Chicken Biryani

On Friday night, a couple from the DTS that are originally from Maharashtra (West India), came to our house to talk. They were supposed to leave for the outreach to Bhutan on Monday, but they needed over 10, 000 rupees (about $250 US dollars) to pay the school and outreach fees. They were heart broken because they had completed the three month lecture phase and were wondering if they could somehow get credit for that since they weren't able to complete the two month outreach to receive a DTS certificate and graduation. It was really hard because the husband was sharing with us that he really believed that God was going to provide for them, but the deadline had come and gone and they didn't know what to do. For sure we don't have an extra $250 dollars laying around, and we didn't know how to counsel them, except to say that we could give them a certificate for the lecture phase and pray that God would clearly lead and guide them and provide for all of their needs. They left our house and said they wanted to make dinner for us Saturday night.

The next night they came to our house and brought the chicken biryani dinner with them. They had good news. Suddenly that day their phone had rang and someone from Maharashtra said that they would send them the money they needed for the outreach. Their faces were bright and shining and their joy was contagious. It was so encouraging because Peter really believed that God was going to provide for them and He really did, just in time. So we prayed for them, along with the rest of the DTS today as they are leaving this afternoon for their outreach to Bhutan.

They had invited a couple of other people over to our house as well and so we had a neat dinner of chicken biryani and celebrated the faithfulness of God. Biryani is a famous dish in India that is usually made for special occasions like weddings and birthdays. It is made up of several different layers and is often served with some curds and vegetables. It was delicious and we had a good time.

Good Friday

Today has been a really full day. It is the last day of Housers' teaching this week and the last day of the lecture phase for the DTS. We had a really neat time this morning praying for all of the staff and students and celebrating Good Friday with worship and communion. It's bizarre to think that these students are leaving in a few days. They are going on an outreach to West Bengal and Bhutan for a couple of months. Sunny prepared some tea and snacks at her house this afternoon and we all went to hang out and spend time together.

Last night we had some girl's fellowship at our house and it was a really rich time. We had some tea and snacks (it's a huge part of the culture in India) and we prayed for each other, told stories, laughed a lot, and some even cried. It's one of my favorite parts of our life here, to spend time with these women. Today two of my friends here gave me little Easter baskets and it brought joy to my heart.

Houser and I have to run down the mountain tomorrow to visit some friends from Brazil. He has known them now for over six years and they are returning to Brazil for good on Monday. We are really sad to see them go.

Tonight they showed The Passion of the Christ (the Mel Gibson movie) on a major movie channel here in India and it was dubbed in Hindi. It's incredible to me that all over India, the story of the passion of Jesus is being told. It's hard for me to watch that movie. It's hard to believe that it all really happened to Someone so innocent and kind. However, I am thankful for what He has done.

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."
Isaiah 53:3-5

cricket chaos

Houser returned from the cricket match around 3:00 in the afternoon and the match was supposed to have been going on late into the evening. When I saw him, he didn't smile, and he looked very disappointed. I knew that there was going to be an interesting story.

They arrived at the field in the morning and waited outside the gate for over an hour and a half. Then they were sitting on the stands for three hours, waiting for the game to start. There had been a lot of rain the past week in Guwahati and so the fields were drenched. Thousands of people were waiting in the stands to see India play against England. During these hours there were no annoucements or any communication and the crowd became restless.

There were mostly men in the crowds and in the beginning they would cheer when a woman walked by. But after a while they started throwing things at the women as they walked by. Houser even saw them throw a banana peel at a women's head and everyone laughed and cheered. Really. As the time went by, they started throwing things at Houser because they thought he was from England and wanted his attention. If you notice from the picture, Houser is wearing a shirt that says India. He was definitely cheering for the India team. A man gave him a free India hat since he had come from so far away.

The people who organized the event even brought in a helicopter to fly over the field in circles, hoping that it would dry out and the game could start, but it was to no avail. When the crowds began to realize there was not going to be a match, they became outraged. Many of them started tearing down parts of the arena, advertisements and whatnot, and setting things on fire. It was about that time that Houser and the group decided to leave.

A little over three hours later, the weary group reaches Shillong. We found out from the news that the crowd really started a lot of trouble and the police had to use tear gas to break up the madness. It was even a big story in the newspaper this morning. Houser and everyone that went were joking that they have more memories of the event now than if the game had really gone on. We're all glad that they made it back safely. Houser is teaching this week in the DTS. This is the last week of the lecture phase and we are having a Commissioning night for them this Friday, before they go on outreach Sunday.

cherry blossoms

These are pictures from Manali. The one is of me and a lady who lives in the village there. We were on a walk and enjoying the beautiful flowers and mountains. She came out and started talking to us and said that it would be good if we would take some pictures in the yellow flowers there. It was lovely.

