Delhi

I was at a silver shop where I made friends with the owners, a mother and son. After getting to know them a bit, aunty served me a cup of the guestly solution of Indian Chai-- thus being up at 2:00AM updating you all.

I am here in the capital of India, New Delhi. I got here on the 20th, planning on staying two days finishing some dental work, and heading to the Bhutanese refugee camps in east Nepal. The Lord had different plans. My dental work ended up in some complication, sending me crying out to my Father. So I had to cancel the Nepali trip and stay here in Delhi.

My friend's brother happened to be living in Delhi, so I contacted him and he helped me out immensely, in getting a place to stay here. By the grace of God I made the right choices with the teeth, and all is well. Praise God!

Up until now I have been living with my dear Indians which at times take caring for their guest goes a bit into the realm of clipping their wings, so at this time I feel so free-- almost too free like I don't even know what to do here in this great city, since I didn't plan on staying here. I am still to find the whole reason for the stop here.

I have been having a wonderful time exploring this great city, My friends and I went to the old Delhi spice market today. Incredible!!!!!! Vendor after vendor with numberless bowls heaped high with the worlds finest spices straight from karila. Cloves by the 50lb bag.Vanilla beans like I have never seen before, costing ¢25, as long as your hand and still fresh and soft, almost oily feeling. Saffron for $2.50 a gram. Everything was is strong in taste and aroma. Just amazing. I bought cardamon, ten vanilla beans cinnamon and black pepper. They also have spices that we don't have in the states.

I keep falling into fashionable places, not sure how that keeps happening? Hmm? Lol
Delhi is really fashionable, a beautiful twist of Italian high fashion, this really comes out in the men's shoes.
Clothing and tailoring are so cheap that most everyone can dress as the choose. And everyone has s perfect fit, cause they can alter their clothes for the price of a cookie. I bought some very fine linen and silk nosing around a market one of the first days, those two always intrigue me.

I designed a prototype for a shirt, which ended up being a bit over the top. Had to take it to ten tailors before I could find one that would sew it. I had given up and was on my way home since the shop that all the losers pointed me to, joined with the masses of others that turned me down. So I felt nudged to stop into this on last shop, tired of hearing a quick NO after one glance at my paper, I just said before opening my parcel, "no one in town will sew my shirt, do you think you can help me?" in a challenging tone, he looked intrigued. So I showed him my ideas and he started with the"NOs" so I started eliminating everything that was "impossible" and we had a deal. Funny thing is, money "doesn't" talk. These fellas wouldn't sew my style regardless of how much I offered.

Finishing today's tea story. While at the silver shop I was planning on designing a ring for them to make, I informed her son that I wanted to watch the silver smith work. Without time lost, he jumps on his scooter and takes me to some nearby silver smiths. I was surprised by his kindness being that I wasn't a customer. As I thanked him in repetition for the favor, he responded with, "No need to thank, it is our duty for a foreigner!" which removed some of my delight.

Duty....
We use that word sometimes as well. Duty. Should we!? Do we have "duties" here on earth? Or is every second an opportunity to be motivated by Christ's love to respond to his great father's love!
When we learn to "take every thought captive!" and test whether or not it is a motivation of Christ's love, there should be no "duties" but rather countless opportunities to let HIS love rain.

The west has countlessly confused the duties of the east as love. The truth is they don't have anything in common. Duties can look like love, but obviously aren't. It's the heart behind the hands that switches duties into love!!! Take every thought captive! Are you motivated by His love or are you storing up in wood, hay and stubble?

I have had such meaningful conversations with so many of the vendors. I do love shopping. :) I loving being able to throw out the right comment to bring the character out of someone that hardly speaks my tongue! Today I was watching this guy machine embroider with a sewing machine I never saw before, doing work that I thought only computers could do. So after residing there a bit I ask some of the neighboring vendors about prices of scarfs, I thought one of them was to priced to high, so I responded to him with my "oh mercy that's impossible face" :) and say something like, "too much cost." We laugh, and soon all the fellas from other shops start giving me joking offers on this guy's stuff for 10 Rupees. So we're all laughing, and being silly, then the owner in a serious tone clarifies that they are only joking, to insure we don't have a language problem... Haha

So after this India comes to an end on the 4th, I will be typing from Paris for three days while visiting Sifa's cousin, then back to Milano to catch my flight to Chicago! Wow, two more weeks, and I'll be back on the other side!

