Halloween in India...

Halloween in India is just not the same...

We went through most of the day not even realizing that it was Halloween.

We finally decided that we needed to celebrate this holiday, even if India was not celebrating.

We got out our masks that our dear friend sent us, an elephant and lion how perfect right?

So there we were, a lion and elephant laying out on the mattress we brought out onto the porch. Our Amma and Nana soon joined us. We even had our Nana dress up as an elephant. We explained what Halloween was, and how kids go around to strangers houses and ask for candy.

We even went trick-or-treating... with each other. ha ha.

You would be surprised at how many Halloween parties we went to. We were a hot item. We skyped one party to the next. We even danced a little. Our costumes were a hit. What can we say? We are party ANIMALS! ha ha.

Don't ever underestimate our ability to celebrate.

Might not have been our typical Halloween night, but it sure was fun!

Just another memorable evening in India!

Peanut Surprise

It was just our typical day in India, or so we thought...

After staff worship Kati and I had some free time, so we decided to get in our morning walk.

As we were walking outside of a village, we were stopped and called over by some friendly villagers. They were working in a field off the road picking ground nuts (peanuts), and wanted to share some with us. So being the kind people that we are, Kati and I joined them in the field.

As they fed us peanut after peanut, Kati and I decided to get down on the ground and help them work. We would grab the peanut plant out of a pile and pick the peanuts off.

I went to grab another peanut plant, saw something black, and felt a quick sting. I stood up quickly in shock over the pain. The pain started rushing through my finger, then my wrist, then my arm, and up to my shoulder. I immediately burst in to tears from the unbearable pain.

Noticing we were a mile away from the school, I didn't think I was going to live. I knew scorpion bites were very dangerous and I was very scared. Meanwhile, Kati was looking at me confused as to what just happened. She was afraid that I had been bitten by a cobra, because she had not seen what stung me. Through my tears I told Kati I had been stung by a scorpion. So Kati decided to send us running for help.

While we were running, it was only a matter of time until Kati stopped a motorcyclist passing by and threw us on the back of the bike. The man asked to see my finger and began squeezing my finger to stop the poison from spreading. He dropped us off at the school and we ran into the compound to find help. Immediately I was thrown into the school van and rushed off to get help.

We arrived promptly at the nearest doctor. The doctors office was a hole in the wall that was very run down. I was nervous by the way the place looked already, but then when he decided to give me a shot... I FREAKED out. I tried to refuse the shot, because of all the warnings of needles in 3rd world countries, and I did not see him take the needle out of a package. Kati sitting by my side reassured me that I had the choice of the poison spreading through my body or a small chance of HIV...

I chose the HIV...

No just kidding, Kati saw the man open up the package the needle was in.

She held my hand and told me it was going to be alright.

After the first two shots, the pain started to subside. My finger and arm had already swollen up to their max capacity. Unfortunately, that is where the shots and the swelling just began. He sent me home for a couple of hours with two needles and medicine. If you are wondering what the two needles are for, this is where all the fun begins!

Not only was Kati my hero, but she also got to be my doctor...

She had to give me two more shots in my butt.

Really, its not funny, even though we were laughing.

It was a long painful day, with lots of emotion, scare, and shots, but I walked away ALIVE with an experience I will never forget.

Dear Followers...

Sorry we have not written in awhile. We have been moved out of our house temporarily while Maranatha works on a project. We are leaving tomorrow for Ongole, which is a town about 5 hours away. We will be gone for about a week, helping start a school! We are doing well and having a great time.

These past few days have tested our adaptability skills to new situations. We are growing more and more patient everyday, and God is giving us so much room to grow. It has been an amazing experience to get the chance to meet the donors of this school. It has inspired us to really be involved in missions even more in our lives, and to embrace the opportunity that each one of us has to help. We are blessed.

Change is good for the both of us and in this change we need a daily reminder on how to start our day, so we wanted to share with you what Max Lucado has shared with us: "Each Day I Choose" by Max Lucado

It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I am free to choose.

I choose Love.... No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose Joy.... I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose Peace.... I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose Patience.... I will overlook the inconvenience of the world. Instead of cursing the one that takes my place, I will invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for the moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose Kindness.... I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose Goodness.... I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose Faithfulness.... Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose Gentleness.... Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it only be on myself.

