India!

Ok...so I knew I would be changed when I signed up for coming over to Asia. Wow.....being in India is one way to change your view of life in general! Wow.....the kids just capture my heart I tell you. Especially the dirty ones. Yesterday I held and played with a tiny little girl. I am guessing she couldn't have been more than 7-8 monthes. She hardly weighed a thing! "They are precious in His sight." Wow....i can see why Jesus had such a heart for kids. They just have a way of bringing out the gentle side in you. i will post pictures when i get back to school.

In just a few hours we are going to be leaving for Ieeja (about 4-5 hour from Hyderabad.) We will traveling with about 30 other people who will be part of the team that will be doing a VBS for kids next week.  We're expcting 800-1000 kids!! They will be coming from area tribes and towns. Wow....let me just say I am going to take one day at a time!! It'll be memory-making, to say the least!

Last night, us girls all got Panjabi dresses made! Oh my word, I love the Indi-style of womens dresses! SO beautiful; feminine bright colors, flowing dresses. My dress is mainly white, with lavender, lime green, and orange splashes of color, and silver embroidery. I'll get a picture of it and post it after we all get back to school.

De-stressing after two weeks of classes

       You know how you feel after you read a book for too long? Especially a book that you really can't drum up the desire to really get into. Well....sometimes at school, you feel that way when you study too long. These pictures would be sample of things to do when you want to de-stress. (Tho I wouldn't recomend it for the faint at heart)

#1 thing to do to de-stress: get a bunch of your friends to chug down a Red Bull in one gulp, then start on your Icy from 7 eleven.......and this is about what you may look like:

 (Jamie, Eric, Josh, and Tony)

#2 thing to do to de-stress if #1 wasn't de-stressful enough...go into the kitchen and microwave a whole bunch of leftover hotdogs and see if you can eat anywhere from 4-6 in a row (We won't say who ate how many)

Ok, so that's not the only thing we do here at school. The more "uplifting" things we do besides classes (which are life-changing, and mindset-changing, by the way!! E-mail me if you want to know more about that)

Oh, I forgot to mention....before we de-stress from all the homework, we have to "clean house" Saturday morning. Not usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of de-stressing, but when you think of the satisfaction of taking a floor of a girl's dorm that is covered with "Mennonite hair".....and sweep it up, then mop it so it shines.....ahhhhh, the joy of making beauty out of ashes! Ok, Im getting a little dramatic. I'll just leave you with a few pictures...

(Dorcas over-seeing Jamie's sweeping)

Then once you have all your chores done, we have (American-style) BRUNCH! I never imagined I would be so thankful for a good old American breakfast!! Anyway....so later on in the day (once it quits raining), another way to let loose some physical energy is  to play tackle football in a "field" that's the size of a back yard....

Lots of huddles as you can see....*snort*

Actually, they did more than huddles.....they did play, as long as the kick-off didn't go over the fence. If it did, this is what happens:

The spectators:

Afterwards, we all went to Rick's place for some praise and worship singing and fellowship

Ahhh.....now THIS is what I call de-stressing!

Well.....I miss all you guys from home! Keep in touch!!

My new "home"

 Well....I arrived safe and sound! Tho at first I was a walking dead person.....because of jet-lag! HAha.....I was NOT my regular self! I feel alot better now after being here several days. I still get tired towards late afternoon....but its improoving slowly but surely.

Ok, anyway.....I thought I'd show you some pictures of my new "home" away from home now.

My little "corner"

This would be the view from the window by the fan:

 Check out the humidity! It's 102 degrees!

This next one is of the opposite window. Notice the palm trees???

And last but NOT LEAST.....here's just a few shots of some dear people I am right now missing VERY MUCH!

On my way!

Alright.....the big day is finally here. In just a little while, I am going to be leaving with my family to go down to Minneapolis, where we're gonna hang out for the day, then get our hotel tonight, so we can all take the Metro transit to the airport Sunday morning. (I fly out at 9:32am) The next time I will be on here will probably not be till I get to Chaing Mai. If all goes as scheduled, I will arrive in Chaing Mai Tuesday morning. (Their time; they're 12 hours ahead of us) See you all later!!!!

Jared Schrock

This is a plea for urgent prayer for our friend Jared. He was in a serious motorcycle accident on Monday evening, and is right now, fighting for his very life.....in critical condition. He was hit by a car after pulling out of a stop sign. I guess he hadn't seen the car coming. Right now the most serious of his injuries is a blood clot on his brain. He's in bad shape. I just want to ask that even if you don't know him......PLEASE pray! He's gonna need a miracle. Pray for his family too. He has many siblings and friends that are all being affected by this in some way. We serve a God of miracles.......He is far bigger than our "impossibilities"!!!!