Saturday, January 25, 2020

No Bag Saturday...

Marshall School is open 6 days a week; morning assembly begins at 8:30, then classes let out at 4:30...with a schedule like that I'm sure you can understand why the kids love "No Bag Saturdays"! And what exactly does that mean??  On those designated days, the children leave their backpacks at home and enjoy doing things outside of the regular scheduled classes! On this particular day, our travelers planned to share their love of art with the students. But before I say anymore
about that, let me back up for a moment.  Sophia works at ArtCycle in West Bend, over the past several months they raised money, by selling their catnip toys, and gave it to her so she could buy art supplies for the children at the school. She picked up a few things prior to leaving, but then had the opportunity to shop while she was here with the rest of the money.


Now, jumping back to today...the school was divided in half; Sophie had the younger kids, her helpers were Al, Emma, and Olivia. The plan was to teach them how to Zentangle, then let them use
the new water colors to paint their pictures. 












We were absolutely amazed with the creativity in their designs; isn't it incredible what can be done when you  are allowed to think outside the lines!!

Joan led the older kids in the art of Origami with special papers and instructions from home. Her helpers were Big Bob, Jan, and Kaitlin. Joan did an outstanding job explaining the techniques, and the kids had a fabulous time learning this new skill!!







Both projects required great patience, the Origami because of the meticulous folding patterns, and the Zentangle because of waiting for your turn to paint. But the children were great and excited to learn these new forms of art. 

Now you're probably wondering about the rest of us; well, Jo was taking pictures of everything and Jordan got to spend time with Rajini preparing lunch. 





So many creative things came out of "No Bag Saturday"!!

But wait, there's more!! The day is only half over!!
In the afternoon we attended the Graduation Celebration for 31 women who completed the Cutting and Tailoring course, 6 women who mastered basic computer training, and 9 men who had been training in the Mobile Bible Study. What a joy and honor it was to be able to present certificates to this dedicated group of individuals!! In addition to their completion paper, each person received a hand knit washcloth (thank you again Oma and Carolyn),  and a bar of soap. The C&T students also received a sewing scissors and measuring tape.












Cutting and Tailoring Teachers
House Pastors

In the evening we had the chance to worship at one of the small house churches. Once again we were humbled by the outpouring of love we received as we walked through a very impoverished village, as well as in the church.









We pray the Holy Spirit will continue to work in and through us on this trip as we discover what Joyful Journeys is doing for the people of Madhavapatnam, and how it is impacting each one of us as individuals. 

Namaste'
~Jenny