Weekend Adventures

Last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, were our last days at Achen's house for orientation. Here are a couple of tidbits about what we did and some pictures of our adventures.

(Additionally, I can't believe in my last post that I forgot to mention that teammate Rachel safely arrived after 10 days! Though she did not have the time to adjust that we all did, she is doing extremely well and we are so very thankful for her safe arrival and for the completion of our team!)

On Saturday, we drove to go see some elephants. Initially the elephants were out bathing, and so while we were waiting for them to finish we went to a zoo at the complex. Sadly, the place no longer hosts elephant rides, but here are some photos of our large wrinkly friends:

Some other new events were:

1) Seeing our first Malayalam film...entirely in Malayalam. This was certainly an adventure, and I enjoyed making up for myself what the characters were saying...especially when it was most likely not at all what they were saying.

2) We enjoyed together at home an Onam sadhya, or meal, eaten off of a banana leaf, with a wide variety of curries and chutneys. It was delicious. I'm finding the food here to be extremely different from anything I've eaten in the states. When I've travelled before I've at least had a sense of some familiarity with the food, such as "this is some kind of meat" or "this is some kind of fruit." But here, wow. Initially I never knew what I was eating. It is a matter of trust! Now I'm beginning to recognize the foods, but the flavors are really very different, many flavors that I have never tasted anything like in the states. It is all very new.

3) On Sunday, our last day together before going to our sites, we had many adventures. We travelled to Cochin to go to church, and while there, Binu, Rachel, and myself sang "The Summons" during the service and it was such a blessing for me to be able to share in this way. After church, we began our tour of the many sites in Cochin, first by visiting a synagogue and then proceeding to the Dutch Palace, a 16th century Portuguese palace that was then taken over by the Dutch. Inside were many portraits and historical artifacts to see from the early colonial period. The power also went off when we were inside the museum!!!! which meant that we got to look at everything in the dark, and I was so excited! (For those of you that know about my museum obsession, I also greatly enjoy power outages, so the intrigue of maneuvering through the manikins and portraits in the dark was delicious!)



This was St. Francis, a 16th century church where Vasco da Gama used to be buried.

We visited Fort Kochi, a swirling mass of people and drums and fish stalls and sea air-as well as tourists-the first white people we've seen since we arrived! They fish with huge Chinese fishing nets, and the four of us tried our hand(s) at fishing, though admittedly our catch was rather meager. :)





We also stopped to take photos at a gorgeous lookout over the backwaters. Later in the day, we hurried to get more errands done-shopping at Fabindia, a rather fashionable clothing store, and getting passport photos to be able to register with the state department.

And then we spent our last evening together for the time being, though I was very excited to get to my site! It has been a rich and wonderful time, and I will miss Achen's insightful teaching, Kochamma's warm laugh, our favorite gecko friends on the wall...I'll even miss the call to prayer which at first always made me jump! I'll miss watching movies and playing worship songs with Binu, and this wonderful home-away-from-home. I can't imagine having had a better introduction to Indian culture nor a warmer welcome.

And now, onward & upward!

A New Creation

It has been quite awhile since I've posted. Since I last wrote, life has been quite a whirlwind, a whirlwind of color, emotions, confusion, anxiety, and God has been so clearly in the midst of it all, the only steadying factor in this rush of new life and new experiences. I'm feeling myself stripped down to my core, being made aware of parts of myself I never knew about, expectations unbeknownst to me, and finding my new identity in Christ alone.

Before I detail what I've been up to at my site at CMS, let me recount the events of the last week of our orientation at Achen's house.

We continued to have classes each day on many subjects. Dr. Kuhnikrishnan, a professor and friend of Achen's, discussed with us the history of India, specifically Kerala's social history. We also learned from Binu and Achen about the history of Christianity in Kerala, the history of the various churches, and the issues facing the church in Kerala currently as well as current large-scale social issues. We watched various documentaries about faith and social justice and enjoyed discussions on these and many such topics. In the afternoons, we had our first lessons in Malayalam.

