Rain, Rain Go Away! - Daryl

Today was our day off and we were grateful to have it.  We woke up and discovered by reading a rather small article that a Cylclone (Hurricane) was coming ashore today.  We hadn't heard anything about it until this morning.  Apparently it wasn't a major one and it went north of us.  We have had light to steady rain most of the day, but at least it has been cooler.  That was a blessing since the power was off and on (mostly off) throughout the day.  Not that we have air conditioning but you really notice when the ceiling fans are not working.

We did a little more shopping this morning.  We went into what is considered a higher end department store here.  It was probably the equivalent of an Indian Macy's.  We found some pretty good stuff there and at good prices compared to what you might pay back home.  We returned home for a little lunch and rest.

Also visiting this weekend are some of the Gootam's relatives from the state of Orissa.  That is the state where there has been a lot of violence against Christians.  Several have been beaten, at least 41 killed, and thousands have lost their homes.  Those that have lost their homes have moved into camps set up by the government.  One of the camps is near where these relatives live.  We told them that the we and the Christians in Tulsa had been praying for them and would continue to do so.  We were also able to use $500 of the money that was sent with us to purchase blankets and clothing for those victims.   That may not sound like a lot of money, but here a very nice blanket can be purchased for about $6.  They told us that things had settled down a lot and that they expected many of the Christians to eventually return and rebuild.  It is all just another reminder of how blessed we are in the US.

This evening we were able to go to the hospital and visit Chandhra.  She is the little girl from the children's home who had the encounter with the cobra a couple of nights ago.  She is doing well and will go home on Monday.  She is in a government hospital and I am not even going to go into what that was like.

After we left the hospital we went by the Children's Home again for a quick visit.  All the kids were in one room and they were singing.  We enjoyed listening and even joining in on a few.  Ricky has even taught them the Hippo Song which he learned from Tom!  They really get into it and so did I.  We got to see and enjoy the effects of the new ceiling fan that was purchased with money sent with us.  The kids were very appreciative of that gift as well.  When it was time to go they all had to shake our hands and tell us goodnight.  We decided group hugs were better.  They are very sweet kids.  It is unbelievable how polite and well behaved they all are.  The older kids that do so much are really impressive as well.  I could go on and on about them and the conditions they live in but I will save that for another time.  

Steve is wanting to post and go to sleep so I will sign off.  Before I do, I have to say that Ricky took me back for some more Indian Pizza.  What we got tonight was totally different from the other night, so I don't know what we got the last time but it was not the Indian Pizza (it was good though).  However, tonight I did get the Indian Chicken Pizza and it was awesome!  It was very spicy.  My lips were burning and I was sweating but it was good.  The waiter told me if it was too hot I could put on some of this sauce they had to help with the heat.  I was determined to prove I am "built for India" as Mr. Gootam said, so I told him "No thanks!"  I will probably pay for it later but it was awesome.  I would like to think I represented America well tonight at least in the eyes of about 5 or 6 Indians who were watching me to see if I could take it!  All I needed was some theme music from Rocky!    Good night all!

p.s.  The pic was taken today in Kakinada on our way to go shopping.  The hottie in the middle is one of the 1 million Hindu gods, Shiva.  My eyes are closed in this pic so I am hoping the one on Steve's camera is better