Last day in Vyara

Today Kris and I did the same teaching with 35 women at our school here. They were all parents of our kids there. They seemed to respond well. It wasn’t too hot, either. Not that I wasn’t dripping! But I felt refreshed the whole time by the grace of God.

On the way to the school there is a mountain that stands out in the flat landscape. On top of the mountain there is a fort. I asked Vinay and he says it was a fort used by King Shivaji Bhosle. Vinay’s last name is Bhosle, he is descended from this King. Shivaji founded the Maratha Empire in India. Legend has it that Shivaji built a tunnel from this fort to the city of Surat to transport the treasure his army looted from there. According to the story, the treasure is still buried near the fort but the entrance was sealed by the Indian government. Note: I did some research on this after I got home and the fort is called Fort Songadh. It was actually built in the 1700s by one of the Kings of the Gaekwad Dynasty.

This afternoon has been relax/repack time. Kris was in a lot of pain and took a nap. She always sleeps with earplugs. But then Alvina came in to give us copies of Kishor’s worship CD and show us photos from back in 1998/99 when Kishor and some of the other pastors here were beaten and churches were burned. It was sad to look at. Kris took out her earplugs to talk to Alvina and they disappeared. We spent much of the afternoon searching our small room for them to no avail. I think one of the kids must have eaten them or something! Kris was very upset and disappointed, but eventually she was able to laugh about it. The wound on her foot is finally improving but I’m worried about her back pain. She’s worked so hard and so long, I pray God will heal her.

Tonight is our last night in Vyara. We’re going out to dinner all dressed up. We leave by train very early tomorrow morning. I’m really going to miss the amazing people here. Everyone has been so gracious!