Much ado about something

Hello again Friends and Family!

This week and a half has been full of many, many adventures and things of note. Everything written in the next few paragraphs is of no particular order just so you get a feel of how the week went.

We were able to visit the church three times so far, went to an orphanage, and did some street outreaching. The church sermons focused on Praising God, Abraham and his son, and Accepting Gods Grace and its overreaching qualitlies. Pastor Atul, the associate pastor of the Greater Grace Fellowship Church, really brings tons of scripture into his sermons and helps enliven and add perspective. A very smart man. The services are like a traditional methodist service with worship, greetings, sermons and more worship. This church also promotes a joint bible college that focuses on training men to become pastors and plant new churches. The Greater Grace Fellowship is expanding strongly into upper north India.

Ashwin sent us on a scavenger hunt last Thursday. He sent on the metro train stations to take pictures of the various sights in order to learn the train systems. We were very excited to have a challenge. The trains in mumbai are very efficient and are only usually late by 6 minutes or so. That's really good in India. Usually, late in India is perhaps an hour or so. Maybe the next day. We made a few mistakes and got on the wrong trains, but generally had a great time. Sadly, there was no pot-of-gold or prize at the end.

The street outreach was very much a new experience for me. Seven of us met up at the church office and after a quick cup of chai and prayer we walked out among the people. There is a large residental system nearby which is full of many twisting roads and small houses squished inbetween large housing complexes like crumpled up paper shoved in the spaces of stacks of books. I was quite nervous the first hour. We past out christian tracts to whomever was outside at the time. I didn't know what was typical of passing out tracts, who to give them to or how and watched the others do it; Jill did a great job jumping right in and smiling warmly to them. Turns out the outreachers hand tracts to anyone and everyone. A pretty solid method I would say. It seemed a mixed bag of effects. Many would take the tracts and look at them. Some would read them; some tried to make origami out of them; some turned them into firestarters; some wore them as hats; some tore them up; some would stare at us and not take them; some would use them as toliet paper. Some of these didn't actually happen, but the overall reaction wasn't the best, and yet we kept on passing them out for the smallest chance that someone would take them to heart. There was one woman that said she was looking for a church nearby and one of the guys with us prayed with her and gave her information. Then there was another boy that a man named Peter talked to for an hour. The boy said he would read the tract and seemed very close to making a life changing choice. Even though the entire time they spoke in hindi, I could see it in his eyes and his reactions that he was very much effected by the conversation. I eventually conqured my intial nervousness and passed out tracts to many people.

We also visited the boys orphanage in Vasai. There used to be both boys and girls in the building, but due to governmental restrictions, they were forced to choose one of them. The boys were very happy to play with us. I tried to teach them hacki sack and Jill played a board game with them. We only had a few hours there, but it seemed like we were already making connections with them. Some of the younger boys were so excited by Jill that they wanted to show her their school grades and different things they treasured. If we had had more time, I would have played cricket. They taught me a few things and let me hit the ball with the bat. Hopefully, this Tuesday we will be able to visit again.

I am already acclimating to the people and lifestyles here. The sounds of traffic and the wind is so common now I hardly notice it sometimes. The mangos are to die for. Seriously the best mangos I've ever had. So juicy and sweet. It was strange having to buy produce and things from small shops and stores but the initial weirdness is wearing off. It is amazing how just a few weeks in a place can make one feel like they are at their second home. The advent of the internet also makes communication seem down the street and not the otherside of the world. Except the internet is sometimes working, some times not. Trash is a continual problem. The government impliments a few garbage cleaning services, but the infrastructure is not there to support all the of amounts of trash. There are no trashbins on the street. It's also surprisingly difficult to find a bathroom. Most shops don't have them and the public restrooms aren't always marked except for "ladies" and "gents." The average Indian is skinnier and shorter than us Americans. I walk around the street and see over their heads. Except every now and then I meet a really buff one or tall one. So many different sizes and shapes.

I'm addicted to chai now. I want it before and after every meal.

