You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2007.
I wasn’t sure exactly how or how much of american culture I would intergrate back into my life, but in my first week home I have eaten taco bell, got a hair cut and dyed my hair, got a pedicure and manicure, got my make up done, bought new shoes, wore a summer dress and bought something from the clearance rack. I’m not saying this because i think these are bad things, but i’m just pointing out what I never really thought of or did in India. Most of these things were the result of being in my friends wedding last saturday and just part of being home. I guess being away puts my life here under a bit of a mirccscope. I did get startled however when i was going into target and the automatic doors opened. I am such dork.
Well from india in one week to a super beautiful wedding. It was out in yakima at her grandparents vineyard/ranch. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding that couldn’t have turned out any better. Lacey was a beautiful bride and Ian a hansom prince charming. They had know each other since elementary school and have been together sine 11th grade. It was a great joy and honor to be there with their family and friends. I can’t put into words how storybook their lives are and I don’t mean perfect. I mean written by the hand of God. I truly admire and respect their love for God. Its sweet how God reveals himself when he is invited in. I’m so glad i was able to celebrate with them and be shown God’s love through these great friends. There was a group from fox that came as well so it was good to see some school buddies for the first time. I was able to ride home with one of my mentors from college who led my trip to the philippines and leads a short term trip for fox every year. It was a great debriefing and processing time because she asked great questions and i just got to blab it all out. She was stuck in the car with me so it didn’t matter if she was really listening I just got to talk for 3 hours. It was great to say my thoughts out loud. I don’t necessarily have more answers, but it was great to say things out loud; it showed me how much i learned and experienced. Needless to say that time was an answer to prayer. I put a few pics on facebook of the wedding. I’m still not certain what i will do with my india pics. I printed about 185 of the 600 for an album, but i still want to do a slideshow/something creative. I have a couple projects in my tiny little brain now, but we will see what actually happens. I will do my best to put them online somewhere, but I’ll definetly let you know how to see them.
This week is going to be my “me” week. My parents are headed out of town and my sister back to her apt so i’ll have the house to myself. I was afraid that i could easily get wrapped up in my old ways, not that all those ways were bad, but there are things i want to change. The “things” aren’t really even things, but really the condition at which i approach the throne of my God and my neighbor. When i was praying about coming home and the busy, go getter lifestyle that can at time replace the Lord in my life, i realized that transitioning back to amercia meant i would have to avoid the temptation to let “life” get in between me and God. He has to stay first in my heart, mind and spirit. A simple and even basic concept I know, but necessary to bear any fruit at all. If i stay with Him, He will stay with me. Before i can make steps towards my future or even have the right things to say to friends, I have to be with my maker, my savior, and my Father. Its going to be great to be intentional for a couple days to listen and be held by his presence because i will know how then i shall live. I know it will take weeks even months to unfold all of my experiences, but its time to take a look in the mirror.
couple wedding pics at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008767&l=b683f&id=98300284
I thought to myself, whoa i’m in america when…
1. I put the toliet paper in the toliet and it was ok to flush.
2. The lady at the ticket counter in the aiport was friendly, smiled and was helpful.
3. I was no longer a “whitie”
4. I wore sunglasses
5. I drank a vanilla chai
6. I recieved my portion size at the resturant
7. I took a walk in the park alone and not a single man talked to me
8. I put my dishes in the dishwasher
9. I walked on the carpet of my house
10. When i realized we have 5 cars for 4 people, 3 tvs, 2 rooms in our house that we hardly use, and 6 couches (wait I just walked downstairs, 7 couches).
sorry, about that old post. i forgot the power went out when i was typing it and then i never posted it. its kinda late coming, since i’m already home, but oh well.
