Arrived in Salem

from Jim:

We arrived uneventfully in Bagelore this morning, and Prema and Anand met us with a driver and small bus. They had driven up the evening before, and then slept in the bus 5 hours, while they waited for our flight to arrive at 4:45 AM. We then drove to Salem, about 6 hours with stops, and saw some beautiful scenery along the way. Unfortunately, I didn't have fresh batteries in the camera, so we don't have any of that to show you.

We checked into our hotel in Salem, slept a couple of hours, and went to have dinner, prepared by Prema and one of the ladies who cooks for the training conferences for the church planters and pastors (pictured to the right). This blue house is also the one the Salem team will be staying at, when the rest of us arrive on Saturday. These ladies really put on a feast for us, with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, omelets, french toast, tea, soft drinks, and whole wheat tortillas (well, that's what they were, although they aren't called that in this culture). The kindness and hospitality continues to amaze us.

All of this food was prepared for the two of us, and yes, that is a whole watermelon behind Prema's arm!