We ate at a McDonalds the other day. It was hiliarious. We were the only Americans in there. I had a Spicy Paneer Tikka Burger with fries and a drink, and Jill had a Spicy Paneer Tikka Wrap combo as well. Mine tasted like a regular burger crossed with a spicy chicken sandwhich from Wendy's, except it was vegatarian. They have more veg options than meat in most restaurants and McDee's is no exception. I felt more American in a McDonalds in India, than I do in America. The funniest part is they were playing the Backstreet boys and other great late 90's groups on the radio. It was like taking a jump into the past. Oh the memories.

During the day, the humans are awake and moving and doing. During the night, the dogs are barking, and moving, and marking their territory.

Jill became ill about a week ago. We thought it was food poisioning, but I've shared plenty of meals with her and I'm doing fine. She's doing much better now and we are literally staying with a family of doctors from all walks of medicine, so I think we can handle finding out the best methods.

For locations sake, we spent most of our time here in the ICT hostel in Matunga, Mumbai. We also are spending a few days in an apartment in Bandra East, Mumbai. We visited the Queens necklace around Churchgate, Mumbai which is right next to the ocean and also the Haji Ali Dargah which is the tomb of Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. We've been from the bottom of Mumbai all the way up into Vasai, Mumbai and a bunch of places inbetween. The city is so huge and packed that even if we stayed here for a few years, we would be continually finding new places and venues. People that live here their whole lives find new places that just pop up. There is also a full fledged national park in Mumbai. We haven't visited it, but it sounds legit. The roads and pathways aren't made of concrete for the most part. They use concrete pavers instead, in many different shapes. It's much easier for a construction crew to come along, remove a few pavers, do their job, and then plop the pavers down again like nothing happened. Very ingenious, apart from the fact that the road's can be rough and uneven in some patches.

Still waiting for serious monsoon rains to come. It's what I signed up for. Come on, rain.

Our next leg of the trip will be in Narsimhapur,Madhya Pradesh from July 1st-7th. We will be part of a WWOOF farm that focuses on cows and organic farming. It looks to be quite exciting, perhaps tons of milking, churning, and feeding, enduring long days and mooing animals; cow pies will be a plenty. I'll be watching my steps for sure.

Then from July 8th-possibly end of July our arms will be in Kolkata, West Bengal, with a few different groups: Mother Teresa's Mission, a group that deals in human trafficing, and a children's ministry. We will be staying the most amount of our trip here. We have places to stay and look forward to it immensly. And we also are excited about the last foot of our trip in a few rurual villages bringing forth the Gospel.

I'll  updating at least once a week on the blog or through email. It may be difficult in the rural farming, but if not there then as soon as we get to Kolkata I'll be writing up another take of exciting adventures from half a world away.

Keep Jill and I in your prayers and whenever you drink tea, think of how God is working in the communities here. Thank you everyone for constantly being our support and drinking tea.

Love, Grace, Christ, and Chai,
From Greg

Hello From Mumbai!

Hello Friends and Family,

Jill and I made it to Mumbai safely. Chennai was just like Texas weather but Mumbai is very wet and rainy right now. The train ride was long and quite an experience. Our tickets were canceled before we even came and since we are so new to the process we thought that we could get on. But we ended up buying cheaper tickets to actually get on the train. We rode Sleeper coach and were fairly cramped but the people were so nice they let us use some of there space and even found places for us to sit. We brought food for the train because we were told not to eat the train food. But every time one passed by I wished I could have eaten them. The samosas especally. Much of the country side is farmland with mountains spread out. We regret that we didn't take more pictures. I'll be more on top of taking pictures. The train was fun but we don't really want to do that again. Good memories though.

The family that is taking care of us are friends of Jill, Ashwin and Kavita, and are very kind and welcoming. They are helping us around the city and explore the shops. We had trouble with the internet in Chennai, but we finally found a nearby internet cafe that allows us to update. Today we are preparing for our stay here. The cell phone has been a pain because the system is slow to add new accounts and now that we are in Mumbai, are first SIM doesn't work. We are borrowing one. Nothing in India seems to work without some headaches, some yellng people, and tons of questions on where someplace is.

