What do I do with a blog?

So I haven't had any more crazy adventures in a foreign country recently, and I find myself in the unique predicament of having a blog and having no idea what to do with it...yep....still not sure what I am doing here typing this post when my time would be much better spent working on homework. (Dad & Mom, I know you're reading this and I'll get right to it as soon as I finish...promise)

So what in the world am I supposed to do with this avenue of writing and expressing myself that probably no one else will read? Being a very opinionated person, should I pick topics one by one and state my blanket opinion. Should I try and make people ANGRY so I can get more views on my blog? How about being a people PLEASER and simply write all of the things that everyone wants to hear? (HAHAHAHA! If you think that last one is even an option for me you must not know me very well)

Why did I just put this picture of Calvin & Hobbes in this blog? Because Calvin & Hobbes are awesome, and this is my blog so I do what I want! Should I rant and rave about how girls make me so frustrated I want to be the most blunt person in every relationship and conversation to make sure there is NO confusion? Why can't people be straightforward? Why do people ask for your opinion and then get upset for you voicing it? It's an opinion! NOT TRUTH! Or how about making a list of all of the ways I am so happy, yet extremely frustrated at the school I am currently attending? How about writing how I realized that my childhood is all about over and it is indeed time to face the "real world." How about writing how I have the most amazing family ever and there is no way you could ever convince me otherwise? Or should I write about what I would do with $1,000,000,000 (billion dollars) if I have it, and that I probably wouldn't give most of it to charity, that's right, I said it. How about how friends are fake, that I have over 700 friends on Facebook and talk to maybe 100 of them? And that all of social media is one giant popularity contest that I am also guilty of partaking in?

Do I write with fancy ink pens? Nope. Should I? Better question: Shouldn't we all write with fancy ink pens? Yes! Are you tired of reading yet? Am I a stupid, arrogant, prideful college kid who thinks he has a lot of things figured out that all of the adults are too stupid to notice, but I really don't comprehend how young, inexperienced, naive, and out of my depth that I really am...pretty much.  Will I unapologetically state my opinion about things?....you better believe it.  Am I going overboard with all of these colors, underlines, italics, and bolds...hmmm, probably, but once again this is my blog and I do what I want with it!

Of the above topics will I write about all of them? None of them? Who knows, depends on what mood I am in. HAHAHA! I only expect my immediate family will read this, really no expectations for anything grandeur, but at least this will be a good conversation starter around the dinner table and McKeehan's treasure their family dinners! HAHAHA! No one else may laugh but at least I can entertain myself. Well enough is enough, time to get to homework like I promised Dad & Mom.

Processing...

So, I've been back in good 'ol America for 20 days now, and I will simply say that I still do not know how to describe my summer.  Many people know about my trip and have a general idea of how I spent my summer.  Being the kind and caring people that they are, they ask: "How was your trip? How was your time in India? Did you have a good summer?"  These questions along with other similar ones are asked again and again. Like much small talk, they aren't expecting a long drawn out answer and details about how certain days were long, how I got sick, and some of the challenging things.  As I said, it's small talk.  People want a few word answer.  They want to hear, "Oh it was great!" or, "Yeah, God definitely showed me a lot of things this summer." or, "It was hard, but I learned a lot." or maybe even, "It sure was hot!"

To the people who are listening to me, and asking me questions, that may seem like a sufficient answer, but it is not sufficient to me.  I spent 2 and a half months in another country and in another culture that is completely different from my own.  How do I take all of the things that happened to and around me in that time and put in one sentence?  I cannot find a way to do it.  Most of the time, when people are asking me such questions, I usually find myself stumbling over my words trying to come up with a description or maybe even a slight glimpse of what it was like for me...but I can't.  So what do I do? I refer to one of the insufficient answers...and continue on my way, because that is what they wanted to hear...and even if they had time to hear more, I don't have the words to take it...

I am not speaking against these people because they are all very dear to me and many of them prayed for me during my time in India and kept up with the few reports that I could give.  The problem is a two way street.  They weren't there with me the entire time I was in India and I don't have the words or capabilities of helping them to understand what it was like for me.  Even if I had all of the right words, the right pictures, and the right way of taking people through every day that I was there it still would not be enough.  More importantly, I'm still processing the entire trip!  I still don't know all of the things that I have learned or have a full understanding of how much I have been changed!

