[friday night fun]

we went over to a friend's house, a lady that we met over a month ago that lives in some make-shift housing not too far from us. and honestly, there was nothing all that extravagant about the night. we sat in chairs around a fire. there was music. there was dancing. there was food. there was playing with little kids. and there was lots of attempts at speaking languages other than the one we group up with--their english much much better than our hindi, of course.

but something about nights like these, times when we are invited into an indian family's home and life, they mean so much to me. i realize at times like these what an everyday struggle life can be for them, and yet at the same time, possessions and even security aren't the source of joy. it's hard to describe it in words, but it's the holy breaking into the ordinary, everyday life. and it's beautiful.

anyway, on with the pictures: here are some of the many photos that came of the night (the kids LOVED posing for the camera and checking themselves out afterwards)

we brought along dusty, the street dog we have "adopted", (i.e. fattened up with our leftovers in the past month and a half) in hopes of finding him a home with this family.

our hostess with the mostest: selema, making a sweet campfire for us

selema has two really cute boys she dressed up in matching outfits for the occasion--so cute.

lots of kids from nearby houses stopped by for music, dancing, and of course, to see us whities.

justin and ruffin with dusty--he was a little hesitant to leave our sides at first.

the sweetest.

the sassiest. seriously, this girl had some spunk--loved it. (check out that pose!) tomorrow, i'll try to remember to upload a video of her and some friends dancing.

this sweet 16 year old is getting married in 2 months to a guy she's never met before. arranged marriages are such a normal part of the culture here still, especially in poverty, but it's so hard for me to get my mind wrapped around it still. i just hope she'll be happy.

some of the crowd (and seriously--check out the sassafrass in orange. so great.)

more pictures later!