While we were out walking we saw so many beautiful things and people. The cherry blossoms were just budding on the trees. The whole scene reminded me of some of the verses that we had read at our wedding ceremony last June:
"My beloved spoke and said to me: Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!"

I love these verses because they remind me of the love and grace of God. It's a picture of His heart toward us in any season. He is always calling us on to choose life and to arise from our complacency and apathy. He delights in us and calls us to forget what is behind and to press on toward what is ahead. Our pain and sin truly is captured in the idea of winter with it's bleakness and barreness, and He calls us onward into joy, righteousness, and beauty with Him, regardless of the time or season.

The choices that we have to make daily are glorious. We can choose to love and forgive and to give of ourselves to those around us. Daily, over our lives, He says "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!" He desires our love and affection, and His mercy and compassion are new every morning. I love that about Him. No matter what we have done or how far we have gone, He is calling us to arise and choose His love and grace. He casts our sins into the sea of forgetfulness, and beckons us to draw near. The time of singing has come.

"This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him." Lam. 3:21-24

mashed potatoes

Beverley and Sunny have arrived safely in Shillong after their long and adventurous travels. It's so good to have them back here. Beverley has a really good camera and so she took quite a few more pictures and so I'll be posting more to share. These are pictures of us at the Taj Mahal, last month. Since Houser is away to watch the cricket match, Beverley is staying with me tonight and it's good to catch up with her and just to hang out.

We decided tonight that I'll make some mashed potatoes and I'm horribly embarassed to say that I don't really know the right way to make them. I have one really good cook book here and although it has many varied recipes, there isn't one for mashed potatoes. I think it's because it's one of those things that everyone should know how to do. So Beverley and I have been having discussions about the "right way." Do you boil the water before you put the potatoes in? Do you peel and cut the potatoes first, or just wash them and plop them in the water? How long do you boil them for? This led to discussions about boiled eggs as well. Do you boil the water first, or just put them in with the cold water? How long do you cook them? Please give me wisdom.

So as I write, there are some potatoes (skinned, and cut in small pieces) boiling in the kitchen. It was Beverley's idea to cut them in small pieces, she said that they would cook faster that way.

C.S. Lewis

"Even in your hobbies, has there not always been some secret attraction which the others are curiously ignorant of- something, not to be identified with, but always on the urge of breaking through, the smell of cut wood in the workshop or the clap-clap of water against the boat's side?

Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling (but faint and uncertain even in the best) of that something which you were born desiring, and which, beneath the flux of other desires and in all the momentary silences between the louder passions night and day, year by year, from childhood to old age, you are looking for, watching for, listening for?

You have never had it. All the things that have deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it- tantalizing glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should really become manifest- if there ever came an echoe that did not die away but swelled into the sound iself- you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say "Here at last is thing that I was made for." We cannot tell each other about it. It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeaseable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and we shall still desire on our death beds, when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work. While we are, this is. If we lose this, we lose all. " -C.S. Lewis

April 6th, 2006

Houser's birthday was yesterday and we had a lot of fun with our friends here. We had a little birthday party in the afternoon and all of the staff and students at our base piled into our house and we had some cake, snacks, and tea. It was a good day.

Cricket is a big deal here in India. Every few years they will have a match in Guwahati (three hours from us) and it's quite an occasion. Houser and several of our staff are going to go this weekend and watch the cricket game. It's India vs. England and India has been beating them the past few games. There will be thousands of people there and so it will be quite an adventure. An average cricket game is around 7 hours and til today, I don't fully understand the game.

Houser's Birthday!

Tomorrow is Houser's 29th Birthday, hooray! We have several special things planned. Houser really loves smoked pork, as do the vast majority of our staff and students so we're buying some pork for tomorrow's lunch and making some other special things to go along with it. At tea time in the afternoon, everyone is going to come to our house for cake and some tea and we'll have a time of celebration. I even had fun making a cake today. Then we have plans to go out with the leadership team for dinner. I'll be sure to take some pictures.

We went to the bazaar today and we found these birthday flowers there. I'm really into flowers these days and since the other ones I planted outside became a little wilted, we bought some inside flowers to brighten up our house. I think I need to read a book or two on gardening. I just planted some seeds a few days ago and I keep looking carefully at the ground everyday to see if I can see any evidence of growth. It's kind of exciting.

Spring

Spring is here and it really does change everything. The weather has been warmer and so fresh. There are flowers everywhere and somehow it feels like everything is brand new. The sky even seems more blue. Houser came home safely from Siliguri and so for this past week we have been transitioning to life back in Shillong. We've met with our Hindi teacher and family one time and they were so happy to see us. Poonam called the day we were back and asked when we were going to come and visit. We really missed them as well.

