What Goes Around

Our group of friends who are here to build skateboard ramps left yesterday to go back to the States. But now they are back today, in my home. Two of them made it out because they made their reservations separately, but the others had the misfortune of making their reservations for a month later and none of them realized it until they tried to get in to the airport. The night started off with a frantic search for one passport. The search continued through the house and on the way to the airport. Finally it was found in a bag. Then came the disappointment of the date of the ticket. So the guys had to find a hotel since they weren't able to call us, or we didn't answer the phone or something. And now they are exhausted and sleeping all over the house. To change a ticket it costs a lot of money. So that is added stress. Stress on the pocketbook is one of the worst. Sickness is the worst, divorce is second, and money is third. And today is one of the guy's birthday. ...

I find myself contemplating peer pressure today. You think it is something that teenagers go through, but in reality I find that all ages continue on through it until they are at peace with who they are. Deep thoughts by Leslie. Yesterday I was at the shopping center that the guys are skateboarding at. They really are cool to watch. And it makes me wish that I could be cool too. There were also some kids who were rip-sticking. I also can't do that. Micah also can't skate or rip-stick. He likes to use his scooter. I asked him if he doesn't want to skate because he is afraid to get hurt. He said that is right. He didn't have his scooter with us so he was just watching the other kids. He said, "It seems like everyone has a rip-stick. I am probably the only foreigner to not have one." I doubt that is true, but I know what he was feeling. He was feeling left out. I kind of want Micah to take up skateboarding or rip=sticking just so he can have fun wi...

So we have a house full of boys and men right now. There are only three of us women. As we sit around the breakfast table, there is a lot of conversation. We start out talking about skating or building ramps and then someone makes a comment about a butt or some other part of the male anatomy and the conversation changes. This happens over and over again. Every single conversation can somehow be changed. They are amazing.

So we have this group here who are helping Steve build skate ramps. They are super busy. So far I haven't even seen the work they are doing, but today I hope to go. There is so much going on that we never know when they will get back here and if they will want to eat. So yesterday I had our house help lady make dinner for us. She made a big pot of pumpkin curry and I made rice. Enough for 13 people. And then it was just me and one other person who actually ate. How do you plan for the unplannable?

We seem to have a water shortage. For the last two nights we have run out of water. Or maybe it is because we have so many people at our house that are flushing the toilet and taking showers. There are still a bunch of people at our house. They don't take long showers or anything. We have learned to keep a bucket in your shower to rinse off with and to keep the water to use for flushing. We actually need more buckets for all the water that is being collected. So what we do is take a quick rinse off, turn off the water while you soap up, and then rinse it off. All the while you have the bucket at your feet to catch all the wasted water. I have taken a shower with less than a half a bucket of water. Not that I am bragging about that. I'm just saying that I know how to use very little water. So we bought a 20L jug of water to have some drinking water, but when we dumped it into our water jug it had floaties. Not sure if that was already in our jug or if it was in the n...

We have 10 visitors staying with us this week. Yes, 10. And most of them are boys. Boys eat a lot. For breakfast I made oatmeal. Then I put out cereal to in case they were still hungry. One kid ate a bowl of oatmeal and then three bowls of cereal. That is when I realized that I was not thinking big enough. I only bought two boxes of cereal. Tonight they are all out skateboarding so I imagine they will come back hungry. I'm afraid. Really afraid. What am I going to feed them???? I could order food, but I don't have any money until they come back. And then it will take some time for the food to arrive. And that is, if anything is open. Today is a holiday. So what is my back-up plan? Beans. But I hadn't soaked them. I decided all of this at 4:00, so I started soaking them for two hours. Then I through some Indian spices in the pressure cooker and added some onion and garlic and threw in the beans. Now how long do I cook them? I can only figure it is somew...

