A November without Thanksgiving is sad. The good news is that we were able to have a great Thanksgiving meal! Our entire team worked together to make quite the feast. All of the dishes were a little different than normal but still amazing!
A November without Black Friday is even more sad than one without Thanksgiving. India does not have Black Friday shopping. This really is a bummer. I love shopping the day after Thanksgiving. You see, finding great deals is one of my passions in life. The day after Thanksgiving is the best opportunity for a woman of my talents. My skills were wasted this year.
One good thing is that the women who taught me all that I know about shopping, my mom, annie and kel are shopping today in Louisiana. They have been calling to find out our needs. For example, "24 Season 4." Mom just called to inform me that they found it and purchased it for us. Yea!! Get ready for more addiction!!
Another good thing is that I found that Amazon.com has some black friday sales. I was able to order Brittan's Christmas present "Punk'd Season 1" for a great price!! We both love that show. It is hilarious!
Well Happy Black Friday to you all!! Do some major shopping for me!
11/28/2008
11/25/2008
Fashion Show!!
There is a house being built right next door to our house here in Hyderabad. Here it is common for the people who are building a home to live in the unfinished house until it is finished so we have several families who live right by us. The kids of those families have been such a joy to all of us since we arrived. They do not speak English, do not go to school and only eat one meal a day but they are always smiling and so full of life! There are three boys Shivaji (11) Rajesh (9) and Nani (5) and two girls Ranuka (8) and Vasenta (6).
Stephen's mom sent us a package with several little boys shirts, tons of socks, underwear and a pair of shoes. I wish all of you could have been here to see their excitement. We had them come onto our porch and just started seeing what fit who. These were the first pair of socks that each of them have ever had. It reminded me of Christmas morning as their faces lit up. They tried on every single item at one time!
After distributing the clothes we had them pose for several pictures. Right after the picture is taken they all run to me to look at it. We are the first people who have ever taken their pictures. We love being a part of their lives.
11/20/2008
Twenty-four
Have any of you ever watched the show 24? Stephen and I fell in love with 24 a couple of years ago. The show is incredible. We began watching Season 1 with Bryan and Ashley Smith when we were all living in Norman. We were immediately addicted. There is something about this show that makes you abandon all other evening activities.
One night the ending of a disc was such a cliff-hanger that we had to get the next one immediately. We drove to the Blockbuster down the street only to find that they did not have the disc. There are two other locations in Norman which also did not have the disc. You can imagine our panic. After mapquesting all of the locations within a one hour drive we found a blockbuster in the ghetto of Oklahoma City that had the disc!! They held it for us and we were able to get it!! We finished season one that night.
Stephen and I watched seasons one through five in the US. Danica sent our team an amazing care package that included Season Three of 24. We started watching it for the second time and it is still sooo good. Our team is hooked.
It is such a fun show to get addicted to on DVD but I do not think that I could watch it in real time. It is just too intense. Do you have any shows that are like that for you?
One night the ending of a disc was such a cliff-hanger that we had to get the next one immediately. We drove to the Blockbuster down the street only to find that they did not have the disc. There are two other locations in Norman which also did not have the disc. You can imagine our panic. After mapquesting all of the locations within a one hour drive we found a blockbuster in the ghetto of Oklahoma City that had the disc!! They held it for us and we were able to get it!! We finished season one that night.
Stephen and I watched seasons one through five in the US. Danica sent our team an amazing care package that included Season Three of 24. We started watching it for the second time and it is still sooo good. Our team is hooked.
It is such a fun show to get addicted to on DVD but I do not think that I could watch it in real time. It is just too intense. Do you have any shows that are like that for you?
11/18/2008
Some Things Never Change...
There are some things that you get used to as you adjust to life in a foreign country. I have gotten used to the noise, the auto filled roads, the constant honking and girls being over an hour late to meet me for lunch.
I have gotten used to the fact that it is still warm here, that I am constantly around only 8 other Americans, and that I get stared at everywhere I go.
I have gotten used to having someone cook my dinner, that the dollar is worth 48 rupees, and hearing Enrique Iglesias blaring at every coffee shop.
And until today I thought I had gotten used to the water buffalo...
Becca and I were walking through our neighborhood to catch a ride in an auto-rickshaw with one of our favorite kids, Shivaji. As we were getting close to the dump (naturally there is a dump on the way out of our neighborhood) we noticed that there was a small herd of water buffalo eating some lunch. We have passed these animals many times on this road but today they were really scary. They all looked at us as we approached. We freaked out and hid behind a cement truck. Shivaji, a 9 year old, ran up and scared them away.
I guess there are some things that you just don't ever get used to.
11/15/2008
The Lord's Supper
Tonight was a very good night. We had invited all of the Indian followers of Jesus over to celebrate the Lord's Supper together. For most of them it was the first time to partake in this command of Christ. We set up our take of the upper room. We sat the tops of our kitchen tables on the ground and surrounded them with pillows. We light the entire room by candle and served the Indian food family style. As we were eating the meal Blake told the story of Jesus' last night.