I planted some flowers in our little yard. Some of them a friend gave to me and I just transplanted into our soil, and some were from seed packets. I'm very new to having a garden and it's a bit overwhelming. A couple of days ago we had a little bit of a storm and the wind was blowing like crazy and my newly planted flowers looked a little worn and sad. I'm hoping that they will be ok. I feel really responsible for them like they are a cat or dog or something. There is something so beautiful and refreshing about flowers.

It is so good to be back here and to not have to go anywhere for a while. There are only two more weeks left in the DTS and Houser is teaching the last week. I've been working on contacting people for the upcoming SOFM and just trying to get everything caught up in our house and lives. Beverley and I are going to start praying more together next week, I've been eagerly awaiting this time with great anticipation. Her and Sunny will be returning from their travels on Friday.

These days Hudson Taylor is one of my favorite heroes. He was a missionary doctor to China some time back and his life is an inspiration to many. He said "If I had a thousand lives, I'd give them all to China." My favorite quote this week that he said is, "Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last."

yaks

I have a roommate this week. A girl from Guwahati is here in Shillong for a seminar that is going on this week about counseling. She was staying at a hostel but said that the beds were too hard so she wanted to come and stay at our house. Houser has been gone all week teaching so it's nice to have someone to talk to. She is from Germany and is quite friendly.

Today my roommate and I were walking to the junction to catch a taxi. We waited there for a few minutes and a taxi drove by with a huge, dead pig in the back seat, all four legs sticking up in the air. Maybe two minutes later in the opposite direction a car drove by pulling a trailer with a dead, skinned cow in it, loosely covered by a tarp. Perhaps they were on the way to the meat market.
My friend from Germany said, "That's the sort of thing that makes you want to be a vegetarian."

It reminded me of this picture I had of a yak in China. Yaks are very important to many Tibetans. They will dry their meat and use it year round. They use their milk to make cheese and butter and even their hair to make coats and blankets. We saw many when we were in Shangri-la.

Rest

I had only been in Shillong for a couple of days when we left for Nagaland via overnight bus. We reached Dimapur at about 6:00 am and Houser was supposed to start teaching at 10:00 am.

I just went straight to our room and slept for a while. My heart was so weary and tired. Too much travelling this year, and my body and soul were in need of true rest. I woke up and started praying. I just kept thinking of Matt. 11 and decided to study rest in the Bible. I think that these were some of the best verses I found:

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matt. 11: 28-30

I love that Jesus said of Himself that He is gentle and humble in heart. He doesn't have to be. It's amazing that the God of all creation is gentle and humble and promises us rest when we come to Him. He promises rest for our souls. Rest for our souls. That's something that we can't buy, can't pretend. We can't earn it, and it doesn't even necessarily come with a vacation. In all of the busyness of life, in all of our comings and goings, and plans and strategies, we need rest for our souls. It's available to anyone, regardless of our history, or age, or race, if you are weary and burdened, you qualify. Rest.

We are back in Shillong and thankfully I have no plans in the near future to travel. Houser is going tomorrow to teach at another school, and so he has a couple more train rides ahead of him. I got sick again in Nagaland and saw a doctor there and found out I have dysentery. He gave me antibiotics and so I'm getting better now, just a little weak.

I'm so looking forward to the rest of this year. We have been doing a lot of prep work for the schools that we are running here later this year. This DTS lecture phase is finished April 17th, my Dad's Birthday. We are starting another DTS and an SOFM in July. We are for the first time hosting a School of Intercessory Prayer in October. There is great anticipation in my heart for what God is going to do in this city and region.

Beverley and I are going to spend more time in prayer, especially for the next three months, and I'm really excited about that. When Houser gets back we are going to continue all of our Hindi lessons. It was neat to see how much we had learned as we were travelling around. Far from fluent, but it was good to know more phrases and vocabulary.

"You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?"
Psalm 56:8

Manali

After our time in Delhi, which is the capital of India, we had a 15 hour bus ride to Manali. Manali is over 6,000 ft in elevation and is incredibly beautiful. It's a part of the Himalayas and so there were mountains and snow in every direction that we looked.

There is a YWAM Centre there and so we went to spend time with them and share our hearts and vision with them. For me it was one of the highlights of the trip. One of the ladies who had worked there the longest shared so many stories about what God is doing there. We even met and had tea with a new believer in her home. I almost started crying as she shared about her life and how as she has become to know Jesus more and more, the peace and joy that has come to her heart.

One of the leaders in the center was telling us about a story of a woman in the village who is a witch and she prophesied that the gods told her it was going to snow the entire month of January, every single day. One of the believers started praying fervently, asking God that it would not snow even one day in January, as a testimony of His power and truth. This was a crazy prayer because Manali is in the mountains and receives an ample amount of snow every winter. The people in the village heard that this other lady was praying to God, asking that it would not snow. All of January, this last year, it didn't snow even one day. The first of February there was a huge blizzard and so much snow came, but not one day in January. Because of this, many people in the village began to ask questions about the God that she served and began to see His power is stronger than that of the village witch.