We had our first trips into town with Binu to buy various things, such as our first churidars! A churidar is comprised of baggy pants and a long tunic, with a shawl worn over the shoulders. Most of the women here wear saris or churidars, though I get the sense that churidars are more popular with the younger women. Nicole and I had a blast picking our fabrics and then having these beautiful outfits made for us.A funny aside about the churidars is that the tops were tighter than I expected and I got stuck in mine trying to get it off! It took Kochamma and the lady at the store to get me out. Since then, Kochamma adjusting the stitching a little so that I can get in and out of it. :) We've also bought some things for our rooms once we're at our sites.

We took our first trip to the Arabian Sea, which was very VERY wet because it was pouring down rain while we were swimming! The water was very warm, but the waves were very strong and I got knocked over a bit! We've also had our first dining-out experiences which have been wonderful. Here, you go to a hotel to eat. A hotel is like a restaurant, I think, and sometimes they have lodging, but I think usually a place to stay is called a lodge.

We were excited to go see the final rounds of the National Judo Championship held at UC College close by, but sadly, they were already over. While Ian and Binu went into town to get new glasses for Ian, Nicole and I were on our own in Aluva for the first time-so we went jewelry shopping! I have to confess to you that I did in fact buy a set of bells to wear on my ankles. :) As if I'm not already noisy enough, now you can hear whenever I'm coming or going!

It was in the jewelry store that I had a moment of realizing a cultural difference-here, you can't go into stores and just browse around, you go in with what you're purchasing in mind, and you find it and then buy it. I was trying very hard to just look at all of the items in the store and wherever I went, the clerk stood right in front of me, frequently right in front of what I was trying to look at! This is their way of being helpful, and they are extremely helpful, just more so than we're used to back home, but it was challenging because I inherently just wanted some space to look around. Interesting. I'm so acutely aware right now of my personal space bubble and my cultural notions that are just inherently a part of me, and are now being challenged. It's a fascinating process to become aware of your own unconscious values and expectations by their being challenged; to realize many things about yourself that you never knew!

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Onam Festivities & Various Humorous Experiences (Including surprise singing and my unsuccessful debut as a concert pianist :)

Has it really only been a few days? What wonderful, rich, and exciting, and humorous days they have been!

Great news-we're all over jet lag! Still tired at moments, but now on the Indian +9 and a half hours time zone. I'm feeling great-I thought that adjusting to the time change would be really difficult for me, and I asked a team of you to pray specifically for that (THANK YOU!!!!) , and God is SOO good because thanks to your prayers I had no difficulty adjusting at all! In fact, by the third day I was good to go-so thank you so much!

Please continue to keep teammate Rachel in your prayers-she finally received her visa after all these weeks but also got sick in the process and went home. She won't be arriving until some time this week and will be arriving about a week into orientation-please be praying for her health, for her journey here-a long journey to make on one's own, and for her adjustment here.

So what all have we been up to? Well, Riba and her husband and their three little precious girls left and we miss them already. They were such a delight to play with and made our arrival and first two days joy-filled days. Since then, we have begun a little study of Malayalam, Bible study, and cultural orientation. Ian and Nicole and myself sit out on the veranda and sing songs, study, and learn from Achen. We've only just begun orientation and I'm looking forward to learning so much more.

On Friday, we left Achen's house for the first time since we got here and went to Chattala to Bishop Moore Vidyapith, where Ian's site will be. Right now the festival Onam is happening in Kerala and it is a very big deal-I think it's up there with Christmas! All of the schools have Onam celebrations and we went to Bishop Moore on their day of Onam festivities. As we arrived, we saw hundreds of children dressed in beautiful traditional Onam dress, each girl with her hair done up and laced with flowers and ornamented with many jewels, each girl, from the littlest to the oldest. Orange and yellow flowers were everywhere. It was an absolute explosion of color. We began to tour the school and as we did, all the students stared at us, smiled at us, followed us, and touched us. Some even handed us paper to get our autographs! Everywhere we went, smiling and giggling faces decked in the most beautiful outfits peered out at us.

