The old order of things, it’s passing…

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “IT IS DONE. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelation 21:1-7 (emphasis mine)

Sometimes I’m overwhelmed at the sights my eyes take in.  By God’s grace, He’s allowed me to see so much beauty in this city.  I haven’t written often about the darker side of things, but it’s there.  And sometimes it’s more than I can handle.  God’s heart must break daily over sin that leads to destruction when it’s so opposed to what He intended for us.  I imagine there are times when He has to turn His eyes away.  He must weep over what we’ve become.  How could beings made in His image stray so far?  My heart is so burdened by things I’ve seen and heard. 

This week there was a raid on beggars in Bangalore.  These desperate people get tiny babies (from where I don’t want to imagine), drug them so that they don’t cry, and use them to elicit sympathy from anyone who would spare a rupee or two.  The babies don’t look human.  I’ve seen them with my own eyes many times, and they are so small and helpless.  It turns my stomach to see them and think about their future.  The police took 300 babies this past week, and I’m assuming they’re now in orphanages, some likely with permanent physical and emotional damage from what they’ve endured already in their short lives.  Some of the beggars will be taken outside the city and left so that they don’t disturb anyone else.  Others will lay low for a few days and then return to the only thing they know.  Rejected and unwanted. 

On Saturday Brent and I went with friends to hand out food and blankets to homeless people.  We found a man lying in the middle of the road, passed out from a likely alcohol overdose, his lifeless body unseen by those stepping over and around him.  We placed a bag of food and a blanket beside him and walked away, hoping that no one would steal it before he regained consciousness.  Later Brent and I woke a man sleeping under a bridge to give him food and quickly noticed that he couldn’t even open the banana we brought him as all ten fingers were merely nubs, eroded by advancing leprosy.  This isn’t the body God intended for him.  Dirty and unloved.

I saw a dog today whose hours were likely numbered.  Bones protruded from his little sides as he walked by, instinctively searching for something to sustain him a little longer.  His fur was chewed off, I’m assuming from fleas.  Tumors on his body were probably painful and cancerous.    Unnoticed and invisible.

I pass people with no life in their tired, sad eyes.  They offer prayers to statues that are larger than life and utterly incapable of doing anything.  They are a putrid stench to the One true King.

What must our Creator think when He sees these things?  Each of these creatures was crafted by His very own hands.  They were planned with meticulous detail and created in their mother’s womb.  They have a fingerprint unlike any other human on this earth.  He knows how many hairs are on their heads.  And yet they’re broken.  Their bodies are dying and they fail to recognize their worth.  The earth groans as trash piles higher and higher and raw sewage fills the streets.

I’m overwhelmed by it all.  It feels hopeless at times.  And yet God knew all this before He created any of it.  He saw how things would progress over time, and He made us anyway.  He so badly wanted to be in relationship with us that He is willing to be hurt over and over by His precious creations for the chance to spend eternity with those who would choose Him. 

We are all without hope unless we know Him.  But once we do, hope is eternal and shines forth like the sun in brilliant radiance.  It cuts through the gray bleakness, directly to the hearts of those who love Him.  And for those who overcome, He’s promised a new heaven and a new earth.  We won’t see these sights anymore.  There will be no disease, no hurting, no evil, no exhaustion, no sorrow.  We’ll be with Him in an everlasting kingdom that He’s prepared for us. 

Once and for all, it will be done. 

Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

God Likes to Ride in Cabs in Bangalore (by Brent)

Last week my father came to visit Savannah and myself in India. I was really excited for him to see the place Savannah and I have called home for the second half of the year. His flight came in at 1:20AM from Frankfurt, so I left my apartment at midnight to pick him up. On the way to the airport I began talking with the driver named Vishwanth, or rather he started talking with me. I know it sounds bad, but while living in India I’ve learned to only go beyond the formalities with locals that are conversational in English. It may seem like typical American arrogance, but it’s actually driven more out of practicality. Specifically saving both of our time with confusing conversations that sound like:

Brent “So did you grow up in Bangalore?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir”

