Happy Birthday

Today is my sweet niece's birthday and I just want to say- I can't believe you are 7 years old! You are beautiful and I am so happy that you are in my life. The Lord has given you a sweet, tender heart and you are a blessing to everyone who knows you. I am so proud of you and I miss you. I hope you have a wonderfully fun summer. Please give Cinderella a hug for me when you see her at Disney World. Tell her I love the shoes. I LOVE LOVE LOVE you- always. I am going to go put my angel necklace on that you gave me and think of you all day. Hugs and Kisses, The A.C.

A Bundle of Paradoxes

I was trying to think how I could describe living here. One one word keeps running through my mind. Paradox. I believe and I doubt. I hope and I get discouraged. I am trusting and suspicious. I am tough as nails but have wobbly knees.

I currently live in the back of a lovely garden protected by white brick walls. I walk out of my house and for a minute, I could actually be in the U.S. But the second I step out of those walls, the smell of manure slaps me in the face. Right next door to us there is a field where cows graze. This lady is always out there making cow patties and I wave to her every morning. I climb onto my bicycle rickshaw and put my Ipod on. I listen to Hillsong's "Mighty to Save" as I pass people worshipping idols before they go to work. I have wireless Internet and yet just last week, I stopped off at one of tents by my house and had tea with the family that live there. I get irritated when I get too hot and then feel guilty because I have no right to complain. I can't make sense of this place. I can't make sense of my reaction to it. I love it and I get overwhelmed by it. Some days I can't wait to get out of bed. Some days I wish the sun would just go back down and I could keep sleeping. So..this is life for me now...a bundle of paradoxes. And all I can say is that His grace is amazing.

The Coming Bridegroom

I went to my first wedding here in South Asia last week. I asked Heather to come along with me and it was quite the cultural experience. We arrived at around 9pm and we were considered EARLY. Weddings here are quite extravagant and they last several days. The banquet hall was lined with white chairs. Up on center stage there were two ornately decorated chairs where the bride and groom where meant to sit. The back of the banquet hall was lined with tables of food. We mingled for awhile and ate things of uncertain origin and content. We eventually made our way back to the bride's chambers. This is a picture of Heather and I with the bride. The traditional colors for weddings are gold and red. Apparently you are not suppose to smile when you get your picture taken with nationals ( I didn't get that memo in time, that's why I am smiling). And the bride is not to look happy. A lot of times brides really aren't happy because she is leaving her family probably for the first time in her life. I asked this bride how she was feeling and she said "overwhelmed"

Perhaps the most meaningful insight came to me when I learned about the role of the bridegroom. The bride waits for the groom in her chambers. The groom comes from his house riding a white horse and goes to the waiting bride. In this particular wedding, he came in a parade. After a lot of waiting, we saw the parade and I thought "oh wonderful, he has finally come" And my thoughts turned to coming of our Bridegroom. After all this waiting, one day we see Him come. What a glorious day that will be!

The Man With The Silver Hair and Toothy Smile

A few days ago I had a particularly bad day. I was just in a bad mood. I was tired of being hot. I was tired of stepping in filth every step that I took. I was tired of people staring me down. I was tired of everything being hard. My morning had started off bad because I ran into a cranky rickshaw driver who wanted more money than his services deserved. He screamed at me and threw money in my face. I just walked off...longing for a good cold Dr Pepper from Sonic. I went to my language tutor and nothing she said seemed to be sticking. I left her house with a cloud over my head even though the skies where crystal clear. I went home, walked straight to my room, and didn't come out for 4 hours. I turned on the fan and watched about 4 consecutive episodes of Gilmore Girls. I declared it a "IHI" day (see if you can figure it out). Around 7pm I thought "this is not how I am meant to spend life". I had a good talk with God. The next morning, I decided to look for things that I love about this place.

I walked outside and found a particularly friendly rickshaw driver with silver hair and a toothy smile. He knew exactly where I needed to go. He took me straight to my tutor's house, no questions asked. I needed change and he stopped to get it for me. He was just...a friendly guy. As I was riding...I looked around and saw babies getting their morning baths. People still stared but this time....I looked the old women straight in the eye and tried to get them to smile. "To them staring is not rude", I reminded myself. People were setting out their veggie and fruit stands. I have only eaten fresh produce since moving to South Asia. How cool is that. Kids were walking to school in their uniforms. There was a nice breeze that made the sun seem not so glaring. Suddenly, I didn't see the trash. I didn't see the cows EATING the trash. But what I saw was...humanity. What I saw were people just living their lives like you and I do. Life looks alot different here, of course, but its equally as beautiful. I saw people who need love. I saw people who need the truth. The man with the silver hair and toothy smile dropped me right at my tutor's house. He helped me down and I walked away with a different attitude. I was ready to face the day.

