Just a Few Pics

Our first day in India...tired but ready to see it all!
Still not sure what I can share here, so you'll have to wait a little longer for some stories. But, these are certainly okay to post.

On a boat with beautiful flower garlands--a traditional welcome

I'm wearing a punjabi dress, as some call it. All the girls on the trip wore them and we were blessed to borrow them all from friends here on staff.

Our team

Joel and I are still dealing with jet lag. We both were up throughout the night and I finally just got out of bed and stayed up at 4am. We will both do our best to press through this afternoon with no naps so we can hopefully get back on Texas time!

I chose the most comfortable punjabis, not necessarily those most flattering.

We appreciate your continued prayers as we settle back into life here having been gone for two weeks (back into parenting and all the routine tasks at home, as well as catching up in the office for Joel). We also want to continue processing through our trip and all that we saw, heard, and experienced. Pray we are sensitive to all the Lord wants to teach us!

Home Again, Home Again

Thank you for your prayers!

Your prayed for safe travel and we had no accidents or mishaps. We were delayed several times due to weather (and other weird things within India), but never had problems that were too hard to handle. (The weird thing...I'm sure I'll tell you many more interesting things...was that we were delayed from flying in country one day because the airport was repaving the runway! Seriously...a major delay. They were "laying new carpet" as they called it. So, instead of flying out at 9am, as planned, we left at 8pm! Crazy and weird, but "it is no problem" --a saying regularly heard while in India.)

You prayed for my peace about leaving my kids. God gave me complete peace. His peace really does surpass all understanding. I cried some during the first few days, mostly as a release of emotion, I think. It wasn't really thinking about my kids that made me cry. It was the movie I watched on the plane and the book I read on the plane (I had lots of time on the plane). But, once I was crying, I just let it all come out. It was good. Then, I was a cry baby for the first few days, but it wasn't related to my kids. I was just overwhelmed by God's love...for the people I met, for me, for It's depth and bredth.

You prayed for my kids to be okay while we were gone. And, from everything we see...they had a blast and really didn't miss us too much. I mean, they were occupied and busy and well loved by every person they came in contact with while we were gone! They were well fed, well played with, well loved, well entertained... It is well! And, their reaction upon our return...they were looking at the candy machine by the door we came through and I had to say "helloooooo. helloooo. hey!" Then they looked and came running to hug us. After a good squeeze...they went right back to the machine.

You prayed that our hearts would be open to see and hear from the Lord. You will hear plenty more about that in the days, weeks, and months to come. I can honestly say that all 8 of us on our team will never forget the past two weeks. The sights, sounds, smells, stories, and amazing food...forever etched on our hearts. God is doing some amazing things in India. What a privilege to be a part of it!

You prayed for team unity. I don't know that I've ever been on a trip of this length with this many people who never argued. Seriously! Not one argument. The love that was expressed could only be directly from the Father, for it was gracious and pure and truly love. What an honor to have "led" (yeah, right!) such a great team.

Thank you for all your prayers. As soon as we get some pictures uploaded and some sleep, we'll be sharing stories with you!

Praise God...from Him ALL blessings flow!

Around the World

As many of you know, Joel and I are currently on a tour half way around the world! Our trip is going well. We are learning so much and will have lots of stories to tell.

I must be brief, but we would appreciate your continued prayers for safe travels (the two of us and our team of 6 others), for our hearts to be receptive to what the Lord wants to teach us, and for our children, who are back home with their Nana right now. After Nana leaves, other friends will be caring for them for the last few days of our trip. Pray that they will be having fun, not missing us too much, and that the caregivers will have energy!

I was feeling a little sick earlier in the week, but I think it's mostly allergies. I would still appreciate prayer for good health...it makes a huge difference, especially since we are traveling so much.

We are at our third stop in the trip. We have two more until we fly home. The point we're at now is somewhat of a "resting" stop. I can't wait to tell you all the details and show all our great video clips and pictures.

For now, keep on praying!
Thank you!