What do I say?  What can I do?  There are often times late at night when I find myself spending hours thinking about what I did this summer.  No matter how many hours I spend thinking about the summer, I still can't find the words.  It's as if I am trying to catch smoke with my bare hand.  When will my mind finally wrap itself around the correct and precise order of words?  Will I ever have a firm and solid grasp upon what happened?  Sure, I can recite stories and mention that this happened here and that happened over there and this is what God taught me throughout the whole summer.  But what does it all mean together?  This has to mean something.  It cannot only be an adventure.  I'm still looking, still thinking, and still processing.  Only time will tell, and maybe when that day comes I can come back and tell you about it.  

The Road Home

Well this is it. My last day in India. Two and a half months ago I was sitting in my room typing my first blogpost taking inventory of everything that I was able to pack in a single backpack. Can't even describe how nervous I was that night knowing the next day I would be starting a crazy whirlwind journey. But now here I am two and half months later and this adventure is coming to a close.

Definitely a bittersweet moment as I sit here thinking of all that I have experienced this summer. I can most assuredly say that I am ready to be home. There are many times when I have spent long intervals imagining what my first hamburger will taste like back in the US, and being able to understand everything everyone is saying because they all speak English, and being able to go swimming and totally immerse my body in cool water. But strangely, leaving is not going to be easy as I thought it was going to be. As I'm getting ready to leave and once again packing all of my things I realize that I might be just as nervous leaving India as I was when I was coming.

When you spend such a long time in a place you get used to living there, and you start loving the people that you are living around (especially if those people are the Asir family). I am saying hello to America and coming back to the life that I have always known, but I am saying goodbye to a time in my life where I have been blessed, learned, and grown so much. I'm happy to be going home, but I am also sad that I have to leave the blessed and wonderful people here.

So where do I go from here? This adventure is quickly coming to a close and thee is not much else to be done in India in the short 8 hours that I will be here except for enjoying the company that has been such an encouragement and joy to be around these past months. I will remember these people in my heart and pray for them when I think of that hot and crazy summer in India. (Seriously, you people in the US have no idea what hot is. I don't wanna hear it. Mid 90's is a cool day!)

With all of this said this adventure is ending, but the adventure of the rest of my life is only beginning! So stay tuned, because it's going to be a party when I get back to good 'ol America!

Mumbai Madness and Day 50

So for the past 3 weeks I have been in Mumbai, during monsoon season...and I chose not to pack my rain jacket and didn't have an umbrella. Needless to say I got very wet and stayed very wet for the remainder of our stay there.  Even when clothes got wet, you would hang them out to dry and they would never completely dry because there was soooooo much moisture in the air. It rained every day sometimes for several hours without stopping.

During our time in Mumbai our ministry was twofold: in the mornings we would teach at a school from 7:00am to 12:20pm. We taught 5th through 10th and I tell you what those kids were some hellions! Made feel bad and want to call every teacher that I've ever had and apologize for ever being disruptive and disobedient in class. Goodness! Talk about stressful!

The second part of the ministry, in the afternoons and evenings we would go to different slums and conduct a prayer or Bible study. We would do several programs a day and it would be very tiring but also very rewarding. Probably one of my favorite parts of the trip so far, being able to go into people's homes, experience what their life is like and be able to share truth with them and pray for them. Tiring but rewarding.  I have a ton of stories from these 3 weeks but mostly I want to save those to share in person, because stories are better that way.

I will share about the 50th day on our journey. A milestone of some sorts. It was Day 50 and we had just completed the time we would be teaching in the schools as well as slum ministry. We were going into more downtown Mumbai to see a few of the sites. Matt Benson as well as Mr. and Mrs. McEachron had joined us. Plus Limma, our ministry partner, guide, and translator, the driver, Tugs, Claire, Jasmine, and myself were all crammed into a car. Limma and the driver in the front, Benson and the McEachron's in the middle and the 4 of us in the back. In the back we were sitting facing each other, two on one side, and two on the other.

It was a very bumpy, cramped, uncomfortable, and hot car ride. Tugs was trying to drink some water which was very difficult to do. The car kept bouncing and he couldn't get any water in his mouth, so we were all laughing at him. When he finally got water in his mouth we made him laugh, causing him to spew the water out of his mouth and all over us! Haha! Even though I had water all over me I laughed so hard tears started pouring down my face. Heehee!

