It's All In The Little Stuff.

If you know me at all, you know that I get over-the-top excited about the smallest things. I can't help it. It's not a show or act. It's just me being me.

In fact, one of our friends decided that my name is really an adverb meaning "dramatically enthusiastic".

An example of me being very 'me-like' is when we walk up to the gate of our house after a long HOT day and there sits a US postal package with our names on it!!! I spring up the 55 stairs to our flat, find the scissors, and destroy the box to get to the goods.

Our surprise package this week from a good friend.

It's always super fun to see what people send. Some of the stuff we ask for specifically because we can't find it here, but other stuff is just so creative and fun.

These are two things that I never ate in the states, but have craved over here:

Little Debbie- Star Crunch.

Chef Boyardee Ravioli 

Thank you so much for all the love (and gummy bears) you send to us. We know that sending us a box is no little thing.  It takes a huge investment of time, energy, and money to get them together. But somehow they always seem to come when we need them the most - not when our gummy bear supplies are running low, but when we are most missing home. The Father uses every one of these blessings to remind us of our army of supporters back home! We love you.

Birthday Puja

Today we celebrated one of the three birthdays this team will have while in India.
We used the occasion to invite some of their new friends over and hang out.
The party began at 1 pm with the first guest arriving at 1:45 pm, very typical for this culture.

All the guys really enjoyed playing Carrom, a popular Indian game

We really had a great time snacking on yummy treats, playing games, and even took some time out for a birthday puja. Our puja consisted of bhajans (songs) to the Father, the birthday boy's story, and then cracked a coconut to remember the Son's sacrifice.

When we announced that we were going to take a little time for a puja, I saw about 5 guys head for the door. Of course I immediately thought that they were trying to leave before the "serious" part of the party started, but much to my surprise they were just removing their shoes to be reverent. Our national friends loved it. They put us to shame on the manjiras and the bhajans.

Then after the puja the birthday boy was decorated with a little cake (and required by our new friends to wear it the rest of the time)

Who knows what the next two birthdays of the team will include?!

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

Okay so I don't wear my sunglasses at night, but I do however wear them while cutting onions.
Wow! For some reason the onions have been much stronger lately. Maybe it's the heat?
After soaking them in chilled water (we heard that helps), we decided the sunglasses worked better. haha

We (our team) had a unique opportunity to cook a mexican dinner for a group of volunteers. This volunteer group was getting ready to get on the plane and needed some yummy food before they left. It was an interesting experience.... At times I thought they were going to have to go home with empty stomachs because we weren't going to get it done. But 5 hours later (everything takes longer in SA) they feasted on fajitas, chicken enchiladas, and spanish rice!

At one point we had 7 of us in here working!

Did I mention just how small this world really is? A couple from this volunteer group went to Ouachita and know a ton of our family and friends.

Random I know, but since we rarely get to be in the same photo...

Dream

Have you ever had those dreams that seem so real that you can't remember if it really happened or not?
Or how about the dream that you don't remember until sometime later in the day after something prompts you to remember?

I have had both recently.

First I dreamt about what it was going to be like to move back to America. (Maybe this is due in part to the fact that we got our "end of term" date. Or maybe because we are facing the infamous "What's next?") It was pretty funny though because, in my dream, I was on a girls trip with Mom and Beth. They had to spend the whole weekend teaching me how to drive a car again. Teach me how walk past people on the right side instead of the left, basically how to live life in America again.
I woke up, not only surprised that I was in my bed in India and not in America, but also thinking to myself that this is probably very true to what it's going to be like next year.

Second dream: I was standing in my Mommy's living room talking to her while she was ironing. Everything she was ironing was immediately pressed as soon as she sat the iron on it. My jaw dropped in amazement. Then, right as I was asking her the secret to it, she reaches and grabs the vegetable oil and fills the iron. Vegetable oil?! My mom convinced me that she had always used it and I must have just forgot it in the last couple years.

Funny thing about the second dream was that I didn't remember it until later that afternoon when I went to iron our table cloth that looked like an accordion. As I grabbed the water to fill the iron, I immediately started second guessing myself, thinking that I needed vegetable oil instead.

Telephone Pictionary

After a super hot, but product day of work our team ate dinner and debriefed. It's so exciting all things the Father is already doing through this group.

One thing the team is amazed with: how easy it is to transition a conversation into meaningful spiritual one. (This is one of our favorite things about living here.) No one thinks it's strange when you want to talk about the One you follow and love!

We ended the night with a game of telephone pictionary. (or as we've always called it Snowball)
Guess this just proves my point on how easy spiritual conversations can come around. (hehe)

Original word : cotton

Next persons drawing of cotton

To the next person it becomes: Color in the lines

drawing of: Color in the lines

somehow mistaken for: Tickle me Pink

drawing of: Tickle me Pink

End result: Mary, Mother of J. 

Other snowballs:
-Let's make a move. became: Mario and Luigi Super Mario Bros.
-Love is bling. became: Stick a fork in him, he's done!

You'll have to play the game. It's hilarious!

Team and Taters

Wednesday nights are officially declared team nights at the Futt flat.

This week we had a short lesson on cleaning/preparing the fruits and veggies before putting everyone to work preparing dinner.

Our menu for the evening consisted of:

appetizers- momo's 

main course- Super Potatoes*

Our entertainment consisted of:

embarrassing stories (apparently, I have more than most!)

