From the beginning of our "next sabbatical quest," Scott felt guided to come to India and we've been blessed by the Lord throughout this whole India endeavor. On this page I will write about a few things that make us truly thankful.
Scott went to India a few weeks ahead of the rest of us, then he came back to the Oregon Coast for a Bradford family reunion. Then we all flew from Portland to Delhi, via Amsterdam. In Oregon, he developed a high fever (without congestion or sore throat) and terrific pain all over his body, especially in his joints. He was very sick for 4 days, hardly eating or getting out of bed. We diagnosed him with dengue fever, a common mosquito-born virus that was afflicting Delhi-ites in August, but we never did a blood test. Now we know that chikungunya fever is also a possibility; it has similar symptoms. Dengue fever is far more dangerous because if you get it twice your chances of bleeding to death internally go way up. You can only get chikungunya once. (Scott says he wants to have his blood tested when we get back to the States.) Scott still has pain roving through his joints, but he's a trooper, and otherwise very healthy. Here's what I want to give thanks for: that the illness struck while we were together and in the US, where mentally, I knew we had access to good familiar medical care; that we were staying right on the beach in a well-ventilated room with plenty of clean water; that we were supported and distracted by the Bradford clan; that many Bradfords fasted and prayed for Scott's recovery in time for our flight to India; that Steve Bradford gave Scott a Priesthood blessing of healing and comfort that was realized; that Scott's fever broke on Fast Sunday and we were able to travel on Monday morning.
There are some little things. Danny has access to a piano at school twice a week and he is our LDS branch sacrament meeting accompanist, so he's fairly motivated to practice. Fulbright-Nehru reimbursed our hefty Bluebells tuition, even though we learned that Bluebells had not officially enrolled our kids but recorded our payment as a donation. Bluebells is letting D and C ride the bus to school as guests, which was a huge relief those first few weeks. Christy is most grateful for the friends she's made at Bluebells; she was worried about being socially isolated. Danny is most thankful that McDonalds delivers. From the Mission Home we got the referral for the woman I hired to help me set up my Indian kitchen and teach me how to cook several things. We have a wonderful family renting our house who has been alert and gracious about an outside pipe bursting.
Stepping into church our first Sunday here was such a relief. The building is air conditioned; it's so much easier to feel the Spirit when you're comfortable. :) The hymns were familiar. The branch members were friendly and I got my favorite church calling: primary music teacher. Church still feels like a haven from the noise and bustle of the city. By the way, the congregational singing doesn't sound great here, especially in Relief Society. It's kind of funny. The women and men who lead the branch have a good understanding of the doctrine and strong testimonies. I've been very impressed. The meetings are in English but some talks and many comments are given in Hindi. We've done some socializing with members. I love going to Church.
Finally, I have found an occupation! I've become friends with a family of Afghan refugees that live near me. The father and some of his extended family converted to Christianity in Afghanistan, where they had to hide out in their house and rely on brave and generous neighbors to bring them food after the word got out. As I understand it, the grandmother had to go to the hospital and was shot en route. The man's brother also got killed and this family, comprised of the grandfather, the two parents and five children got on a plane and landed here. That was in 2007. India is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee laws, but the UN has a refugee office here and there are some NGOs. For reasons that remain unclear, the family has no Documents, and their children, ages 6-14, have not attended school regularly in several years. Think of it! Five children, spotty school and no books, very little money and no legal jobs.
I connected with the Mom, who is gentle, hopeful, indefatigable, from our first meeting. Maybe it's because we're both strangers here. My happy occupation, which is very useful and not at all draining, is to walk to their tiny apartment (it's down a tiny alley and then down an even tinier alley) four mornings a week and teach them English for a few hours. Every morning when I walk in, the children, who are standing around a low table say in chorus: "Good morning, Sister." The mom and the oldest daughter are my most diligent students, but all the kids are enthusiastic and cooperative. The oldest daughter has excellent English. She wants to be an ophthalmologist. I bought English workbooks and reading books with a donation from a friend at home who told me to "find someone who needs it in India." As we work, I realize that they need to learn math and science too, and really, their situation is intolerable, even though they have a happy home as far as I can see, and they're all grateful. About once a week they serve me lunch. Last week it was savory rice with raisins and delicious red beans with a raw tomato and onion salad. We have a deal that they'll pick up a sheet of their favorite Afghan bread for me twice a week. The two little girls like to sing the "Let it Go" song like shy Broadway stars. Yesterday I picked up some math workbooks, but my curriculum is helter skelter and my time here is limited. I've begun research in earnest on options for improving their situation. It will be very hard to leave them here in their current state. I wonder if the Lord led us to India or to this particular neighborhood to help this family. I know He loves them and they have been praying for a long time for relief from their problems. Whatever the reasons, our coming has opened our eyes and changed our lives forever and we feel God with us every day.
