Props

In light of recent events, I have been thinking alot about the self made props I have built to hold my life up. In the past, I have had God AND... But being here has forced me to consider whether or not His grace is actually sufficient enough for me. I have been used to believing in God AND....being well liked, well understood, good at my job, having a favorite drink at Starbucks, etc, etc. But slowly slowly those props which I have built to hold up my life have fallen. And all I have left is Him. When I get out of bed every morning, I only have Him to hold me up. And yes, His grace IS sufficient.

School Days

This past week has been filled with school related activities. Yesterday I got invited by a friend to attend her college class. She is studying Elementary Education and yesterday they celebrated 'Children's Day'. So here I am with my friend and her classmate. Everyone always seem to want a picture with the foreigner. :-)

This is inside her classroom. Sorry for the poor quality but we were playing a game that is similar to musical chairs. Someone hits a rock on a table while the others circle around the line of chairs. When she stops making noise with the rock, everyone has to find their chair and the one who doesn't sit down is out. It was interesting to see college girls get so excited over this game. It was a good time for fun.

A group photo at the end.

This week seemed to be costume week at school. This is my neighbor's daughter, all dressed up for her costume competition. She is dressed as one of the Hindu goddesses.

We traveled to a little school in another part of town this week. Heather had the opportunity to use her teaching skills.

I just stood on the sidelines and held a new born baby. This was the chubbiest little newborn, she was SOOO cute. Her name means "lifting up praises"

As we were leaving, this little boy poked out his head. Also notice the goat who is covered with the blanket. Now that cooler weather has set in, they cover up their animals so they won't get cold. It is literally like 60-70 degrees outside but to them, its freezing.

Eve Teasing

There are many things I love about this place. There really are. As the weeks pass, I am increasingly thankful for the growing love and friendships I am encountering. That old saying is true "love doubles your joy and divides your sorrow".

But there is one problem here that I do not appreciate. They call it Eve teasing. Its South Asia's term for sexual harassment. Delinquent males seem to find pleasure in making lewd comments, gestures or even worse towards women in public. I even hate the semantics of it. Eve teasing refers to the temptress nature of Eve, placing responsibility on the woman as a tease, as though the aggressive response of the males was normal.

Honestly I ignore all back ground noise when I go out and so I probably haven't really paid attention to it. I somehow have just tuned it out. But yesterday I had an encounter that was so extreme there was no way I could ignore it. I encountered some really obnoxious and hateful males who were riding along side my rickshaw. My anger escalated as they seemed to find true pleasure in what they were doing. I must say, I didn't react in a way that was glorifying to His name. My driver saw what was going on so he sped up and left the boys in the dust.

As we continued on our journey, I thought about what had just happened My first thought was "Shame on those boys". It is not ok what they did. But... I was also regretful that I responded the way I did. I immediately remembered that His power is made perfect in weakness. I remembered that my heart is depraved and His grace is sweet. He turned a painful situation into a reminder of His redemption. I have a ring on my right ring finger with the Hebrew word for "redeemed". Nobody can take that away.

Don't Spit

Please...for the life of me...don't spit

My Cup Overflows

This morning I spent extra time with the Father. There were a ton of things I needed to do. But I didn't do those things. Instead, I sat at my dining room table and opened His Word. Thankfully, a hymn book made its way into my suitcase. I have gotten into the habit of singing from it at the top of my lungs from time to time. If I don't remember the tune, I just sorta make something up. So that's what I did this morning. I sang and read His Word. I didn't ask Him for anything. I just sang and read, sang and read.

And today I was able to see all the blessings He has lavished upon me. I am not talking about physical things or comforts. (Although I did get a toilet roll holder installed today which has made me quite happy) Its the blessing of being known and loved by Him. He knows the depth of our hearts and loves us the same. In every opportunity He gives, in every friend He brings along, in every circumstance He ordains, He is singing "I love you, I love you" Most days I don't hear His love song. The world seems to so easily drown it out. But today... way over here in the east...I heard it. And my cup overflows.

...if I settle on the far side of the sea...even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast

Blog From The Train

Well, as technology would have it, I am blogging from inside of a train. We are headed back to Mtown from Abad, the city that I previously lived in. Its about a 12 hour journey so we have taken the night train back. A few months ago, I signed up for a photon thingy that plugs into my flash drive and serves as an Internet modem. So, I have been able to have Internet in strange places, such as in this train that I am currently in

I had a good visit in Abad. We did some research on what our days ahead will look like. I also had the chance to reconnect with my old language helper and her family. Mrs R has proved to be a sweet addition to my life. She has loved and encouraged me in these first months of adjusting to a new place. Since I am on her "turf" she has given me wise council on how to manage things. I sat in her garden this morning and enjoyed the peace of the morning. I played "Connect 4" with her son. I ate an orange from her orange tree as we chatted about life. "have you ever seen a red banana'? she asked me. "No, can't say that I have". I answered. And then she proudly showed me her red banana tree. Huh...who would have thought...red bananas and Internet on the train.... what a day

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Dirty hand prints of unknown origin and grime plagued the walls of my new apartment. I tried to ignore it, I really did. As I attempted to make this place my home, I kept thinking "oh, if I just get some decorations, I won't notice the dirt". But I did. I kept noticing. I would lay in bed and just stare at the ugly water damaged walls of my bedroom. After weeks of trying to talk myself out of it, with the help of Heather, I decided to paint my walls. And as it turned out, it wasn't a bad experience. In fact, my neighbors came over one night and helped us. So, it turned out to be a community event. They had only ever seen a paint roller on TV. So, it was a good chance for bonding.

The finished product- my living room

And the ugly walls of my bedroom are now PURPLE. It makes this place seem more like home. Purple always makes everything better.