Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. - Mark Twain
I have to say, I whole-heartedly agree with Twain's view on travel. You may read hundreds of books and watch dozens of movies or documentaries and think you really know about a culture, people group, or religion, but there is no better way to learn than to be immersed in it. So if you ever have the chance, even if it is just for a short week, travel, learn, and explore!
Jeff has had the chance to spend a good deal of time in India and has travelled to its different areas and visited its various peoples. Last month was my chance. I was blessed to get the chance to go visit a friend who has been living there for almost two years! I am so proud, and a bit jealous, of the amazing adventure she has been experiencing. :) I was only there for a week, but I got to do and see a lot. I wish I could have stayed for a month! I got to meet some awesome people, eat some delicious food, drink homemade chai, learn how to make henna designs, visit some amazing places, and even help out with a small medical clinic. What a loving culture and people. Just a little tidbit I learned about their family-oriented lifestyle... A woman who is older than you is called Didi (older sister) as a sign of respect. They really make you feel a part of the family when they address you this way! An elderly woman would be called Auntie.
I took over 500 pictures, but here are just a few to highlight my favorite moments...
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| First full day in India and up at 6 AM to go see the Taj Mahal! |
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| My very first design attempt with henna :) |
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A friend I made who did a great job
with her first henna design! |
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| At the Lotus Temple |
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| Agra Fort |
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Akshardham - this was as close as our cameras were allowed,
but up close this place is unbelievable!! |
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| Auto Rickshaw |
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| Humayan's Tomb |
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| Qutub Minar |
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These people pretty much made a line to take pictures with us
so we didn't let them get away without our own photo op! |
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| India Gate |
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| Jama Masjid |
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| We climbed to the top of one of the minars... |
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| ... and here was our view of Old Delhi from the top! |
I had a blast and I was so glad I got a chance to visit my friend, Meagan, and get a glimpse at what she has been experiencing for the last two years. What an amazing lady she is! :)
Unfortunately, there won't be any more overseas travel anytime soon. It's sort of an expensive deal... Our next trip abroad will most likely be to Ethiopia, but that will be some time from now. Our home study is currently in the revision stage so we are just answering some random questions and providing some random documents to be sure our home study meets all the policies laid out by our adoption agency, the state of Colorado, and also the government of Ethiopia. Once that is completed we will have it sent to the state of Colorado to approve it and will have to get yet another set of fingerprints. Once that is completed... we will get to submit our dossier documents to Ethiopia (along with another hefty legal fee) and pray that we will be approved! I knew this would be a long, taxing process, but I can't believe we aren't even to the halfway point. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to have to get used to praying for patience and trust in the Lord everyday of my life because I really don't feel like I'm getting anymore patient than I was yesterday or the day before.
Jeff will be doing some traveling soon, to Panama City, Florida! Poor him, right? He received his orders from the Air Force and he will be spending a large amount of his summer there. If I can find myself a decent airplane ticket, I would love to visit him (and to hang out on the beach...). We are trying to plan a fun camping trip before he leaves, maybe to Salida, Colorado. We got all this awesome new camping gear for Christmas and we are just dying to try it out, but with work and classes and such a short amount of time to plan, we are having just a little trouble scheduling some outdoor fun in our lives. So, hopefully that will work out before he leaves. If not, there may be more time in the summer to get some use out of our new tent before the snow comes again.
A great reminder from Paul that we are ALL made from the image of God regardless of our color, language, or location; and a reminder this Easter season that the scarlet blood of the Lamb can make us white as snow, name us brothers and sisters, and relate us to those we've never even met:
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. - Galatians 3:26-29