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to prepare the Passover supper?" "As you go into the city," he told them, "you will see a certain man. Tell him, `The Teacher says, My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.' " So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover supper there.
When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, "The truth is, one of you will betray me." Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask him, "I'm not the one, am I, Lord?" He replied, "One of you who is eating with me now will betray me. For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!"Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, "Teacher, I'm not the one, am I?" And Jesus told him, "You have said it yourself."
As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it and eat it, for this is my body." And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words--I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
It was such an amazing experience to take communion and remember Christ's life and his death with these students for the first time. To remember the physical and emotional sacrifices He made to endure death on the cross. We could tell that it was incredibly impactful for each of them and for each of us. Sometimes we can take communion for granted but tonight I realized what a special time it really can be. A time to remember what I daily base my total faith in.
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to prepare the Passover supper?" "As you go into the city," he told them, "you will see a certain man. Tell him, `The Teacher says, My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.' " So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover supper there.
When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, "The truth is, one of you will betray me." Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask him, "I'm not the one, am I, Lord?" He replied, "One of you who is eating with me now will betray me. For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!"Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, "Teacher, I'm not the one, am I?" And Jesus told him, "You have said it yourself."
As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it and eat it, for this is my body." And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words--I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
It was such an amazing experience to take communion and remember Christ's life and his death with these students for the first time. To remember the physical and emotional sacrifices He made to endure death on the cross. We could tell that it was incredibly impactful for each of them and for each of us. Sometimes we can take communion for granted but tonight I realized what a special time it really can be. A time to remember what I daily base my total faith in.
11/13/2008
Chocolate Chip Cookies...
My entire life my mom made chocolate chip cookies but somehow I did not enter into adulthood remembering the recipe. After getting married I decided to venture on a quest to find the best cookie recipe in the world.
Because I am a lazy cook this journey only involved a couple of hours scanning all the recipes on allrecipes.com.
*Side note: this recipe site is amazing. It has recipes for everything, tons of reviews and great suggestions. If you have not tried it you should!! Only use 4 or 5 star recipes!
I have tried a bunch. Yesterday I made a batch that I liked. I still am not satisfied. Here is the recipe that I followed...
Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely
What do you think about this recipe? Do you have a good one that I should try?
11/12/2008
Our Day of Rest...
Like I said in my last post, Wednesday is our day off. Our Sabbath. I am still in the process of sorting our exactly what it means to take a "day of rest." I know that it is Biblical to take a day of rest but I am still not sure what that looks like lived out.
Sometimes I can fill my Sabbath doing absolutely nothing. I can sleep in really late and still miss my quiet time. I can watch hours of television and eat whatever I want. I can just lounge around the entire day. Now I am not trying to say that any of these activities are bad all the time (queso and a movie are too dear to my heart) , but for some reason I always end the day feeling even more exhausted than before.
Today was the exact opposite type of Sabbath. I woke up at a decent hour. I made
Stephen and I some oatmeal with bananas and brown sugar (we must get creative here so
we have found 20 ways to eat oatmeal.) I spent some time with the Lord and then started writing responses to emails. I dealt with some business about running our house. Then I ran to grocery shop for our teams dinner. No, we do not have a Wal-Mart, so this trip was made up of three different stops and a whole lot of Indian traffic. This trip took so long that Stephen was starving and we had to make a stop to fill his belly. After delivering the groceries to the house I left again to go pick up my fixed computer! Once again, a very long trip. I arrived home at 6:15. Once again, exhausted.
Last spring a guy named Kevin Little gave a devotional about using your Sabbath as the Lord intended. He challenged us all to not live it our selfishly but by doing things that honor the Lord that refresh us.
Instead of missing my quiet time on my day off ~ spending extra time reading stories about the miracles of Christ in the New Testament.
Instead of eating like a complete pig ~ inviting someone that I love to come over for tea or diet coke.
Instead of rushing around town on errands ~ spend a few minutes to write all I need to do on my calendar for other days in the week.
Instead of sleeping the day away ~ waking up at a decent hour to go for a walk and praise God for His creation.
After a very busy day off, I was reminded of why he gave that talk. Today was not my best day of rest.
Sometimes I can fill my Sabbath doing absolutely nothing. I can sleep in really late and still miss my quiet time. I can watch hours of television and eat whatever I want. I can just lounge around the entire day. Now I am not trying to say that any of these activities are bad all the time (queso and a movie are too dear to my heart) , but for some reason I always end the day feeling even more exhausted than before.
Today was the exact opposite type of Sabbath. I woke up at a decent hour. I made
Stephen and I some oatmeal with bananas and brown sugar (we must get creative here so
we have found 20 ways to eat oatmeal.) I spent some time with the Lord and then started writing responses to emails. I dealt with some business about running our house. Then I ran to grocery shop for our teams dinner. No, we do not have a Wal-Mart, so this trip was made up of three different stops and a whole lot of Indian traffic. This trip took so long that Stephen was starving and we had to make a stop to fill his belly. After delivering the groceries to the house I left again to go pick up my fixed computer! Once again, a very long trip. I arrived home at 6:15. Once again, exhausted.
