Dear friends-
Hope you are all doing well. Please know that I so appreciate all your prayers and support and I love hearing from you. I feel as though I'm behind on sharing with you. Even though I've been posting recently, there are still so many special experiences & blessings that I haven't yet been able to share. As November is a holiday month for the college, my obligations at the college and at the hostel are much fewer, enabling me to spend more time on things like: blogging! I hope to spend more time at the area schools during this month until classes begin again at the college. But let me first rewind and share some experiences and blessings of the past few weeks.
I've started teaching a couple new little half-hour English classes at the college; one group I meet with is the Postgraduate English Literature students. I love meeting with them-they are vibrant and their excellent English allows for a higher level of interaction. We recently had a lively discussion about the differences & similarities in family structure and family ideals in India and the United States. (This even led gently into the topic of arranged marriage, but we will have to devote a separate class to that!) I am very thankful for this group of students and for what they're teaching me.
We have talked a little bit at the college about possibly doing a small musical. I held a meeting just to see what the interest might be on campus...not sure yet where this will lead, but it's an exciting prospect.
Our Kottayam Mixed Voices concert is coming up at the beginning of December, and I'm part of a small group of five women from the choir who are working on an a capella arrangement of Vivaldi's Spring. I wrote syllables for the entire movement, which was a task! This has been a really fun piece to do some work on and to rehearse.
A few Sundays ago, my teammate Nicole preached at Mandiram and did very well. My tutor, Shalu, came with me and Rachel was also there. Nicole will also be preaching this coming Sunday at a nearby church. For most of this last week, Nicole and Rachel were both in the hospital with a virus and infection, and were treated for dehydration. They are much better now, but please continue to pray for their recovery.
I continue to spend my Sundays in church and at choir rehearsal for both CSI Ascension Church Choir and Kottayam Mixed Voices. We're having extra rehearsals with church choir, and I'm blessed to have a lot of time to work with the choir. I really enjoy working with them and my time spent with them is productive and rewarding. Along with the Vivaldi group, I'm working with a female quartet from church on a few Christmas pieces.
I've started teaching at a new school one day a week, Baker Vidyapith, in the same compound as Baker Girls School, where I teach English and music. These high-school students are well behaved and a pleasure. Tomorrow will be my second day at Baker, and apparently they have a violin class which I am excited to visit.
I continue to teach my private voice student Jemima (we're now working on Faure's Le secret), and her talent and receptivity continue to amaze me. I've begun tutoring her in music theory as well. She recently bought me two pair of earrings as a thank-you for the lessons! Once a month Jemima travels all night on a train to Bangalore to have a voice lesson-there is no one in Kerala to teach her! So the fact that I am here very close by to work with her is such an awesome blessing for both of us. Our lessons have been getting longer and longer just because she is such a joy to work with! Her family is very kind and generous to me and Jemima's smile is truly one of the most beautiful things I've encountered here. I continue to praise the Lord for the way teaching voice works transcends the language barrier well and for the opportunity to work with Jemima.
Two weeks ago, I had a terrific opportunity: a friend of mine from NWMC leads a campus ministry group at the University of Arizona and she had me Skype in during one of their meetings to talk with them all about YAV. It was refreshing to discuss with college students what I'm doing, the challenges and rewards, and to answer their questions. After our discussion, all the students gathered around the computer and prayed out loud for me. I couldn't believe that a group of college students so far away who don't even know me were lifting me up in prayer...it was humbling and awesome.
Later that same day, I traveled to Chertala for the district Kalamela, or arts festival, where competitions in music, drama, art, and dance were held. I served as a judge for the music component, and listened all day to male and female soloists singing Western and Eastern solos. (I thought it funny that I was a judge considering that all of the music was in Malayalam, so I had no idea how to judge pronunciation!) I was handed a blank sheet of paper and then the first singer came up to sing-I had no idea what to write down or on what basis to judge! Yikes! However, this was a valuable experience and an honor.
The next day, on Thursday, I traveled with Nicole on my first Indian train ride to Aluva for our second YAV retreat. The train was packed and we laid down on the upper bunks, which was surprisingly comfortable! (I wish we could fly laying down.) This first train ride was an eye-opening experience, and at the station people asked to take pictures of Nicole and I with their children! (That's how rare it is to see people that look like us, I suppose.)
