Botanical Garden

Here are some pictures that Ryan and I took a couple of days ago while walking through the Botanical Gardens. It is really beautiful, and admission is free for Hebronites, so come for a visit and we'll take you through it!

We really do live in India

My mom commented a few weeks ago that we've never posted pictures of Ooty. So, here are a few for starters...

1. Garden Road - to the right is the main part of town, to the left is the Botanical Gardens and Hebron School.
2. The view of Garden Road toward the School - yes, goats are always on this road.
3. Entrance of the Botanical Gardens and Hebron is through the green gate - Tibetan market is on the right.
4. Close up of the Garden entrance - we walk through this every time we come and go from school/home.
5. Once inside the gate, we take a turn to the right to enter Hebron. What a beautiful walk!

Jacuzzi Time!

Well, I posted a picture of Addie taking a bucket bath when we first moved to India, and my parents commented that if we just had a bigger tub and an electric hand mixer then we could have a jacuzzi! Well, the electricity isn't very predictable and our bigger tub is still on order from a shop in the market, so Addie went ahead and made her own jacuzzi using a small piece of plastic pipe. Life is never dull with Addie!
On a side note, can you see the top of the rock just above Addie's right shoulder? I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but it's to prevent rats from coming in through the drain! The people who lived here before us warned us not to remove it, and so far so good. Too bad the people before them didn't tell them why it was there!

Out with Friends

I went out with friends last night, and had a great time. Here is a picture of us! (l-r. Lindsay, me, Keryn (Addie's preschool teacher), Karyn (Hoz coordinator), and Rachel)

Cross Country

A few weeks ago was the Hebron cross country event. Students of all ages participated - including Lauren and Brenna.














We were so proud of them for their attitudes and ability to complete the course. The adjustment to the high altitude take several weeks, and I am still noticing that the walk up the main drive into campus is still difficult to walk, not to mention run! Enjoy the pics, and notice that Brenna won 1st place for the girls in her grade level (actually she is the only girl in her grade)! This is quite ironic since she is actually a really good runner, and possibly would have placed first even if there had been competition.

Twins?

Before we moved to India, Lauren received an email from an Irish girl at Hebron named Leah. The girls wrote back and forth to each other over the summer, and we were really excited to put a face to the girl that had befriended Lauren through email. Unfortunately, Leah had to get her tonsils out just before school started so she didn't arrive back in India until after classes had started. Strangely though, Lauren started getting comments about how much she reminded the staff at Hebron of Leah. When Leah's dad and sisters came back a couple of weeks before Leah, he even commented about how much they looked alike! So, I couldn't resist taking this picture and sharing it with all of you!

This is so exciting!!

We are finally able to update our blog from our house! This means that it will be much easier to download photos to our page, and hopefully we will be able to update more often. I have found that when life gets really difficult here, I am less likely to post. Mostly because it's too overwhelming to get to the computer lab. Hopefully this will help. If you notice that it's been a while since you've heard from us, please just pray. This adjustment has not been easy, but God has been so good to all of us!

Hebron Website

If you'd like to look at the Hebron School website, please click here. On the left hand side of the screen, you will notice a link to school photos where several pictures of the recent brass concert have just been posted. The Hohenloe quintet from Germany was here, and they invited the Hebron brass players to join them on three songs. One of the songs featured Ryan on first trumpet - he did great! Everyone really loved it, and it was fun to hear the comments... "I didn't know Ryan could play the trumpet!" They all thought he just played the guitar - let's just say that Ryan's musical abilities have yet to be discovered here at Hebron!

Sorry, It's been a while...

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted anything for quite a long time - these past two weeks have been a total blur. If you have been awakened during the night (or stirred during the day) to pray for us, please be diligent! We are not close to the violence that is occurring in other areas of India, but we have been dealing with very significant issues here at school. Ryan has been amazing with the girls while I have been working outrageous hours (as have all the nurses in Hoz). We are desperately trying to find the right balance for our family, as well as meet the needs of a very special community. I promise I will write more soon!