Day 1

I was sad to leave the team and Little Flock Orphanage. It was a great 2 weeks. A lot was accomplished: medical, dental, optical clinic for villagers, over 700 villagers were seen, a chicken & turkey coop was built, and English classes were taught. The team sent me off with prayers, love, a book of encouraging letters, and even a bag full of rupees. I stayed one night in Chennai with the director's family and then flew to Mumbai in the morning. The flight gave me plenty of time to question and wonder why I had chosen to do this...The Indian airline food, in flight entertainment system that shut off every five minutes, and dirty headphones all made me wonder why I wasn't with the team in Singapore relaxing for a couple days??? That's when the fear set in: would I be living in the slums for the next few months? what in the world am I doing. Yes sanity occasionally comes to mind...not often enough for decision making...but just sometimes!

I arrived in Mumbai with a slight encounter with the taxi driver regarding the fare: this required the emptying of all my luggage and 10 airport security men. (Have no fear---it's completely normal to have a group discussion on the street involving several people who aren't remotely involved) Once I met up with my new roomie Melissa, she showed me the way down a quaint alley and up the steep stairs (it's a ladder) to our new bungalow called home. My luggage had all made it...and I was able to breath a sigh of relief. It was charming in it's own small way, and I wasn't living in the slums of Bombay as I had feared.