29 June 2007

Thailand

Pictures coming soon!

We arrived last Sunday morning. Maria met her friend at the airport and stayed with her for two days. We checked into our hotel and tried to get some sleep. Jet lag is crazy!

Check out Chiang Mai, Thailand on the web some time. It’s a great place to be as a tourist or for work. There’s lots to see and do…besides renting a motorbike for about $30 a day and riding beyond the north side of town in the mountains! Especially, if you first stop at Dunk'in-Donuts on the way up the mountain!

Our family LOVES Thai food. In 2005 when we were in Kittanning, PA…a small rural community about an hour north east of Pittsburgh, at their county fair there was a Thai food stall! It was GREAT! Asia has come to us in the US.

Oh, about our trip over here: I think the Lord was telling me, “It’s not about us:”

  • In the monsoon rains we traveled to Mumbai over a 4 hour trip and the bus we were in with 8 others leaked…we got wet on the inside!
  • In Mumbai, it took us the longest we’ve ever had to go from check-in to get to the departure gate.
  • The transfer from our arrival to another flight was less than smooth
  • While leaving Pune, the electricity went out in our apartment complex so Maria and Joseph helped take our luggage down 5 stories to the waiting bus.

I’m reminded that the reason why we are on the flipside has nothing to do with personal gain or pleasure. Sure, we have jobs to do and goals to reach but it ultimately is about the Lord and His agenda – Knowing Him and making Him known.

I humbly bow in his presence.

PS
The rash is almost gone!

20 June 2007

Makin' Ravioli



Just before we left for Thailand, Merrilea had some friends over and they with our kids made all sorts of stuff - from cookies to ravioli!

It was great tasting all the foods. Even Nafisa could it them as they made them from rice flower. We're keeping Nafisa away from wheat due to food allergies.

With a Little Bit O' Rain

June 23 after a full night of rain...and more rain to come for 3 months


The middle of May:
The beginning of June:


These pics were taken just 2 weeks apart from our bedroom patio.
Gotta love the horses!

19 June 2007

Rainy Season has Begun

The picture is from 2 years ago. Joseph and Danielle accompanied me on a trip to Aurangabad. It's 5 hours north of Pune. That's not the Taj Mahal but it's the same idea. We had a blast.

Rainy season has finally started. It doesn’t rain every day but it pours for a few hours most days. Our kids are pushing their schoolwork hard as we’re due to leave for Thailand next Saturday for our “visa-run.”

The internet has been working great lately so Maria has been able to instant chat with her cousin, Jamie, in Colorado. It’s been great. (Hi Jamie!). Nafisa’s been able to talk online with Merrilea’s folks, too. I’m not sure anyone can understand but 15 syllables of what Nafisa actually says…but it sure is fun!

We’re off to Thailand due to visa restrictions here in India. We’ll be back on 10 July…ready to receive new team members – Mark and Aimee!

More from Thailand

12 June 2007

Picnic on the Hill





In one of my rare moments, we did something spontaneous this week....Merrilea ordered some cheap (but GOOD) Kati Rolls (spicy sautéed chicken rolled up in a tortilla-like bread), iced tea and chips. We all got in the car and drove up a nearby mountain...

Well, at least we got to the base of the mountain but they were repaving the road so…off we went hunting for another spot. Merrilea saw a sign for a farm in the same area so we went for about a mile on a windy dirt road to the base of a big hill. We finally go to the top at sunset – thus the pictures.

It was real windy up there and Nafisa couldn’t stop pointing at things giggling with her hand over her mouth and saying “WOW!” We think we ought to do this more often!

11 June 2007

Think!




Pics are from this week's youth group called YUCK - Youth Under Christ the King.

Quotes from Think! Why Critical Decisions Can’t be Made in the Blink of an Eye by Michael R. LeGault

A culture of unaccountability is a culture without incentive, and a culture without incentive is the death of critical and creative thinking. (71)

…the huge, unprecedented boom in various learning disabilities is in keeping with America’s transformation from a self reliant culture to a culture of dependency . . . this trend to a shift in philosophical values, away from the common acceptance of the view that one’s shortcomings are a result of flawed character or lack of initiative and toward the idea of a self in which one’s flaws are a product of hardwired maladies and disorders. (95)

There is a burgeoning demand for reasons to believe we are guiltless. In essence, we have created a huge market for both disabilities and therapy. (96)

The rise of ‘stress,’ or rather the symptoms of stress, in contemporary society is a sign not only that more people are in difficult situations, but tellingly, that they are unable to respond to or think their way out of these situations. (160)

Anger, frustration, stress, and anxiety are themselves a form of information. They are the emotional precedent for critical and creative thinking. One of the main problems in contemporary society is that many people mistake the emotion for the thought. Difficulties, sensation, emotion, information – they’re the beginning of the heroic journey of the life of the mind, not its end.” (182)