Brent “That’s nice, what part of Bangalore are you from?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir”

Brent “No, I mean what part of Bangalore are you from? Where in Bangalore?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir, Bangalore”

Brent “OK thanks”

Based on our initial greetings, I thought Vishwanth was the type of guy I should just avoid conversation with. Boy was I wrong. Instead, Vishwanth initiated a conversation with me. He started with questions like “Where are you from sir?” and “How do you like Bangalore sir?” Then out of nowhere he straight asked me if I knew anything about Jesus. My response was “I know a lot of things about Yeshu (Jesus in Hindi). What do you know about Yeshu?” to which he replied “Yeshu was born in a cow barn and gave himself for the people”. What a perfect synopsis! On some further probing I realized that was the entirety of Vishwanth’s knowledge of Jesus. Vishwanth and I talked for the next hour about Jesus: why He came, what it’s like to know and be known by Him, why He had to die…. It was an amazing time with Vishwanth and as we were pulling up to the airport Vishwanth allowed me to pray for him. On the way home I spent most of the time catching up with my dad, but I made sure to ask Vishwanth if he could drive us to the airport the following night.

The next day, I told Savannah about the conversation I had with Vishwanth and she was excited. We spent the day praying that the gospel would work in Vishwanth’s heart and that fruit would come from the seeds that were sown. Since coming to India, God has taught us in deeper ways the necessity of prayer and being fervent in asking for the Spirit. This is so basic to Christianity, but often gets washed away with the knowledge and do-it-yourself focused culture of the U.S.

The night before our flight to Delhi, we set our alarms for 3:35 AM and tried to get to bed as early as possible. I was tired from picking my father up from the airport the night before and knew I didn’t have much time to sleep, but as soon as I laid my head on my pillow God told me he wanted me to give Vishwanth a Bible. He also told me to get up and start making notes in the Bible to help Vishwanth. So I apologized to Savannah, turned the lights back on, and started highlighting key passages. It took me about an hour, but I got some of the key verses and teachings highlighted and then went to sleep.

I awoke from my sleep at 3:33 AM, two minutes before my alarm went off. For some reason my body has this amazing ability to wake itself up moments before the alarm when I need to be somewhere important. Savannah, my father, and I staggered out of our beds, collected our belongings and met Vishwanth at his cab. A few minutes into the cab ride I asked Vishwanth if he had thought about what we talked about during our last cab ride. He said he had thought about Yeshu a lot and that in all his years in driving a taxi he had never had a conversation like ours. So we asked him if he had anymore questions which sparked a conversation that was clearly from the Spirit. So much so that it felt like one of those cheesy training videos from the 80s. Vishwanth asked questions like:

·   Why did Yeshu have to sacrifice Himself for the people?

·   What is the purpose of the cross?

·   Can Yeshu understand me if I speak in Kannada (local Indian dialect)?

·   What was Yeshu’s favorite food?

o  Our response was we don’t know, but He hung out with fishermen and there are several stories of Him eating fish

·   How do I have a relationship with Yeshu?

The last question was clearly the kicker and one that confirmed above all that the Spirit was working in Vishwanth’s heart. So as Vishwanth was asking the question I gave Savannah a quick nudge and told her to respond. She shook her head conveying a definitive “no”, ensuring that I would not confuse it with an Indian head bobble, meaning “OK”. I nudged her again and smiled to encourage her to try. Savannah slowly stepped out and began to tell Vishwanth how he could have a relationship with Jesus. This was a new experience for both Vishwanth and Savannah; Vishwanth hearing it for the first time and Savannah proclaiming it for the first time. After hearing Savannah, Vishwanth said he wanted to know God, so Savannah, my father, and I prayed that Jesus would reveal himself to Vishwanth and become part of Vishwanth’s life.

