Well the monsoon has officially arrived! Though the entire time we have been here has technically been considered monsoon season, it really didn't rain very much in previous weeks. However, this week the skies have opened up and it has rained like crazy. The streets have been completely flooded on some days, making transportation all the more of an adventure.

This past week the boys were in Gwalior for a training, so back here in I-town we enjoyed girls week! Our week consisted of spending time in the Word, going to the malls to share, equipping some of our sisters here, shopping, a spa day, and many other fun activities. Monday through Wednesday evenings we spent quality time with sisters here, training and teaching them from the Word. It was encouraging for us to be around fellow believers, and we pray it was encouraging for them as well. Monday night the ladies graciously let us dress up in their saris and we had a lot of fun as they fussed over us, did our hair, and put jewelry on us. Tuesday night, after the teaching time, they taught us how to dance to some Hindi songs, and Wednesday night they purchased henna and gave all of us elaborate and beautiful henna tattoos. Every night we were in their home they were incredibly hospitable and kind and it was a joy to spend time with them. We have been so blessed, as this has been our experience everywhere we go! The people of India have been very welcoming and go out of their way to help us, from opening new lines for us in stores, to inviting us into their homes and feeding us, to offering tours of restaurants, etc. We definitely do get a lot of stares, and everyone wants to take our picture, but personally I've rather enjoyed being a celebrity! We've all joked that when we get back to America we will miss being famous (we really have made it into the newspaper twice!).

One of our adventures this week was venturing to the Rajwada, which is a quintessential Indian market. We took a carriage ride around just for fun, basically making ourselves a parade. After this Amy took us to some awesome fabric markets where we all found scarves and fabric for clothes or crafts. For our women's time this week we went to the spa. I pretty much could have stayed there all day. For incredibly great prices we all got some combination of the offered head massages, facials, eyebrow threading, manicures, and pedicures.

The Lord's sovereignty has been evident throughout our trip, and this was further evidenced this week as Rachel and a local friend of ours were able to meet two young girls who just moved here and don't have any friends. This is such a perfect opportunity to develop a relationship with these girls since Rachel will be here for an entire year. We have all been learning what it means to be faithful to what the Lord has called us to, and rest in his sovereignty. We can't necessarily measure success here by outward evidence, and the temptation would be to get discouraged. However the Lord has been gracious to remind us that He is the only one who changes lives and calls people to himself, and we simply get to take part in His plan to bring himself glory. What a privilege and a blessing! Today as I was reading in 1 Corinthians 4, verses one and two reminded me of our time here.

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.                    Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful."

As we spend our last week in I-town, please pray that we will be faithful servants and stewards of the message that we have been entrusted with.

And the last but definitely not the least bit of our news is.... the Olympics are here! We girls stayed up till three in the morning watching the opening ceremony, rejoicing in the fact that we were getting to watch it before everyone in America. Since then we've enjoyed watching whenever we can (even when that means staying up through the night) and have definitely bonded as a team through watching them. Since the TV channels we watch are not American, we are getting a broader view of events than we usually do. And by that I mean that we've watched a ton of archery, judo, handball, table tennis, etc, and we hear commentary from a non-American point of view.

At any rate, it's been a great week and we can't wait to see what this next week holds!

Posted by Alecia

Summer Link India: The Truth is Revealed

Please forgive the sarcasm that is about to follow.  I sometimes get into trouble for using sarcasm and wit too much.  The Indians we have encountered have been nothing but polite, courteous, gracious and loving.  We have enjoyed just about every moment here in India and that is mainly due to the people's undying commitment to hospitality.  Please join me in these next few paragraphs of taking a lighter, extreme view of our time in India. I hope you enjoy but remember, this blog is all in good fun and is not meant to raise any response except for laughter.

I am very excited to write the blog today. I finally get to reveal the truth of our time here in Indore, India.  While my colleagues like to believe that our native friends stare and take excessive pictures of us because of their interest and affinity for our culture, i would like to posit a different theory.  I firmly believe the people of Indore believe we are disgusting, dim witted and out of place. Don't worry i do have proof and no, there will not be a rebuttal.

I will first start with the most recent encounter and work backwards. With the guys in Gwalior, the girls headed to fellow believer's house to teach and share. The women we encountered hated the kurtahs and leggings we stylishlyed adorned. They rushed us to strip off our outer garments and then draped us in sarees. While all of us turned out looking beautiful it was a struggle for some who are not Indian size like, well, me. My hands were too ginormous to put on the bangles they offered and they were more than disappointed with the fact that my ears were not pierced.  To complete our transformation from disgusting American to full on Indian, we each elegantly adorned many different pieces of gold and bejeweled jewelry. Carly even had a piece that attached from her nose to her hair. We all received way more comments than we ever did dressed in kurtahs further proving their disdain for our sound attempts at dressing Indian.