Jill and I can't get enough of all the variety of food here. Curry, rice, curry, rice, vegetables, chai tea, coffee, curry, rice, ice cream and a truck load of spices. i am kidding though. Every dish we taste is new and exciting. I have still yet to see a conglomorated store. They are all small specialized stores for particular items, like brick, snacks, saris, parts, or phone services.

We stick out alot. Even though we are trying to wear clothes that don't. I would recommend being a foreginer to everyone. You never realise how much one is in the public eye until they are all looking at you.  Jill is getting all the stares though. She's like a supermodel or something over here.

Thank you everyone who is keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We are visiting the church today where we will be serving in and begining what ever is available.

Peace, love, happiness, and chai,

From Greg

An Attempt at Summary

Tonight we are updating in a different fashion. Some of our team is home already, and some of us are relaxing in a beautiful resort still in India. We are all well and happy (I think) and I have some beautiful words to share from many of the team members. We passed around a journal the last day and a half we were all together, and I am simply here to type up their words and stories about our adventure.

First is Stefanie--

It's been my dream to travel for years and that dream became a reality this week. But I am reminded again that dreams are different than reality. For instance my shiny idea of India didn't include three days recovery from jet-lag or waking up at 2 a.m. with a splitting headache and nausiated. However, God is gracious to me even in my ignorance because reality is far better than dreams. Jill prayed over me the morning I was very sick and I count it as no coincidence that I was more refreshed than a normal day in about five minutes.

There is an overwhelming amount to experience and take in here. Everyday we took the same route to our work site, but I couldn't stand to look away from the outside scenes. The smells alone overtake you. Everything from mouth-watering cuisine to sewage water that seems as though it was mixed with petroleom and human feces. The streets are littered with trash everywhere you look and traffic lanes seem to serve more of a decorative purpose than anything. It's a crazy and frantic feeling, but oddly mixed with peace.

Seyyamkuppam, the village we worked in, has been the most beautiful, both the people and landscape. The children were most friendly and helped us build friendship with the adults. I think I've learned most by watching them live. They know how to sit down with their neighbors and family and just be in community. Life seems better this way and I firmly believe this is how God intended it.

India is a poor country, but not in spirit. They are strong and vibrant and I am so blessed to have been able to work alongside them and watch them live life.

Followed by Jill--

INDIA MASALA
In the USA we compartmentalize everything. There's work time, family time, down time, friend time. There's the residential district and the food court. Even the churchs seem to line up and down the street (always downtown). Not here. There's a random internet cafe sandwitched between our hotel and another. Tuk-tuks, motorbikes, oxen, pedestirans, and buses all share both sides of the road. Temples blast music into surrounding homes and shops of all kinds. Even shower curtains are kind of a joke in the very uncompartmentalized bathroom. Radient flowerbushes grow out of heaps of trash...

Yet none of the people seem the least bit distracted by what is sensory overload to us. The people are strong and beautiful. They seem to be always aware of where and how the people around them are. They work together on the road and on the houses. The children wait while we work and run to play when we take longer breaks. There were very few people who we really got to know. (And even then - how well can you know someone in a week?)

My favorite interaction was an incredibly strong grandma who I worked side by side with on the second day. She showed me up for sure. But as we both worked strenuously passing bricks and cement and water buckets through the house and up to masons building the wall, we did our best to communicate. But even with very few words, we showed each other our character the best we could. We smiled and respected everyone around us; we worked quick, hard and attentively. We complemented eachother (with gestures and a translator). Maybe this interaction means very little to you as a reader, but between me and this beautiful grandmother named Rajashevvi there was a sweetness almost magical.

TOGETHER SEPARATELY
Our team has a truly incredible and diverse make-up. The most noteworthy diversity was in age. Half the team were my peers (I'm 23) and the other half is my parents' age (including of course my dad and aunt). We came from several churches and several cities. We had totally different personalities and a wide array of different talents. I was so impressed by how hard everyone tried to work together and how focused we were on the always chaotic worksites. By the end of the day everyone was very, very sleepy! I cannot imagine what things would have been like with any of the members missing.

