New Year's Day Worship

We were hosted on this New Year's Day by St. John Lutheran Church in Puttur where Andrew gave a message followed by several other sermons.
The gecko on the glass cross provided much entertainment to our team during the 4 (yes, 4) hour service. Don't try this at home.

After an eventful, hasty ride back to the Mission by Bala, who adopts the "Don't-mess-with-me" approach to driving, we served the Mission children and ate a very special lunch on banana leaves. The meal was comprised of a variety of rice, sauces, vegetables, fruit and tantalizing vanilla ice cream (more like heavy cream by this point...).

Premadhara, one of the Global NIM sponsored children, reflects the joy of the event.

We've all agreed that we will never think of new Year's the same again after participating in these celebrations.

New Year's Eve Service - Indian Style

A New Year's eve service that was worth the price of the plane fare to India!
Have you ever seen a children's Christmas play that tells the WHOLE story? We did!
- Caesar Augustus' decree that everyone be registered
- King Herod consulting with the scribes and chief priests on where the King of the Jews would be born
- King Herod's anger when the wise men did not return, complete with sword and Count Count (ala sesame street)laughter
Flat Stanley attempted to snag a front row seat for the entire show but ended up having to relocate.
Besides the Christmas play he missed the singing, several different traditional Indian dances done by the girls who live here, and the
distribution of gifts to the teachers and staff at Good Shepherd.