Lepers II

It was a 5am start, and down to the local train station, I loved the fact that we were using local transport and though my tired eyes watched as the life of the city started, even if it was only the amount of people who went to the bathroom on the railwaylines. As the guys came round "coppee, coppee, coppee, tea-masala, tea-masala, chapati, chapati" the scenery of slums and shelters gave way to lanscape and random, palm leaf farm shacks, bolders, hills and skies, it was a welcome break after the stench and squaler of the city. The wind rushed through the carriage and the sun streemed in on the chileano girls as the laughed over coffee.

We arrived in Darimaeuri and crossed the wide track sets only to find a little white van driving at us wildly sounding the horn, as he spun round and pulled up it was the ywam van and out hopped a short and brilliantly crazy indian pastor called david. Ive never met anyone who exclaims praise the lord! or hallelluya! quite so much. Dressed in a stone green safari-like suit, short grey hair and neat mustache the guy exuded warmth and energy.

He was building a church, orphanage and place to recieve teams there were 4 floors, and he was building it all on faith, he had no money. He fed us french toast tea and coffee before wisking us off in his crazy carpeted praise the lord van.

we drove out to a village, single room houses brightly painted, each with a plaque reading from some church in australia lined a path. They were constructing a small church, it was the builder i first noticed had no fingers on either hand and slowly but surely i started to notice various missing fingers, toes or disfiguration.

Everyone smiled, one woman with her baby came everywhere with us, we finished up in a small hut - there current church room. built in breeze block and painted cold aqua green it had tinsel woven design that hung benieth the fan and an old clock, a step at the front represented a stage.

David began in english ut quickly switched to another local language and then started everyone singing and clapping. Worship in india ppeared to be rather a monotone affair with constant clapping. more often than not accompanied to a jimbay drum, infact they accompanied everything with a drum beat whether in time or not. We did some worship songs with the guitar which must have sounded just as mad to them, did some quick dramas, the office, the backpack and chris gave a small preach before we prayed for people. No-one cried or was miraculosly healed, but we were there laying hands on them and praying for them i hope they knew some of jesus love a little through this at least.

David and the children prayed a blessing over the rice supply for the village before dividing it. some of the team dressed and cleaned the wounds and other did paper crafts with the kids i sent most of the time stopping two little boys from punching each other in the head over who had the most crayons, but as we were sat there one of the girl who had been sat colouring in shuffled off in the same position using her arms to move herself, her little legs still tucked under her body it was then that it hit me everyone here had or would have leperacy. you had to be exposed to leperacy for a long time continuosly to catch it, but they were completly removed from society and no-one but david would come out here.

we returned to the house for lunch and a break I sat and played cards with some of the kids i had no idea what they were saying or how to play but that didnt matter to them as they sorted my cards and exclaimed "deus! aunty" everyone was refered to as aunty here. We sat in Davids new and still being constructed church with plastic seats, we were going to do a slot for the village, since we had been gone the appeared a throne-like chair and material backdrop, we looked at each other ratehr baffled as it was only us there. Then a girl of about 13 or 14 came in she was dressed in full traditional dress, complete with the jewels down the forhead that only a bride wears, david informed us that she had come of age and was a woman, there was a big celebration planned nad people werec oming from far away but would be late, so they started to beat a drum, the monotone singing and clapping began. Then someone joined in the the irregular beat of a yamaha keyboard, not in the slightest bit in time or fitting but everyone continued without raising an eyebrow.

We were asked to do something for them as the people started to arrive, we had 25 mins before our train was due so we got up did some worship and tried to be poilte as they started to put the yamaha keyboard beats to our worship. One of the girls gave her testimony and we said our goodbyes as we left for the station in the praise the lord van. back to the coppee, coppee tea-masala chapati train home.