do you know what movie my post title is from? its one of my favorites…”Finding Nemo.” Its dark and dorie hears nemo’s dad talking and she asks the voice, “are you my conscience?” That is how I feel whenever I do anything at home. India is my conscience, my jiminy cricket. I think about eating out or how much food i’m eating or not eating and I think of Rosie. I think about things I “need” or am shopping for and I think of Gita. I think about the endless possibilites of my future and the choices I get to make and i think of the girls in the red light area. I think of something I’m scared of or afraid of doing and I think of the Sari Bari ladies. So far it hasn’t been so much out of guilt as a reality check and conscious reminder that “my” world is not “the world” and my struggles/problems are not the struggles and problems of the world. One of the staff members of WMF said as she lives in India and tows the line of simplicity she realized that everything extra she chooses to have separates her from the community of the poor she lives among. I wonder how that works in America. How do i live keeping in my mind my brothers and sisters around the world? By default, obivously my lifestyle is light years from my close friends in India just because I am american, but I wonder how to shorten the gap? It makes me sad really when i think about it. I rather be with them, near them and part of their world. Or maybe the challenge is not the brothers and sisters just around the world, but the ones in my one backyard. As I stare at the plank in my own eye I’m realzing here that even “my” american life, is not the life for alot of folks in the states. I wonder what it is like to take a look in the mirror at my own gates between myself and the poor and my own lifestyle here where I don’t have to see the poor, the widow and the orphan. In india i saw their faces every day and was moved to love them and have compassion on them. Here my world is set up so that I don’t have to look the suffering in the face; i would have to choose to find them, seek them out and love them. The city and conditions here aren’t forcing me to plead for Christ’s compassion for the suffering as I look it in the face everyday. Here I would have to choose to find Christ among the poor and broken. God is not just going to force my self-denial and humiliation. No, here I have to choose it. I have to choose to become less. I wonder if i will?
I think that most of my future posts will be more introspective. I’m home now so my week isn’t nearly as exciting, but there will still be fun details to share. I also don’t know who will understand my crazy random thoughts unless you have been overseas or have thought about these same things. If not then who knows how much you will be able to relate or understand, but maybe it will give you a glimpse at the carving God is doing on this vessel. Maybe it will help you understand God more, maybe it will help you understand me more or maybe it will help you understand yourself more. Mother T said that if you have the eyes to see it, you can find calcutta anywhere. All i know is that i’m really really missing life in India; the people, the friends, the suffering, the joy, the life. If its not the literal calcutta I’m called to I’m praying God will show me my calcutta because something about calcutta taught me how to live; and I want to live again.
*** this is an old post that i never posted cuz the power went out, but i already typed it so why not post it***
Well, I have just 4 days left in India. I can hardly believe it. It doesn’t feel like I’m really leaving or that I will have to say goodbye to so many special people. This past weekend we got to go bowling with the Sari Bari ladies. It was the greatest day and probably in the top five things i did while i was here. They were all so cute and of course bowling in their saris. Most of them adopted the “two-handed, slow roll” technique down the lane and even when one pin fell, we all rejoiced. It was this great bowling alley and while we were there we discovered they also had bumper cars. So after bowling everyone got to do the bumper cars. It was a hilarous sight to see and even I was having trouble driving my car, but there were some laughter worthy crashes. We got to play and laugh the whole day with these ladies. It reminds me how something as simple as laughter and fun can be good for the soul. One lady said she was so glad she worked for sari bari because if she didn’t she would not get to be in this beautiful place. It was a day I wish I could have frozen in time.
Last week Melissa and I got to take our friend Rosie school shoe shopping. She wanted us to come along, but because she was with us the price would be higher. So when we got down from the bus Melissa and I hid behind this tower while she went and found some shoes. She came back and reported the price to me because I said I would buy them as a gift for her and then she went back and purchased them. She put on her school uniform and did her hair in braids for us to see. She was so cute! Sadly we will say goodbye tomorrow to her and the rest of her family. I was able to give Rosie a bengali bible which she loved very much and a couple other small gifts for her and her sisters. We also gave her some potscards with a stamp and our address and tried to explain how she could write us in america. It took a couple times but then she understood that if she takes it to the post office we would get it at our house in america. I hope it works. Her mom hugged us the other day and told us she loved us. This family and their friendship has been one of the greatest things about india. It is entirely a gift from God and unique in itself. Tomorrow is our last morning to see them before we go and Rosie is going to cook for us. She made sure we understood not to eat breakfast before we came and they will also wear new clothes. They are so sweet.
Tomorrow is a day of goodbyes. First to Rosie and her family, then at Prem Dan which I have grown to love and then the Sari bari ladies. Tomorrow afternoon we will head to a local club/hotel for some down time, a swimming pool and debriefing with our team. Wednesday we have a final dinner with our families and the staff, Thursday is a free/packing/last mintue things day and Friday at 8am I say goodbye to Calcutta.
