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!