Picture Summary of Easter, Sponsor Visit, and Bandha Day

Hello Friends! I am so sorry that I have not been blogging the last week. There was so much going on here during and after work. I am translating a 300-pages book from German into English for Plan and it is quite complicated. But I should be done today. However, I do not want to bother you too much with writing this time: I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

EASTER:

I missed Holy Thursday Mass due to work but I requested Holiday for Good Friday.

Our "Marathon" started at 12 o clock with a showing  of "Passion of Christ".

As you can see the movie was a horrible download. In Italian, at times with some bad English subtitles.

 I did not like the four years olds watching the brutal slaughtering scenes of Jesus so I tried to distract them or cover their eyes. In the end they well asleep on my lap :)









The day was continued by a Way of the Cross. Many people had come and we walked through 14 stages, kneeling, praying, singing, (tiring!) The sun was shining bright and we had not ate lunch.

Church was full during the Good Friday Mass. It was over 2 hours long with 3 lectures...

On Easter Saturday we walked to Church around 6PM. Everyone had put on their "Prettiest" dresses. :) I just love how the kids are dressed here.

Everyone was excited and we started with an Easter Fire.

They had put lots of beautiful flowers everywhere and during communion they brought goods to be blessed. The colors made it look like an artistic picture!

Two of our children, Sangita and Rubina, also got baptized. They chose Agnes and Kathrin as their Saint Names. Whoever they had left of their family was also there and the fathers made it pretty festive.

An Easter Fire, six lectures, 50 Saints, a Communion, and four Baptisms later (over 3 hours) the church was full of little children sleeping criss-crossed inbeween the pillows. Kushi was one of them and she held on so tight to me that she slept all the way back home :)

GERMAN SPONSORS VISIT:

On Easter Monday, a group of 15 Germans came to visit the Kinderhouse.  

They looked around the "palace" to see how the children are eating, sleeping, studying and playing...

Afterwards the children performed their program and everything went great!

The kids got some make-up put on and the younger ones received a rose and the older ones a scarf. And each guests was then welcomed seperatley. Unfortunately it started raining badly (and I mean BADLY! It was so loud inside the house, we were not able to hear each other...)

While the guests were looking around the house then, the children got ready. There was such a huzzling, and pushing, and shouting in the room it was crazy.

 But in the end they looked positively cute! I could not stop taking pictures :)

 They performed a long program including dances, songs, and speeches. I tried to upload some of my movies but they are all too long! :(

After the program the chilren received prices according to their performance during the last school year. These four had been the best students. And three of them (with 85% or higher) were taken to Chitwan National Park for three days!!!! You can not imagine their joy! However when they got back yesterday, I tried to talk to them about it but they were in a strange mood.... Not sure why that was but maybe because the others had not gone and they were hesitant to talk about it in front of them.

Those were the second best students. (Doesn't Heera (the one on the left) look like Yasmin from Aladdin???)
No matter what their performance, all kids received prices and candy!

And they especially enjoyed their lollipops. The child on the right is one from the HIV - Care Hostel. Some of those kids had also participated in the program.

Afterwards, everyone was invited to join for dinner. They had ordered some (very tasty) catering! Everything was made freshly in the kitchen and they even had some salad!!!

We sat down in a big circle and ate. It felt good! I miss those dinners. It is always very formal and strange with the sisters, and often I eat alone here because they are too busy to join or on their phones...

I finished the day with around one hour of lifting, throwing, carrying, and dragging the little children around. Everyone wanted to have her turn...

Before going to bed I made my round through every bedroom, sat on the bed edges and talked to the children.

I found it to be so rewarding (it makes me sad too) but I have continued it since that night. Every evening now, when the kids are going to bed (without brushing their teeth or changing their clothes), I walk through the rooms to tell them stories, give them hugs and tell them good night!

BANDHA - STRIKE DAY!
Wednesday we had a nation wide strike... of what you ask? Well of everything! No cars, busses, trucks, or bikes allowed to move, and people are recommended to stay inside. With the day of the new constitution drawing closer the political situation is getting more and more heated over here. I was not able to go to work obviously, but I used my day wisely for a long walk.

I took a walk through the Botanical Garden. I had been there once before but it is always a good destination. It is the only really green and quite place. One could even hear the birds chirping!

We also saw "Bathing day"! Isn't he cute :)

On the way we met two Guests from England. They saw me in my shorts and running shirt and recruited me on the spot :)

They have been sponsors of the Godavari St. Xavier's School (to which also five of our girls are going) for over 50 years now!! And it was their final day of the visit. They were planning to conduct some Olympic Games :) You can see the opening ceremony on the left!

 We played Soccer, Basketball, and had relay races. England one the soccer, Nepal the basketball (those catholic fathers are really competitive :)) We lost the relay because one of the kids fell down ...

 But under my conitnuous shouting and cheering we won the tug-a-war 2:1! So it was a draw in the end.

 Oh by the way, this is how the children are sleeping in the hostel next to the school. Remember when I said I am living in a palace here?

 The sponsors handed out presents and toys and "Sweeties". Even the girls from the Kinderhouse got some candy because they had been good spectators.

 After 5 hours or something we walked home!

 And because I had spent half the day with the older children, I spent the other half with the smaller ones.
Here you can see them drawing with the chalk they received from my mother for Easter! They loved it!
However they do love flying around in the air even more... I always have at least four pairs of hands somewhere on my body as soon as I start lifting up one of the girls.

I guess the sisters are very strict with the crayons here because the children were almost scared to draw something. I told them that the rain will wash it away but everytime they had finished one painting they immediately erased it with their shoes... We'll work on that :D




Okay, enough for today. I thought it would be faster with the pictures.. however the formatting is carzy so it actually took me a lot longer :D I have to get back to my book and finish it!
I miss you! Take Care!
Annika