Finally, Farewell to Work

We bought lunch for the SIS and SMC staff at work, and a nice party was held. Of course there were nice things said about me and I expressed my sincere delight for having had the opportunity to work and serve here in India. It has truly been a great experience and a highlight of my life.

Pastor Sampath Kumar and Family

It broke our hearts to see our friend Pastor Sampath so ill. He is the man that took us to Madanapalle. We had a farewell meeting with he and his wife and four sons. he is suffering again from stomach cancer and requests your prayers.

Farewell Dinner with my Good Friend Prakash

On Tuesday night we had dinner at the home of Prakash and Roopa Binjola and had a good time with them and their boys Pratyush and Prajwal. Prajwal is the youngest one that is in competition with me for the pony tail. It is a custom here to let the hair grow until the third birthday, and then have a Pooja (religious ceremony) at the time of the hair cut.

Trees Growing in the Road

In the community that we live in we have palm trees growing right up out of the road. If you think about it it seems a little wierd, ..... until you go into the underground parking lot. The trees are planted in big concrete pots! haha

Bake Sale at Our Church

We had a bake sale at church to benifit an orphanage for children with aids. Nickie and I sold "Hot American Waffles" with butter and syrup. They went like "hot cakes".
The bake sale neted almost 10,000 Rupees, and our contribution was 600 Rs. We sold out of waffle mix. It was a great time, for a great cause, with some great people.

Church Construction in Madanapalle

You may remember that we took a trip to Madanapalle where we visited several churches and accidentally hit a cow. We invested in the construction of a couple of churches, and these pictures are the "progress reports" of that investment. The small church is yet to be finished, and we are assured that it will be soon. The larger church had a dirt floor and no windows when we were there and it is finished now. The people are very grateful, and the facilities are being fully utilized.