x (ex), y (why), z (zeh.....?)

To start off this blog entry, I'll explain the caption of this post. Here in India, instead of pronouncing the letter 'z' as /zee/, they pronounce it as /zeh/. The students had no idea what I was saying as I was spelling a word with the letter 'z' in it. Just a fun fact!

During the end of my two week trip, we got a message saying how an outreach team from AECS was taken to prison during their outreach. Long story short, this is what happened: they went to Hassam, which is a village with a very strong Hindu group called the RSS. During one of their nights, as they were singing a song inside a local pastor's home, the village people surrounded the home and invaded the home. They took their cellphones and bibles at first, then started taking away their belongings. They then started to hit the students, but no weapons were involved. This went on for two hours. The police then arrived, and took the students to prison. The village people charged them with the Anti-conversion Law (which says that any religion can be practiced, but may not try to convert others). They were then held in prison for 5-6 days, as the process was delayed over and over. Two pastors from AECS went to Hassam to bail the students out. Although they are currently back at AECS, they will have to go back to Hassam every so often for the court cases. This is only 10% of the process, as the remaining is still yet to come. Please keep the students and this court case in your prayers!

Last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday was the Diwali Festival (I think it might have been longer). During this time, Hindu's celebrate Diwali by lighting fireworks and firecrackers. Their belief for this festival is that if they light the firecrackers, they will scare off all the evil spirits (or that the fireworks would catch the god's attention). During these three nights, especially Thursday, firecrackers would be lit from around 5pm to 3am. On Thursday, it would be nonstop and it seems like every street had fireworks being lit. It almost sounded as if a war was going on!

In one of my fourth standard (grade) English classes, I connected the students with a classroom from back home. I knew the teachers since I was in high school, and am so lucky that they were willing to set up pen pals with our classrooms! We have received their letters last week, and the students are finishing up the letters by the end of this week. The students are really excited for this, and I am too as it is my first experience with having international pen pals!

There is a boy in one of my classes and his name is Nitish. One day during tea time (break), we were talking and we both noticed that each other had white hairs. Then he pointed out the mole on my left arm as we showed me the mole on his arm. He was sharing how kids tease him all the time and that he would beat some of his friends for doing so. I then shared how I was always teased, too, when I was little about my white hairs. He then went around telling the whole class how I had white hairs and a mole on my arm just like he did. I was glad that we were able to relate this way allowing him to show off his white hairs for once! Last week, Nitish came up to me again during tea time. He asked if I lived in Los Angeles, and I told him I did. He then shared with me how he was watching Discovery Channel and how he watched a show about a factory (I think it was a factory that made chips). Again, he went around the whole class telling his classmates how I am from the same city as this one factory that aired on Discovery Channel. Moments like these bring a smile to my face (and my heart)! :)

Eating samgyupsal for brother Purna's birthday!

Chicken kebab at Empire Chicken!

I was craving korean food so I went to a korean restaurant and ate some kimchijigae!

A view of the firework madness on the roof

These were two guests who visited here for about two days. Naomi stayed here from 2006-2008 and John came with a mission team during 2007 for two weeks. They are currently on their honeymoon, traveling across Asia, Europe, and America.

As their last meal, we had chicken curry (one of my favorite India dishes) with pastor Yohan and his family.

I introduce you Nitish!