INDIA!!

I think all of you who actually read and follow this blog know that I am in India with my dear friend Jan. We landed in Mumbai on January 19th and have been traveling around and enjoying all that India has to offer. I'm not going to go into all the details on this blog entry, but a few of you have been asking to see more pictures, so I wanted to post some of those.

We spent the first week in Bandra, a neighborhood of Mumbai, working at St. Catherine's orphanage. We went as a part of Sunshine Kids International to serve them, as they continue to support St. Catherine's through sponsorship. At first, being around the kids was a bit overwhelming. There are over 200 kids at St. Catherine's and when these two light skinned girls came into the courtyard where the kids were playing, they would all run up to us, yelling "Deedee" and grabbing at our hands. But after a few days with the kids, and getting to be around them and talk to them and play with them, Jan and I developed a quick bond with a lot of them, and were so moved by their stories and personalities. For me, I was so surprised by the amount of hope and joy all of the kids have, in spite of coming out of some really bad situations. It was easy to see, even after spending only a few days there, the staff at St. Catherine's is really doing something incredible with these kids. I could go on and on, but I will wait till we get home to tell more stories. Here are some of the pics of some of the precious kids and from our time in Mumbai.





We LOVED watching their dance classes!






View from our balcony at night at the orphanage. We could see the city of Mumbai.

Went into the city 2 days and got to see the Taj Mahal hotel and life in the city.



After Mumbai, we traveled onto Goa, a beach town on the western coast of India. We spent 3 days in Goa, exploring the town and hanging out near the beach (it was HOT and we did not pack appropriate beach gear, so we stayed in the shade). Here's a few pics of Goa.


Cows are everywhere here in India. EVERYWHERE!



We just arrived in Varanasi last night, so no pictures from here yet. We'll be here the next 4 and 1/2 days and then onto New Delhi for our last 2 days in India, then to Paris for 3 days, then back to the states! I may try to post a few more pics this week if I can, otherwise, there will be a lot posted when I return! Hope you enjoyed this brief update. We've had an incredible time here so far and can't wait to share more stories and pictures.