The Mega Post

This will be our last post on the blog, expect a lot of reading! We haven't had any Internet to post. Now we're waiting in the Hyderabad Airport, so no better time than the present!

I'll pick up from Thursday, we had an early morning, and went off on a five hour, eight-mile long, hike. Starting from the top of the Kodai mountains and traveling to the base. Our legs are killing us today! Pardamandas, our guide, showed us breathtaking views, exotic/poisonous animals, and he gave us a fantastic devotion at the bottom of the mountain. I truly can't explain the scenery, the mountains rolled, the trees were humongous and dark green, the smell of smoke was in the air from nearby villages. I wish William and I could post pictures, but sadly, our iPhones won't let us. After the hike, we walked to a natural spring surrounded by rocks that we could use to slide into the "clean" water. (It didn't look too clean to me.) John, our driver, picked us up around 4:00pm, and drove us to the girls home in Kodai, called Shalom. We played badminton, sang a few songs, danced around, and had a devotion. Later back at Dency's house, we had an evening prayer, and then passed out from the long day.

(William now) 

Yesterday, (Friday) was another grueling day, but I couldn't think of a better way to end the trip then visiting rehabilitation centers and after school programs. Pardamandas had us visit two rehabilitation centers where mentally disabled, visually handicapped, and hearing impaired kids can learn to lead active lives in the community. He showed us all the ways they train and teach kids differently; they seemed happy to learn (most of the time). After a long drive, a short visit to a hill top, and a long prayer, we visited our last after school program. It was a short visit but being our last, it still felt surreal in a way. On the way home, Pardamandas said he would try and show us some bison. After some searching, we finally found some. They were cool but I was expecting more with all the stories we heard. The day ended nicely with dinner, a prayer, and bed! Probably the best last day you could hope for.

(Back to Bennett)

We've been traveling all day. Three hours in the car this morning to get to Madurai, followed by an hour long flight to Chennai. We had a six hour layover in Chennai before flying to Hyderabad. (Where we had a seven hour layover.) It's 6:00am Sunday morning here, and we're ready for our last flight from Doha to the United States! Pray for us while we travel twelve hours to our motherland. (Well, my motherland at least. I always forget William is French.) 

Godbless! Thank you so much for all the prayers during our time here.

- Bennett and William 

WOOP WOOP HOME

Patience is a virtue

Since we are nearing the end of our trip, Bennett and I have sort of been day dreaming of our lives back home. I think this part of the trip is the hardest but also the most rewarding. It's hard to stay focused, but satisfaction comes with doing as much as we can while we're here. Today we visited the Joshua day care center again and the kids were awesome. They are so happy and giggly. We lead their rhyme time and thought of every rhyme Imaginable. After lunch, we left for Canevate, a Bethania home down in the plains, nearly 2 and a half hours away. On the way down we played a game I invented. It's called Yahtzee. Every time you see someone using the bathroom on the side of the road you yell "Yahtzee!" and get a point. I won with an exciting 4 points while John and Bennett were tied, each with 2 and Oliver in last with a close zero. It was a thrilling game. We arrived to a beautiful boys/girls home in the palm trees, at the foot of an enormous hill. The reason the home is mixed is not to separate brothers and sisters. After playing with the kids for a while we had a sort of devotion time where Oliver shared a Tomel message and then had dinner. Now we're all half asleep in our beds waiting for the morning. 

There is no Internet here so this will be a day late and sorry for no pictures lately, it won't work from our phones. 

Blessings,

-William

P.s. haven't had Internet in a while. Went on hike was fun. Love you guys. 

