Week Three!

Here are some updates of our third week in India<----wow!

 *Monday 20 June 2011*
Today was, by far, the most amazing day of being in India. I went out with Maggie. We were supposed to spend time with one girl, but she canceled on us. No fear! India has taught us to make no plans because nothing ever goes as expected. Turns out it was perfect because Maggie's friend Vanaja called to hang out about 5 minutes later.

Vanaja is pretty darn awesome. Her and Maggie have hung out 5 times, and she has met almost all of the girls on our team. She really excited for our friendship and loving all the great things we share with her.

So we spent the day in an area called Koti...we had no idea where we were but we were definitely far from home.

Streets of Koti

Maggie and I got out of the auto and the first reaction was "uhhh... I don't know if we should be here." Koti made the area we live in look like America. It was "true India." I wished I had a dupita on (modest scarf worn over the chest), as well as churidars (weird long tights that bunch around the legs), and if I oculd have, I would have died my skin tan and my hair black because we definitely did not fit in here. It was the first time I have ever been nervous to be here. But, it was all worth it. Vanaja helped us bargain for scarves and earrings to bring back to the states (hey hey there ADPi's).

We had a 15 km ride home in the auto which was spent in the best conversation. I wish I could express in writing how great this day has been.

*Wednesday 22 June 2011*
Yesterday, I woke up and felt fine and then all of a sudden I was nauseous as I was eating breakfast. I was so short with Kyle, it was almost funny. He heard me walk up stairs and say "I am going to throw up." Sure enough, two minutes later Tracy went down and said to him, "Emma just threw up." Kasey has been sick too, though totally unrelated. He has been achy with fever and pain. 

He and I stayed back and slept all day while the rest of the team went out. I felt physically terrible and mentally terrible. I hate having to cancel on girls I had plans with and not be able to go out and meet people. Time moves so fast here and every moment is so important. We are almost half way through the summer, and I don't want to miss out on anything.

*Thursday 23 June 2011*
Had date night with the guys! Ah! Home hooked Speghetti. It was great to eat something without a second though. I do like Indian food but you always have to question how it was made, if you'll be spending hours in the bathroom later, etc. And it was such fun company with our team. Everyone got really dressed up and went to the Pete's. We had candlelit dinner, "mood music," and great conversation like we always do. Even as the night ended, I felt so filled up and was pleased to know that this wasn't just one 3 hours day of the summer. They walked us home and then we all watched Tangled together...not part of the date. They guys do an amazing job of caring for us and protecting us. I get to be carefree and enjoy myself here simply because they are always looking out of us girls.

*Friday 24 June 2011*
What a day today was! Started with an early Bible study led by Ray of the humility section of Philippians. SO GOOD!

But when we went to a wedding, a must on our bucket list. Maggie, Sara, and Kasey did not come. Kasey is still sick and now Maggie has a lung infection?!?! And Sara has an eye infection. This week really took a lot of us out. The rest of us went and got to dress up in salwars (traditional clothing between kurtas and sarees as far as formal goes). It was in Upal and was a run ride getting there. The car of "kids" played the name game the entire time. I love competition!

The wedding was just crazy. Talk about 2 hours of sensory overload. Being stared as has become part of life now, we are all almost numb to it. But I just got a kick out of little ones staring at us. You give them a smile when they've been caught and automatically, a bashful but so pleasing smile crosses their faces. It is such a joy to talk to them. We don't get far beyond names and ages, but they seem to really delight in it and I do too. Trent's friend Neetoo and Ritik were amazing hosts. Neetoo took us everywhere and helped us so much. I don't know what we would have done without her. We even got to meet the bride in her dressing room, talk about VIP treatment.

talking with people at the wedding, the little girl in the middle is Akshitha

Neethu, Sarah, and I with some kids.

And that is not even the end of the day. We just got back from the neighborhood general store with all the neighborhood children.

Vishnu, Mounika, Rainika and Ramana, Sravya
Vacenta, Jyothi, Nani, Trent, and Savaji

 We went "shopping" which is just to get Thumbs Up (a soda pop here, they say Tums Up though haha). We skipped and ran and held hands and gave piggy back rides on the walk. We taught the kids how to "pound" it. It was just so much fun. After they got their treats (which most of them hoarded and did not share, as rare as these are for them), they were in pure delight. These kids are so wonderful!

And to top it off, finished the night with WP... what a day!

So that's all I've got. Kyle made a sweet video about auto rides and traffic you can check out!

Thanks for reading!

Emma

Week Two!

Well, here are some highlights....

*Tuesday 14 June 2011*
Mandy and I went out with Varsha and Bhanu today! What an amazing day it was. Relationship are really starting to develop with girls that we are meeting. I realize that nothing beyond our language and skin color separates us. We fought between Jacob and Edward as Twilight fans, talked about books we liked to read, and found we have similar dreams, hopes, fears, ambitions, everything, despite growing up worlds and cultures apart.

