Another Guest Blogger- My Mommy!

(This blog is written by my mom, Debbie, after their visit over Christmas!)


Our visit was such a blessing.

We knew it was a hard place to live. We had heard stories from our kids and parents of other kids who had lived there. But it was important to us that we see it. We needed to experience it to understand our kids' lives there. And it was very overwhelming at first. We became more at ease with the chaos as time went by, but I don't think I could ever live there.

We wanted to see what they dealt with daily, and did, but I was BLESSED to see how equipped they are to live there. God knew their future and developed in them personality traits that would make them useful to him in this place.

Kathy has a strong will and boldness. She has always been able to stand up and speak her mind. Sometimes, as a teenager, that didn't seem like a good thing!  But I saw her strongly stand up to people who think they can take advantage of her because she is a foreigner. God made her the way he needed her to be. He gave her an ability to learn language well. He gave her a heart for children to teach and to love. He gave her a passion to help women. I can SEE God using her as he designed.

Kyle has such an easy going personality.  I see that at work as he calmly drives through the chaotic streets. I promise you that this was God's design, most of us could not do that!  When we first met Kyle, it was jokingly said that he never met a stranger. His ability to just start chats with people benefits him so much.  I can SEE God using him as he designed.

So all of who they are now and how they are used was begun long ago as God equipped them. I am comforted by realizing this and seeing them serve. I am grateful for God's plan.

I am a BLESSED mom!

Debbie

Kelli's Visit- A Special Guest Blogger!

This is a post, written by my sister, Kelli, after she and my parents visited us in our city for Christmas 2014! (But first, an amendment to a previous post- the beautiful, flowering plant against the hideous concrete wall was ripped out shortly after my post was written... and as the saying goes, "This is India!")

It had been a very long year and 3 months since I had seen them and felt their hugs.

When I saw the faces of Kathy and Kyle, I felt like things were finally right.

When Corinth’s sweet smile greeted me with the words “I love you Auntie Kel”, my heart melted.

And when I got to hold my baby nephew Noah for the very first time, I was overwhelmed with joy.

8,400 miles away… and I was at home. Because my family is my home.

 India is a completely different world. So many people crowded everywhere. Bicycles, motor bikes, autos, rickshaws. With no lanes, or any rules on the road at all for that matter, car horns are constantly sounding. Animals roam freely. Cows, birds, pigs, water buffalo, dogs, chipmunks, goats, donkeys. Oh and those monkeys!

 The rhythmic up and down inflections of the Hindi language call out from market workers and shop owners. Bangles and head scarfs adorn the women whose small frames conceal the strength that they possess. Every so often, a bright smile overcomes the face of a hardworking man. Often when he sees the blonde pigtails of my sweet niece, the heaviness of his day is lifted just a little.

 Walking inside someone’s home, shoes are left outside by the door, bringing an immediate sense of comfort and familiarity with the other sock-footed strangers. Sitting on the floor, personal bubbles are completely burst, but it does not phase anyone. They are all at home. Because their church family is their home.

 Sweet voices fill the room. Worshipping the Lord. I do not know the language, but I can see the meaning in their passionate faces. I do not recognize the words, but the familiar melodies of hymns bring me into communion with my fellow believers. When heads are bowed and eyes are closed, we are speaking to the same Heavenly Father. No language is foreign to His ears. We are all His creation. We are all His children.

 With hot chai in our bellies, and sweet songs in our hearts, it is time to go. The common greeting and salutation of Namaste is as normal as a handshake, but amongst fellow believers a different phrase is exchanged. Jai masih ki. There is victory in the Messiah. That victory is what brings hope in such a broken world.

 To have so few possessions, to sleep six or seven in a room, to be surrounded by poverty; these are some of the richest people. Christ is our victory. He is greater than any earthly riches.

 Since being home, I have definitely enjoyed having heat, and having quiet orderly streets, and being able to get back into my routine. But one thing that carried over from my trip was the realization that having so many possessions is not necessary. Excess does not equal success; it equals supply that we can give to others. I have cleaned out my closet and gathered three large bags to donate to those who have a need. It is not much, but is a start to a simpler lifestyle.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 I have so much respect for my sister Kathy and my brother-in-law Kyle. Day after day, they confront hardships with faith, and they are teaching Corinth and Noah how to be strong followers of the Lord.

 Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Jai Masih Ki!

