Arrival

Sarita, Lara, and Ina

After 36 hours in airplanes and airports, an 18-hour layover in Bangalore, and then a 10-hour bus ride through the night, we finally arrived at Joyful Children's Home on Saturday, June 23. We settled into our rooms and took cold bucket showers before falling into our beds for a few hours of rest. Even the busy street outside with its incessantly honking horns, lowing oxen, rooting pigs, shouting children, and chattering monkeys didn't keep us awake.

Kristen with a few of the girls.

 And then in the evening, we met the children—fifty beautiful girls with sparkly dark eyes and dancing feet, ranging in age from three to eighteen or nineteen. It's an aptly named home because the joy seems to permeate everywhere and everyone.

We arrived with another mother and her 16-year-old daughter from Ohio, Mandy and Emily, and each of us always has hands to hold and names to learn, games to play and songs to sing.

Emily and the girls during snack time: roasted peanuts and raw sugar.

More to come later as we settle in!