It was so good to be able to spend time with these people. Their simple hearts and faith in God were such a blessing to be around. We stayed with them for a few days and got to pray with them and hear so many stories. Truly God is alive and moving in the nations of the world, revealing His kindness and beauty.

my favorite shoes

I think for the past 6 years plus, I have been wearing the same shoes and many people make fun of me. Especially here in India, when I am already a good foot or two taller than everyone else around. They are tall, black flipflops. The heel is probably somewhere between 3-4 inches tall and they are very comfortable. Since I always wear them, all the pants that I buy are several inches too long and so if I don't wear them then my pants drag on the floor.
In these past years, I've probably gone through 6 pairs of them at least, and yet I am hopelessly attached to them.
When we were in Manali, the only pair that I brought with me from the States broke and my heart was sad. Manali is a mountain place and somehow the strap fell off of the shoe. I had to go straight away and find something else to wear on my feet because with a broken strap, my shoe wouldn't stay on my foot. After I found some shoes, Bev and I found a shoe cobbler and he had some hope that he could repair it. First, he put some glue on the broken piece and connected it back to the shoe. After some time, he took a really long needle and sewed the two pieces together again. He fixed my shoe! So far it has been doing ok.

trains

We have spent literal days on trains this last week and they are quite a phenomenon. The train that we were on had 6 beds in one compartment. I think that the hardest thing about travelling on trains is that as foreigners, we are always of great entertainment to everyone around us. At one point, we had literally 5 different men sitting on a berth just staring at us. Sunny was joking that she felt like a monkey in a zoo.
Trains are a good form of transportation in India because they are quite inexpensive and there are so many trains going all of the time in so many different directions. It's highly advisable to have tickets or you can find yourself without a seat.
In between ministry times we tried to go to the Taj Mahal and we had to stand up for hours on this train. It was quite hilarious. We had been staying with a Korean family and the mother had prepared us some sushi to take along with us and so I'm sure we were quite a sight, some foreigners standing up eating sushi on the train. The Taj Mahal was well worth it, it was incredible.

together again

Houser picked me up last night at the train station, hooray. It was the longest that we had been apart since being engaged. Today is our nine month anniversary and we are happy.

We only have a couple more weeks of travelling and then we are finished. Truly, it feels so good to just be home. On Sunday night we have to leave again to go to Nagaland because Houser is teaching there for a week.

Spring is here in Shillong and it changes everything. Fresh leaves and flowers are springing up on the once dead tree limbs. There is something about Spring that brings fresh hope and life. I was walking down the street today and my heart was overflowing with thanks to God. I'm thankful to be here in Shillong, in this nation that I love, with my husband.

will write soon

So much has happened since my last post and I'm not even sure where to begin. Sunny, Beverley and I left Shillong last week for a ministry trip and we have been in a constant state of travel since then. We are running an SOFM in Shillong in July with a Tibetan Buddhist Focus. We are trying to meet with various bases and leaders in different places across India in order to build relationship and share our vision. We are hoping for at least 20 students to come. So far it has been really good and we have had great fun along the way.

Since we were in Delhi we all went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal since none of us had ever seen it. It was breathtakingly beautiful and well worth the journey. One of our rickshaw drivers gave us some bad information and so we ended up standing up on a train with tons of people for a couple of hours. It was funny. I have so many pictures and will post them later.

On our journey to Delhi, that same night, some bombs went off in Varanasi, which is one of the train stations that we passed through. The bombs went off between 6:30-6:45 pm and we went through the station somewhere between 10:00pm-12:00. Since then Delhi has been put on high alert and they have found a few bombs that were put in other places. Since we've been travelling, I'm not very sure of the motives and the sources of the bombers, but we are praying for this area and for great peace.

Seeing more of this nation has made me fall more and more in love with this place. I have never been to a more diverse, beautiful country. Everywhere we go we see great poverty and need also, so much injustice and pain and we are crying out for His mercy and love to flood this land. There will be no true peace until He comes and establishes His kingdom in this land.

I will write more later, I just wanted everyone to know that we are safe and doing well. I've gotten several e-mails asking if we are ok and if we were near Varanasi when the bombs went off. I just really miss my husband because this is the longest we've been apart since being married. I'll be returning to Shillong later next week.

home sweet home

We are home! We met with Beverley in Bangkok and had quite a journey getting here. Beverley was joking and saying that she felt like we were on the Amazing Race. They had cancelled our flight from Bangkok to India, and broke it up into two flights. They told us we were going to have to spend the night in Calcutta, but at the last minute they had us run to the next terminal and jump on a plane. It was a tiny plane with little propellers and had quite a bit of turbulence. Beverley said after landing, "Well, that was an experience and a half." But we have made it safely.

