Madurai again

Sooo, we're off again!

Due to that virus the team picked up in the slums, the Word for the World has moved around our schedule a lot to give us time to rest up this week. The entire team has been blessed to get back to almost full health! Aside from Saturday where I think I literally got up like 3 times only to get food, I actually bounced back fairly quickly.

So, this week has been an unusual period of rest for the team which has allowed for some great fellowship! We've celebrated Katlyn's b-day and Annun's b-day this week. We also [partly] participated in a day of prayer and fasting with the ministry workers. And how did we celebrate the 4th of July? Only with the best Chinese take-out ever of course! Seriously though, I think it needs to be a new tradition :P

I've filled my days with reading (power-reading!), prayer, helping out around the house, writing, and fellowship time spent talking, playing games, and going on walks with David, Annun, Tameel, Mohen, Sam, and Jim-anna. I also went for my first real run here ("real" as in it involved jogging further than back and forth a million times in my room). Running free out under the Indian moonlight... sounds more poetic than it really was ha.

Random: They have an actually legit mosquito whacker. It looks like a tennis racket, but when you press the button it sends an electrical current through the chords and zaps whatever it touches. Sweet!

Also, it's been in Chennai the minute I've gotten here. But I just have to say now that I love the heat lightning this city is known for. Bursts of thunderless lightning flash periodically through the night sky. They tell me it's because of the intense heat and humidity. Whatever it is, it's wonderful.

Anyways, tomorrow the team, the Asirs and I take the overnight train back to Madurai and will be staying at Jim-anna's home until the 15th. We'll be speaking at church services, bible studies, a nurses' graduation, elders' meetings.... a bunch of random places! I think we'll end up each speaking about 4-5 times though which isn't too bad. During this time, I believe we will also be working with the disabled through Jim-anna's branch of Word for the World which runs a school in Madurai and works to support children with disabilities. The amazing thing his ministry is that he himself is disabled. He is confined to a wheelchair and cannot move anything except his neck and a few facial muscles. He can't even talk. But through his passionate devotion to Christ and serving others, and with the help of his servant-hearted, fantastically-loving family and friends, he was able to design and run this ministry. I struggle to wrap my mind around it. But simply put, our God is the God of miracles. Amen.

We'll return back to Chennai by overnight train on the 15th if everything goes as planned. I hope to blog when I get back from that.

Please continue to pray foorrrr:

Health - some of the Word for the World staff has come down with fever (different from what we had though)

And that the team (me especially) stays focused on loving and serving God in the here and now. Our departure date is only an unbelievable, precious 20 days away. I need help keeping my focus here instead of on the friends and family I can't wait to see back home :) Also, we need help knowing how to best invest ourselves in the people here with what little precious time we have left!

Thanks guys, love!

- Jenni