Thursday, December 15, 2005

What Happened Last Year

Christmas Boxes, that's what this post is about. Last year we had 4 big boxes of Christmas gifts sent to us from the US to distribute to our pastors, our Children's Home children and our pastors' children. Wonderful wonderful gifts were bought and lovingly packed and sent. Then. They. Hit. Indian. Customs.

W got a notice on December 22nd to go pick them up, so I drove the 3 1/2 hours to collect them. After fumbling around we found the DHL office and the people there were so very helpful. One man actually stayed with us and helped me go Christmas shopping for E. and C. because I was looking for a slide for them for Christmas and I found one.

However, once we got to the Custom's official everything stopped. He told us it would cost 70,000 rupees ($1666.66) to get them released from customs.

I cried, I stood in the parking lot and bawled and embarrased everyone who was near me.

Then I went home and O. took over. We prayed, lots of people prayed. Lot's of you prayed. Two days later we were back - it was Christmas Eve and Onkar walked into the Custom Official's office alone, spoke for five minutes, came out and said - they're charging us 9000 rupees. That's it. Everything got released that day.

It was a Christmas miracle - really. All the little kids got their gifts on Christmas day. It was - well - just wonderful.

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