Like many people, I am still drawn to the news stations to read all I can about the earthquake and tsunami. I hope for good news of survival, but there isn't much. Mostly it is bad. It is heart wrenching to watch the people scream in fear as the tsunami is seen in the distance. Now to hear their stories of watching a loved one get washed away. Or to hear them say that they saw bodies in the water. This would be like the worst horror story to watch. And it is real. No movie could make it look any worse than it really is. I wish I could be there to help dig out whatever could be saved. I wish I could do something to help. And every day there is still so many earthquakes and tsunami warnings for them. How can they begin to clean up when they are afraid to go near the ocean. I am reminded again of my fears of earthquakes and tsunamis. It will be a battle again when I face the ocean, but I know that I can overcome fear with the knowledge that God is with me. Psalm 46 1 God ...

I was thinking today about the story of the 10 virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom to come. It really made sense to me in light of my recent not-readiness. Yesterday we didn't have electricity for 3 and a half hours. Our inverter only lasts about 10 minutes. We haven't fixed it for six months. It is suppose to last 8 hours. Then when the electricity is out for 8 hours we can at least have a fan running. But we will only get 10 minutes. We are definitely not ready for summer. And also yesterday we didn't have cooking gas (still). So without electricity to run the microwave and no cooking gas, I couldn't make chai. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Thankfully it isn't hot yet, so nothing melted in the freezer. I didn't even think about eating the ice cream. You would think that we would be pro-active about the gas and fill our extra cylinder before we actually needed it. But here we sit, two days later, with two empties. So...

I love chai. I love my own the most. I love my house helper's second. And after us I like the guy's on the street in my old neighborhood. When I use to work at the gym in our old neighborhood, I would often times get tea from the chai-wala outside of the gym. We would bring a tray with our own glasses and he would fill them up with boiling hot tea. I guess we didn't trust that his glasses were clean enough. Several times, when the chai was brought back in to drink, the person would pick up their cup of chai and the bottom would break off and chai would spill all over the place. The glasses weren't made to hold boiling chai I guess. Then the rest of us would pour some of our chai into another glass for the poor soul who had theirs spill. Today I am hostessing a tea party. I don't really get in to tea parties. To me, the most important thing is to be together. I don't care about what the cups look like or what I wear. I may or may not wear make-up tod...

The man who lives in the apartment next to ours is very hard of hearing. He is an older gentleman that doesn't work, so he is home all day. He is often sitting in his living room with his front door open so I can see in. He has a screen shut, but I can still see in. He doesn't seem to be doing much in there. Probably about 15 times a day, someone will come to his door. Sometimes they just walk in, like a neighbor or a servant of some sort. But other times the person knocks. Then he yells, "Who is it?" in Hindi. If they don't know him they don't know to yell. So the person may answer and he can't hear them, so he yells again, "Who is it?" The person will reply louder, but usually not loud enough. This can go on and on for 4 or 5 times. Others who come to the door that know him will already speak loudly. Sometimes he will carry on a loud conversation with the person. Other times I hear him speaking loudly to someone in the house. Usu...

YOUTUBE Here is another Benny Hester song that I LOVE. Whoever Touches You Words & Music by Benny Hester & John Parenti You're the one that I have chosen You are mine and that's forever I will love you like no other In My house we'll be together When you call Me I will hear you Always know that I am near you Watching over to protect you In My arms just remember chorus: Whoever touches you Touches the apple of My eye Oh My child Whoever touches you Touches the apple of My eye You are My treasure In Me you can hide Whoever touches you If you’re lonely, when you’re threatened In your trials you’re scared and troubled When you’re burdened, if you’re running Call to Me and hear Me answer (chorus)

I was reminded again this week of a song I have loved for a long time. When God Ran, by Benny Hester. This week I thought of it from a new perspective. I was imagining a trafficked girl who comes to our aftercare home and her picture of a father. And then teaching her about the perfect father, God. So here are the words to the song. When God Ran Written by: Benny Hester & John Parenti Recorded by: Benny Hester Almighty God The Great I Am Immovable Rock, Omnipotent powerful Awesome Lord Victorious Warrior Commanding King of Kings Mighty Conquerer And the only time The only time I ever saw Him run Was when He ran to me Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest Said "My son's come home again" Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes With forgiveness in His voice He said "Son, do you know I still love you?" It caught me by surprise when God ran The day I left home I knew I'd broken His heart I wondered then If things could ever be the same Then ...