On the way to the village, on a 7 hour ride in a crammed vehicle with children lying one on top of the other just trying to get some rest, Kamden says, "See! There's plenty of room!" ... I knew then that she would be just fine in the village for the week, and that she's been in the land of zero personal space a little too long. ;)
We arrived in the middle of the night so it was hard to see anything other than the amazingly beautiful stars in the sky! But I knew pretty early on that we were in a pretty remote village and that this week would hold experiences we never dreamed of having.
We entered the home where we would be staying. A small entry room with four cots lined up for sleeping. A small kitchen to the right of that. Straight ahead, two more rooms: one was nearly empty, and one had been set up for our family, complete with two cots pushed together covered with possibly all the padding to be found in the village, and a fan overhead. We'd been traveling all day so we headed pretty much straight to bed. The four of us. We were crowded but the others around us were more than crowded. Some of them slept on the floor the entire week to offer us the best of the home.
It was noisy that first night. I'm not gonna lie. One of the neighbors had a deathly cough and it kept him and everyone else awake most of the night. The mosquitoes were fierce and the flies were loud. And we didn't rest all that well that first night.
We woke up at about 5 AM to the sound of peacocks which sounds a lot like a cat, and we were up and at it long before the rooster crowed at 6 AM.
I went with my friend to the neighbors to get a glass of milk for tea... Straight from the buffalo standing in front of me. I mean straight! Then we headed off to meet the neighbors, most of whom were relatives, and to meet the one home in the village that had a squatty potty outside their home so that we could feel comfortable heading there should we need to use the restroom. Sometimes we took advantage of that and sometimes we just found a spot like everyone else. ;)
That morning, after truly a delicious breakfast of veggies and roti, we headed out to see the fields. It was a long hot walk, about 3KM one way through the wheat fields. But let me tell you, the Bible came alive!!!!!
-the fields are ready for Harvest but the laborers are few!
-the chaff will be seperated!
-don't be blown about by every wind and doctrine.
It was truly a joy to walk through those fields and see the stories come to life. Not to mention the super sweet company we got to keep. We really had a blast. One sweet boy carried Kamden a lot of the way and although she acted like she didn't want him to, I think she was thankful, or at least would have been had she known what she was missing. ;)
We headed home after trying our hand at some harvesting and ate a delicious lunch. Then it was the beloved rest time of South Asia! Thank God for it! And rest we did!!!! Followed by more visits with sweet family members throughout the village. I'm pretty sure I drank ten cups of tea that day!
That evening, we ran out to see the Gunga and took a small boat ride out on the waters. What darkness and sadness to be among this place where fires are constantly burning in hopes that loved ones will gain salvation because they were burned beside the holy river.
After heading back, we got the opportunity to have a small prayer meeting/house church with the people there. That was a neat time. Then we ate dinner and headed to bed. Most days the electricity was on a total of 2-3 hours during an entire 24 hour period. Meals were even cooked in the dark.
The following day, we spent most of the day in another village, where we had house church in one home and then spent the afternoon resting and eating lunch in another home. It was a long fun day. Then we headed back and spent some time with our super sweet hosts. I really enjoyed chatting with my friend's mom and her sweet laugh and just the way she welcome us and made us feel like family.
We had another short Bible study that night and headed off to bed.
Thursday came quickly, and we had been invited to another home in the city so we packed our bags, said our goodbyes, and headed to the city where we relaxed some more and had lunch.
After lunch, we rushed to the local bus station where we hopped on a bus like no other ;) for the ride of a lifetime. Three hours to the next city where we met up with our vehicle and headed for home.
Without a doubt, it was one of my favorite experiences of my life. The girls were in their element... Holding every animal known to man and running and playing with the kids, eating the blackberries straight from the tree and these delicious little minituare apples that they couldn't get enough of. Filthy dirty before the day even seemed to begin! We each tried our hand at a variety of jobs. I even got to milk a buffalo for the first time ever!
The company we had the privelege to keep was so sweet and truly I could have spent a ton more time with them. I left with a beautiful orange sari as a gift that I wasn't allowed to refuse and hugs and hopes to meet again soon. (Oh and we each left with about fifty bug bites, but who's counting?!)
What a fun and unique experience. I am so thankful the opportunity came up and that we were able to do it together as a family.
