Ankoor Children's Home

This morning the bell rang at 5:45 AM to wake up the kids. From 5:45 – 6:00 they get dressed and clean. From 6:00 – 6:30 they do chores and clean up the campus. From 6:30 – 7:00 they do devotions, then they have breakfast. After that the nursery and K1 K2 kids go to school on campus and others study. At 10:00 the older kids (4-10 grades) eat lunch. They leave for Lasina for the Marathi School at 10:30. That’s when the nursery and younger kids get done with school and eat lunch. Then at 11:00 the younger kids do chores while the 1-3 grade kids go to school on campus. From there on the schedule gets too convoluted for me to keep track of.

We had breakfast at 7:45. It was awesome. There was this chapatti made with potatoes and spices, hard boiled eggs, bread with jelly, fruit salad, and these delicious sweet balls that are basically a donut hole soaked in simple syrup. yum. All with chai, of course.

We had our morning devotions. Thankfully, Kris shared about how we need to be sure we are being courteous to the Indian people. She shared about how some of our words and actions were not glorifying God or even representing Jesus very well. I have to say, I was mortified yesterday at some of our actions on the train. But I was more mortified by how much stuff we had with us. It was truly embarrassing. Not to mention it took up massive amounts of space and was hard to move around. I was glad Kris shared. it was very convicting. Next time I come, I plan to only bring a carry-on and a handbag if we’re taking the train.

After breakfast, Nalini took me and Kris on a tour. we saw the new boys’ dorm, with areas for bathing, toilets, laundry, and sleeping. She also built on a sick room with it’s own bathroom. It is brightly lit with good ventilation. She showed me how she keeps track of which kids are sick and what medicines they are given. Every week a doctor comes to see the kids and prescribe treatment. If they are too sick, she takes them to the hospital in Yavatmal.

Nalini’s garden is a sight to behold. She has beans, tomatoes, okra, peppers, turmeric, pumpkins, berries, and papaya trees. The pumpkins grow up trees so they don’t take up so much space. Then out back she has a big field of jwarl, (sorghum) to feed the cows during the dry season. There is another well, a pond, and a water harvesting system to recoup water draining from irrigation, taps, and rooftops. The whole thing is amazing. Out back she also has orange and mango trees, more papayas, daal (lentils), bananas, and pomegranates. Surrounding all of the gardens are flowers – roses, marigolds and lilies.
(Later)
After lunch Kris and I set up to clean the kids’ teeth. Wow. We did 20 kids today. Kris has a portable suction kit and an ultrasonic scaler. It’s quite the set-up. My job was mostly holding the suction cannula and/or flashlight, giving away toothbrushes, and sanitizing the tools. Prakash held the light and translated. It was VERY hot, but it was great.
I got to email home today and briefly chat on Facebook with Mike. It was great to finally have contact with home.

Tonight we had a welcome program and did a skit of Rack, Shack and Benny (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) for the kids. Cleveland made a great King “Nebby.” It was fun and the kids loved it. Now everyone’s in bed but me, Lu, and Jack. Goodnight.