Independance Day :)

The 4th of July was one of the very best days I've spent in India.

The morning was spent at Victory Home. Ministry just went so well that day. We were in high spirits. The kids were in high spirits. I spent a lot of the morning with Melanie*. If you've seen any of the pictures I've posted on facebook, I don't have to tell you this girl has captured my heart completely. She is beautiful. So beautiful. She has the longest eyelashes, and brightest eyes.

Her laugh is so ridiculously infectious. She cracks herself up. She just wants to be tickled, and spun around, and held. 

If I could spend every moment of every day with her I think I would.

At lunch time we loaded up in a van and headed to beach. I sat on a bench in the trunk, facing out the whole where a back window should go sandwiched between Becca and Macey, two of the funniest, most loving girls I know. Over the course of the hour long drive, we found the more embarrassing classics of the 90s and 2000s on each other's iPods. We passed tiny villages, and huge temples. We drove through miles of farmland that made me Texas, and stretches of highway that made it seem like years since I'd driven a car. 

The Bay of Bengal was more than we could have hoped for. We found a relatively secluded spot. The sand was soft and warm, and the waves were rolling. Appropriate attire at the beach consists of long pants and covered shoulders, but we didn't care. We happily leaped through the waves fully clothed. I think it was the cleanest I've been since arriving in India. It was so great to just have fun and be carefree with my wonderful teammates. I can't tell you what an amazing afternoon it was. Macey and I wandered down the beach and talked about the amazing things God was doing in us through this trip, then came back and took a million goofy pictures with the rest of the girls. 

The ride back was as wonderful as the ride there. The sun was setting and the air was warm, but felt great with the breeze. It had been a fantastic day. 

But it wasn't over.

When we got home the head of ICM, the ministry we are partnered with, called us to say that they were coming to The Peace House (where we are staying) and bringing some of the other American volunteers for an Independence Day Celebration. 

We spent the evening taking with American volunteers we had been serving with, getting to know them better, and meeting ones we had not yet crossed paths with. After a while we were ushered outside. Several of the men then started lighting fireworks. It wasn't the longest, or the most extravagant firework show I've ever seen, but it was by far the best. Because they were doing it for us, because they love and appreciate us. 

It was so great to be there, all together, feeling so loved, and loving one another.

As ICM volunteers passed around ice cream, we say the national anthem and a few other cheesy America songs. Alexis, Gillian and I even pulled out a round of Deep in the Heart of Texas.

The day was wonderful.

I spent it with wonderful people.

I felt so loved.

It was a beautiful day.