The Happiest Day Of The Year!

Today was the first day of school for E. and C. Yippy!

Photos pending.

If It's Any Consolation...

...I haven't been sleeping much lately either. Plenty 'O time to sleep (and blog) when we're dead! Alright, most probably I won't be blogging when I'm dead (or sleeping for that matter) but think of all the wonderful new blog topics we would have...

Busy. Yes, that's me. School starts next Monday and we've been working hard on getting teachers trained as well as everything else the beginning of school entails. Not to mention I now manage a store. Or that I took Saturday afternoon off to go see "Indiana Jones and the really fake looking Crystal Skull"*. Or having church friends over for dinner because their job is transferring them to another state, or having our Mission Director's mother in the hospital and her going for open heart surgery tomorrow, weddings, four (don't ask) children, a clogged drain pipe and a really dirty house.

Good night for heaven's sake.

* In Hindi - Like I have time to travel two hours away to see it in English
I just noticed I wrote "Indian" Jones - Twice!

A New Project

We're opening a stationary store. Yes, you read that correctly, a stationary store. We're running it in conjunction with our school because we already sell textbooks, notebooks, ties, belts, diaries; it was just the next step to sell a bunch of other school supplies at the same time. One stop shopping for parents. Great opportunity to make money for the ministry.

But the thing is, we haven't got a clue what we're doing. We're learning, but we need to have this up and running by, let's see, next week.

School is out in India and parents are signing up their little ones for school starting in two months. Returning students will flock in in June but we really should have the store open this month the reap the full benefits. It's kind of stressing me out.

Grant Approval

We have recently applied to a Charitable Foundation for a grant to complete the 3rd floor of our school building.

Here is a picture of the school taken only hours ago.
The school building actually looks better in this picture than it does in real life. Most of the 3rd floor is just bricks and cement. The plaster is only half done and there is nothing done but the roof on the left side of the building. Even so, we are using these rooms to teach classrooms of children.

Just FYI, the entire school should be that same golden color.

So why do I waste your time with this boring post.

You can PRAY! If God wills it our proposal will be approved. One way or another - we have to get this school completed!

We hope to know the outcome later this month. Thanks.

The Court Case

The school problem is going to court tomorrow morning. The time in the US EST will be about 9:30Pm on Monday night. Please pray for us this problem progresses on.

The other people are claiming that we have attempted to beat them and that we are here only to change peoples' religions, etc. Lies.

I take comfort in David's words to Goliath:
"I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty."

Please keep on praying for all the people involved. Thanks.

The School Picture IS UP

This is a picture of our school at present. The rooms on the 3rd Floor right side are currently occupied by students although the electrical work is not done. The rooms on the 3rd floor left are just walls that need a roof before the monsoons start in earnest.

Please pray.

No School

I was supposed to put a current picture of our school up here tonight, but first our electricity went out and now pictures won't attach.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Sorry.

The Challenge Of Not Being There

It's hard not being in India when things are going on. Things like building rooms on our school.

The new school year actually starts tomorrow (for a month and then there is a summer break and then school opens in June.)

But here we are with 100 kids moving from our small school to enter 1st grade in our big school and there is not enough room. There weren't enough classrooms last year and now we have added 10th grade and there are the 100 new kids coming up.

O. is feeling the stress to say the least. We have started building 3 classrooms on the 3rd floor of the school but we need permission from the local government to resume building and the permission is taking forever to come. That and we don't have the money to build the rooms, but we gotta do something.

The school management is adjusting the best they can, putting 9th and 10th grade students in one room, cramming another hundred 1st graders into another room. It's a nightmare. I admit I'm glad not to be there to have to deal with it. We have good people overseeing the school, God bless them. I pray.

Then there is O., on the phone day and night (literally) trying to see what is going on and giving advice and suggestions.

The school is a main source of income for our ministry as well as being the place where we get the salary for the majority of our co-workers. The school is growing and we have to keep up with it, it's just so much harder when we are not there...

(picture of school in next post.)

3rd Floor

This is a picture of our school at Christmas and you can see the 3rd floor construction. Half the roof and the pillars are up but that's it. We still need walls, floors, windows and doors - not to mention electricity, asap.