A New Friend

So, I finished my very first week of language training. My brain is full of vocab words and grammar. Sometimes my brain gets confused and I start talking in Arabic instead of Hindi. While its been challenging, its also been a blessing. I meet every morning with my language tutor, Ms. R. I met Ms. R through a coworker and she agreed for me to come to her house every day and she would teach me Hindi. The minute I met her, I liked her. She has a warm heart and a sparkle in her eye. She is kind but spunky. She seems to always be ready to laugh and yet she has been no stranger to tears. She is a teacher by trade so she doesn't mind correcting me. She drilled me yesterday on continuous action verbs until my mind went numb. But she also doesn't mind encouraging me when I get frusterated. She has taken it upon herself to be my protector and my cultural informant. She calls every day to make sure I made it home from her house safely. She tells the rickshaw drivers that they had better be nice to me. She taught me what to say when men stare too much or cross the line. She invites me into her life and into her heart. She has a wonderful life story and she is devoted to loving our Father. So, even if its temporary, I am so glad I have her in my life. The words of Cindy Morgan echo in my heart, "thank you Lord....how could I ask for more"?

Bollywood Here I Come!

Along with two other coworkers, I have moved east to start on a 6 week intensive study of the language. We are supposed to be spending alot of time out in the community to immerse ourselves. Well, when I arrived here, I learned about the opportunity to attend a Bollywood dance class several times a week. So, tonight was my first night. And those of you who know me well, know that I am not that great of a dancer so I was a pretty funny sight. The teacher, Ms. S is such a diva! Her claim to fame is that she was an extra in a couple of the Bollywood movies. Anyway, she was delighted to have us and very understanding of my lack of dancing talent. I am excited about this class because 1) it will give me good chance to exercise 2) it will help me with language and culture 3) I have always wanted to be a Bollywood dancer.

Random Pics

His Work Of Art

This evening I am leaving on a night train for my language training. I am mainly packed and found myself having the morning free. So I went to an art museum here in the big city. It was nice to just wander around in the AC with nobody to ask anything of me. There were no men telling me "oh madame, you look like a movie star. I give you very good price in my shop". There were no little kids showing off every little bruise and scrape they had in hopes I would give them money. There was nobody to ask me to make any decisions. It was just nice to breath for a second.

Anyway, I came across this painting that caught my attention. Upon first glance, it appeared that it was one of those abstract pieces with random strokes of paint in all different colors. But then I stepped back and noticed that it was actually a portrait of someone. The randomness all of strokes suddenly made sense. And I stood there and started crying.

Most of my time here are filled with days and things that seem so crazy. But its really just a brushstroke in God's work of art. I just have to stand back and see that the randomness His brushstrokes do actually make sense . He is the Artist of our lives. And He is making His masterpiece.

Dancing Queen

Today I was having a quick lunch with a friend. We didn't have much time so I had spotted a Subway that was tucked away in the corner of one of the little market areas. We sat down and ordered our food. As we munched on our sandwiches I looked outside to watch the commotion of the day. I saw a man in a turban pushing a wheel burrow. I saw an animal pulling a cart. I saw a man carrying large plastic containers on his head. And ABBA's "Dancing Queen" played over Subyway's intercom. A smile came to my face as I thought 'what a crazy life this is'.

Its A Zoo Out Here!

These are some clips from a trip that we took last week. On the way there, we saw elephants, dogs, goats, chickens, pigs, monkeys, and cows. As we rode along in the taxi, one of my coworkers gently said "hey Cathy, look...there's a monkey out your window". I told him that nobody had ever said that to me before. ;-) My favorite, however, were the cows. In the second clip, we were sitting at the train station, waiting for our train. These cows kept bugging us, I think they wanted our snacks. Notice the one poor cow whose horn was broken. I think we nicknamed him "One Horn" or "Lopsy" something like that...can't quite remember.

Strength

Life has been in constant flux since arriving. Sometimes I feel like I can't make it. It seems too hard. I know this is a well known truth but the verse that comes to me often these days is "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength . That verse has been true to me more than ever. I can DO ALL THINGS through Him. When it seems too overwhelming, I remember that He gives me the strength to get through day. That's all I need.