Sightseeing, Monkeys, and Bethel Boys

Hello America, and whatever other countries are reading this! (we can see which countries are reading the blog.) William and I awoke to the sound of the boys in the Bethel Home talking and studying at 4:00 am, 4:00 am! How on earth do they have the drive to get up at four every morning. I'll never know; I certainly can't do it. They went to school at 9:30 am, and we went off to go look at some of the Kodai views, although most of them were blocked by huge clouds. Our first stop was supposed to be a view down to the valley, but we couldn't see too much due to cloud blockage. After trying to peer through the clouds, we moved on to a new place, the lake view, which is basically, well, the view of a lake. William and I asked John the driver, if he could take us to monkeys. The next stop, we hopped out, and started messing around with monkeys! I tried posting a video of us feeding them, but the internet is too slow. After awhile, we left those poor, ugly, funny monkeys, and ate at the boys home. We crashed until the boys returned from school at 4:30 pm. Once the boys came back, William and I started a soccer match that ended when no one could see the ball because it was so dark. Back inside the building, we sang some songs, and played some games. Now the boys are all praying before they go to bed. 

Godbless! 

-Bennett

Indian revival!

This was an amazing Sunday. Our day started off a little slow when we were almost late to Getsy's church. Luckily, we hitched a ride in a hippy's van. Not sketchy at all. The service was lead by a retired American missionary pastor, whose message is really hard to summarize. I enjoyed it though. After church we ate lunch at a Tibetan restaurant, which is basically Chinese food but better, then drove to the boys home. The boys here are a little more shy then in rajamundry,  but they warmed up quickly. After a game of soccer and some tv time, we were asked to play some music (then we threw a devotion in for free). For me this was the best worship/devotion time all month. Everyone was participating, even the older guys. We taught them songs, made them dance, did a devotion, and then played games. Bennett and I even decided to start a band. It should be called Indian revival. We're on tour. We're sleeping over at the home for the next two nights, but sadly everyone has school tomorrow, so we're going hiking. Thanks for the prayers! 

-William 

Saturday Singing!

Hello friends and family! We didn't visit any homes today, but William and I played sports and hung out with Effy all day! (Dency's nephew) After our breakfast, Effy took us to his international school. Getting us visitor passes took forever! You'd think the president of the United States was there or something. But once we got in it was great;  we played basketball/soccer for a few hours. Around 12:00pm, Effy took us to Domino's Pizza, which was amazing! I ate an entire large pizza. Full and satisfied, we went to go see a mansion his dad was constructing. (His dad is a overseer) The view from the back porch was breathtaking, I could see green pastures, cultivated land going up the mountain side, the vast valley in between two mountains, and a huge waterfall leading into a jungle-type forest. We started hiking down the mountain, but it started pouring rain, so we all sprinted as fast as we could back up it. Once we returned to Dency's house, I was immediately rushed to see a doctor about an infected cut. All they did was give me a bandage and painkillers.. Not sure if that's what I need! Oh well, I'll be alright. Getsy, (the woman in charge of the daycares, also a nurse) asked William and I to play the music in church tomorrow morning, so we borrowed a guitar to practice with. We roped Effy into singing with us as well! The three of us have been singing, laughing, and playing music for the past two hours.

Hope all is well in the US! 

Praise the Lord!

-Bennett

Daycare day part 2!

Today was almost identical to yesterday. We visited two more daycares, and two more after school programs. It's so great to see programs that help these children up until college. The daycares are supposedly very highly sought after, and only accept a big chunk of the applicants. And even though a minority of the children are from Christian families, they all memorize scripture, and worship God. The after school programs are mostly reserved for the poorer population. It's a place where they do their homework, and worship. They also receive brand new backpacks, lunch boxes, and school uniforms for free, from Bethania Kids. Again, we finished the day with a prayer session and a huge dinner! We just finished scheduling our next week with Dency, and it should be crazy! Thanks for the prayers! 

God bless, 

-William 

Daycare Day!

Today was our first full day in Kodai! We awoke to warm Indian tea, prepared by Dency and her family. Followed shortly by a tasty breakfast. Around 9:30 am, Getsy (who is in charge of the daycares here) picked us up, and drove us to a daycare called "Nathanael Daycare Center." Funny coincidence! Anyways, there were 55 students ranging from the age of 3-5. I swear these kids are smarter than I am! Somehow they managed to memorize Psalms, prayers, songs -- the whole works. We stayed at the first daycare for about an hour and a half. The kids wrestled and played their hearts out with us. Then we moved on to Deborah Daycare, which was a bit smaller than Nathanael Daycare. We didn't stay too long before our driver, John, took us back to Dency's house. Once back, we played with Dency's nephew Effy, who's loads of fun! John called around 3:00 pm and said he was going to come take us to an after school. William and I really didn't know what we were going to do there, but it all turned out great. We taught them a song, as well as listening to their angelic voices. The night ended with an evening prayer session with Dency's family.