It is so good to be back in Shillong and sleeping in my own bed. We still have quite a bit of travellling to do this month, but for now we are home. It has been fun to show Beverley around and introduce her to all of our friends here.

I downloaded some pictures from our trip on the My Pictures link.

" O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance." Psalm 16:5-6

village dancing

A couple of the places that we went to, Shangri-la and Lijiang, had dances in the village square every night. It was so beautiful and the people are so welcoming. Without hesistation Houser jumped in to dance with the people. They blare the music really loud and they all gather around the fire in a big circle. There are many different dances and dance steps. Every time that I would just have one down they would switch to another dance that I didn't know. It's neat because there are people there from every age, and they all really get into it. It's a really big part of their culture and there is a large group gathered every night to take part in it.
The picture of Houser and I is taken in a bus that we took to Shangri-la. It was an overnight bus and had mattress sort of things that you could sleep on. So 5 of us were together in the back, kind of like sardines in a can. The hardest part is when it was super cold and 3 or 4 people are smoking in the bus with all of the windows shut. It was really neat to be able to lay down while travelling though and we got to see a lot of great beauty along the way.
Tomorrow we fly to Bangkok to meet Beverley, I'm so excited.

Tibetan family

One of the most meaningful times for us in China was spending time with a Kham Tibetan family in their home, drinking yak butter tea. Their hospitality and kindness was generous.They served us some butter tea and fresh yak cheese, as well as some sort of bread they make. They also served us some samba which is their staple diet. They add some barley to the tea and knead it for a while and then eat it. It reminded me of that cereal Sugar Smacks that I used to eat when I was a little girl. We sat in their home and enjoyed the warmth given by their fire. We have some friends that are working with them that can speak Chinese very well so we had some form of communication.
They are potato farmers and live very simple lives. They also owned a lot of yaks.

Peking Duck

Many Chinese tourists come to this certain place in Lijiang to eat duck. The head is usually reserved for the person whom you want to honor the most. In our case, no one really wanted to eat the head except Houser, and so we all laughed and watched as he ate the duck head. He poked the eyes out as well as the brains with chopsticks. The rest he just sort of chewed on.

Lijiang

Lijiang is an incredible town in China. There is a part of Lijiang called Gu Chhen (Old Town) that has incredible Nazi buildings and houses. All of the streets are full of red lanterns and there are small streams running down the streets full of beautiful fish. Lijiang is a big tourist town domestically for many of the Chinese. It's beautiful.
I was overwhelmed by the vast development in every city that we went to. I've always had a concept in my mind that China was mostly villages and perhaps a few backward cities, but I was wrong. The roads and infrastructure of China were amazing and far more advanced than anything I've seen in India. Every small city we went to had a supermarket and we even saw a KFC.
The other thing that was a bit overwhelming was the vast number of people walking down the streets. The combined population of India and China is over 1/3 of the world's population, over 2 billion people. I'm going to have to wait until we're back in India to post a bunch of pictures becasue of the computer situation, but they will definitely come. We will meet Beverley in Bangkok in a couple of days and then will be on our way back to India.

China

We have so many pictures and so many stories and I will try to post a bunch of them in the days to come. I couldn't write in China because of security reasons and so we are now safely back in Thailand. Our plane just came in earlier tonight. Our time there was packed full of many experiences and memories ranging from having yak butter tea in a Tibetan Village, to Houser eating duck brain with chopsticks.

One of the hardest things is that we dropped off some of our best friends fom the NE there and tried to help them look for a house and get adjusted. Obviously we couldn't help much with translation, but we wanted to be with them.

Communication was a big problem because hardly anyone speaks English. We often found ourselves wanting to speak Hindi because somehow in our minds it's what we speak when people don't understand us. One of the funniest things was that Houser got his widow's peak shaved off on accident because the barber thought he didn't want it. We hardly know any Mandarin at all, pretty much, thank you, and hello.

When we first got to China, the taxi driver brought us to a place to eat and the entire menu was in Chinese. Well we were in China, but we were hoping for a little English, or at least some pictures. Houser finally resorted to flapping his wings like a chicken to show that we wanted some chicken. Then we got up and looked what was on other people's plates and pointed to that. We were a source of great entertainment there for everyone and laughed a lot. We met some of our Chinese friends later that night and so for the rest of the trip we had excellent translation.

