June 19th

I really enjoyed writing last night's blog post in list/bullet point mode...there are too many things to write about, list form is perfect. I think I will keep that up for a while. Ok, today, June 19th!

-woke up at 5am. The students always have a student-led worship time at 5am every morning and their voices are all so beautiful. There are so many talented singers, dancers and musicians at the school, I don't think they realize how beautiful they really are. Not only are they musically amazing, but their joy and worship...at 5am...is really something to be admired. So beautiful. So much discipline, determination and initiative. I may be teaching this summer, but they are teaching me.

-I lost my Indian cell phone. It is somewhere in the house....but I am not sure where, and I cannot remember my Indian cell phone number to call it... It's just like home, guys.

- there are lizards EVERYWHERE. Lizards on my bed, lizards on the walls, lizards by the lights in search for moths to munch on, lizards on the windows, lizards in the bathroom, lizards on yourself.... But here is the thing, guys. Lizards are my second favorite animal, first is frogs/toads. I have always loved amphibians and reptiles, found them, took pictures of them, enjoyed them, read books on them...so the reality that lizards are everywhere is like heaven to me, guys. Like...imagine a little girl in a room full of puppies. That's my reaction to frogs, lizards and toads. This is the best. The beeeest.

-WE HAD GULAB JAMUN TODAY. If you know me well, you know that the gulab jamun is one of my favorite Indian sweets. Yesssss. Oh my goodness, the fact that there are leftovers just makes me so happy. Indian food is 1000000x better than American food.

- spicy food is the best food. Food without spices is so boring. I love spicy food! 

-it was a lot cooler today, 84F. It felt so good. I enjoyed the weather today. We were all hoping for rain, but it only sprinkled...but it felt very nice.

-everyone went jogging this morning, except for me. I decided to stay behind because my back hurts from the beds and I need all the energy I can get for some serious games of tag. I take tag very, very seriously.

-speaking of tag, the kids and I played tag, piggyback rides and general roughhouseing and goofing off...and I am coated--absolutely coated--in bruises. Like I said. I take tag very, very seriously.

-we recorded a video of all four of us for the website, I will let you all know when Revo, the awesome video/media guy, finishes the video.

-ah, yes, after the worship at 5 everyone jogged except me, and it was 5:45ish am. Instead of jogging, I sat on the 'bed' (literally a bed frame with a sheet of wood nailed to it for sitting on, Indian-style, in the front courtyard), looked at the mountain, looked at the palm trees and smelled the sweet air, read my bible, had the best chai in the world and prayed. God is so good.
  After a while, my host parents, Siani and Suphala woke up and joined me in the courtyard, sitting Indian style, drinking chai and we talked about how good God is, discussed things and laughed. Siani is a very, very smart man with many degrees and an amazing theological mind, but more than the degrees and theological knowledge, he is absolutely, truly, madly, deeply in love with Christ Jesus our Lord. He and his wife, Suphala, have an amazing testimony and an amazing story of how they grew up in India. They are reliant on the Father and constantly in prayer and joy in The Lord. Often, Siani will simply break out into song, singing to God and laughing. Two words that could describe them are "trust and obey". You may have heard the old children's church song:
pJesus
    But to trust and obey"

A children's song, yes, but very true. And I think of that when I think of them. What beautiful, beautiful people.

-The little pgirls found out that I know some songs in Hindi (I only know Hindi a little bit, not even enough to have a conversation, but I know some songs), and even though the state language of Orissa is Oriya, some of the children speak Hindi as well. They have been begging me to sing for them and play guitar for them, but then they found that I know Hindi songs and I was singing Bollywood songs almost all day today for them. Hahahahahahaha :-)

-some of the littlest girls were trying to teach me Oriya today and I know how to name the parts of a face but still cannot count in Oriya! They laugh every time I try. I mess up every time.

-it amazes me that the children often speak not only Oriya, but English and Hindi as well, and sometimes even Telugu or Tamil! Likewise, many Indians speak not only their state's language, but Hindi and English, too. It makes me feel so incredibly lazy in comparison!!

- I got the books for teaching when school starts again on the 23rd. I will be teaching computer!! We brought over laptops for the school and I am very excited to teach!!

That is all I can think of to write at the moment. Today was a great day! God is faithful and has provided me with more energy. Love you all!