Day 16-17: God is Good

Day 16-17 consisted of the following:

• Start of a new day
• Indian school life
• God's grace
• Afternoon walk

Tuesday 24 - Wednesday 25 November 2015

Start of a New Day:
Tuesday and Wednesday were both normal days at school, which I'm starting to get use to how things work.  I still can't get over how all the children salute me and say "good morning sir" every time they see me, it shows great respect.  I'm really enjoying teaching the children as they are so friendly and they learn so much. 

The weather was very sunny and hot on Wednesday, around 25 degrees. In the morning all the children from the orphanage line up at the gate and while waiting for the school bus to arrive they sing hymns which sounded very nice.  Standing in the sun next to the children, with my bag and formal clothes on while listening to them singing I am reminded of God's wonderful blessings and how privileged I am to be here.

Tuesday afternoon a man who was blind stayed the night at the orphanage and caught the school bus with us in the morning.  I think he was a friend that regularly comes by, as he knew his way around very well.  He got off in the middle of the town in Hunsur with all the busy traffic and people around, it made me think of how hard it must be for him to get around but he seems to manage quite well.

Indian School Life:

Every student carries a school bag and a small lunch bag, even me.  Every lunch bag has the same circular stackable tins inside which usually contains some type of rice dish.  Quite often for meals I get given chapati, which I think is the same as naan bread, and some dipping sauces which are really tasty.

The school day is made up of 8 different classes with one 20 minute lunch break in the middle.  The teachers change classroom every 40 minutes as per different classes while the students stay in the same classroom all day.  I think there are too many classes and not enough time to teach as we barely get started and the class is over.  Also the lunch break is very short.  To make up for this the students in each classroom get to have one or two "fresh breaks" each day, which is a walk to the bathroom to freshen up.  The teachers are quite casual with changing classrooms and will take their time, however surprisingly the students are well behaved and are all reading and writing notes even when the teachers are not there.

Picture of me with a few of the older boys from the orphanage

I've noticed that there are no computers at the school and everything is done on paper which makes for a lot of extra paperwork for the teachers.  What is really strange is that every classroom has a projector and a smart board, which is a computerised whiteboard, but I've never seen them get used, the teachers only use the blackboard which is not the greatest. 

Today I saw a few students get punished for some reason by their teacher, they had to stand still outside with their arms straight up in the air and hold that position.  They were there for a good half hour and if their arms dropped the teacher would use a stick to give them a quick hit.  I now see why the students act like they are in the army.  The students love to have me teaching them as I think they enjoy the different style of teaching and also less discipline.  At one point during a class the children were talking quite loudly while I was teaching so I said if you don't stop talking I'll send you to the principles office, they all had a look of horror on their faces and replied "please no sir" and immediately stopped talking and listened.

God's Grace:

I was talking with one of the other male teachers during lunch time and he was telling me his testimony.  It's hard to record this type of experience as words can't fully describe the emotions felt.  He said about 6 years ago he become very sick and was in the hospital for three months.  His family abandoned him and he gave up the will to want to live.  He tried to commit suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills.  He said he remembers waking up and seeing people around his bed and a woman was praying over him.  She shared the gospel with him and be accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour. He now teaches at the school and in the evenings goes out into villages to share the gospel everyday.  When I hear testimonies like this I feel like it really takes an impact on my life, it makes me think about how God's grace is so good. 

Picture of a full moon on Tuesday evening

The bus ride home was like being crammed in a huge tank speeding down the centre of the road while continually blasting a loud foghorn and swerving for all the crazy obstacles. 

Afternoon Walk:
After school had finished the older boys at the orphanage took me out for a walk.  India truly is a beautiful place, as far as the eye can see, rice fields and coconut trees everywhere.  The boys were pointing out different forests in the distance where panthers have been spotted.  We walked for about 10 minutes until we reached a small river, there were kids playing in the water and women washing clothes.  A little further on was a huge well which was for irrigation for all the rice fields in the area.  The boys said they sometimes jump off the high tower sitting next to the well and dive in the water.  The wildlife in India is incredible, there were dozens of dragonfly's, ant mounds, small lizards, frogs, and different types of birds everywhere.  When I came to India I thought it would be so dry and barren but everywhere you look there is green growth.