Mandy, Bhanu, me, Varsha

I was honored by the generosity they showed me. Something India has one-upped the US on: hospitality. They bought me pani puri for the first time, though I was a little afraid of it's cleanliness. But I didn't get sick eating it. Basically, it's this puffed up crispy ball of dough that you poke a hole in, stuff with potatoes and onions and fill with this spiced water. Pani is water. Puri is ... ? No idea. I like the food here even though I cannot feel my lips or tongue after I eat any of it.

Pani Puri. Varsha does her own Mehndi!

We had a team hang out tonight. We went to a Thai restaurant and Tuesday's were official coined as "dangerous. As we relived who we were in the "past," Kyle W. and I had a good laugh! He acted like a jerk and I acted desperate. Thank goodness for 2 Cor 5:17! Kasey and Ray were sweating bullets from "kicking it up a notch" with their already super spicey food. We are really starting to bond as a team and have more memories and laughs than we know what to do with.

*Wednesday 15 June 2011*
I got to meet with Disha again today! She remembered so much from the last time we met!!! She cracks me up because she always calls to hang out but always shows up 2 hours late! Definitely get a laugh out of her. She is the craziest person I have ever met in a great way.

*Thursday 16 June 2011*
We had our first date with the boys tonight, oh la la! They guys ordered us pizza and took us by boat to see the Buddha statue in the middle of Hussain Sagan. We had a crazy time, making huge scenes on the boat and at Eat Street.

*Friday 17 June 2011*
Got to meet with Bhavya today at the mall. She brought her mom along so that was quite eventful! We could hardly speak a word to her. If anyone didn't know, the mother tongue here is Telegu, not Hindi, though almost everyone speaks it as well as English if they have a good education.

me and Bhavya

*Saturday 18 June 2011*
Weirdly, I mark my days by the progress of this building being constructed across the way. LOVE spending time out here on our porch each morning. This summer has already been amazing for growth in all areas of the wheel. Wish I could say more about everything :(

*Sunday 19 June 2011*
All of us played Scategories tonight. Trent likes to have a dictatorship and make the final decision. Kyle W. makes up the weirdest answers. Mills typically doesn't care what's going on. Maggie disrupts the game. Tracy follows rules to a T. I give people answers. Go figure that Mandy and Kyle B. are kicking everyone's behind. We had brotherly/sisterly banter between all of us as we argued for points. It is starting to feel like family here. 

Thanks for reading all!

Emma

Where to begin?

Oh my, I don't even know how to being writing about this past week in India.

First of all...we made it, along with our 47 bags! Well...here are random bits from my "daily log of life in India." Thanks for reading.

*Tuesday 7 June 2011*

The plane rides... The first ride to Chicago killed me because Maggie sat in the very middle of ALL the boys! The second flight to London, boy was that long. Most of us didn’t sleep, and it was great to have CH and Tina with us. For a bit we had a party (Sara, Sarah, Maggie, Kasey, Kyle, and I) in the back of the plane. The flight attendants were quite annoyed with us. Because we stayed up the entire flight, I crashed on the flight to here. That plane was chaotic. You can definitely notice the difference. It smelled like India and sounded like India AND the entire flight was Indian. Kids were crying, no one was patient, instead they crowded personal space, and everyone threw their trash on the floor. That is something that I’ve seen carried over into the way of life here. Who needs waste disposal when you have the ground?!?!

Landing at 5am, I was expecting just Ray to meet us but the whole long term team was there! What a welcome it was with posters and screams and shouts. We made a huge scene as we ALWAYS will do because of our “fairness.”

They kept us up all day so we would adjust to India time. First, Tina took us around the “colony” where we met three beautiful children; Rainika, Nani, and Jotie. They live in a blue tarp, something not uncommon around here, but are the sweetest children I have ever met. We then went shopping for Kurti’s (the pajama dress things women wear). That was not as enjoyable as I thought. I have no idea what looks good, care nothing about fashion, and boy! I could not get them over my shoulders. Indian women are much smaller than we Americans.

We dragged the rest of the day. By the time we ate dinner at India Joe’s all our team was staring into our food bowls with droopy eyes. 

 

*Wednesday 8 June 2011*

Fun sayings from our first day of meeting people:

Kyle W: So does it rain a lot during the rainy season?

Me: So do you have family that live in India?

DUH.

 

*Friday 10 June 2011*

Finally on India time now. This is the first day I haven’t woke up at 4-5am!

*Saturday 11 June 2011*

A little begger girl named Keerthi has become our teams' best friend. She stands outside of a mall we go to in an orange dress everyday. Julie and I went to a market and bought her an apple. She got the sticker of it stuck on her finger, had no idea what to do with it and was waving her hand around frantically, so I put it on her dress. She was so proud of it and for the next 5 minutes yelled at us "dayavadji" which means "thank you" and waved from across the street. 

*Sunday 12 June 2011*

Something fun: the call to P (I think) has been going for 30 minutes straight this morning. Makes me laugh as get in my TAWG.

We had Satsong at the Mac's. Awesome!!!! We sang Budgeons (spelling) and Gordo told stories of J., the way Indians like to hear and learn from. We all sat on the floor on mats and had incense and a light burning to represent Him. It was cool of have ~24 of us there.

