Hey guys, a few of you have emailed me and asked when I was going to write a blog so I decided now would be a good time to include you into my journey. These past 2 weeks in India have been possibly the most interesting time in my life. India is wild. There is no way that I can completely convey to the adventures we have had and it is only the beginning. Let me just start by saying to all of the other parents, your kids...are my best friends hands down. Thank you for birthing them... J Secondly I miss you! Everyone at home! <3 you will be tired of hearing my stories once I am there to share them in person.

Now to the fun stuff!

India is never normal, we are taught to expect the unexpected, and not be surprised by the inevitable Indian surprises. A boring day never exists in India. For example. The first day our team loaded into our van to head to the leper colony we were a little nervous some un-easy as we didn't know what to expect. Many of us had never seen a leper and we weren't told a lot about our surroundings. Our driver's name is Sapsing (spl?) He is an extremely nice man who we know nothing about and speaks hardly any English...which is normal around here. While he was driving us to the colony we were stuck in the usual insane traffic in  India. A beggar woman was poking her head into our window while we were being polite as possible in that situation, we noticed a man walking up to our window to argue with Sapsing. We thought nothing of it until our driver got out of the car and a fist fight started in the middle of the road. I am completely amazed at how calm our team was as the driver and a stranger were slamming each other onto the side of the car. We prayed... A lot. Long story short we sat in the hot car for an hour and a half while waiting for our driver to come back to the car after filing a police report. During this time in the car our team got to know a little more about each other and wondered if we would ever make it to the leper colony. At one point a group of Indians came to the van and pushed it to get us out of the way on the road.

THEN! When we finally got to the leper colony we were lured by a pleasant fragrance of incense and flowers, which was definitely a surprise. Not many things smell good in India. As we got closer an Indian woman in the colony greeted us and took us to the room with the smell. As soon as we saw what was smelling so good it immediately became sour. We were standing in a room where a man had just died and the family was pulling up chairs around the man asking us if we would like a drink or refreshments... Really??!!! Really?? This was insane. I had never sat in a chair this close to a dead man in my life. We were stunned. We prayed for the family and loved on them and went on with the other lepers holding there hands or what was left of them and praying with children and men and woman who lived there. That day was a journey. Since then we have seen men getting beat in the face with hammers and motorcycle wrecks at that is just the first week of our journey together in India.

Something that God has really taught me already through this all is how different life is everywhere, but how he is the same God and he is everywhere. I see him directly through the childrens faces. Our group has been split into two ministry sites and I have been helping at Asha Mission and will be there until the end of the trip. Yall...these kids are precious. I've seen them worship and praise Jesus more passionately than a group of Pentecost at a revival I am literally amazed. I came thinking I would be there to serve them and reach to them telling them about the love of God. The first words out of there mouths when we walked into the gate was "praise the Lord" as each shook our hands and greeted us like little men and woman. I am so excited to see the relationships he has already built between the kids and us.  So that's about it for now. That's just a little of my experiences here in India. The past weeks from my point of view. I love you guys and continue to pray that God will humble us to his love for these people and each other.