Kids!

Dear Daughter,

Papa had to pretend that he was a preacher this week for the film that we are making and had to deliver a sermon in Tamil in a church!

There were many children at the church to be in the film and they were all very sweet. Here are some pictures of them. I showed them my pictures of you too and they were all very happy to see them.

I Love You!
Papa

Action!

Dear Daughter,

I was so happy to talk to you last night and hear about your school projects with the Dinosaurs!

We will have so much to talk about when I am back.

Papa has to go tomorrow again to be in the film about Bishop Sargent that I sent you pictures about. I won't be riding a horse, but you never know what can happen with the movies, especially in India.

I will be sending you more pictures about the filming, but may be away for a day, so I just wanted to let you know that Papa loves you.

Papa

PS I saw the tiniest little frog who must have come out today after our big Thunderstorm. And, I remembered what you told me that I shouldn't be scared during thunderstorms because the rain is necessary and you are right. 

The Silly Little Goat

Dear Daughter,

Papa went to Chennai this weekend, which is a very, very big city in Tamil Nadu and is the capital of the region.

Papa saw a Cricket match between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. Cricket is a game similar to baseball and is very popular in India. Several of the best players in the world are Indians and I got to see them play. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in the stadium so I will have to tell you about it in person.

Also, I went to a place called Mahabalipuram, which is famous for huge stone carvings. It was really neat to see. There were life-size elephants and temples carved out of a single stone! And, there was a huge boulder called "Krishna's Butterball," because Krishna was rumored to always be stealing his mother's butter. He was a bit naughty at times. How do you think it got there?

Do you remember walking around Bandelier in New Mexico with Papa and we climbed into all of those caves on the ladders? This was similar to that at times, so you would have liked this.

When I was walking around, I saw this little goat who was a bit confused. He wanted to join the other animals, but they were all stone sculptures! Silly little goat.

I love you,
Papa

Papa Rides Again

Dear Daughter,

For the past two days, Papa was working on a film here in India. We will be working on this for a couple of weeks in addition to Papa still teaching English, so I will be quite busy!

I have to act like I am Edward Sargent who was a respected man in Tamil Nadu for promoting education and was involved with the church here. In India there are many religions, including Christianity, which is what he believed in. It is important for us to learn about the many different religions in the world to help us understand each other better.

Mr. Sargent used to ride a horse wherever he went because there were no cars, nor Tak-Taks when he lived in India over 100 years ago. So, Papa had to be filmed riding a horse through a banana grove. Here are some pictures of me on the horse! The Tamil word for horse is “kuthirai.”

I love you,

Papa

Indian Movie Star

Dear Daughter,

Guess what?

Papa is going to be in a movie here! I will be playing the lead part in a documentary of Edward Sargent, who was a bishop here in southern India over 100 years ago. He was very instrumental in promoting education and set up one of the first boarding schools for girls here and is greatly respected by the people of Tamil Nadu, they even wrote a song about him. So, Papa may be a mini movie star in Tamil Nadu. I will be going to the coast of India again tomorrow to shoot some scenes and, some of them will be in Tamil too.

It was wonderful to talk to you last night. Do you remember the Tamil words I taught you on the phone? 

I love you,

Papa

Indian Sopaipillas

Dear Daughter,

Tonight, Papa had Indian sopaipillas for dinner! Here, they are called pani, but they are just as delicious. We had a green chili and onion stew to put on top of them, which you then mix together and eat with your fingers like a taco. It was very good and reminded me of New Mexico and the sopaipillas that you and Papa ate there. But, here, they don't eat them for dessert with honey like we did in New Mexico, but we did have fresh pineapple for dessert. So, maybe I will teach them how to eat them with honey here and when you and Papa go back to New Mexico, we can try to eat them like they do in India!

I love you,

Papa

Blessed by an Elephant

Dear Daughter,

Last evening, Papa went to the Meenakshi Temple here in Madurai. It is a very large complex of hallways and buildings, filled with amazing statues, paintings, and even an elephant! There were many families there and lots of candles and incense burning as well as chanting and music. The elephant lives in the temple complex and was giving "blessings" to many of the people there. They would bow down and she would touch them on the forehead with her trunk to bless them. It was a wonderful experience.

I love you,