We also went to a temple today. It's on the top of a hill . You could see all directions for at least 15 miles. It was the most beautiful sight (but no cameras were allowed...bummer). It was sad to see people give to, bow down to, and lift up P's in that way. It is something you never see in the States.

Also saw Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D with our team. Jam packed theater, and we are the only white people. For a bit I forgot I was in India. It was quite nice to not be stared at for once.

Namaste America!

It's here! Unbelievable. Tomorrow, I am hopping in the car with one of my teammates, Sarah, and heading to Kansas City! Official take off from America (<----crazy!) is 3:20 Sunday afternoon.

We have a lot in store for us tomorrow evening. We are having a mini-team-get-together to discuss an amazing book we read this semester in preparation for this summer. By Bruce Olsen and called "Bruchko," it's all about his journey to South America and how he lived with and change the lives of the Motoline Indians of Columbia and Venezuela by bringing to them the Truth of J.C. If you want a captivating book that will amaze you, inspire you, and possibly make you shed a few tears, READ IT! I'm super pumped to go over it again and hear great input from all my teammates. Afterward, we get to meet up with some of our friends who are still in the KC area for a send off party and some time in prayer for our summer. I can't tell you how excited I am to see all of my friends and teammates. To top it off, all of us gals are staying together at Mandy's house. This equals a night full of chatting and fun!

Here's a photo of our team at our last hangout before school ended!
Back Row L to R: Kyle, Phil, Brian, Kyle, Kasey
Front Row: Sara, Mandy, me, Sarah, Landon, Tracy, Maggie, Trent

Since school, well, I haven't been up to too much. Some highlights have included:

• morning runs with my sister's dog, Jasper. I really am going to miss him. My family happens to be huge animal lovers. Maybe my heart will grow fond for cows over in India?
• extended time in God's word studying the book of Philippians. We will be going over it as a team this summer and boy, it is jam-packed full of wealth and knowledge!
• doing a devotional with my dad over the Prodigal Son which was a story I'd heard but never studied. It was super growing for both him and I. 
• skyping with friends and family! What a great invention! It has been great to talk with people and stay connected, but to see them as well is even better.
• leading one of the evenings for my church's youth group, C3. There couldn't have been more enthusiasm and participation from the kids. I pulled some ideas from a message I heard this past semester over the IY Generation and how to overcome our weaknesses. I hope the students left knowing a little bit more about themselves, excited to conquer our generational flaws, and eager to become leaders among it!
• the birth of my 4th nephew, Hudson Michael Hawkins! My other 3 nephews live outside of Atlanta so I only get to see them a couple times a year if I am lucky. For the first time, I actually had one small sadness about going to India, as I thought about not getting to see him. Luckily, Hudson lives right here in Halstead, so I'll be able to spoil him all I want when I get back!

My brother and his wife are a lucky couple with this little, precious, joy right here.

Oh, and to top off all this goodness, I am fully support raised! The day before school ended, a member from our leadership team at church called and told me wonderful news. After a lot of praying, they voted and decided to support me $1000 dollars, the exact amount I needed to reach my needed total of $5700! God makes me laugh. He kept me hanging until the last minute! What a joy it was to re-tell this story to so many people. I remember during January, I first started praying for financial support. I was scared out of my mind but still confident that He would provide. And he has done so in the most creative, fun ways and shown me amazing sides of Himself and His children!

Well, I believe that is enough for the evening. I would love your prayers for our safe flight to India. We have stops in Chicago and London (!!!!) on the way. Oh! And that our bags make it ;)

Until next time....when I'm in INDIA,
Emma

Halstead: the biggest little city in Kansas

Greeted by this sign, each person coming into Halstead knows they are in for a treat. A 1.25 mile drive down blacktop 89 (the shortest highway in Kansas), crossing of the Little Arkansas River, and 2 1/2 block brick main street later, a person has seen almost the entirety of Halstead.

I think Halstead is one of the best places to grow up; kids ride bikes in the middle of the street, people don't lock doors, the town shuts down on a Friday night football game. Not to mention, the community is like one giant family. Never have I felt so blessed to call this place home.

Thanks to Jennifer Swift, the Stienbacks, and the entire family of Crossroads Community Church for making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Out of the blue, they put on a dinner to help raise support for Joe McGinn and I to go on our summer trips to Gulf Shores, AL and Hyderabad, India. Food was donated by the Stienbacks, Jennifer had flyers made, an ad went into the Harvey County Independent, and a facebook group was started. All of the C3 youth got news out by word of mouth. All in all, 133 from the community came out and $1366.27 was raised!

Wow.

It was an amazing night of reconnecting with old friends and teachers, meeting new friends, spending time with family, jamming to worship music with the high schoolers, and feeling gratitude, appreciation, and awe every single moment of it. 

Each time I feel this blessed by others, I always come back to one of my favorite verses. 1 John 4:12 says, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." How true!

$2 shy of $4500 now and at 75% of my goal! Thank you for praying because God is answering.


I hope you enjoyed my first entry! Until next time,
Emma

Look at that main street, all 2 1/2 blocks of it!