All four of us were in Aluva from Thursday to Sunday for the retreat with Achen, Kochamma, and Binu. We spent most of our time catching up and relaxing as well as enjoying Bible study time with Achen. We were very open with one another about the things that are going well as well as the challenges we're experiencing. This led to some very healthy, albeit challenging, conversation. It was important for each of us to recognize and share our issues, and critical for us to realize our communal sharing in them. It was also supportive to learn about one another's struggles and to realize that we are all going through them, whether they are the same struggles or not.
On Friday the 28th we celebrated Kochamma's birthday with a wonderful birthday dinner and a night of music. The next day we had a group outing to Ernakulum, where we met up with Ann, my supervisor, and went to a mall. A mall! We spent the entire time in a huge bookstore, basking in familiar books, music, and videos, and even had pizza at a food court! On Sunday after church we parted ways and returned to our sites.
Since then, we've had a whole bunch of holidays and strike days, as well as the college going on holiday for the month. There is confusion as to whether the hostel is closing or not; I will have to wait and see.
This pasts Friday, my father turned 60. Happy Birthday, Dad! Some of the girls from the hostel joined me in Skyping my father and sang Happy Birthday to him! What a sweet memory. (They hilariously sang, "Happy birthday, Claudie chechi's father" for every line :)
The faculty voice training program is continuing through November somewhat, and is going well. The group is achieving a new comfort level with one another and I'm becoming very comfortable with them. Last week we combined solfege and rhythms for the first time and they found themselves reading music!
Last week, I traveled to a place called Mallappally about an hour and half away to visit a school and teach 11th and 12th standards for a day. When I arrived there, I was led into morning assembly, where 500 uniformed students were standing at attention! I was surprised and a little intimidated. They held their arms straight out in front of them and recited the pledge and national anthem. As soon as this was over, I was asked to sing a song! It felt rather strange to sing and play "Amazing Grace" to so many students standing at attention. I later found out that this special assembly was held because I was coming for the day!!! The teaching went pretty well for the most part, and at the end of the day the teachers of the school presented me with a churidar as a gift. I was overcome with emotion at their generosity, and was asked to sign the "school diary." The staring had been extra intense that day; I later learned that I was the first white person most of the students had ever seen. A volunteer has never before come to this school.
Once again, I found myself in the place of the juxtaposition of the ordinary & the extraordinary. I was simply visiting a school and teaching the phrases, "How are you?" and "What is your name?" all day. But I was also the first visitor to this school and an honored guest for whom a special assembly was arranged... Some of the classes didn't even go well and the students came up to me afterwards saying, "I will never forget this class; thank you so much for coming here." It was a confusing, overwhelming day. I felt strange knowing that I was the first white person 500 students had seen. On days like this I have to really talk to God throughout the day in order to keep my emotions in check and my focus on Him. I am certainly being given a lot of extraordinary opportunities and responsibilities. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to buckle underneath the pressure, but I know that He will uphold me and that I can do all things with His strength. I hope that I am representing Him well despite all my faults and doubts.
I am beginning to feel settled. I am seeing many reasons for which I was brought here. I have failed and succeeded, and must continually face my limitations and anxieties. God is providing extraordinary opportunities; may He equip me fittingly to take on such tasks. Know that I am supported tremendously by your prayers.
Please forgive the disjunctive nature of this post and know that it's out of my eagerness to share with you. You are, after all, the people who have supported me and encouraged me all along the way to this place.
Prayer requests:
1) Please pray for the continued healing of my teammates Nicole and Rachel, and also for my teammate Ian. Please pray for us to continue to adjust to this new land and to find the strength, energy, and courage to do the things that each day He calls us to. I am thankful for God providing so many opportunities through which I can use my skills; please pray the same for them.
2) Please continue to pray for my struggles with anxiety. I struggle with a lack of any kind of regular schedule and so much newness all the time. Sometimes I am unexpectedly very busy and sometimes have nothing to do. I feel as though every day I've been in India I've done something entirely different and it's hard for me to continually not know what each day will hold. I experience many uncertainties and surprises on a daily basis, and will do well to develop more of a routine. Though I'm in my third month of being here, so much still feels entirely new. Please pray for me to be able to establish some kind of regularity in my activities, if possible, but more importantly, to continue to grow in flexibility. This is a big lesson that must be learned.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and love. What a great joy it is to share in this journey with you!