Vishwanth said he couldn’t explain the way he was feeling, but said he had a feeling of happiness that he had never felt before. He said that he would always remember us and pray that God would be with us. Then as we were pulling up to the airport he said my favorite line of the night “I like Mr. Yeshu. One thing that we have in common is that we both love fish! Fish is my favorite food and I will tell others about my new friend Mr. Yeshu.” What an amazing statement! It reminded me of people in the Bible that met Jesus and than immediately went and told all they knew about Jesus. As I write this, I am not sure if Vishwanth has told anybody about Jesus, read the Bible we gave him, or prayed to Jesus since we spoke, but hey it took Savannah a quarter of a century to tell someone about Jesus and I’ve gone through seasons where I refuse to pray or read the Bible. What I do know is God’s timing is perfect and He alone can move people’s hearts. I also know that He chose last week to move in me and my family’s hearts and graciously allowed us to be a part of His work in Vishwanth’s life.

Two sick kittens...

Brent and I enjoyed a great visit from my father in law this past week.  We showed him around our favorite spots in Bangalore, shared some great food, and visited Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal.  It was so nice to see him, and he and Mama Louie sent some great treats from the States for us.  So fun!

The day that Steve was supposed to head back home (Tuesday), I started feeling really sick and didn’t get out of bed the entire day.  All I could do was lay there and moan.  It’s probably the 2^nd sickest I’ve ever been (the only other time was when I had the flu).  I thought I might die.  At around 4pm, Brent started feeling it.  Poor Steve took a cab to the airport by himself while Brent and I laid pitifully at the apartment trying to rest.  We had to sleep in different rooms that night, because he had the chills and I was sweating so we needed different room temperatures. 

We both spent the entire day yesterday laying in our separate rooms like weak kittens, occasionally calling out to each other “you ok?...I love you”.  It was pretty pathetic.  I’m not sure what in the world we ate that made us so sick, but it hit hard and furious.  What’s strange is that Dad Louie never got it, so he must have a crazy good immune system.

Brent’s better today (Thursday) and went back to work.  I’m still down but feeling slightly better, so I’m hoping that another day at home will help me get back to normal so that I can go back to work tomorrow.

I honestly think I’ve been sick more times in the last 3 months than I’ve been in the last 3 years combined.  It’s funny how every time someone says they’re sick at home, you automatically assume it’s a cold/flu type of thing.  I’ve come to realize that there’s a common understanding in India that when someone says they’re sick, it’s almost definitely a stomach issue.  Totally different meaning, and it makes me laugh that everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about when I say I’m home sick.  You have to get very comfortable with people discussing how frequently you’ve thrown up and/or had diarrhea like it’s nothing at all!  It’s just common vocabulary. 

Well the countdown is on.  I head home in 2 weeks and 5 days.  I can’t believe it!  Seems like I was just counting down the last 2 weeks before I came TO India!  Brent will come back 3 weeks after me.  I know he’s ready to come home too, so I’ll feel sad leaving him behind.  But he has a little more work to finish up, and those 3 weeks will fly. 

Well typing has taken the last remaining energy that I had, so now I have to rest so that my body can fight whatever this is off.  The silver lining is that we’ll have super-human immune systems and stomachs of steel when we come home!   

Fightin’ the thing through…

I’ve heard the story several times where a little boy finds a cocoon and sees that the butterfly is struggling diligently to free itself.  Feeling bad for the creature, he helps it out only to watch the butterfly die.  He learns that it’s in the struggle that the butterfly’s wings are strengthened.  I think that’s a great message, and God made it even more relevant to me today in a lesson He taught me during my prayer time.

I was asking Him how it’s possible to live a holy life and make obedient choices when you feel yourself caught in sin.  In those weakened times, it seems impossible to flee.  Your brain is clouded, and the crucified “self” is once again seeking control.  You just keep returning to your vomit (Proverbs 26:11).  I envision someone in that situation caught up in a brier patch, flailing to get free but caught so tightly that they just ware themselves out.  I asked Him why He wouldn’t just cut through the thorns and free the person so that they could walk out and get back on the path that leads to righteousness. 

And then that butterfly came to my mind.