Thoughts Of Mine

Right now I am staying with a friend and his family in Hyderabad Andrah Pradesh. I will be here till the 20th of this month, then I fly to Nepal, with a little stop in Delhi on the way. I have had a wonderful time here in Hyderabad, getting to know many people around my age. Yesterday, I went to church with my friend’s sister, who is studying Software engineering via her father’s wishes. Indian's career fate is decided by a flip of a Rupee I think? either you will be a Doctor or a Software engineer! Lol! After church I met all her friends that she goes to school with-- all engineers because she goes to an engineering collage. Very interesting to talk to a bunch of girls who are studying to become Software, Aeronautical, and Mechanical Engineers! Some of them were just studying to please their parents and pass the time, others were interested in their field of study. I had a good conversation with one of them about materials of construction for the auto industry.
I ask one of them, "are you planning on using your degree to get a job?" her answer was so different from most U.S girls, she said, "of course.... well... if I get married and my husband can't provide me then I will have to work, but if he can provide me then I won't have to."

One thing that is so lovely and so “right” about India is that the women don’t give up their femininity to do what, in the U.S, we think of as a masculine job. Instead of a female Mechanical engineer wearing a western suit, (Men’s attire, don’t care if you want to argue) you have her wearing a Sari or a Churidar, in the most beautiful colours known to man, covered in glitter and gold, and most likely fresh flowers in her hair, creating the most feminine identity of all! Which to me is what it is all about. It simply says, I am an engineer, and a woman, and the two aren’t related. I don’t need to try to deny who I am to have the authority I need to work in my field. I feel that when a woman “wears the pants” and puts on the shoulder pads, she is telling the world for herself that a woman just isn’t enough for this job; I am going to try to add some “man” to myself. I have no understanding for you western girls that don’t want to dress like woman! 

You should see these female cement workers, gracefully carrying bowls of sand on their heads helping each other lift their loads in rhythm, onto each other’s heads. It made me laugh one time watching them work... the men were caring the gravel while the woman carry the sand, the men would lift the large bowls of gravel by themselves, quite a struggle, while the woman simply lifted each other’s in rhythm, ego fellas… haha

India is still confusing me about the woman’s rights “thing”... on one hand they don’t have much say in anything, and on the other they are far more powerful then they are here in the western world. Especially in politics: don’t forget that India was the first country to have a female prime minister. While staying here in Hyderabad, there is a huge political campaign going on. Parties are trying to divide the state of Andrah in to two states. Again there were these woman that had great power as leaders of this whole thing. I asked one of my Indians friends about this: how the women can have such a voice in politics yet none in other walks of life. He also didn’t know why it happens this way. I haven’t seen woman as oppressed here in India as most US Christians seem to paint them, I see the people as whole oppressed, both men and women don’t have the rights I feel they are due in family structure.

The more I am here the less and less I feel that India “needs help”-- honestly, people, I would love to know who is telling us in the U.S. that India is a poor country and needs so much help. Everyone I have seen here, has a “way of life” that they aren’t about to change. It is so foolish to judge the status of wealth and poverty by our likes and dislikes. After watching my hosts wash my clothes on the back porch on a rock, while there is a washing machine sitting inside, I really understand that Indians DON’T want to change their way of life. It is wrong for us to think that, because someone is living “below” what we think is not “nice” is poverty. India also has food rations for all, there are nearly as many people over weight here as there are in the U.S! this is due to the RICE diet. Most all south Indians truly eat a diet of 70% to 98% white rice!!! This is the cause of the lack of nutrition, again this is a life choice, not a “problem”-- they love rice!!! They have all manners of the finest fruits and veggies on earth for very little cost. One of my friends here says you can count on your fingers the people that eat raw vegetables in India!

