Thursday: Tirupathi, twice in a day!

Today I decided to sleep in to 6am. Really. I usually wake around 4-430am. So, after some study--I gave the devotion for morning meditations (for the staff at DLRH). Hopefully, I showed how grace is different than mercy, and about the difference between Christianity and the Islamic and Hindu views of salvation. We are all pretty much in agreement with how a human should behave... we are a little different on the depth of depravity we see... and we are different in the prescriptions to fix the fallen world. It was my last time to speak to the staff in the mornings.

We spend the middle part of today (10am - 4pm) in Tirupathi. Shopping and various stops, the real reason that we stopped was to meet the president of the agri-college, and to meet the local chief in charge of all the rural agri-business in the area (the southern 3 districts -- Chittoor, Nellore and Kadapa). It was good to meet both men. And considering the 'positions' they both hold, they were very gracious to give us the time of day and more.

After several other stops we finally showed up back home tired and ready for a late late late lunch.

Tonight we went to Bhushanam's house (another trip into the city!) to have dinner with him and his family. His son will not be returning till Saturday (but we already have birthday plans for... mmm.. me!). Bhushanam is always smiling, always. So it is always good to be around him for a while. Tommorrow is the last time I will see the LINK team... that will be sad. We have not even addressed the needs of the LINK team now and future and the plans that they have. And this is the most disapointing part... This will be a need next time we visit... or if I come alone during the winter this next year.

Of course, I forgot to get a picture with everyone! Even after telling Kathryn to bring the camera. Ya... all of this 'documenting' each hour of our life is new... give us a break will ya?

RAIN!!! RAIN!!! RAIN!!! Thanks for all of your prayers... after 4 weeks we finally got another rain. Actually the last one was only about 10-20 minutes of rain in late April. This was the full measure and heaping over. Lighting, Thunder, huge drops, downpours for 1 hour, soaked up by a thirsty thirsty thirsty earth. Kathryn and I will be sleep out under the front roof tonight! It is so nice an cool now.. 75-80 degrees.

I am reminded now everyday that we are getting closer to saying good-bye to all of our 'extended family' of the DLRH. And it is kinda sad. I guess I can look forward to seeing our little doggie-dog back home (Claire-bear).

(I am sure she is enjoying Illinois with "Cocoa" the weiner-dog)

Prayers: Largest thing now is to have a Q3 and Q4 plan for the next 6 months after we return to begin a large transformation of our U.S. operations, board and begin the process of moving Emrys and Usha out of ministry as Administrators of DLRH and begin the task of finding a missionary family that would love to work with the least reached, least helped, least remembered of India... cause we are on their doorstep here!

Praises: After spending the day in Tirupathi (city of 500-700K people and over 150K visitors a day) I am glad to live 6 kilometers north of a village of 10,000 people today! The quiet is good for the soul I think, and also for the patients to heal faster.

Thanks for stopping.