Let's start at the very beginning

As you know, I am a very detailed person. I want to tell you how the trip has gone from the start and this is the first real chance I have had to sit down for any length of time and describe our trip. We left Sunday at 2:15 from the house. It was uneventful until we got to the airport. Then Keith realized that he forgot the digital camera. He had taken it out of his bag when he was taking pics of Ambika's new room and forgot to put it back in. After some discussion, we just decided we could buy one there. After all, we had to have it.

Well, this is where God steps in. On the flight from Frankfurt to Bangalore, we sit beside a man from California. This man didn't know us at all, but through talking with him and getting to know him, we discovered that he was a Christian and just a really nice guy. We had some great conversations with him. His name is Lou and he is in India on business. He knew we were meeting Ambika the next morning and offered to give us his camera. Can you believe that? A perfect stranger giving us his camera. That just goes to show how God moves to glorify himself.

The flights were uneventful. Lufthansa is a great airline. The service was great and we actually took off and landed early! I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs to fly overseas. Also, we had to check four bags. We were overweight on one of the carry ons and we were REALLY worried (Christina) about our bags being lost. The man assured us all our bags would arrive. I read an article on the plane about the efficiency of the bags and after reading it, I felt MUCH better. Sure enough, the bags arrived in top form.

We met Saju John in Bangalore and his brother Sam. They got us a driver and we headed to our aparment. We had rented a two bedroom apartment that was a part of a bed and breakfast. What I didn't realize was that it was a service apartment. In India, that means something different. When we arrived at 2am, there was, (are you ready for this) a MAN sleeping in the floor of the den of the apartment. (CH I see you laughing already!) It was explained to me that this man was our butler, basically. He would be making us breakfast and would be available for whatever we needed. So, if I wanted breakfast in the morning this man was going to have to sleep in the den. Of course, I am mortified, but KW is thinking this is no big deal. He just wants to go to bed.

So, after about three hours of sleep, we get up. The man begins to make our breakfast and he stays and hovers until we leave for the orphanage. I explain to Saju that when we get back with Ambika, this man is NOT to be here. I know the intentions were good, but it was creeping me out.

So, you know what happened at the school. Once we left the school, we wanted to go ahead and take Ambika back to the orphanage and get her things. Ambika kept saying, "I want to go". So, Hella said we could take her back to the orphanage, but she sent two of her friends with us so she wouldn't be scared. We stayed at the orphanage until about 4:30. I was waiting to get the papers I would need for the Embassy and waiting to get Ambika's clothes. We did get some of her clothes, but the others were hard to find, so we are getting them later. All that to say, Ambika did come back to the apartment with us.

BUT, we didn't stay at the apartment too long. We ended up finding a much better place, and when I told them my sob story, they gave me a GREAT rate on a penthouse suite. MUCH better.

The next day we left for Chennai. We took off about 30 min. late but the flight was great. Kingfisher is a great Indian airline. When we got to the airport,we had to pay a local fee that we didn't know about. It was about 15 bucks for all of us, but it was a shocker. We couldn't get through the doors without it. Also, the security screening is a girl/guy thing, so that was interesting, but again, not a big deal.

Ambika, love the flight and I will post pics later. They had movie screens so she watched Tom and Jerry the entire one hour flight. We were given a lunch and drinks plus they gave her a kid's book from Disney that had HSM and HM in it. Of course, she had not heard of either of them. She will. She ate something that KW and I didn't think looked good at all, but she loved it. She also wanted Ketchup all over it.

Our hotel in Chennai is great. We are staying at the Radisson and it's worth the money. We saw the medical doctor and he filled out all the forms he needed to on Ambika. All of that went well. We tried the pool but she didn't like it. She does like the bath and shower though. She is much more talkative and demanding (comfortable) around me than Keith, but we knew that might happen.

Last night, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant with Ruban, and AWANA worker and his wife. Ambika ate French Fries and ice cream and loved it. She has now been asleep for a little less than ten hours and still doesn't seem to want to get up.

Today, we are going to the embassy to get her visa. We will leave for Blore again at 5:30 tonight. I will post pictures soon. I promise. Now, you know the rest of the story.....Keep checking in and thanks to everyone for the comments. Love to all!