The biggest puzzle is not solving and fixing problems per se, it is fixing the thinking that causes problems … But the complexity and severity of degree of these afflictions suggest an intellectual malaise consisting of . . . not merely …. a breakdown in thinking, but often a disconnect between thinking and action; a disjunction between plan and execution, between intent and result. (309-310)

06 June 2007

A day in June…


Maria is spending the night with her friend, Meisha, one of her best friends here in India. Danielle (who currently is grounded) is learning Ps 91 and Hebrews 12:1-2 to become ‘ungrounded.’ Nafisa…well she’s just her happy self. She scared me today as she opened the front door when a local guy rang the door bell. No one else appeared to have heard the doorbell, but there was Nafisa… I think it’s about time we installed the security door which would need a bit more of a brain to open (I hope!).

Merrilea received a call today from Waheyda, her Muslim librarian friend so she’s out with her. I’ve cooked steak and potato for supper and am about ready to give Nafisa a bath.

I’ve been gone for 2 weeks. In that time, the girl’s bathroom sink faucet broke and as the rains have begun, we found water coming in under the door from our bedroom patio. I’m glad that a mason and plumber were only a few blocks away. We hope to get that fixed tomorrow. AND, after getting cut off with DELL computers in the US four times yesterday, I finally got hooked up with their tech guys who promised to call in the next few days to come to our home and fix my DVD drive! The funny part of it was, two of the times I called, I got someone with an Indian accent. Turns out they were in Delhi and in Bangalore…here in India! Too bad I couldn’t have paid local instead of international calling rates !

Missing our family and friends in the US.

03 June 2007

Goodbye to the team from SC!


Our family enjoyed our time together last Wednesday with team. They traveled 4 hours by train. Merrilea and the kids even made it off the train pretty quick…quite a feat as there are so many people using that train station in Thane…a suburb of Mumbai.

It was great reconnecting with our family and then off they went while Joseph remained with me and the team for another few days. We had a great time. The rainy season (monsoons) ought to have started in a week but the rains came early, though it rained only the night before the team left – not interfering with their work. I’m grateful for the boldness the team had in their project. Bill and Ross, the team from SC, ought to be back with their families by now. Ross is a new grandfather! Congrats!

The rains in our home city of Pune (pronounced POO-nah) have started as well.…boy are we glad our organization has furnished a car for us a year ago…no more walking in the rain!

More as the week progresses,

Bill for the fam

28 May 2007

South Carolina Contact

Our translator (the one with the big smile) with men the team talked with for a while this week.

In a very new area with a crowd of kids.

Ok, it ain't my best view. Hey Mom!

Overwhelmed with kids after spending time conversing with some young men for a while.

Just a normal sight walking down the street.

On a local train (squished!)

Above are pictures from a team from South Carolina who are traveling with me this week. The team (Bill and Ross) are doing great. As I type, they are out in the community. It's amazing the wonderful people they are meeting and conversations they are getting into. They've shared tea and sodas with businessmen and have eaten in a local home.

Merrilea and the kids will join us on Teusday for a day and then head back.
The team will be here through Friday night. They are loving it as am I.

20 May 2007

Nafisa

Nafisa in Maria's blanket Oma made. Oma is the Dutch word for grandmother. Since Bill's father is from the Netherlands, we call Bill's parents Opa (grandfather) and Oma.


Watching SesameStreet: Learning About Letters.
Nafisa goes around the house now, singing part of the alphabet...not in order yet but getting there!


The Video player we have is ancient and probably won't work too much longer. Video players are out and DVD players are in. BUT, since we have children's videos...Nafisa is getting to enjoy learning from them!

13 May 2007

Happy Mother's Day!

To our Mom's - we wish you both a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

From all of us in Pune to you in MA and PA (pun intended!)

Some of the events from this Mother's Day at our house:

10 May 2007

One May Morning

Zahaida, Danielle, Merrilea, Nafisa, Joseph, Maria and Bill

After devo's this AM, we all went out to take this shot. Actually, this is one of about 20 we took. I'll let Maria or Joseph describe the hour we spent trying to get a good shot. BUT, here it finally is.

Greetings from Pune, India!
Bill for the fam

02 May 2007

Maria's Korner

Maria and Dr. Shama Singh (Hindi teacher) cooking.
They are making one of the tastiest Indian snacks we enjoy called Bhel

The sauce is made from oil, chopped ginger, garlic, curry leaves and cumin. This is browned slightly and then water of soaked tamarind and salt is added. Then they add the dry ingredients: chopped boiled potatoes, chopped onions and tomatoes, chopped green mango and sugar along with chopped green cilantro and some dry snack foods like puffed rice, etc.

We make sure it's served chilled...and it hits the spot during our current temperatures over 104 degrees!

01 May 2007

Happy Birthday Nafisa!





Nafisa turns 2 today.
We sure are glad the Lord has brought her to our family!

