India Part 4

Bicycles lined up at the high school

January 4, 2012
Another good day with the girls! We felt like there was a lot of down time in the morning. Around 11:00 we went to the high school (all girls).  The principal showed us around all of the different classrooms.  The schools all have uniforms and seem very orderly (none of the talking/goofing off that I see in our US middle and high schools!) Everyone was working diligently (except the Shelter girls who were trying to sneak a smile and a wave at us).  The building was very open--kind of like buildings in Florida or Hawaii--no doors to classrooms and the hallways were open to the back courtyard.  We also toured the primary school-the principal there was very nice and talked with us a bit more.  We all had a cold bottle of Pepsi in her office after our tour :o) I was kind of shocked at the number of absentees-only about 1/4 or the 430 students were in attendance.

Back of the high school that faces courtyard

The teachers' uniform at the Primary School

Attendance board

After our school tours, we saw the facilities of the printing press and recording studio that are both located on the Shelter property. 

After lunch we had an awesome afternoon with the girls.  We did more singing, read Matthew 6:25-34, and then made paper flowers. The girls seemed to love it, and got very creative with their flowers.

The crafts from the week

Then they spent a long time teaching us their circle games.  We just laughed and laughed.
Then tonight was the dedication of the sick room and dining hall--followed by a "feast." They presented us each with a garland of flowers and we had to talk a bit about why we had come to India.  Sierra had the privilege or cutting the ribbon during the sick room dedication.  After that was the feast...it was a rice and mutton dish (with saffron, cilantro, cashews and a curd sauce).  I think the name of it was biryani--we were told it was a traditional meal of the Mongols.  It was pretty good (except for the fatty pieces of meat which is something I've always struggled with).  The meal was topped off with a piece of candy made of some sort of almond paste.

January 5, 2012
We spent the morning at the guest house, playing games and talking with Asim.  He knows quite a few impressive card tricks! Just before lunch, he took us back to the Shelter compound.  He showed us the old sick room and the area behind the gate, which has become overgrown and littered.  He told us the government is putting some pressure on them to sell of that land.  They don't want to, but they lack the resources to either maintain the vegetation or build something there. We were also able to go up to the roof of The Shelter Public School to take pictures of Cuttack from a new view!



After lunch we went shopping and Neha was a HUGE help.  We each bought an Indian dress-although we were intrigued by all of the beautiful sarees, we opted for the more practical (for us, anyway) tunic and leggings style dress.  We found little girl dress and scarves at a shop in the mall (which was not AT ALL like an American mall).
We tried to go see the girls for a bit earlier in the day, but they were all either at school or working at their jobs, so we sat and talked to Putul and Mini for a while.  Again, I was touched by their enthusiasm.  Putul's love for God and the girls continues to make an impact on me.  She continues to talk about always thanking God for His blessings to her.  I think many people would look at the way the girls and house matrons live and wonder what they have to be thankful for.  What an awesome reminder that no matter what our circumstances are, we can always stop to give thanks.

After dinner we went over to the chapel for the girls' dance program.  They looked so beautiful in their new Christmas dresses.  Before the dances started, there was plenty of time for more circle games and laughter, and lots of picture-taking.  Asim told us that the girls have worked to incorporate some traditional Indian dances and set them to Christian music. The dancing was wonderful--it was fun to watch them all!