TheIndianPrincess.: Updates! (Sorry its so long!)

I thought about my blog today and realized it had been months since I had made an entry and that considering since I've moved here my English has gotten worse, I should probably get back into writing.

A lot has happened in the past few months and Im going to try and keep it short but I never am able to so I apologize in advance. Here's a recap:

June: I don't remember much of this month except that it was summer school still.. And I got braces mid-month. Which are NO FUN. I played on my church's worship team for what would be the first of many times (: Love my violin and love those people.

July: Fast forward to July. It was the 23rd and I was sick, AGAIN. I was puking and had a fever. I have never had so many stomach problems in my entire life as I have since we've moved here. It was pretty bad, mom had to stay home with me. After what felt like a lifetime of being sick but in reality was only 2 days we made our way out the door and down to the doctor. I wasn't very happy about this considering I don't like the doctor in America, so OBVIOUSLY I really don't like the doctor in India. Sitting in traffic on the way there I told my mom I was going to be better for this weekend, since we had made plans to go to Bangalore and have our first in India but not Chennai-vacation. She agreed I needed to get better but then said it wasn't for our trip to Bangalore but for our trip home. Then she told me the news I don't think I would ever be ready to hear, Granny passed away. My heart sunk. I cried. I didn't speak. It was an awful day. Soon after, we got cleared that I could fly from the doctor and we were on our plane home. I was so thankful to see family and friends, I needed it. So much. I was thankful for the time given.

August: Soon after that chaos, August rolled around, school continued and my mother went back to the US for a week without me. Aunt Helen passed away. Too many deaths. And too unexpected. I stayed with Cherie & Paula throughout that time and am so lucky they were there! Sheralyn kept me on the weekends, even though that wasn't much news considering I spend quite a bit of time with that family. I love them to death.

September: This is the month where I decided to get back into the habit of reading. Which I am SO glad I did.

School got complicated this month, my schedule was finalized and my graduation plans were being questioned, here comes the stress. My wonderful mother has been to the school many times since that point in September and now and Im so thankful to have someone to stick up for me. The first weekend of September was much needed, our church hosted a family camp- "Friendships for Life". My mother wrote : "This was the first church retreat I have been on since I was a teenager, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. And I came right after work and was on “night schedule” because it was the weekend right after I got back from the second trip to the US, so I didn’t want to miss more work. Needless to say, I was zombified most of Saturday. But Sunday I was awake and really enjoyed the experience. I was blessed to meet some amazing people, including a fabulously inspiring missionary who is currently living in Istanbul, Turkey and sharing the Word and Christ’s love. She has been a missionary in Asia for 25 years and she speaks Russian and some Chinese dialect. AMAZING! It was a nice time. But the best part was seeing my kiddo, who was a leader for the kids’ church. She wrote the lessons, assigned helpers based on age groups and languages (did I mention we had Nepali, Tamil, Hindi AND English speakers there??), prayed over, played with and taught all these different cultures. She texted me Friday night telling me she was having a hard time due to language barriers, but she survived and even stayed up late at the group bonfire to do some dancing with the Nepali crew. Saturday she was among a group of adults who took the kids to the nearby amusement park during the heat of the day, joined as a spectator as we watched 12 people give their lives to Christ through baptism, and enjoyed the bonfire and dancing again (while I slept!). Sunday was long and she was spent. In the last hour or so, the power went out (imagine that!) and she used her mobile phone as a flashlight. One of the kids reached for her, or she reached for them, and the phone dropped… screen cracked. After the stress of working with the kids all weekend, she was in tears when she was explaining what happened. (This is a new phone, mind you, and she seems to be i-gadget cursed as her cousin dropped her iPod and cracked it in December when we were home. Her brother sent her a new-used-iPhone that died a month later. We traded it in and paid for a replacement and this was it… cracked within a month of having it!) After a good night’s sleep, she woke up refreshed and I reiterated to her that we would handle her phone. I’d either replace the screen here or when we go back to the US and it still works, so it’s really ok. She was more accepting that Monday than she was Sunday night. I can’t explain the immense pride I felt for her and the effort and grace she put forth and eluded when working with the kids that weekend. My heart still swells when parents I have not met or spoken to much approach me to tell me what a great job she did and how much her kids love her. I have seen more kids come up to her after that weekend than ever before, running by to give her a hug or a high-five, making sure to say “Hi, Savannah!” or a quick hug and “Bye, Savannah!” as they come and go. She really has a God-given gift with kids and it is wonderful to see her putting it into action, even when it’s hard and it stretches her. Was she prepared to lead such a high number of kids? Many of which didn’t speak English? HECK NO! But did she let it overwhelm her to the point of giving up? Absolutely not! Did she complain when she missed a worship session of singing and dancing because she was “stuck with the kids again” ? Not my girl. Pastor Shawn talked about her hard work and great job in our sermon last week and reminded us that all of Jesus’ disciples were likely under 20 years old. Wow. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. I am so very proud of her for letting God work through her, grow her, and lead her how and where He sees fit."

AND she pretty much said it best. (http://texanindianprincesses.blogspot.in/2013/09/september-stuff.html)

Now its October and the time has flown by. Besides the problems I'm facing at school, I enjoy my classes which are

AP English, AP Business Studies, AP Accounting, Tamil, Spanish, French, Music (Violin), Algebra 2, Bible Studies, (TEACHING) 4th Grade Science and 4th Grade English

I've also started helping out more with kids church, which I love, love, LOVE.

This Thursday morning my mommy & I are headed to the "Golden Triangle" for a 6 day trip to Delhi, Agra, & Jaipur. In Agra we are going to see the Taj Mahal and ride elephants, in Delhi we are going to eat burgers and drink Starbucks (LOL), and in Jaipur we will do shopping and camel rides. This trip is so close but seems so surreal. I promise to blog about it as soon as we get back in town. I'll make sure and take pictures too!

Enjoy the pictures below.

Xoxo from Chennai.