The Onam festival lasts for ten days, and there are many traditions associated with the festival. One such tradition is the making of elaborate designs on the ground out of flower petals. At the school, the students compete in the flower design competition, and many other competitions ranging from martial arts to flower-arranging!

Shortly after our arrival we were kind of processed in to the large assembly through a row of people decked in flowers, and led up to the stage in front of all the students where we sat with the headmasters! Mind you-we were wearing t-shirts and feeling most under-dressed for the occasion! Some speeches were made and each of us was introduced to the multi-colored cheering throng and given a bouquet of flowers from a little girl! We were led up to the front of the stage to assist with the lighting of the traditional Onam lamp, and then were seated as the guests of honor in the very front row for the grand Onam performance- a vibrant and fascinating performance consisting of traditional dance, song, and drama related to Onam tradition. It was fascinating: in a song called the butterfly dance a girl in the middle representing the butterfly swooned while the girls around her chanted and sang. A children's choir with an unbelievably uniform sound sang, and there was a sort of 'boat race' where kids from each of the four houses of the school 'raced' in little cardboard boats...it was hilarious. The students were funny and charming in the final closing number where everyone came on stage, including a little girl and a little boy dressed up as 'foreigners' with shopping bags, binoculars, and sunglasses! Hilarious!

After the performance, we watched a traditional Onam game kind of like the pinata, and then were greeted by swarms of students, all asking us our names and how we like Kerala. It was wonderful to meet them and such a joy to be surrounded by so much love, warmth, and smiles. They were all very polite, asking "How do you do?" and offering their hand. (Random aside: at Bishop Moore they have prefects, Head Boy & Head Girl, and four competing houses, just like at Hogwarts! )

We were taken to an office where we enjoyed a traditional Onam meal eaten on a banana leaf (though our banana leaf at the time was actually one made of wax paper!) The people who served us watched us eat, which is something to get used to. In general, we are treated with such honor with lavish introductions and much special treatment-it is rather overwhelming, and extremely generous.

We spent most of the day at the school and then returned to Achen's place, and in the evening Nicole and I were taken by Achen and Kochamma to select the fabric for our first churidars (traditional dress). They will be sewn for us and we will pick them up in a few days.

Surprise singing! Today was another whirlwind day of many new exciting things. This morning we attended church together at Holy Trinity Church of South India where Achen assists. It was a two-hour service mostly in Malayalam. (Aside-barefoot church is quite enjoyable.) Breaking from his Malayalam in the middle of the service, the pastor suddenly introduced Ian, Nicole, and myself, and then asked me to sing a song for everyone. ?! I was pretty unprepared-Achen had told me this might happen but I thought he meant just in interactions with people, not in the middle of a sermon in the middle of a very liturgical service. I said, "Now?" and Achen encouraged me to come up to the microphone! I did not have a song planned, but suddenly thought of "How Great Thou Art" and sang only the chorus to it because I was too shocked right then and there to remember the verses. They were most appreciative and started humming along-turns out this was a good choice because this hymn in well-known here. And then I sat down shaking. Turns out nothing shocks you out of jetlag faster than being asked to unexpectedly sing a song in the middle of a two-hour service in Malayalam. Whew.

It was wonderful to meet people after church, and from there we went to a wedding that Achen was officiating-interestingly, a marriage between a Christian woman and a Hindu man. Here, I went with Binu (Achen's son) to sing with the little choir at the wedding. There were three hymns-two of which Binu and I had practiced last night together. The service was in English, and as it was being filmed there was a man holding a REALLY bright light that he shone behind the videographer.

There was an extremely funny moment when we sang the second hymn, which I did not know at all. The videographer came over and filmed the choir with the blaring light behind him. So here I was, standing with about five other singers, being filmed in this blaring light, and I didn't know the song at all.

I was shaking with silent laughter at the thought that when the couple looks back on their wedding video, in the middle of the choir stands a clueless blinking white girl who is trying really hard not to laugh and has no idea what is going on. Captured forever on film. Too funny.