But then the laughter was over because we were pulled over by a police officer who said we had to many Americans in a car. So we gave him Matt Benson as a bargaining chip and the rest of us proceeded on to see the Gate of India and the Arabian Sea. Pretty cool stuff. Feel weird since I didn't come in through the Gate of India...nor will I be leaving through it....hmmm. Anyways, while we were walking around I felt what I thought to be some water drop on my head. This was nothing new because water had been dropping on my head for 3 weeks now. Only later did I find out that it wasn't a water drop at all...a bird...had pooped....on my head...........I had no words.......(sigh).

After cleaning up we decided to go on a short boat ride on the Arabian Sea. We all thought it'd be awesome to experience the Arabian Sea on the top deck of the boat. Part of the adventure right? But we should have remembered one very important thing...that's right....it's still monsoon season. It rained and the wind blew and we started looking for a Jesus or a Jonah to wake up from the bottom of the boat! Talk about nuts! We all got soaked and Jasmine lost her umbrella to the vicious Arabian Sea. As it floated away I cried out, "WILSON!! I'M SORRY WILSON!" None of the Indians on the boat gave me strange looks after that.

After that we had to drive through crazy hours of traffic jam in the rain. I tried to roll my window up to keep the rain from getting in but it kept fogging up the windows...so the driver rolled down the windows. The whole left side of my body was soaked. Wet...wet again. FINALLY, we got back to our apartment and got to go to sleep. What a day!!

Another Bradventure indeed!

Letters

Where to start, where to start?...The beginning....I....was....born....Hahaha! Fast forward 22 years, 1 month, and 3 days and I'm in India and today is my Dad's birthday, and tomorrow is Father's Day. It's the first time in my life that I will have not been with my Dad and family for these two occasions. So I can think of no better way to start this blog than to give a shout out to my Daddy! Dad, thank you so much for being a great father and leader in my life. Your faithfulness to Mom and our family, as well as your job and our church is a challenge and inspiration to live up to. Thank you so much for all of the love, energy, goofiness, and craziness that you have poured into our family. Love you!

Now...the moment you have all been waiting for...I bought a skirt. But it's not feminine. All of the India men where what are called  a "loongi" which is like their version of a bathrobe. Its actually very comfortable and quite breathable which is a bonus due to the intense heat. It has multiple uses: skirt, loin cloth, portable changing room, blanket, and it allows you to go to the bathroom in public in an emergency. Don't worry, I haven't done the last one...yet.

Tugs and I stay at a separate apartment from the rest of the team. When we are brought back and forth to the Asir's house we are, more often than not, brought one by one via motorcycle...with no helmets. At first Tugs and I had a very hard time remembering the route between the two locations.  This is largely because several different people would take us back and forth, and every person had a different way of getting there. Very, very confusing. But finally we figured out the quickest route. In the past several days, some Indian missionaries have been attending a training program and they have been taking us on the motorcycle. Twice the man taking us got lost and I had to give him the proper directions to get us to the correct location. Quite an experience.

At this training, Auntie (Mrs. Asir) was giving a lesson on devotions. She was giving the example of receiving a letter in the mail from a sweetheart. When you receive a letter from them, you read it, you keep it with you, you think about the words, you take it out several times and read it over and over again, you meditate on the words.  Even though you may have the letter memorized you keep re-reading it because of how precious it is to you to hear from your sweetheart. You do this until the next letter comes and then you repeat the process. Those letters are precious to you. Well I can't say I've ever received a letter from a sweetheart (I did receive a postcard from my Dad from the Great Smokey Mountains. A lush green forest and a cool bubbling, babbling brook. Made me miss home). I have had letters of encouragement from friends, family, and loved ones that I have read over and over again.

Auntie told us, this is how we must view God's Word. It's his love letter to us. Just as we cherish the letters we receive from loved ones we need to cherish His Word and get excited about being able to read it, have it, dwell on it, memorize it, and share it.  His love letter brings life! I have always known that the Bible is the Word of God and there is nothing more important than having His Words in our lives. I've probably even heard that The Bible is a love letter before, but for some reason this time it really sunk in. I would read my Bible everyday, but I can't say there was a time when I would ache for it as someone would ache to have a letter from their sweetheart.

That's just a little bit of what I've been learning. I won't be in contact for the next several weeks. Our team will be doing ministry in the slums until July 4th, and it is very doubtful we will have internet access there. Until then!

Hot, Hotter, Hottest

Time to update with another report on this wild adventure I'm having.  When our team was getting on our last connecting flight to Chennai we met a man that said he was from Chennai as well as a Catholic priest.  He was a very nice old man and he asked us, "Why in the world would you want to visit India now? It's the hottest time of the year. There are only 3 climates in India: hot, hotter, and hottest."

