Sunsets and Stoves...a picture from the kitchen

Just wanted to share a little from my kitchen. We just got back from buying a new 4-burner stove in a market about 4 hours from our house this weekend. Our two burner stove was lop-sided and was pretty hard to cook on. Since we cook at least 2 meals a day, a stove that cooks evenly was something we decided to save for. So we have been saving to get a nice 4-burner. We got a good deal on this one for only 100 bucks!

I also wanted to show you some pics I took of the last few sunsets out of our kitchen window. I get to see them almost every night because the sun goes down right as we go in the kitchen to cook supper. If you don't know this already, I am a HUGE fan of sunsets. We don't feel like we have given up much to live here. I always thought, however, that I could live anywhere as long as I had a good bathtub and a comfy bed. Our bed is good, but the bathtub is a dream that isn't likely to happen for a while. Now I have learned that I can live without the bathtub and get a bonus from the Creator every night. A love letter, if you will. Just telling me how powerful, mighty, great He is. How He can do more than I could ever imagine. I really enjoy these letters in the sky and I cherish the nights He writes to me and I take the time to read the fine print written in each stroke of His hand.

 

The new stove!

 

An Amazing sunset

 

Taken through the glass so a little hazy.

Sarees and Smiles

Here are a few pics with a few of our closest friends. We love this national family. They are very close to us. We spent the night eating, laughing, trying on clothes, putting on bangles, taking fun pictures and telling lots of stories. I've forgotten how much fun it is to play dress up!

P.S. Yes mom, I forgot to put on makeup. And thankfully, Indians think my pale white skin is beautiful! Not sure why or how they can think this way!

 

Diana is a very close friend who leaves tomorrow to go back to the states. She has been with us since we've been here and we will miss her very much!

 

When should we "butt in"?

There is a marraige back home that is in trouble. They are pretty young in their faith and seem to have lots to blame for their problems. For some reason, the Father has put this on my heart all week. As I've been prying, I've also been asking for wisdom for the fellowship they are a part of. We live in an area where we have to have a home fellowship with Westerners for many reasons. This fellowship consists of those we work with and see on a daily basis. We know all of each other's drama. Levi and I can't even have a tiff in private because we are with people so much. The Indian way is for the fellowship leader to get involved in family problems and pull in other leaders from the fellowship to refocus the family on what really matters. America has told this lie that we should all mind each other's business which leaves young marraiges as bait for the wolves. As they are attacked by the enemy, we sit back and say..."well, it just isn't my business" and let the enemy devour the marraige that the good book says is part of the plan of the King. It is a huge covenant.

May we not be the ones accused of doing nothing while those in our fellowship have their lives torn apart. May we fight for truth, for righteousness, for love. May we humbly and gently "butt in" to  people's lives and give them advice from the word instead of all the advice the enemy is telling them through the media, ect.

Theology

Our Western friends and I rarely get on the topic of theology. Normally when we hang out, we find ourselves playing the wii, talking about food from the States, things we loved to do there, families and friends, and stuff we do here. Last night started our first conversation that revealed very different opinions on some theological issues that I found interesting. Theology tends to bring out the worst in some people. Those who lean towards arrogance are typically overwhelming for me when this conversation starts. Some people get angry which I tend to run from. Others have opinions that are identical to the books they have read, ect. I always get nervous when theology is discussed because I know how critical I can be of the ways people express their opinions and the opinions expressed if they are not grounded in the word. I enjoy the discussions and thrive on learning from others, but also find myself frustrated with those I can't really talk with. So these new discussions should be interesting for our group. I pray that it doesn't cause disruption or division, but love and learning. And I pray that it doesn't cause my heart to miss those back home with whom I can always have 4 or 5 hour long discussions about theology mixed with life and leave encouraged, enlightened, and loved.

Language Learning

This is Levi Studying when we first arrived in India. wow, he looks so different now!

I say this a lot to our team and I just thought I would say it for you back home. I am so glad that we get to wallow through the trenches of language learning. It is humbling and such a great way to see how people who come to the States must feel. I find myself so shy when wanting to have good conversations because I know that in just a few sentences I will make at least a handful of grammatical errors. I hate making these mistakes and find myself quiet and shy when I have never been this way in my whole life. The more I learn, the more I come out of this shell but it is not an easy process. Learning a language is difficult, embarrassing and a struggle. I am reminded of being in America and thinking that foreigners should not stay in our country without learning our language. Now I am the foreigner and I am so thankful for the ones who love me despite my inability to communicate clearly at times. I am so thankful for their patience and grace as they encourage me to keep learning. We as Americans must be patient and loving with those who enter our country! Their worlds are turned upside down and all they need is some love and encouragement!

Indian Weddings

I LOVE weddings in India. I love the dancing the laughing and the fun that it involves. Here is a close friend's wedding I just went to. She is a believer from Bhutan so her wedding was very different from the typical Indian wedding. It was short...lasting only 3 hours. While most Indian weddings can last up to 3 days!

Decorations!

singing

The Ceremony

The Cake

Teaching our Teachers

Tonight we had a big party for our friends and our language teacher's family. We taught them how to make pizza and how to play the wii. Spent a few hours speaking Hindi and laughing with our friends. Learning can sometimes wear us down. Make us frustrated when we can't remember or understand. I especially tend to get frustrated because I am a perfectionist. I will make my poor friends listen as I say the same sentence 3 or 4 times until it is grammatically perfect. Tonight was not about perfection. Just fun....I had to be reminded of that a few times as I found myself trying to perfect my Hindi.

Levi taught he kids about tractors, while I served rounds of chai and cookies. (that makes 4 things of chai I made today because we had many visitors). In India, when someone comes to visit, you try to serve them drinks and snacks. Normally this would be chai tea and cookies. I am becoming pretty good at the chai thing.

Here is my recipe: put two teaspoons of tea leaves (I like Taj Mahal and you can use two American tea bags) into 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add about 2/3 cup of milk and about 6 teaspoons of sugar. (I taste to make sure it is sweet enough...Levi loves it really sweet ;) Lower the heat and let it start bubbling a little. Then it is ready! I double the recipe with big groups and use some variety when it tastes different. (in India, nothing I make is normally exactly the same the second time I make it....either the sugar is different, there is no box milk available, ect.!)

racing on the wii

 

Levi teaching about tractors

making pizza

hanging out around the wii

Life in the mountains

So I have no idea how to post more than 1 picture at a time. When I figure it out, I will put up more pictures of places we get to see!

First Blog!

I realized that we didn't have a site where friends and family can see what our life is like across the world. I will try to use this blog to share details about our daily life. We have a blog about our work on worldedge.net if you want to get on this site, please email us so we can add you.We are excited to share fun day to day life things with all of you back home.