Godbless! 

-Bennett

Indian driving!

I have never felt more welcome in a strangers home. After waking up at 4:30, and not missing our flight, we arrived in Madurai. Our awesome driver John, picked us up at the airport. He only said one thing to me the whole drive. He asked, "Scared? This is Indian driving." I answered yes. He drove us through the windiest roads I've ever seen heading up the mountain to Kodai Kanal. Unsurprisingly, we have amazing hosts, again. There's a verse in the bible that I can't remember, but it goes a little like, "be constantly in prayer with the Lord."(no idea where it is) This is exactly what our host, Dency and her family do. It's unbelievable! I may not understand the prayers, but wow do I feel the Lord in this house! I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in the next couple of weeks. Keep those prayers coming and we'll keep ours going! 

Blessings, 

-William 

P.S. and we met Effy, the boy who lives here. He's a really cool kid. 

Travel Day

What a crazy day! Where to start.. The beginning, I guess. We had a flight at 12:00 to start off our day, followed by a very long wait at the airport. Fortunately, we got cookies and sandwiches to tie us over till  the next flight. Here's where the craziness comes in, the gate we were supposedly leaving at never said it was boarding. So William and I missed our flight. But Nathanael is on his way back to the US! So good news there. Anyways, missing the plane wasn't such a huge deal since we weren't connecting to another flight. Thank the Lord for an amazing father who booked us a hotel 20 minutes after I gave him the news. William and I arrived to the nicest, kindest receptionists. First things first, we hit up the buffet, followed by an evening swim! Now we're watching American movies for the first time in weeks -- maybe missing the flight wasn't a bad thing! A day off feels so nice. And who knows, maybe the plane would have crashed if we went on it. We're scheduled for a 6:50 flight tomorrow morning, so keep us in your prayers!

Thanks and Godbless!

-Bennett

Elvis Has Left the Building!

This morning we woke up super early to leave for Solomans younger sisters house in Vosakhapatn, since its right next to the airport and we leave tomorrow morning. We made a final stop at the boys home for just a couple minutes, but it wasn't as crazy and fun as  usual because everyone was sad that we were leaving, including us. All the boys made us cards which were amazing, and we said our final goodbyes.   Instead of eating breakfast before we left, we stopped for breakfast on the way. Soloman said that that's where Max and Mr. Heidelberger always stop apparently. Once we arrived at his sisters house, she fed us until we were bursting, and then made us eat more. After we rested for awhile, we went to a really cool Mountain right on the cost, and went and saw some other pretty cool sights. We felt really touristy today, not just because we're the only white people for 30 miles, we are kinda used to that part. Then we went shopping for some cool little gifts, but didn't really find that many good shops. I got a couple things anyways. Once we were done with that, we went to Soloman's other sister's house for dinner, and stayed there for awhile. When we got back to Annie's house, we found out that they had wifi, and started getting really excited, and giving everyone high fives... But soon after, we figured out it didn't work. And went on a hunt/walk for Internet. Hopefully we will go to sleep kinda early, since we have a long couple days ahead.  

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, myself for America and Bennett and William for Kodie. So prayers for safe voyage would be awesome, thank you. 

-Nathanael

P.s. Sorry this took so long to get up I couldn't find Internet. 