We found this very much to be true.  As soon as we left the airconditioned portion of the Chennai airport it was as if we all ran into a wall of heat. Man oh man was it hot. If you have been following my posts on facebook you will have seen that this past week the temperature has been that of 107, 109, and 108 degrees Farenheit. Some have told us that this isn't even the hottest it can get. We've been told by Sam Asir that it can get up to 120 degrees Farenheit. He said it is so hot then that the road begins to melt...wait...WHAT?? The road begins to MELT??  I pray and pray that it doesn't get that hot because I am struggling as it is right now to stay hydrated. 

Probably my spoiled American side coming out when I start complaining about not having any cold water to drink. Never know how much you appreciate something until you have to live a good bit of time without it.  Nothing I would enjoy more than to totally immerse myself in a pool, lake, or river filled with cold water.

In other news, I was able to make it almost 2 full weeks without getting stomach sick.  Turns out my time has come and I've been spending a great deal of my with stomach pains...and I'll spare you the rest.  Besides that, all is well and hopefully I will return to full strength soon.

My Name is Poui

We arrived in India roughly 9 days ago. When we got here, man oh man was it hot! Spent a day in Chennai then hopped on a train for a 9 hour ride south to Madurai. Spent the night on the train and it was a rough ride but definitely better than sitting in a cramped airplane seat.

After arriving in Madurai, we drove 2 hours up into the mountains for a youth camp. That night it actually got really cold. Cold?? In India?? All people could tell me before I left was how hot it was going to be. I haven't gotten any kind of sickness in my stomack which I am very thankful for. Howeve, instead of getting stomach sick I've had a runny nose and cold like symptoms since I landed.  Maybe I'm having allergies. Could I be allergic to India? Who knows?

Anyways getting back to the title. Working for the organization we are with is a man named Jesuraj. Even though he doesn't speak a whole lot of English we get along great and he has given me the name "Poui," which means lie.  This started when he said, "Look! Elephant!" I turned around and he said, "Aha! Poui!" And I've been Poui since then.

Another fun story is that one night I was laying in my bed in this hostel where we were having a conference. The lights are out in the room and I'm laying on my bed and all of the sudden there is a bright light shinning in my face.  It was Tugs with his flashlight. He said, "There is a rat in the bathroom." Getting up to investigate I could hear the rat in the bathroom that was right next to our room. Enlisting the help of Sam, a 13 year old Indian boy, and some teenage girls we went into the bathroom to search. I thought it would be funny to give everyone a scare so I yelled like I saw the rat and all of the girls screamed, found out I was kidding and immediately began to slap me. Hahaha! It was worth it!

After leaving the mountains we got back down to where it is hot. So hot that you sweat while sitting.  Still adjusting and there are plenty more fun stories to tell that I do not have time for right now. But hopefully I will soon.  Till you hear from me again!

Taking Inventory

Its the night before I leave on an adventure that will change my life.  I have no doubt about this mostly because of how many people have told me this over and over again.  I do not say this to make fun or criticize, but how much change are we talking about here?  What if I come back from my trip and people say, "Oh...well you didn't change as much as I thought you would have."  Today is also my birthday, so today has a little more meaning to the phrase, "the beginning of the rest of your life."

Seems like there is a lot of pressure and expectations for me on this trip and how things will be different when I come back.

Silly me, I haven't even told you where I am going.  Starting tomorrow, May 13th, I will begin my adventure set out for Chennai, India to spend 2 and a half months there, returning on August 1st.  My time there will be spent in an internship with 3 other team members from Bryan College, where I also attend.  The team members are Tugs (Tommy), Claire, and Jasmine.

When I tell people about my trip to India, the big kicker that always gets the big surprised face is when I tell them that I will only be taking one backpack with me.  In this backpack I will have: 3 pairs of pants, 6 shirts, 5 pairs of underwear, 1 rain jacket, toothbrush, toothpaste, 2 rolls of toilet paper, and several other miscellaneous items.  All of these things in 1 backpack for 2 and half months.

Its all really crazy and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.  I'm really nervous and I wish I could just already be there without having to wait and go through all the painful waiting and traveling.  But that is part of the journey I suppose.

To close I will quote my friend Tugs as he also wished me a happy birthday.  He simply said, "India beckons."  India is beckoning and when I come back I'll be changed one way or the other.  With all this being said: Lets get this adventure started!!