I’m in serious disbelief and shock that I’m leaving. Leaving doesn’t really feel real because in so many ways this has become my home. There are people I care about here and have grown to know and love so its weird to think about going. Home will be so different from here and there are good things i’m looking forward to; a shower, a clean city, carpet, cereal, an apple, and yogurt. Obviously, it will be the best to see my friends and family and be where I am totally me. There are parts that I don’t know how I will hadle, I’ll be honest. The wealth of myself and my country leaves me a bit confused, our lack of awareness of the majority world makes me sad and all the ways we could make this a better world if we wanted to makes me frustrated. I’m learning all this myself, so I’m excited to journey with you as well and together we can come up with the right questions. I’m expecting culture shock when I return and in some ways coming home could be harder than leaving.
Welcome back to k-town. Our week visit to southern india was a nice break from k-town, but when we got in this morning, it felt like home. We spent our first 3 days at a childrens home in bangalore. Let me tell you guys, this place was amazing. I can’t really describe it in words, but i’ll try. Tammy started it 9 years ago and now she has 48 kids ages 3-17. That number seems like it would be outrageous and out of control, but it wasn’t at all. There are 3 nice spacious houses all kinda attached. The office, kitchen and tammy’s house (upstairs) is the middle home. There is a girls home with 2 floors and a guys home with 2 floors, with 12 kids on each floor, which is 3 rooms with 2 bunk beds. Got all that? There is a house mother for each floor and other staff that help with homework, cooking, driving, devotionals etc. All the kids came from a destitute life. Some she found on the street, some begging at the train stations, some come from local social workers, some whose parents have died, have aids or just don’t want to take care of their kids. There are some amazing stories from these children and you would have no idea what they have been through. The have touching and powerful worship and prayer. Sunday night all the kids have the choice of fasting from dinner and praying for their country. Beth was able to be there once when they had fasting prayer and she said it was one of the most powerful times of prayer she has ever had. Keep in mind these are kids. It was such a beautiful thing to see and something so unique. Tammy’s heart is to raise them with dreams and desire to change their country for Jesus. There are some rad stories I will share someday about the kids. Nothing compares to child-like faith. Its obvious why Jesus says we must be like little children.
We stayed 3 nights there at the home and mostly got to rest and relax. We played with the kids in the afternoon and rotated homes for dinner. They were on the last days of their summer vacation before school starts up again. One night after dinner we had the privelege of watching Cinderella 3 with all the girls. They were laughing and hollering at the prince to ride faster on his horse. At the end when prince charming and cinderella kissed they all covered their eyes. It was pretty cute.
From Bangalore we took a 6 hr train ride to chennai. We had just two days there, but we got to see quite a bit. We visited a museum, had freshly squeezed juice of just about any flavor your heart desired and we ate truly american food. There was this restaraunt named Sparky’s that is owned and ran by an american. All the funds go back into funding WYAM minstries. It was like we left india and were in america. It had american decorations from baseball teams, cities, license plates etc. It could be compared to TGIF or applebees at home. We were with our indian staff as well so we got to share our culture and this expereince with them. We were trying to find things on the menu for them to try, but their favorite ended up being the cheesecake with bluberries for dessert. I had a teriyaki chicken burger and we all indulged in the free refills of cold lemonade and ice tea.
There are two WMF homes in Chennai both ran by all Indian staff. Chennai is where WMF started in 94 with a home for children whose parents have aids. We were able to visit both homes. The commitment and dedication of the two couples that run each home is remarkable. One of the homes is for disabled children and it is ran by an indian couple. Unfortuanately they don’t have a lot of help now, but he was telling us how these kids who were thrown away by their own family, have become his children. There is such a stigma in india towards handicapped/disabled children. Nobody even wants to rent him a house because they are afraid it will become dirty. He and his wife live with these children, take care of all of their needs, and know each of the children individually. The home is full of 11 children that have special needs and the couple is truly an example of Jesus becoming flesh and living among the poorest of the poor. The other indian couple has a home for 37 kids some of which have living family members and others that don’t. We sang songs, played games with the kids and they showed us their rooms. I’m really glad we got to see other WMF ministries and meet others who have followed jesus to the poor.
Our trip ended Friday night as we boarded the train for a 30hr ride back here to kolkata. I didn’t think the train was actually that bad because at night you actually have a place to lay down and sleep. The beds go 3 high on the sides so its not a ton of space, but plenty to sleep. I actually slept decently on the train. We passed the time during the day with books, conversation, laughter and games. We arrived this morning at 7am and I am glad to be back. It was 117 here while were gone. (ps the weather in bangalore was beautiful. we were all loving it. warm, but not sweaty and cool at night) Now its in the 100’s so I think i’m going to see Shrek 3 tonight. We have this week left of work, one more weekend, a debriefing retreat, goodbyes and then i’m on my way home.
