There Is Room For Everyone

All the elephants crowding in the water made us remember all of us crowding in the hot bus wishing we had cooling water. One look at us and you might think twice about coming on a mission. Remember, "This too shall pass." Adventure is our middle names."

Follow The Leader

Follow the leader to the river.

Move them out.

Here they come.

There they go. Water ahead boys!

A Billion Zillion Elephants.

Here they all are roaming around the elephant orphanage. When you step out on the ridge of the hill they start moving your way and you just hope they don't move too fast.

Up close and personal..

Nice elephant, nice elephant.

This one was just my size.

They Are Big!

When you have so many pictures of elephants how do you decide which ones to blog? We were right in the midst of them all and that was amazing, but then I saw this one of two elephants near a truck and it really shows the size of these fellows. As you will see they let us come up and didn't move too much but after about twenty minutes it was time to go to the river and they knew it. Then you did not want to be in front of them. Later I arrived at the river's edge and was looking at the herd frolicking in the water (Can elephants frolic?) when two more elephants came through the village and turned to climb down to the edge just where I was standing. My back was turned to them and I missed it all.

A couple of hours later a small film crew from Australia came up the hill were I was waiting for the bus and as they crossed the road the camera man said, "Oh you are the lady who almost got trampled." What almost happened and what I didn't see didn't hurt me!

Back To Sri Lanka

The biggest elephant we saw and

The smallest. Very cute!

Time Out

The problem with blogging about a big trip like Sri Lanka is it gets in the way of everyday life. The trip to Sri Lanka was a big deal and the story should be told so we will set it aside and tell another story that happened today. Two families completed important steps to eternal salvation. The family below all took baptism today. The family above have a story that weaves in and out and we are part of the fabric. The mother and father joined the Church before we came to India. Something happened and they stopped coming. There are many of these kinds of stories and they are private and belong to the individual.

We hired a driver and took off with two young missionaries to visit three families, one a mainstay and the other two had stopped attending. The family in the above picture lived in the city but their street was a dirt country lane with many cows grazing. The turn was so sharply angled off a busy street that our driver had to stop in the middle of heavy traffic and back a little and then make the turn. Way, way down there he stopped. We piled out and went up a mountain side so steep that the pathway was part stairs. Near the top we turned left on an asphalt path that was firm in some places and had dirt washed out from under in others. There had been recent rains and the path had puddles and overhead electric wire draped low enough to touch with a raised had. A little freaky - no stretching please!

That was the beginning of our friendship as we came to the home to invite the family to Church. We were there on the next Sunday, they weren't. Phone calls and weeks later the Spirit took over and everyone moved forward. Today the father baptised his two sons. We know that we can't be perfect on this earth. Today was perfect!

Dinner

Waiting a minute in the grand lobby and then enjoying dinner at the garden restaurant. That is Mr. Napkin Head across the table not a terrorist, but you know that thing about a type and a shadow.