India | Cultural - Personal Post

So, I had the pleasure of going to India this past March. The reason for the trip was to not only explore India and the beauty there, but to meet people and learn about their culture and who they were, pray with them, and to see where God was working and where we could join Him. It was really cool to be able to do this!

One of the girls that I spent much time with had polio. She spoke no English, but Hindi, and we were able to sit with her and pray for God to heal her. She was actually a beggar, and spent most of her day begging. Most people wouldn't even give her any attention. But we decided, if Jesus were here today, He would be sitting right next to her and would love her. I know that sounds radical - and it was! Jesus was radical, and as a follower of Him, if I am actually following His teaching, I do these sort of things. That's what He did - prayed for the sick and healed them. He also did many other things, but, I won't go into all of that right now! :)

We met so many beautiful people and I loved the time I spent there. I wish I could go back to meet with them again, just to chat and see how they are doing.

These are a small few of the pictures I took on the trip. I hope you enjoy them! It was a lot of fun for me to visit another culture. I tried not to take all the 'tourist-y' type pictures, but, I slipped in a few. :) I tried to look at India from a different pair of eyes. Hopefully you see that in the following pictures.

We're ready to go! :) A few of my homies on the plane.

My view outside the plane. I can't remember if this was in Phoenix or in England. Probably England.

Traffic is so lovely in India. :) You have all sorts of transportation - autorickshaws, rickshaws, cars, bikes, the metro (train), etc. 

So this is the girl that we met that had polio. She has the most beautiful smile. I am so glad we were able to meet her. I really liked her very much. :)

A few men who decided that the steps at the Masjid were comfy to sleep on. :)

So the picture to the left, are different people washing for prayers. 

These men were praying. I didn't realize it until after I took the picture and got home, but all of these men are in a different position praying. I thought it was very cool.

This masjid was beautiful!

And this is BY FAR my favorite picture of the trip. This man was praying. 

Some cute street kids in the masjid! They were a lot of fun. :) They like gum (which I ran out of because I kept giving them what I had! ha! Note to self: bring LOTS of gum/candy to give out!) 

The picture on the left is of Old Delhi at night. It's crazy the amount of people there! To the right is Old Delhi in the daytime. The wires everywhere astound me. I just hope and pray they never have an electrical fire or something.

I caught the glimpse of the rickshaw driver. :)

Some friends in the doorway of some beautiful ruins we saw - and me to the right. I actually managed to have a few pictures of myself from this trip! You know, that's always the photographer's problem. Since I am always taking pictures I never have any of myself there at the event. Now there is proof I was actually there. :)

Okay - who can tell me what movie this picture above looks like? There is a particular scene - we began acting it out. :) (Johanna was really into it!) If you know comment below!! :)

So I really love the above picture, but I have to be honest. I didn't take it! My talented friend Johanna did. :)

Okay, so, I wasn't planning on showing any food pictures, but I had to slip this one in at the end. These are called "Chili Fries". And YUMMY they are! :) We discovered them whenever we were eating at this restaurant and people next to us ordered them. We asked them what it was and we decided to order the same thing. They do taste as spicy as they look, but they are SOOOOOO good! I was pregnant when I was in India and I think I ate some form of potato (mostly french fries) every night for dinner. I think I was obsessed. :)

That was my trip to India. Would love to hear your comments below about your experiences in other cultures! Thanks for reading!

 

What do you think they're carrying? | Archive Photos

The best piece of advice I received before going overseas on our trip to South Asia this past March through June was that I was going to see things that were not normal, or at least, not normal to me. And when I see those things, act like it is normal. So many times, I had to hold my tongue or try not to gaze when I saw things that I had never seen before.

While this photo isn't something outrageous, it isn't normally something you see as you are driving down the street. In fact, when I saw this I was amazed. Here's what I saw:

My questions:

-What are they carrying?

-How is that donkey carrying all of that and them?!

-How did they get all of...whatever that is...on the cart and how is it staying?

Anyways, I saw things like this all the time and it was astounding. An entirely new way of life - the beauty of seeing this different perspective is that it shows me that not everything we do here in the US is the right answer, but really just another way of living life. There are all types of different ways to live.

So my question to you - what do you think they're carrying?? Or if you're from South Asia, do you know what they're carrying? Share the info! Would love to hear!

Whoops! Let me try this again... | Personal

This phrase, "Whoops! Let me try this again..." was constantly said a few days ago when I was trying to figure out how to make good Chai Tea. 

Why???

We were having a guest from South Asia coming to our home, and I wanted to give him a good cup of Chai. As most people know, South Asians, in particular those from Pakistan/India, LOVE chai tea. On our trip to South Asia, one of the families we met drank 10 cups of tea A DAY! Sick! Well, not to them, but that is a lot of tea, milk and sugar!!!

Anyways, so Josh and I went to the store and I strategically (as much as I knew to be) picked out two boxes of tea and some milk (I already had sugar at home).

Batch #1: So my first batch (using two tea bags) turned out okay...lol Josh was my taste tester (poor guy!). The first batch lacked the taste of tea.

Batch #2: So I tried a similar but different method, using two tea bags again. And AGAIN, it didn't taste like tea. Mostly milk and sugar. I guess if people like the weak (very weak) taste of tea, then this is perfect for you.

Batch #3: By this time, I realized that I needed to follow the directions on the box (GO FIGURE! Sometimes I amaze myself). :) This time I used 10 tea bags, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and boiled it all together. It wasn't too shabby. Josh said it tasted pretty good. I felt pretty good about that.

Batch #4: This was the real batch that I needed to care about, because, our South Asian friend was at our house, expecting some decent tea. Whew. Talk about pressure! So, I prepare everything like I did for Batch #3, and then went to make sure everyone wanted tea. I walked in the room, and said, "I'm assuming everyone wants tea, right?" And our South Asian friend, with a surprised face says, "Yes, I would love tea. Can I have mine with no sugar?" 

Oh Crap. I thought in my mind. All I know is to make this tea with sugar. "Sure!" I replied enthusiastically, trying not to let on that his comment threw a wrench in my perfect plan.

After thinking for like 5 seconds, I decided to do his cup of tea the more "traditional" way (boil water, put the tea bag in the cup, pour the water over the tea bag, add milk, done). Everyone else got what I originally planned and all was well. At least I think. My husband affirmed me (thank you hun hun) and so did another one of our guests, but as for our guest from South Asia - I'll never know. lol

So, after my 4 batches of tea, I used 26 bags of tea. That is a lot of tea.

Now, if you come over to my home, you can have decent tea - hopefully this newfound skill will improve :) - and this time, I won't go through 26 bags of tea!

Have a great day!