The following is a piece of a letter Donna wrote to the kids - it had alot of interesting stuff so we thought we would edit it and share it. Above this will be pictures of the convention including the kitchen crew needed to feed everybody - alot different than our church suppers!
We changed rooms today. It was decided that we would be more comfortable in the room across the hall. It is slightly larger but it also does not get the afternoon sun like the other room so it stays relatively comfortable for most of the day. The days are getting gradually hotter so I think this was a good idea. So the ladies were busy around here today cleaning, sweeping and dusting. The ladies came to my rescue this morning ~ a spider the size of Texas was in the guest kitchen sink! Holy cow! I thought the spiders in Willsboro were big! This was humungous!! The ladies just giggled at me thinking I am this crazy American woman who can’t deal with “small bugs”. They’re right!
Things to tell you that I don’t usually think about but now I have time to sit and ponder… the pineapple here is the best I have ever eaten! It is so sweet and juicy! Wegman’s pineapple will never measure up after having eaten this. Also, did you know that there are over 40 varieties of bananas here in Kerala? There are big ones, small ones, green ones, yellow ones, slightly blackened ones, and on and on! Tea time is big around here (another thing you would love) and tea is always served with some kinds of snacks. One of the treats they make is fried bananas. There is some sort of batter that the banana is dipped in and then fried in hot oil. Today we were served those along with what I will call banana balls ~ they taste much like banana bread but are shaped into balls and then fried. They were wonderful. I splurged and had two!
You would totally love this place. Dad is determined to get all three of you here some day. Dad is already trying to figure out when he can bring a group back here to Kerala. Actually, Kerala, so far, is probably the best place to visit. We’re coming to realize that most of India is not at all like this. It is very tropical looking BUT not humid at all! It will be very interesting to see what Delhi looks and feels like. Apparently, February is a good time to visit Delhi as the temps won’t be terribly sky high yet. It will still be warm but is should be manageable. We have connected with a tour guide that was recommended to us by Kyle’s friend, Melissa (from Fowler). So far, he is sounding very good and is making some good suggestions for us. He will be traveling with us so it’s not like we’re going to be dumped in the middle of Delhi and told “see ya!” I guess we will be traveling by train, which will take us about 2 days to get there. We will then stay in a hotel for a couple of nights before then traveling on to Agra. We will definitely be visiting the Taj Mahal (planning on taking LOTS of pictures).
We’re also looking at possibly going to Goa, which we understand has beautiful beaches. But, before we head to Goa we just found out that Kerala has some beautiful beaches so we’re going to check that out first. Our India guide book describes some halfway decent hotels so we may just do that instead. If we go to Goa then we would have to fly and that is pretty expensive.
The Bishop is requesting that I sing every evening during this convention. Unfortunately, he’ll have to make do without me tonight as Dad isn’t feeling well. I’ve been pulling out a lot of the old “praise” music which I haven’t touched in years as that is what they seem to enjoy. Last night I got them to clap their hands to the beat of some of my songs. They often have no clue what I’m singing but they do love to clap and make a lot of noise! Friday afternoon Dad is supposed to do some sort of a children’s sermon and once again the Bishop has asked that I have some music for them. I asked if I could teach them some songs but apparently they are pressed for time so I won’t be able to. Oh well.
We have been trying to get some exercise each day so we walk into the little village here (it’s really not that far but there are hills and it’s very hot!). When we visited Cochin we were introduced to a drink which consists of freshly squeezed lime juice, a little sugar, and some club soda. So we bought a “squeezer” for the limes, some sugar, some club soda, a knife to cut the limes and we make ice from our bottled water! Ice is a real treat!
The RCA delegation arrive on Friday. It will be nice to have a conversation with people who I can really understand! The pastors all meet on Monday morning so I am trying to see if Annie will be available to take me and the other wives shopping for saris! Annie is a good shopper and will help us in terms of getting good prices. She already gave me one dress ~ which she refers to as a night dress. It is far too pretty to wear just at night so you’ll probably see me in it at home more than not! It’s really cool! Then, on Tuesday, all of us will be visiting a Wildlife Sanctuary where we will hopefully get to see some elephants out in the wild. I’m afraid we probably won’t see any tigers, although Dad is hoping to! There has been a real problem with Tigers becoming fewer in numbers so we probably won’t see any. The delegation leaves on Wednesday. We have asked the Bishop if we could take he and his wife, Susan, and also Abraham and Annie to dinner that night. Then the next day, the 4 of us will be visiting a Bird Sanctuary which should be very nice. Then on Friday, we are going to visit a church way up in the mountains and this time (gulp) spending the night!!!! I’m very nervous about leaving all the “comforts of home” but I guess we’ll see. May as well try it once. I met the woman today, Elsie, who’s home we will be staying at. She is very nice.