I choose Self-Control.... I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my Faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Poisoned-Hillary

Kati and I have been poisoned.

Not intentionally of course, but poison is poison right? You could say we hit our limits in the meat department, especially in the goat department...

It all began being invited to a special Sunday lunch our amma wanted to prepare for us. Unfortunately, it was planned the same day as a staff member's wedding reception meal, so we had to brace ourselves for food overload.

The reception was delicious, and of course we were fed like BIG FAT KINGS. After about four hours, it was time to dive into amma's meal she had been preparing all day. Kati and I were already full, and now we were scared. It was a terrible feeling.

She prepared mutton (a.k.a. goat), chicken, fish, and of course about 20 chapatis. Each dish was cooked with much love and a lot of time. Even though Kati and I previously told them we ere vegetarians, they insisted on us eating like kings, because we are always their honored guests. The fish was an unknown variety with many bones, the chicken was little meat and a lot of cartilage and bone, and the goat... Need I explain?

The meat was hard to take for the both of us, and unfortunately after trying to say "no" or "no more" many times, we walked away full and sick. For the last twenty four hours we have visited the bathroom about 100 times, and we are slowly feeling better. We are weak and tired, but next door is our amma, proud that she could cook for us, proud of her love for us, and as we lay here poisoned, I would not take my bathroom trips back to see any sort of disappointment on her face.

I never thought that I could be poisoned by someone just trying so hard to love me and show it. My poison is not poison actually, it's innocent, selfless, Godly, love.

Amma's love is selfless and giving. Amma's love is inspiring.

Idianized!

Tonight we were, for the first time, true Indians!

As far as India goes... There are a few things that most anyone knows about, or at least can associate, with India:

1. Red Dots (of course)

2. The ladies beautiful long braids

3. And Henna

Lucky for us, we had the opportunity to experience all three in one night!

Our Amma, invited us in as always, to treat us like her own daughters. She quickly placed Hillary into a chair (who knew a pregnant woman could be so strong and aggressive?). Poor Hillary thought she was getting a hair cut. "It was so scary!"-Hillary

After calling for a translator, we came to know that our amma just wanted to braid our hair. As soon as she started, that is when the fun night began.

Once we had our hair braided, we had been kissed a million times, cheeks pinched, and more friends in our presence.

What else could there be?

Well...Amma, in her sneaky, silly state, decided she would place the ever so common dot on our foreheads. This was a true adventure!

We thought this was absolutely hilarious! She kept telling us to not tell anyone, and was very persistent on us keeping it "our little secret."

Once we left the house, it was only a matter of five minutes until we heard a knock on our door. To our surprise there was our amma, more friends, and henna. Again, we were quickly placed in a chair and decorated like a cake.

We can honestly say, we have experienced this culture to the fullest!

A Perfect Evening

At first I was upset coming home and having no power. I wanted to get on the computer, surf the web. Or at least read a book and not have to wear a headlamp and sacrifice my eyes to all the flying bugs attracted to the light.

Then my brilliant roommate, had a great idea.

She said, " lets see if it is cooler outside, plus everyone sits on the porch at night."

So we promptly grabbed our chairs and headed for the outdoors.

It was a perfect temperature with a slight breeze. The night sky was perfect!

Hillary and I argued over the big dipper and then finally agreed that we had no idea where it was.

The calm night then moved us to practice for special music, that we have next weekend. We started to sing.... and we kept singing.

We sang Be Still, The Blood, Give me Jesus and even our neighbor joined in.

After finishing our porch concert, we were discussing, mainly about India.

Hillary and I have had so many questions about the culture and language. So we began to ask our neighbors.

Now to understand our neighbors, they are so of the most loving people we have EVER met. Raju and Vani have opened up their home to us multiple times for food or tea time.

They are expecting their 3rd child this month.

They say Hillary and I are their first 2 children.

We call them nana( Dad) and amma (mom).

Our Amma will give you anything. She would give you the clothes off her back if she could.

Hillary and I hope to inherit this quality from our amma, while we are in India.

They sat on the porch with us and taught us Telugu words and answered any questions we had about the culture.

We laughed!!

We laughed alot... and hard.

Raju seems to get mine and Hillary's humor.

As other neighbors would leave their house or sit on their porch, Raju would quickly whisper a phrase in Telugu. He would then tell us to shout it out at them. Of course as we would yell it across the yard it was being slaughtered and then we would all bust up laughing.

