Touchdown!!!

We finally landed in Chennai airport at about 7:30 am, grabbed our bags, and exited the terminal to the bright and smiling familiar faces of some of my favorite people on the planet!  Standing and greeting us were Raj and Prema (Raj's wife), their two kids (Bruce and Clarinda), Anandraj (another Life Mission staff member), Pastor Anbuannan (a "SuperPastor" from Vellavedu), Diako and Stephen (additional friends and volunteers), and a handfull of others who were new to us.  We snapped this picture before piling all our gear onto a huge bus and heading to the hotel for some refreshment time.  

And in case you're wondering what those gigantic flower garlands are that are hanging around our necks?  Well, that's a traditional Indian greeting, and the hospitality-driven nature of our Indian brothers and sisters does not disappoint.  Each team member is greeted with a fresh "lai" (erm... or at least that's what they call them in Hawaii, right?) that weighs about 2 - 3 pounds, and the flowers are so fragrant that they fill up your room with the scent of fresh flowers!