The last post ended with us flying into Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. From there we made the hour and a half drive to Churachandpur, or more specifically, to Seilmat, one of the many villages that Churachandpur is made up of. Seilmat is where Partnership Mission (the India side of Bibles For The World) has its headquarters. It is also the location of Seilmat Christian School (Bibles For The Worlds largest school) and Trinity College and Seminary and Seilmat Christian Hospital (both run by Bibles For The World). But that is not the biggest reason why Churachandpur is my "second home."
It's because of the people. You see, approximately 90% of the former India Children's Choir kids live in this general area. Obviously, that makes it a very special place for me. Add to that their families and the many, many other friends I have made their during my trips to India... every time I go there, it's like a homecoming of sorts. I get excited when I land in Imphal airport, and then more and more excited during the drive down to the Churachandpur area. We alway have a wonderful time, and this time was no exception.
I won't bore you with all the details of what we did during our time there, but I will mention a few highlights.
As usual, as soon as we arrive, I start getting invitations for meals. So on a typical day, we would have our morning meal at one of the kid's houses and then spend some time with the family there. We spent quite a bit of time in the market... either shopping for ourselves or taking our sponsored kids shopping. So after the morning meal, and on most days a short shopping excursion, we would return to Trinity College (we stayed in the guest rooms there) and spend a few hours either relaxing or spending time with kids who showed up to hang out. Then it was time for the evening meal, again, usually at one of the kid's houses. After the meal and some time spent there, we would return to Trinity, and usually the kids were waiting for us. On a typical night, thirty or more kids would come there to hang out. Activities ranges from football to looking at pictures to sitting around talking to singing. It was a lot of fun.
A few days after we got there, Jerry, Grace, and Christina, the three former ICC kids from Shillong that I recorded a few songs with last year, came to Churachandpur, so we spend the next three or four days in the studio doing some more recording with them. We are planning to put together a "mini" album, so I will let you know the details on that a little later. Stay tuned... :)
On the few days that we didn't have invitations for a meal, we went out to one of the three little local restaurants that are in Churachandpur. And most of the time, there would be at least a few kids with us.
Our time to Churachandpur came to an end on Thursday. I will be returning there in a few weeks, but other guys in the group will not be, so there were some tearful farewells. A lot of the kids really got attached to them in the few weeks that we were there.
My group is in Shillong now, another city here in Northeast India. We all miss our friends from Churachanpur, but we are having a good time with another set of friends here in Shillong.
By the way, I know I promised some pictures early on in the trip, but the internet connections have been a little inconsistent, and I have just not had a chance yet. I am still planning to post some pictures, even if it has to wait till I get home.
Michael Esh
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