The Ugly Wall

So, when you walk in through the gate to our apartment complex, this is what you see. An ugly, dilapidated, colorless, lifeless wall. Every time I come home, this is what I see. Not exactly "homey." But then, a few months ago, a little tiny plant started to grow. Now look at it. It's not big, it doesn't overtake the wall, and if you don't think about looking for/at it, you will still only see the wall. But look. It's beautiful. One day when I walked in, I finally noticed the flowering plant. A tiny little plant with tiny little flowers. Sometimes my sweet Corinth goes and picks one of those flowers for me because that's one way she shows me that she loves me. Now, I choose to walk in and watch my little plant grow. Every day it becomes more beautiful! Maybe it didn't really change, but in my eyes it gets more beautiful every time I see it. I think about how this relates to my life. I so easily see the negative in situations. The funny thing is that people support me in it! "Oh, Kathy! I can't imagine how you do what you do! I could NEVER do that!" That's pretty much a free ticket for whining! Sometimes I whine, and I simultaneously annoy myself. Yeah, I know that's weird. ANYWAY... I'm trying to look at my life as I look at this picture. I can very easily see the yuck in my life. But I really WANT to focus on the beauties. It sounds easy, but it's not. You can pray for me in this- pray that in all circumstances I give thanks (like 1 Thessalonians says), and that I would be able to be happy about all of the beauty in my life, because there is more than enough! Thank God that His blessings are new every morning!

Something Lighthearted!

So, Corinth has a book called You Choose. On each page is a theme, and within the theme a variety of things to choose from. One page has tons of foods, another has types of transportation, another has occupations, another has clothing items, etc. It's a really fun book to pick from and talk about! Anyway, the other day, she and I were looking through it and I decided to have her pick out which pictures looked like her family members. Here is what she chose! :-)

Corinth, of course!

 Mommy (Made me aware that I need to fix my hair more often...)

 Daddy. I 100% agreed.

Noah. It took forever to pick this one!

 Gran. So glamorous!

Grandpa. Hilarious! 

Mimi and Sir. So normal looking! 

 Auntie Kel. So perfect. Or should I say purrfect...

Aunt Kelli and Uncle Chad. I totally see it... 

Uncle Erik. YES. A thousand times, yes... 

5 + 5 = 10

I have about a million things I could write about, but I decided just to give you a list of 10 interesting things about our city!


1. It is known as the most holy city of Hinduism. Because of this, travelers from all over India and all over the world come here to "find themselves."
2. It is located right on the River Ganges (Ganga), which is known as the most holy river. Ironically, it is also known as the dirtiest river, possibly in the world. I have not touched a drop of it, and do not ever desire to!
3. Animals run free here, more than any other city or country I have ever seen. We have: monkeys, cows, donkeys, pigs, horses, water buffalo, mice, goats, chickens, peacocks, snakes, etc. And those are just the wild, free-roaming animals! We also on occasion (depending on the holiday) have elephants and camels.
4. The power is out for most of the day, almost every day. I'd say that, on average, we have power 5-8 hours in a 24 hour period. We are fortunate enough to have an inverter, which stores power while the electricity is on, so when it is off we can run a few fans and lights. However, many people in our city do not have inverters. Because of this, many people sleep outside at night during the hot and rainy seasons (April-September).
5. Public transportation is the norm for most people. In our city, you can ride a cycle rickshaw, a private auto rickshaw, or a shared auto rickshaw. We can get from one end of our city to the other end of our city (around an hour drive) for about a dollar.
6. Foreigners (western, white people) come to our city for a spiritual experience, but most end up spending much of their time in coffee/chai shops hanging out with other foreigners!
7. Because our city is thought to be so holy (though, I assure you, it is not), people here celebrate pretty much every holiday and festival possible. I used to ask people, "is this a major holiday?" but I've stopped doing that because the answer is always, "yes!"
8. Our city is also the desired destination of the dead. Yes, if you die, it is the greatest city from which to be thrown into the sacred river. Before we came here, we were told that our city is "the place that people go to die."
9. It is a city of 1.4 million people, but until recently many of the roads were unpaved, and to my knowledge there are not stop lights in the city. And that term "city" is being used quite loosely. You would definitely not think "city" if you were here!
10. It is said that it is the longest continuously inhabited city in the world. And I think some of the buildings are originals!


Thanks for visiting!

Fighting for Joy

Recently, we have been going through a sermon series called Fighting for Joy by John Piper. He's great! Anyway, here is a list of 15 things we can do to help us fight to find joy in God. I sat down with Kyle and again with my accountability partner and went through each of these points, brainstorming about ways I can practically apply each of these points in my own life. It has really helped me lately, and I encourage you to apply these to your life- what does it look like for you to successfully act upon each of these points throughout your days and weeks?