27 April 2007

Like Cold Water to a Weary Soul

Proverbs 25:25
Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

It’s 89.2 degrees in our bedroom at 9pm this evening. It got up over 106 today! In this hot weather a cold coffee or cold drink of water from the fridge hits the spot. Similarly, hearing good news from our family back in the good ‘ol US of A also is refreshing.

We’ve heard some great and wonderful news from our close friend and Merrilea’s brother, Jonathan:

One month to go before he marries Sarah Ko!


We wish we could be there for the USA wedding!
We’re very much looking forward to attending the Korean wedding later this year.

This is probably the single most difficult thing about being on the flip side – not being around for family. We’ve missed birthdays and anniversaries and just plain hanging out with our relatives, watching the kids play and enjoying each other’s company.

Love you Jonathan and Sarah!

Merrilea's Birthday


At midnight on the 27th we had a knock on our door . . . several of our friends came by with cake to wish Merrilea a happy birthday! They stayed and played cards for 2 hours! (I went to bed in the meantime!)

While I took Merrilea out for cake & coffee at Coffee Jar and shopping, our kids decorated with flower petals! That's 2 Kilos of rose petals! They even made a trail of them from the front door to the bedroom!

While Danielle and Maria went to ballet class, Joseph and I learned how to crimp our own Ethernet cables! After 4 unsuccessful crimps we've got 6 that work! Now Joseph is making crepes for supper! The girls are back from ballet but they appear exhausted . . . could it have something to do with going to bed at 2am this morning?

We'll try for a family photo this week. They fam is too tired right now!
Blessings on this special day!

24 April 2007

Family Time Out

Last week we enjoyed a meal out with our kids and another family…we weren’t sure what to do for supper and decided to give our friends a call at the last minute…we met at a local vegetarian restaurant called Shiv Sagar.

Nafisa enjoyed the attention the waiters were giving her, too. After some mini-taco shells filled with macaroni, a large dosa – real thin rice-pancake with coconut and potato relishes, Pau-baji - buns with a spicy bean sauce with onions, we enjoyed loud conversation, being the only ones in the A/C area for an hour! We walked home, about 3 blocks, passing by our favorite coffee shop, Coffee Jar, to say ‘hello’ to the owners. We fed our family for $13.95. Pretty good for all 6 of us!

21 April 2007

Meanderings from Up in the Air

Every time I take off on another flight, I wonder why I didn’t take a bus or train?! For some reason the turbulence on the first and last 15 minutes of the flights are quite bad and very unnerving. I’m not sure why they are so unnerving…I’ve been doing this for more than a few years now. On a recent trip with a friend, he even commented that the flight’s turbulence was the worst he’s experienced this year. For me, it was just a normal flight. My job changes based on the opportunities which arise. So for the last year I’ve been taking monthly trips to Bangalore. The topography we fly over is an arid plateau surrounded by low mountains and forests with temperatures fluctuating from over 104 during the day to 80 at night. I understand about the sun heating the air and it causing irregular masses of air to rise. Also, Jet Streams of air at higher altitudes fluctuate due to air pressure changes causing more turbulence.

But the experience of turbulence in a Boeing 737 is a bit more traumatic than that sounds. Maybe it’s due to me traveling alone so I’m alone in my thoughts? I think I’ll book a train for August. Here we go again…descending into Bangalore!

This doesn’t help either: http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/b737.htm

May 1980; Indian Airlines 737-200; near Rampur Hat, India: The aircraft experienced severe en route turbulence. Two of the 132 passengers were killed.


19 April 2007

Joseph’s Cricket

A few times a month, Joseph has gotten together with some friends, boys from an orphanage along with some adults who were involved in Danielle's old school to and play cricket…THE sport of India. He sure enjoys it!

Danielle enjoys just watching Joseph's cricket game from a good spot (she didn't sit there too long!) :-)

On Thursday, Merrilea and I went to Thane, just north of Mumbai overnight to lay ground work for some visitors we have coming from South Carolina in May. Boy was it hot and humid! It was not as hot as Pune but because Thane is closer to the coast, it sure was muggy. Not jeans weather! We were looking for one particular area of the city and we ended up walking in a big circle for 2 hours! It was a laugh when we realized we actually were back where we had started! That does not happen very often to us…but it sure was funny!

13 April 2007

Krazy Kitab!

Kitab (Kee-taab) in Urdu means 'book.' We spent hours and hours this last week logging over 2,000 books in a computer spread sheet. When Danielle's school shut down this last week we received all the books back which we had loaned them. We still are not done but we are sure well on our way!
We've got other boxes of books that we will use for this school year as well as ones we've used in the recent past which we need to log and shelve. Joseph will be happy as those boxes line his bedroom walls!

It remains pretty hot here...now most days over 100 degrees. It should remain this hot till mid June when the rainy season starts.
Either way, some of us are having fun!