Just remember that when we’re in Delhi we probably won’t get to sending/checking any email. We’ll be very eager to be in touch with you when we return on March 1st.
We changed rooms today. It was decided that we would be more comfortable in the room across the hall. It is slightly larger but it also does not get the afternoon sun like the other room so it stays relatively comfortable for most of the day. The days are getting gradually hotter so I think this was a good idea. So the ladies were busy around here today cleaning, sweeping and dusting. The ladies came to my rescue this morning ~ a spider the size of Texas was in the guest kitchen sink! Holy cow! I thought the spiders in Willsboro were big! This was humungous!! The ladies just giggled at me thinking I am this crazy American woman who can’t deal with “small bugs”. They’re right!
Things to tell you that I don’t usually think about but now I have time to sit and ponder… the pineapple here is the best I have ever eaten! It is so sweet and juicy! Wegman’s pineapple will never measure up after having eaten this. Also, did you know that there are over 40 varieties of bananas here in Kerala? There are big ones, small ones, green ones, yellow ones, slightly blackened ones, and on and on! Tea time is big around here (another thing you would love) and tea is always served with some kinds of snacks. One of the treats they make is fried bananas. There is some sort of batter that the banana is dipped in and then fried in hot oil. Today we were served those along with what I will call banana balls ~ they taste much like banana bread but are shaped into balls and then fried. They were wonderful. I splurged and had two!
You would totally love this place. Dad is determined to get all three of you here some day. Dad is already trying to figure out when he can bring a group back here to Kerala. Actually, Kerala, so far, is probably the best place to visit. We’re coming to realize that most of India is not at all like this. It is very tropical looking BUT not humid at all! It will be very interesting to see what Delhi looks and feels like. Apparently, February is a good time to visit Delhi as the temps won’t be terribly sky high yet. It will still be warm but is should be manageable. We have connected with a tour guide that was recommended to us by Kyle’s friend, Melissa (from Fowler). So far, he is sounding very good and is making some good suggestions for us. He will be traveling with us so it’s not like we’re going to be dumped in the middle of Delhi and told “see ya!” I guess we will be traveling by train, which will take us about 2 days to get there. We will then stay in a hotel for a couple of nights before then traveling on to Agra. We will definitely be visiting the Taj Mahal (planning on taking LOTS of pictures).
We’re also looking at possibly going to Goa, which we understand has beautiful beaches. But, before we head to Goa we just found out that Kerala has some beautiful beaches so we’re going to check that out first. Our India guide book describes some halfway decent hotels so we may just do that instead. If we go to Goa then we would have to fly and that is pretty expensive.
The Bishop is requesting that I sing every evening during this convention. Unfortunately, he’ll have to make do without me tonight as Dad isn’t feeling well. I’ve been pulling out a lot of the old “praise” music which I haven’t touched in years as that is what they seem to enjoy. Last night I got them to clap their hands to the beat of some of my songs. They often have no clue what I’m singing but they do love to clap and make a lot of noise! Friday afternoon Dad is supposed to do some sort of a children’s sermon and once again the Bishop has asked that I have some music for them. I asked if I could teach them some songs but apparently they are pressed for time so I won’t be able to. Oh well.
We have been trying to get some exercise each day so we walk into the little village here (it’s really not that far but there are hills and it’s very hot!). When we visited Cochin we were introduced to a drink which consists of freshly squeezed lime juice, a little sugar, and some club soda. So we bought a “squeezer” for the limes, some sugar, some club soda, a knife to cut the limes and we make ice from our bottled water! Ice is a real treat!
The RCA delegation arrive on Friday. It will be nice to have a conversation with people who I can really understand! The pastors all meet on Monday morning so I am trying to see if Annie will be available to take me and the other wives shopping for saris! Annie is a good shopper and will help us in terms of getting good prices. She already gave me one dress ~ which she refers to as a night dress. It is far too pretty to wear just at night so you’ll probably see me in it at home more than not! It’s really cool! Then, on Tuesday, all of us will be visiting a Wildlife Sanctuary where we will hopefully get to see some elephants out in the wild. I’m afraid we probably won’t see any tigers, although Dad is hoping to! There has been a real problem with Tigers becoming fewer in numbers so we probably won’t see any. The delegation leaves on Wednesday. We have asked the Bishop if we could take he and his wife, Susan, and also Abraham and Annie to dinner that night. Then the next day, the 4 of us will be visiting a Bird Sanctuary which should be very nice. Then on Friday, we are going to visit a church way up in the mountains and this time (gulp) spending the night!!!! I’m very nervous about leaving all the “comforts of home” but I guess we’ll see. May as well try it once. I met the woman today, Elsie, who’s home we will be staying at. She is very nice.
Just remember that when we’re in Delhi we probably won’t get to sending/checking any email. We’ll be very eager to be in touch with you when we return on March 1st.
posted by Delhagen @ 6:07 AM
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