Working My Way Systematically through The Christian Hymnery Really Seemed Like the Most Logical Thing to Do...

On most days in April in Varanasi, we get electicity for about 12 to 15 hours. So the people of Varanasi do just what you would do if you had electricity cuts for so many hours. Namely, they make Inverters for their homes, which are a series of huge batteries that can keep your fans and lights running when there is no electricity, and then recharge when the electricity returns. It is a system that works reasonably well.

However, yesterday, a huge transformer near our house blew up, leaving a small part of our neighborhood -- including the home of yours truly -- completely without electricity. But of course, our Inverter still worked for the time being. So our lights and fans still worked. For a time.

I first realized what had happened about 2AM (you really shouldn't need to ask why I would be up at 2AM), so I turned off everything except the fan where we were sleeping, in hopes of saving the Inverter.

This worked for quite awhile. All through the day, we limited our Inverter usage to one fan, so as to save the batteries. It worked for awhile, but eventually, without electricity to recharge its batteries, the Inverter began to die.

There is no more agonizing thing than sitting and watching the fan go slower and slower and slower, till finally it just dies. No electricity, no Inverter, and it is 115 degrees. What to do?

Anything requiring movement resulted in copious sweating, so that even writing couldn't happen. So eventually I pulled down a hymnal, and just sat and sang, hymn after hymn. As you can see, it really was the Logical Thing to do. :)

The girls all had their requests: Nora Grace likes "Arise My Soul, Arise" and "Oh Have You Not Heard of That Beautiful Stream", Miriam likes any Hymn that includes the word "Children" in it's title or somewhere in its words (Christopher Dock's "O Little Children, Gather" is probably her current fav). Sam attempted to dance to "Gott ist die Liebe" and "So nimm denn meine Hande".

And eventually the electricty was restored, and we went back to work. Everybody and everything is getting recharged.

Question: When making Kool-Aid, why is it important that we add the sugar first, BEFORE we add the Kool-Aid powder?

Answer: Well, the sugar usually has various non-sugar things in it. So we add the sugar first, so that we can filter out the non-sugar stuff that floats to the top, and then we add the Kool Aid powder and mix. :)

Breakfast Conversation

Having young children means that often we don't get to do much talking. There is too much talking going on already. The conversation at breakfast this morning went something like this...

Nora Grace: Daddy, we are made from dust. Miriam did you know that we are made of dust?

Miriam: Daddy, can you help me get some milk? Daddy are we made of dust?

Sam: JOOSE!! JOOSE!!

Nora Grace (now singing): Oh, yes... we are made of dust... we are made of dust... and to dust we shall we return.

Sam: MORE MORE MORE MORE!!!!

Nora Grace: I like Wheat Flakes. Daddy, am I your Wheat Flakes Girl? (giggles).

Miriam (angry): I LIKE WHEAT FLAKES TOO, I AM DADDY'S WHEAT FLAKES GIRL. Daddy, it's dusty. Are we made from dust?

Sam: JOOSE!! JOOSE!!

Nora Grace: Daddy, are wheat flakes made from dust like we are made from dust? Sam is made from dust.

Miriam: Sam is NOT made from dust, Sam is made from puppy dog tails.

Sam: MORE!! MORE!!

(Sam then throws up)

Amy: Hmmm. I wonder if Sam is not feeling well.

Sam: JOOSE!! MORE!! JOOSE!! MORE!!

Nora Grace: Sam is too made from dust, isn't he Daddy? Is throw up made from dust?

(Editors note: this portion of conversation took less than 30 seconds, and continued in this vein for 30 minutes straight.)

Brand Placement to a whole new level.

In the US, when a new movie comes out, they sell all kinds of cheap plastic stuff at fast food places, to advertise the movie.

Jodhaa Akbar is a recent Indian movie (quite a good one, I am told) starring some of the biggest names in Bollywood. It is the timeless historical story of a Muslim Emporer who marries a Hindu Princess -- for political reasons -- and then they find themselves falling in love. As with most Bollywood fair, it is three hours long and involves a fair amount of dancing.

The movie is fameous for many things in India, one of which is the incredible jewelery that the Princess wears, all of it is real.

So now in India, at the jewelery shops, you can buy Jodhaa Akbar themed jewelry, from "The Jodhaa Akbar Collection".

Guess is beats a cheap plastic toy from China.

Usual Week

So what is usual? Well, maybe there isn't one. :)

Clinic for me was the usual mishmash of illnesses, fevers, psychological problems, teaching of "Junior Doctors" and so on. Nobody too sick or scary this week. One kid with a fever of 104, of unclear origin, which of course can lead to much speculation as to the source.

Nora Grace reads amazingly well. She is already reading her Bible without too much problem (and I mean a real the English Standard Version, not some paraphrased children's version). But math is such a struggle for her. She still struggles with even basic addition and subtraction, though does seem to be making slow progress.

I talked about the Bible with some folks, and prayed for a lot more. I studied a bit more in Matthew and the Psalms in Urdu. I read some Urdu poems and went to a seminar about Urdu Novels. I attended a function celebrating a Free Eye Camp that I helped with.

I taught some Geography and Computer Skills to Nora Grace, took Miriam out on some errands one day, which totally made her week.

Hmmmm, I am rambling. It is a bit hot, though not too bad for April. I will, LW, lead worship tomorrow. I have a staph infection on my face that looks pretty ugly, but I think is finally starting to clear up.

These aren't April Fools, Just All the News that's Fit to Print

Enclosed are some newspaper clippings from this mornings' paper. Enjoy. :)

One talks about a "Pulse Polio Campaign", where various Health Care Personnel attempt to immunized all children of a certain age for polio on one particular day (We still have hundreds of cases of polio near us each year). Unfortunately, the villages took the team hostage, hoping to have some demands met (unclear what the demands are).

Another talks of a group of housewives who "Thrash" some criminals who had stolen the ladies gold chains, but interestingly the thrashing takes place inside the Police department.

And my personal favorite, the news that the "majority of women in the US are now opting to become surrogate mothers." To all those delightful women out their who took the time and effort to have their own children, perhaps you didn't know that actually most women in the US pay someone else to have their children for them. Ah, capitilism.

And yes, Lowell still cannot spell.

PS: these are NOT April Fools stories, these are typical stories I read in the paper every morning.