On the note of poverty, I have seen very little. I was all geared up to let the LORD change my world outlook on how I spend my money, thinking that I would be very moved by the people that had nothing compared to what I have. NOT SO, haha. oddly the other way round. India is very rich; they just don’t like the same things we do. After talking with a woman riding a little old scooter that owns more that 2.25LBs of pure gold jewellery which would be worth as much as $40K in GOLD alone. I realized never to judge the people on two wheels. I would tease her about selling a little gold, and coming to visit the U.S and she would laugh and say, “Gold is for keeping, not for selling!” It’s true though, I have never seen so much fine gold in my life, even the “poor” people that work in the fields for $2 a day, manage to have a pure gold nose stud, or earrings. I won't be able to forget the way one woman summed up what Indians live for: “We live for gold, food, and clothes!”

My thoughts about my money have greatly changed while being here in India, in the aspect of wanting to be more generous with what I have, with people that are dear to me. Enjoy life more, possibly spend more on such things as gold, food, and clothes...haha.

The rewarding feeling of success overwhelmed me as I stood in the open doorway of the train cruising along at 70mph as I left the orphanage this morning. Tears going down my cheeks as I thought how I had done what I had set out to do. Six months of prep, six flights getting here, a month of time with my boys, and I know that they know that "HE" loves them!!!! Few things this big have I set out to do, that I have been able to say I did the right thing,  It feel like a burden has been lifted off my back!
        I can't forget the looks on their faces as I brought the ten eldest boys into my room yesterday (they aren't allowed in the house) and gave them all gifts, rapped with flowers all laid out on my bed with all their names. The wonderful element of shock and surprise, of knowing they are special was priceless! I gave them all my belongings that I didn't absolutely need, which included everything but pair of underwear, and the Indian clothes that I bought here, it sounds funny and weird but they don't have underwear, and have to bathe outside so it is hard always holding a towel while trying to bathe.
Bless the LORD Joseph let all the older boys come with us to the train station, we all piled into this little tinny van made for five, there was twelve of us!
        One of the other things that brought me success feeling was buying them all six watermelons, that in it's self was not the greatest thing. Sadly when you are one of 50 kids in a Hindu country EVERYTHING is rationed and controlled,  you NEVER have any say or choice in your life, such is life. So I was very tired of seeing them all line up and get handed something. They never get a choice in anything, more of that wonderful Hindu culture. India is run off complete control and complete submission which doesn't allow them to think at all. interestingly this has made me think about how in the kingdom of God there is no absolute control, between any relationship, Christ has give us choice in everything.  I was giving them all ink pens which came in four colors, and some kids couldn't even choose which color they wanted. Anyway, the LORD gave me this idea of how I could show them wealth and freedom in the feasting of the melons. I set the melons in six different places of the eating hut, then assigned each one to a older boy, and gave him a sharp object to cut it with. I told all the kids to get in groups with a melon, so I had around eight kids to a melon, then I explained that I wanted the assigned person to feed his group how "he" thought best, and let them go!!!!! Yes some of them honestly didn't have a clue how to cut a melon and took more time then you could imagine but I chastised anyone telling them how they should do it. It was one of the most rewarding things to see them all devouring with authority of their possession, freedom!!!! I have learn a greater meaning the the phrase: "it's not what you do but how you do it!" wow... Looking back on every day with the children how hard I was on myself, always thinking of how I could and should have done this, and that, and this better, and then just straight up not knowing what to do!!!!!
       Christ has taught me more in this month then many combined, it feels like I have put so many pieces to the puzzle that I had in hand in their places, so many things just have come full circle. But what has changed my life never to be the same is the LOVE that the Lord poured out on me one night. When I first came here I was expected to "teach" to all the ranging in age from 4 to 17 in the "talk at" method.not my teaching style at all, so I had I hard time coming up with what to say that would be fruitful for the mass. Asking the LORD what to tell them he told me teach about love, So I did, talk all about Jesus' love and how dear they each are and how Jesus has come to be their best friend, how he wants a relationship with them I haven't seen one relationship between anybodyin India  that I would say I am envies of to say the least. Hinduism is a religion of fear, everything is based off of fear and respect! Perfect love casts out fear, sadly these kids are only taught about the fear factor which there is no relationship in. Then I ask the LORD again what should I teach on, I was told LOVE again, I said I already talk about that, I can't just teach about love every single day.... Or can I? This was in  the beginning of my last week. I was sitting watching the children go through their routines of singing the same songs, and praying long prayers, and just an overview of their whole life routine in mind, I started weeping knowing that they might never know what a relationship with my Jesus feels like, from here the pouring of GOD'S love came upon  me like nothing ever has before, it was just as I was controlled by the LOVE of GOD the spirit just filled me with the knowledge of his love, and how it is truly only a relationship with Jesus that gives true love. I feel that I could type all night and can't even begin to touch what the spirit gave me there in like one second! I am changed, my life is changed, everything is new and different.
I am staying with Joseph's sister and husband right now in visakhapatnam, second largest city in the state. probably a week or so, Caleb is staying here with me making sure I am under control. I want to stay in this state till the end of the month. Then I will head for Nepal and my friends relatives there in the refugee camps.

