New Years Eve

After breakfast at the hotel, Raja & Kumari picked us up and we went to a village about 45 minutes from the hotel.  Josh was speaking to the youth, then Tyler presented a lesson to the combined group, and then I presented a lesson the the ladies.  While I was presenting my lesson, Tyler & Josh were outside with the men and boys.  They really liked shaking hands.

Then we returned to the hotel to rest up for New Years Eve at Jakkumpudi. This was Josh’s first visit to Jakkumpudi, and he completely enjoyed it.  We were greeted by the children and the workers from the home, along with the members of the church that meets at Elnora Home.  After some singing, Josh presented a lesson, and then after prayer, we celebrated with a New Years Cake and some other sweet treats. We also shared some candy canes we had brought with us.  The adults seemed to enjoy them as much as the children. Everyone greeted each other with “Happy New Year” and then we went outside for fireworks.  Josh joined in the fun, lit some fireworks, and then got carried away with dancing on the volleyball court.  The boys really enjoyed him participating with them.

The drive back to the hotel was even more wild than the normal driving.  The streets were packed with people and traffic.  People were hanging our of their cars shouting “Happy New Year”, and once we reached our hotel, we had great difficulty getting into the driveway. The traffic was the heaviest I have ever seen there, and we had to actually pull into the other lane that was going the opposite direction we were driving(that is not the unusual part as it happens all of the time), and back up in the direction the traffic was going, but cross a few lanes of traffic and finally into the driveway exit of the hotel. I thought with all of the commotion outside I would have difficulty sleeping, but I think we all slept quite well.

Blessings,

Michele