IREF update 6
Liz Callander
Dear All
It’s Wednesday night as I write this and hard to believe Thursday is our last day in Repalle.
Life here is so unpredictable at every level that sometimes we from the west find it so hard to take on board. It’s often frustrating but at the end of the day we just have to accept today was one of those days.
It started off well enough with:
7.45 prayers
8.00 breakfast
9.00 Devotions either at nursing school or junior school – for me it was nursing school, with two of the final year students reading bible and praying both in English and Telegu.
The students have been such an asset to have around,soaking up the experience we were able to give them in assessment, physical examination, doing dressings, helping with pharmacy as well as with the dental team. Some also acted as translators for us that meant teachers weren’t being pulled from classes and we had the added advantage of people with clinical awareness and understanding.
After devotions a few of us spoke to the nursing students both about their course, future experience and christian life.
We were then shown around the college and while they had some useful equipment and supplies, I was really impressed at their resourcefulness and initiative in making aids to help studies.
10.30 We were off to a ground breaking cermony for a new Child Development Centre at Pesarlanka. CDCs, as they are known, have been a development over the last 10 years. Sited in a village, often either in or close to a church, the children stay at home, attend their local school and after school go to the CDC where they are given a meal, have help with their homework and hear about the bible.
A number of CDCs have been established over the years with many of the children sponsored or donations supporting running costs.
It was a blazing hot day and we knew about it standing in the field dedicating and breaking the ground for the building.
From there it was off to revisit a couple of churches in the nearby vicinity and that meant speeches, readings and prayers, as well as many photos and the offer of a lunch we couldn’t eat, before heading back via another two churches to Repalle.
14.30 lunch – I won’t tell you how pleased we were to be back!!!!
15.00 saw us clearing up the clinic, cleaning instuments, going through drugs and supplies that could either be used in the infirmary, by the nursjng college, given out to adults by Dee over the coming weeks or packed up for our use in 2 years time.
17.30 and we were finished in the clinic just in time to get back on the bus to go to Pedalanka church for a re-dedication of their larger church which had just been rebuilt. It’s so encouraging to see how God is moving in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Driving on through the banana plantations we headed for Nalluripallum to open a new church there. There are two churches in the village; one for higher caste and the other for lower caste Indians. Perhaps one thing that is hard for us to understand.
19.00 By now hoping we were heading back it was onto the CDC passing the other church enroute. Nalluripalem CDC has over 100 children daily and along with a number of others there was well over 200 people around for our visit. Following prayer this time we did head back to Repalle for a late dinner of barbecued chicken and wonder of wonders, corn on the cob….mmmm!!!
21.00 and at last we really have time to chill and relax or maybe start packing or speak to the kids, get henna tatoos on hand or start to dream of the journey home or maybe not.
Please pray for the ongoing work of IREF, especially following the crusades last week that God will continue to work His purpose out.
Pray for ongoing links between the IREF Boards in USA / UK and India and will strengthen in days to come.
Praise God for improving health for Dee who joined us for the first time in 5 days and other team members.
Best wishes
Liz