After the wedding, we were taken to a wedding reception for a different couple. Here wedding receptions, at least for Christian weddings, consist of just a lunch, but you invite everyone you know! It was HUGE-held in a big auditorium. We enjoyed lunch and then had a chance to meet and congratulate the couple.

First choir rehearsal and my highly unsuccessful debut as a concert pianist: Later in the day, Binu was going to a choir rehearsal for a local choir and invited me to come with him. This choir of about 20 people has already begun rehearsing for their Christmas concert, and I was very interested to come and observe how this particular choral rehearsal was held and to perhaps participate. (Perhaps, haha.) Again, during a time of prayer, I was asked to sing a song. You'd think I'd be more prepared this time, but not really. From now on, I'm just going to be ready anytime, anywhere!!!!

The choir started rehearsing, and the director asked me if I wanted to help at the keyboard. I sat down and he said, "What a treat to have a full-time pianist with us! We are always using tracks and we so excited to have you play the accompaniment for us!" He also said that I would be joining them each Sunday night for rehearsal.

Whoops.

I told him that I can play parts but not really accompaniment...and it was a spiritual and a song I'd never seen before. So I flubbed all over the piano as they watched me try to play the accompaniment. The choir didn't know where to come in because I couldn't play it correctly, and it was just a mess, and I was causing a lot more confusion than being helpful. I did my best to just play the bass line, but even then if I messed up, they'd sing whatever note I played, so I was not really helping. We had to stop because I couldn't keep a steady beat, so I really just played melody and took things in smaller chunks. Eventually, the choir director turned on a loud steady beat that pretty well drowned out what I was playing, fortunately, and gave them a steady beat to keep them together. It was both embarassing and also really funny. I just kept smiling and trying to play something. The choir director was very gracious with me, as was the entire choir, and very understanding, but I was nonetheless happy to get away from the keyboard. So I'll think twice next time I offer to play keyboard. I don't know, I felt like a real fool, but sometimes I can actually play- I just don't know if I can play it or not until I'm up there and see the piece! Thanks to the warmth and great friendliness of the choir, and my profound apologies, I was able to laugh really hard about it with them. After rehearsal, I had the chance to meet many of them and felt very warmly welcomed. This turned out to be a great moment of humanness, of failure, and of laughter.

God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good-ESPECIALLY TODAY!
Lord, thank you so much for the love of the people here, for the ability to laugh and the many opportunities to do so. Thank you for the unexpected requests to sing and the opportunity to flub all over the piano. Thank you for my humanness, and for others' forgiveness. Thank you for the many celebrations of life today. Thank you for the unexpected, and for the exhaustion of a day filled with surprises and memories. Amen.

Sleep Over Bahrain

The evening hangs beneath the moon
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing eyes and resting head,
I know that sleep is coming soon.


There are moments in your life where you just know that God is right beside you, moments where you can just imagine Him with you. There are moments that takes your breath away, like the feeling of a hand slipping into your own unexpectedly. Moments where nothing moves.

I had one of these moments on our flight to Bahrain the other day. I was flipping through the radio channels on the airplane. There was the recitation of the Qu'ran channel, other Arabic music, a pop channel... We were somewhere over Turkey. I had just put my earphones in and was going through the channels when suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard Eric Whitcre's "Sleep." (If you haven't heard this piece, please listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xn_Qo_WXMg, or the virtual choir version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhWDCw3Mng&ob=av2e)

For those of you that know me, you know that this piece is probably one of my top favorite five pieces ever. First of all, I've never once heard this on radio in the US at any time. For me to just put my earphones on in the middle of a flight and hear this right between the reading of the Koran and Middle Eastern pop...I couldn't even breathe. It's like a three minute song-but it just happened to be on right then.

I honestly felt like God had that song play there just for me. The voices yearned and stretched to new heights, the harmonies breathlessly close together, soaring, achieving more height and depth and width as we soared through the clouds and golden rays of sun somewhere above the Middle East. I felt each note reach all the way into me like a drop of hot liquid, warming my soul. I couldn't move or breathe.

It was like God had just sat down next to me and took my hand. He knows exactly what He's doing. He is right here with me, with us, and right there with you where you are, too.

