Friends!

I spend my quiet time today asking the Lord to send me a friend. I asked for someone who I could invite over to my house for a meal or chai... Well, the Lord is not slow in keeping His promises! I went to my language class and there was an Indian girl who was learning how to help people learn Hindi. She is really sweet and we hit it off immediately. She was just observing, but it was conversation class, so I included her in our conversation and we had so many laughs! By the end of the hour and a half class, we had a plan to eat lunch at my house and then go to the market for some shopping. I was so excited that the Lord answered my pr so quickly! She is not from this city, or the city where we are going, so I was a bit sad to realize that she was only in town for three days. But I felt like the Lord was renewing my confidence in Him... He sent me a friend that I made in just a few minutes... and He can send me many more, if I just keep my eyes open and take advantage of the opportunities to meet people. Ryan also had made a new friend a few days ago and he wanted Ryan to help him with his guitar playing. So he came over last night for a little lesson and so I made some cookies and chai for us after the lesson. It was amazing to see once again, "Before they call, I will answer: While they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 Before I even asked him, He sent a friend for me to our city, and he gave Ryan a guy to play guitar and practice Hindi with... and all in one day, I had Indian friends over for chai, and a meal! Amazing!

My Spot

Here I sit... in my spot... coffee in hand, in awe of the beautiful creation surrounding me. There is this amazing tree out my window, and as I sit here, all the worries of the world fade as I realize the splendor of our King! The foothills of the Himalayas lay right out side the window and I can only imagine how majestic is our God as I marvel at his wondrous creation. Out my window is also lots of people... its India, right? Always lots of people. And people are the height of God's creation. I love the hustle and bustle of crowds of people, but today I can just sit and observe in the peacefulness of my spot by the window.
I did not realize how much this temporary house could feel like a home. When we moved in, it seemed really, "Indian" without very many fancy or new things or the conveniences of home. The color of our bedroom is a pale mint green, and there are water stains on all the ceilings. Our freezer is about the size of a dorm fridge and the washing machine is semi automatic. (quite fascinating... I had never seen one like this! Ryan is great about doing laundry, so I don't complain about the slight inconvenience of moving the clothes back and forth from the soapy water to the spinner since he does it!).  But its home. And in my spot, everything looks better. I have found that if I have a place where I daily go to spend time with the Lord, it easily becomes a priority the first thing in my day. And how much better is life when we make Him our priority!?!
Being at home is so good.

I love the music in South Asia... I love the chords and the interesting and very non-western sounding melodies. But one of the things that i love most is seeing people really worship the one true God in a place where that is not normal... We went to a ch'ch yesterday... a whole group of young people were up on the stage singing as if their life depended on it! and a keyboard, drum set, and guitar. It was not the traditional dholak and harmonium like I love, but you could tell for these young believers, this is their kind of music and it was great to see them worship. This link is not the people we heard, but it is a group from the city where we are moving and it is a lively version. The title is Yeshu Tere Naam, and it means, "Jesus, your name is above all names." Hope you enjoy listening to it too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2zNHrQR5ws&feature=related

FALL!

I LOVE FALL! I was thinking this time of the year was going to be one of the hardest times of the year to be on the other side of the world, but God knows what little things we need to feel at home. You can't beat the cool breeze and the smell of nutmeg and fresh cooked PUMPKIN! I asked my language helper if they had ever heard of a big, orange pumpkin. She said there is pumpkin, but its green or yellow not orange. I first found a little one and it worked, but I heard from others that they found a big one and I knew I needed to go to a bigger vegetable place so I could find a bigger pumpkin. They are called Kad-du. They are actually not as big or round as most pumpkins I have cut. It was quite a bit flatter, but i went ahead and tried it anyway. I started by cutting a hole in the top and pulled out all the strings and seeds. Then I started cutting the edge. It took forever to get it all cut! I felt like it kept growing and growing. I cut it into cubes and cooked it. I did not have a pot big enough, so i had to boil it in three pots! (and we only have two burners so it really did take a while!) Once it was cooked I mashed it with a potato masher I just found here. I would rather use a blender, but I have not purchased one with 220 volts yet. I am waiting until we get to Mumbai to get most of my utensils and appliances. It ended up making about 8 cups of pumpkin! I am prepared for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.