We the People

So it was the 4^th of July recently, and we Americans (and 2 Canadians) had to still celebrate this wonderful holiday! So needless to say, it was a blast. This holiday couldn’t be contained in the house, so we took it to the roof! Our female leaders (thanks Naomi and Allie) spent almost the entire day cooking, cleaning and decorating the roof.

Since it was the 4^th of July, we had to dress up…. and turn it into competition. Everyone on the team could compete for the title of Most Patriotic American in India 2008. This started off harmless enough. Maybe throw on some red, white and blue clothes and sing the “National Anthem” real loudly. Then maybe paint my entire body as the American flag. But we both know neither of those happened, and I did something much more outrageous… and stupid.

I wanted to win the competition, and the man that was going to take me there was Benjamin Franklin. Our head leader, Matt, had an incredible idea of how to dress up like Mr. Franklin but he just needed someone who had the patriotism to do it! I was hooked. So ole Ben is known for a few things. Wore glasses, a little overweight, wore tights… check, check, check. And he was bald on the top of his head, not check… (yet). Well as you know, I have a good amount of hair on my head, so in order to truly look like one of our great founding father I had to shave the top my head. So after putting up a small fight, I let the mastermind of this whole idea “bic” my head.

With everyone else definitely doing their part to celebrate the occasion, including Steven’s awesome display of Lady Liberty, it made it a good night to celebrate. Along with everyone’s patriotic wear, we had some great “American” food like grilled cheese, chips and salsa, deviled eggs, and sodas! The coolest part of the night was when Caleb, a SALT member living in Delhi, performed an awesome show with something he called “fire-chains”. And just to let you know, at the end of night, we took a vote and all the fellow SALT members granted me the prestigious title of MPAI 2008 and the recipient of a chocolate ice cream cone from the local Mother Dairy store.

In addition to that great night, things have been going really well here, even with the day-to-day struggles.   We only have a few weeks left here, which makes it kind of sad to think I won’t be seeing these orphans and lepers much longer. But I’m really excited to come back home, spend time with the family and friends I have been missing, eat some American food… yes!, and share some good stories about this place and how God has been working through me. Thanks for reading guys!