Scott went to India a few weeks ahead of the rest of us, then he came back to the Oregon Coast for a Bradford family reunion. Then we all flew from Portland to Delhi, via Amsterdam. In Oregon, he developed a high fever (without congestion or sore throat) and terrific pain all over his body, especially in his joints. He was very sick for 4 days, hardly eating or getting out of bed. We diagnosed him with dengue fever, a common mosquito-born virus that was afflicting Delhi-ites in August, but we never did a blood test. Now we know that chikungunya fever is also a possibility; it has similar symptoms. Dengue fever is far more dangerous because if you get it twice your chances of bleeding to death internally go way up. You can only get chikungunya once. (Scott says he wants to have his blood tested when we get back to the States.) Scott still has pain roving through his joints, but he's a trooper, and otherwise very healthy. Here's what I want to give thanks for: that the illness struck while we were together and in the US, where mentally, I knew we had access to good familiar medical care; that we were staying right on the beach in a well-ventilated room with plenty of clean water; that we were supported and distracted by the Bradford clan; that many Bradfords fasted and prayed for Scott's recovery in time for our flight to India; that Steve Bradford gave Scott a Priesthood blessing of healing and comfort that was realized; that Scott's fever broke on Fast Sunday and we were able to travel on Monday morning.
There are some little things. Danny has access to a piano at school twice a week and he is our LDS branch sacrament meeting accompanist, so he's fairly motivated to practice. Fulbright-Nehru reimbursed our hefty Bluebells tuition, even though we learned that Bluebells had not officially enrolled our kids but recorded our payment as a donation. Bluebells is letting D and C ride the bus to school as guests, which was a huge relief those first few weeks. Christy is most grateful for the friends she's made at Bluebells; she was worried about being socially isolated. Danny is most thankful that McDonalds delivers. From the Mission Home we got the referral for the woman I hired to help me set up my Indian kitchen and teach me how to cook several things. We have a wonderful family renting our house who has been alert and gracious about an outside pipe bursting.
Stepping into church our first Sunday here was such a relief. The building is air conditioned; it's so much easier to feel the Spirit when you're comfortable. :) The hymns were familiar. The branch members were friendly and I got my favorite church calling: primary music teacher. Church still feels like a haven from the noise and bustle of the city. By the way, the congregational singing doesn't sound great here, especially in Relief Society. It's kind of funny. The women and men who lead the branch have a good understanding of the doctrine and strong testimonies. I've been very impressed. The meetings are in English but some talks and many comments are given in Hindi. We've done some socializing with members. I love going to Church.
Finally, I have found an occupation! I've become friends with a family of Afghan refugees that live near me. The father and some of his extended family converted to Christianity in Afghanistan, where they had to hide out in their house and rely on brave and generous neighbors to bring them food after the word got out. As I understand it, the grandmother had to go to the hospital and was shot en route. The man's brother also got killed and this family, comprised of the grandfather, the two parents and five children got on a plane and landed here. That was in 2007. India is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee laws, but the UN has a refugee office here and there are some NGOs. For reasons that remain unclear, the family has no Documents, and their children, ages 6-14, have not attended school regularly in several years. Think of it! Five children, spotty school and no books, very little money and no legal jobs.
I connected with the Mom, who is gentle, hopeful, indefatigable, from our first meeting. Maybe it's because we're both strangers here. My happy occupation, which is very useful and not at all draining, is to walk to their tiny apartment (it's down a tiny alley and then down an even tinier alley) four mornings a week and teach them English for a few hours. Every morning when I walk in, the children, who are standing around a low table say in chorus: "Good morning, Sister." The mom and the oldest daughter are my most diligent students, but all the kids are enthusiastic and cooperative. The oldest daughter has excellent English. She wants to be an ophthalmologist. I bought English workbooks and reading books with a donation from a friend at home who told me to "find someone who needs it in India." As we work, I realize that they need to learn math and science too, and really, their situation is intolerable, even though they have a happy home as far as I can see, and they're all grateful. About once a week they serve me lunch. Last week it was savory rice with raisins and delicious red beans with a raw tomato and onion salad. We have a deal that they'll pick up a sheet of their favorite Afghan bread for me twice a week. The two little girls like to sing the "Let it Go" song like shy Broadway stars. Yesterday I picked up some math workbooks, but my curriculum is helter skelter and my time here is limited. I've begun research in earnest on options for improving their situation. It will be very hard to leave them here in their current state. I wonder if the Lord led us to India or to this particular neighborhood to help this family. I know He loves them and they have been praying for a long time for relief from their problems. Whatever the reasons, our coming has opened our eyes and changed our lives forever and we feel God with us every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment