Suitcases and Strikes and Roadblocks……OH MY

We left Delhi this morning with our 14 suitcases, 11 carry-ons, and 1 red pan. We have added one more member to our team which means 2 more suitcases! It has been quite an experience traveling with so much. We have had some trouble with some of the airlines because of the amount of suitcases. We try to explain to them that most of the luggage are supplies for kids in an orphanage we are visiting, but I don’t think that really matters to them. However, one of the pastor’s brother in law works at the Delhi airport and helped us get through a lot of our luggage without having to pay for a whole lot of extra weight!
The five tired travelers landed in Imphal excited to get to the orphanage and settle in for the next five weeks. However, upon landing and meeting the local pastor in Imphal we learned that the people who were supposed to pick us up and take us to Churachandpur couldn’t get through because of a strike. Locals who are upset with the government are on strike and block the roads so no one can pass. This also meant that instead of getting out of Imphal and onto Churachandpur we had to get a hotel in Imphal and hope that the strike ends tomorrow so we can get to our final destination.
So….the five of us with our many suitcases rode around Imphal in 3 separate cars with the people from the church here trying to find a place to stay! We are in our hotel rooms now waiting out the strike  Thank the Lord for fellow believers from Imphal who so willingly helped us.
We had a nice relaxing time in Delhi. We ate at KFC, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut! We also had traditional Indian food in the YMCA where we stayed. Josh and I had a wonderful cockroach friend that joined us in our room at the YMCA  I woke up one night to Josh on the floor with my shoe reaching under a cabinet trying to kill the pest. He claims he got it; however, I saw one in the bathroom the morning we left. Not sure if it was the same one or a different one 
We were able to do some shopping in Delhi. Everywhere we went people were following us trying to give us directions, asking us for something, or trying to get us to buy something. I think by the 3rd day they were used to us walking around and didn’t come up to us as much.
Wednesday night in Delhi we went to a church and were able to minister to the people there through drama, singing, and testimonies. There was a boy at that church who was in the orphanage in Churachandpur 3 years ago when I was there. He was a part of the group that I taught puppets and drama! He is now in Delhi going to school and studying botany. It was neat to be able to see one of the kids I had taught 3 years ago.