Goat-ivari

Today was our lazy/recovery day before Bennett and I leave for Kodai Kanal. Nathanael will head back to the Americas. Because it was Sunday, we decided to have a group bible study where each of us shared some good passages, then ended with praying. A good start, I thought, to a somewhat slow day. Solomon offered to take us to visit the Godivari River, one of the largest rivers in India. I'm pretty sure it was 7km wide. It pretty much looked like a brown sea. Next, we visited a nearby dam, where someone decided to herd an ocean of goats across. It was kind of impressive watching the herders manage all of their animals. From there, we took the long way home to avoid the goats. We all almost fell asleep, including Solomon who was driving. After getting home, Nathanael wanted to look for some souvenirs, so we headed up the street. At the end of the street, we realized it was Sunday, and everything was closed. Luckily, Deccan Fried Chicken was still open, so we made a not so quick stop. The day ended with an evening church service, and then dinner. We're leaving early in the morning tomorrow, so lets hope for a good nights sleep!

Blessings,
-William

Birthday Bazinga!

Well, for those of you who don't know, today's my birthday, and it's most definitely been an incredible day! We laughed, we cried, we prayed. Now let me explain in a little more detail.. It all started about 11:00 am before heading to the boys home; we picked up some delicious cake to celebrate. When we got to the boys home, from the faces bursting with excitement and joy, it was obvious they were ready for us. Instantly after hopping out of the car, the boys picked me up and carried me around to show off all their drawings which were taped to the walls. Afterwards, things settled down for a bit, and we went into the activity room. Solomon had us say some wise words for the boys (although coming from us, wise is a relative term), and we handed out slices of cake. Rather than eat lunch by ourselves like usual, we ate with the boys. For some reason, Nathanael and I decided to each try a Cayenne Pepper. (Here's where the crying comes in.) Literally, it felt like fire was consuming my whole body. I'd say we chugged water for a good twenty minutes before the spiciness with bearable! Later on, we introduced Four Square to the boys, and they loved it! But sadly, all things come to an end. Before we knew it, less than an hour remained at the home. Since this was our last full day with the boys (we'll visit them real quick Monday morning), Solomon had us pray over each boy individually. If any of you guys know how to make 45ish prayers original, I'd love to know for next time! But regardless of what was said, God can interpret our emotions and feelings towards the boys, even if we repeat ourselves.. A lot. Each prayer was a blessing to give, and the hugs/farewells from the boys made it all the better. That about sums up our day, thank you so much for the birthday wishes!

Godbless!

-Bennett

Mudageddon!

We only have couple more days with the boys, which is kinda sad, but we're trying to make the most with the time we have left. We were a little tired this morning because we went out late and got way too much soda, but it was totally worth it. The boys didn't have school today, so we had a lot more time to hang out and play. Bennett thought it would be a good idea to hang off the roof and jump... I was going to, but with my luck, I would have probably broken something. After that, the winds started picking up, and it started to pour. Everyone ran inside, and we played carroms for awhile, but then I got bored so I thought it would be an awesome idea to go run around in the mud and rain. No one wanted to do it, so I just started by myself. Everyone came out, and it turned into a huge moshpit of mud-wrestling and mud-throwing everywhere. After awhile, Bennett and I had a ton of gashes from the rocks everywhere, so we all ran for the outdoor old fashion water pump thingy and cleaned off. It took awhile since we had mud all over us. And instead of worshiping inside tonight, we did it outside on the patio. I got to do the devotion, which was on Mark 11: 20-24 "The  Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree". Tomorrow we will hopefully have just as much fun, and we're going to throw a birthday party for Bennettt with all the boys.

-Nathanael 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

It's weird how our Tuesday has just ended, but your Tuesday is just beginning (unless you're our China viewer who ever you are). At about 11 o-clock your time, we shuffled out of bed and started our morning routine. When we arrived at the boys home today, everyone was at school so we decided to have an All-American-Every-Man-for-Himself Carromboard Championship Death Match. The game lasted 3 hours in what seemed like 95 degree weather with 104% humidity. After some ups and downs, I finally won.(WOOOOOOOOOOOO BABY) After that, it finally hit us, that our last day with the boys would be Sunday. Its crazy how quickly time moves in India. Almost as crazy as the driving. The rest of the day went smoothly, I played volleyball almost all day, and then we all gathered for a prayer. We had no time for a devotion, since we had for dinner plans at DFC, a high end fried chicken fast food restaurant, no joke. It was good, but it still had an India taste. Before I end, I want to write about something we see everywhere. Temples for false gods. At almost every street corner, there are elaborate buildings with hundreds of statues and pillars. It's weird seeing the lies the bible talks about. Pray for these lost people. Still, all around a great day and expecting a lot more of the same!