Claudia
Hope you are all doing well. Please know that I so appreciate all your prayers and support and I love hearing from you. I feel as though I'm behind on sharing with you. Even though I've been posting recently, there are still so many special experiences & blessings that I haven't yet been able to share. As November is a holiday month for the college, my obligations at the college and at the hostel are much fewer, enabling me to spend more time on things like: blogging! I hope to spend more time at the area schools during this month until classes begin again at the college. But let me first rewind and share some experiences and blessings of the past few weeks.
I've started teaching a couple new little half-hour English classes at the college; one group I meet with is the Postgraduate English Literature students. I love meeting with them-they are vibrant and their excellent English allows for a higher level of interaction. We recently had a lively discussion about the differences & similarities in family structure and family ideals in India and the United States. (This even led gently into the topic of arranged marriage, but we will have to devote a separate class to that!) I am very thankful for this group of students and for what they're teaching me.
We have talked a little bit at the college about possibly doing a small musical. I held a meeting just to see what the interest might be on campus...not sure yet where this will lead, but it's an exciting prospect.
Our Kottayam Mixed Voices concert is coming up at the beginning of December, and I'm part of a small group of five women from the choir who are working on an a capella arrangement of Vivaldi's Spring. I wrote syllables for the entire movement, which was a task! This has been a really fun piece to do some work on and to rehearse.
A few Sundays ago, my teammate Nicole preached at Mandiram and did very well. My tutor, Shalu, came with me and Rachel was also there. Nicole will also be preaching this coming Sunday at a nearby church. For most of this last week, Nicole and Rachel were both in the hospital with a virus and infection, and were treated for dehydration. They are much better now, but please continue to pray for their recovery.
I continue to spend my Sundays in church and at choir rehearsal for both CSI Ascension Church Choir and Kottayam Mixed Voices. We're having extra rehearsals with church choir, and I'm blessed to have a lot of time to work with the choir. I really enjoy working with them and my time spent with them is productive and rewarding. Along with the Vivaldi group, I'm working with a female quartet from church on a few Christmas pieces.
I've started teaching at a new school one day a week, Baker Vidyapith, in the same compound as Baker Girls School, where I teach English and music. These high-school students are well behaved and a pleasure. Tomorrow will be my second day at Baker, and apparently they have a violin class which I am excited to visit.
I continue to teach my private voice student Jemima (we're now working on Faure's Le secret), and her talent and receptivity continue to amaze me. I've begun tutoring her in music theory as well. She recently bought me two pair of earrings as a thank-you for the lessons! Once a month Jemima travels all night on a train to Bangalore to have a voice lesson-there is no one in Kerala to teach her! So the fact that I am here very close by to work with her is such an awesome blessing for both of us. Our lessons have been getting longer and longer just because she is such a joy to work with! Her family is very kind and generous to me and Jemima's smile is truly one of the most beautiful things I've encountered here. I continue to praise the Lord for the way teaching voice works transcends the language barrier well and for the opportunity to work with Jemima.
Two weeks ago, I had a terrific opportunity: a friend of mine from NWMC leads a campus ministry group at the University of Arizona and she had me Skype in during one of their meetings to talk with them all about YAV. It was refreshing to discuss with college students what I'm doing, the challenges and rewards, and to answer their questions. After our discussion, all the students gathered around the computer and prayed out loud for me. I couldn't believe that a group of college students so far away who don't even know me were lifting me up in prayer...it was humbling and awesome.
Later that same day, I traveled to Chertala for the district Kalamela, or arts festival, where competitions in music, drama, art, and dance were held. I served as a judge for the music component, and listened all day to male and female soloists singing Western and Eastern solos. (I thought it funny that I was a judge considering that all of the music was in Malayalam, so I had no idea how to judge pronunciation!) I was handed a blank sheet of paper and then the first singer came up to sing-I had no idea what to write down or on what basis to judge! Yikes! However, this was a valuable experience and an honor.
The next day, on Thursday, I traveled with Nicole on my first Indian train ride to Aluva for our second YAV retreat. The train was packed and we laid down on the upper bunks, which was surprisingly comfortable! (I wish we could fly laying down.) This first train ride was an eye-opening experience, and at the station people asked to take pictures of Nicole and I with their children! (That's how rare it is to see people that look like us, I suppose.)
