Upon checking in, the flight attendants told me there were no front seats. I had requested a front seat so I could have more leg space plus it makes it easier when nursing etc, and I had also requested to be seated next to a lady…………..you can imagine why.

Believe it or not I was seated next to a dignified looking lady from Spain of all places. (Which is also where I am from). She was such an angel of a lady, and we began a conversation right away. I was able to give her an Activated mag and find out more about her and her family. She told me that every time she flies she gets terrible earaches that are quite unbearable for her, especially during the landing. Since we had just been talking about God and how much He wants to be a part of our lives, I offered to pray for her just before we started landing. Her ears had already started hurting, but we prayed together in full faith and then carried on our conversation. As we got off the plane, we exchanged addresses and she then told me that the pain in her ears had completely disappeared and she had felt no pain from then onwards. I felt encouraged that day – seeing two answers to prayer.. One, having met ‘that special person’, and two, the answer to prayer for her ears! I love putting God to the test, because more and more I realize that He never fails to answer in the way that is best for us.

Right now we are understaffed by 5 people; Dani, Sunshine, David, Laura, and Phoebe who have all gone up to a hillstation to attend a 3 week training camp. They all left with stars in their eyes and high spirits – they were especially excited to be meeting up with many other young people from all over India and even some from other countries. At this camp they will get training in both the spiritual and vocational aspects of our work. Speaking of training programs, I am doing a similar one which requires that you complete a four month online course first and then you get to attend the 3 week training seminar. This program covers topics such as; leadership, PR, worth ethic, etc. I have found it very helpful so far, except I am a bit behind………due to having a little break at the hospital with the baby and then at home. Well, I hope to finish it in time – keep your fingers crossed for me.

So the passion dulled after the doctor had to break the water bag to speed up the labor and I was in the throes of real, heavy, labor kind of stuff. I had to go on a drip too, but lest this sounds like a real horror story let me tell you all the wonderful things about it too.

1) The doctor and Esther (my breathing coach) were both there for my delivery. Had the baby come one day later, that wouldn’t have been possible. An answer to prayer!

2) The labor was considerably shorter than the last – another answer to prayer that was, ahem..very dear to my heart.

3) Vin, Esther, Joy, and Laura all attended the birth – another miracle as here they don’t usually let people into the delivery room, and if they do it’s maybe one person.

4) I had beautiful music playing throughout the labor and was even able to sleep inbetween contractions and hear a joke or two from my companions.

5) I had a beautiful healthy 4.1kg baby, which is the most important miracle!

Here are some photos. Whaddayall think about the name ‘Alonso’. (someone told me that there is a famous car racer with the same name and it kind of ruined it for me….yes, so I am a little behind the times when it comes to car racers etc.)

Did some jogging on the treadmill today, but don’t feel much different except for a little dizzy. Ha. I guess it’s come to the point where I just have to trust the Lord and see what happens.

Toodles.

Well, I guess you never stop learning as a parent and I’m sure it’ll be a whole new caboodle of lessons when the new baby is born.  By the way….NINE DAYS TO GO for new baby to come!

Something interesting happened on the way back. We had prayed in the morning that God would lead us to someone special at the airport, and as the day went along we sort of forgot about the prayer and got ready to go. Our flight was a fashionable 2 hours late so we decided to stroll along the bookstore that was at the Mumbai airport. There was a sale on kids’ books, so I bought a little shiner prize for Kaila and some baby books and kept looking around. All the while there was this guy, maybe in his thirties, obviously part of some multinational company, and rather dignified looking, checking out the bookstore as well. I ventured to give him a tract, (a small paper with a simple message about God’s love). This paper is called ‘Somebody Loves You’. I was initially a bit embarrassed to give this guy a tract, after all here I was 8 months pregnant and bulging, totally wiped out , not looking my best, and with a pile of baby books in my arms. Heh. Well, I’m happy I did….-.I gave him the tract and spoke to him for about 30 seconds, exchanged names, and bid him farewell. He was very grateful that I had taken the time to say hello and was quite surprised. I had scribbled my number on the back of the tract just before, but I was kicking myself that I had not gotten his number – why do I forget everything these days. The whole journey I just couldn’t forget about it and I prayed that somehow the Lord would lead him to us again. That evening as I arrived home I got an SMS from Sandeep. Here’s what it said;

‘Hello Sarah, thanks for the wonderful note you gave me at the bookshop at Mumbai airport. I wish you and your group the same happiness and love that you are spreading. In this age and time it is truly an incredible gesture. Warm regards, Sandeep’

I certainly didn’t care now about the flight being 2 hours late and the sweaty wait at the airport. We had been in the right place, at the right time, and had somehow been God’s channel to someone who needed to know that ‘Somebody loved them’. That was a pretty good feeling!

1)    A set of educational VCD’s. The series is called Treasure Attic and is not only an educational series, but also deals with what is termed here as moral science. For example; health and hygiene, obedience to teachers and parents, sharing, friendship, courtesy, manners. Etc.

2)    A computer set up for each school.  A computer can double up as many things and these days you can get big screens for not too much, so we are looking into this.

3)    A series children’s books by the name of ‘Grandpa Jake’ series.

4)    A lively musical program for each school upon distribution of the materials.

These materials will be going to rural schools, and to schools here in Bangalore that are quite needy.  Please keep this project in your prayers, and if you would like to help in someway, do contact us!

Aurevoir!