On the train, Saturday, August 25, 7:23 am (8/24, 6:53 pm)
Our train is closing in on Bangalore, so I thought I would take a moment to briefly write about our last day in Dharwad.
We visited Melissa’s school, which is run by Catholic sisters. The school was built and started 9 years ago, and is adjacent to the sisters’ home and the Catholic church. Two favorite memories that stand out are after the assembly and tea.
Josh and I found ourselves surrounded by boys after the morning assembly, boys who spoke English well and hit us with many questions. They were great!
We had tea with the principal and another sister. Josh asked the other sister how she received her call to become a nun and it was a beautiful story of obedience and service. She had a boyfriend,but she began hearing a voice tell her he was not right for her. She tried to ignore it, but it began keeping her awake at night. Her brother, out of the blue, said he didn’t think her boyfriend was right for her. She finally said, “ok, ok” and the voice stopped. She finally got the courage to tell her boyfriend not to contact her again, and began praying about what to do with her life. She has served faithfully as a nun, and enjoyed her life, including time working with drug addicts and AIDS patients in Mumbai. It was a beautiful story of faithfulness.
After that, several of us went to the market. We returned for lunch, packing, and cleaning, and then one last evening with the girls. I took pictures of all the girls, with Amanda and Saveetri and Melissa providing great help. They all gave us gifts of tea, and for Hayley, handmade (by them!) bangles, necklace, and earrings. They prayed for us, we prayed for them, and we enjoyed each other immensely.
As we ate cake celebrating Carice’s birthday, Arun asked me to pray for Grace and another girl. Each are going to the bible school (Grace fulltime, the other girl a little). Each have health problems: Grace has something wrong with her heart, the other girl is weak and has a low blood count.
God, continue your healing work in them! May they live long lives of service to you!
(Posted from home, 9/7/07)
I love those pictures of Hayley surrounded by her friends. I see something amazing in her smile.
You and me both! I saw that smile again and again on the trip, like I’ve never seen it anywhere else.