Julia, Grace and Isabel, I thought of you all day long.  You would have loved the babies and toddlers we were with.  Unfortunately, we made them cry.  I don’t think any of the babies had ever seen a white person, so we probably looked like ghosts.  One child screamed when Keely came close to take a picture.

Today we drove 2 hours out of town to a remote village.  We actually had to ditch the bus and take these little rickshaws (motorcycle carts that carry 4 people) into this village (the video of our ride will be posted on Keely’s blog soon).  We drove on a path that would fit about a half of a car. It was very bumpy and I felt like I was on safari.

Ok, I had to ask about the snakes.  Sorry Stephen, it just popped out.  Indeed they have lots of snakes.  I asked what kind and sure enough, the cobra kind.  I kept a look out for the snakes but luckily I never came across one.

The project we visited was amazing.  They not only have a child sponsorship program, but they have a Compassion child survival  program.  In this particular village the infant mortality rate is 40%.  That means 4 out of every 10 babies die.  Some of the mothers are as young as 15 and most pregnant moms in this area don’t know how to care for themselves while they are pregnant.  Compassion teaches the mothers how to care for themselves through pregnancy (Compassion provides meals and medical) and then they provide support for caring for the baby.  Its stuff we take for granted like using clean water, immunizations, nutrition and medical care.  The mothers also learn skills in sewing and embroidery.   I was excited to see how Compassion is empowering women in this community.  Most of these young women eat the leftovers in their homes because they have not been valued.  Compassion helps them understand their value.

At one point, I had to laugh today.  All the little snickerdoodles got tired and fell asleep so there were bodies everywhere.

Nothing looks sweeter than a  baby sleeping.

Pete didn’t look as sweet as the babies but he crashed too. Unfortunately, he has been having an adventure with his bowel system.  Oh, the fun of travel.

We went to a couple of homes to visit with some of the mothers and babies.  We walked about 15 minutes through the village on a small path to get to the homes.  Wow….  It felt so remote as we walked through this jungle area.  I watched for snakes.  Stephen, you would have been proud because I kept my snake thoughts to myself since I was the leader.

We saw lots of skin. More than I expected.  Some of the older women let things hang out a bit more than I am use to.   Apparently shirts are not required for men in the village, and the older men wear only a wrap around their waste.  Lets just say I saw parts I was not accustomed to seeing.

I sweat 10 pounds off today.  The heat index said 115 degrees.

Julia, Grace and Isabel, give your dad a hug for me.  I love you all so much and miss you.  I am thankful you let me come to India, but I miss your hugs and kisses.  Today made me miss you so much because of the experience.  You would have loved it.  You would have loved those babies.  It’s a day I will not forget.