Wedding Day

Joe, the photographer, was hard a work on Tuesday night.

A friend of ours asked if he would be willing to help shoot a wedding here in town. We have actually spent a little bit of time with the bride and groom, so thought it would be a neat experience. 

(a bridesmaid showing off her mahindi while holding the rings)

It was such a unique and beautiful ceremony, combining two different cultures. The bride is an American and the groom is Indian. The bride comes from a believing background, while the groom is a first generation Hindu background believer. Some of the music would have sounded familiar to the Western ear, while most was in Hindi. Some of the ceremony was in English, while the vows were in Hindi. The bride wore traditional Indian attire with a beautiful white veil.  It was just really neat to see the merging of two cultures we love so dearly.

We enjoyed the ceremony and the reception that followed with lots of yummy Indian food.

Another memory made in this colorful place.

(The newly introduced Bride and Groom)

One Year Later...

I think I speak for all the family when I say that the goodbyes on April 6, 2009 will never be forgotten. The emotions of excitement for what was to come, the sadness of the goodbyes, and the fear of the unknowns were overwhelming. I'll never forget that feeling of sitting on the plane in Little Rock, thinking that I wouldn't see home or family for another 22 months! (As you know, my tears and fears at that moment were relieved by a surprise trip home for the holidays.) The only way we made it through those initial hard days were because of the grace of our Father! He was so close and so real with His promises of a hope and a future. We even did it with smiles on our faces!

(not to bad after 24+ hours of traveling)

Now a year later, I can say that our God is faithful, even during the past year of constant transition and change, He is faithful!
*He has been faithful to provide direction.
*He has been faithful to provide friends, old and new.
*He has been faithful to provide good health.
*He has been faithful to provide a love that continues to grow for my husband, even when we are together 24/7. I just can't get tired of my man, amazing isn't it?!
*He has been faithful to his promises of Habakkuk 1:5
 "The Lord replied, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it."

Happy 1 year to all our friends who have embarked on this adventure with us!

Oh and I have to add this funny example of the cultural difference we experience daily.
I asked our friends that dyed Easter eggs with us what they did with them later. They were quick to tell me that they had made the best egg curry!

What did we make out of our Easter eggs? Egg salad sandwiches. hehehe. It made me laugh. We love Indian food, but I just haven't mastered it in the kitchen yet. So you gotta love the ole faithful of American egg salad sandwiches.

He has Risen!

Matthew 28:6 "He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen."

We had a wonderful weekend with our friends.

On Saturday, 15 of us colored Easter eggs. I was expecting around 5 so I didn't quite have as many eggs as I was hoping to have available, but they were more than excited when I told them they could color 2 eggs. They were thinking they'd only get to have one. Joe and I were the only ones who had ever done this fun little project before, so our friends asked for a demonstration.

Joe showed them how to color the eggs, and then, with confidence, they all began coloring the eggs. They were done in a matter of seconds and they all looked very similar to Joe's egg. Maybe next time we should show them a variety before they begin coloring.

Oh well, they still loved it. I had made some sugar cookies too so we had fun decorating them. (Minus the fact that I forgot the ingredients for the icing. oops!)

Sunday was a beautiful, warm day! The perfect day for us to gather with other believers and celebrate our Savior's resurrection. We spent time singing, praying, and reflecting on the true meaning of Easter. It brought a huge smile to my face when our friends began sharing how the cross made all the difference for them. The cross and the resurrection has set our Father apart from any other.

(Easter 2009)

We also had a fun time reflecting on last years Easter. Our first holiday to celebrate in this country.  This Wednesday we will be celebrating our 1 year in country!

(2010)

I think we've started an Easter tradition of shaving Joe's hair off. 

Happy Easter!

Every Day Normality

We see Elephants all the time in our city. I love them. They are usually always painted so beauitfully. And usually they are walking down the 8 lanes of traffic....no big deal. I still can't get over these massive creatures though!
This video was taken yesterday, right after leaving our house on the way to the mall. He's getting a bath!

We are Back!

After a month of internet cafe hopping and borrowing friends internet, I am so please to say that we are back. We have internet in our home again. woohoo!!

I'm a little overwhelmed about how to catch this blog up with everything that has gone on in the last month. We'll get there eventually, but for today I will blog about today.

Tonight we've been able to briefly see some of our family, including both our sweet nephews! Oh how we have missed seeing their faces. Owen read us books and wouldn't let his mommy and daddy come in the room while we played together. He only got a little disappointed when he couldn't take us outside. What fun memories we are making with them, even from the other side of the world.

so much more to say and show, but I'll save it for another post.
soon.

North

After months of planning, weeks of looking, and a couple days of hauling stuff... we are officially in our new flat.

(Joe carrying me over the threshold)

I mentioned in my last post that our good friend, Scott, was coming to visit. We had an incredible 2 weeks with him being here. It was a very refreshing, encouraging, and fun 2 weeks despite the fact that a lot of stuff went "wrong"

We've had no water. 

The official move day and first night to be in our new home. We spent the afternoon loading the car with the last of our stuff and heading North. Then we spent an hour walking our 55 stairs to get things in place. We then discovered that we didn't have any water! 

No water= No showers

We ended up getting 3+ hours of sleep before heading to the train station. We were so thankful for the hotel showers!!

We've had no electricity!

We enjoyed our first day in Jaipur, but came back to no electricity in our hotel room. Everyone else had electricity but us. Go figure. We called the front desk multiple times and finally got bumped to a better room after 4 hours of no success with the power. We didn't complain too much :)

After our trip we came home to no electricity at the new house. We had guessed we wouldn't have water, but the power was definitely a surprise. We ended up getting a few lights to work, but no fans. Did I mention it's already in the 100's here?!

We've got no internet!

We have the water worked out (sort of). We've got the electricity working now. But we are still without internet. It's been hard to not be able to hear from all our family and friends in the states. We are praying that our lease comes soon so we can get internet in our home and catch up with everyone. Plus we have a sweet baby niece, Olivia, who will be making her grand entrance this next month!

We also found out this week that our new partners are having a few complications in their pregnancy. Due to the complications they are not getting to come back to India until after the baby is born. So the earliest they will be here is mid July.  Please pray for this sweet family. For a safe delivery and quick journey home!

So even though the timing of Scott's trip was filled with transitions and obstacles (did I mention I shattered his birthday dessert on the kitchen counter?), we couldn't be more thankful for the timing of it. Joe and I both think that God knew we needed him here during this time. He distracted us from all the stuff that would normally be a little discouraging.

Praising Him in All Things!

Quick Update

Sadly, I regret to say that I have no pictures to post today, not because I don't have so incredible pictures to post, I just don't have time.

I wanted to post some quick updates:
-we are without internet at our temporary house. Although I feel out of touch, I've been enjoying reading a good friend's book!
-we have almost completed our lease agreement, and hope to move to our new flat by the end of next week. (hopeful)
-we got to spend the Indian holiday, Holi, with one of my best friends here. I promise a full post of pics will come.
-our good friend, Scott, is going to be landing in 4 hours! He's going to be spending a couple weeks with us.
-we are already making some really great contacts and new friends up by our new house.
-my NeeNaw (mom's mom) had a heart attack a couple days ago. They found only 30% blockage meaning she wont have to have surgery, just more medication. We are so thankful for the Father's protection. Please continue to pray for wisdom for the Doctor's and a quick recovery. (This is when it's really hard to be on the other side of the planet!)