Fun Pictures!

Sorry It’s Been So Long

I can’t believe how long it been since our last update. Our internet went out just before Halloween and has been out since. Unfortunately, things move slower in India than in the U.S. and we’re not sure when we’ll have consistent access restored. A lot has happened since our last update. We went to a Diwali party at Anna’s preschool on October 27th. The sign said to wear traditional dress, so we bought Anna a beautiful sari and a gold necklace. She looked like an Indian princess. The party was fun with lots of crafts, dancing, games, and snacks. On Sunday Chris and Max went on a several hour hike to the Lohagad Fort. Here is his description: located 52 km from Pune, the “Iron Fort” is one of the many hill forts of Chatrapati Shivaji. On the way to the top, we come across four successive entrances: the Ganesh Darwaja, the Narayan Darwaja, the Hanuman Darwaja and the Maha Darwaja. All of the doors are quite strong and are located on the serpentine ascent of the fort. Hanuman Darwaja is the oldest. The remaining three doors were built by Nana Phadnavis. The space between the second and the third door contains some cellars used as granaries. After entering through the Maha Darwaja, on the left we come upon a spacious rock-cut cave at the base of a hump, adjacent to the fortification. This cave is known as the Lomesh Rishi cave. There is a natural spring in one of the water tanks, containing fresh, clean water. Please take a look at the pictures as words cannot do it justice. While Chris and Max were hiking, Anna and I had a “girls’ day” here in Magarpatta City. This consisted of doing everything that Anna wanted to do, which was fun. Halloween came and went without much fanfare, since nobody here has ever heard of it. We also had no internet to find activities and our package from Grammy and Gramps still hasn’t arrived. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We certainly missed trick-or-treating with our friends Rob, Kelly, Payton, and Sheridan. Anna started Diwali Camp last Saturday. It is at a local preschool and lasts for two hours each day for ten days. She said she had fun and got to use glitter. On Sunday we went shopping for a barbeque grill. Our friend Dinesh took us and after many descriptions we finally found one the size of a large coffee can. Chris asked for something larger and we were told to come back in an hour. About thirty minutes later, a larger version arrived. It isn’t as large as Chris wanted, but he loves it. It is old and rusty, but the barbeque chicken we prepared definitely reminded us of home. The charcoal came from the back of some guy’s truck, which is typical here. There is no one-stop shopping. Again, check out the picture, words cannot do this contraption justice. On Monday Chris had “traditional day” at work; he looked very handsome in his Indian outfit. I started helping Sister Preety from Servant’s Heart with the Diwali school break, because when school is out the kids just show up. We came up with ten topics with related bible studies, songs, and activities. Monday also brought with it keys to our new flat! We were so excited. Our new place has a large kitchen and great storage by Indian standards. On Wednesday, Magarpatta City had fireworks to celebrate Diwali. It was perhaps the longest fireworks show we have ever seen. Anna was not impressed with the loud noises, but Max didn’t seem to mind. Friday was actually Diwali, which is like Christmas for our family. Chris had the day off and we spent it shopping for a dryer, a water dispenser, and a stereo. We arrived home around 8:00pm and the fireworks lasted well into the night. While Chris was determined not to eat at McDonalds here, we broke down on Sunday afternoon. It was surprisingly familiar, although the burgers are chicken. This was a little disappointment for Anna, but nothing too traumatic. We let Max nibble on his first fry, brushed clean of salt of course. Monday and Tuesday this week brought more and more kids to Servant’s Heart as the kids are now spreading the news. I think we were up to forty-five on Tuesday. The large numbers and small space make this experience challenging, but very fulfilling. I promise not to let so much time go by before the next update. Please remember to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and know that you are in ours. Love to all of you! (This is from the email sent November 15th. A new update will come soon!)