Leaving Today

Hello to all,
Sorry it has been a couple of days since our last post. We have been up early and back to the motel late & have not been able to write.

We finished up teaching the Bible School students this week. They were so sweet. All of them are very eager to learn. They sing & worship like a choir of 200 and there are only 13 of them. They so blessed us. Teaching them was one of the many highlights of our trip. I shared with them on Friday about a special friend of ours in the U.S. who made me a special gift before we left home. I passed the gift around for all of them to see. They then prayed for my friend, Dayton. They are so passionate in their prayers. They told us they would pray for Dayton daily. It was such a special moment for all of us. And, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt- they will pray daily as they promised!!! They arise every morning at 5:30 for prayer and devotions. They fast once or twice a week and pray. They are a very special group of Godly young men.

We had several evening worship services in churches all over most of them were at least an hour away from where we were staying. Each service had at least 175 people in them. Every building that we preached in was packed and people were standing outside around the doorways and windows to listen in and participate. They carried on with worship just as if they were sitting inside with us. Chad & Brenda C. preached and did an awesome job! Abraham preached as well. After most every service we would have people come forward for prayer. We had some amazing moments during this time. One evening there was a young girl who was disformed. She was so beautiful yet one leg was way to small and her arm & shoulder was bent all out of shape. She couldn't walk. We prayed for her. What was so sad was knowing in the US she could get help.

Saturday we got to go to a tiger reserve for a boat ride. We saw elephants, birds, deer and wild boar. It was a fun time. All the Bible School boys went with us and it was the first time they had ever gone. Stephen, the Dean of the School, told us they have been asking for along time to go- he said he told them to keep praying- and they did! And, their prayers were answered. It was a great day!

After the boat ride Valsa took us shopping near the hotel to finish up a few gift items for our families.

Sunday we had another church dedication service. We were met at the end of the road where the church was by the congregation. They had garlands & bouquets of flowers for each of us. They played music and sang as we all walked together up a long hill to the church. What a wonderful time we had! Brenda Allen dedicated the church. It was a building donated by her home church, Fly Branch Christian. They have about 80 members there & have built several church buildings & parsonages over the years here.

Sunday afternoon was also fun. Abraham and Valsa took us on an elephant ride. I was personally the big chicken in the group! They put me in the middle of Chad & Brenda C. We talked about how we would have never imagined in a million years that we would travel to India in our lifetime to preach, teach and ride an elephant! God is so good! We enjoyed the ride so much.

Valsa cooked dinner for us 2 nights in a row and it was AWESOME! We have fell in love with Indian bread! So she made some special for us both times.

This morning we went to the Center to tell the Bible School students goodbye. It was a sweet but sad time. They had many wonderful things to say to us and we had many to say to them. We took pictures together and said our goodbyes.

Now we are finishing up checking out of the motel, having lunch and will be picked up by Abraham soon. We will drive 4 hours to the airport where we will leave at 9 pm Indian time and fly to Chennai. From there we leave at 2 am Indian time for Paris. We will be back Tuesday evening in the US. Please pray for our safe travel.

We love and miss you all!
Lori