We're Back from India!

Well, the update posts on India will not be like the last ones. We did not do as much as we did last time. Though we had a great time hanging out with family, dinner conversations aren't always that exciting on paper.

I handled this trip a lot better than last time. This time we didn't have to do as much visiting. The only problem with visiting is that it's outside my cultural comfort level, especially when it's required to "save face". We would not have been able to do as much visiting as last time, anyway, with a baby in tow. Much to my relief we never had to take the train, not once, and Keane only rode in the rickshaws one time. We were the only ones in Kerala with a car seat.

Once again, I wrote in a journal. I'll use excerpts again, when appropriate. Keane and I are sick right now and it is so hard to be motivated to do this, but here goes.

The day that we got there, Papa got out of the hospital, so these are actually his visitors and "they killed two birds with one stone", if you will.

3 Generations

Hmmm...usually he smiles for the camera.

We took a taxi from the airport to Mum and Dad's house. It was sort of a fiasco finding the right vehicle. I was adamant that Keane stay in the car seat, even if there were no seat belts. :( So they smiled when they might as well have rolled their eyes, and we got a bigger car. I love that John was supportive and never made me once feel like an over protective mother.

When we arrived in India it was Ramadan, so every night we heard loud "prayers" or chants. "Allah is Great"over and over and over and over. Can I emphasize that some more? Oh India, don't give your heart to this. Here is a poem I wrote after the news announced a terrorist bomb struck Delhi.

As fear grows
My eyes get wider
people pushed past
their comfort threshold
another bomb, another
hair closer to panic.
Is it near the end?
What should I think on?
How have the rules changed?
I guess they have not
morphed at all.
As His Word has
not melted in
my hand.
It still stands.

So, my India. Same as when I left it. A battle ground for every spiritual army. The riches and the beauty of India hidden, waiting for Christ to lift the veil. I love India like a dying patient loves the Dr.. More to come.