Holding your breath, closing your eyes, hearing the sound above water disappear as you fall. We feel like we have begun a dive into the deep end and can't wait to see just how far this thing goes! The last few months have brought many changes, challenges, and opportunities to our adventure. The waters in which we swim have risen above our heads at times, but we are thankful that it is causing us to hold our breath in anticipation of what He will do next!
Our city has hit record high temps this year and it has been smokin hot!
We ended up moving our mattresses into the boys room to avoid running two ACs and because theirs cools a lot better than ours.
We retreated to the mountains to get a break from the heat and to try and take our language to the next level at the school there. Above is a picture of dinner and a movie in this small community?
One trip to the bazaar put us right in the middle of a major festival in which devotees of a hindu saint fed the poor in his honor.
In this part of town some men are very persistent about wanting to push your children around in their stroller. I finally found a way to stop them by saying yes and then attempting to take a seat myself! After yelling no and pulling the stroller away from me, they would laugh and leave us alone.
In this place we got to ride a man powered ferris wheel! Yes, I'm not joking!! The guy runs in the middle like a hamster and then does crazy tricks while we go round and round. It was awesome and weird at the same time?
All the action left the boys needing to find the bathroom!
We also stumbled onto the social event for visitors from the city.
Whole families would stand underneath the freezing waterfall and pose for pictures.
Not realizing that we could swim, we left our swimsuits at home. Not to worry though because (as you can see from the sign) used costumes were readily available.
The place we stayed was good, but we had a few visitors that seemed to want anything we didn't and some things we did.
The boys got to play outside (which had become a rare thing in the city heat) and made some new friends.
This little boy (who C called the boy in the window) lived next door and would jump down from his window to play cricket with us every time he got the chance.
It was a good breather for all and a successful time in language (though we still feel like there are miles to go before we sleep).
After returning from the hills we got to introduce a group of Texas BCM directors to what we do. They each work on college campuses with a large percentage of students from India. They wanted to be equipped in how best to reach out to their South Asian friends. We spent a lot of time interacting with students on campuses in our city and then we took them to the city known here as holy. It was a chaotic trip that included watching a mass of people give worship to a river, coming within a few feet of a funeral pyre, watching the sunrise from a rickety boat, visiting temples 2 and 3 times as old as our country, and having dinner with a swami!
The picture above was taken as we entered an ancient temple believed to house the deity known for destruction. Days later the whole group confessed to having felt increased darkness in this place.
In the last update we told you that a move was coming, welcome to our new apartment!
We are now located smack dab in the middle of one of the busiest markets in town. It is going to be a little crazy, but there will never be a shortage of people at our doorstep!
Once again, moving was a cultural experience and the workers ended up passing our things up and over the balcony instead of using the stairs.
After moving it was time to leave the country (as required for our visa). A chunk of the time was given to the annual meeting for all of the people with our company living in this part of the world. We took the opportunity to add a few days vacation and take advantage of a much tamer environment.
This is T's favorite thing. It's called mango sticky rice and without my intervention she will eat it for every meal!
We caught up on our swimming lessons and C was really catching on by the end.
B was still a little young, but he sure did look the part.
We had a lot of help from the Futts. They have been such a blessing to us in everything above and more ways than we can name!
We got the biggest tub of popcorn ever created at the movies and only got it half eaten before we were all 4 ready to pop ourselves.
C got to drive his own go-cart and (other than letting go of the wheel to give thumbs up) he did really well.
The boys also got to be involved in a VBS that a fellowship from South Carolina came over to lead. They had a blast and C even got to sing on stage with his group on the last day.
We also got to spend time with all the 2 year folks who we had been working with. Our new position won't have us focusing as much on this sort of mentoring, but we can't keep from involving ourselves in their lives and work. It is truly an incredible group doing some absolutely amazing things.
So, now we are back home with no travel plans on the calendar. We are excited about our new location, new partners, and new job description. There are some deep places behind us and before us, but we are learning to hold our breath and trust that He will be here to do what only He can.
Please remember us and especially the old and new friends we will be spending time with. Join us in asking that there would be an unexplainable and uncontrollable movement in our city! We love and thank you all!!
