It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Today started off with gathering as many of the 450 students, from the Marshall School, that would fit in the front of the building for a photo; it was absolutely amazing how efficient the process was!! Not only are the children incredibly cooperative, which of course makes things that much easier, but the teachers and helpers just seem to work together like a well oiled machine.

The 2020 travelers and the Valluri family

We spent the remainder of the morning trying to wrap up handing out cards and such to the students who we didn't get to yesterday.  It was fun because today's groups were the older classes so they remembered some of us from last time we were here.

The afternoon was set aside for touring the area and seeing where many of our students live.  Although most reside in Madhavapatnam, there is a fair amount that travel from neighboring villages just to attend our school. One area in specific was a community set apart because of the lower cast families who live there.  The last time we visited this place most of the people lived in palm frawn huts; I also remember it being one of the cleanest areas at that point because the folks living there didn't have the means to purchase items that came in packaging and simply lived off the land. Nine years later we found that the majority now lived in homes built with money the government had paid them when they bought out their farm fields to construct a new road. Now there was also more waste laying around too. I guess in a twisted way this means progress.  

This boy is a student at our school; he hasn't been able to attend because of a broken foot. He requested a blessing from us for healing, and was grateful for the prayer.

 Life is certainly not easy for the beautiful women of this area, and yet they proudly greeted us with smiles and kindness. The woman below is 60 years old; she is standing by our eldest travel companion Jan, who is 74.

We arrived back at the school just in time to see our new bus loaded up with students to take home; what an absolute blessing this recent gift was as they can now make one big loop dropping off students instead of coming back and forth to pick up another load.

At this point we had the opportunity to walk around the neighborhood where the school and hostel are located. We were greeted with great enthusiasm, in an almost bizarre way, as we walked up and down the streets. What started with just our group, quickly turned into a parade of children and adults alike; some wanting to shake our hands while others requested to have their pictures taken with us...all wanting to simply follow us.  It's definitely a hard concept to wrestle with as we consider why so much attention is given to us.

Joan is in good hands with Manjula's sister Santhi

Dung patty for starting fires

 

This nomad and his beast entertained us in front of the hostile. He actually had trained the cow to shake and bow down to offer a namaste' greeting. 

 

We ended out night by spending time getting to know the children in the hostel better; what a delightful group of Shine Brites!

Our group sure had fun interacting with the kids to the Barnyard Dance!

With a baa and a moo and a cock-a-doodle doo

everybody promenade two by two!

The next generation of Joyful Journeys leaders...

May God work in and through us to help us discern our call here 

both in the ministry itself  and the community it serves.

Namaste'

~Jenny

It started out with a feeling, which then grew into a hope...

Today was another jam packed day, that started out with overwhelming emotion.  You see, for my family, this journey started 15 years ago and although our involvement looks different than it did when my gals were all knitting scarves to raise money to buy sewing machines for impoverished women in India, our love and commitment is still strong. That being said, this morning we dedicated the new Landowgals Vocational Training Center, the building that we laid the cornerstone for (which has my families 6 thumb prints in), during our last visit in 2017.  I was moved to tears at the thought of how far this ministry has come and how many women's lives have changed because of it...including my 4 "little women", which is why today was so bitter sweet. Of course we have missed not having my Olivia with us this time around, but not having her presence here today for this celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony was heart wrenching for me. I couldn't be prouder of each of my daughters for who they are and what they are doing with their lives, and I wish for them the same that I wish for all the women coming through our program...to learn a skill that will allow them to be self sufficient, to live their lives with dignity, and to simply be all they can be!! So to my firefighter/paramedic back home, who is doing exactly that, know you were with us in spirit today as we blessed this building and all who will benefit from it's services!! I love you! 😢💚💚💚🙇

The following are photos from the event which included dedicating the sewing and computer rooms at the Cutting & Tailoring Center and Technology Institute, as well as the newly moved Water Filtration Plant that is also a part of this building now.

 

             

Next on our "to do" list was to hand out greetings, washcloths, soap, and a sweet treat to all the students... What a great chance to meet each child individually.  For some it was seeing how they've grown since our last visit, for others to share a hug from their sponsor, and then to see all the new smiles that are currently enrolled at the Marshall School. Crazy, but heartwarming! 

 This ministry wouldn't be what it is without the incredible generosity of all the people who support a child's education through our sponsorship program; below is a special wall designated to many of those individuals!!

Our afternoon was exceptionally special because the students put on a fashion show for us! Typically the kids wear uniforms to school, but today they were encouraged to wear their traditional outfits for the program. Mercy, what energy filled the hall that we gathered in as the music blared and the children all strut their stuff! Mind you, there are 450 kids in the school; here are just a few of them.

 

Karishma explained what some of the older girls were wearing and what region their outfits originated in.

Just as they were wrapping things up, some of us travelers joined in the show!

 

And before you know it, there was a dance party going on!

 Take it away Jordan!! 😂

 

The dancing continued outside as we joined in a traditional stick dance...

Now, as if any one of these activities wasn't enough for one day, how about adding a water fight in with all the hostel children...

I think we'll all sleep well tonight...once we get there! 🙏😀💃💦😴

Namaste'

~Jenny