It was an incredible time and I don't know even where to begin describing it. Again, I will post many pictures soon.

stuck

I think that yesterday was the hardest that I've laughed in weeks. I was running a little late to a meeting we had and I quickly jogged to the elevator. Houser was already upstairs and I was supposed to meet him. I got in the elevator right after a Thai man and the doors closed behind us. Little did I know that I wouldn't see them open for a long time.
So, the elevator goes up two floors and for some odd reason the door doesn't open as it should. We frantically press all of the buttons, but to no avail. I just start laughing like crazy. SOme people when they get nervous or scared, fiddle with their hands, some get angry or start talking too much, I laugh. The poor Thai guy is just looking at me like I'm a little crazy and then he starts laughing too. He finally pushes the help button and has a long conversation in Thai with the operator. We wait for about 5 minutes before we hear anyone coming for help. Five minutes isn't a long time in normal circumstances, but at this point we're sweating a little and the Thai guy is telling me he's supposed to be at the airport in half and hour.
So the people come and we see their flash lights and hear some noises outside. Really, it felt like we were in some sort of movie. Then a couple of them try to pry the doors open with their hands. I start laughing really loud with great strength of heart. My sister gets embarassed of me sometimes when we're out in public together because I laugh too loud. This would have been one of those times.
We hear all sorts of banging noises and the elevator falls a couple of inches. The poor Thai guy and I just look at each other with big eyes. I was just thinking, I have no way to tell anyone that I'm in here. The Thai guy has a cell phone, but I don't even have any way to call anyone, no numbers. So the kind rescuers outside are diligently working to free us. About 20 minutes later, we feel the elevator moving slowly and hope fills our hearts, well at least mine. Sure enough the elevator is working again and we were saved. It took another 15 minutes to find Houser though becasue he was worried becasue I was supposed to meet him much earlier and went out to try and find me.
After the meeting, we went out for coffee with our friend Sunny, and two of our friends who are going to China. This coffee shop is brand new and beautiful, it was about 10:00 pm at night. Our friend Sunny is hilarious and so much fun to be around. She truly has the heart of a child. She was running ahead of us and and suddenly we all heard this loud "thwack," and saw Sunny crumple to the floor. This place had glass doors and for some reason she didn't see them and ran straight into the door. We all start laughing so loudly that tears were filling our eyes and our stomachs hurt. She said that she was looking at the beautiful coffee mugs inside and didn't see the door because it was so clean. The guy couldn't even take our order properly because he was laughing so hard. We told them to maybe keep the doors a little more dirty so that people wouldn't get hurt. The whole night we could hardly talk about anything else because it was too funny.
So last evening was filled with great laughter.

Monks in Thailand and Valentine's Day

Buddhist monks here are considered holy beings. Woman are not ever to touch them or even to try to give or pass anything to them with their hands. If a monk wants to sit on the bus and he happens to sit by a woman, the woman must vacate her seat and move to another place. It's very interesting because the monks in NE India are very approachable. Often we have had tea with them and asked them questions, even bringing them gifts or biscuits.

Yesterday was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple and we had a nice Mediterranean Dinner. Yep. There's this tiny little restaurant here called Jerusalem Falafel owned and operated by this neat lady from Jerusalem. The food was incredible, the best I've had in months. We ordered a dish that came with 5 different dips. Hummus, babaghanoush (sp?), tzatziki (sp?), actually, I just better stop now. I'm not really sure how to spell or properly communicate what we had, but it was delicious and full of garlic. We thought it was quite incredible to find a restaurant with this kind of food in Thailand, of all places, but it was nice.

Our days are packed with activities and friends and they are flying by so quickly. We are leaving on Saturday to go to China and we are excited for the next leg of our journey. John Dawson, the President of YWAM, is here and it has been good to hear what is on his heart. He shared last night about the importance of love being lived out. He was talking about how for love to be real, it must reach it's destination. Sometimes we are in love with the idea of love, but to truly live it and breathe it in the midst of real, flawed people is difficult. He was talking about how we all say that we love people and we have all of these nice thoughts in our head, and it is vital that we share it with those people and let them know and feel it. Whether they be friends, family, people that we may minister to, or whoever, we must live out love. Love must reach it's destination and not just dwell inside our own minds and hearts. We all need love and encouragement, so we should give it liberally to all that are in our sphere of influence. Everyone thrives off of kindness and affection and we shouldn't hold back because of fear or rejection, small fights, and jealousies. Life is too short, relationships are too important, we need to forget about ourselves and love with fierceness those who are around us.

Pineapples

Somehow, for all of my life I thought that pineapples grew on trees like bananas and coconuts. They grow on the ground. That's such a mystery to me.

