The Roberts in Korea

TCIS musical . . . arrggh!

The TCIS musical this year is The Pirates of Penzance.  Sarah is in the production, playing the part of Mabel, one of the daughters of the Major General.

The musical is full of great acting, singing, dancing and much laughter on the part of the audience.  It is a delightful show and the TCIS students have pulled off the production nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LASA 2014 India video

Today we had our LASA Chapel.  It is a time when all of the LASA service trip teams take a few minutes and tell the rest of the student body about their spring break trip and experience. 

 

Here is the video/slideshow from our team's presentation.

 

birds in India

I am a morning person, so every morning in India I was up early and out on the roof just after sunrise.  On the roof in the early morning I had plenty to do.  I would: stretch out, read, pray, listen to the children sings songs of praise while they do their morning chores, watch the farmer that lives nearby the home walk his cow to the watering hole and I would keep an eye out for all of the different kinds of birds that would fly by.

I saw lots of green parrots, chirping and fluttering around like starlings.  I watched the majestic brown eagle of India circling and gliding overhead on the rising currents of the warm morning air.  I saw many black crows curiously looking for food, scraps, trash . . . anything remotely different than the dry red dirt that covered the expanse.

And I saw a colorful bird flitting around the children's home that I had never seen before.  It was going from tree to tree, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.  It was black and white striped with a rust colored head and a long, pointy beak.

Later in the day I caught a glimpse of the bird and realized that it was nesting in a hole in the roof of the children's home.  With my camera ready, I waited until it came out of its hole and I took a picture.  After some research I have determined that the bird is called a Hoopoe Bird. 

 

Yet another glimpse of the beauty of India . . .

Jackfruit with friends

There is a large Jackfruit tree on the grounds of the Beulah Home in India.  In the midst of the dry and barren landscape of the children's home it stands as an icon of fruitfulness and life. 

My friends, Yongmeth and Aliba, were drooling over the prospects of opening up a Jackfruit and when I said that I had never tasted Jackfruit and would like to give it try they sprang into action.

They grabbed a knife, coated their hands with oil (Jackfruit is very sticky, worse than sap) and started cutting.  Their excitement was reminiscent of some Christmas mornings that I have enjoyed.

The "meat" of the Jackfruit is located in the part of the fruit that encases the large, Jackfruit seeds.  Yongmeth and Aliba worked together, found a very sweet and ripe piece of Jackfruit and gave me the first bite.  It was delicious--second only to my good experience and lasting memory of enjoying Jackfruit with friends.

 

 

 

the beauty of India #3

During our week at the Beulah Home in India a little puppy mysteriously appeared on the compound and it didn't belong to Rocky.  One of the little boys that lives at the Beulah Home attends school at one of the nearby villages.  He walks to and from school each day.  He said that on his way home from school he came across this little puppy and the puppy "followed him home."

The story seemed plausible except for the fact that the puppy was still at the nursing age and could hardly walk the distance of ten feet without plopping down for a rest.  The folks at the Beulah Home had the little boy take the puppy back to where he found him. 

The beauty of India . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the beauty of India #2

During our time at the Beulah Home in India it is our privilege to teach in the school that is held there each week.  The students that make up the school include the students that reside in the Beulah Home plus some students from the neighboring villages.  So many kids = laughter, fun, smiles and beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the beauty of India #1

The beauty of India is realized in the people that inhabit that exotic place.  It is a place of diverse culture, stark contrast and significant challenge.  Water is scarce and the weather is dry and hot  The element of need is beyond real. Yet, in the midst of it all there is beauty.

Here are some pictures to prove it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky . . . a dog's life in India

While living here in South Korea we have enjoyed the opportunity to visit India at least one time a year for the past six years.  All of our visits have centered around the Beulah Childrens' Home.  At the Beulah Home there lives a guard dog named, "Rocky."

Rocky is a female dog and the name Rocky suits her because she is one tough dog.  Nearly every year that we have visited India and encountered Rocky it has appeared as if it would be the last time that we would be seeing Rocky alive.  She has been hit by cars, bitten by monkeys, torn up by other dogs, injured in fights with cobras, and this past year she nearly starved to death.  Rocky is a survivor.

Rocky has given birth to numerous litters of puppies.  Here and there, over the years we have seen one of Rocky's adult puppies running around the compound, but we have never seen the same puppy in consecutive years. 

India is a tough place to survive as a dog.

The kids at the Beulah Home informed us that this past year Rocky ended up eating her most recent litter of puppies due to starvation.  As a result, the home is trying to feed her more food, more regularly.  The problem is, there is not much extra food to go around.

One of Rocky's main jobs at the children's home is to fight off cobras that try to make their way onto the playground and to bark at strangers that come onto the compound.  When we visited the Beulah Home for the first time many years ago Rocky growled and barked at me (Ryan) for the first couple of days, but over time we became friends.  Every year since then I have shown up at the children's home, called out Rocky's name and she comes right over to me wagging her tail and looking for a pat on the head. 

It was our joy to see Rocky at the Beulah Home again this year.  A dog's life in India isn't easy.  Every time that it seems that Rocky is down for the count . . . she gets back up again.

off to India

A little less than a month ago a team of thirteen of us were packing our bags and making plans to spend Spring Break in Bangalore, India.  Every year our school (TCIS) sponsors student mission/service trips to various locations throughout Asia, and Dina and I (Ryan) led a team of students (one of which was Sarah) on a trip to the Beulah Home in Bangalore.

The Beulah Home is a children's home that is a place of joy, love and fun.  It was great to see some old friends at the Beulah Home and to make some new friends too.

After the long flight from Seoul to Bangalore (with an extended layover in Bangkok) we arrived at the Beulah Home in the middle of the night.  We were exhausted and it didn't take long for us to settle into our rooms and crash.  The next morning we woke to the bright, warm sun of India and the radiant smiles of the children of the Beulah Home. 

Stay tuned . . . the next few posts will include lots of stories and pictures from our time in India.