Maybe final blog post

Dear All,

The main thing this week was a couple of days spent in local poor villages doing basic medical screening. The children screened ( over 300) were a delight of course. And a variety of conditions were detected : conjunctivitis, TB, scabies, a damaged cornea which would have cost the girl her sight but will now get treated, a thyroid imbalance. A good many were malnourished and vitamins were given out.

It was a cheerful co-operative atmosphere. I had thought it may possibly be a sullen one. The children were with their parents. They are all sponosored children of World Vision who link with Kothara to do this. They had to be photo-ed too and stood deadly serious for this to happen. We sponsor a couple of childen with another charity and receive such photos of them. We had hoped they did not mind having to be photo-ed for our sake but these kids were OK.



The villages were an education. Cow dung houses with cow dung patios. Feels very nice underfoot. I'm going to apply to our Parish Council and the Diocesan Parsonage Board for a cow dung extension to our Rectory. Animals over the place as usual, oxen, goats, chickens, once a monkey on a chain picking the fleas off a dog's back. Low roofs of sheet corrugated metal covered with ceramic tiles of some sort. Then firewood on top, or drying hay, or cereals laid out to dry.Women in bright saris and jewels, amazingly clean and lovely like something out of Arabian Nights , slashes of colour in the otherwise drab squalor of it all. The men by contrast largely dirty sitting in groups on their haunches.

Tommorrow I preach in Chapel for the last time. In the evening we are being cozened out to Amravati for the graduation ceremnoy of some students from the Bible College there. We've spent a lot of time this week in a truck already and the invite is not from Kothara but a visiting cleric. Whatever, Monday sees away from here to Nagpur. Overnight there, then, Tuesday morning a flight to Delhi and linking up with the UK supporters coming out from London for a 10 day tour. Many thanks for previous prayers for our travel. we would appreciate them again, that we connect ok with the UK supporters who land at a different terminalNo promises we can get on line after this point. So - this may be good bye. We will try internet cafes and such but time may be tight. Will do our best.

Either way, thanks for all the interest and support and prayers. Glad we have done this blog. Both for you and us.