You see, the butterfly had all it needed to survive.  God created it perfectly.  But it had to become stronger in order for all those parts to work properly.  In the same way, God’s already given us all the things we need to live as obedient children.  He’s given us a heart that’s inclined to follow Him (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and a spirit of self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).  But He also tells us that we must learn to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions (Titus 2:11-13).  There’s a learning process involved.  He’s provided what we need, but He isn’t just going to make us obedient.  We have to grow those muscles by practicing.  We learn to obey by obeying.  With each choice, we either draw nearer to Him or walk further away from Him.  When we make the right choice, He strengthens us and it becomes easier to make that choice the next time.

Now He’s certainly with us through the whole process.  We aren’t left on our own.  He encourages us with His Word, time spent with Him, His Spirit in us, and the body of believers.  But we can’t expect to become holy overnight.  We have to fight the thing out to strengthen the muscles so that we can run the race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-3).

And we must also not forget that even a muscle-man can atrophy if his muscles aren’t used.  So regardless of any mountain tops we’ve been on, if we find ourselves in the valley and feeling weaker than a kitten, it’s time to start fighting again to “bulk back up”!

Don't become overwhelmed and anxious about living a holy life forever.  Commit to being obedient today.  Or for the next hour!  And then ask Him to help you.  After that time, thank Him for His faithfulness and re-commit.  Hours turn into days, and days turn into weeks, and pretty soon you're Hulk (by the grace of God, of course)!

A great weekend…

Brent and I enjoyed a really great weekend together.  On Saturday, we slept in a little and then got up and had dosa for breakfast.  After getting dressed, we went up to Kundalahalli gate and met Gargi at the tailor to get me measured for my saree.  Gargi took me shopping for the material several weeks ago, but I needed to get the top stitched before I could wear it (the rest of the saree is just fabric that you wrap around you).  The tailor is actually going to be able to stitch the whole thing in a way where all I’ll have to do is zip it up.  Most Indians wouldn’t do this, but for this rookie who doesn’t know how to wear a saree, it’ll be perfect!  I pick it up on Thursday morning and am planning to wear it to our office Christmas party on Thursday night.

Getting measured

Afterwards, we headed down to

MG Road

and stopped in front of Garuda mall for a picnic.  We’d packed peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, and water.  Once lunch was finished, we walked towards Amin’s shop for a visit.  On the way we passed two different homeless people asking for money/food.  One was a man who had lost a leg and the other was a woman who had a child with her.  There are homeless people all over the city, and we usually carry around little packs of cookies to hand out to them instead of money.  Sometimes they take them, but sometimes they hand them back and ask for money instead (which we don’t give).  The people on Saturday were really grateful for the cookies, and we got the idea to find an actual meal for them.  So we walked a little further up the road and found a food stand and ordered some egg rollers and orange juice.  When we brought the hot meal back to them, they smiled really big and were so thankful.  I loved being able to do that and show them love and that they’re valuable enough for someone to stop and give them something. 

Picnic-ing fools

We made one brief stop at a pet store to purchase a bag of milk bones for the little dog who lives outside our apartment.  We’ve “adopted” her and named her Prancer.  She’s so cute and just wags her little tail every time she sees us.  We finally made it to Amin’s shop and sat and visited for a while.  He told us all about Kashmir, his hometown, and we showed him pictures of our visit to Thailand.  While we were there, a couple came in looking for some Christmas presents for their families.  They were about our age, and the man was from Australia and the woman was from Colombia.  They were both living here, and it was really fun to get to know them.  They stayed in the shop for probably an hour or two, and we had a great visit and exchanged contact information.  The good news is that they bought a ton of stuff from Amin, which made our day (and his)!  We said goodbye to Amin for the day and headed to Matteo for some coffee and a quick snack.  We played a hand of Spades while we were there, but the waiter said that they didn’t allow cards.  We found out later from our friends that cards are looked at badly here since they’re so often associated with gambling.  Oops!

