Feel pretty good this morning, even though my throat is a bit tight.  Read for my devotions about how the Pharisees rejected the purpose of God for them by not repenting and being baptized by John.  (Luke 7:30)  How sad!  After a lifetime of searching for one’s purpose, how sad to think that one might reject their purpose simply because they refuse to surrender something to God.  I don’t want to reject God’s purpose for me.  “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”  Proverbs 19:21

Ate lunch in the restaurant one more time.  I gave the waiter a side-ways hug.  He seemed sad to see us all go.  I think he will read the book.  I hope we get to spend eternity with him!

At our meeting site the ladies took us girls aside and dressed us in saris.  Mine was so tight around my ribs I could hardly breath.  And they are much hotter than they look with that under skirt and all the layers of silk cloth wrapped around and around.  The top half is pretty bare though and I felt “naked” there.  Pr. Kelly could have felt just as awkward in his long “dress” looking outfit; but he took it bravely, so I tried to be brave.  While we waited for the oxcart to be decorated, a man brought us each a 2 oz. sized “ice cream” popsicle.  Bacteria or no bacteria, it would be rude to refuse such a rare treat.  (I wonder where they had a freezer to make them?  Must have come all the way from town!)  The popsicle was made from bison milk...  it was actually cold!  But I tried hard not to taste it; I gobbled it as quick as I could in front of the crowd of envious looking children.  How I would have loved to share it!  It was strangely salty and slightly sour tasting - would never make a Baskin Robins flavor for sure!  That was really nice of someone though to treat us to such a delicacy.  While we still waited, the children brought us orange-red flowers from the locust trees.  They like to put the petals on their fingers like long red finger-nails.  We laughed a lot as we tried them on each other.

Pr. Kelly playing with the kids.

The kids putting locust flower "fingernails" on Rachel.

Rachel seemed to enjoy being dolled up for the night's events.

As an honor to our team, we three girls and Pr. Kelly were put on an ox cart and paraded through town.  Almost the whole village followed all around us, and those who didn’t looked out of their houses as we passed.  It was dark by now.  Some men had torches, and a few flashlights and streetlights kept us in the spotlight.  The streets were so narrow that we got stuck a few times.  The one “seat” of the ox cart wasn’t exactly nailed on, so we had to spread our weight evenly and keep our balance when we came to a big bump (usually a rock - someone’s front steps).  The whole procession was very slow and loud.  Men went ahead of us with drums and everyone chanted and clapped to the beat.  Even though it was requested that people not dance in front of the cart (as in their idol worship) they had a few boys who “got into it.”  At a few points along the way, some shot off loud fireworks which always frightened the oxen.  They couldn’t bolt, of course because of the crowds of people; but men would hang onto their blue-painted horns just in case.  One of our team was waving like she was the homecoming queen at a parade.  I felt like Scrooge and would have humbugged the whole thing.  I didn’t see what good such attention would do at the end of the meetings, and I couldn’t help but think that such a crowd could switch from “honoring” to mobbing in just a minute.  It was a cultural thing that I couldn’t appreciate I guess.  The whole thing felt like a nightmare.  Maybe if it wasn’t so incredibly hot and loud...

Locksmaya helping to decorate the oxcart for the festivities.

A long 45 minutes later, our ox-cart arrived back at the meeting site.  The last meeting consisted of many formalities.  One of them was to present us with several more garlands of flowers around our necks (as if it weren’t hot enough already! the garlands piled up to the tops of my ears - whew!).  Pr. Kelly spoke for the final time - about Heaven.  We said our goodbyes and prayed.  Then the festivities really began.  The church people must have spent all day to cook a 35 gallon pot (no kidding!) full of rice and two smaller pots full of curry.  It smelled good, but everyone was using their hands of course; and after one person ate their plate-full, the plate was passed on to someone else.  There were at least 350 people eating.  I think Pr. Kelly was given some.  (I never heard that he got sick from it thankfully!)

We girls had our own set of troubles though, as the village boys were getting quite forward with these white girls.  Pr. Ravi came and escorted us girls into the church building to “rest” (didn’t have to tell me twice!).  It was slightly quieter in there with the reed blinds covering the windows.  Just as we were leaving, the forward girl brought her Grandma and mother to meet me.  I didn’t know they had come to the meeting!  We didn’t have a translator so I couldn’t say a thing.  But the girl put my hands on the heads of her Grandma and Mother for me to “bless” them.  Oh, and at one point on the oxcart ride we stopped in what appeared to be a “town square” where there was an obelisk with Hitler and someone else painted on it!  So that is what the forward girl was doing when she did that strange wave - her family was communist and she was doing the “hail Hitler” salute!  It was so out of step with the culture that I didn’t recognize it until I realized that communism had inroads in India.  And I had been trying to imitate her “wave”!

The girl from the communist family with her Mom and Grandma.

Was so exhausted tonight that I didn’t even take a shower before going to bed!