Pics: Cape Town Adventures...

Cape Town was full of serving others with All Nations ministry, fun, laughter, long days, discovering the tip of Africa, getting to know families from the nearby communities of Ocean view, playing with kids, watching people commit their lives to the Lord through being baptized, and more playing with kids... it was a great time with the Michigan team - sad sad to say goodbye... really loved my time in South Africa.


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Pics: S.Africa, passing thru JoBurg, Cape Town Intro

Flew into Johannesburg (Joburg) early morning... Chilly air, and I LOVED it - 1st time since N.India!! (HK was humid.)

Another amazing story of provision for my lodging in JoBurg...

Pics: Hong Kong! 4 Day Lay Over

I'm in Hong Kong, staying at a YWAM base, for my 4-day layover. Twenty minutes before heading for the airport to fly out of India, I read the email saying there was an opening for me to stay. This was an amazing miracle, after praying all day while visiting my mom's school in Delhi.

Not only was there an open invitation, but also detailed directions, what bus to take, what to say to the taxi in Cantonese, how much it would all cost... God's provision thru this great hospitality.


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Hong Kong vs. India; A comparison of Trash and TP

So I'm in HONG KONG right now... part of China as of 10 years ago. I flew in yesterday and here are some of my impressions.
1. Its really clean and really modern. I just came from India, and as much as I loved my time there, it was quite noticeable all of the trash everywhere... trash, trash, trash - on streets, in piles, near houses, behind houses, in train stations, everywhere (except where rich people lived, and near the embassies). And we saw why. People without thinking, its just what they do/part of their "learned practices", throw trash down anywhere. We were on a train and I was drinking some Chi tea in a small paper cup and had a mango juice in a box drink... when I was done, the older lady sitting next to me took both of them, and before I could stop her, just tossed it out the window, as the train sped along the tracks. I couldn't believe it. Another time, we were on a bus, and the man we were with had a whole handful of trash and he just pitched it out the window (it was paper and plastic trash - not just food). Again, amazement!!! We were at a store along the street, making a phone call, and the shop keeper brought out some kind of plastic wrapper and just threw it down into the street and walked back inside. And one final story, I had some plastic bottles I wanted to throw away (I felt bad about all the plastic we were using, but we needed to get pure water for our digestive system... it just wasn't so great for contributing to the waste problem) and asked a store owner where a trash can was. He said, Oh, don't worry about it, just throw it anywhere. And he was serious. Wow. That's how you get so much trash build up in India. Everyone does it (ok, maybe not everyone) and you have 1 billion people in that country, and everyday, if everyone drops one piece of trash, you get a billion pieces x 365 days/year = a lot of trash building up!! And you can see it (and smell it, esp near the piles... eeewww!) And the interesting thing - it was all ages of people, young, very young, middle, and old. I don't know if its the same among all economic classes of people - poor, middle, upper?? Someone will have to check that out. I know some people in India must be aware of the problem, b/c there are some signs around that say - Be Green and Clean!! But as of yet, I don't see a lot of impact... hopefully in the coming years, there will be growing awareness of the problem and working towards cleaning it up and a great solution. B/c the parts of India that didn't have trash (like in Agra, near the Taj Mahal; or up in Shimla near the Himalayas) are BEAUTIFUL... The other places are beautiful too, but just think HOW MUCH MORE if the trash wasn't there. So in contrast, Hong Kong is AMAZINGLY clean. Their streets look like they are swept, and nice trees, flowers, bushes lining everything - that I saw on the way from the airport. And the sky is nice and open, blue w/ clouds; the air doesn't smell as polluted. Hong Kong seems like its on a tropical-kind-of island... Tropical looking trees (not palm trees) on small mountains (more like hills) around the airport... NICE bus system - again, clean and nice; and the AIRPORT! wow, it was like walking into a different world. Modern, clean, modern, air conditioned, carpets new/fresh, bathrooms clean/modern, signs, helpful people everywhere (who worked at the airport to help people out)... really nice. And they had TOILET PAPER in the bathrooms. I was SO THANKFUL. Even though I appreciate that Indians are conserving on TONS of waste (remember 1 billion people x 1-3 bathroom uses/day = a lot of TP) b/c they don't use it, I do like the luxury myself!! In my science days, I learned that water is the universal solvent, so I'm sure it takes care of human wastes... but eek!! :) I'll devote another blog to using the toilet in India.

Mom's School and Last Day in Delhi

I think I've said this a million times before, but its true.
And it keeps happening.
GOD OPENS DOORS. He literally has KEYS to EVERY door you could imagine,
and we've seen Him do some pretty amazing work.
And it just keeps happening. I can't explain it any other way. And by now, 5 1/2 months into my journey, I am THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED.