Last spring a guy named Kevin Little gave a devotional about using your Sabbath as the Lord intended. He challenged us all to not live it our selfishly but by doing things that honor the Lord that refresh us.
Instead of missing my quiet time on my day off ~ spending extra time reading stories about the miracles of Christ in the New Testament.
Instead of eating like a complete pig ~ inviting someone that I love to come over for tea or diet coke.
Instead of rushing around town on errands ~ spend a few minutes to write all I need to do on my calendar for other days in the week.
Instead of sleeping the day away ~ waking up at a decent hour to go for a walk and praise God for His creation.
After a very busy day off, I was reminded of why he gave that talk. Today was not my best day of rest.
11/08/2008
A New President...
Wednesday is our day off here in India. When you focus on relationships with college students you have to work your schedule around theirs. Here they have college for half a day on Saturday and are usually free for the rest of the afternoon which makes it the best day to hang out with students. So, we simply switched our Saturday with our Wednesday. This system is taking some getting used to. It still feels like Friday night should we fun night so we have to fight ourselves to go to bed. On the other hand, Tuesday definitely feels like a work night and we have to fight to stay up late!!
This Wednesday Stephen and I woke up, ran into turn on CNN to watch the poll updates. We assumed that there would still be several hours of states lighting up red or blue as their numbers came in, but we were wrong. One minute after turning it on, McCain walked out to make his speech in Arizona congratulating Obama. We were so surprised. Not that Obama won, but that the election was already over.
I have to admit that although I have read up on their policies and listened to their debates I am definitely not the most informed voter. If I would have been in the states I probably would have cast my vote for McCain but I will say that I can not help but be drawn to Obama's charismatic way of speaking and really do think that I would like him if we met face to face. I will not say that I agree with all of his politics but I do support him fully as our president. Ok, that is all I have to say about that. I hate to talk politics but I could not leave it off of my blog, because missing an election and coming home to a new president is a big event in this India experience.
Indians were huge Obama supporters all during the presidential race. Right after he got elected, word began getting out that his policies are less friendly to outsourcing. Some are beginning to question their excitement.
The day after the results came out Brittan and I spent a good (embarrassing) amount of time reading everyone on facebooks status updates concerning the election. There were some good fights and some pretty outrageous statements. We decided to put a couple of our favorites on our pages...
Cheesiest: Let's forget about the red and blue and get back to the red, white and blue.
Funniest: Well, I guess that means no more Tina Fey as Palin...that's a bummer.
This Wednesday Stephen and I woke up, ran into turn on CNN to watch the poll updates. We assumed that there would still be several hours of states lighting up red or blue as their numbers came in, but we were wrong. One minute after turning it on, McCain walked out to make his speech in Arizona congratulating Obama. We were so surprised. Not that Obama won, but that the election was already over.
I have to admit that although I have read up on their policies and listened to their debates I am definitely not the most informed voter. If I would have been in the states I probably would have cast my vote for McCain but I will say that I can not help but be drawn to Obama's charismatic way of speaking and really do think that I would like him if we met face to face. I will not say that I agree with all of his politics but I do support him fully as our president. Ok, that is all I have to say about that. I hate to talk politics but I could not leave it off of my blog, because missing an election and coming home to a new president is a big event in this India experience.
Indians were huge Obama supporters all during the presidential race. Right after he got elected, word began getting out that his policies are less friendly to outsourcing. Some are beginning to question their excitement.
The day after the results came out Brittan and I spent a good (embarrassing) amount of time reading everyone on facebooks status updates concerning the election. There were some good fights and some pretty outrageous statements. We decided to put a couple of our favorites on our pages...
Cheesiest: Let's forget about the red and blue and get back to the red, white and blue.
Funniest: Well, I guess that means no more Tina Fey as Palin...that's a bummer.
11/04/2008
Great Expectations...
Todd Craig from Asbury UMC in Tulsa called a couple of weeks ago asking if we would like to be involved in a sermon series called Great Expectations. The entire series is through the book of 1 Thessalonians. He wanted us to share about how God does not always do what we expect Him to do. Our story will be told along with a couple sticking it out in a difficult marriage and another couple who recently had a still-born baby. The stories will be told over the three weeks leading up to Christmas as they light the advent wreath.
Week one- What expectations we had of God.
Week two- What happened that did not meet our expectations.
Week three- The struggles and blessings we have faced as a result.
Stephen, Brittan, Brittany and I all filmed the videos. It was hard thinking through our ideas about what this year in India would be like, all the feelings and hard things that happened the week of the accident and also all of the emotions we have sorted through as a result.
If you live in Tulsa try to make it to the Asbury service to see the series. It sounds like it is going to be a good one.
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