Moving backward, Travis somehow forgot to mention our pretty awesome trip to the Amber Fort in Jaipur and with that he also forgot to mention our driver and scary experience involving kids. Our driver used his horn more than all of Jaipur combined.  He drove so fast with so much road rage that Indians were telling him to calm down (not a good sign). My conclusion is that he thought we smelled bad and couldn't bear (i always spell this word this way. One guess why) the embarrassment of having white people in his car. When we arrived at the Fort, we stopped so our driver could take a few moments to collect himself and get fresh air. While stopped our car was attacked by six angry kids. If we hadn't the good sense to lock our doors, I'm certain they would have taken our lives. As it was they settled for yelling "chocolate" at us and hitting our windows in a violent manner. I chastised Jenna for her feeble attempts at hiding her smile which only egged them on more. When they finally realized we wouldn't surrender our lives, they moved on. (No lie, I was afraid for my life.)

The third evidence concerns our rickshaw drivers who believe the longer we stay in India, the more we believe that we should pay higher prices for rides. After weeks of mastering the art of negotiating and bargaining for good prices, Travis was told a 60 rupee drive would take 300 rupees while Rachel was laughed at when she wanted one ride to cost 80 rupees instead of the proposed 150. Jokes on them, however, because we paid the prices we set out to get.

The most damning evidence concerns our trips out to restaurants and Easy Day, the Wal-Mart knock-off. Every time we enter an establishment (no lies, no embellishments, pure truth) a person follows us around with a mop or a broom. I can only conclude that they believe we have some disease that if not mopped up immediately will cause everyone within a 20 foot radiance to drop dead within seconds.

I lied. The most damning evidence is the fact that only two people have not fallen sick on our trip thus far. The subcontinent itself is out to get us with it's weird and strange food that's too spicy to consume and it's foreign diseases causing certain people to crawl everywhere they go and vomit everything they've consumed in the the past week. When will the persecution end?! (The most recent victim has been Rebekah. Shes holding in there though.)

Now, I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Mary Emily, everyone stares and takes pictures of you. Surely they love you!" I say to you, "WRONG!" The excessive photography that still persists is done by people that other Indians consider brave and self-sacrificing. These people take pictures so that propaganda can be developed in secret labs so as to make sure every Indian knows the dangers on consorting with Americans.

Then there are the little small things that happen that make me believe we will never be loved by the people of India: the woman who got off the elevator after one floor even though she had another floor to go; security guards giving Carly a chair to sit in because they thought she was too weak to stand while waiting in line for an open dressing room; letting Alecia cut in front of several women in the dressing room line so that Alecia could get out of everyone's presence faster; opening up another checkout line specifically for us so that we wouldn't have to intermingle with the native folk; people cutting in front of us in another checkout line until Papa Heath came in and laid down the hammer; and the fact that I was laughed by just walking through an isle in Easy Day. 

Unfortunately for my theory (and it is sound as can be seen by the fact that I took the time to write it down), Nathan and Kelsey seem exempt from the loathing that follows the rest of the team. These two seem to make friends easily and have a good time moving the conversation in the direction we all hope it will go. But I will keep my eyes out for any misdeeds befalling them. ...

Posted by Mary Emily

Our concept of time has officially been skewed. Myrtle Beach felt like last year, but it seemed like we were just getting settled into Indore. That being said, I’m writing this in Jaipur as we’re already on our midsummer excursion.

Monday was the last day at the hotel; when we go back to Indore we’ll be staying at the M’s houses. It was quite a scene transporting all of our luggage with rikshaws. Carly wasn’t feeling well all day, so she stayed in with Heath and Rachel (don’t worry, she bounced back the next day beautifully). The rest of us went to Rajwada with the main goal of riding an elephant; Nathan, Alecia, and Mary Emily were able to do so when they spotted one on their way back.

The 3-tier red-eye train to Jaipur from 10:30 Monday night til 8:30 Tuesday morning went well for some, not so much for others. Rachel, Rebekah, and I sang hymns, Nathan got stepped on by an Indian; Kelsey had the best night of sleep so far in India, Heath had one of the worst nights of his life, spending a large portion of it in the bathroom (AKA hole in the bottom of the train).

We got settled in on Tuesday to our hotel; went swimming and ate an expensive hotel lunch. Jenna arrived safely right as we were having our bible study on 2 Peter. All but Heath and Rebekah (also didn’t feel well, but just Tuesday afternoon) went to some markets. The pushy shopowners were frustrating, but some were able to buy art or textiles. Dinner was at a rooftop brick-oven Italian restaurant.