Week over view

       Yesterday, I took five of the older boys to the beach. Interestingly enough, because Joseph had told me the day before that there was absolutely no chance of me taking any of them to the beach before I left. When I first got here he said sure sure sure, you can take them, so I was very angry about him changing his status on the subject. I told the LORD that night. "We ARE going the the beach!!!!!" sand the very next moring (favorite part:) the LORD allowed a locale politician to get killed in traffic, hit by a Lory or trampled by a water buffalo not sure what killed him, but all the same his sacrifice of life gave my boys the day off from school allowing us to go to the beach!!!! Who needs politicians anyway:) haha
         Sad for the other 45 kids that didn't get to come, but I soon realized that when you are only one person and there are 50 kids you can't let disappointing the masses stop you from blessing one individual and creating some identity for one person. Something that kinda spoiled the journey for three of the boys was CAR SICKNESS!!!! lol I never even thought about them never riding in a car before let along a 3 hour drive!!!! I felt so bad especially for Ravitejah who just never quit throwing up. We finally got there, to the worst beach I have ever seen, lol but to them it was the best and worst looking beach due to never seeing one before! we had a good time they were really happy. On the way home we stopped and got some fried rice, which turned out to be the best meal I have had in India not to mention it's cost of only $2.00 !!!!
Bought more Guavas and Bananason on the jurney home as well:)
      This last week I have been having a great time with the children here and all, I made the oldest girl here a dress from fabric I bought on eBay here in India, I am such a Jew I wasn't happy with the prices here for cloth of like $2-3 a yard. haha I was like, what this is India, they sell all their cloth for like $0.10 a yard to the clothing companies. we should be able to get it for around $0.50 a yard...had to settle for a $1.20...
My father had a phrase about pinching a silver nickle so tight that you made the Indian on the face ride the buffalo on the back, in this case I am making Gandhi ride the cow!!! haha
I baked a birthday cake with Jitendrah over the fire outside, it worked very well we used the Ghee beaters to beat the eggs, (nothing like a whisk, don't talk about a mixer) then I used two huge pots as an oven one smaller inside upside down, plus the lid over the whole thing. (pics below)
       I am suppose to be leaving here the 5th or the 7th due to Hindu terror, which there happens to be none of??? I am not going to Nepal now either, I love it here in Andrha Predesh and I plan to stay another month, not sure where yet??? I hope to stay with some other church members in the area, this will be a big hassle I for see with Joseph. So please pray for a place for me to stay in the area that will allow me the freedom to be myself and love people in an adventurers way:)
I have done very little photo snapping, to busy having a good time with the children, but I have collected  a mere1,800 total trip count. Other main reason for nit carrying around a 4LB camera is I become a by stander instead of a participate, it's bad enough being white here, having folks lining up to see me. My joke is a need a tee-shirt that says something like, "1 Rupee to look at the white man, two to shake his hand" possibly on the back something along the lines of  "I love steak" haha

    
  I was fascinated with one little face, and had to go grab a camera the other day!!! One of my goals here is to shoot the beautiful people in the misery here, I feel like anyone can take heart grabbing pics of poor kids sick, soon to be dying old folks,,, etc. But I want to capture the beauty and dignity of these "people" that just might not happen to have much more then what they are wearing.