Our Passage to India (yes, I did just use that title)

(I'd just like to say for the record that I planned on using this title a long time ago and I'm so happy I finally get to use it! :)

Well, we're in India! I feel as though so much has happened-was it only Monday that I typed my last post? Interestingly, I am still wearing the clothes I was wearing on Monday even though today is Thursday. No, I'm not that crazy about my outfit; the fact is that our luggage is currently floating around Bahrain somewhere and so we are all sporting rather familiar outfits by this point. Hope our bags are enjoying Bahrain, haha.

We left on Monday evening for our first flight. It was a very long but very smooth journey the whole way for the most part-two whole days of travel! Our flight to London was delayed for 2 and a half hours-once we were on the plane we were told we needed to deplane because there was a crack in the plane somewhere that required repair. Once we were all off the plane, we were told to come back on because the plane had still received approval to fly. (I was enjoying the image of our airbus soaring over the Atlantic, duct-taped. How else could they have fixed it so fast?) And then once we were back on the plane, we had to wait awhile because there was a hard-of-hearing passenger wandering around the airport somewhere who the attendants had to go find since he hadn't heard the announcements. It was a rather bizarre and amusing beginning to our journey. I didn't sleep a wink all the way to London, but enjoyed watching lots of TV and movies on the plane, as well as spending about an hour trying to figure out what language the people next to me were speaking, which sounded like it kept changing.

Because of our flight delay, once we got to London we had to book it! As we were going through security, they examined and waved a wand over every item in my purse and cosmetic bag, and threw some things out. We were really in a rush and I had forgotten to empty my water bottle so I downed the whole bottle right then and there. Additionally, I was having an allergic reaction I think because of the leaks in my room at Stony Point, so my eyes were watering the whole trip. Ian and I made a rather mad dash through the airport with my eyes watering and things all over the place and we were the last ones to board our flight to Bahrain. Whew!

We were only in Bahrain very briefly, where we ate at a Chili's (random) before our last flight from Bahrain to Cochin. This was the shortest flight-the other two had been between 6 and 7 hours. I sat next to a precious 7-month-old and watched a rather strange Bollywood movie. After two days of travel, we arrived in Cochin at about 4 am. I was surprisingly energized for having only slept a few hours the whole time; I was awake for most of the flights. When we entered the airport, there was a little boy gawking at us with his hands on the glass and his mouth literally hanging open. Thomas John met us, sans luggage, and he and his son Binu drove us to his wonderful house nearby.

It's been a very interesting and amusing few days-lots of laughs and warm welcomes. It's been kind of fun not having any stuff with me-makes me realize how little I actually need. To be honest, I completely forgot that we don't have our bags. When our flight arrived to Cochin, the luggage on the belt was from a flight from the day before. We have been provided with everything we need.

Since we arrived, we have mostly been sleeping on and off and spending time with Thomas John's daughter's family who are visiting from Bahrain. They have three adorable daughters with whom we have been spending most of our time. We are beginning to see glimpses of life here-but it has been pouring for two days straight and we can't really go anywhere (there was respite from the rain ever so briefly yesterday that allowed for a brief walk). We are learning to take bucket baths and to eat with our hands. I can't imagine having been more warmly welcomed by Thomas John, his wife Betty, and their family. They are so kind, letting us have lots of rest and helping us slowly adjust to our new lives here. The girls are so sweet and we love playing with them!

I'm feeling great and very excited about getting out and about once the deluge ceases...there's so much to see and explore! Thanks for all the prayers! God is so good! I'll leave you with a few interesting tidbits/random thoughts about India or Indian culture.

1) The little girls here wear bells on their ankles all the time-it's absolutely darling, and you always know where they are. Also, they were jewelry even at a very young age and love playing with it.

2) I've seen a bug here that moves very strangely-instead of crawling in a straight-forward line, it zig-zags around. Odd & seemingly inefficient. Hmm.

3) There are geckos on the walls sometimes but they eat the bugs, so they're valuable.

