Day 2 - Our Arrival in India

Day 2 - Our Arrival in India 

I am so happy to be back in India!  After 30+  hours of traveling it was so good to arrive.  We were met by our man on the ground here ("A") and our favorite security guard/driver/translator/question answerer Shafiq.  It is always so nice to see a familiar face.

The traveling was quite uneventful (other than the luggage weight fiasco....sigh).  We arrived in India about 2 hours behind schedule.  Sadly 3 of our 22 pieces of luggage were lost.  2 of them were supply suitcases and 1 was Lauren's suitcase.  We are praying they show up soon!  The airline said they would deliver them to the BMS as soon as they are located.

We spent about an hour or so unpacking at the BMS (Baptist Missionary Society) house and then we headed out to meet our translators.  There was a huge celebration in all of the streets to celebrate the birthday Mohammad (the founder of Islam).  Since traffic was so bad Shafiq decided it would be better for us to walk to New Market to meet the translators.  It was quite a hike and we were so exhausted from our long travels but we were running on adrenaline.  We normally start our trip off by working right off the bat but this year our schedule arranged itself with a bit of shopping.  First we met the translators for lunch at our favorite restaurant....KFC.  Whatever you think about American KFC you should be VERY jealous.  India KFC is SO much better.  It is crispier and spicier.  YUM! 

After lunch we broke into groups with 2 - 3 team members with each translator to shop.  We only had 2 hours so we raced through the market enjoying picking up bargains.  I bought some gifts and some stuff for myself.  You can never have enough poofy pants, RIGHT?!?

After 2 hours of shopping we met back at KFC and then headed out to find auto rickshaws for the 11 members, 4 translators, and Shafiq.  Our translators for the day were Anita, Deborah, Sneha, and Julie.  I had met all of them except for Julie before.  We shopped with Anita and let me tell you that woman is a GREAT bargain shopper. She knew what was a good deal, when to walk away, and when to BUY!  Love that woman!

The auto rickshaws were fun but we were all just ready to get back to the BMS and go to bed.  We were so exhausted.  Like "everything is funny" exhausted.  Every night before we go to bed we meet as a team to repack the suitcase with the next day's activity supply.  Tomorrow we are spending the morning at Shova Bazar tour and then the afternoon with Destiny Foundation.

Please pray that the 3 missing suitcases arrive soon!