I am so grateful to each of you. This week required great endurance, flexibility, patience, forgiveness, effort, attentiveness, and love. It also brought many smiles, a good bit of tears, and a widened perspective. I really loved it.

I learned sooooooo much about the beauty of people even when stress fights against us. I learned so much about how I can improve leadership in my future. I learned about my family, my friends, myself and all of our world. I have to apologize that I am not ready to share those lessons on a public blog. But for now belive me when I say I have taken these lessons in and will continue to ponder them in my heart so that the Author and Perfector of our faith may have His will.

Next is Roger--

I believe that my most memorable part of the experience is close to my own heart. I chose this page because I have moved from a 'professional' job to one of repair and build. 'Fix this' 'build that' is everywhere materials are recycled and reused. The village was in the past built and maintained by only what you could find in on and around the forrest. The traditoinal roof are palm frons, walls the same if not clay, sand walls. The people try not to waste anything and are offended by any excess or waste. We tried to help build 'permanent' structures - claybrick and reinforced concrete to replace the temporary. Kyle a small boy proudly pointed at his house next to one of the homes we were working on and said in english "my house clean no bugs." [Note: Kyle was actually going to live in the house we were building.] I joked perhaps too soon to say I did the work of one grandma. Later I remembered she is half my weight and still working when we quit and was still working when I ran out of reserve energy by Friday. I was pleased to see the combine and harvest crew to arrive again on our last day in camp and the reverance the workers had for the fields. I.e. don't enter the production area unless you remove your shoes, plus their laughter at my ineptitude running a hand sythe. The operator-owner of the combine was apparently very proud and protective of his machine. The workers could not wait to tell him that I told them that I was raised on a farm and my father had three machines that each were 3x his own and that I operated the machinery as a young boy. After I asked them if there was any chance that he would let me drive his machine.

Billy--

I had no idea what India would be like. Chennai was humid, loud, and a little scary. Pondicherry was a lot more pleasant. Sure the pace was just as frantic as Chennai on the main roads. But there were quiet places too. I'm not sure how this is relevant.

The villagers in Seyyankuppam were so glad to see us. They treated us like family... well, better than family. Working on the houses was rewarding. Experiencing life in the village was just as, if not more rewarding.

This is an experience I will carry in my heart until the Good Lord calls me home.

Dony--

I thank God for providing all for me. I praise his wisdom and humbly accept all his blessings. One at the present being this trip to India. I forever repeat the scripture "We are blessed to be a blessing." I have been truly blessed with this opportunity to experience, serve, learn, grow, sweat, work, learn patience, fellowship, quickly trust others and more that I can't think of at this moment. The team members are the greatest. There are no words to describe them completely so I will humbly try...

Paula - energetic, enthusiastic
Jill - peaceful, faithful
Ron - fun, solid strength
Celia - sister, calming
Roger - knowledge, dad/brother
Billy - supportive, hardworker
Stefanie - strength, impressive
Greg - silly, mediator
Ryan - leader, quiet strength
Misti - aweinspiring, God gift
Dee - musical, tough
Denise - wonderful prayer, thoughtful
Medina - inquisitive, driven
Charly, Jason, drivers- wonderful, and protective, and always there!

This was a great, great adventure I will have cherish memories to relive and tell about. The molding together of the different churches, villagers, Habitat workers, the hotel staff is something I'll always be proud to be a part of and participating in.

I'm still waiting on the Lord to let me know my reason for being here in India at this time. He made a series of events happen for me to be here I just followed. "Light bulb!" with Love and God's Blessing--

Dee--

Wow - what to say, what to say? In just a few words - magical, difficult, fun, heart-wrenching!

To see the gratitude bestowed upon us was so humbling. The strong family system in Pondicherry makes me wish that Americans would work harder in that aspect - the villagers have so little, and yet have so much. The openness of the children - I felt so loved! The hugs and kisses from the older women - I felt so accepted!