Heath still feeling bad and staying in on Wednesday. Busy, exhausting day. We went to City Palace; the guys were pretty awed by the weapons and the girls were able to have people draw some weird designs on their hands with bad-smelling brown liquid that leaves an orange residue for 10 days (henna tattoos). We took pictures in front of the water palace. Everyone was able to ride elephants, parading around a village with children running in our wake yelling hello. The group went to the restaurant Anokhi for lunch and the girls got some stuff at the adjoining store. Just as Heath started feeling better Wednesday night, Kelsey started feeling really sick with similar symptoms. She picked a better place to get sick, though; luxurious hotel sure beats an Indian train.

Please pr@y for continued intentional, missional living through the rest of the trip and after. Pr@y for health as well. 

Posted by Travis. 

July 12, 2012

Today was a lovely day! The girls took a break from reality by going to Café Palette to have some good vibes, talk and paint. Someone alerted the media though that 6 American women were painting, so naturally the media showed up from a couple different newspapers to interview us and take our pictures. The men went bowling with some friends at a place called Go Bananas! To add a little fun to the day when we arrived home from our day Heath, Nathan, and Travis had surprise notes for the girls telling us how wonderful we are! Since girls are so great, we made up a game for the boys. They had to guess who painted which painting from Café Palette and of course Travis won the game!

 

July 13, 2012

Today we had a social hang out day! Our group wanted to go see The Amazing Spiderman, but they were only showing it in Hindi. We ended up just going to have a family lunch at KFC. The manager asked us if we wanted to have a tour of the kitchen and of course we jumped on that offer. So hairnets and all we headed to the kitchen of KFC! We went to a 4D movie called Under Earth where we were tortured by fake bats and rain that ruined our hair. That night we went to training at a small neighborhood nearby and got the chance to go pr@yer-walking. We had an Indian feast that night which was spicy and amazing! Unintentionally though we insulted the Indian family because we only ate our one huge plate of food and did not stuff our faces by eating three plates of food.

July 14, 2012

This is that day of the crazy auto adventure! Words cannot even explain this incident, but here it goes. Mary Emily, Rebekah, Kelsey, Alecia, Rachel, and I had just left a friends house and walked out to the main road to get an auto to head back to the hotel. We were aiming to get an auto for around 60 rupees (very fair price), but the men at the block were trying to make us pay the outrageous price of 150 rupees (come on guys, this wasn’t out first day in Indore). We ended up leaving that block and attempting to walk across the street to more autos (harder than you think). As we paraded across the street, with beggar children on our arms, a steamroller towering over us, and scooters driving between our toes we finally managed to get a ride home to the hotel! That night we got the chance to go to an Indian wedding. It was very western, long, and there was plenty of spicy food! The boys especially enjoyed the chicken appetizers and the pink drinks. Our group also really got a kick out of Nathan aka national geographic photographer (if you saw his outfit you would understand). 

(awkward family photo)

July 15, 2012

Today we went to a local church and had lunch with some Indian friends. We were actually present this morning for the inauguration of this house church. We had a day of much needed rest! Our group once again ventured to the mall for dinner. A few of us went to Easy Day (aka Wal-Mart) to get some treats for our train ride tomorrow night! We will be heading to Jaipur for our mid summer excursion tomorrow. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us as our adventure continues. 

Quote of the week: while the whole group was riding down the elevator, Alecia decides to state, “I have a statement to make. My kurta has pockets.”

Posted by Carly 

Settling In

If you come to India, wear white pants.  You will not be

culturally relevant or stay cool in the day. They will tarnish.

They will make you stand out. This will come as a welcome

and laughable disappointment as it serves to remind you

 that through grace alone your rags have been washed

clean, compelling you to be unashamed of His power.

 Over the weekend, we decompressed with time alone to

study,give thanks, set objectives for this summer, and sing

together(Rebekah leads cause when she opens her mouth,

I feel compelled to shut mine. so, so good). We made it out

to the park for a camel ride (these walk down the street

though, no bid deal), bumper cars,and Frisbee. Kelsey

 celebrated her birthday on Sunday and what a perfect

day for it to fall on! We sang happy birthday to her and

some new friends when we met in the evening. It was as

tender as a butterfly with sore feet on a gentle breeze

gingerly seeking a soft place to land (true statement).

In following days we have transitioned out of orientation 

into a new routine of study/teaching (Papa Heath!), outings, 

and event time each day. Monday was the first day following 

this routine. I experienced it sick in bed but with meds and 

prayer, was better the next day (Hallelujah!). The guys met 

one of our local brothers/translators and caught up over 

chai and the girls did outreach and prayed over the city 

from the heights of the mall roof. Evening was an adventure 

as everyone went to Inspiration school where Rachel

 presented on family life. Kelsey presented on college life. 

