Before leaving home, I had spoken to my priest about the possibility of conducting a worship service for the observance of Ash Wednesday. He said that would be fine, since I was a Eucharistic Minister at my church. I was able to make several photo-copies of the service from the Book of Common Prayer, and took those with me, along with ashes. The tradition is to burn the palms from the previous Palm Sunday, and to use those ashes for imposition on Ash Wednesday. Never having burned palms, I did this in my office. WOW! What a smoky atmosphere was created, and the odor was not too pleasant, either. But it was done, the ashes were placed in a tiny receptacle and I took them in my suitcase to be used today.
After breakfast, all of us gathered in the dining tent, and I passed a copy of the service to each person. I was particularly pleased that District Governor Jay Kapner from North Carolina, was willing to participate in the service. He is Jewish, and I had asked if he would be willing to read the scripture lessons from the Old Testament, as well as leading the reading of the Psalm. Joan Nickell read the lesson from the New Testament and I read the Gospel Lesson. Just imagine... being out in the middle of the dessert in Rajasthan, India, surrounded by towns where Hindus and Muslims by far comprise the greatest percentage of population, but still observing a date which is sacred in the Christian tradition, and having participation from people of other religions. Truly a melting pot and an ecumenical service. One of our team is a spiritualist, and she was pleased to be there as an observer.
Once the service was over, we piled back into the jeep, with Dinesh seated on top of our bags in the trailer, and we headed into town.
We were all quite excited, as we were going to Pradeep's home and would be taking showers - real hot showers - using the facilities at his cottages (which were more like condominium units), before having lunch. We arrived in Siana, and I think Joan was first out of the back of the jeep, inquiring as to which unit had the good hair dryer! We kidded her about that for most of the trip. Everything was great for Joan, as long as there was a hot shower and a good hair dryer. She had brought her own with her, and at the first hotel on the morning of February 11th, she plugged it into the outlet and it shot flames out of the front and back! Well, we had our showers, relaxed a bit in the yard, surrounded by waves of magnificent color provided by bougainvillea bushes. We adjourned to the dining tent and Dinesh served another meal prepared by Pradeep's wife. It was delicious, as usual, and far more than we needed to eat - also as usual. 
While we were waiting outside, we were entertained by the family of monkeys who were swinging from tree branch to tree branch, and climbing up on the roofs of the several cottages at Pradeep's home.
We said our "good-byes" and boarded our coach with our driver, Kristian and the conductor, Bobbalou. We were headed to Jaisalmer, which lies about fifty miles from the Pakistani border, in the western part of Rajasthan. The trip is supposed to take about six hours, but as usual, we were in for a much longer journey.
After breakfast, all of us gathered in the dining tent, and I passed a copy of the service to each person. I was particularly pleased that District Governor Jay Kapner from North Carolina, was willing to participate in the service. He is Jewish, and I had asked if he would be willing to read the scripture lessons from the Old Testament, as well as leading the reading of the Psalm. Joan Nickell read the lesson from the New Testament and I read the Gospel Lesson. Just imagine... being out in the middle of the dessert in Rajasthan, India, surrounded by towns where Hindus and Muslims by far comprise the greatest percentage of population, but still observing a date which is sacred in the Christian tradition, and having participation from people of other religions. Truly a melting pot and an ecumenical service. One of our team is a spiritualist, and she was pleased to be there as an observer.
Once the service was over, we piled back into the jeep, with Dinesh seated on top of our bags in the trailer, and we headed into town.
We were all quite excited, as we were going to Pradeep's home and would be taking showers - real hot showers - using the facilities at his cottages (which were more like condominium units), before having lunch. We arrived in Siana, and I think Joan was first out of the back of the jeep, inquiring as to which unit had the good hair dryer! We kidded her about that for most of the trip. Everything was great for Joan, as long as there was a hot shower and a good hair dryer. She had brought her own with her, and at the first hotel on the morning of February 11th, she plugged it into the outlet and it shot flames out of the front and back! Well, we had our showers, relaxed a bit in the yard, surrounded by waves of magnificent color provided by bougainvillea bushes. We adjourned to the dining tent and Dinesh served another meal prepared by Pradeep's wife. It was delicious, as usual, and far more than we needed to eat - also as usual. 
While we were waiting outside, we were entertained by the family of monkeys who were swinging from tree branch to tree branch, and climbing up on the roofs of the several cottages at Pradeep's home.We said our "good-byes" and boarded our coach with our driver, Kristian and the conductor, Bobbalou. We were headed to Jaisalmer, which lies about fifty miles from the Pakistani border, in the western part of Rajasthan. The trip is supposed to take about six hours, but as usual, we were in for a much longer journey.
Several months ago, there were terrific floods in Rajasthan, particularly in the area we were traveling, so many of the major roads were washed out, or at least sections of them. In addition, we were also taking "short cuts" to reduce the time we would be on washed-out roads, but found that these roads were in even worse condition than some of the ones we might have traveled. As it turned out, the drive which should have lasted no more than six hours, lasted nearly nine, and when we arrived at our hotel in Jaisalmer, we were not even sure if we could have dinner, as the dining room might be closed.
Our contact met us and we got settled into our rooms - "Does my room have a good hair dryer?" We freshened up a bit and then went to the dining room to have a light dinner, before retiring for the evening. In the morning, we would meet our guide, Akram Ali, a young Muslim who had been guiding for about eight years - four as a licensed guide! Another door would be opened...
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