Blessings from India,

-William

P.S. Sorry for no pictures today, we still look beautiful though.

Jungle Fever!

Hey friends back home! We had a nice change up today , instead of heading to the boys home in the morning, we went off to the junglely mountains (more like big ant hills) near Rajahmundry. The drive was around two hours. Even though it was sorta long, we never got tired of staring at the ever-changing scenery. Open plains, tightly-packed desert towns, and ancient temples on some of the mountain tops. When we finally got out of the car, Solomon took us to a sketchy tower/run down dam. After that, we basically just drove through the mountains since there were supposedly rebels who planted landmines in and around where we were. There were tons of signs for tigers, cheetahs, and bison, but all we saw were some lizards, a few monkeys and a cobra which was slithering across the road. We arrived at the boys home around 5:00, and the boys were more then ready to play with us. The day ended with a devotion I did on Psalm 133, "When Brothers Dwell in Unity." Well, that's about all! Some things to mention about William and Nathanael's experiences today: William's toe hurts from yesterday's volleyball game (he kicked the volleyball), and Nathanael got boiling tea spilled all over him!

God bless!

-Bennett

 

Blood on The Court!

Well, we had another awesome day with the boys, even though it was like thirty million trillion degrees outside. Before we headed over to the boys home, Solomon took us all around town, and let us try all these different foods. Some weren't very good but we were told to say yes to everything... So we have been. W
hat I could really go for is a nice juicy hamburger. Then we took a back way to get to the boys home, which took us through a lot of the country side and windy roads. Before the older boys got back from school, we had some fun playing football(soccer) and chickadee, a game I think they made up. Once everyone got back we organized a pretty awesome game of volleyball. It got so crazy we even had blood and lots of sweat. After that ended we went in for dinner, which was rice and fried chicken. It was so good I think they might have imported it from KFC. And we ended the day praying with the boys.

-Nathanael

Birthdays, Bibles, Battlestar Gilactica!

Wow, what a Monday we had. After staying up a little late last night, we finally slept in. It was glorious. On the way to the boys home, we stopped by a sports "store" (it was more like a small room) and bought a soccer ball, a volleyball, and cricket balls to replace the old ones. I think we were as excited as they were to try them out... Unfortunately, it was the hottest day yet, so that was fun! It was finally my turn to lead the devotion and I did it on 2 Corinthians 10:7, a pretty awesome passage. The day ended with us banging on the drums, and singing happy birthday to a boy named Vinod (something like that). We all found it interesting that when its your birthday here, you give everyone else candy, instead of receiving gifts. Makes you wonder!
Now we're just hoping for another great day tomorrow, and a lot of sleep.

Thanks for the prayers,
-William

An Indian Sunday!

Well, today was another great day! Thanks for the prayers on the Sunday School we had to lead! We started off with a music session for the boys, and finished with a bible study on the beatitudes. It probably could have gone a little better, but considering it was our first time, no complaints! After the Sunday School, we played a lot of Cricket, Carroms, and volleyball. All of us were pretty tired around noon, but we regained our energy later on! The boys wanted me (Bennett) to go frog hunting with them again, unfortunately, we only caught a small one. (Nothing compared to that monster one yesterday!) Solomon came and picked us up to go to an evening church service, and luckily, the service was in English! So we didn't have any issues with understanding the pastor. The whole day we had been craving Coca-Cola, and after we returned from church, the three of us went out and bought two giant bottles that were guzzled on the rooftops! There's nothing like drinking Coke in fellowship with my Christian brothers, and taking in all the random noises and smells of India on the rooftop of the house made it all the better! What great lives we all have. Seeing the poor Indian natives on the side of the road begging for food or money is when I truly realize how much God has blessed us. 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks, God Bless!

-Bennett

Fun In The Sun!

