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PL806
22 September 2019
Exams can be tough. We can all remember times where we had to pull late night study sessions, cram facts, figures and formulas into our heads. Well it is exam season here on the mission, so our Study Times are in overdrive.
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Above: Study time in the afternoon as children prepare for exams the next day.
Below: Ayushi and Seeya don't seem nervous at all.
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Above: Rajesh preparing for his English paper.
Below: Cynthia is confident while Raj helps Dennis with his Math.
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Clifton's sons, Malik and Dylan have been going to their cousins house for some extra tuition. It's a good excuse for a bike ride.
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The morning walk to school will be a little different for the next 12 days. No books to carry, just the burden of knowledge and the impending sting of a 3 hour exam. "I'm not worried about my Sanskrit paper", declared Indro, "I studied and I am ready". If only everyone was this prepared.
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Above: Kevin, Raymond and Indro.
Below: Indro heads off confidently to school with his brothers.
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Nancy Ma'am ready to test the knowledge of young students like Manisha.
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Above: Nerves are easier to handle when you have your sisters with you.
Below: Lisa and Rampal preferring to walk alone today.
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For an identical twin like Saloni, an ID Card is even more important that normal!
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Esther and Priscilla walk the youngest ones to school for their 1hr test.
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At the school students are spread out among the class rooms. 2 or 3 pupils from each grade sit on opposite sides of the room. Dividing the children up in this way helps to combat any temptation to 'extract' answers from anywhere but ones own mind.
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A mixture of grades in each class keeps everyone honest.
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Avinash Sir is one of the stricter teachers in the school.
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Dhiraj hoping he prepared enough for his examination.
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Our older students who are studying at the local military school, Kendriya Vidyalaya, are happy they don't have exams at the moment. "Don't worry..." Kelly made sure to remind everyone, "...our Board Examinations will be coming up next month". Board exams are considered to be some of the toughest exams in Indian students educational journies and are certainly one of the most important.
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Trudy, Jimika, Rosie and Kelly wait for Benny their driver.
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Here he is!
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Peter is here too, ready for a ride.
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Off they go to school with out a worry in the world.
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Between exams there has still been some time for play. A slight break in the exhausting heat has made the playgrounds a little more comfortable than they have been the last few weeks. We can feel the monsoon begining to wind down as we head into our quick autumn which promptly gives way to winter.
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Building a garden of your own is a whole lot of fun.
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Everything has to be just right in this garden.
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Saloni 'planting' flowers on a flowerless plant.
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While the younger children play at gardening some of the older ones have been doing the real thing. Bushes need trimming, grass needs cutting and paths need weeding as we wait for cooler weather. Fortunately there are plenty of hands to make light work of it all.
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The Small Boys trim a large bush growing outside their hostel.
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The mythical "bush man" is seldom seen, like Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.
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False alarm, it's just Indro.
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Rampal cleaning up the left over leaves when all the cutting was done.
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Charity has been doing her part too, keeping our pathways clear of leaves.
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Elsewhere on the farm, Rick's family has come to visit! His sister Anthea, brother-in-law Alex and 80 year young Aunty Vivian. This is the first time these particular members of the family have been out to the mission to visit Rick and Clifton (except Anthea who came once back in the 1970's). Rick (and Clifton) have had a wonderful time sharing with them all of the work, people and happenings here on the mission. They have fit in tremendously well, building new friendships and strengthening old ones.
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Rick taking his family on a tour of the Workshop.
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Above: Alex was interested in seeing how rice grows.
Below: Our rice paddy crop is growing very well.
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Aunty Viv got busy helping Priscilla with the cooking.
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Above: Anthea also decided to give Basanti a hand cutting some gourd.
Below: Basanti with her beautiful smile and 'some gourd'.
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Anthea sharing some photos of home with Kushboo.
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On her second day here on the mission Anthea celebrated her birthday. We won't say how many candles were on the cake (there were actually two cakes) but we will tell you that it was celebrated in style! Singing, snacks, soda and smiles made for a memorable day.
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A big crowd gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to Anthea.
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Above: Anthea preparing to blow in another year.
Below: Jelabis (traditional Indian sweets) and the yummy cakes.
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Above: The kids let out a huge "Cheeeeeeeeers!"
Below: Niyati lines up for her snacks while her brother Shivam eats his.
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As soon as the party was over Rick and his immediate family jumped into a jeep and headed deep into the jungle for a birthday safari followed by dinner under the stars. Along the way Eugene spotted 4 elephants but they didn't bother the group who were camped safely in a local Forestry Department compound.
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Alex taking a walk on the wild side.
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Sitting by the riverbed in the jungle.
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Priscilla, Ellie and Filly decided they wanted to have a swim.
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Clifton took his boys for an adventure along a small stream. Many crabs and fish were chased by eager little hands.
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Above: Aaron excited by the fish in the river.
Below: Malik excited that Dylan finally caught a crab.
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There it is!
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Also visiting this week were friends of Clifton's from Sweden. Running their 17th month of a 2 year motorcycle ride across the world, they had stopped by the mission for a night on their way into Nepal. Their BMW and Triumph motorbikes were an exciting show for the mission kids, especially the older boys.
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A group photo with the riders before they headed out.
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Off to Nepal and many more miles of adventure.
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After the motorcycles were gone, the girls headed off to another exam.
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Finally this week we are happy to report that the building work continues to go well. We are now completely finished with the external plastering and by next week the internal work will be close to completed. After that we will turn out attention to the floors and landscaping. The glaziers have been hard at work and will have the Eastern wall of the building completed in the next two days.
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The builders working extra hard to finish all of the external plastering.
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A birds eye view of the plaster being mixed up.
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Sand, cement, sealant and water make for a strong mix.
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On top of the building work is also underway. Rick, Sunny, Jack and Parwat also managed to complete the tin roof that serves to cover the stairwell from the elements. Even with cloud cover it was a hot and sweaty job but we are so excited with the way it has come together.
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Jack passing up the tin ridge capping to Parwat and Sunny.
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Rick with his new hat.
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Parwat and Sunny screw down the galvanized ridge cap.
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Above: Parwat marks where the supports are below for screwing.
Below: Sunny fixes the capping while Parwat peeps through the gap.
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And so we end another week. As we put 'pen to paper' or rather, 'fingers to keys' we pray this letter finds you in a place of peace. We thank you for your amazing support, for your prayers and for joining with us in this incredible journey that our Heavenly Father has placed us on.
Blessing on you,
Rick, Clifton, Eugene & Priscilla
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For Those Who Pray:
- We have one big prayer point. We ask for your prayers for the family of our dear friend Aying Konyak. Aying was an intern here many years ago and developed a close friendship with many of us. Currently she is in Delhi where her 41 year old brother Wangto is desperately clinging to life in St Stephens hospital ICU. With medical expenses already at over USD $42,000 and growing by $400 per day the family is truly in a desperate situation. Emotionally, physically, mentally & financially exhausted the entire family desperately need our prayers and support.
To all our friends in the Delhi area, the family is going to need at least 20 units of blood in the coming weeks, please contact us if you are able to give blood (all blood types will be fine, as units will be exchanged with a local blood bank).
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Wangto and his father.
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