I worked harder physically than I imagined I could - and I felt so satisfied at the end of a hot and long day. God truly was with me, helping to persevere.

Ron--

It was a pleasure serving the villagers with our team this week. The villagers were determined to accomplish their milestones and we made sure that they reached those milestones for all five homes that we worked on.

The villagers have so little and the children have so many hurdles to overcome, but you can tell that the people support one another, and you can see that there are a few exceptional children here that will represent the legacy of the village very well as they excel and succeed in the future!

I am only saddened by the fact that we lost our oldest church member at Hamilton Park UMC this past week at 104 years old. Mr. Idious Baker Foote known as Mr. I.B. Foote lived a long life full of encouraging everyone he met and praising God. Hopefully we have continued a legacy of encouragement for the people we served this past week. I love you all!

Celia--

WOW!! What an experience. First being in India. Then meeting and helping villagers in the building of their homes. The team that we travelled to help build the homes were humbled on working with the families. It was amazing that the women home owners put in sweat equity and put us to shame as they were so much smaller than us but would do as much work or more than us. My greatest joy watching and interacting with the children. They were always happy and participated in the opening and closing ceremonies which was energizing. Our team was made up of both young and youthful grownups amazingly we all worked together well considering we all came together just to work on this mission and most of us did not know each other before. I know this is God's doing as who else can get in different personalities to work together without causing major confusion and disharmony!

I can truly say that I am leaving a changed person as I have truly been blessed to have experienced a cultural view with working with Habitat for Humanity, the homeowners, the India home builders, and the Texas team. It's a wonderful time in my life. To top it all off... The Mavericks won the championship and so all is well in the world!! :)

I know God has been in charge as I always look to him to lead and direct my life. I prayed to him to make this time here a time for growth and understanding and to use me and I pray that he will continue to do so as I seek to help where he feels I fit best.



God has done beautiful work in the hearts of many through this trip. We are so thankful to you all for your support and love and prayers. Honestly, I do not yet have the words to describe my experiences here in India. I am grateful, and so, so blessed by the team around me and these days will forever hold a very special place in my heart as "The first mission." I cannot wait to see the work that God does in India and in my own life because of this trip. India is a beautiful place and a world completely different from the one we live in in the Westernized World. We are very blessed.

Jill and Greg are continuing their mission work in India for the rest of the summer, and have decided to use this blog to keep us all up to date. I encourage you all to continue to read here, as Jill is a beautiful writer and I'm sure that the two of them will have many great experiences to share with us all.

Team, you all have blessed me beyond belief. I had no idea such a diverse team could fit together so perfectly. God bless and love to all--

Misti :)

Work Day Three

We have finally found an Internet cafe where we are able to sit with a keyboard and screen! Some think it is sweltering in here, but it's nothing compared to the places with no ceiling fan. In other words-- it's hot and humid all the time over here.

Today was a wonderful day in the village! We worked extremely hard. Charly calls roofing creating a "new sky" for the family. This is a hard process that we were able to help the people with. They have a machine to mix concrete (thank goodness), and as it pours out of the machine, a worker pushes some into large pans that are then lifted through many people up to the roof of the home. The concrete is then dumped out and then the pan is tossed back down. It makes a big circle that moves very quickly. There are workers on the roof spreading and smoothing the concrete as well. We shared all of these jobs with the villagers. They are very fast and hard workers-- they stayed in positions as we all rotated around them and took short breaks. Since it is concrete, the work is fast to finish before it dries. So when anyone needed a break someone else was stepping in for them. It was tiring work, but the people were very happy and Charly says we can tell you all "we worked two weeks in India." The normal labor time is much longer, so they were very happy with our help. He expected us to take five hours on the roof, but we finished in under three!

Since we finished much earlier than expected, Charly and Jason (Charly's assistant) showed us around the village more. They took us to the fields where many people work and also taught us a lot about the temples and the rituals of the villagers. We were very fascinated by a plant that looks dead when it's touched so that the cows will not eat it. Ron took a video that he can hopefully share soon.

