As I listened to the Muslim call to prayer this morning, I groped my way to the bathroom to get my eyes unstuck.  My voice is going out tonight.  Steve has some sort of cold.  Great!  I guess I am going to have it too.  Hope I can preach tonight!

I couldn’t take another greasy meal for breakfast, so I ate mango and almonds in my room.  At lunch today I ate Thali: rice with five little bowls of different curries.  One was bitter melon and still had the seeds in it.  I kept them to try to plant at home, but they had been stir fried...  (they didn’t grow : (  The hotel waiter noted that I had not been present at breakfast.  I think we are becoming friends!  We can’t speak to each other as his English is very limited.  But I always smile at him and he gives a fatherly smile back.  The hotel staff asked Alfred what we Americans are doing there.  They said we are their best guests ever - clean and friendly.

At team meeting today I learned that I would speak for 45 minutes at the training for the Indian workers.  With translation it would only be about 20 minutes.  I worked out an outline of some practical things I have learned as a Bible worker at home.  

I slept for about 1 1/2 hours this afternoon.  It felt so good.  Before we left for the meeting tonight Alfred had us all pose in the hotel lobby for a group photo.

Yissy, Nathan, Toni C., Pr. Kelly, Rachel, Pr. Clark, Lisa, Steve, Toni M.

On the way to the meeting tonight we were held up by a wedding procession - noisy and eerie with the smoke of the Hindu priest’s incense burner and the drums...  I shared my brother’s CD with the driver.  Locksmaya had a CD player in the car and played it all the way to the meeting that night.

When we arrived late at the meeting site the children were already tired of singing and Pr. Ravi was walking around smacking them with a stick if they stopped clapping to the music.  I would have talked to him about that if I could have.  I know it is their culture.  But some cultural things should be superseded when you profess Christian love!  I sat down near the boys who were beating the drums and asked to try.  The youngest one gave up his drum and the 12-13 yr old watched me pessimistically as I picked up the rhythm he was beating and played right along.  The chorus of this song had a fancy part in it with an interrupted rhythm and a special little drum ditty.  The first time through I missed it completely; but by the end of the song I had it down, and the boy grinned his admiration.  It was much more fun to play the drums than listen to them!

Everyone was tired tonight.  It seemed even hotter out tonight.  The one who usually sings (the “long-prayer pastor”) was sick and came late.  The power went off before we started.  No microphone or projector or light shining over the meeting sight.  Pr. Kelly taught them all how to say “Happy Sabbath” in English.  Even the adults tried this and smiled at themselves.

The girls had gone to another village.  So I had the children’s story about Samuel and a health talk about heart disease.  Pr. Kelly preached about the creation of the world.  Someone had a flashlight which was pointed at Pr. Kelly most of the time. When he got to the part about “Let there be light” the power came on for a while then went off.  Later as he was talking about how much the Creator loves us and wants us to know Him, he said “Satan wants to keep us in the dark, but God offers us light.”  And the power came on again - perfect timing!  The people seemed to understand the message tonight!

On the way home we passed the same wedding procession again.  They take only a small step every 15 minutes or something.  At each step the priest does something.  The young dancing men were still keeping time with the drum beats, but were pouring sweat.  The driver said that this will continue until 2am.  How exhausting!