Last Sabbath In India

My last Sabbath in India was such a blessed one.  News had spread that I had bought a sari and had plans to wear it that Sabbath.  The girls were so excited that they mentioned they would wear their saris for Sabbath.  It soon spread to everyone and on Sabbath, I was surprised to see every single girl, including the Horners and female staff, wearing their saris!  Wow.  I didn't expect that.

  So after church, we took group pictures.  Here they are.

Our group!

Every girl in her sari

Namuna, me, Phul Kumari, Bimala, and Kalpana Rai

Bipana, Me, Sarah, Rebica (hidden behind Sarah) and Kalpana Magar

My best Assamese friend... Renu

With the Pozos!

Sandra Miss, myself and Mrs. Horner 

Jamuna and me

Hannah, my favorite lady translator! ( look so white next to her!)

Mina!  And she even smiled!

Krystle and me 

My favorite roommate ever!

Sabbath Sermon and Sadness

I did the sermon this past Sabbath.  Turned out better than I thought.  I was very lost at the beginning of my studies for it.  I couldn’t seem to bring it all together and it was really bothering me.  I thought I’d share from parable of the sower and the seed, because I’d been studying Christ Object Lessons and was getting a lot out of it.  So I started preparing my sermon notes (which thankfully, I was warned I’d be asked to preach, so I had a week to prepare unlike many others who are told the day before that they have the sermon the next day) and was getting stuck on the different soils.  Seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere.

  But I kept praying for God’s guidance, and He impressed me to take a totally different approach from what I had planned, so I did that.  And it all came together perfectly (why wouldn’t it?  God is awesome!).  So I preached on the different soil types and how they relate to different heart conditions.  I appealed to my listeners that they have one of these heart conditions (soil conditions) and which one are they.  Then I went into how to prepare the soil of your heart using the 3 steps of a true heart conversion coupled with the 3 soil types (heart conditions) that needed help.  And I believe God blessed it. 

  It’s nice having a translator!  While he’s speaking, I can be looking over my notes to see what comes next.  When he’s done, I can speak to my listeners without looking at my notes.  Then we start the process all over again when he translates!  It’s pretty cool!  Plus, Joseph is an excellent translator!  He doesn’t get stuck on words like some of the others here and he speaks Nepali fluently.  He also mimics my voice fluctuations and dramatic movements (which I frequently use).  It’s fun working with him!

Okay, changing topic...

  It's weird... although there are so many hard things to deal with here in India, I think I'm actually going to miss it.  I'm going to miss the girls, who I've grown to love.  I'm going to miss the cold nights, cuddling close to my hot water bottle hearing Indian music playing in the distance.  I'm going to miss cleaning people's teeth, watching the delighted looks on their faces when I show them the "after" picture (yes, I've taken before and after pictures!  I'll post sometime!).  I'll miss Krystle, who's been such a fun roommate and friend.  I'll miss my baths, oddly enough.  Yes, there will be a lot I'll miss.  

  When the girls here found out that I only have one more week left with them, they all pouted and made crying noises to show their sadness.  I joined them in the fun, pretending to cry, and they thought it was hilarious.  We had a good laugh.  But under all the levity, I could see they truly meant it.  They're going to miss me... and I them.  It will be sad to leave.  I've grown so close to all these dear people in such a short amount of time. 

I'll miss them a lot.

Ahhh...

Oh internet how I've missed you!  It's like seeing a long lost friend after months of being separated.  I'm a pretty happy camper now.

  A lot has happened since I've been on here.  Hopefully tonight I can post my blogposts that have been saved on my computer.  Although, I'll have to share the internet stick with 4 other people.  Hmmm...

Anyway, it's time for lunch.  I'll post my blogposts with pictures later.

Little Talents

“J-OH-LUH-EEN… Jolene.”

  Each girl in the small classroom twisted their face into weird contortions to wrap their mouth around my name.  I couldn’t help but smile as I heard different variations of “Jolene” throughout the classroom.  I had written my name on the board so the girls could see how to pronounce it.