Yesterday we mentioned eating fresh coconuts. The man who climbed the tree is over 70 years old and has climbed thousands of coconut trees. Jason said he used to climb around 80 trees a day! He climbed for a portion of the team yesterday who was working on his daughter's home. They were very hospitable-- cut the coconuts for us and gave us cups to drink out of. It was a great experience!

So far we have worked on five different homes. The house that we roofed today had a team (Roger, Paula, Dee, Celia, Dony, Ron) working the first day as well. They mixed mortar, hauled brick in wheelbarrows, which were then passed up by hand to the masons at the top of the home's walls and put into place. Yesterday, this work was done on another house, but twice as fast. The team at this home was: Paula, Jill, Roger, Madina, and Billy.

Dee, Denise, and Ron worked on painting the inside and outside of a home yesterday. The paint was the consistency of water and they worked with cheap paintbrushes, making the job more difficult than it sounds. Dee painted the trim, which was very hard detailed work. The others painted the walls and cleaned up the dripping paint.

Ryan, Greg, Stefanie, Misti, Dony and Celia were with the coconut tree climber. They spent two days filling pans with dirt and filling the foundation of a home.

We are out of time-- the ladies have an appointment with Charly to shop and are very anxious to get back!

We are all tired and losing strength, so pray for our endurance. Thank you for your love and support during our adventures!

Misti, Paula, Dee, Ryan and Denise

Improvising and Enduring

In comparison to how wonderful the past two days have been, the Internet here is not!

This update will be short-- we are on Ron's iPhone.

To say that we are enjoying the people of our village is an understatement. They are strong, hospitable, and lighthearted. We have laughed and... Worked very, very, very hard with them. The team dynamics are excellent. We are so thankful to be learning, laughing and working our way to exhaustion together.

There is a child with a broken leg that we were able to see happier today as we played with and around him. A homeowner's dad climbed a coconut tree to pick fresh coconuts for us! They enjoy teaching us new words in their language and the children enjoy practicing English. We have thrown and laid bricks and filled a foundation full of sand.

We will explain our work and stories and hearts when we have a keyboard!

Please pray for: continued safety, endurance (we are tired), even better communication with the families, that we are humble and loving to our new friends.

Thanks for your patience with the Internet. Someday, somehow you will hear our stories!
We love you all--

Misti and Jill on behalf of all sleepy team members :)

We are safe!

We send our love to family and friends.  The journey was especially long (36 hours), but we are here, safe and sound.  We arrived in Chennai at 3 in the morning.  After a brief stay, we were on our way to Pondicherry.  It's late here, tomorrow we begin work, so we need to rest, more about the sights, SOUNDS (its loud here), and people, and our experiences a little later. The time difference is eleven and a half hours, so to you all it is 12:30 p.m. and here it is 11:00 p.m. on Sunday. We are tired from our hours upon hours of traveling!

Our team will be split into four groups during work tomorrow, on four different homes. That's still all we know for now. Tomorrow evening we will update again, with a member from each crew to report on their experiences for the day. In the evenings we will have time to spend with the people and in Pondicherry in the shops and around the town.

We met our team coordinator this afternoon-- his name is Charly and he is wonderful! He has worked with Habitat for seventeen years and is very good at his job and at helping all of us adjust. He kept reminding us as we dosed off often, "You are in India!" He said our bodies still feel like we are in America because of the time. Charly will ride with us to and from the job site daily, stay in the hotel with us, and take us for meals. He has made sure that we do not eat or drink things that could get us sick and is just all around a great help! We are thankful for him.

We are thankful that all are healthy. We are eating a lot! The hospitality is the best part. The people here are excited to see us, friendly, and greet us with smiles. They have wonderful manners and make great efforts to make us comfortable.

We will try to post pictures of some of the drive from Chennai to Pondicherry tomorrow (it was around four hours) and hopefully some other sights.

Wishing you all a great afternoon-- to us a goodnight!