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!)

He Provides.

Psalm 116:12-13 "How can I repay the Lord for all His acts of kindness to me? I will celebrate my deliverance, and call on the name of the Lord."

As you may have already heard, We have a new flat that we will be moving into very soon. Our Father has provided us with a place to call home for the next 10 months. It's more than we ever thought or imagined. It's newly constructed, spacious, and very colorful.

I have to share this neat story with you.

One of my goals for the month was to have a new place to live. I didn't see how in the world we were going to be able to do that, but I was hopeful.
We had seen this one house that I really liked but it was a top floor flat. Needless to say, these are a little less than desirable when it's 120 degrees outside. So we kept looking. I eventually became completely overwhelmed by the whole decision making process. How were we ever going to find the perfect place? How were we going to know when we had found "the one"? I began praying that the Father would make it very clear.
So we went back up to the North on Tuesday to look at a couple new options. After sitting in the property dealers office (closet) drinking chai for a while, we discover that the new options are already taken. The property dealer shared with us that he had leased out 6 flats the day before. So we started discussing our other options. There was one! One option. The colorful house. So we came home to figure out what our new game plan was going to be. And while I was washing dishes, I was asking the Father to make His plans known. To make it super obvious. To.... and then it was like the Father just said patiently, "Stop and think for just a minute what you are asking for. What are the options you have right now? Do you think I'm trying to make it clear? Hello.... You only have one option, how much clearer can I make it!"
So after sharing my heart-to-heart with my hubby, getting it cleared with our supervisors, making a t-chart, sleeping on it, and looking at two more "options" , we are 100% sure that this place is for us, for this season.
Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement to us during this time of trusting and waiting. Here's a video of our new flat. Hope you enjoy.



Now:
We have someone moving into our current flat on Monday. So wee are thankful for friends who are letting us stay at their place till our new flat is ready. It's almost finished, they are just going to put in ceiling fans and finish out the bathrooms. Hopefully we will be in and somewhat settled before our friend, Scott, gets here next Friday. Okay, maybe not so much on the "settled" part. We'll see, I'm hopeful!

Beads. A Symbol of Hope.

 After reading my SIL's blog and another blog I follow, I decided that I should post too! 
I am a very passionate person. I get very excited, animated, and spirited (all Webster definitions of passionate). There are a lot of ministries that I truly have a passion towards. I just had to narrow it down to one for this blog post.

 Her name is Josephine, and she has an incredible testimony. She is a believer who is trusting our Father to provide for her family through her beads. After her husband's death, Josephine was faced with the challenge of providing for her three children, one of which has a physical handicap. 
 The Father answered her prayers for direction. A woman from the states taught her how to roll beads out of ornate paper. This allows her to work and provide for her family from home. 

 Joe had the opportunity to meet her and photograph her while at work.
 What amazes me is while looking at these photos, you don't see the face of a woman who is anxious. You don't see the face of a woman who is fearful. You don't even see the face of a woman who bears the pressure of the title widow, even though I'm sure she's still grieving her loss. 
 You look into her eyes and see the joy of the Father. You see the assurance that her husband is with the Father. You see a peace that passes all understanding. You see Hope!

 We had the opportunity to take some of Josephine's beads back to the states when we were home from Christmas. We were able to share her story with the Bridge Class. Between the class and others in our fellowship, we were able to bring back more than enough money for an entire month for Josephine's family! Thank you for your love, prayers, and blessings towards this family.
 I have added the brief story of the Cross family. This is the story we handed out with every set of beads. If you are interested in helping or would like more information about this ministry please let me know. You can leave a comment or send me an feeblefeet@gmail.com

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in our confident hope.... When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality."

Wesley Cross Jewelry

The product in your hand was an initiative to bring a smile and financial security to the family of the late Wesley Cross.  Mr. Cross was an Indian man from Delhi who worked for years for World Vision.  In the last years of his life, he was diagnosed with diabetes and subsequently became blind and was therefore forced to quit his job.  After that, his kidneys failed requiring Wesley to undergo weekly dialysis.  As the dialysis became an increasingly greater burden on the already financially strapped family and friends, Wesley decided to discontinue the treatment.  He died in May 2009.  Wesley is survived by his wife, Josephine, as well as two daughters and one son.  The oldest Cross daughter had begun nursing school, but was forced to quit due to finances.  In addition, the younger daughter was forced to quit school (12^th grade).  The son has been bedridden since a childhood illness and requires constant in home attention.  Josephine desires to work but cannot leave her home because of her bedridden son.  After being trained by a friend, Josephine has undertaken the initiative to make “paper bead” necklaces and bracelets.  The Cross family has a basic financial need of about $200 per month.  All profits from Wesley Cross Jewelry donations will serve the needs of this family.

House Hunt Continues.

Just look at this Property Dealer's sign. Joe pointed out three things about this sign that don't fit in Delhi.

1. Houses don't look anything like that here.

2. You never see yards like that in the city. (if you even see a yard at all!)

3. The sky's of the city are never quite that clear thanks to the smog.

In fact, here is a picture of the first house we were shown this last week.

 Looks just like the picture on the rental sign doesn't it?! 

Update on our House Hunt: We have spent the better part of the week on the hunt. We have a great national guy, G, who is helping us with all the property dealers. G is such a blessing. He's from the area and so he knows all the ins and outs that we don't have a clue about. 

In the last couple of days, we've seen some really interesting places. By interesting I mean...

-one with a giant hole overlooking the downstairs neighbor's bedroom

-one with no western toilets (I draw the line here!)

-one with no doors or cabinets

-one on the very top floor of the complex with no air conditioner

-one with the living room rented out to someone else

You get the idea.

BUT we have found one that might work. It's super cute and colorful. Plus it's brand new! We'd be the first to live in it :) The landlord is an extremely nice gentleman that speaks English really well. (A huge blessing!) The reason I say might is because he was originally planning to sell it, but he is considering just renting it. He's supposed to let us know his decision tomorrow. 

We are asking the Father to give us wisdom on this house. 

This is a picture of our auto driver stopping for gas after a long day of house hunting.

This is Joe talking with G about another house option while we are at the gas station waiting.

(please notice that sign behind him)

Valentine's Day 2010

(my hubby made signs for me)

I know I'm a couple days late posting about Valentine's Day. We've been extremely overwhelmed with trying to find a new place to live. Like everything else about this country, the process to find a place takes a long time. (The only problem with this is we don't have a long time. We have till March 1 to be out of our house.)
Please pray that our Father will provide a new place for us to "shift" to soon. Pray for peace and assurance during this time of transition.

Phil. 4:6 "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Now back to the Valentine's Day post...

We got to enjoy a dinner at a local Italian restaurant we'd been wanting to try out. We shared the bruschetta and ravioli. (Not Italian Gardens, but still super yummy!) 

(me with the bruschetta)

Then we went and celebrated with some Cocoberry, frozen yogurt. We are always looking for reasons to celebrate with this amazing treat, and I think we succeed. The guys all know us and our orders!

This time I did branch out though, banana yogurt with strawberries, granola, and white chocolate chips. 

( Valentine's Day at Cocoberry)

We eyeballed these mugs months ago, but needed a reason for the splurge. We think they will be good keepsakes to remember this adventure for years to come. 

Remember our Valentine's Day in India. 

Remember when I started drinking coffee. (Not just those $5 drinks from Starbuck's)

Remember every morning, sipping on coffee while spending time with the Father through His Word and prayer.

Remember looking over and seeing the leader of our house on the other couch doing the same.

Remember the overwhelming love of the Father.

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."