First Day at Rameswaram

March 18..... Rameswaram is a fishing island. An information sheet in our hotel states that sometimes we might find a few flies around. Last night when we first arrived at the ministry center and sat down in the service we found that there were a few flies. The big blue-green ones. Even though there were several ceiling fans on and a couple of floor fans they seemed to just hover around. At the hotel we saw a few on the floor of the stairwell but none in our rooms. I think it's the smell of the moth balls in the rooms but I am told those are to keep away the cockroaches!! Actually, our rooms are very clean. This morning the van picked us up at 8:20. The cook from Moses P.'s house moved over to Billy P's house to cook for us during our stay here. We arrived at their house which is on the ministry compound. It is a very nice house. A canopy was set up on the driveway with tables and chairs lined up. We took off our shoes and entered the house. It is customary to always remove your shoes before entering a house or a church. Breakfast was not quite ready so we sat and visited. The food was taken outdoors to the tables and we went out to serve ourselves. But, the invasion of the flies occurred. I can now imagine how the Israelites must have felt when God sent the plague of flies to Egypt. I wish I had had my camera with me at the time. The back of Sam's shirt, belt, and pants was solid flies. They were swarming in our faces and all over our food. We quickly ran back into the house attempting to keep as many flies as possible outside. Everybody swatted flies as we finished eating but at least they were much fewer in number. We then went to the huge ministry building and up the stairs to the third floor to enter the service just in time to hear Ron teach his first session at 9:30. That concluded at 11 and most of our team left to wander about the building. It is very large. The main auditorium is designed to hold several thousand people. It is also designed to have several guest rooms so that teams can stay there or students or whomever needs to. Eventually it is also to include a medical/dental clinic and computer lab. But, it is far from finished. There is an office area with a EWC - European water closet with commode - so that makes it easier for us to use. Billy joined us for part of our time walking about the building telling us a little of his dream to build the ministry center and the schools. We then rejoined Ron's second session which soon ended about 1 p.m. All during this time at the sessions we were bothered by some flies, even out walking around. When we got back to Billy's house for lunch we hurried in the door hoping to keep the flies out and did fairly well. The furniture had been removed from the room and the tables and chairs sat up there for our meals. I'm not sure exactly how the house was set up. There was a nice kitchen seen through a pass-through next to the living room. But, I also saw what looked like an open-style cooking area behind the house. The kitchen door was open to it. As the food was being brought into the area the flies suddenly multiplied massively. There was an indoor bug zapper that kept very busy, so thankfully we were not as bombarded as at breakfast. Both Billy and Salini stated that they had never seen such an influx of flies there before. We think it must be our white skin and different scents. Lunch was delicious. After lunch we walked a very short way to the Infant Home. Here they rescue infants, mostly girls, from death. Femicide is very common here due to the dowry system. The youngest two were about 6-8 weeks old. One was purchased for $30 to save her from her death. The other was found at the gates of the compound when she was just a few days old. Several are between 1 and 2 years old. We played for a little bit and then it was time for session 3. Since there isn't much for the rest of us to do during the sessions except sit in and listen about half a dozen of us opted to come back to the hotel to rest during the hot afternoon. It was nice to rest in a cool room for a couple of hours. Sam chose to stay at the hotel for the evening. The rest of us went back to the ministry center in time for the 6:30 worship service. We again had the invasion of the flies. It did help some when I covered my head with a light shawl. It kept them out of my hair and most of the time off my face. The music was very good, with a choir and praise group. Then it got faster and faster and the service became quite charismatic. The service lasted until 9 p.m. It was quite nice and much cooler sitting outside the auditorium on the big wide veranda. Then a late supper at Billy's house before coming back to the hotel for the night.