My class of 12 girls

  Mommy (as Mrs. Horner is lovingly called) had left today to go on a weeklong trip.  I offered to take on her English class for her while she was gone.  She was grateful and gave me the run-down on how it works.  She gave me all the supplies I would need and explained how to give quizzes.  I took all the stuff to my room, and as I began to prepare the next day’s lesson, I felt a giddy excitement well up in me.  I’ve always enjoyed teaching; be it tutoring someone in chemistry, homeschooling two hyperactive boys, or teaching a first grader how to read.  Either way, I love bringing people to the “ah ha” moment when the light bulb turns on.  It’s so thrilling.

  So today, I taught my first English class.  The girls were quicker than I expected and were very attentive.  Sandra Miss translated for me, which turned out to work really well.  I was a tad nervous to start, but after hearing the girls try to pronounce my name after I wrote it on the board, all anxiety left me.  My heart warmed and I excitedly dove into the topic for the day.

  I feel like I’ve established myself as a helpful member of the staff already.  I had a jump start when I offered my services to Sandra Miss, who was vainly battling her computer to play videos for the evangelistic series soon to be presented in Nepal.  I sauntered over to where she sat and asked what was going on.  She quickly handed the computer over to me with huge sigh of relief and said, “If you can fix it, I’ll be so thankful.”  Then she walked away. Great.  I’m not that proficient with PCs already, and here she gives me this laptop that I’m totally unfamiliar with and I’m expected to figure out how to make a video on PowerPoint work.  Fat chance.  But I took the laptop and paused for a moment to send up an earnest prayer to God.  When I finished praying, I stared at the computer screen.  Where to start?  To say the least, I did get it to work.  Praise the Lord!  I was just as surprised as Sandra Miss was when I said I had figured out the problem and fixed it.  She’s been trying to figure it out for months.  God surely helped me.

  And I’m super excited!  I got to clean teeth today!  Well, I cleaned one girl’s teeth with Sandra Miss looking over my shoulder correcting me.  She often had to take the tool from my hand to demonstrate how to do it.  But, by the time I was done, I felt a little more confident.  It’s a lot harder than I thought!  You have to place your fingers in just the right places as to not hurt your patient, you have to put just the right force into your scraping but make sure you have full control so you don’t slice their gum or lips, and you have to find just the right angle to access that part of the tooth.  And you have to do all this with a very sharp tool in your hand that you have to be fully aware of where it is.  What a lot to think about!  It will probably take me close to 10 people before I’ll start feeling comfortable and confident, Sandra Miss says.  Well, I have 23 girls who need their teeth cleaned… so that leaves 13 that will get a good thorough cleaning without a nervous, shaking amateur in their mouth.

Before

After

  I will probably have to do one or two girls a day to get them all clean before I leave.  Some of the girls have used tobacco or beetle nut and so their teeth are quite the challenge to clean.  And most of them don’t brush their teeth well.  I’m supposed to also teach them how to correctly brush their teeth, tongue and gums.  I wish I had brought floss for them…

My talent being put to the test

  So, I’m starting to feel that satisfaction that comes from wholeheartedly giving myself away in serving mankind.  I feel helpful too.  No, I haven’t been formally trained in any one area (like dental work!), yet I’m still finding that God can use me.  Every “little” talent or gift I have is being put to use and tested…such as playing the piano.  I thank God for all those Friday evening worships that I played for my family, for now, my talent is being thoroughly tested and tried.  I’m trying to play on a keyboard without a pedal, where both the keyboard and I are sitting on wobbly stools a foot off the ground, the hymnal is laying down on the keyboard and I’m trying to play from a Nepali hymn book that only has the treble cleft (thankfully I know chords!). I am so thankful the Nepalese sing really loud!

  But I am grateful that I can help them in this way.  I’m thankful that all my efforts in learning piano are being put to good use here.  I’m thankful that I have some talents and gifts that can be used here, even if they are so small. God is helping me double them so I won’t be the foolish servant who hid his talents in the dirt.  Instead, I’m hoping of hearing, “Well, done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”