Show and Tell

This. This is a tuk tuk. A great little 3-wheeled mode of transportation. They were really fun to run around Delhi in. And yes, it looks little because it is. The first day we were there, we had three people in one and two in another. The last day we were in Delhi, we squished all 5 of us in one, plus the driver. Fun times.

This is the view of the village from the top of the school. I LOVE this view, and miss it a lot. We would hang out there at night and star gaze and get ready in the morning by sitting and watching the village hard at work.

Indian food!! This is rice (obviously), vegetable curry, and chicken.

This is the mountain we climbed! Towards the end of the week we took a picnic out to the base of the mountain and after we ate, we started hiking! We went about halfway up, to this big rock overlook. It was awesome.

These are the kids in the school!! This was the assembly, where we sang songs and acted out Bible stories. The kids were awesome. They were so sweet and I loved the time we spent with them.

This is a thrashing floor! Yes, think Boaz and Ruth! We even got to practice gleaning - talk about hard work. Ruth was an awesome person. She had soo much faith in the midst of such a hard situation.

Sunday morning, the ladies REALLY wanted us to wear saris to church. So they found some that would fit us large americans and everyone came to help dress us and watch what was going on.

This! Is the precious little girl of one of the teachers at the school. She was SO shy when we first arrived and Bailey's and my goal was for her to let us hold her by the end of the week. Success! 

This is what Delhi is like. Super crowded! This is just a glimpse of it.

Thoughts

A week ago exactly we landed in Dallas after 2 weeks in India. Wow. I think a part of me is still there. I went to a movie with friends last night and I was sitting there reflecting on the trip and the week I've been home. It sounds so obvious, but life here is so different from life there, and I'm trying to figure out what all that means. Where does seeing what I saw leave me. I encountered so much love, so much joy, so much FAITH. And here I am back to where I have WAY more than I could want or need. And I'm trying to avoid saying that one place is bad and one is good - I am where I am because God put me here and it is good. It was a very life-giving trip, so I guess I'm trying to figure out what to do with all that when I'm here in a place where it's all about school and making yourself better so you can have a good future. Where is the evidence of God in this? And that must be why I'm here, and why you're here. Just as God came to that village through Abhi, I hope that I will let God come into my world through me. There are no literal thrashing floors here at school, but God is still here and the Bible is as real as ever. So. That's where I'm at right now. (pics and more stories to come)

The First Days in India

After 20 hours of travel, we landed in Delhi at 1:30 am on Saturday December 29th. Though when you're getting off a plane trip like that, the time really doesn't even matter! We easily made it through customs and immigration and were able to get our money changed. Hooray for Rupees! Pastor Abhi was waiting for us outside the airport (in India, you can't even get into the airport without a ticket), and he got us two taxis. We threw our luggage on top of the car and headed to our hotel. It was a rough night. For some reason, the water was not turned on, so the sink didn't work and the toilet didn't flush. At that point I was too tired to worry about it anyways and just went to sleep. We met Abhi around lunch time and headed to KFC. This time we got to ride in little autos, or tuk tuks - the real Indian experience. They were great! And KFC was delicious!

After lunch we got to do what girls do best - some shopping! Abhi took us to a market so that Bailey and I could get some Indian clothes. We needed Kurtas to wear and wanted some "balloon" pants. This first market was busy, but not too overwhelming. It was great to have Abhi with us to bargain for our stuff. He would explain to the sellers that we were college students and we needed a better price! A couple times we had stuff picked out, but the price wasn't good enough so he had us just leave. Oh well! I ended up with enough clothes to last for the trip, and barely spent any money. We ate real Indian food that night and it was served family style. Abhi used the meal as an example to talk about the difference between book culture (individualistic) and oral culture (community). In an oral culture, what one person does affects everyone else. So whoever ordered a not-so-great dish caused everyone else to have to eat it too. Of course, he didn't tell us this until after we got our food! It's a good thing we all ordered mostly-yummy dishes.

Bailey and I were super excited to wear our Indian clothes to Church on Sunday! Mark and Stephen dressed up with us and wore their indian man-dresses too. Fun times. Church was really enjoyable. It was mostly just siting and watching for us, but I loved it. I loved the worship and also enjoyed hearing Abhi preach. He threw enough english words in so we could understand at least the gist of what he was saying. The church eats together after the service and so we got a chance to eat some home-cooked Indian food. SPICY!!! Our noses were running and our mouths were on fire, but it was delicious. Fortunately we were brought some sprite. After church we went to another market, but this time it was insane. So many people, I was overwhelmed. Eventually I figured it out though and was able to buy a few things. But still. So many people. After I dreamt about meeting Adrian Peterson, we left early Monday morning to fly out to the village. I'll admit I was a little anxious. I was definitely out of my comfort zone these first couple days and I had no idea what to expect for the coming week. Butterflies!! Little did I know how awesome it would be!

Halfway Around the World

Last night we landed in Delhi again after spending a week in one of the most wonderful places on earth. Yes, I rang in 2013 in a small rural village in east India. As our friend says, it is the uttermost part of the world. Deciding to come to India was one of the best decisions of my life. I left the U.S. two days after Christmas and landed in Delhi on the 29th. 2 days we spent in Delhi then headed to the village where we spent a week being hosted by a wonderful family. We worked with teachers, taught students, saw God's great power and love, and experienced India. I saw water buffalo, more rice than I've seen in my entire life, and beautiful sunsets. We are getting ready to head home now and while I am incredibly sad to go, I leave with so much joy in my heart, henna covering my arms, and the hope and expectation to return.

I am so excited to write about the trip and share my experiences. Though nothing will ever compare to you being there yourself, which I hope you will seriously consider. For reals though, I would tell everyone I know to go on a trip like mine. Hands down, no question. I spent the entire time in awe of Gods work, and I still am. I am inspired, encouraged and challenged. Pastor Abhi spent so much time discipling us and teaching us as we walked through jungles and fields, or while sitting at the dinner table eating mountains of rice. He told us that as Christians, we are to reproduce ourselves. I am to make more Jocelyns. And Jocelyns love India. So. Before I give away too much, I will end this little teaser. India was amazing, and I have many many stories to tell.