The Reichanadter Journey: January 2009

Saturday, January 31, 2009

School days

Here are Clay and Em in their school uniform. Behind them are children playing on the playground. Our daily routine has become:

8:30 Clay and Jeff to school. I go with Em to Jeff's class (Moral Science).

9:00 I go to Amanda's class and help with any grading or class work that she needs.

10:00 Em and I go to the preschool and I read an English storybook to 4 different classes of kids.

12:30 I pick up Clay and the other KG boys who live at the children's home. We have a "playgroup" and do homework, play games, etc.

2:00 Lunch, help boys with homework.

4:00 Jeff makes chipati.

5:00 Jeff plays volleyball, I play cricket or other games, Clay and Em run around with boys.

7:00 Devos. with the boys in different houses.

7:30 Dinner, help with homework.

9:00 Sing, pray, and put boys to bed.

9:30 Sleep.

The days and weeks seem full and are going by quickly. This morning I read this in my Amy Carmichael devotional. May it bless you like it did my soul:

"This is a new day for you, but He who loves you meets you at the gate of the day, and at the gate of the new month, and He says, "Fear not, the Lord will give you strength; the Lord will bless you with peace (Ps.29:11)." Happy February!

Our Home

These are the Himalayas and the wheatfields we see most days. (Some days it is too hazy to see the mountains.)

We live on the second floor of this house. Our apartment is about 600 square feet and consists of a kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a room with a table and benches to eat at. Our house overlooks the gardens where the boys grow tomatoes, onions, garlic, and beans.

Here is our kitchen (6 x 9). We have a small stove top thing with two burners and a gas tank that is hooked up to it. This morning Jeff made us scrambled eggs for a treat! Mmmmm. We crave American food and the variety we had. The other night we were tucking the kids into bed and talking about our favorite foods that we want to eat right away when we get home. :) They requested Cracker Barrel! Pizza, pancakes, salads, hamburgers, and fresh veggies and fruits are also at the tops of our lists.

Daily Bread

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner-- Jeff and Clay picked weeds one day, and the next night we found out that was our dinner. I tried to think of it as organic "spinach dip." :)

When I saw these pictures, the word "grace" came to my mind. God has given us and the boys more than enough food here. I am also amazed at His grace in our lives as our children are getting used to this food and now they just do it like the other kids here. I have witnessed the power of Hebrews 4:16 "Grace to help us in our time of need." Amy Carmichael said, "Until the need ends, the supply of that which is divine will continue."
The boys eat on the ground outside for lunch, and on the cement floor inside for dinner. There are no chairs. They sit barefoot, and with folded hands, a smiling face, and eyes closed, the prayer they sing before they eat says: "Thank you God for giving us food...right where we are. Hallelujah, praise the Lord...right where we are."

May you know the grace of God, that meets your every need...right where you are.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

A day in the life...

3 a.m. Emma wakes coughing (like a seal). Ade fumbles for light switch, turns on one, but no electricity. Find candle and light a match. Get Vix Vapor Rub for her. Sigh of relief that we thought to bring that. Boil water to fill up hot water bottle for her chest. Blow out candle. Back to sleep.
7 a.m. Wake up. Must wash hair. Jeff says Ade is growing dreds. Jeff fills hot water heater with cold water. Plug in and wait. Aha. Still no electricity. Cold water only. Decide hairwashing is not necessary. Maybe dreds are not so bad after all...
9 a.m. Jeff tries to use laptop. Battery is dead and he can't plug in because still no electricity. Computer is not necessary. Use pen and paper.
A few days later... Jeff runs 2 miles to town to use internet. Find out again electricity is out, so no internet. Run home 2 more miles.
(Our electricity comes on and off as it wishes. We never know when or where we'll be...even in the internet cafe this happens! We have come to not rely much on electricity...) Sorry there are no pictures for this post. Scroll down for more pictures and stories of the latest.

One more thing--CAPTURED LIZARD COUNT= 3. (One jumped at me from out of a closet, one was sitting on our kitchen window, and one was perched on our bathroom wall. Jeff is my new hero for retrieving these little friends and taking them outside our home!)

Ajay and other A names...

Memorizing these boys names has been a bit of a challenge, like learning a new language. I get especially confused with Anshuman, Abishek, Ashutosh, and Abinash! :) They all have the same hair and eye color, so there aren't as many characteristics by which to distinguish them. But, two weeks into it, we've almost got them all down. This is Ajay. We were out working in the fields together the other day when I snapped this picture. I love his huge smile and bright eyes. These boys continue to amaze and inspire me. They handwash their own clothes and their own dishes (even the littlest ones) without complaining! They are quick to help eachother and even make a game out of who can wash our dishes first. They jump up and offer their seat when an adult or older person enters. Respect is learned very early here.