During all of this our power had come on but Hillary and I were completely content with where we were in that moment.

We laughed and talked into the night.

"Never overlook the power of simplicity" -the monk who sold his Ferrari.

A porch+ 4 chairs + India's starry sky + Power off = A simple night with loving neighbors, and lots of laughs!

Our amma and nana

"Most people need love the most when they deserve it the least."

Today, I learned something new about myself...I need to ask God to help me love. Not my friends and family, but all the other people, or should I say the people I choose to push away from my heart. The people I choose to forget, the people who need my love most of all. There are just some people who bother me, everyone has someone who bothers them actually. How we go about those "people", is what separates us from everyone else. I have chosen who bothers me, and I have made sure that I do not carry any sort of relationship with them.

I used to think that was O.K.. I used to tell myself, "Hey, we are human. Not everyone can like each other, not everyone has to be friends right?" Well, today Kati so kindly proved me wrong. As written in "Blue Like Jazz," The author talks about someone who just bothered him, so he made the effort to push him farther and farther away (like I tend to do). Then, he points out, that when we pray for the ability to understand and truly listen to one another, it is truly possible to stop being bothered, to gain understanding, to take the time to give someone your love.

So... Today, I am starting to sincerely love those it is hard for me to love. God has put me here, he has put all of us here, to share our love with the world. As hard as it may be, God is here teaching me understanding, and teaching me to listen to each persons needs, and with him I, no we, can love everyone.

-Hillary

2nd Day of school!!

Here we are...

Another day of school complete.

Today we were not really expecting to teach...

But, as it goes in India we ended up being thrown into classes to teach today.

So we took over the classes.

The absent teachers were suppose to teach Telugu and Hindi.

We were completely ready to take on these classes.

Plus we have been practicing Telugu, we would be fine.

And how hard can Hindi be?

We would enter the class promptly and announce, "Hello, we are here to teach Telugu and Hindi."

The children would just laugh at us.

We could not figure out why they were laughing.

Just because we are from America, does not mean we don't know how to speak Telugu and Hindi, come on.

It became a problem, because we could speak Telugu and Hindi so amazingly well, but they could not understand our American accents.

So, we stuck to the easy stuff, English, drawing, and computers.

It was a good, but exhausting day.

Who knew Telugu and Hindi would be so hard to teach?

True Indian Girls

Fresh. -kati

Breathing into a paper bag.

I was out of fresh air.

I even walked around completly oblivious to the fact, that I actually was breathing.

That I am Alive!

Today I was given a new breath of fresh air.

Two small boys running around with a piece of string tied to a plastic bag, in order to mimic a kite, was... my new breath of fresh air.

The little kids pushing Hillary and I on the tire swings was... my new breath of fresh air.

The sound of little girls giggling and whispering... my new breath of fresh air.

India is my new breath of fresh air.

God gave me this new breath.

Sometimes, all we have to do is put down that paper bag, and take in a new breath of air, and realize, that we are truly alive.

Visitors

Today we found out that the kids were not returning from break until Wednesday, so we decided to have all of YOU come to India. 

Crazy idea, we know! 

But India just does not feel right without you guys.

So... we decided to add some life to our apartment. It is amazing what a little paint, paper, tape, and pictures can do, not only to a room, but to two girls away from loved ones. 

Thanks for visiting guys, we hope you enjoy everyday with us, in India.

I just stood there. Sounds of horns, people, vendors, and cars. Sights of oxen, staring, and more people. India is loud, India is busy, and right then, in that small market, there I stood in the pouring rain. As it poured harder, I didn't see the people and the vendors, I didn't hear the cars and the horns. No, I didn't see. I Didn't hear. I felt. I felt peace, I felt joy, and I felt love. Peace, because I knew where I was standing at that moment, was where I was supposed to be. Joy, because I wanted to be there, and love, simply because God is good. Friends and family, wherever you are, I encourage you to embrace the moments God gives us, and just stand there. -Hillary

1.Shopping 2.The Red Monkey's and Green Monsters

1.James & our Nana (dad telugu) 2.Our first Indian meal

1.The City Life 2.Our backyard

1.Our Neighbor Bheti 2. Children who stare.

1.Hindu God 2.Want to make a STD?