So our mom came to Delhi, India, back in 1964-65, and went to school at the American Embassy School for her Junior and Senior years of High School. Really cool, huh? Her dad, my grandpa, was a professor of Leisure Craft and Counseling (fun major, huh?) where they taught people basically how to have fun. (Games, family trips, community events/dances, etc... the field of study came about after the 2nd world war, when people had more time on their hands to spend with family, b/c there was more automation w/ farming, business, etc.) He got an assignment to come to India from Champaign, Illinois, where they lived and he was on staff at the University of Illinois. So the whole family (except for oldest son, Jon, who was out of the house by then) packed up and moved across the world to INDIA. Crazy. I grew up hearing stories about India, and my mom's adventures at her school. It was actually a boarding school - so she lived w/ other kids, and I think they had a house mom.
But they had LOTS of fun. :) We heard stories of them sneaking out at night and bribing the guards w/ bubble gum to get back in... and of the cute French guy who asked her to prom. We also heard about cows in the streets, and "Namastay" (polite greeting), and mom traveling by train on weekends to see her parents. And growing up, Grandma and Grandpa Regnier always had lots of cool stuff from India in their house - brass plates, pillow cases, wall hangings, etc... So needless to say, visiting India has always been something I wanted to do - to see where my mom lived for 2 years of her teenage life.
When I flew into Mumbai from Australia, I could only try to picture my mom, back when she was 17, flying in with her 3 sisters and parents, with all of their clothes and belongings - wondering what was up ahead for them. It was cool to think about.
So when we arrived in Delhi, one of THE main things I wanted to do was visit my mom's school. Mom had sent some emails to some old contacts she had, asking around if anyone from the school (her old classmates) knew of anyone still in Delhi. It turned out everyone people knew were dead, so that wasn't very helpful. :) Craig and I checked on the web for the school, b/c mom even heard that they were tearing it down... but we found out (way to go, GOOGLE!!) that it still existed and they were just under renovations. We copied down the phone number and sent an email to their Contact Us link... that was on the Monday of the day we started to try to extend my Visa; which turned out to stretch into a week!!!!! (I was naively thinking it would take maybe a full day. Ha!!) So needless to say, we didn't make it to the school that day. Because of the VISA Adventures (more stories later), we didn't get to go until Thurs of that week... the day after my Visa officially expired.
We took an autorickshaw down to where the Embassies are - southwest side of town. I was SO thankful I was an American citizen. There were literally 100's of Indians in line, trying to apply for visas - for school, or work, or travel, or moving, or who knows for what... and I could just walk past all of them through all the security (there was TONS!!! metal detectors, leave your camera and phone behind, check purses, sign in, passport check) and into the office for American citizens!!! It is SO GOOD to belong!!!! wow. I loved seeing the eagle and the flag and seeing some Americans w/ their beautiful American accent!! And they were SO NICE, compared to most of the Indian gov't officials we had been meeting.
Its a long story here, but I'll shorten this part to say that we found out how to get to the school - just a block away, and got to the gate to request to enter. But we were stopped. The guards were not allowed to let anyone in, even w/ our passports and story of our dear mother who attended here in 1965... they were sorry, but they couldn't let us in. And we found out that they weren't going to budge - they didn't want to get in trouble. We tried many different ways, trying to convince them that this was our only time in Delhi, we had travelled all this way, we were probably leaving tomorrow, and didn't know if we'd ever be back.
Nothing. Ok, God we KNOW you can open up ANYTHING. They said if we find a parent who could let us in, we could come in. It was summer break now, and everyone of leadership position was gone - just construction people.
We went back to the Embassy - and I saw a woman who looked friendly/important (i love women!! as you travel, you realize that women can be your best friends - women to women helping each other!) and I said, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but my brother and I....." and told her our plea. She was busy at the moment, but quickly scribbled down her office phone number and extension and her name, and said call back later today and I'll see what I can do. Praise God!!! It was a little open door!!!!
We had to leave shortly after that to get back to meet the VISA man, who said be there by 3pm. (more stories later) We called the nice lady to tell her our plans, and say we may not get to visit the school - it depends on what happens w/ the Visa - and we'll be in contact w/ you.
So we get the VISA approved that day (i hope i'm not spoiling that story - it was an AMAZING VICTORY of GOD!!!) and headed out for Shimla and the Himalayas that night (if we didn't leave then it wouldn't work for us to go - b/c it took 12 hours of bus travel... thru the night)... When we got back after that weekend in the mountains on Monday morning... I called back to the nice lady's number. A lady named Tiffany answered, and she said that our friend was not in yet, but she would get the message to her. I felt prompted to share with her what Craig and I were trying to do - and AMAZINGLY (God AMAZES ME!!!!) she said, "Oh, I'm a mom of kids who go that school..." (What?? This could be our entry pass!!!) She said she would try to get back w/ us at lunch time.
This was our last day in Delhi, I had a plane ticket to fly out of Delhi that next day to Hong Kong... we also had other little side Adventures of me trying to find out where I was going to stay in Hong Kong - an email I had sent to the YWAM base where I hoped to stay had come back to me, "failing permanently" - i hate that phrase! And I didn't know if they got my request... and I was flying the next morning!!! Jesus!!!! So I sent out a bunch of last-minute-does-anyone-know -anyone-who-lives-in-HK??? emails, and then Craig and I left to try to get into Mom's school one last time around noon...
We get down to the American Embassy, and the guards stop us. I thought they were just being butts (did I say that?) b/c the other day we had just gone right on in... but he made us call the nice lady (who wasn't there - answering machine)... and then walk down to another gate down the street. He said everyone was at lunch until 2pm. It was 1:50. It turned out that man was directed by God, but both he and we didn't know it. At the other gate, we explained our situation, and they brought us in to wait for lunch to get over. (Taking our phones and camera.) As people started to come back in - Craig tried to stop a guy to see if he could help us, b/c our friend may not be here today. We don't know who he was, but some American 45-55 year old man, who was friendly enough, but who explained to us that everything was high security, and everyone was worried about potential terrorists, and that we could be wanting to scan out the place to do something bad to it... or something. He said its probably not true, but that's what we're dealing with, and we have no way to find out if you are legitimate... so try to call the Pres of the school board, and he may be able to help you. Ok, thanks. And he walked off. (Friendly enough, but not too willing to help tons.) Just then, another lady walked in from the office side, and said, Did someone call for nice lady? (not her name) We did! Well, she's not here today, she's sick. Ohhh. (dejected.) Try another route - Well, we talked to a Tiffany this morning, who said she could maybe help us... Oh, yes, I know Tiffany, you can come back up with me to speak with her.
YES!!! We're in!!!! (This is still at the Embassy, not at the school... but doors are miraculously opening... if that woman would not have come down, and if we would not have known Tiffany's name, none of this would have happened - God is AMAZING. He can work all things!!!) We went upstairs through MORE security, but by this time I knew some of the guards - we smiled at each other. :) Its nice to know people.
Our new helper took us back to Tiffany's desk - a bunch of cubicles that could have been in any city in the States, for all we could tell, and Air Conditioned!;
and met Tiffany. She was a nice lady who's husband also worked for the Embassy, and she found out our full story, and then called over to see if her husband could walk us over. PRAISE GOD!!!!
The husband took time to come over, get us and walk us to the gate to see what he could do - he was a parent, too, but you never know. We told him our story as we walked over - seeing a lot of the Embassy buildings along the way; compounds of beautiful manicured areas - didn't seem like India to us. (But the cool thing was, he trusted us!!! And he didn't have to - who knows who we really were... but praise God for this man and his wife!!!
We got to the school gates, and the guard who was there last week when we came was there again. He saw us and smiled. The man introduced himself, with his parent/visitor badge (and by that time Craig and I also got badges, b/c we were with him)... and the guard smiled and let us IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God is AWESOME!!!!!!! (think of how many steps it took and doors to open to get us into that school.... it AMAZES me. Our God has the KEYS!!!)
So we go in, walk around, and see what MAYBE our mom saw 40 years ago... although they did a lot of renovation back in the 1970s; new buildings, etc. We walked around, in awe that we were ACTUALLY in the campus. Then we stopped by the main office and talked to some secretaries there - Indian women who told us about the renovations and that if we could come back next week, the library would be open and we could check out the old year books! So COOL. But sadly we would be gone. Oh well, we were just glad to be here. We walked around some more and then the dad w/ us said, why don't we check to see if the library is open. Ok. So we walked up to it, and saw the door propped open - what? We went inside to the cool AC (you can ALWAYS tell when there's AC, such a contrast to the HEAT outside), and a man came up to us and said, can I help you? Turns out, he just happened to come in that afternoon to get some work done, he wasn't going to, but then decided to... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!??
Our God is GOOD. (He has SKILLS.)
He showed us where the old yearbooks were - and we found the approx right years... went to the Jr/Sr. Section... flipping through the pictures, names... and got to R... RACHEL REGNEIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I squealed out with excitement!!! There she was!!!! She is beautiful!!!! wow. I know that, but so cool to see her in the yearbook, back when she was 17-18, read her activities, sports, involvements, and then flip back to see her in the team pictures.... wow.
The guy let us photocopy the pages - so I ended up making a small yearbook for her!! Of all her senior classmates, and sports teams, and faculty.... so cool!!
I guess Ghandi's wife also came to visit and speak at her school while she was there... that's pretty neat.
We finally left, but were so amazed by God's handiwork of the Day. He seriously can do anything. Later that afternoon, we met up w/ Pastor Marlo Philip, a young guy who we had contacts w/ in Delhi (who's friend took us up to Shimla and the Himalayas that past weekend, and helped us w/ the Visa Adventure - b/c Marlo was down South visiting while we were in town). He and another friend helped Craig and I (well, really me) go shopping to get some gifts and things - they did a nice job; it was fun to watch a local go at it. They were good....
When we went to get our luggage that we had stored at the YWCA during the week, I got to check my email, and was praying and TRUSTING God to provide for me in Hong Kong. The 1st email I saw was one from the YWAM base in HK, saying that I COULD COME, and it was packed full with LOVELY directions on how to get to the base, phone numbers, what bus to ride, etc... THANK YOU, FATHER!!!! (Another open door... wham - wide open!)
Then Marlo took us to a nice Indian restaurant to finish the day - one last Indian meal (I still liked it!!); and then back to his apartment to pack for my flight... we got back at about 10pm, and I stayed up 'til 3 AM to pack and get rid of my extra stuff.... Bless Craig, God, for taking all my extra things home!!!
Marlo ended up taking me to the airport w/ Craig, we left about 3:15 am, for my 7 AM flight... there were rains that night, so we had another FLOODED encounter w/ the streets - but prayed that the car would get through. It did, God protected it / us... the taxi who came to get me (and who said he didn't want to drive me back to the airport), had wet floor of his car from the flooding - but God protected us/Marlo's car. We heard an amazing story from Marlo about his family and his dad - an alcoholic, living it up, not-present dad/husband, well-to-do-doctor... finding out about Jesus - God becoming real to him; changing his life; and then going full-time into serving God... living by faith. Dad died at 46; but the Lord has totally blessed all the kids - and they are all a tight family and serving God in amazing ways.
I said goodbye to Craig - sad to have him leave. My family member who has been with me for a month... getting used to traveling w/ each other, and understanding each other, and being blessed by one another... He prayed for me before we said goodbye - then I went into the airport (and they drove off - have to have a flight ticket to get in; and Craig stays in India for 2 more weeks)...
Had a little trouble getting in, b/c my name wasn't on the flight list, and I didn't have an updated ticket (I had changed the dates for the flight); but then found an email copy I used at the VISA place w/ new flight info!!! Went to the desk and found out that my ticket had been cancelled. But at this stage in the game, and b/c I hadn't had any sleep, I was very chill about it and knew God would work something out. He already had done a million things before this.
I was told to wait until 6 AM, and they would try to put me on the flight (it happened b/c the people/company I changed the flight dates with did not give the airlines a certain number they needed, so it got cancelled). At 6 AM, I got back in line, and they PUT ME ON THE FLIGHT!!! Praise God, with my sleepy self!!!
The flight itself was nice - great views of China below and clouds, and I got some sleep, but I was seated next to a new mother with a baby who was either very tired or sick... and was SCREAMING pretty much through the flight. I tried to help her amuse the baby and every once in a while, she fell asleep. That was nice. But it was a very cute baby.
And now I'm in Hong Kong and I'm tired of typing.... and i'll bet you're tired of reading. :) ITs been great to be here at the YWAM base - I had no trouble getting here (you still have moments of, oh buddy, i hope i got on the right bus, and got off at the right place, and God, give me a good taxi driver who will charge me an honest fare, and not kidnap me.... but other than that, it was smooth and there were some very nice people along the way who helped me! And I had a nice taxi driver.)
The past 3 days have been sleeping, eating, talking to people here (telling them what i'm doing), sleeping (i slept until 12:45 the 1st morning!!!! i couldn't believe it!!! i think my body is recouping!!!), and typing!!!! Don't you love it??!
I hope to see the city a bit, and maybe cross over to China (mainland)... and I have to work on getting my flight confirmed to Johannesburg for Saturday night. Pray for good connections there - i'll be there one night, and then fly to Cape Town on Monday morning to meet up with a ministry team.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers!!! I know God uses everyone of them to bless my trip and help lube the travel wheels!!!! :)