Beulah Mam

This is Clayton's KG teacher, Beulah Mam. She is God's special gift in his life. She is the sweetest teacher, very petite, and full of patience and grace. She has a huge smile and always holds Clay's hand after school as they walk out the doors. Clay has now gone to school one week and I think he's beginning to enjoy it. I was so surprised to see the advanced schooling they have here. The KG kids are already writing and reading "ing" words. Their penmanship is spectacular. I asked Miraj (also a KG kid) if that was his teacher's writing. "No Mam, it's mine." Oh boy! They stress very different things in their academics here. I know it will be good for Clay. He has had a much better week and has been out playing with the boys, climbing trees, shooting arrows, and chasing cats. The other night he prayed, "Thank you God for India and for these boys. Thank you for a roof over our heads." It's a beautiful thing to see God at work, even in our own little children's hearts here.

Chipati

Each afternoon at 4 Jeff goes to the "kitchen" and makes chipati (our staple we eat twice a day)with the boys. This has become a special time for him to spend with the boys as they talk while they knead and roll the dough. Jeff journaled about this the other day: "Six or seven guys stand around the fire as a couple guys finish the work. Everyone gets along. Other boys roam in and out. Someone is singing. A lot of time is spent talking here. No one seems to be in a hurry." Even Clay has helped out a few times.

The chipati gets baked over the open fire like this. Mmmmmm.

An Indian wedding

Last night Jeff and I borrowed clothes from Lavan and Vanita, our Indian neighbors, and went with them and some other volunteers from the orphanage to a wedding reception for an arranged marriage here. Pretty crazy. They're not really supposed to smile because they're supposed to show that they're sad to leave their families... There was lots of food and pretty loud Indian music and a dancer to entertain everyone. I felt like I was an actor on a movie set with my saree, etc. It sometimes doesn't even feel real to be here! A great experience though.

Aunt Amanda babysat the kids so we could go on our "date." She made hot chocolate with them and had fun at home. This morning they told me with glee that they got to have hot chocolate. It's funny that something so small would be so huge to them now. They get very little "extras" here, so this was huge to them. I am thankful for how they are already learning to appreciate the small things.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Random thoughts from the other side of the world...

This is the view out our bathroom window screen. It reminds me of a National Geographic magazine story. The women are always out working in the fields, carrying huge loads on their heads,etc. Meanwhile cows push a wooden plow through the fields and children play.

I have found that my new favorite time of the day is night. I tucked some of the boys in to bed the other night and sang them a lullaby that Kathryn Lino sang to us at night on Wilderness trips. Amanda has sung it to them many times, so they always ask for it. It goes:
“Goodnight boys, sleep tight boys, Jesus keeps your dreams. For the God above is a God of love so little boys sleep in peace. And if you ever wake up in the middle of the night, remember God is watching you and everything is alright.” I had to try to not cry right in front of them as I sang. I kept thinking that here are these sweet boys in their hard bunks (with no pillows even!), and there is no mom or dad to tuck them in, talk about their day, see their papers from school, etc. They are hungry for attention and love. Then one of them asked me if I knew the song: “Jesus, Jesus loves (insert name) yes, He does.” They were surprised to know I knew that one too, because it is one our mom sang to us when we were little. The boys got a big smile on their faces and some hid under the covers when I said their name in the song.

I am also continually amazed at their strength. Rahul (riding in the bag in above pic.) was climbing a tree the other day. Jeff said the branch broke, he fell and got the wind knocked out of him, but didn't even cry. They have to be tough and very independent.
I’m at an internet café, and will try to come here every weekend. It’s about a 35 minute walk from where we live. This will be a long blog post because I have a lot of random stuff…
Every afternoon when Kindergarten is over, there are 4 boys who have been on their own in the past until all the boys are out of school. Amanda suggested that I do some creative things with them and let them come over and play, so I am going to have a little playgroup at our house each day for them. Friday was our first time. We played cars, read books, and got out the game Jenga. At the end, they said, “We come again on Monday?” “Yes, Monday.” (Big smiles all around.)
Clayton is having the hardest time of us all adjusting to life here. He asks every day if we can go back to Elkhart. We're trying to work on his attitude, eating spicy foods, remembering Hindi names, starting school, etc. He was vomiting last week and now today it was the other end... It's hard to find the balance between patience and also just making him do the tough thing. He asks lots of questions like, "Why is India so dirty?" "Why are they so poor here?" I'm sure his little mind is having a tough time comprehending this new world here. I know it will be great once he gets over the hump!
Some questions we've been asked: TRAVEL--our trip over went very smoothly, considering the length of it. The flights went great because there were movies, lots of snacks, etc. SCHOOL--Jeff is just teaching one class each morning to 7th and 8th graders. In the afternoons, he makes chipoti for awhile with the high school boys, then plays volleyball with them. He does devotions with them at 7 and then dinner is at 7:30. Then we help with homework and put kids to bed.

