Christmas & New Year at a Children’s Home

Time is a funny thing, isn’t it?

All that can be experienced and lived by a soul, out of the infinity of possibilities and variations, is ordered into a nice neat line for us – a line of moment after moment after moment. Sometimes our brains slow these moments down for us, sometimes we experience them quickly (a 2-hour car journey can drag on when you’re a child or bored or it can pass quickly if you play games, talk or listen to music), but nevertheless we can only experience things linearly and presently. We shouldn’t stay in a moment from the past (which produces stagnation) and we shouldn’t live in a moment yet to come (which is the source of worry), all we have is right now, which is where we find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… etc.

Somewhere down my line (a year ago, by our measurements) I left everything and everyone I knew and moved to Goa, India, to give underprivileged children an education in music. So how has living in the moment changed me over the past 12 months? What have been the ups and downs?

But before I get to that, I must tell you about Christmas and New Year. You see, December had come around and I was used to having seen Christmas decorations up around for a few weeks by that point, but in Goa there was nothing. Not a bauble. To make matters worse, it was hot and still light at 7pm! Outrageous. It didn’t feel like Christmas at all. Work went on as normal. But in mid December everything started to change. All the streets became illuminated with thousands of fairy lights and stars – so beautiful. I started feeling Christmassy. All I needed was to hear some carols and I was set.

Carols thou shalt have, my cherub, because every Christmas the kids at Bethesda Life Centre get invited by the local tourist resorts to do some fundraising by singing carols and being cute in front of the tourists. Throughout the year, the kids had mentioned it regularly with excitement – the singing, the Santa hats, the hot Christmas buffets all laid out for them. It sounded like a treat.

It was to be my first proper experience in getting to know the girls, as most of my time had been with the boys so far and I had been chosen to accompany the girls team. A choir of 12 girls was formed – some of them older veterans to the routine and some of them cute newbies to put on the front row and pick their noses in front of the nice tourists. What I would learn was that the setlist was a massive 54 Christmas songs (some of which I didn’t know – “Jolliest Christmas Tree”, anyone?) being performed every night for the week up to and including Christmas day. Would there be 54 sets of words, melodies and actions to learn? I was in for a hard slog.

Now, around this time, to make matters interesting, I had developed a middle-ear infection – a build up of stuff somewhere between the ear drum and the throat. Over the course of a few days I began feeling dizzy, tired and fluey and my hearing was fading. It would be ok, though, because everyone else involved in the carol singing would know what normally goes on and I could just turn up, play, sing, go home, rest.

That was not to be. Resort staff would be coming to me to find out what we needed, where we wanted to stand, what the plan was (planning, organisation and clear communication aren’t aspects of India’s that I would write home about). I hadn’t got a clue what normally happens at these functions as it’s my first year, so while I’m trying to stay up straight and stay awake I’m also having to remember a tonne of Christmas songs, organise the whens, wheres, whats and hows while talking to kids and staff who I can’t hear properly, energise the girls and keep them smiling and happy but also try to calm down the ones who are trying to swing from my arm, and I’ve got to smile the whole time. Trying to enjoy Christmas was a prospect too far away to imagine. I woke up on Christmas day and cried from the weight of it all.

But no matter how difficult it becomes here, I’m not here for myself, I’m here for the good of the kids and to give them a memorable Christmas. I love them dearly and continually pour out my energy, time and affection for them. I’ve just got to push a little more then I can relax (unfortunately I was leading worship and preaching over the coming two Sundays, so there was still a lot to do but I couldn’t think about that yet).

Christmas Day turned out to be lovely in the end. At 9.30am I went to the see the boys (they always fill me with joy) and wished them happy Christmas and gave them a present I’d had made – a framed collage of them all (their joy at opening a simple picture was so touching). I turned up at the home wearing jingle bells on my ankle, but within 2 minutes it had become a blessing to one of the boys and would never be seen by me again. Some of the boys were wearing casual clothes and some of them had put on their best shirt and trousers. Everyone was bouncing around and happy.

Then they all got on the bus to go to Martin and Beena’s house where they got given presents and sweets, sang a few carols and received a small Christmas message from Martin. I had Christmas dinner with Martin, Beena, and their family and friends, FaceTimed my own family, got some sleep, then went to see all the junior and senior boys at their Christmas party at one of the resorts where they were given lots of yummy food and a terrifying-looking Santa was going around making the tourists uneasy. Perfect end to the day.

New Year came around at the click of the fingers and I was in charge of organising the church’s New Years Eve evening countdown service. The church owns a small building which can fit 50 or so people in, so it would be perfect. Once we’d cleaned it out, decorated it and organised the food, electricity and words for the projector, it was ready to go. I led worship on guitar and MC’d an evening where I had no idea what normally happens, but after the carol-singing madness I learnt to conclude ‘screw it’ and did whatever I felt was best. After we welcomed in 2019, hugged, ate, packed down and left, it was on to the senior boys home party. This was where the real action was happening – who can argue when there’s a game of musical chairs at 3am.

The boys had rigged up the sound system to play music in the back yard and we all danced together, ate dinner together and played the most fun games, smiling all the way. At around 2am I was ominously asked to “go behind the curtain and… burn the old man”. I didn’t hesitate. I instantly agreed and was led around the corner to where the boys had made a sort of a Guy Fawkes-like mannequin – a representation of the ‘old man’ of the outgoing year, which would be burnt so that the new man can be born. I lit the fire and the thing went up like the Wicker Man, only without the farm animals and Edward Woodward inside. The night ended at 4am, at which point I drove back home and spent the following 36 hours in much-needed solitude and calm.

So here I am, in 2019, a very different man to what I was when I first came. Come back tomorrow when I will publish part 2. I’ll share stories from the past 12 months – the highs, the lows, the hilarious and the time that a stranger threatened to punch me in the face.

Sidenotes:

• Special mention needs to go to the Grand Hyatt resort – a 5-star luxury paradise for the rich and wealthy, who bend over backwards to make the Bethesda kids feel like royalty. They give them the best food, keep them hydrated and entertained, give them buggy rides, take them to the bouncy castle while the sound-guy sets up. Massive thanks to Roger and his staff for their generosity, effort and for thinking how they can make each year for the kids better than the previous one.
• I had to transport 150 hot meals on cardboard trays in my tiny car (another shout out to the Marriott resort who donated them all). Twas a hilarious experience cramming them all in and driving slowly back to the 3 homes late at night. Thanks to Dancha for your help and the giggles.
• I am in real need of sponsorship. If you feel compelled to give to help me teach here, you can do so via this JustGiving link or contact me on social media or send an email to hello@willadammusic.com and I can provide my sponsorship account details.