Love and Blessings to you all through our WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL HEAVENLY DAD!!!!

ericka :)

Pics: Northern India, Cool Weather, Horses, Trains, Trucks

This is the Indian Gate in Delhi, a sign that was not obeyed, our dear friends whom we met at McDonalds (no beef!) and who took us on the metro to the Red Gate (which was closed on mondays, and it was monday, oh well, we had fun with them!), the room we stayed at in Pastor Marlo's home in Delhi, Shimla - beautiful, air conditioned (actually just naturally cooler, and SOOOOOO nice), and NATURE!!!!!, some horses we rode (although ours were much bonier, i thought we were hurting them to ride them), 2 kids we met - really cute and spoke great English!, Craig hiking thru the GREEN hills, scenery on our hike, a typical truck in India (they take pride in colorful paint jobs... and blow the horn advice is taken seriously... always a horn, or 100s of horns, blowing in India), my top floor bunk on our train from Shimla back to Delhi, a Delhi train station, Craig and I with Pastor Marlo and friend, Craig and Pastor Marlo saying GOOD BYE to me at the airport (I was flying on to Hong Kong and then S.Africa... Craig was staying another week to help w/ another mission organization), my plane to HK, my seat-mate and baby to HK, Craig and I on our hike in N.India - great day!, and repeat of the Gate.

Air Conditioning in the Himalayas!!

