Black Magic

Yesterday, after aerobics, I was sitting around with the ladies drinking chai. Usha's husband has been sick for about a month now. She described him as being anxious and nervous all the time. So he just lays in bed when he is at home. So the ladies were discussing what was wrong with him. It was all in Hindi so I wasn't following completely. Then there was a word I didn't understand so I asked Hena what it meant. She told me, "Black Magic".

Usha is a Hindu. She has offered sacrifices for her husband's illness. She has asked me to pray for him. She has asked others too. So I asked Usha if she would like a man to come pray for her husband. She told me that she had already prayed for him. I said, "In Jesus' name though." And she told me that she had prayed in all names. So I left it at that.

Today I am thinking about it all again. So this morning, after aerobics again, I asked an English speaker to explain Black Magic more to me. She said that there are lots of types, curses that people put on others. She said that when she got married her in-laws took one of her outfits and did some sort of ritual to put a curse on her marriage. And ever since then she has had a bad marriage. She said that Usha thinks her husband is possessed with evil spirits. Either someone cursed him or it just happened. So now I wonder if it would be good to pray over him or not. I mean, if he isn't a believer in Jesus, what good would it do to cast out demons? More could come and harm him even further. So what should I do? Give me your thoughts.

not good looking, rats!

Steve will be going to a friends' house to see if he can help solve their rat problem. It seems they have a rat the size of a hamster in one of the cupboards. I personally think they would know more about what to do since they use to live in a house with a rat problem. Once they came home from a weekend away and found rat droppings under their pillows.

The other day one of the ladies who comes for aerobics was talking with me over chai. Her four daughters were with her. And we had a friend of ours and her three daughters also. Our friend has some physical problems that have caused her hands and feet to be deformed. So we were talking about how in India it would be really difficult for a lady with any kind of "defect" to find a husband. Any little scar could mean singlehood or becoming a second wife. Our muslim friend commented, "My in-laws are not very attractive people and unfortunately my daughters have taken after them. But I only look on the inside." Can you believe it??!!! Right in front of her daughters too. My American friend said to the girls that they are very beautiful. I just gasped. Probably not the best reaction. Anyway, I wonder how hurtful her comments are to her girls. And I wonder how much she must be hurt herself.

picture above

I love the picture above. It was taken several years ago while Steve was out skateboarding. He and two other guys were skating on the side of a busy street. There is a underground walkway to cross the street. Above the walkway there is a great structure for skating. So Steve and the others were were skating there. Traffic started slowing so that people could watch. First rickshaws were stopping, then cars, and finally buses. As you see, people were enjoying the skateboarding. I just love the expressions on their faces.

Fat

I think mannequins should be made fatter. That would let me know what an outfit would look like on me. Most of the clothes look great on a size 0 dummy, but when I put them on they just don't seem to be as cute.

Yes, I am one of many women who have a weight problem. Not that I am fat, I just think about my weight too much. Pretty much every day at some point I will think about my weight and if I am happy with my size or not. That can't be healthy. And it is especially difficult when we are on vacation. We haven't been eating horribly, but it is more than we do at home. And I'm not exercising at all except for the pool.

So enough of my weight.....

We had to buy Micah a new stuffed animal on this trip. He needed something to snuggle with. Brownie doesn't get to go on vacations with us. He is mine and Micah's teddy bear. One time, many years ago, Brownie got left in a Paris hotel. Luckily, Micah asked “Where's Brownie?” before we got on the shuttle to the airport. Steve went back to the hotel room and found Brownie under the bed. So now he has to stay home. I guess I usually pack another friend for Micah, but forgot this time. So now we have George, a cute monkey.

When we went to the zoo the other day we stopped at the pet store (or toy store/gift shop) and saw a cute guy that Micah called George. I said it was too expensive and that we would surely find one at the mall for much cheaper. So right after the zoo we had to walk through the mall. We finally found this George. He was a bit more than the zoo one, but he would have to do. I felt bad for being so cheap at the zoo. Now Micah covers George's ears to tell me, “The other George was cuter.”

We leave tomorrow to go to Bangkok on the night train, and then to Delhi. I don't feel ready to go back. Not sure what will help. Not more food. There is one final store I want to go to. I need to buy some tuna fish and some pants. Shopping is so much easier here. I'm glad it is raining in Delhi now so the temperatures should be much better. And I will be glad to get back into my aerobic routine and hopefully find my groove.

another great day

We are really enjoying our vacation. We went go-carting yesterday and it was such a joy to see Micah's face as he drove around the track. Of course we are eating great food. I wonder why it is so easy to gain weight in two weeks and why it takes so long to lose it. But I keep telling (lying to myself) that I will lose it when I get back to doing aerobics again. Mango with sticky rice is the best! Is it a dessert? Or is it a healthy meal?

Enjoying Thailand

Today is our fifth day in Thailand. Our first day we were pretty tired from the all night flight here. We just stayed at the hotel, which was a very nice hotel. The next day we went to the mall and watched a movie, Ice Age 3-D. Great sweet popcorn. We also went bowling. When we got back to the hotel our friend was waiting outside, just leaving. He had come to the hotel to look for us and was just giving up when we came. So that was a fun coincidence. The next day we spent at the hotel swimming pool and ate food from 7-11. You can get cheap, good food there. And yesterday we went to another mall to spend the day. Steve got a foot massage and I had a full body massage. A guy did my massage. He even massaged my butt, which is a bit odd. But the massage sure felt good. And finally to the train station for our night train to Chiang Mai. And here we are. Very nice hotel. And it happens to be connected to a mall.

We found a Toy's R Us in the mall and Micah found a fun airplane which we couldn't say “no” to. We had our hamburgers today at Mike's. Great burgers.

Counting the days!

We are counting the days until our trip to Thailand. So excited. And so needing a rest. This has been the hottest summer in ten years, so the newspaper says. Thankfully we have had good electricity with very few power cuts. There was a week of no water, but our tank was full, so we didn't even realize it. Now the monsoon has started. It is a bit weak, but cooler none the less.

The month of June was busy for our house. We had visitors almost constantly. By the end of the month I was almost out of my hospitality desire. I just needed a day of no one but the three of us in our house.

We have also been working with friends to try to get a young girl moved into a hostel. She is the 11 year old daughter of a prostitute and the mother would like her to be in a better place. The problem was that the "father" was not in town or for some reason wasn't signing the paper that needed signing. Today it all worked out. I really didn't have anything to do with it, but prayer. I saw the mother and daughter today on their way to the hostel, where the girl will live with eleven other girls and some wonderful Christian ladies taking care of them. They will all go to school and get tutoring. They will be well fed and cared for. As I met the mother today she told me she wants me to come visit her more. This excites me. I really enjoyed spending time with her in the brothel and I desire to show the ladies love.

A couple days ago I was talking with some young ladies who were staying with us. We were sitting at the kitchen table and I noticed someone had written on the table. It said, "No Fat". I asked Steve about it and he said that our friend who was over for an English lesson had done it. I had guessed that it was him since it isn't the first item of furniture to be written on. I was mad. It was not just written on the table, but permanently marked in the wood. Once he had written on Micah's bedroom wall "Micah room". I still don't understand the writting on walls in this culture, but you see it in many houses.

Yesterday after aerobics several of the ladies and I went to one lady's house for chai. It was a wonderful visit with lots of food. We had freshly made pizza, pastry puffs, cheese cake, chai and cookies. A nice after workout snack.