We had a pretty incredibly awesome day today! We had a little later start than normal, but we didn't mind that much since we got to sleep longer. We made some stops at  the market place and got to try some new fruits and candy type things. Once we finally arrived at the boy's home it was about lunch time, so most of the boys were still at school. And so we got time to hang out with some of the younger boys. One of their favorite games is carroms, and they are really good at it too! We aren't nearly as good as them, but they are trying to teach us so we're getting a little better each day. Mainly Bennett and William though. After the rest of the boys got back from school, we had a pretty insane game of cricket and some volleyball. Then Bennett caught a massive frog, but none of the boys wanted to tough it, including me. Once all the fun and games were over we had a little praise, devotion and some prayers. And then said our goodbyes for the day.

Thank you all for your prayers and support and we are looking forward to sharing more of our adventurers! If you all could pray for us for since we are leading Sunday School tomorrow, that would be awesome!

-Nathanael

 

No Rules!... One Rule...

One thing I find interesting is the difference in society. Unlike our safe, uptight, and organized America, India seems to have no rules, and I love it. They are literately living life on the edge. They build 5 story buildings with no barriers. They even drive on the wrong side of the road for no reason! You guys should see some of the things people do on the roads... Everyday, I'm reminded of the polar opposite place I'm in. Even with all the crazy driving and long workdays, everyone follows one simple rule: stay happy. It is very rare to see an angry face (Even if you do, a simple wave can bring out a smile). I guess what I'm getting at, is, I wish we could bring this cheeriness and freedom back to the states (no offence to America). And I want to drive on the wrong side of the road.

Thank you so much for the prayers.
In His Hand, William

P.S. the kids are still awesome, and 5 days in, we haven't seen any monkeys...

First Impressions!

Hello friends and family back home! We're having an amazing time and can't thank you guys enough for all the prayers. Our morning was pretty standard, consisting of delicious breakfast, warm bucket baths, and a morning devotion. Around 11, Solomon drove us over to the boys home for our first visit. He showed us all around the fantastic home the boys are living in. From the grassy field to the cozy bedrooms. These boys are so blessed! After a couple hours of exploring the home, catching lizards, and drifting on mopeds, the boys returned from school. At first they seemed shy, but after Solomon had them introduce themselves, everyone got comfortable. All 45 of them began carrying us on their shoulders and from then on the craziness started! Cricket (Which Nathanael caught onto fast), Kabadi, Karems, and lots and lots of wrestling were just some of the many games we played. We ended our day at the home by praying with the boys and saying goodnight. Solomon took us home, and now we're resting and recovering for more great days to come!

Hope all is well in the U.S., God bless!

Sincerely, Bennett.

Safe and Sound!

Hello, we arrived safely in India, thanks for the prayers!  We first went to Raj's house and got to meet his family and rest for a little while before we took or last flight to Solomon's. Since then we've just been resting and meeting Solomon's family. The food's pretty awesome here and I like that you can just use your hands to eat without getting yelled at. There are so many things that are different that we aren't used to, like the squatty potty and the bucket baths, but the baths are actually nice. It's still pretty weird going anywhere and being stared at by everyone, but I guess it's weird seeing three white guys out of nowhere. Hopefully we'll get to head over to the orphanage later today or tomorrow, its just been raining nonstop so its hard with the roads.

-Nathanael

A great start!

I can't think of a good way to start this so I guess I'll just explain to you guys how we're doing. For starters, Ingrid has four holes in her butt, (her words not mine and she said it was ok to blog about) but she's in great spirits. After refusing for us to help throw away some trash she spilled something on someone's leg. We thought maybe that was God telling her to accept help and just relax. On a more personal note, I have too much stuff then I can handle and have already forgotten some pretty important paperwork... Luckily, Bennett has identical papers so we're all good there. We've just boarded the plane but I don't exactly like planes so prayers would be appreciated. Also, my headphones are broken so prayers there too.(first world problems) But it is a little weird. Ok our plane is about to depart and id like to post this before leaving. Goodbye friends and family! 

Love you mom and dad! Tony, thanks for hugging me so hard my headphones broke. 

With love and on an airplane on its way to India, William, Nathanael, Bennett, and Ingrid (but mostly William)