June 30, 2015

Early mornings, no fans, the smell of cow poop, lots of rice but always smiling. 

We go into our last day here in Timbuktu. We get up and go to breakfast! Yum Yum, then Crosslin and I start the day with an icebreaker game and introduce todays schedule. Around 10:30 we walk over to the school and divide into our community project groups and begin to work!! The 3D Maze only has to dig and put cement in 3 more holes then we are done! We get to work, and finish around 12! The other group is finishing the stove. We all finish our projects and go and play with the kids and have an early lunch at 12:30. Spending time with the kids has been my absolute favorite thing this whole trip. The friendships I have made with some of these kids and the funny things they say and the fun times we have, make me very happy! Everyone here has such big hearts and are all so kind. In the afternoon, we began to pack, we got about 3 hours to organize and have down time. After that, we had a ceremony for the new stove. All the kids and our group met in the kitchen and celebrated. After that, Maddy (one of the leaders) told our group his leadership story. It was very inspiring and It was great to hear as we knew him but afterwards it felt like we really knew him as a person. Then, we got to draft our leadership stories which were going to be told today at our candle ceremony. Around 6 We went back over to the school with the kids and danced and celebrated being together one last time. We danced for hours and laughed. We ended up going way past dinner, like everyone says "time flies when your having fun!!" We got to dinner an hour late, and ate at 8:30. 

Hayden Lowe 

p.s. can't wait to see you family!!! <3 48 hours! 

Hello everyone!! Yesterday, we completed our last full day in India. This day consisted of finishing all of the community projects, taking part in the ceremony for the school's new stove, and finishing off the day with a dance celebration with the kids and teachers (and no squirrels crawling up my shirt). The celebration was definitely a highlight of my trip. Not only did we get to perform the Indian dances we learned over the course of the last week, but also got to throw some Western dances into the mix as well. After a late dinner, we capped off the week at Timbaktu by sharing leadership stories, then sharing the highlights of the entire trip in a candlelight circle. Although I'm so excited to come home to my friends, family, and American food, it was really bittersweet listening to everyone's favorite memories. We are currently on the bus back to Bangalore, where we will spend the rest of the day shopping, until returning to Visthar in the evening to shower and hopefully get a nap in before we leave at 11pm for the airport! This trip has been an incredible experience, and I can't wait to come home and share it with you all! See you in 48 hours!

Crosslin Archdeacon