Update Continued....Finally!

Wow, its been 3 weeks since a proper update. ive already been on the computer almost hours writing emails, and im not even halfway through everything i need to do!

now where was i......i hope i can actually remember what ive been doing for the last 3 weeks! ive just consulted the previous blog and it has been eactly days since my last blog......my fingers are hurting at the thought of it!

the summer camp finished well, though unfortunatly most of the nice kids in my group had left chennai to visit thier grandparents in the villages thier parents migrated from hundreds of miles away. took my camera in but because so many guys were missing, didnt get photos of everyone. my best little buddy was there, with whom i used to pretend box/fight [ ive probably broken some rule there!], and he was quite sad we were going. now were back in chennai after our travels we will be going back to start the next phase in working with this community.

we are a little bit worried about our work, as we have no idea at the moment what we will be working on now were back in chennai. being back in chennai after 2 or so weeks is very strange, as it feels like home, and is familier, but then again, not exactly home. hard to explain. india is normality now, nothing is a surprise anymore, which is cool. this is also hard to exlain fully!

the next event was the football camp, with local boys from chennai, including ranjith the oasis office boy, and oasis bangalore's offically registered team. bangalore are running this cool program whereby they take young lads and train them in football, and basically give them an opportunity to become professional [not too difficult here!] while teaching them loads of decent lifeskills etc. they practice everyday at 6!

anyway, the football camp was at the Scriptire union camp south of chennai. the weather had cooled slightly to an average of 39, so it was pleasantly cool at night. out of all the things we had planned to do [football quiz, rugby, wide game], we only actually did one wide game, which was a bit of a flop because they were all to tired and wanted to relax! so basically all we had to do [me steve luke] was turn up to the talks and listen to the tamil and be a good witness/example to the guys, clapping during the songs and so on. the talks were run by another cool organisation called the christian sports fellowship. these guys were proper professional footballers, so it was a big thing for them to be at the camp, and a great testimony to the boys. they were really great. it would take too long to explain what they did and said, but basically they were really friendly and interesting and helpful to the boys, amongst whom there was a mixture of 100% christians, lukewarm christians, and also about 1/4 hindus, which i found out afterwards. at least of these hindu boys recieved visions of christ, one where he saw two hands pierced, and a voice saying somehting along the lines of what jesus did for him, and another involving the cross and a similar message. both these boys were strong hindus, and it is amazing to see how God has spoken to them so clearly.

we swam in the sea which was great, with the huge waves described in the previous update, and slept outside under the stars as it was the perfect temperature and cooler than the rooms. saw shooting stars, one really intense and bright.

the journey to bangalore with the football team on friday was quite an experience....and i experienced first hand the inefficiencies of indian organisation and planning! we turned up at the office at 8 30 to then go on with the bangalore team to bangalore by bus. we were informed of a change of plan meaning we would leave the office at 9 30. the boys were then told they could go visit the local boys' houses in the community, and that they were expected back at 8 45. at 9 20 i had to go and drag them from their chai deep in the community. meanwhile, a boy who had run away from the camp on the first day [a boy known for his rebellious nature and is in frequent trouble with the police] was apparently caught by the police at the central train station, after he had been reported missing on the tuesday. the leadership then decided to take the 2 other main leaders and go find the boy, leaving the bangalore accountant in charge of boys in a city he didnt know. we eventually all arrvied after a stressful time getting loads of rickshaws, and spent ages finding the boys who arriced first in the station, just about as our bus was supposed to leave. it then took a further 5 minutes of aimlessly wandering the station, with various boys saying they knew the way and getting everyone lost, to find our bus. the bus journey was abour hours, and very uncomfortable and squashed but we managed to actually arrive in cool [heat-wise] bangalore, which after the fiasco getting the bus, was a miracle!

i will have to leave it there and continue another time, as ive been here for longer than i expected, possibly over hours! im not sure if i have enough rupees on me eiyther....oh dear...

if you have emailed me, then i will reply as soon as i can, hopefully tomorow, my appologies for the delay!

thanks for reading,

josh