Glimpses

I had a request from one of my two favorite grandmothers to post a few pictures. So here is a quick glimpse into the past week and life in South Asia....



Three days a week are spent with some pretty amazing kids. It's been so much fun getting to know and work with them over the past few months. And even more exciting... two joined the family this week! Definitely join me in thanking Him for that!!



Outside the grocery store one afternoon, I noticed one of the trees shaking a little. Then I saw three monkeys enjoying themselves. I have to say... they must some of the smart ones to chose the place where the keep all the food to hang out. I'd be lying if I said I was used to seeing these animals all over the place. I must still be entertained if I pull my camera out :)



Walking down this street, I ran into this huge group of guys standing on the sidewalk. Typically, I would avoid that situation at all costs, but I didn't know if it was a fight or a meeting or an emergency, and my curiosity got the best of me. Turns out it was an electronics store and the guys were watching a cricket match through the window. A little anti-climatic, but worth a laugh.



I spent some time at a friend's house today and got to meet a few of her nieces. Taking pictures of each other was a fun way to overcome the language barrier.



Because good Mexican food is rare in this part of the world, the opening of this restaurant in our city was a pretty big deal to the Americans I know. Apparently it is a big deal to other people too, because half of the country was in the restaurant while we were. Despite a little South Asian twist, it was pretty close to the original and well worth the wait.

And finally...



The friend that shares so many of these adventures with me. So thankful for you!

A Lesson

I spent several hours on Thursday afternoon sharing with a friend about an area in which I'm struggling to trust. She then shared what Dad has been teaching her recently. After coffee and a quick eyebrow threading stop, we went our separate ways. At this point, it had just gotten dark, and catching an auto alone at night is not one of my favorite things. Eventually I found a driver who knew where my neighborhood is and was willing to go by the price on the meter, which is pretty rare for an American at night :)

I noticed pretty quickly that we weren't taking the normal route. The coffee shop is pretty close to the school, so I know the easiest way to get from that area home, but he wasn't taking it. This is when panic begins to set in. I ask him to make sure he is headed to the right place, and he assures me that he is taking a short cut and we are almost there.



At this point, I have a choice to make. I can choose to let go and trust that this driver knows the city better than I do and will get me where I need to be, or I can make him stop and get out of his auto. I went with the former.

When I got to my destination, he had gotten me there so quickly that it ended up costing about half the price that it normally does. And he was one of the kindest drivers I've had. Turns out he did know so much better than I did, and because I trusted him, I was blessed.

It was such an amazing picture of learning to trust my Father. So often, I don't understand the path He has me on or the turns He is taking. But He is in control. He knows what is ahead, while I have no clue. I have to simply surrender to His guidance and trust that He loves me and has great things in store. Trust that He wants the best for me. Trust that He desires my sanctification, regardless of what it takes. Trust that this will bring me closer to Him.

I choose to trust.

This song by Ginny Owens says it more beautifully than I can, so I'll let it convey my heart tonight...

The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to

Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone

So When the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through
And I will go through the valley If You want me to

A Few More Reasons

I can't believe I've been here almost two months! Time is flying by, but I am loving it. Every day is an adventure, and I'm seeing Him at work both in my own life and all around me. At the school, we're staying busy getting ready for the spring musical. Pretty sure it's going to be a hit :) The kids are working so hard, and Dad is being glorified in their praises! Can't wait for their friends and family to get to see their fruits of their efforts.

We're also still working on language, which has turned out to be a bigger challenge than I expected. Most people that we meet want to practice English with us, so convincing them to speak another language takes some effort (and sometimes some compromising!). We're trying though! Be lifting this up when you think about it.

In one of the papers this week, there was an article listing 60 reasons to love this country. I found it very entertaining, and since I heard you all enjoyed the last list, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites with you. Enjoy!

2. FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY
Tell someone you don't believe in God. Go on. You'll find yourself arguing so vehemently to make your case that you could well be accused of having a severe case of faith faith in no God in this case. Because that's what we do believe. Hard. With passion. In anything we want to believe. Which is why practically every faith known to God is right here in India, and we're not above inventing several more if we think we haven't enough.

3. THE WAY WE ARE SO FLEXIBLE
Checked anyone's filofax lately? Know anyone who has a filofax? We may set off in the morning expecting to follow a strict schedule of assignments and appointments, but we are always happy to chuck all our plans at a moment's notice, particularly if the alternative involves partying.

5. CHAI
It's raining. We need chai. It's cold. We need chai. It's hot and sweaty and miserable. We need chai. Yes chai, not tea. The over-boiled, over-milked and over-sweetened stuff that could rot our teeth and turn our insides into shoe leather, yet never fails to put life back into our tired frames. Then there's also tea. Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra... Mmmm, the fragrance.

7. WEDDINGS AND FAMILY OCCASIONS
Our weddings are attended by family, relatives, friends, past and present neighbours, people who invited you to their or their siblings' weddings, past and present colleagues, random strangers because we had 300 wedding cards extra and didn't want to waste them, plus gatecrashers a guestlist so long it rivals the population of the whole of Africa. If however, our homes are filled with the population of only one small country, like Bangladesh, we're just having a family dinner.

11. DESI HOSPITALITY
Atithi devo hava... and we will be devo-ed till our stomachs burst. When we step into anyone's house we are fed, watered and pampered so much, we'd never believe there was a single nasty person on this planet. The only difficulty is getting away if they could, our hosts would adopt us on the spot.

29. SINGING
What do you get when two of us, even if we're perfect strangers or deadly enemies, are hanging around with nothing to do? A sing-song, that's what. Because we luuurrrve singing. We sing everywhere and anywhere, we have contests for bathroom singers and enormous national-level singing contests called antakshari whether we can actually sing or not.

46. THE WAY WE HAVE A NAME FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON WE MAY BE EVEN REMOTELY RELATED TO
Ma, baap, dada, dadi, nana, nani, taya, tayi, chacha, chachi, bua, phupha, mama, mami, beta, beti, potaa, naati, poti, naatin, behan, jija, bhanja, bhanji, bhai, bhabhi, bhatija, bhatiji, pati, patni, saas, sasur, damaad, bahu, jeth, jethani, nanad, nandoii, devar, devarani, saali, salaa, samdhan... And that's only in Hindi. Need we say more?

From the Hindustan Times