Being silly and displaying the bones we bought for Prancer

Our buddy, Amin (with his favorite cashews that we always bring when we visit)

Then we walked down the The Rex and saw Puss in Boots in 3D.  It was such a cute movie, and the Indians at the theater were very lively.  It’s definitely more of a “local” place (they have other theaters where Americans would go), but we wanted to experience this one.  Everyone laughed throughout and clapped at the end.  We went to Mainland China for dinner and then grabbed two chocolate pies to go (they’re individual sized) from Matteo and caught the bus back home.  Back at the apartment, we gave Prancer some of the bones we’d bought (she was so happy and took them so nicely from our hands), made coffee and ate our dessert and then played a few more hands of cards before going to sleep.

On Sunday, I taught church for the first time!  We’re studying Daniel, and I had chapter 3.  It was really fun, and everyone said they enjoyed the lesson.  Afterwards we went to lunch with friends and talked about ways that we want to minister to those in need here.  This particular couple really has a heart for that kind of ministry, so we’ve been helping them brainstorm ways to lead our church in that area.  We’ll be in Delhi this weekend, but we made plans for the following weekend to go with them to hand out blankets and food to homeless people.  I’m looking forward to that.  And we also all committed to learning how to say “God loves you” in the local language so that we could communicate at least a little with the people we interact with.

When I went grocery shopping that afternoon I found some Christmas decorations and purchased just a few things to make the apartment look a little more festive.  I also bought stockings for Brent and myself, and we’ve challenged each other to find gifts for 500 rupees or less (~$10) that we’ll put in each other’s stockings to open on Christmas morning.  I have no idea what I’m going to get him!

Our stockings hanging proudly alongside our Royal Challengers Bangalore flag (from the cricket game we went to a couple months ago)

We finished the night with dinner at a Korean restaurant and then ice cream at Naturals with James, Rubina, Nani, and Tilu.  We all enjoyed the food and company.  I said goodbye to Rubina tonight, as she'll be travelling until I leave. :(

 

All in all, it was a great weekend.  And to top it off, I came to work yesterday and had a card waiting for me from my sister!  That made my day!!  We’re looking forward to Brent’s dad visiting us this week.  He comes in late Wednesday night and will be here for about 7 days.  It’ll be so nice to see family and get to show him around the city.  We're also going to make a weekend trip up to Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal (you just can't come all the way to India and not see that, right?).  Dad Louie will come to our Christmas party with us, so we'll have to get him some good Indian attire.  I can’t believe that I’m down to about 4 weeks here.  It’s flying! 

All things beautiful in His time…

We were in Thailand last week, and it was one of the most wonderful vacations we’ve taken.  The country is beautiful, the people are welcoming, and it was so relaxing.  I needed a week away.  Before the vacation, I felt like I was hitting a wall a little bit.  I’m getting pretty homesick, especially as I watch everyone in the States prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So a week away from India was a welcome break.
The day we came back, my attitude was not what it should have been.  I didn’t want to be coming home from vacation to India.  I wanted to come home from vacation…to my real home.  When we went out that first day back, the city looked ugly to me.  Everything was dirty.  The things that people did annoyed me, and I didn’t want to be around anyone.  I felt distant from God and just wanted to put my head down and plow through these next 5 weeks so that I could go home.

Thailand

Sitting at lunch that afternoon, Brent asked me what my plan was for my remaining time here.  He’s been challenging me to set specific goals and find ways to meet them so that I don’t get to the end of this time and regret not using it effectively.  (By the way, I need to do an entirely different blog post on what a loving, Godly, absolutely amazing leader Brent is for our family.  I can’t begin to describe the many ways that he shows Christ to me.  He’s gentle and consistently sharpens me and prepares me to be a radiant bride of Christ, and I’m so thankful for the way that he shows me love and carries out his biblical calling as a husband).  Anyway, when he asked me about my plans on this particular day, I got mad and shut down.  I didn’t have a plan.  I didn’t want to make a plan.  I wanted to go home.

I came back to the apartment and prayed earnestly for God to change my heart, because I knew that nothing of me at that time was what it should be.  Any act of love, service, or care was going to have to come from sheer discipline since it just wasn’t the state of my heart.