4) Last night, two of Thomas John's brothers came over for dinner and we enjoyed a time of music afterwards. Binu played guitar and we all sang; I chose songs from a huge song book that had hundreds of songs organized by funny categories such as "The Sea" and "Men." It was really fun to find some songs we knew to sing, such as Amazing Grace, some old hymns, and Danny Boy (shout out to mom).

5) In general, I am fascinated by all that I'm seeing here and all I've seen so far is the house we're staying in. Everything is just different. Even the things you wouldn't think would be different are, like the shapes of chairs, the bathrooms, the little sounds the kids make.  The plants, the sky, the colors, the smells-it's all entirely new and fascinating.

Sorry for the length of this-but the Indians aren't concise and so maybe I can openly embrace my verbose nature here even in writing! Will post again soon. Prayers for our luggage and for continued rest are appreciated. Also please keep our teammate Rachel in your prayers-she could not travel with us because her visa still has not arrived and she's stuck at Stony Point. We're hoping and praying for her to come as soon as possible.

Love and blessings to you all.

Namaste,
Claudia

Orientation with Hurricane Irene

It's another big Sunday night. Another one of those Sunday nights where I wonder if this is all reality- last week it was leaving for Stony Point, and tomorrow I'm flying to London and then Bahrain.

I arrived in Stony Point this past Sunday for YAV Orientation. All the YAVs (there's about 70 of us) are staying at a conference center up in the mountains of New York. It's been a great week. It's been a rich time together spending time with all of the other YAVs and making lots of new friends. This week was all about preparation and relationships-sharing with one another our fears & anxieties, learning, praying for one another.

We spent all week hearing from different facilitators on topics such as cultural competency, personality types & interactions (I'm ENFP in case you Meyers-Brigss fans are wondering), conflict resolution, and cultural sensitivity. We've discussed living in community, self-care while abroad, gender & race issues, and globalization, as well as a lot more. It's been a very full week-lots of information to process. I have been challenged by lots of what I've heard this week which was hard at first but I think that's a good thing. We also spend much time hearing the stories of former YAVs. In small groups, we reflected and shared how the week was going for us. We've spent some time in the Word through Bible study and in worship, where I got to help out by playing violin & singing, which was a treat because I thought I'd said goodbye to the violin for awhile.

But along with all of the sessions, we've also had some serious fun. :) Lots of games, late nights, talking, worship music-it's been enjoyable.

What crazy weather we had this week! Some of us felt the earthquake on Monday during our Cultural Competency training, and then before we knew it Hurrican Irene was headed our way! We spend time yesterday preparing for the storm-putting out sandbags, putting away outdoor furniture. The rain began yesterday-TONS of rain for hours! During the night, there was flooding in the conference center rooms and in the rooms where we're staying.  Water leaked in through the ceiling in my room, and later down the walls. My poor roommate woke up sputtering and coughing from rainwater in her face-how awful! We moved her into a different room during the night, but I never got wet. We're all okay-lots of flights delayed and cancelled, though. We were all supposed to leave tomorrow for our various sites but some of us aren't leaving until Tuesday or Wednesday.

As of right now, our flights for today still seem to be set. So in a few hours after lots of goodbyes, we'll head for JFK airport where we'll fly overnight to London, and then to Bahrain, then to Cochin, India.

I'll keep you all posted during the travel. Please be praying for His travelling mercies, especially as things at the airports are crazy right now! We're leaving for the airport 6 hours before our flight! Pray also for the YAVs stuck here waiting for flights-though, honestly, we're all having so much fun together that no one is minding being delayed at all. :) It's amazing how much of a community we've become in just a few days.

So-leaving tomorrow. Ready or not, here we come! Will post on the way or once we've arrived!

Blessings & peace,
Claudia

Being Filled Up & Sent Out: NWMC & Preparations

So much has happened since I last posted- I can't believe how incredibly busy this summer has been.

When I last posted, I wrote while at Crestfield Camp & Conference Center where I was visiting for a couple of days. I am also writing this from a conference center, but from a different one now-Stony Point Conference Center in Stony Point, New York, where I have been for the past week for YAV Orientation. I'll get to that but first I want to share a bit about the time up until now.