Game- 2 truths and a lie

*Super Potatoes: An amazing dinner choice introduced to us by some great friends.

Ingredients:

baked potatoes (or microwaved)

grated cheese

tomatoes (I prefer pico, since I love cilantro!)

green peppers, diced

red peppers, diced

yellow peppers, diced

sour cream

raisins (optional)

Kurkure chips (spicy Cheeto like chip)

1. smash potato open with a fork.

2. add cheese first, so it kind of melts

3. add tons of other toppings (in large amounts)

4. top with Kurkure chips.

5. enjoy!!

Busy Bees

It all started last Wednesday, June 9th, with a 4+ hour meeting to work on the plans for our team coming for the summer. It was great, but by the end of it I was staring at the clock thinking I had a lot to do in the next 24 hours before they got here.

About midnight, that same day, we receive a phone call. Our team was here. What?! A whole 24 hours early. We still aren't positive how this had been miscommunicated. Thankfully our 6 students were forgiving and the hotel was available for an extra night.

Since last Thursday, June 10th, we've been helping them get over jet lag and adjust to this fun and new (to them) culture.
We've also had a graduation party to attend, a mini salon day, and a temporary move to the South side of the city.

So far things are going great! They are really fun, easy, and go with the flow type people. (Did I mention they brought me some Rotel and Velveeta?!)

We are anticipating all the great things the Father is going to do in and through them these next 7 weeks.

Naam leo re, naam leo re

Yeshu ka mangalkaari naam leo re

(Take the Name, Sing the Name. Take the blessed Name of J)

Field Trip

I guess I should begin by saying that I love school supplies. 


It might sound a little crazy but I've loved it since I was a kid. I can still remember my favorite Lisa Frank trapper keeper and kelly green backpack with all the colorful zippers from the 4th grade!


One of my favorite dates my husband has ever taken me on is a date to Staples, the office supply store. We shopped around, filled the buggy full, and then just left it by the door as we exited the store. I know, I know, that's probably really mean for the guy who has to stock the shelfs, but I didn't think about that and I didn't need it. I just liked it! It was a great date :) (You have to get a little creative in Russellville)


Anyway, speaking of Staples, Yesterday we took a little field trip to a mall outside our city. We had to see if the rumors were true. Look what we found:

A Legit "pukka" Staples!

We were able to get some office supplies, cute pens, and a fun new notebook for super cheap. Now my calendar will be very colorful!


We also found a Wal-Mart/Target wanna-be. It was overwhelming with all the choices. We found the best whole wheat bread so far. We found the right sized trash bags. We even found this:

I can't even begin to express how this man (Mr. Tall) is going to make my life so much easier! Best $5 I've spent in India so far!


Overall, I would say our little adventure was not only fun. It was a success!

As I Type

This is too good not to blog.
As I'm typing my handy man hubby is wearing the hat of an electrician.

Hold on a sec. I've gotta go pull on some cord.

Okay... I'm back now.

Anyway... this marks two times in two weeks that our ac in our bedroom has blown sparks. The first time Joe thought it was because a wire wasn't grounded. (I'm not even really sure what that means, but I'll go with it)

This time however, "we're" not sure of the culprit for these sparks.

Joe's comments and commentary are priceless though!
As something falls, I hear "Oops! Gonna need that." "Oh....and that one too!"
or
"This can't be good" under his breath
or
"You might not want to put that camera away yet because you're gonna want a picture of this when it's done."

but my favorite of all came from the sight of this...

"I'm no electrician, but I did go to kindergarten. Who knows, maybe the colors aren't supposed to line up."

Thankfully we are wide awake because of the coke we drank with dinner. There is a "cool" breeze flowing into our bedroom as the problem is getting fixed. And we're both still in good spirits about it.

Might just have ourselves an ac working by day break.

oh dear... just heard "I'm about to get a little crazy with this"

scratch the whole ac by dawn sentence.

Is it Really

Is it really June already? Wow! Where did the month of May go? Better yet, where did the cooler weather go?

May was a really busy month for us. (Which those of you who know me well know that I love to be busy!)
We've...
-done a couple trainings
-met some really great people and said goodbye to our really great mentors who have gone to the states
-been preparing for our summer team that's coming June 10
-found my new favorite coffee shop here
Busy little bees.

So excited about everything the month of June holds. Looking at the calendar, this month is going to be even busier than last month. And only 5 weeks and 6 days till the family gets here!!!

Happy June!

Isaiah 26:8 "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

J is for...

Last night we had some good friends come over for dinner. They were excited about trying a "southern style" American dish, Chicken Pot Pie. The food was yummy, but the conversations were even better.

We spent the evening laughing about different ways words can be pronounced.

Example: We say "Owl" like the woot woot owl.

They pronounce it "All"

Example #2: We say "village"

They pronounce it "willage"

Example #3: We say "Joe"

They pronounce it "Zo"

We also laughed about stuff like this...

When we need to leave someones house we say "Well, we gotta go. See ya later"

They say "We should make a move"

There are so many more. I just can't seem to remember them right now.

By the end of our term, we may sound like our friends from the Northeast. Or even scarier, they might sound like us! Imagining them with a southern accent makes me laugh... We'll see.

All in all, we had a super fun night laughing and enjoying each others company.

So thankful for friends and laughter!