We also presented on American culture, education, and

 leisure acticities. Travis and Alecia(who has now made it 

into this blog) demonstrated how to shag! Then we broke

 into smaller conversations with the students, which

 was somewhat overwhelming. So many questions!

Tuesday morning, Carly had a waffle for breakfast and

thoroughly enjoyed it (best she ever had). A few of the girls

met with some students from Inspiration and the others met a

local sister, whom theywere able to begin teaching and to greatly

encourage. Also, Mary Emily was able to return 4 Rupees that

she accidentally stole. The guys traveled to Rajwada to meet a

man Heath knew 2 years ago and hopefully we will eat with his

family soon. We walked slowly through the frenzied market

streets p-walking and stopped in a music store our local brother

frequents. We spoke at length with the young employees and

neighboring shop owner. In the evening we all returned to

Inspirationwhere the students presented to us on traditional

Indian dances and things that could only happen in India.

The best part of the day was back at home when our local brother

played his newly repaired guitar and we sang together!

On Wednesday, the guys met another brother and his

friend in the mall and after much debating discovered

we each had brothers in the other. It is so uplifting

 to find someone with sound beliefs living here. The

friend was from one of the cities we are visiting

next week so hopefully we will see him again! The

girls were in the mall coming down an escalator with

such grace and style that they stole the attention from a

cricket trophy photo shoot! They were flattered but humbly

and politely declined, walking on un-phased.

At night we attended a local gathering of the body,

personally one of themost encouraging things on our trip yet!

To hear them singing in their native language was phenomenal.

Being with them and hopefully encouraging them is why we

are here! We concluded the day with a family dinner at pizza

hut and walked home from the mall in the cool evening air

(which occasionally carries a whiff of stank). So far the

week has gone well and the work is going well. We are so

 excited for what more is to come for us and the people

of this city. We give thanks for you and your on-going support!

Posted by Nathan

Week 1 (Cont)

 Only a few days have passed since our last blog, but it feels like so much longer. We have seen and done so many things already that it is impossible to post about them all, but we are going to try to give you a little insight into our journey since arriving.


The girls shopping experiencing was a bit overwhelming at first, but we had our first taste of bartering with natives. We won some and lost some, but our skills are improving each time. The boys are still sore from their "man adventure" which turned out to be battling to the death in Squash. Heath dominated and despite his arms being so weak he must use both of them to drink a beverage, he says that the cost of victory was worth it. Nathan has tried to understand women's minds by creating flow charts to make dating and the feminine mystique as "logical" as possible. Overall, the boys are experiencing more culture shock from their female teammates than from the Indian culture.

After our separate activities, we all gathered to celebrate July 4th. The American traditions that may have seemed simple to us before were relished because they were little pieces of home. We basked in the joy of hotdogs, cupcakes, American flag decorations everywhere, coordinated red-white-blue outfits, dancing on the roof of the house while watching fireworks. We were all glad to survive after one of the fireworks fell over, shot the wrong direction, and started a field fire. Don't worry Mom and Dad, our fearless leader Heath ran over and stomped it out.

The next day, we were let loose in the wild country on our "Big Fat Indian Adventure." We split into smaller groups and our days consisted of: playing cricket in the slums with some children, visiting the market (Rajwada), trying many new Indian "delicacies," met an elephant, and almost played with snakes against our will. Everyone enjoyed these different adventures and the insights they gave into Indian culture.

Yesterday was a more trying time for our whole team. We traveled to Ujjain and visited a holy place of worship for Hindu's. The things we saw and experienced that day can never really be explained to someone who wasn't there with us, but here is our best shot. We were ushered into the temple and placed in never-ending "Disneyesque" lines, where people will wait for hours just to have 30 seconds with their god. Their time is so short because the priests of the temple are shuffling the people in and out so quickly. It was hard for us to see this as a religious place because it had all the qualities of a business. As we walked barefoot through the temple, our feet were soiled with the remnants of sacrificed flowers and milk that covered the ground of the inner room, where the idol is kept. Our team had many different responses, but each of our hearts were gripped and our spirits left that place broken for the lost who remained.

Today, most of us have been experiencing sickness, but thankfully were still able to enjoy the great day the Lord gave us. We separated into different coffee shops or locations throughout the city for half day with the Father to reflect on all that we have experienced and seen. After that time, we ventured as a team to a local park, where we found ourselves riding camels and ponies (Kelsey), teaching Indians how to play frisbee, and battling one another in the bumper car arena.

We then went to house church, where we shared in a delicious American meal together, as well as musical worship and teaching of the Word. We are now back at the hotel for the night after a typical near death experience in the rikshaws and Indian roads. It was our most exhilarating rides yet, because traffic was outrageous, our driver was fearless, and all nine of us were stacked into two rikshaws which usually seat maybe 3.

Our Indian adventure continues...

Much love,
Kelsey and Rebekah