After a couple days at Crestfield, I went straight to the New Wilmington Mission Conference where I served as high school staff. On Saturday I attended a friend's wedding in Poland, Ohio, and then came back to Westminster where I met the ten amazing girls that would comprise my small group for the week.

It was a really intense week. The first night there, at our first group devotions, I was astonished at all of the issues and tough circumstances my group of girls were facing-all situations out of their control. All ten of them were facing something monumental. When our devotions together ended that night, I was so overcome by the enormity of the things they were facing that I wept. "How are you going to redeem all of this, God?" I asked Him to take all of their situations and to work powerfully in their lives that week, but in reality I was so discouraged by the things they were facing that I just had no idea what kind of a week they were going to have.

What an incredible work God did in each of their lives that week!!! They were encouraged, heartened, and inspired by everything by all the speakers. They were able to surrender their situations to the Lord, to lay these things down, and thusly were open to all of the blessings God had for them that week at conference. And I got to see my conference family- to soak it all it, to learn, to laugh, to just absolutely fill up spiritually. I spent every lunch and dinner that week with a friend and a great conversation. I met and conversed with missionaries from Pakistan, India, and many other places. As it always does, the week felt like it was about a month. I leave every year thinking that conference can't possibly get any better the next year, and I'm always wrong. The things I witnessed that week, the way God worked so powerfully in my group of girls, and in my own heart, were awesome. One of my girls, upon leaving, handed me an 8-PAGE letter that she'd spent all week writing. She said that this week had been the most eye-opening and biggest life-changing experience of her life. The letter detailed all of the ways that Christ had worked in her heart, what she'd learned this week, and lots of thank-yous. I was just floored on receiving this, and I reread it all the time. It really just blows me away each year what all the Lord does at and through conference. I couldn't have been more encouraged.

The day I came home, deliriously tired because no one goes to bed the last night of conference, I was commissioned at my home church at all 4 weekend services, the Saturday night and the three on Sunday morning.  I was able to share both about my week at conference and a little bit about what I'll be doing in India. What an awesome time to be commissioned and sent out. I was so ready to go then!

But I still had all of my preparations to do and lots of family & friends to see! My sister Jocelyn was in town from Houston for ten days and we took a brief family vacation to Nemacolin Woodlands Spa & Resort together where we majorly relaxed, slept, enjoyed excellent food and spa treatments. It was a pampering but fun time for us. We also had a chance to visit Fallingwater while there. Once we got home, I had my last day of work at Memorial Park, wrapped up lessons with my private students, and had family photos taken with my mom and Joce, something we hadn't done before.

On Friday the 12th, my parents hosted a going-away party for me at The Cider House-what a wonderful evening it was. There was lots of food, fellowship, and music. How beautiful it was to see friends from so many different areas of my life all mingling together-college friends, church friends, family-a foretaste of heaven. I was so touched by everyone's kindness & by the many people that showed up (way more people than I was expecting!) I am very grateful for all of the support and will miss seeing you all.

I then had one week to get everything reading for India. Note to self for future reference-next time I do this I need to stop work earlier! I had a TON to get done in a very short amount of time, along with helping with worship on the weekends or leading, and singing at a wedding, teaching lessons, visiting with family, etc. etc. I was able to do all my shopping and packing, finishing just in time. It's just been a huge whirlwind of meals with friends, doctors appointments, and continual trips to Target. Additionally, I got to visit with my aunt who was up from Nashville and we had a big family cookout. My cousin Mark from DC even came up to Pittsburgh as a surprise to see me before I left-although I accidentally ruined the surprise!

And all of a sudden it was Sunday night and I was leaving the next morning. Where has the time gone? Was I even around for this summer? I have hardly been able to keep up. It's all felt like a huge, wonderful dream. I have been showered with notes and hugs, encouraging words, gifts, to the point of being overwhelmed. God has provided so abundantly. It's been a glorious, rich, and very fulfilling summer.

Sigh.