Brent and I went on a prayer walk that afternoon in a neighborhood near our apartment, and I really enjoyed it.  My heart still had some bitterness, but it was refreshing to pray over this city.  Instead of just keeping my head down, I looked into the eyes of the people I passed and smiled at them.  Their faces started looking more beautiful to me, and my heart softened just a bit.

That night we had dinner with some friends from the States who are over here visiting for a couple weeks.  They actually lived in India for a couple years and played a big part in us coming over.  We really enjoyed the company, and my heart was encouraged.  Since moving back to the US, they’ve remained very involved with a Christian orphanage over here and invited us to visit it with them the next day after church.  

We went with them to the orphanage yesterday, and it was exactly what God used to finish softening my heart, renewing my vision for my time here, and refocusing on these last 5 weeks.  If there was any way possible, I would have taken every one of those children home with me.  They are precious.  We played, shared the Lord’s Supper with the older kids, and lingered over hugs before saying goodbye.  I can’t explain how it happened, but I had new eyes on the drive home.  Bangalore suddenly looked beautiful to me again.  The land, the people, the place.  I could once again see the beauty in it and had a heart to invest here.  He made these things beautiful to me in His time. 

Over the weekend, I did come up with my goals and plans for my remaining 5 weeks and shared them with Brent.  I’ve already taken a few steps to set them in motion.

Several months before we knew that we’d be coming to India, I felt God stirring.  I hadn’t experienced that before, and it was exciting.  I had no idea what it was or meant, but I could just feel that something big was coming.  That something was India.  As I studied my Bible this morning, I began to sense that same stirring.  I’ve been praying during my time here that God would show us our next step when He’s ready.  He only lights the path enough for us to see a little bit ahead, and I was ready for Him to shed a little more light.  I can’t see anything clearly at this point, but I see something emerging and I trust that He’ll bring it into focus pretty soon.  I felt that now familiar sense that something big is coming, and I’m ready to see what it is.    

I once heard someone say, “when I die, I want to be thoroughly used up”.  I can’t remember where I heard it, but I’ve kept that written in the front of my Bible as a reminder that this body and life are temporary and fleeting.  I don’t have to try to preserve them or hang onto them.  I need to be using them up as quickly and with as much determination as I can, because I only have a short time on earth to be a vessel for God.  At the end of my life, He’ll supply me with a new body that isn’t run down and tired.  So I can use this one up, and my desire to do that here has been renewed.  God is faithful all the time.

More beautiful than yesterday...

I was talking to Mama last week and mentioned how tired I’ve been.  My body is experiencing a whole new level of exhaustion (maybe I’m getting a taste of what new mothers feel).  The stimulus in India is never-ending (traffic, sounds, smells, pollution, running for the bus, avoiding potholes, so many people…).  It’s all this fantastic patchwork that makes India unique and amazing.  But it makes me tired. 

The nutrition is different, so my body isn’t getting the energy from food that I’m used to.  The altitude is higher, so my endurance isn’t as good when I run.  I’ve been sick a few times already (and this comes from the person who hasn’t been sick in about 2 years).  I don’t sleep as well at night.  We stay up late and get up early.  We interact with people all the time (I’m introverted, so this takes a lot of energy for me).  Don’t get me wrong – I’m filled with joy in this place.  But I’m physically tired.

I was reflecting on this the other day and jokingly told Brent that I think I may have legitimately sacrificed about two years of my life through premature aging.  I’m half kidding.  I constantly have bags under my eyes, and I drift off like an old person when I sit for more than 10 minutes!  I know that what I’m facing is nothing and there are people out there who truly experience great suffering, and I mean no disrespect in my lightheartedness.  But for me, the physical part has been challenging and I feel guilty that I can’t take care of my body like I’d like. 

But alas, there is hope (there always is)!  Today in my Bible study time, I read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Obviously my body is not truly wasting away.  I’m intentionally being a bit dramatic.  But it is being pushed hard.  My spirit, however, is THRIVING here.  God’s renewing me, and it’s almost reverse aging in a sense.  People would pay big bucks for the physical equivalent.  He truly is the ultimate fountain of youth!  He’s living water and breath of life.  A fear of Him and with Him is the fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27, Psalm 36:9).  All our fountains flow from Him (Psalm 87:7).  He satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:5). 

