Kodaikanal in Pictures

Ingrid and I said goodbye to Kodaikanal this morning. Now in back on the plains in Oddanchatram, I can at last access a reasonably speedy source of internet. Rather than trying to describe all of our experiences in the mountains, I thought I'd upload a bunch of pictures. Because, you know, a picture's worth a thousand words.

First, the Bethel Boys Home, where I've been living for the past ten days. This little red cottage is home to 35 boys gathered slums in from Kodaikanal and the surrounding tribal villages. The caretaker of Bethel Home is named Ruby, and her house fits her name perfectly!

And here are some pictures of the Bethel boys:

And now for some pictures from the girls of Shalom Home. Shalom Home serves 35 crazy girls between the ages of 8 and 16, and they were not camera-shy!

Ingrid gives the girls a keyboard demonstration.

Incidentally, everyone was so impressed with Ingrid's keyboard skills that they asked her to play hymns in church on Sunday while I sang along... solo. It was what it was.

And now for some pictures of the Bethania creches. Bethania's five Kodaikanal creches provide care and a preschool education for the toddlers of impoverished dalits living in the Kodai area. By taking care of their kids, Bethania enables the impoverished mothers to work and earn bread for their families. The children also learn a little English, memorize Bible verses and songs, get fed a healthy lunch and become introduced to the love of Christ. Here they are singing Father Abraham:

Yeah, these kids are adorable. This little gremlin's name is Abishek, and he likes making faces.

Abishek says, "HELLOOOOO?"

And now for some images of the beautiful Kodai countryside, and its wildlife. Here's a picture of the hills above the village of Mannavanur.

This view always reminds me of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia (near and dear to my heart). Since this seems to me to be a little piece of Virginia in India, I call this place Virgindia.

Kodai is also known for its wild bison, which are enormous, ill-tempered, and responsible for dozens of deaths each year. This one appeared in someone's backyard.

I'm sorry that the photo's so poor, but I wasn't going to get close. If you want to imagine this monster to scale, compare him with the shed he's standing next to in the picture (the door is probably a little less than six feet high). If my dad had been here, he would've tried throwing rocks at the bison to lure it out of the bush. So unwise...

We also visited the Kodai museum, where we encountered a creature thought only to exist in legend. Behold: the Forest Eagl-Owl. Neither eagle nor owl.

Don't make him your enemy. The moment he lays eyes upon you, it's over. Seriously. Beware the eyes.

We have so many more pictures of and so many stories from our friends in Kodai, but I simply don't have the time to share them with you right now. I need to get some sleep! I'm getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to go on a walk with our host in Oddanchatram, Dr. John. John is like a modern-day apostle, filled with the wisdom and fear of the Lord. It will be an honor and a blessing for Ingrid and me to be present with him in his home for the next two days, soaking up his wisdom and learning from his example. This will be a kind of spiritual retreat for us before we return to Rajahmundry on the 7th.

Only ten days left until we fly home! I can't believe our time in India is already drawing to a close! God bless you all, and we hope to see many of you soon!

Max