More than a Mustard Seed

Things I LOVE about India
A friend cries when she prays.. not out of sadness but out of passion
Riding a motorcycle
Flowers in hair
Mango juice
Taare Zareem Par
Talking with my Indian mom
Learning
Knowing people
Stories
Singing
Smiling
Watching people do things that are not their job in order to help me
Train trips
Seeing monkeys
Riding elephants
Riding camels
Fitting in
Knowing I glow
Helpfulness of everyone
The man who ran the home where many grew up
Friends coming to my room on their own...not waiting to be asked
Laughing over mistakes and slip-ups like "feeese" (fish)
World Youth Sunday
Children saying “Gooooood morning mama.”
Wearing saris
Having girls over to my room
The way my friend answers the phone
Chai
The way a friend always answers “No problem.”
The way a friend’s daughter shakes her head in her little Indian way
Holding babies
Children bundled in hats and coats (85 degrees is cold in India)
Eating with my hands
TTC
Laughing
Rainstorms
Vision


Things I don’t like about India
Mosquitoes
Mosquito bites
Seeing my dinner alive .... before it is my dinner
That there are no words to say thank you enough...and no way to repay anyone for their kindness and love
When I return home and talk about why I love India.. no one will understand
Leaving without exact assurance of returning
Pickled mangoes
Stiff, line-dried clothing
Not enough days left
Not enough time to just sit and be friends

In case some of you are wondering why I don't write sometimes... please notice the new picture... We are holding our computers in the air trying to pick up a signal... :)

Jesus in her eyes

Impact

Slices of Life

I wonder if this city ever sleeps.. it seems to bustle in the morning and streets are filled each night. People, cars, cattle, dogs, rickshaws, and buses swarm the streets. Each road narrows greatly from its intended size due to the people spilling off the sidewalks and into the road. People never seem to look, and everyone is squished, so squished that the man on the motor bike in front of us is able to reach over and touch our car.
I wonder about people’s lives. I would love to hear their stories.. and I wonder where they all sleep. I would so much like to meet everyone...but instead... I just watch.
In the morning I notice girls lined up at the well pumping water and filling large, green, orange, red, blue, and white plastic pots. At one home a small, soapy head bends forward as mom scrubs while a smaller, naked sibling plays nearby waiting for a turn........every person who notices me stops to stare at the white face in the car window........
Night time fills the streets with new scenes. The road darkens because there are no street lights yet the street glows from the lights within each shop. Inside each window, door, and storefront life is bustling. In one widow a man tips his white, shaving cream covered chin upward while another shaves his beard. A bit further down the street I notice purple and blue sparks flying as a man welds pipes that twist into an unidentifiable figure. Fruit stands on carts, on blankets, in baskets and in shops are always perfectly arranged. In one window a man reaches to restack limes - forming each into a pyramid. Horns honking, cars swerving, people talking, and beautiful women in beautiful saris. I see women whose eyes sparkle behind black burkas and children in uniform with perfectly braided hair. Men are driving rickshaws, driving cars, driving cattle, and driving goats. People, people everywhere.
Small glimpse of life.
I just love India!

Intermittent Electricity

Hello all.. sorry it has taken me so long to write. I am in a different state now and will be here until Sunday. Now that I have been teaching it has been VERY busy...plus it is much harder to get on-line. I will write more soon. ( I can get on-line now but am almost out of power.)