All four of us were in Aluva from Thursday to Sunday for the retreat with Achen, Kochamma, and Binu. We spent most of our time catching up and relaxing as well as enjoying Bible study time with Achen. We were very open with one another about the things that are going well as well as the challenges we're experiencing. This led to some very healthy, albeit challenging, conversation. It was important for each of us to recognize and share our issues, and critical for us to realize our communal sharing in them. It was also supportive to learn about one another's struggles and to realize that we are all going through them, whether they are the same struggles or not.
On Friday the 28th we celebrated Kochamma's birthday with a wonderful birthday dinner and a night of music. The next day we had a group outing to Ernakulum, where we met up with Ann, my supervisor, and went to a mall. A mall! We spent the entire time in a huge bookstore, basking in familiar books, music, and videos, and even had pizza at a food court! On Sunday after church we parted ways and returned to our sites.
Since then, we've had a whole bunch of holidays and strike days, as well as the college going on holiday for the month. There is confusion as to whether the hostel is closing or not; I will have to wait and see.
This pasts Friday, my father turned 60. Happy Birthday, Dad! Some of the girls from the hostel joined me in Skyping my father and sang Happy Birthday to him! What a sweet memory. (They hilariously sang, "Happy birthday, Claudie chechi's father" for every line :)
The faculty voice training program is continuing through November somewhat, and is going well. The group is achieving a new comfort level with one another and I'm becoming very comfortable with them. Last week we combined solfege and rhythms for the first time and they found themselves reading music!
Last week, I traveled to a place called Mallappally about an hour and half away to visit a school and teach 11th and 12th standards for a day. When I arrived there, I was led into morning assembly, where 500 uniformed students were standing at attention! I was surprised and a little intimidated. They held their arms straight out in front of them and recited the pledge and national anthem. As soon as this was over, I was asked to sing a song! It felt rather strange to sing and play "Amazing Grace" to so many students standing at attention. I later found out that this special assembly was held because I was coming for the day!!! The teaching went pretty well for the most part, and at the end of the day the teachers of the school presented me with a churidar as a gift. I was overcome with emotion at their generosity, and was asked to sign the "school diary." The staring had been extra intense that day; I later learned that I was the first white person most of the students had ever seen. A volunteer has never before come to this school.
Once again, I found myself in the place of the juxtaposition of the ordinary & the extraordinary. I was simply visiting a school and teaching the phrases, "How are you?" and "What is your name?" all day. But I was also the first visitor to this school and an honored guest for whom a special assembly was arranged... Some of the classes didn't even go well and the students came up to me afterwards saying, "I will never forget this class; thank you so much for coming here." It was a confusing, overwhelming day. I felt strange knowing that I was the first white person 500 students had seen. On days like this I have to really talk to God throughout the day in order to keep my emotions in check and my focus on Him. I am certainly being given a lot of extraordinary opportunities and responsibilities. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to buckle underneath the pressure, but I know that He will uphold me and that I can do all things with His strength. I hope that I am representing Him well despite all my faults and doubts.
I am beginning to feel settled. I am seeing many reasons for which I was brought here. I have failed and succeeded, and must continually face my limitations and anxieties. God is providing extraordinary opportunities; may He equip me fittingly to take on such tasks. Know that I am supported tremendously by your prayers.
Please forgive the disjunctive nature of this post and know that it's out of my eagerness to share with you. You are, after all, the people who have supported me and encouraged me all along the way to this place.
Prayer requests:
1) Please pray for the continued healing of my teammates Nicole and Rachel, and also for my teammate Ian. Please pray for us to continue to adjust to this new land and to find the strength, energy, and courage to do the things that each day He calls us to. I am thankful for God providing so many opportunities through which I can use my skills; please pray the same for them.
2) Please continue to pray for my struggles with anxiety. I struggle with a lack of any kind of regular schedule and so much newness all the time. Sometimes I am unexpectedly very busy and sometimes have nothing to do. I feel as though every day I've been in India I've done something entirely different and it's hard for me to continually not know what each day will hold. I experience many uncertainties and surprises on a daily basis, and will do well to develop more of a routine. Though I'm in my third month of being here, so much still feels entirely new. Please pray for me to be able to establish some kind of regularity in my activities, if possible, but more importantly, to continue to grow in flexibility. This is a big lesson that must be learned.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and love. What a great joy it is to share in this journey with you!
Claudia
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