My body isn’t in tip-top shape like it was a couple months ago, but I’m more beautiful than I was yesterday (or the day before, or the day before that).  He’s renewing my inward person day by day, and I think I might just be starting to look less like myself and more like Him!

Coffee dreamin...

It just hit me that I only have eight weeks left here in India, and that makes me sad!  It was one of those things that started as a completely random thought, and within 30 seconds my mind had spun through about a million thoughts that ended in sadness about leaving!  Here's what just transpired...

I adore coffee.  It’s truly one of my favorite indulgences.  I’d been drinking a lot of coffee here, so I made the decision a few weeks back to cut out the caffeine.  I don’t need it (I drink the coffee for the enjoyment, not the jolt).  I drink primarily decaf back home, so it really isn’t a big loss for me at all.  The problem is that it’s VERY difficult to find decaf in India.  We’ve gotten some at the grocery store (thanks, Nestle!), so I can always have it at home.  But one of our favorite things to do (both here and in the US) is to sit at a coffee shop and read or talk.  But that’s hard when they don’t have decaf, which means no coffee!

So Brent had an idea.  He visits Pune about once a month for work.  While he’s there, he grabs all the little packets of decaf instant coffee that he can find from the hotel.  Then I can keep them with me in my purse and enjoy a delicious cup wherever I can find hot water (MUCH easier to find than decaf in India…although I get some REALLY weird looks when I ask for hot water...definitely throws them for a loop and puts them in a spin!).

I’m sitting here at work and wanted some coffee.  I was debating in my mind whether to use one of the precious few decaf packets I have.  I only have about 15 left.  I'm sure we’ll get a few more when we visit Thailand, but still…I have to conserve this limited resource.  

So that set me off on a mission to calculate how many I thought I’d need for the remainder of my time here to decide whether I wanted to use it today (logical, right?).  I figured that I won’t ever use them at home since I have my jar of decaf there.  That really only leaves the weekends.  And then it hit me.  I only have eight weekends left!  Even if I didn’t get another packet, my current stock should last me until I go home.

Wow!  I can’t imagine how much I’m going to miss this place, this experience, this season, this life.  It’s been HARD!  But it’s been PHENOMINAL!  I know I’ll look back at my time here with the fondest memories.  I can imagine I’ll be sitting at home one day with Brent and wish that we could just hop on the 335E bus, flash our pass, and make our way to MG Road to visit Amin or sit and sip coffee at Matteo (our favorite place).  I’ll wish I could feel the wind in my hair (and the dirt in my lungs) in the rickshaw and negotiate for a fair price (nearly impossible when you have white skin!).  I'll want to walk next door to Corner House (our favorite ice cream shop) for a double scoop of Choco-chip (for Brent) and Fig O' Honey and Rum Raisin (for me).  And I KNOW I’ll have nights when all that will satisfy is a huge spread of gobi manchurian, chicken malai kebab, chicken biryani, kaju masala, murgh makhani, garlic naan, and gulab jamun from Golkonda Chimney (our favorite restaurant).  I think I just might even miss that telling "rumbly in the tumbly" that immediately sets off a mental inventory of, "oh no, what did I eat today??".  Sigh.

I’m so excited to get back to my “normal” life in the States.  But this time in my life will hold a special place for me.  It’ll be a very bittersweet goodbye.

I think I’ll have that coffee now to cheer myself up!  I guess I have a few packets to spare. 

Lessons in Kannada and Iranian friends...