I'm using BLUE as my color this time b/c Craig and I got to visit the Himalayas, and it was actually cool there.... temperature wise. I couldn't believe it. Whoah.
It felt like air conditioning was going, and we had to wear, get this, A JACKET.
I know, hard to believe. I was SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!
We took a bus from Delhi (the very night I got my VISA extended, after our 4 day Adventure - more later)... and that was a Trip!
Somehow I had heard that they have luxury buses for tourists; not that I needed a luxury bus; I had been on the typical Indian bus (and it was an adventure of steamy heat and lots of people, but it was fine for a day trip)... but I was thinking that's what we were getting for our overnight trip up to Shimla (an air-conditioned, nicer bus)... our friend (contact from one of our new pastor friends up in Delhi, who had been helping us ALL week w/ the VISA stuff) helped us get some cheap tickets (he was traveling w/ us) and when we got out to the bus, I started to be a bit skeptical... I guess it kind of looks luxury... some red curtains in the windows... but it looked a little bit beaten up, too... we walked around to the door, and mind you, it was very nice and cool in the night air (around midnight)... climbed up on into the HEAT WAVE. I wondered if the air would come on later after we left. As we walked back down the aisle to our seats, I looked around and saw lots of Indian people - families, guys, couples, etc... no tourists. It was dark on the bus, and hot, and sure enough there were red curtains, some falling off their rod, and grimy-but-cushioned red-vinyl seats, that looked like they could lean back. Our assigned seats were behind a man who was full-on-sprawled out, leaning back in his seat... his bare feet were up resting on the window in front of him, and he was leaned back all the way into my space... I carefully slipped into my seat... and it was amazing that I fit. Maybe there were 6 inches (ok, maybe 8) between my seat and his leaned back... I have semi-long legs (not super long, but they're there, and I can't shorten them) and they did NOT fit... so I had to angle them to the side. Thankful that my brother was next to me and not some "get fresh" "I like this situation" man. eek! (God protects!!!)
Then as we started to go, remember its now about 12:45 AM, I tried to lean my chair back, so I could rest/sleep, and one of the bus stewards NICELY opened my little sliding window next to me, so I could breathe. I was so thankful. About 20 min into the lean-back-position, I felt myself being slowing but surely pushed back up into the jaws of the seat of the man in front of me - squished b/w my seat and his, sitting straight up. And then my window started to slide shut, so that it opened more for someone else...Oh No, this is NOT going to happen; (someone was pushing me from behind; and the same person was shutting my window... it was a man, b/c this is a man dominated society and maybe he thought he could push me around)... I pushed back, and got my seat back down... but then about 5 min later, I found myself being shoved back up, little by little so I was again squished like a piece of Bologna... finally after another time of this, I whispered to Craig, "This guy is shoving me up so I can't lean back, and I'm squished; and he keep shutting my window."
ACTION!!!! I love it!!!!
Craig leaned back and faced the guy over our seats and said, "Excuse me, sir. Could you please put your knees down so that my sister can sleep. Thank you."
He said it firmly and with authority and I LOVED IT!!!!!! The man listened.
And I got to sleep, not squished like Bologna. And then Craig also put a pen down in the window ledge to jam open the window, so the man couldn't shut it any more!!! I love my brother is a physics teacher and knows these kinds of tricks. :) Halfway through the night, I woke up and we were stopped at some kind of eating/bathroom place, but we stayed on the bus, to watch our stuff.
Remember about the air conditioning? Well, there never was any. But it really was ok, once we got going - it felt like a fan was blowing fresh air in from outside once Craig did his pen trick. But when we stopped; man, watch out. The heat hits like a soupy mess of sluggish yucky eeeww. How is that for a description? I thought we were there, swimming in this heat for at least 2 hours - I think I was floating in and out of sleep, w/ some weird dreams... Craig said it was only 20 minutes. I'm sure it was longer.
We got to a bus stop at 5:30 in the morning, and it was more rural town India... still the trash was present; and cows in the streets and at the bus stop/"terminal"... (cows are everywhere here! There was even one taking a leak out in the bus parking area - I thought that was a nice touch.) We rode one more bus up into the mountains, and it was more of a normal sitting India bus (black vinyl seats, that don't move back, and windows that open).
The coolest thing about this bus was that as we drove up into the mountains, IT GOT COOLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!! It was like Air Conditioning was being turned on outside and they were pumping it into the bus!!!! Praise God!!! It was also raining as we went up the mountains (tons of windy roads in the highly woody foot hills (mini-mountains) of the Himalayas... going higher and higher... i think up to 8-10,000ft?); we prayed and later God cleared out the rain for us. So BEAUTIFUL to see the mountains and clean clean air (ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and blue sky.... the mountains were layers of green steep hills (mini-mountains)... kind of like the blue mountains of the US - the layering affect you get there; but these were green. We stayed at a great hotel, good price - b/c of our friend, and it overlooked the AMAZING Himalaya foothill valley. We did a bit of sight-seeing, but just lots and lots of shops (fun to see, but gets tiring after a while); and then made plans for Saturday (next day).
Ended up hiring a taxi, and God totally provided some train tickets for us (we bought them for our return trip to Delhi for Sun pm... ran down to the tour office, got their 5 min before closing for lunch, filled out info, and got 3 tickets the day before the trip - which was a 100:1 chance, according to our friend - God is AMAZING. Otherwise, we would be on a "luxury" bus again, and I wasn't too excited about that! Thank you, Father!! You are so good.)
So in the taxi, we went further up the mountain, and saw some great sights, and then our friend convinced us to try a horse ride trip up a mountain, while he went shopping. The poor little animals!! If I knew more about horses, I probably wouldn't have ridden them... their butt bones were sticking out, and we road through some SLOP mud - seriously 3 inches deep for about 50 meters!!!! It was like a mud bath slip n slide, only DEEP mud. Our boy guide had on duck boots, and I could see why when we got to that spot. It was gross.
But part of the Adventure!! The ride itself was a funny tourist trap... we were just laughing... Here we were, 2 white people, riding up, and coming back down (on the same tour adventure) were hundreds (ok maybe only 100) of Indians - I think mostly rich Indians (clean skin, nice clothes, heavy/overweight - usually the heavy ones were the richer ones, did I really say that?) and they were all smiling at us, waving, taking pictures or videos with their cell phones. It was a trip itself!!!!
It was like being in a circus... on a supposedly "out in the wilderness" guided horse ride. FUNNY!!!!
When we got to the top, we found out we had to pay a 5 Rupee /person tax to enter the next stage... this was NOT in the price report when we signed up! Where did this money go to? We did NOT want to go to the Fun Park that was up on top, and we tried to communicate this, but the hundreds of other Indians on horses behind us were waiting for us, and we didn't speak Hindi, so we gave in and paid the dang 5 Rupees. Sheesh.
We communicated to our guide through numbers on a page that we wanted to have some time to just go for a walk and see the mountains - not go to the temple or the Fun Park (w/ go carts and ???)... We think he understood (he was a boy of about 13-14?) God led us to a really nice overlook place - away from all the crowds and music blaring from the Fun Park, and we could see out over all the mountains, when the clouds lifted. We had a really nice time there, talking and sharing. It was a gift from God. I'm so thankful that Craig got to come to India with me. It has been a huge blessing.
Later that night, back in another hotel, we had some more interesting adventures, and had to pray about wisdom and how to handle some situations. Nothing dangerous, just adventures. But the Lord showed me Proverbs 2, and it is a great word about how He will GIVE US WISDOM and guide us in the right path and protect our way. Awesome PROMISE and WORD from Him.
I'm so thankful for His active involvement with our lives.
Next day, Sunday, we headed out in another Taxi, and Craig and I got to do an AMAZING hike through 3 miles of the Himalayas (foothills)!!!! SO beautiful. I think it is one of the most beautiful mountain ranges I have hiked through - b/c of the soft green running steeply down the peaks, dotted w/ trees, and then stretches of pine... lovely. We also saw some more monkeys!!! (and cows) These monkeys were bigger, so I wondered if they would attack - we were out in the wild, you know. But they didn't. It was so cool to see MONKEYS. (They were big and grey, w/ round face, white around edge.)
After the hike we drove further down the mountain and got to stop by a river and hike along it for a bit, too. We got to sit up high along its edge, and watch the rural life down in the valley below - small farms growing corn, tomatoes, and maybe other things... really pretty.
Then we saw a beautiful sunset as we finished our drive through the Himalayas... our driver was going really speedy - I kept praying for him that he would be safe and that angels would protect us - it was nuts. Sharp turns, we had to stop 2wice, slamming on brakes to avoid collision w/ an on-coming BIG truck. Thank you, JESUS!!! (again we had to trust...!)
We ate another Indian meal at the town we arrived in to catch our train... rice and curry and chicken (they say the curry wasn't that hot - but i always think its spicey!!!! curry is like gravy for the chicken and rice... only its red color and has special spices - garlic and other things.)
We rode our beautiful train back to Delhi that night!!! Thank you, Lord!!! Getting to lie down while traveling!!!! (and not squished like bologna!!) And they had beautiful fans!!! (I'm learning you don't really need air conditioning, as long as you have cooler moving air.)
Monday morning, 6:30 AM, we arrived back in New Delhi... for the last day before I flew out to Hong Kong (Tues AM, early).
PRAISE OUR HEAVENLY DAD FOR A GREAT TRIP TO THE HIMALAYAS!!!!
(He made it happen by getting my visa extended at just the right time - one more day of delay, and we couldn't have gone...)

