Dear Friends,

God is good and worthy to be praised!

We were blessed with getting to go to the orphanage and pick up Nikita.  She had a very hard time with the idea of leaving her primary caregiver, Sister Parmela.  Sister Parmela handled the situation very well and was very good with Nikita.  Then we were further blessed to get to go to the orphanage where all the children are and to play with them and give them gifts.   There, we got to meet and talk with all their caregivers and nuns.  All the children came running out to us and we played with the parachute we had brought and with balloons and balls, etc.  The children seemed so joyful and so loving.  As far as the orphanage is concerned, to say that the conditions were modest would be a huge understatement.  We will share some pictures, later, but the sleeping arrangements and bathroom and laundry situations were very basic and primitive, but were kept clean and orderly.  We were glad to have the privilege of taking Nikita away from those living conditions.  Even so, Nikita had a very hard time leaving the orphanage and her friends and caregivers behind as we left.  Sister Parmela had told us that Nikita has a very strong personality and a natural leader and that she was the leader of the orphan children.  They were very loving toward her and she had a great time laughing and jumping with the other children when they were all playing. 

            After we arrived back at the hotel and it was just our family with our new addition, Nikita was very resistant to us.  She would not eat or drink on the first day at all.  On the second day, we had an appointment to meet with our Compassion International Child, Ashwini (age 11) and her father with their pastor and a translator who came from a small village north of trichy.  The eight of us traveled to see a temple, St. Joseph’s cathedral in Trichy (circa 100AD) and an ‘amusement park.’  The temple doormen insisted that we remove our shoes to enter and we decided that rather than show deference to the temple gods, we did not want to take our shoes off and go in.  After we left there, we went to an amusement park in a village some 18 km away.  This was not much of an amusement park.  With all the drought they have suffered here for the last 2 years, there was no water around and almost none of the kiddie rides that they had were running.  That was probably for the best since they were all rusted out and not in good working order.  Safety concerns would have prevented us from letting the children on the rides.  Ashwini, David Jr., Dave and Jonathan did have fun on the swing-sets, slides and teeter-totters that were there, despite their desperate condition.  We also got ice cream from a bicycle vendor for everyone (except the Americans) to enjoy on such a hot day.  After playing with the wild monkeys and climbing on some unique jungle gym equipment, we decided to go back to the hotel for some lunch before an afternoon of shopping at the Femina Mall (Trichy’s best.) 

            Back at the hotel, we all crowded around a big table for some Southern Indian cuisine.  (We’ve eaten all our meals at the hotel restaurants.)  Then it was off to the mall for some shopping!  Ashwini and her father, Loganathan, had never been to a shopping mall before, and it was not much of a mall, but it is the best that Trichy has to offer.  In the clothing store, Ashwini showed a natural skill for shopping.  Rebecca, the translator was again a great help as we shopped and bargained for several hours.  It was so much fun to get to enjoy the experience through Ashwini’s eyes and to feel her joy and excitement as we shopped for Sari’s, shoes and jewelry.  She was very reserved, but you could tell how excited she was!  She even picked out a sari for Susan and her mom.  What a great day!  We really didn’t want it to end. 

Nikita did very well, as long as she was being held by one of the Indian men, either Mr. Loganathan, Pastor John or the driver Monivel.  When Susan took her back, she screamed and was inconsolable.  This is where we need the most prayer.  Nikita doesn’t seem to be at all interested in bonding with her new family of pale skinned people.  She seeks out Indians and prefers them to her new family.   While this is difficult, it is completely understandable and as the sun rose on our third day together, there was only her new family around for the first time. 

We have now marked the beginning of our third day with Nikita, and she seems to be softening again to Susan.  Nikita has been suffering with a stomach-ache since we got her, and she hasn’t moved her bowels since we got her.  This is allowing Susan to console her for her tummy ache and that has provided an avenue for some degree of bonding.   Dave and the boys took a taxi to SOC SEAD to meet with Sr. Kamalam one last time to pick up some items and a birth certificate, and we agreed that leaving Nikita and Susan home was the best option.  The boys also stopped at the Femina mall to get Nikita some food that the Sister Parmela had recommended.

More later…