Our conference starts tomorrow and so day by day we have been seeing more and more familiar faces. Sunny and I were in a market yesterday when we ran into some old friends from India that aren't even here for the conference. They took us out to dinner tonight to this place where you pick and grill your own meat at your table. So it's a sort of buffet, but a huge portion of it it raw meat and fish and vegetables. At each table they have some small grills and you put your meat on there to cook it. There were all sorts of interesting things that we had never seen or tasted. It was fun.

everything new

I've never been to Thailand before and so I'm constantly overwhelmed by a deluge of new sights, smells, and sounds. This place is incredible and unlike any other that I've ever been. Actually, I'm really at a loss to explain it. Chiang Mai is a big city and it has a lot of western influence such as a couple of shopping malls and yet it is distinctively Asian. We went to a mall yesterday and they were selling dried worms, locusts and quail eggs for snacks, and yet on the next floor was a cosmetic store. The Night Bazaar is one of my favorite places here. It opens in the late afternoon and stays open until about midnight. You can buy all sorts of Thai things there as well as flowers, fruits, and traditional jewelry; it's full of mystery and beauty. There are so many people there every night from all over the world. The aisles are really tiny and crowded and you hear people speaking in languages from every continent. It is a tremendously international sort of place.

Today we have finally met a bunch of our friends from the Northeast and though we haven't seen them in over 2 years, it was like we had just seen them. We had a meeting for several hours and caught up with each other. There was about 13 of us. The big conference starts this weekend and we are all looking forward to it.

I'm also learning a lot about teeth these days. The dentists here have been very helpful and kind. They've taken x-rays and have found out that the root canal that I had done in Shillong was not good and so they drilled out the old filling there and are re-doing the root canal therapy. One root canal is already not very fun, but two on the same tooth is a little disheartening. But it is actually really good news because I won't need a crown after all.

So we are in Thailand and very much enjoying this time.

Chiang Mai

We have had an interesting journey and have safely arrived in Thailand. Monday afternoon we got a call from the travel agent saying our flight the next day had been cancelled but if we can leave that night (instead of Tues. morning) they would fly us to Calcutta and then the next morning to Bangkok. The funny thing is that they called us at 3:00 pm and the flight was scheduled to leave at 7:00pm, the airport being about 4 hours away from our home.
So we said ok and then ran as fast as fish to finish packing and arranging all of our things. Then Sunny, Houser, and I got in the car and made it to the airport in record speed.

Since they cancelled our flight, the airlines put us in an incredibly nice hotel for the night, for free. We felt like royalty and none of us had ever stayed in such a place in India. Needless to say, our hearts were overflowing with thanks to God for the hot showers and nice accommodations.

We spent all day yesterday at the Bangkok airport waiting for our connecting flight at night to Chiang Mai. We had great fun though in the airport, as it is quite modern and had things that we hadn't seen for quite some time, like Burger King, and really nice coffee shops.

We've already been to the dentist here two times today and they are very efficient and helpful. I go back tomorrow to begin the treatment. Our first meeting here is on the 10th, so we have a couple of days to rest and look around a bit.

I have never been to Thailand before and it is quite beautiful and clean here. We are looking forward to meeting our friends and making new ones in the days to come.

the crown story

Actually my story has nothing to do with this picture, but I thought it was a beautiful piece of art showing how crowns are laid down at His feet because He alone is worthy of our worship.

So less than a week after we returned to India (in early September '05), my tooth started aching and throbbing. We asked around and went to a dentist here to undergo what they call Root Canal Therapy. It took about a month for the whole process to be completed. They took out the nerve and then stuffed some cotton in the hole and I had to go back for maybe 5 or 6 times for the dentist to flush it out and clean it before she finally filled it. A week after I had it done, a portion of the filling fell out and so we had to go back and have it repaired. The dentist told us that they won't put the crown on for another 6 months, and to be careful to not eat anything hard on that tooth or else it would break off. Houser and I looked at each other with big eyes, and I said "Ok." After we left I asked him if he would still love me if one of my front teeth was broken, thankfully, he said yes.

About a month or so later, the same tooth began throbbing and aching and we went again to the dentist, but she said that she couldn't find anything wrong. Needless to say, this has been a pain (no pun intended) for us in the past few months.

We knew that we were going to Thailand and they are supposed to have really good dental and medical care there, and so we have been waiting for this time to come. I was looking online for different dentists there and trying to make an appointment. I had narrowed it down to two different clinics that I wanted to try and had e-mailed them asking about prices and services. My heart was burdened when I got the e-mails back because the treatments could be as much as 500 dollars and so I just started to pray.

The night I got the e-mails, I seriously was just crying out to God for His wisdom and for His guidance and provision. The very next day, I was waiting for a taxi because I needed to buy some groceries in a nearby town. As I waited, a friend of ours who is a pastor, pulled up and asked me if I needed a ride. I got in and in his car was an American who works in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the exact city that we are going to on Tuesday. I said "You're just the person I need to see!" I asked him if he knew of any good dentists there and he said that he goes to Grace Dental Care, this was one of the two dentists that I had decided on. He said that he has had three crowns done there and that they have really good technology and they do a good job. It was amazing, because if I had just been two minutes earlier, or two minutes later, I would have missed them. This whole incident has made me feel more than ever that God hears our cry and answers our prayers.

So hopefully when we come back from Thailand, my tooth will be cured and crowned and we will live happily ever after.

