One week check-in...

So I’ve officially been living in India for a week now, and I’m amazed at how quickly I’ve adapted!  There have been some very low moments when I’ve felt lonely, scared, overwhelmed, tired, frustrated, dirty, and mentally/physically/emotionally/spiritually drained.  But I’ve also had many more moments of joy, fun new experiences, time with friends, learning from God, and growing tremendously in so many ways.  Sometimes I go back and forth with these emotions multiple times a day.  But I’m glad I’m here, and I’m becoming stronger and learning to walk more closely with God and rely on Him for everything more than I’ve ever had to before.  I truly understand now what it means to be refilled by Him daily so that I can pour out.  Many times I just feel drained, but He’s my portion and supplies my needs.

Here’s what we’ve been up to the last few days:

On Thursday night our friends Taha and Richa took us to an Afghan restaurant.  It was so fun!  The food was similar to Indian food, and the restaurant was awesome.  It was all stone and almost felt like you were in a cave.  The waiters wore traditional Afghan dress, and I even got to place our order!  The waiter said that he could understand what I was saying (even though I’m sure I said most of it wrong).

I just ate something really SPICY!

On Friday night we went to Pranav’s birthday party at Taha’s apartment.  There were a ton of people there, and we hung out and played Mafia.  I experienced two Indian birthday traditions that were unlike anything I’ve seen.  At midnight on the person’s birthday, they receive “birthday bumps”.  This consists of friends holding the person up and the rest of the people kicking him in the rump (and I mean HARD)!  It looked so painful.  Then they bring out this beautiful bakery cake, cut slices, and smear it all over him.  While he showers, the rest of the people devour the cake.  It was fun to watch, but I’m glad we’ll be in Kenya on our birthdays.  No bumps for me, thanks!

Pranav getting his birthday bumps

His birthday cake (before)

Getting smeared in his face

The aftermath

Today my friend Andrea took me shopping on

Commercial Street

.  We looked at beautiful fabric, bangles, and clothing.  I bought my first kurta, and she showed me how to order fabric so that I can have my sari made.  Then we met Brent and Andrea’s husband, Harry, at their apartment for lunch.  They made yummy chicken tacos and brownies with ice cream for dessert.  The food was wonderful, and I really enjoyed the fellowship.  They’re awesome and have been such a blessing to us already.

Me and Andrea in the auto rickshaw

My first kurta

Me and Andrea with our kurtas

Today was also my first auto rickshaw ride.  It was really fun!  It’s kind of like a golf cart, and it's really windy and dusty as you ride.  Brent and I took an auto home from Andrea and Harry’s and made friends with our driver, Jeet.  He was really nice, and we talked about his family and then he asked us about how we met.  After we told him about meeting in college and being married, he said “I really like your love story”.  I do too! :) Jeet mentioned something about his girlfriend, so Brent asked when he was going to marry her.  He quickly told us that he’s already married, and so is his girlfriend.  Whoa!  It’s amazing how open he was about it and really pretty sad.  But he was fun to talk to.  About half way home, Jeet stopped on the side of the road and told us to get out.  We didn't understand at first, but he wanted to give us a chance to get some pictures.  So he told us to sit in the front seat and act like we were driving.  Too funny!

Me and Brent in the auto

Since I’m such an animal lover, I decided that I’d name all the dogs I saw each day since I can’t pet them.  I quickly realized that there are way too many to come up with names for, so we’ve simplified our approach a bit.  All spotted dogs will be “Franklin” and all solid dogs will be "Bob".  We saw multiple Franklin’s and Bob’s today, along with some more cows.  Yesterday I saw a baby cow with his mama.  I’ve also seen chickens, goats, and some type of llama thing.  

Finally, I’ll close with the words to one of my favorite songs.  God speaks to me through music a lot, and I’ve really enjoyed this one this week.    

Oh,what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
You you'll never win

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the Voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Cause Jesus you are the Voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you are the Voice of truth