India Day 14 of 14

Day 14 of 14
Today was (still is) a long day with highs and lows. The day started with a visit to Mano and Sheila’s house for a wonderful lunch. Sheila cooked a fantastic meal and we were all very full by the time we finished. The seafood here is fantastic.

Mano presented each of us with a plaque thanking us for our “Labour of Love”, and Sheila presented each of us with a gift for our wives. The colonel (Mano’s assistant, he calls himself Adjunct to the Bishop) also presented us with a gift. We were thankful for the love and gratitude.

After lunch, we went downstairs and met with the AIDS support group. Dr. Sheila meets with them monthly. It is a group of about 25 AIDS infected women and their children, some of whom are also HIV positive. Some of these children are candidates for the orphanage we are remodeling. Mano said that the difficult task will be deciding who they will accept as the candidates far outnumber the openings.

This was a very emotional time. The children were precious, and quite entertaining. They danced, laughed, and clamored to see their images on our cameras. After the meeting we gave them some coloring books, lunchboxes, and lunches. The women took turns asking us questions and telling us their stories and some of the ordeals they have been through. Dr. Sheila told us that she came to know them through her practice. She is one of the only doctors willing to work on the primarily performing C-sections to keep the babies uninfected. She told us that she has a reputation for this and is restricted to Saturday operations because the hospital insists on disinfecting after she is finished. She told us that she spends much of her time educating others about the risks and also how to be safe and not fear the women. The women also told us the stories of how they had to keep their infections secret or their children would be thrown out of school. Mano said that the support group is one of the only places that they could speak freely without fear of ostracism.

We heard how they have created a common pool of money that they contribute to and take loans from. They have purchased 3 sewing machines so far and have a goal of 33-4 more. These machines allow them to make garments and support themselves. They showed us several samples of their items. We told Mano that these would be good to make and potentially sell back at Woodside. We also took up a spontaneous collection among us and were able to raise enough for one more machine. We put names in a hat and drew for that machine. The winner was overwhelmed. All in all it was an emotional but nice time.

The valley came when we arrived at the airport to find our flight delayed. This delay caused us to miss our connection (there is only one flight a day). After protesting to the gate agent he was able to find an Air France flight for 4 of us and a Luftansa flight for the other two (Joey flew back through Bangkok). As I write I am sitting in the airport in Paris hoping to get home sometime tonight. Things will untimately work out (God is still sovereign), and the disappointment of missing the flights cannot crush the euphoria of a great trip.

Thanks again to all of you for your support and prayers!
Posted byRoger.

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