The end.

one year ago...

A year ago today Houser asked me to marry him on Mt. Wilson in Sunny California. We were talking and laughing about it today, so much has happened in this last year. We are happy.

As some may notice, he was wearing this Steeler hat a year ago. He has worn it often since and is eagerly awaiting this years Super Bowl, the Seahawks vs. the Steelers. He's planning to wake up at 3:30 am so that he can watch it. Really.

Looking back on this last year, we are so thankful to God for His kindness and faithfulness, and to all of our family and friends who have so enriched our lives with their love and encouragement.

We are leaving Monday night for our long trip to Thailand and China.

a picnic and some cricket

Today we went with the DTS to have a Saturday picnic. It was great fun. About 25 of us piled into a bus and drove up the mountain a bit. We cooked rice in the morning and then brought a bunch of vegetables and some mutton (goat) with us and made the meat and salad there. It was an adventure because it was quite windy outside and so it took a while for the meat to cook.

This was the first week of the DTS and so it was a good time of fellowship and a good opportunity just to hang out and get to know each other better. The boys played cricket for hours as they took turns "batting and bowling." I've been in India for some time now, but I still don't fully understand cricket. It's a mystery.

The life of Brianna

Today we had a day of prayer and fasting at our base. In the past couple of months over 14 YWAM Staff have died worldwide, most of them key leaders. Today we wanted to seek God asking for His protection and understanding, and pray for the labor of those who have died, that the fruit of their lives would be multiplied. I wanted to share and celebrate the life of Brianna, an American who died in Nigeria. This is an excerpt from a letter by John Dawson, the President of YWAM.

"One of the women killed was American Brianna Esswein from California. Being briefly in the US, I had the privilege of meeting with her parents, Dan and Mary Kay, and her sister, Christina and brother, Matt. This is an extraordinary family, full of Christ. As I have investigated the life of their beloved Brianna, I have become convinced that her short life is a gift to this generation.

She was in many ways similar to Jim Elliott, her hero, one of the five young American missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians in the 1950s. Although only twenty-five, she had completed a medical degree in California and graduated from Wheaton after studying missions. She had also worked in several countries, making a great impact on all who knew her because of her Christ-like qualities. How do we deal with the death of such people, excellent, brilliant missionaries with their best years ahead of them? Think of the more recent deaths of Tony Lima in Brazil and Elisabeth Mbewe in Zambia. They were already people of immense fruitfulness and responsible for young children both in ministry and family. What is the heavenly perspective?

Brianna was deeply involved with Focus on the Family and Youth For Christ before coming to YWAM so I was able to join with the leaders of these organizations in piecing together her story, and eventually honoring her at a memorial service. Just before she died, Brianna wrote a Christmas letter from Nigeria, which is a mature and powerful statement on the compassion of Jesus for suffering people. Her life message was fully formed. Her vision and godly character shines. Those of us at her memorial service had the sense of a life completed rather than a life cut off. We discovered that though attractive and vivacious, she had decided that she would not marry and though her life may be short, she was going to be totally dedicated to missions.Her story humbles and instructs me the more I reflect upon it, and I feel a solemn duty to expand the influence of her life.

On the first day of '06, I preached the first of what will be many sermons with my 'Brianna file' open in the pulpit.Her diaries and letters reflect the theme of her memorial service, "To live is Christ, to die is gain". I was most impacted when her mother showed me a journal scrapbook that Brianna had compiled. On one page was a beautifully presented collage of a bride in her gown, and on the opposite page a representation of a banquet, surrounded by paragraphs of adoration for Jesus and anticipation of entering His presence.

Do you follow one of those one-year Bible-reading programs like I do? If you do, you read Revelation 22 on December 31st and Genesis 1 on January 1st, truly a good foundation for '06. God is the author and finisher of all things and His intent is that we enjoy the pleasures of His presence as we pass through this brief earthly apprenticeship. However, 'the eternal weight of glory' that Brianna now enjoys is far superior to the temporary graces that give joy to this life. She is no longer separated from her Savior; she has lifted the veil and gazes upon Him.

Her mother and sister both wore white lace outfits at her large memorial service to indicate identification with Brianna's ultimate desire fulfilled. Truly the family of God is amazing, transcendent lives that point unwaveringly to the inimitable perfection of the 'Bright and Morning Star', Christ Jesus.I believe that the story of each one of those who have died or were injured in Nigeria, Brazil and Zambia will instruct us as we serve and honor them and their families. The fact that so many were nurse midwives is significant and that so many nations were represented in sacrifice and suffering. "Lord, honor their lives by multiplying the fruit of their labor," we pray.

Jesus has an answer for everything, answers that come one day at a time. Our apparently small lives and our daily choices have eternal implications. Our souls find rest in spite of all that would make us fearful."