Ponguturu Paradise

I am here in Ponguturu, the most wonderful place I have even been, feels like sallasulu from Dr. Sues where everything is lovely and troubles are few!!! Coconut trees everywhere that bear nuts all year long they tell me!!!! Papaya that tastes like heaven! Guavas, oh my,,,, NOTHING like guavas I have had from Mexico and canned, they are the size of grapefruits and so creamy and flavor like none other:)
       I mended clothing most of the day  for the boys. The old Machine is marvelous when it works but it won't sew some cloth, and the thread is so weak, it breaks all the time, so I double it up. Most incredibly most all of the clothes that I mended, had been mended before, by the boys themselves all by hand. Later found out they mend their clothes without being told!!!!!!! The children do speak English and today was the day that I truly broke into their lives and became one of them, up till now it has been all this formal greeting stuff.. I sewed their clothes while they were at school, then they came back, and I gave each boy the pant or shirt that happened to be his. Then of course we played more Cricket!!!!!!!! always Cricket!!!! Still getting the hang of it, (should have played more baseball, lol) It's so funny they have this guest thing so far out of proportion, the boys won't throw the ball to me from very far, for fear they might miss and hit me, so they throw it to a boy near me and he tosses it to me... haha
        Up until today the Mallipudis have been feeding me all this fancy food all by myself,  giving me all this guestly honor, and telling me, oh no don't eat the children's food, not good for you!!!
 So, after much cricket and other games, I went back to sewing with one of the boys teaching him how to stitch a button whole on his pants, which turned into a surround of 20 boys all repeating my words as I would teach. It was now getting dark so we went to their bed room and had the evening prayer and teaching, always asking me to teach and play my violin. So I have been teaching by asking questions since I haven't known any of them yet. It was a really good time of learning, making them all think and answer questions that I came up with as the LORD led me from their responds. Then I went with the children and ate with them in their eating hut instead of eating in the house with the fancy food that is very hard to try to finish, So fifty smiling faces later, we were walking back to their sleeping hut and they start talking to me in English asking me to teach them English!!!!!!!! I said yes, and they said they were going to do home work, then so I ask about their English HW. They brought me their English workbook which had stories to read, so I gathered them all on the top bunks of the beds and read to them, and soon we were all speaking English quite plainly, so I had all the older ones read sentences between mine. Then we read all these stories for two readers, sharing the parts, veddy, veddy, veddy gud!!!!! their English books are so poorly written that they even had wrongs words in them, cake, instead, care etc, not to mention horrible grammar!!!! haha now I know why they always say: "Is it" for all questions, the books use that wrongly all the time.... haha
         I traded all my clothes with the boys here so now I have Indian clothes and they have the "royal American" ones!!!! lol
Fifty has got to be the biggest number there is when it comes to quantity of children!!!!!!!! I thought I was good with faces and names, and I keep seeing new faces every day! and they are all the same size mostly. I have been keeping things back to give them and do step by step I will use all that I have for them, haven't given them some of the toys yet or shown them my Ipod, or slept in their hut, which I want to do soon, because then the will know that I am one of them and think equally with them. But I am still trying to please Joseph and Prema which want to give me this mega guest treatment:) one step at a time I will clime the coconut tree that they say I must not clime because it is dangerous,,,, seriously,,,, like I would come to Indian forest and not pick a coconut????
everybody must do that once in their life,,, I think?
This is winter for them, taking hot bathes and wearing ear muffs, and coats,,,, did I mention that it is also 80* lol well the coats come out in the evening when it is like 60*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeNk9EZu_AM

Hindu hostility

       Well, my plans have taken a little turn as of last tuesday. I was informed that I won't be able to stay at the orphanage as long as I had planned, because of Hindu terrorists that are causing Joseph and the children harm. Me being there lookin so white will bring more attraction to them as a target. Joseph says he only wants me to stay there three weeks!!! wow,,, instead of three months, so now I must figure out what to do with the rest of my time between my stay with Joseph, and my return flight. I am now planning on stopping in to the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, where I will live with the relatives of my Nepali friends that I know here in Grand Rapids. This is kinda cool cause I wanted to travel like this before, but canceled the idea due to costs. Nepal is a good place to spend time in because the Nepalese Rupee is 72RS to a US $1.00!!!! I still don't know what I am going to do with the two months that don't have a destination, this is turning out to be much more of a dangerous journey then I had thought it was going to be, which is REALLY awesome!
       I am Just now getting my vaccinations for India, thats due on the 20th.
So I am selling more stuff that I have laying around to cover all this new airfare I will be flying.