Lufthansa flight 456

Parents, please keep track of our incoming flight so you can be at LAX to greet your tired traveler.  LUFTHANSA FLIGHT 456 scheduled to arrive at 12:50pm. 

Final flight home!!!

In Frankfurt for some snacks and airport exploring. 

A slight plane delay but we are on our first flight watching the safety video.  In about 7.5 hours we'll be in Frankfurt for a quick 2.5 hour layover.

We made it through the longest security/immigration lines and now we're sitting at our gate waiting to board. 

Special dinner on the roof of the Shanti Home.

Getting henna from extremely talented artists.

We've landed in Delhi and about to load the bus to Shanti Home.  Lotteries have already been drawn for the first showers in the rooms. 

On our Jet Airways flight going back to Shanti Home and showers :-)

Final goodbyes between this crew today. The focus this week has been about an exchange of friendship rather than the giving of things.   I am confident I can speak for the group when I say, we have been blessed by their joy much more than anything we could ever do or donate.  A shared smile and laugh crosses all cultural and language barriers.   As I said before, our hearts are full.  We are loaded in the bus bound for Varanasi to catch our flight to Delhi.  

The boys were allowed to miss school all day today, so it was a full day of playing.  Jenga was a hit, but their style of play is more about every man for himself, no need to wait for a turn - just start pulling out pieces! 

It was a hot day and perfect for the annual water ballon battle.  Not a dry face in the bunch!  The final play was made from the roof with a well orchestrated direct hit on Mr. Choi. 'Who can pick up the most ballon fragments' was the second best game of the day. :-)

Can you guess how the evening ended? A dance party, of course!!  Tomorrow we say goodbye to a home of boys who have captured our hearts. 

We spent some time at the school most of the boys attend. It was fun to see them with their school friends.  It was sprinkling a bit so our massive game of 'duck, duck, goose' didn't happen for the first time in years.  

After lunch we rode the school bus back to the boys home for more games and hanging out.  Tonight was also our special dinner at Pastor Varughese's home.  We filled his living/dining room to max capacity and used the 'living fork', aka our fingers.  Pastor shared some of his testimony, it began with his great great (times many more) grandfather's conversion because of the apostle Thomas' ministry.  He has chosen a life of  uncomfortable ministry over a comfortable life outside of God's will for him.  His dedication to God's call to ministry is inspiring. 

Most of the girls wanted to try a traditional sari today, so Nimmy brought her collection for everyone.  We are on the rooftop of the boys home.

We had a late start today so everyone slept well for today's activities.  The parachute came out and they loved it! Such a great idea, thanks Olivia.  Today also included more cricket, various games involving kicking and throwing balls, friendship bracelets, and the daily dance party.  Most importantly, connections are being made and cross cultural friendships are in process.  

Our dance party musicians

Peter teaching Prinka how to braid Maggie's hair. 

Today was our first full day with the boys, and everyone (except the boys) is quite tired.  We've all forgotten how much energy it takes to play all day!!!  When you see the smile on their faces, it's worth a little bit of exhaustion on our part.  The day was filled with cricket, running, tennis ball playing (hitting, kicking, catching, and throwing), and of course dancing.  I think the team can agree that our favorite memory from today is Mr Ackermann dancing in the circle with a whip, nae-nae, dab, and other equally amazing dance moves.  Bekah enjoyed it so much she fell on the ground laughing. 

Hearts are full, and ready for a good night's sleep to prepare for another day of pure, joyful exhaustion!

Church this morning with the boys 

We made it!!! The team is eating the first of many at the boys home.  Everyone is exhausted but excited to finally be here. 

Lunch at Hotel Haifa in Varanasi

We've landed in Varanasi! Lunch, a boat ride along the Ganges, and a bus ride away from the real reason we are here.  The boys!!!

Safely on our flight to Varanasi. 

Leaving Shanti Home for the airport.

Touring Day in Delhi

Today was full of adventure and sightseeing.  The first stop was the Lotus Temple, a Baha'i house of worship.  Construction began in 1980 and completed in 1986 by a mostly volunteer work force.

The next stop was India Gate, a war memorial to honor the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in WWI fighting in the British Army.

A table full of amazing Indian food was next, and once again the butter naan was devoured within minutes.  After lunch we embarked on a quick but exciting tuk-tuk ride to the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, one of the most prominent sikh houses of worship.  Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was originally a bungalow belonging to Raja Jai Singh, an Indian ruler in the seventeenth century, and was known as Jaisinghpura Palace, in Jaisingh Pura, an historic neighbourhood demolished to make way for the Connaught Place, shopping district.

Today's final stop was at Catalyst with our friends Abhishek and Angelika Gier.  A key goal is to create innovative holistic solutions to the environmental, economic, and educational issues facing Delhi.  They have developed several programs to stop the cycle of poverty and abuse in the lives of young girls and families. The highlight was dinner on the rooftop of their home with the girls currently enrolled in their Diversion program.

Now we are back at the hotel, sleeping, and re-packing for an early breakfast before our flight to Varanasi.

In front of the Lotus Temple

With the girls and staff at Catalyst's Diversion home.

Good morning from The Lantern Restaurant on the roof of The Shanti Home

Arrived

Completing our immigration forms

We've arrived safely, all the luggage has been claimed, and we are waiting on our bus to take us to the comfort of a bed at Shanti Home.

Safely aboard our flight leaving Frankfurt bound for Delhi.  I will update again when we are in India and through customs. I think everyone is looking forward to the comfort of Shanti Home beds.

Frankfurt

We are enjoying our brief layover in Frankfurt after the long flight from LAX.  Most everyone napped, but a few used the time to catch up on movies.  We have about an hour before taking off on our 7.5 hour flight to Delhi.

All are well, tired, but well and taking time to get to know each other.  Great group!

On the plane

The team

We are all checked in, through security, and getting snacks for our upcoming 11 hour flight