tea and biscuit which is a common morning snack break in India.

After snack, Rueben, who is autisitic, wrote the numbers on the chalk board up to one hundred. Rueben is also able to drawn pictures and the tamil words for them even though he doesn't know their meanings. In the morning we also build a big structure out of Jenga blocks.

Around noon, Paramadas one the Bethania workers at the respite center asked if I wanted to go visit Copel. Copel is a young man who lives with his parents in a house way off the road in the fields. Typically he would be carried to the road by his father because he is unable to walk on his own and has tremors. His father is no longer able to carry him to the road, due to age and illness, and his mother is unable also. The path to his house is incredibly difficult, it is very narrow through fields and over a small stream. I cannot imagine carrying someone along this path as in my uncoridinated fashion, I slipped twice while walking back to the road. Paramadas and Jay are trying to find and praying for a solution because Copel should really be at the Respite center during the week so he can get proper care. Please pray that God shows them a solution to this situation.

On Friday, I went to Poombarai for a half day. The students only had a half day because they needed to get ready for a festival the next day. The festival was to honor their relatives that have passed away. It was a typical day in Poombarai otherwise, the students watched a video in the morning before lunch. It was good to see the students again as I had not been there for two days. There wasn't much else happening so we walked to the bus stop early to catch the 1:30 bus instead of waiting until 3:30.

On Friday night we went to an engagement ceremony. The engagement was between a tibetan lady and chinese man. They currenly live in London but the girl went to Kodai International school so she had a lot of relationships build here in Kodai. Her parents currently live in Kodai. It was neat to see the Tibetan community of Kodai adorn the couple with shalls of white, they were completely covered by the end. It was a very neat and interesting ceremony.

On Saturday I went to the boys home, Bethel to spend most of the day. Kumar and Ruby are the caregivers at the Bethel home. However, Kumar is currently in the hospital in the plains having some type of treatment. Please pray for his recovery and overall health. In the morning, I played some soccer (football) with the boys. We also played with the last of the beach balls. This time the boys had it destroyed within an hour, I think next time I need to bring stronger beach balls, oh well. We went inside after soccer and I taught some of the boys how to play memory with matching bible cards.

They really enjoyed this game and after lunch they continued to play even without me being around. It was great to see them enjoying the game. We also did a lot of coloring, the boys were great at sharing the pages and crayons. They tried to teach me some of the colors in Tamil but I don't remember any of them. They taught me a lot of different Tamil words yesterday which are all confused in my head today. After lunch we played ring toss which is a game with a rubber ring that you toss back and forth to each other, this is a game that I can handle. Before leaving, I gave each of the boys a friendship bracelet that my students in the US help make, the boys really enjoyed them. It was a great day of hanging out and spending some quality time with these boys.

Please pray for the boys at Bethel and the Respite Center. Please also pray for Kumar, Ruby, Paramadas, and Jay as they are truly doing God's work here in India

-Darcy