Sleeping with the Geckos

So Hannah and I arrived in Bangalore airport on the 19th of April, Simon met us outside of the airport and we piled our stuff into his Jeep. So the 7 hour journey began, we saw many interesting sights from the jeep, a family of five on a motorbike with only the father wearing a hemet, a man looking into the road holding a goat and plenty of vehicles driving the wrong way down Indias longest dual carriageway. The journey itself was fine, a few tense moments, no doing of Simons but we got to Pagadupattu in good time.

That first night was spent adjusting to the heat and trying to sleep and not over think about the prospect of a Gecko falling on me in the night! The last few days I have been getting to know some of the Indian students here who stay at the school over the summer holidays. It is so lovely to get to know them, they seem to get enjoyment out of being nice and encouraging. I played football in the 4 o'clock sun on Sunday and found myself drenched in sweat after about 10 minutes of playing!

We went to the Indian church on Sunday which was really nice, although hard to sit on my bum for all that time! They sang some English songs which were really good and some Tamil (the language spoke in this area) songs which I liked because they involved a lot of clapping! I am getting used to eating curry with my hands but i do tend to get quite messy! This afternoon we are going to watch School of Rock with the students which should be fun. All in all it has been a great start to the trip and i can't wait for whats to come.

Diana and Elaine arrived Sunday evening from Chennai to see the school, they work for a charity called Child-Link. The charity supports the school here called Gnana Deepam Matriculation School, the money that this charity has given to the school has helped the students here so much. Last year they raised money for 5 class rooms to be built here, this year they are raising money for the completion of the class rooms, for a new dining room and some toilets. Diana and Elaine are so hard working and inspiring in the way they strive to raise money for better facilities for these children. If you wanted to know more about the charity you can have a look at www.child-link.org.

The trip has started well and I can't wait for what else I am to experience, what God has to show me and also I can't wait for Mango season!

Blog again soon
James

"It's Like You're My Mirror"

My time at Grosvenor Church in Barnstaple has come to an end and I am a changed man! I have had a revelation, an awakening some would say. I went to Grosvenor thinking Justin Timberlake's music was nothing special and slightly too high pitched for me, I now have left Grosvenor completely addicted to his new song Mirrors. This was all thanks to my mentor at Grosvenor, I will fondly remember trips around Barnstaple with that song booming out of the car. Some would say i should be ashamed of liking the singer/actor's new song, but I like Justin and I am proud of it.

I have had such a wonderful time in Grosvenor, and I have made some really good friends who I look forward to seeing in  the summer. The Church was really quite different from my small home church and it was amazing to see the logistics behind a Church of that size. I felt so touched to be given such an amazing farewell from the church members and I felt so welcome the whole 5 weeks I was down there. I have learnt so much about myself, about God and about Church down in North Devon and I will treasure the memories of my 5 weeks there.

One thing that really stood out for me over the time I spent in Barnstaple was the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5. In Grosvenor there was so much emphasis put on showing these fruits in our lives and to live like Jesus did, it really inspired me. I loved that the topic was covered in all of the youth and children's work in Grosvenor and was the basis of rules to the children's groups. What i found particularly interesting and useful was when in the youth group A2J (year 10 - 13) we looked at different fruits of the spirit and what sins went against them.

At the moment I am sat at home and catching up with all of my friends before I head out to India. It is tiring trying to see everyone but so nice at the same time. Please remember me in prayers for illness, overheating and loneliness in India and that I wont get too homesick. Thank you for everyone's support.

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