God is MIGHTY!!!

We want to SHOUT ALOUD that GOD is AMAZING, He is VICTORIOUS.

NOTHING can stand in His Way. When His Hand Moves, NOTHING can

stop Him. He can make a WAY in ANY situation. Nothing is too difficult for

Him or beyond His scope. I PRAISE HIM for His work on our behalf here in

India.

What am I talking about?

First of all, I would never advise anyone, if they can help it, to try to get an extension on your visa in India...

My original flight out of India was for Tues of this week, visa ending on Wed...

Then I found out my next connection in South Africa couldn't receive me until a week later... so my brother and I decided to check into extending my visa for a week or so...

Little did we know what that process would entail.

wow.

We found out we go to an Indian Foreign Affairs office, not our embassy, and

the ordeal began.

You go up to a man at a desk outside in a tree-shaded

walkway and get a number. Then you go to a room, with AC (really nice in India

right now) and packed with people, standing room only. Then you wait for your

number to be called. 20-30-40min, who knows, depends on the day. Then

you sign in at the front book with the lady in the pretty blue sari, and she

asks you for your permanent address in India, to which you say you don't have

one, you just stayed the last 2 nights in the YWCA, and it was getting too expensive so you checked out this morning. Ok. Write it here. Then she gives you a slip of paper w/ a number on the top of it, and directs you to go outside and around the building to the main building, 1st floor. Ok.

You walk w/ your papers and your brother, but they stop your brother b/c he doesn't have a slip of paper w/ a number. So he goes and sits under a tree.... to wait for an hour??? (we guessed wrong... an hour was far too short.)

Then you go to what looks like the main building, w/out your brother, but with Jesus, and head upstairs, following the direction of others. After entering the room, immediately to your left, you see about 10-15 people crowded around a sari-ed lady sitting at a small desk in a corner, elbowing their way in; it looks like a teacher's worst nightmare. :) You try to be polite and wait your turn, b/c that's what you were taught to do in your culture, but quickly realize that you will never be seen by the calm lady sitting at the desk, being handed paper after paper by people who keep cutting in front of you and are crowding from all sides of the desk. So you step forward with a little more "I don't care about anyone else, I'm getting what I came for" attitude, holding your paper firmly out in front of you. And sure enough, in the next few tries, she finally takes your paper. Whew.

She writes your name and number down on a sheet of paper (interesting - no computers to be seen) and tells you to go over to desk 4. You look across the room, and see crowds of people spilling out of a back area where you think are desks, but you can't see anything. But 1st she says fill out these forms and go get photocopies of your passport and visa....

You remember seeing a copy machine downstairs, and people again crowded around it, and you're kicking yourself for not having extra copies of the things she needs. So back downstairs you go, and are happy to find only 5 people crowded around all sides of the copier. One man gets done, and another cuts in front of all of us (but really there's no line, but we were there first)... and I could see another man pushing his way in, too, and then another younger guy come around the back side for a better angle at an entrance... I was getting more heated by the moment, and it wasn't from the outside temperature. There was one lady covered in shawls from Pakistan and myself, and all these men, practicing their India-line-rules, which I'm not sure are rules at all. So I spoke up to the younger guy while RAISING MY EYEBROWS in a back-down communication style that I learned while teaching... (I've been thankful many times on this trip for things I learned/developed during my teaching days in the inner city.)... He got the message, and told the next guy, butting in line, that the Pakistan lady and I were next. There is justice.

I need to cut this short, but basically here's what happened over the next 3 days:

1. I got my copies and headed back up to desk 4, trying to politely push my way through the hordes of people in that upstairs room. I found a seat in the back corner next to a man from Afganistan. When I found out where he was from, I didn't want him to know I was from America, in case any of his family or friends had been killed by us. I found out he was there trying to get a visa extension for his brother who was really sick and in a hospital in India. I met quite a few people in that back corner and we became friends. It's amazing what kind of bonding can go on between people who share in suffering.

2. I met a college-aged guy who had been there for 3 days, trying to get a visa. He ended up helping me and my brother out a lot.

3. A girl came in right before they closed, really stressed, saying she had missed her flight 2 hours ago back to America, and her visa expired today. Could she please get it extended so she could fly out tomorrow. Little did she know the process. I tried to help her the best I could, because I had been in there all day, and "knew" some of the people. But she was really freaking out, which didn't help me too much. But finally they listened and she got her papers stamped, which was a MAJOR miracle. (Seeing as how some people were there 3 days, just to get that stamp.) But she didn't realize the stamp was just the beginning. Then you had to travel across town to another office, that would close in an hour, and push your papers and your plight through another set of men who seemed indifferent to your suffering and to actually enjoy seeing people stress out.

4. At the next office, which looked like a regular American BMV, but who would put our workers to shame for their callousness. When one of the guys behind the sign-in desk, who seriously looked like Saddam Hussein, saw me, he got up and spoke to our Indian friend, Danny, who was helping us out. While I was filling in the next set of papers, and again looking for a copy machine!, Danny came up to me and said, this guy says that you can get your visa extended in 20 minutes, if you pay him $200 US. Are you KIDDING ME??? Is this some visa cartel, where they work off BRIBES?! I felt angry and insulted just by being asked to pay someone off. That's what thieves do. I will NOT pay someone for this. I will wait. I found the copy machine, thanks but no thanks to the help of Hussein. While back there, I saw a handsome Western-looking guy, who looked like Ken meets Crocodile Dundee. I overheard him say he had lost his passport. I figured, good luck, he'll probably be here for 10 years. When we went back inside, after about 10 minutes, I noticed Dundee going straight up to the final desk, doing some transaction with the clerk, and then walking away with a nice little blue passport. Are you JOKING me? Did he seriously just buy off those guys. I couldn't believe it. But I guess I could. While there, I saw about 3 more couples or individuals, all beautiful and white, come and leave in a matter of minutes, while everyone else, not as white, had to sit and wait DAYS for these government officials to decide to look at their papers and sign their names to grant them their request. It was pitiful. I felt ashamed to be American, or to be white, or to be from a rich place... it was really unfair. All those people were just as human as those rich-ies who walked in the door, and they had just as important reasons for wanting what they wanted. But a few could pay, and the rest couldn't. But I noticed that none of the rich-ies made eye contact with the other people as they left. I don't think they could.

5. After 3 days, waiting, being told, sorry, you'll have to come back tomorrow. Are you kidding me? I just spent 8 hours in here for nothing? All you have to do is look at my paper and sign it! My visa hasn't even expired yet, but it will on Wed, and then i'll probably have to start over, because now I'm an illegal visitor. During that time, I had to change my flight, which was another fun ordeal - looking for an international telephone. But our friend, Danny, came in handy. He knew how to speak Hindi, so he asked the locals, and they directed us to a phone in a small shop down the street.