1. Meditate on God's word day and night.
2. Focus on the centrality of God, especially Christ.
3. Don't spare the areas of the Bible with God's wrath.
4. Learn to preach to yourself the gospel of Christ's love.
5. Pray earnestly and continuously.
6. Wholeheartedly fight every known sin in your life.
7. Share the gospel.
8. Spend time with God-saturated people.
9. Read biographies of great Christian saints.
10. Read great books about God (theology).
11. Get the rest, exercise, and proper diet that God intended for you.
12. Make a proper use of revelation in nature.
13. Do the hard and loving thing for the sake of others.
14. Get a global vision for the cause of Christ.
15. Be patient in the night of God's seeming absence.


I really do encourage you to take half an hour to think about what you can do in each of these areas of your life to grow in your joy in your relationship with God.

From the Mouths of Babes

I was thinking yesterday of all of the cute things that Corinth says. And then all of the things Corinth says that really sometimes get under my skin because she says them 83 times in a row. And then I realized that I cherish hearing those things, even the things that, at the time, are somewhat... annoying. (There, I said it!) I know one day, I will WANT to hear them again and I won't get to. So, for now, I'm letting you in on some of the words I hear ALL the time that I love and cherish. They're not really out of the ordinary for toddlers, I just think they're sweet. These are from Corinth, my sweet, sassy, 2 year old!


"Good mowning!" I hear this every day, and I just think it's so cute that she's so perky when she wakes up.


"I wake up!" She says this after naps. I love it because she's so innocently excited about what she gets to do next.


"Mys" I want mys water. That mys toy. Cut mys food please, Mommy. Whatever it is, it's mys. I know that's totally normal, but I still think it's cute!  


"Taward." (tired) I not taward! You taward, Mommy? (Yes, sweet girl, I am!)


"Moke." (milk) Mommy, I have some moke please? Mommy, is that moke coffee? One time, I asked her if she wanted some cold coffee, and she said no. The next day, I asked her if she wanted some of my drink, but didn't tell her it was cold coffee. She tried it, spit it out, and said very seriously, "Mommy, I only like moke and wawer. MOKE AND WAWER."


"Play with me!" I love the imaginations of small children! Even though she wears me out, I love that she wants to play with me all day. I hope she still does years from now!


"Mommy look! Mommy look!" (Always said twice.) I love that EVERYTHING is exciting to her, no matter how big or small, special or normal in our eyes. The world is more fun with her around to point great things out to me.


"Bacack." (backpack) I wear my bacack to school, Mommy? Mommy, you have bacack? Noah sitting in bacack? It's just so cute!


"It's okay, Kathy." It's no secret that I struggle with living here because so many things are so uncomfortable to me. Kyle often has to tell me that's it's okay. Well, Corinth also picked it up. Yesterday, something on our porch fell over and made a loud sound. Corinth and I both looked over, and then she turned back to me and said, "It's okay, Kathy." While I do not like when she calls me by my first name, it is sweet that she cares for my feelings and my fears. God allows my little girl to calm me down many times and in many ways.


"Cause dem ears so big!" We have LOTS of monkeys where we live. I don't mean in the country we live in, nor in the city we live in. I mean on our street, on our porch bars, where we LIVE. One time, a monkey came into my neighbor's apartment while we were having chai, and another time, a monkey almost got onto the elevator with me. Anyway, we have, from the beginning, told Corinth that monkeys are bad because they really are. They are very aggressive and very dangerous. We have had monkeys come at us several times and every time (especially with 2 small children) it is terrifying. For that reason, we have told her that monkeys are bad and to stay away from them. But, when we sit on our porch (bars around it so monkeys can't get inside our house), we watch the monkeys and the babies are just so cute! They have tiny little bodies with really big ears. So, Corinth and I decided that we like monkeys, but only the little ones. One day, she said, "Mommy, I like the baby monkeys!" I asked why, to which she responded, "cause dem ears so big!" Now, we often talk about how babies monkeys are cute because dem ears so big.


"I love you." She says it a lot, and it never, ever gets old. A lot of times I don't feel like a "mom." (Insert vision of high-wasted, bleached jeans and a perm, kinda like my generation's moms during our childhood years. :-) ) But, when she says so sweetly, "I love you," it melts my heart like nothing else can. If you are a mom, you totally get the depth of this statement. If you aren't, I hope you get to experience this one day. It is awesome!


Cherish your kids. Cherish the kids who's lives you impact. Love them all!