I am going to be with Emma in one of the Kindergarten classes now. We went the first day to preschool, but unfortunately none of the kids spoke any English, and the teachers did 90% in Hindi, so we were not very involved. It will probably work much better for us to be at the school with the older children where more English is spoken.
Today marks one week that we've been here. We are finally sleeping at night and awake during the day. We're learning to eat the food with only our hands, like the Indians do. Imagine eating rice and curry soup with only your hand. It feels so strange! I am reminding myself how valuable this experience is and will be for our family...to live in poverty, but to still be filled and happy. These people have taught us so much.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Lost Boys

The first thought that came to my mind when I met these boys and watched them play was like the boys from Peter Pan, or The Little Rascals... They look out for each other, laugh much, are always dirty, are creative and silly in their play, make their own bows and arrows, wrestle, have holes in their clothes, climb trees, give piggyback rides, jump on the back of moving vehicles to get a ride down the road, etc. They are precious. They call me "Mam" which sounds like "Mom" with their accent.

Clay, Emma, and I have worked with them in the fields now for two days. I talk with them while we pick weeds. I ask them about their lives, what they want to be when they grow up, how they like life here at the children's home, etc. They smile and don't complain. Clay has picked up on that and has noticed that they have no toys but they're always happy. They also work very hard--two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. 15-year-old Jai told me yesterday that he has learned so much by living here (how to irrigate a field, plant crops, make food) and knows it will help him as he moves on from here. (I should note here-this is a mostly self-sustaining farm, so the boys grow much of their own food that we eat.) It's "organic" too, I noticed as today we picked weeds. Clay said, "Mom, we should tell them about how we do it in America and spray weedkiller." :)

Emma is often surrounded by about 5-10 boys (see above picture). This morning I laughed as I watched her in the middle of the group, with all eyes on her. She was singing a silly song and making everyone laugh. They told me she looks like a doll. I'm sure she loves all the attention. Clay and Em seem to be adjusting well. I love to watch them run around with the kids, get dirty, and hold the children's hands. One of Em's favorite buddies, 11 year old Nanda, was a doorstep baby. His parents didn't want him and just abandoned him. He has been so kind to her.

I feel like we're in a different world. It's very slow paced here. There are few, if any cell phones, briefcases, computers, Blackberrys, etc. Everything is poverty stricken, with trash lining the streets, monkeys running on the roads, people carrying large loads of straw on their heads, 4 people on a moped, crowded buses, etc. America seems like another planet away from here. We eat a mixture of curry, rice, and chipati (kind of like tortillas) at every meal. The other day Emma said, "What do you think we'll have for dinner tonight?" I laughed out loud.

Thank you for praying for us. My luggage came three days later and arrived all in one piece! I was so thankful for my slippers especially! We know this is exactly where God wants us to be, even if it's hard at times.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

We're Here!

After 40 hours of travel through cars, planes, trains, buses, and a wild taxi ride....we made it to Selaqui to the children's home.

Here's Emma, Aunt Amanda, and Jeff having a "tea party" on the train. Emma is loving that they have so much tea out here. She remarked to me yesterday, "I got to have three tea parties today!"

When we arrived, we unloaded our suitcases and went out to meet the boys. When they saw us coming, they ran and climbed trees! I got a little teary just walking out to see them because we've seen their pictures and prayed for them for months now...and here we were. I kind of felt like I was walking in a dream. They gave us a tour of the grounds and showed us their fields where they plant crops, their homes where they sleep, the cows where they get their milk, and the sugar cane that they snack on. They are sweet boys, a bit mischeveous, with big smiles and welcoming hearts.

I'm going to try to be honest in my postings while here in India. Two sad moments were that my bag never made it from Chicago and that Clay woke up throwing up this morning. Ugh. I'm sure it will take a little while to get adjusted to Indian life...the food, the time change, the bucket baths, the lizards that live in our house, the cows in the streets, the poverty... but we have so much to be thankful for. This morning while I sat at home with my sick boy, I got teary hearing the boys sing loudly "Be to our God forever and ever" with the sounds of the bongo drums echoing across the camp. Their hearts are precious and they still worship the same God we do. We have so much to learn from them.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Goodbye

(pictures by shelahphotography.com)

Tomorrow we leave for India! We fit our things into 5 suitcases. It's kind of freeing to think about just having 3 shirts to keep track of and no pressure to keep up with the latest trends. We will live very simply over there.

A friend of mine gave me a book by Amy Carmichael (a missionary to India in the early 1900's). I read this in the foreword yesterday:

"What He gives is never for ourselves alone, but is given to be shared."

It is that thought that compels us.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A visit to Gramps and Gram's

Today we went to Michigan for the day to spend time with Gramps and Gram. Grandpa showed us the spot where he goes ice fishing at their lake. Clayton was very interested and hopes he can join Great Gramps on a fishing adventure next winter.

We also celebrated the January birthdays... here are the boys being goofy and singing.

And then, as we drove away, we looked out our window, and here they were waving and blowing kisses to us like they always do. I told Jeff I needed to take a picture and remember this moment, because it won't be that way forever. This is what I want to be like when I grow up!

We are so thankful for our families. It's been fun to spend so much time with them these past few weeks.