Taj Mahal and Jesus

OK, this post is from me (ericka).
So we spent the night in the New Delhi train station inn, called YaTree Neevas (I probably spelled that wrong). We flew in from Kolkata... and had little mini-adventures of trying to drive thru the flooded streets in a taxi to the airport, paying 3 x as much for the fare b/c of the water, but having good a good conversation w/ the guy... then at the airport, Craig ended up paying 4,000 extra Rupees ($100) for our plane tickets - and they told him this right before we got on... didn't have any explanation, just said it was in the computer system, and they didn't give a receipt, and Craig had to pay cash... or we would miss the flight!!! What is this????
Anyway, at the train station, we tried to avoid people who were trying to take more advantage of us (giving us "help", directions, etc.)... do you get the feel of how we were feeling? Probably was more dramatic than it needed to be, but once you feel like you've been taken advantage of, then you get hyper-sensitive to it, and want to protect yourself from it/those people more.
So we spent the night (2 am arrival); it was a cheap hotel, and we were thankful for the price! We woke up the next morning - 4th of JULY!!!!! Happy Independence Day, USA!!! :) :) :) And ran to the train station, sitting down in our seats, sweaty!!, 5 min before it pulled out of the station. Thank you, Lord!
We were heading to Agra to see the Amazing Taj Mahal - one of the old and new 7 wonders of the world!!!! (Just re-voted on and announced on 7-7-07)
The train ride was nice - seeing more green country-side, and our car was air-conditioned (a plus!!); then we met a very nice business man with a taxi service in Agra; who gave us a good price for a full-day cab. We both felt much better about him - he showed us over an over he was trust-worthy and not some shady guy trying to take advantage of us. (There's the trust thing again... when you're traveling, you have to trust a lot of people!)
We drove through the streets of Agra - and it had a much smaller-town feel than Kolkata or Delhi... and we could see BLUE sky, clouds, GREEN trees and grass, and hear beautiful BIRDS singing. I was SO SO excited. Kolkata had been so dusty, with blaring bus horns all the time, traffic, big city... ahhh! Here was beautiful tranquility!!
And we saw MONKEYS!!! Not in-a-zoo monkeys, but on the street, in a park, in the trees monkeys!!! Mothers walking down the road on all 4's with baby monkey hanging down under her belly. So cute!!! (I guess they can be a nuisance to the local Indians - biting, being mean, dirty, etc... but i thought they were so interesting!!! We have squirrels, they have monkeys!!! India!!!)
When we got to the property of the Taj, we walked back to it b/c they don't let cars go, to protect it from pollution - yea, India!!!! So the whole walkway was a BEAUTIFUL park!!! Lovely clean air!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Fresh everything - sky, grass, trees, ahhhhhh!!!!! Can you tell I loved it??? And it was the 4th of July - a special treat for us!!
We got some cool, tasty Mango juice (India has some awesome mangoes - much better than ours in the states!!); and really enjoyed sitting in the shade.
Then we walked into the courts of the Taj... (payed about $17 each)... There were really pretty courtyards, red fort-walls and amazing manicured lawns... wow - i had never seen anything like it in India. It was like the best golf course; low cut, fine, beautiful green. I was so proud of India - and no trash!!! :)
Then we walked around the corner to the opening of a BIG TALL GATE, and looking through, saw... dum, dum, dum... (drum roll) the most glorious sight of THE TAJ MAHAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow.
It was BREATH-Taking. Really. I think Craig said he was personally more impressed w/ the green of the grass / park / trees; but my favorite was definitely the Taj.
It just stands there in BEAUTY. And its in 3-D, because you're actually there. I had seen pictures before, but to ACTUALLY be there - it was something else. The whole thing is made of marble, and it is so solid and beautiful and big. WOW. We had to walk up thru some park/courtyard, about 1/2 mile, and then when you got right up to it - AMAZING, so massive!!! We had to take off our shoes, but that was fun, too, to walk barefoot on the marble of the Taj. Everything was made of marble - the stairs, the floor, the courtyard up around the Taj, the 4 pillars at the 4 corners, etc. Inside you could sing a song or lift up your voice and it would echo... Tall, vaulted ceilings, all marble, w/ fancy precious stone mosaic work... green, blue, red, orange - set in flowers and swirls; in mostly white surrounding marble.
The back side of the Taj looked out over a valley... a sweeping, lazy river; herds of water buffalo, people looking like little ants bathing or playing in the water, and lots of GREEN pastures/grass land. It was SO nice to not have any other buildings around. That was part of the specialness of the place.
The coolest thing about it (besides the fun action shots we got by the profess photo-man... crazy Americans!) was the thing I heard the Lord say to me... As we walked up the steps of the Taj, i was in AWE of the beauty of the place. It was a home built by a man for his beloved wife. I thought, WOW, God, this man built this house for his wife!!! What love - it is SO SO beautiful!!! This is amazing!!! And then I heard the Lord whisper in my mind, " You should see the place I'm making for you." Are you kidding me, Lord?????? More beautiful than the Taj???!!!!! WHOAH. That is heavy. That is whoah. But He did say that He is going to prepare a place for us, and I can't wait to see it, now that I've seen the Taj!!!! And, I want to make sure I am investing in this life in things that are of God's heart, b/c I don't want to miss out on ANYTHING in the next life... the one that goes on FOREVER. sheesh. 70-100 years, that's not much; and I would so easily trade not the best life (materially, health, etc) now, for an ETERNAL wonderful wonderful amazing life next.... You know how people give advice to invest in real estate, b/c its such a good return of your money... well, I think people should really look into investing with God and His Kingdom... that real estate is the REAL ESTATE, if you get my pun! :)

Rain Rain, Flooding in Kolkata!

From Craig...

Before I left for India, my Indian friend advised me to bring some gum boots or some hip waiders. I thought that was a bit ridiculous and decided if there was really a need, I could buy them over there, but what could I possibly need knee-high boots for?! The day before we left Kolkata for New Delhi it began to rain and it continued all through the night. The next morning we awoke to standing water in the streets 3 inches to 1 1/2 ft deep, and, as deep as 3 feet in the alleys (not exaggerating!). It was crazy. Now, I didn't want to overreact like cities in the south do when they get some snow flurries and the whole town shuts down. I asked a local how bad of a flood this was. "Flood? This isn't a flood, this is just bad drainage. It will go down once it stops raining. Now if it continues to do this for days and the drains are plugged up and there is no flow, then that's a flood." We took a bus for our last goodbyes through the flood. That was pretty crazy. You could have easily water skied behind the buses... No Joke!! (We should have tried it!!!) Seriously, there were wakes created by the buses... we were praying that the bus would stall, b/c then we would have to walk in water up to our knees and how would we get back to our house? We were a ways out! But thankfully we made it safely there and back - God is good. Buses were the only mode of transportation (which have a very high axle clearance…now I know why) through certain areas of the city because the water was so deep. People were pushing their cars out of the 2ft deep waters because they had stalled out. Now keep in mind that the drainage is synomous with the sewer system… yummy!!! And the smell was nice!! But it really was fun and an ADVENTURE... India just keeps them coming!!! It is now officially MONSOON season, which means it rains a lot. And I guess b/c of all the trash, the trains get blocked up so it makes it worse for drainage... lots of flooding. It kind of looks like Venice (what I would imagine). The sad thing is when it destroys peoples' homes - when we were in Goa, 50,000 people were displaced by a big storm that came thru!!! 50,000!! That's almost as much as a stadium full of people. And I think it would happen every year, b/c each year the rains come. But I am thankful for the rain, b/c it cools the air down...

