Ok, so it's been a bit of a delay. There wasn't an opportunity to really do anything since the last time. Tia was willing to stay up late to post the other night on the hotel's one dial-up computer, but I don't think anyone else had enough energy left. Probably has a lot to do with no one else having a chai tea addiction.

For the record: Chai Tea in the US is total garbage.

Anyway! Tenkasi is now probably one of my favorite places ever. It reminds me of Colorado Springs with a sub-tropical climate. Mountains, waterfalls, a constant breeze, and about 56 orphans plus an additional 65 Bible College students.

The first thing I noticed was that the "feel" of the place was different from the others. To me, it seemed warmer than the rest, with more of a family feel. This is not to say that the others were not. The others were all great places that worked very hard to be the family those kids don't have.

I think it boiled down to a couple things. The pastor and his wife.

Samgeorge was a very affectionate, "you're here so you're family" kind of guy prone to bad jokes and huge bear hugs. He fed us (oh man, did they feed us...if you visit, eat slowly. He figures a plate that is less than full needs more food on it!), he actually put us to work (100kg bags of rice are heeeeavy) and he introduced us to just about every kid that wandered by. Many of the children would walk up and grab his hand or hide behind him while they peaked around at us. None of the children at his orphanage have anyone to claim them, so he introduced each as his own.

The other thing was his wife, Elizabeth. She is Dr. Thomas' daughter, looks a lot like her mother, and is an amazing woman. She was fantastic, and as I understand it, pretty much runs the place. We learned that she practically raised Veer from 5 to adulthood and it was obvious as you quickly saw where he got many of the traits that we love about him. It would make sense that, having been in this since the beginning, she would be a big piece of the orphanage she runs.

Both of them are extremely solid christians that seem to have no doubt whatsoever in God's support of their work. There was no mention of money, no expression of concern of the future despite growing debts, and they expressed that their ministry had been built on faith in God's goodness and would continue to be. Samgeorge said that he came to Tenkasi with a small vision of 5 or 6 students and a few orphans and God had made something much, much bigger.

The stories here were amazing...I wish we'd had more time to hear them. They got children out of train stations, a couple newborns (one only 3 days old), and even a child left unclaimed at the hospital for 3 months after she was born. We didn't even get a chance to get into the bible school students stories, but you could tell just by looking at their faces that there were all kinds of backgrounds in that group.

It was a great time with more kids, some college age kids, and I honestly think I could spend months there. I didn't get the chance to do more than play with some of the kids, learn a few names, and speak (again), but the place just...clicked with me. I enjoyed my time immensely and didn't want to leave. If I had to pick a place to spend months at, this would most definitely be it.