Brent and I are members of a local gym that’s right next to our apartment.  We’ve become friends with one of the trainers, and Brent found out last week that he’s a believer!  It was during Diwali, and Brent asked what Simon's plans were to celebrate.  He said that he didn't celebrate Diwali because he was a Christian!  I was so excited to hear that news when Brent came home and told me.  Sometimes when I’m here in India and see a “white person”, it feels like I’m seeing a family member even if they’re a complete stranger, because it’s so rare.  There's just a connection that I can't explain.  I felt the same way finding out that Simon was a believer.  I just felt like we’d found a long lost family member or something.  When we leave Bangalore, we're say goodbye to Simon.  But it won't be a permanent goodbye, because we know that we'll meet this friend again.  So exciting!

Well anyway, Simon invited Brent and me to visit his church sometime.  We’re perfectly settled into our home church here, but we did want to try out a larger service at one point before we left just to see what it was like.  So we went this morning and really enjoyed it.  The service was 95% in Kannada (the local dialect in Karnataka, which is the state that Bangalore is in), which made it very difficult (ok, impossible) to understand.  But God goes beyond language barriers and still taught me during that service. 

Lesson #1: God speaks all languages.  The service today sounded like pure babble to me, but we were all worshipping the same God, and it made perfect sense to Him and brought Him joy and glory.  One day all nations, tribes, and tongues will worship Him together.  What a great preview!

Lesson #2: Every once in a while during the service someone would throw in an English sentence or two and then just keep right on going in Kannada.  I’ll admit that while they were speaking Kannada, my mind tuned out a bit.  But it took less than a millisecond for me to recognize and tune right back in the instant I heard an English word.  I knew it immediately.  God taught me today that I should be just as in tune with His voice.  We can tend to tune out occasionally with all the “babble” around us.  But as His sheep, we must immediately recognize His voice when we hear it and tune right back in, eager to hear what He has to say.  Great challenge to me!

We talked to Simon after the service, and he said that he’d like to come to our church next week.  We’re really excited to have him!

Hudson Memorial Church

The children singing "I believe in Jesus" (one of the few English parts!)

After church, Brent and I went to visit Amin.  Amin is a Muslim shop owner near our place that Brent met on his first day in Bangalore.  The encounter was seemingly “random” (although we know it wasn’t), and we’ve since become really good friends with Amin.  We visit him in his shop about once a week to talk and drink tea.  We talk about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Koran, and how it all fits together.  

Today another family who Amin had met in his store stopped in to say hello while we were there.  This family has recently moved to Bangalore from Iran (the wife and kids just came yesterday!), and they’ll be here for 5 years.  The husband is a dentist but came to learn English better before they go back to Iran.  They were so sweet, and we really enjoyed talking with them.  

During the conversation (somewhat limited by langauge barriers), our new Iranian friend kept telling Brent that he wasn’t a tourist.  We weren’t sure why he wanted us to understand that, but we just kept telling him that we weren't tourists either.  Well later we realized that he was actually assuring us that he wasn’t a terrorist!  I guess he thought we might be afraid to talk to him since he was from Iran and he knows how some Americans feel about them.  It’s actually sad when you think about it that he felt like he had to tell us that, but the tourist/terroist mixup was pretty darn funny.  And even funnier that he must have wondered why we kept saying that we weren’t terrorists either!  They told us about their country and how pretty it was.  The family was so welcoming and actually invited us to their home for a meal.  We might go with Amin some time and eat with them.

 

Amin (in the yellow shirt), and our Iranian friends

We asked Amin to come in front of the counter to be in the picture, and he said "oh, no no...I'm just the shop owner".  That's why were are all laughing in this picture.

Bangalore has been such a neat experience for us, and I truly have been learning so much.  I’ve experienced other cultures, other religions, and other ways of life.  It’s made me thankful for my own but also made me recognize things that I'd like to do differently when I return home.  

Brent and I were talking this week and agreed that we’re missing home much more.  The first few weeks were spent exploring and discovering so many new things.  We certainly missed family, but we were really engaged here and didn’t think about it too much.  If I had the chance to go home tomorrow, I still wouldn’t be quite ready.  But we’re missing home a lot and will definitely be ready to go when the time comes.  I have about 7 weeks left in Bangalore, and Brent has 11.  It’s gone by so fast, so we can’t waste a single minute. It’ll be over before we know it!