Why do we help the poor?

This is Craig's (and Ericka's) report on Kolkata and some of our Experiences w/ the Mother Teresa Houses' of Charity...

Well, I have some catching up to do to bring you all up to speed with our adventures. Extended time at an internet connections has been sparse, hence the lack of communication.
Ericka and I are presently in New Delhi where our travels have slowed up as we wait (days) to extend Ericka's visa in India . Her contact in Africa was not able to accommodate her for another week, so we decided to spend extra time in India together.... More stories later about the whole VISA-Extending-Adventure (or Fiasco?)
So, after leaving YWAM Goa, Ericka and I stayed one week in Calcutta (British name) (Kolkata - Indian name) volunteering at Houses of Mercies. This was an interesting experience for us. Because of the publicity of Mother Teresa's work, people from all over the globe come to volunteer to help the poor and the suffering through the ministry that she started. I have never seen anything like it. People just show up on the doorstep of the convent wanting to help, go through a brief introduction course, and are assigned to 1 of the 7 different ministries around the city. There were about 40 people in our introduction class just that day alone. Some will stay and help for a few days, but others up to 6 to 8 months at a time. Some were doing it as an act of service to the Lord, some wanted to get closer to the heart of God, some were trying to find themselves, some just wanted to make the world a better place, and some just found normal life unrewarding but found meaning here.
Ericka and I were assigned to Prem Daim, which was pretty much a hospice for the sick and the dying. I have a new appreciation for those that work in similar situations. Ericka had a WHOAH, EYE-OPENING experience. [Ok, I'll jump in here, its me, ericka. So when we were coming to Mother Teresa's Houses, my prayer was, I want to know WHY we help poor people. Why should we care about those who are sick and dying? If I am not sick and dying and poor, why should I care? I have my own life to live, not to get bogged down and bothered by some people who for whatever reason can't care for themselves. (wow, did i really say that? ouch. but its a reality, sometimes I honestly feel that way or think that.) What does God think about them? What does His heart feel for them / want for them / respond to them? How does God want me to respond to them, think about them, etc? How does He want to change me/my thinking? Just so you know, that was my major prayer going into the Mother House experience.] The beginning volunteer work was more "regular"... visiting with patients, singing to people, washing a million clothes/sheets/underclothes some stained w/ accidents. At 1st, it was kind of a drag. We could be doing this kind of work back in the States. The Mother house isn't any different than other places where they do the same work... just with the famous name of Mother Teresa. But then God began to teach me.
One thing that M.T. (Mother Teresa) said was that we are to do ALL things with Great Love... So one Sunday, when I was going to stay at our home and rest... Craig was going in, so I thought, I should go with him... that day was Amazing!! God provided strength and JOY throughout the whole time - carrying buckets w/ wet wash up 64 steps, talking to other volunteers (2 Christian girls from Nebraska - great to meet them and chat! They had just graduated from high school!!! i was impressed), visiting and seeing the beautiful smiles of each person... really struck by God's INDIVIDUAL LOVE for EACH PERSON there. Even the people in the corners, who couldn't smile or talk... That was the 1st day when I experienced Real Joy in Serving.
One lady I met became my "granny". I saw her 1st in a corner bed... she was really really skinny. Knees bent up, could see her hips protruding through her thin cotton night-gown, head shaved, but beautiful face. She handed me some tin cups to take to the kitchen. I thanked her, expecting her to not understand, and only speak Bengali (language of Kolkata)... and was really surprised to hear her say, "How are you? What's your name?" What??? Usually only the really educated speak English - what would she be doing here at Prem Daim, skinny and laying in a bed? I walked over and began to talk to her, wondering if she only knew a few phrases... But no, she knew TONS. She talked w/ me about my family, what I was doing, asking me about boys :), and lots of things. We had a wonderful conversation. She said I could be her granddaughter, and she could be my granny. That blessed my heart. I told her I would love that b/c I love my grandparents and miss them! :) I played some songs for her on the guitar I bought in Chile. I'm so glad I had it. She loved it... said her pain went away when I sang. The song I played was "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus." She kept telling me over and over, You need to TRUST in Jesus. You have to TRUST Him. One day we will meet Him; but you need to Trust Him RIGHT NOW.
It was such a message from God through her to me.
One day an elderly woman was left at the door of the hospice in a condition that we would never see in the United States (at least never in my experience). She was totally emaciated, her big toe was literally rotten and falling off (Ericka said it looked like a rotten prune and you could see the bone sticking out the end), and she had a huge wound on her arm that had been untreated to the point where the flesh around it was black and reeked of dead fish and falling off exposing the muscle tissue, ligaments and bone. Inside the wound was discovered a multitude of maggots. [I couldn't believe this was a LIVING human being... her arm literally looked like a piece of raw chicken at the supermarket... wet, could see the muscle, tendons, bone... What drew me to see her was the smell - like dead, rotting animals; b/c I had never smelled a rotting human before, esp not a rotting living human. One volunteer w/ a mask on her face was pulling black chunks of FLESH off her arm... all rotten. I couldn't believe it. I thought it had to be just dirt, or mud on her arm. But it wasn't, it was her flesh. Oh God. Oh GOD.] As Ericka was helping comfort this lady, she began to black out, head swimming, pounding, pain and had to remove herself from the situation. While she sat down off to the side, she began to cry out to the Lord, "Lord, do you see her?! Do you see her suffering? Do something!" As she sat there, praying, waiting, thoughts began to come to her mind..."Ericka, Yes, I see her. She is only one. I also see the countless others who are suffering as much and more than her at this very moment; I am just showing you this one. I know and see and care about all of them." Ericka then saw a picture of Christ in a white sari (like the one that mother Teresa and the sisters wear) kneeling down in front of and tenderly caring for this woman. Ericka then opened her eyes and saw a number of women around this lady tending her needs, some holding her hands, some holding her remaining flesh from falling off her arm, some removing the dead flesh, some picking out the maggots, some holding her head and whispering blessing assurance to the lady, and other supporting those that were directly helping the woman. She then realized that they were Christ's hands caring for this lady through the heart of Christ. Somehow we have been given the responsibility to be Christ to the world, showing his love, compassion, and mercy to the least of these. Something else Ericka took away from that that is there is vast importance to sharing the burden of those suffering by being with them in their time of need. This lady was not alone in her suffering, they were with her, and through them, Christ.
[What about the people who are alone, human-wise, when they are suffering?]
So, I think God did a VERY good job of answering my question about why we help the poor, and what His heart is for them. I know He brought that woman in for me to learn some very important lessons... I see now why it is so important to serve the poor, suffering, dying, sick, least of these... they are so important to God, and we can be His extension of Love and Presence to them... and if I am ever in that situation, I would want the same thing for me. We are a body, meant to help one another, not be in isolation/Independence of each other.

I didn't have that dramatic of an experience, but I did walk away with the revelation that I can serve with the love of Christ in the same way to my "neighbors" in West Lafayette. I can't say that I feel "called" to serving in hospices, but the need is there, and there is an expression of Christ that is revealed when we help "the least of these."

Thanks for your prayers!

God bless
Craig (and Ericka)

Pics: Missionaries of Charity, Monkeys, the Taj, Cows, and Kids!

Ok, so here are Pics from Kolkata (aka Calcutta) where Craig and I joined many other people who wanted to learn Mother Teresa's secret of serving and loving the poor...
we met some beautiful people there and tried to Love Others as We wanted to be Loved.
Lots of hugs, smiles, washing buckets of clothes by hand, feeding, talking with, singing with, and did we say smiling? Anyone can do it.
It started to RAIN in Kolkata the day we left... streets flooding up to your knees.
We headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, met some friends, learned Hindi on the train with 2 kids, and then went to an orphanage where we met some beautiful children.

People and Trust

This blog is about people and Trust.


We learned a lot this topic on our trip in India. Some people, b/c of their references (our friends from home/others) we knew we could trust right away, and through our entire time they (and hopefully we also) maintained that trust. It felt good and safe to be able to trust people, and know they wouldn't abuse it.


Then we got away from people we knew... and so began the adventure. (And it usually involved money of some kind...)

India is known (like other developing nations) to take advantage, price-wise, of "rich foreigners". Its really sad, and some Indians themselves don't like it, but it happens. I guess it makes sense too, b/c our standard of living - paying $5 for a taxi cab may be a cheap ride and we're thankful for it in the states... but if we paid $5 for a taxi/motor-rickshaw, we would be getting majorly ripped off. And these things are important when you're traveling on a budget. And it also rubs on you b/c you know that you probably are getting ripped off, but you're not quite sure, b/c it still is a good price from our "price world". But the ripping off kind of starts to wear on you... and you find yourself getting a little bitter and wondering WHO can you trust? This guy tells me, dramatically, No, no way for that price, you're asking too little, it must be more! Then we find out later Indians would pay that lower price...

Trust is a REALLY important aspect of interacting with people. And honesty. Even when it hurts. ITs SO IMPORTANT. If you can't trust someone, you feel like you're always on edge, watching out for them to take advantage of you again; you can never relax.


Here are some examples: Whenever anyone wanted to talk to us... coming up to us on the streets, our guard immediately went up... are they trying to pick pocket us (watch your purse/pocket), are they just curious about our white skin (b/c we really do stand out), do they honestly just want a picture with us b/c we are such an oddity... or do they want to help us just to later expect payment for this service? Its so sad we had to always be ON EDGE. I just wanted to TRUST people, that they were just being nice, not trying to target us b/c we were foreigners and may have money. I don't know... I think it also had to do with it was our FIRST time in India, so we were even more vulnerable - hadn't learned the ropes yet, didn't know the language (although some kids on a train tried to teach me how to say, "You're ripping me off, I'm leaving." :)), and didn't know what reasonable prices were (even for foreigners). I know by the end of our time, we did feel more confident - and even got out of a rickshaw when the guy tried to raise the price on us. :)



Rickshaw people, people in the market selling things, kids on the street putting their hands to their mouth to motion they wanted food, kids coming up to the rickshaws when we were stopped at traffic lights asking for food or if we wanted to buy some magazine or pen, mothers coming up with their babies saying they needed milk; and just people coming up at train stations - offering to help w/ our luggage or to give us directions... all w/ a price tag? I wanted to receive their hospitality, but not if it came with an expectation of having to pay them.



But as we traveled, we learned more about how to handle things. If we felt like they were just trying to get our money, for a service (advice, carrying something, etc.) we just said no thank you and kept walking... but we didn't have to be rude. That's the other thing. They are people, too, and we don't need to be rude about how we say no. If they were just wanting a picture with us, we would just be friendly and ask where they were from, and have fun just meeting a random family on the street and humoring their request. Sometimes it felt like we were movie stars - but we really weren't. :)



For the beggars, it was a different story. Maybe I'll write a whole blog about that. But for now, lets just say that it was highly discouraged everywhere to give money... (just like in the states). So if I had crackers/cookies with me (a good thing to carry around) or a bag of apples or mangoes or something, and kids or mothers came up while we were in the rickshaw, then I would give those out. But it was good to have a quick escape route. Once one kid saw that you were giving something, it was over, and your rickshaw or taxi was soon swarmed by at least one if not 4-5 other kids, hands out, "madame, madame!" But how can I refuse kids food? If I didn't have any food, I would just keep going and say, "No, I'm sorry." One time I bought a kid some ice cream; I would have been glad if I was that kid! :) But it was hard. Hard to know - am I helping a bad habit of begging? Am I keeping these people on the street by encouraging them that they can make a survival/living off of begging rather than doing other things? Or is there situation something else, and they need the food? I don't know.



So the question of "Who can we trust?" was a big one on our trip in India. Because we were meeting people for the 1st time, we didn't have any background with them at all, didn't know their character, didn't know if they were saying one thing, then doing another.... was a constant trial for us. Having references was always good, but even then you had to be wise and pray for wisdom... but the cool thing was, God showed us Proverbs 2, which has some AWESOME words for how He will / does help us.... It says something like, "He will give us wisdom and insight and understanding; and guard our steps; and protect us from the bad people who want to take advantage of us and lead us down wrong paths." And I am SO THANKFUL for His Holy Spirit that does lead us IN ALL THINGS. The Holy Spirit knows ALL things, so can lead us WONDERFULLY. Even when we didn't feel it, or sometimes felt like we were being taken advantage of... He was still there; growing us up, teaching us, showing us the Ropes. :)



Hopefully we'll be all the more prepared the 2nd time around!! :)

Harrison Ford, The BRIDGE, and Ericka

God continues to amaze me, step by step by step by step of this Journey with Him. He is CONSTANTLY providing for me, opening doors, making connections, and just WOWing me.
Its like the Indina Jones movie, where Harrison Ford is at the edge of a huge cliff, thousands of feet above a rushing river and hundreds of feet across to the other side. The bad guys are coming, and he's basically dead unless he can cross. The cool thing is, he read somewhere that if you step out in the thin air, a bridge will form, but you have to have faith. AHHHHHHHH. That is SCARY!! But with no other choice, he decides to try it. One big step, foot going out and down, down, down... and then wham. It hits something solid. Whoah. Something materialized out of thin air underneath him. He tentatively puts his weight on it, after all, this is his life, and he really doesn't want to fall 1,000's of feet to his death. Now with his full weight on this new miracle ledge, he puts his foot out again to take one more step, carefully, down, down, and wham, another solid footing is found in thin air... the bridge is indeed materializing right before his eyes; and it wasn't there before. Incredulously and then with amazed laughter and greater and greater confidence, Ford makes it across the entire chasm and ends up safely on the other side. It was a MIRACLE... but it took him stepping out to get there, and to make the bridge appear.
That's what I feel like on this trip. So often, like every day, I have no idea what is out in front of me. I have no idea what I'll do, or where I'll go, or who I'll stay with. But I'll tell you what. God is AMAZING at making that bridge appear under my feet. EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME. Wow.
And I'm so thankful for the people who think about me to pray for me. That, I know, is part of how God is working and using to bless this trip; to help open doors, provide protection, and strengthen me when I'm down, or whatever. He really is an AMAZING DAD... and you all are an amazing Family.
So I'll try to give you some stories to show you what I mean... Its so cool.