Time is ticking away

Last week I was asked to give a testimony, and sing at Church. After the pastor of the church found out that I had learned a Punjabi dance he also asked me to dance as well. It is really funny because everywhere I go in India the moment that the people find out that I have learned some Indian style dancing they ask me to dance. It is such a joy to see their faces light up cause they are so excited to see an American doing the traditional Indian dancing. I was even asked by several people who are from the state of Punjab, where Punjabi dancing originated, to come and visit them and dance at their churches. I am hoping that maybe God will open up some doors to be able to do that some day. I have bought saris to bring home so I can teach the dances I have learned to girls back at Steps of Faith as well. I'm soooooo excited!!!!


AHHHH I really want to write about one of the most amazing experiences I have had here but I don't have time too write it full out and I don't want to give just half the story so I will have to tell y'all later. It is about a girl named Shruti.

So the reason that I don't ever have time to write is cause I am working my butt off and spending ALL my time working on finishing off my research. I am almost done analyzing and have begun to write my report of my findings from my research. WHAT A HUGE JOB. It is just so time consuming. It is really neat though cause I feel that I have learned the most in the last week as I have been working on the analysis. I have also had to really put EVERYTHING in Gods hands cause I have seen how completely incapable I am of being able to do this without HIM. It has been so amazing to feel Gods presence guiding me as I finish up my work and draw conclusions to all of the data that I have gathered. Ok, got to go get back to work :)

God bless!!!

Only 8 days till I am on my way HOME :)

I don't understand how the same thing happens every time. I have so much to write about but there just isn't ever any time and so the blogs end up being so scarce. Oh well, I will just have to make up for it later by talking every ones ears off. Well, since last time I have been traveling quite a bit. Which is great because then I get to see more of India, however traveling in India is not like taking a road trip in the states. There are no rest stops and pretty much there are no restrooms, well I take that back there are plenty of places to go to the restroom they just don't consist of a room with four walls and a toilet. First I went with some of the teachers and students from B.M.S.,the school I am doing my research on, to a hilltop resort called Dalhousie. It was a really beautiful place. The scenery was always amazing and unlike Udhampur the weather was COOL. I couldn't believe it but I was even cold at times. We spent our time sight seeing, shopping and hanging out in the hotel watching Indian Music videos. I love to see the ones where they are dressed in the traditional Indian clothes.

I was also able to go up to Shrinigar this last week. WOW!!!!! It was so beautiful as well. The Shrinigar valley is full of green crops and fruit trees are everywhere it is really a sight to see. The people are really just as beautiful as the land scape. Everything in Shrinigar was so different from any other place that I have seen in India. I actually able to go up in the mountain and there was still snow on the tops of a few of the mountains. I really want to go back some time and stay in one of the hundreds of houseboats on Dal lake. I was able to take a ride on the Shakaras which are adorable little boats that you can ride around on in. People selling Kashmiri handcrafts and other merchandise paddle up to you as you go around on the lake and you can shop while sitting in the boat. There is to much to tell and too little time.

I will post some pictures later. That's all for now folks.

Busy, Busy

Last week was GREAT!!!! For the first half of the week I was in Jammu helping with and attending a Women's Conference and then for the second half I was doing the same thing here in Udhampur. There were over 5oo women who attended the two conferences and it was just absolutely amazing to see them worshiping the Lord. Many of the ladies are the only Christians in their household and so everyday is a struggle as their families and friends do not support their faith. I also had the pleasure of having one of the speakers stay in my room for the time here in Udhampur. WOW!!! What a woman. She had a powerful testimony of how the Lord saved her. For ten years she was the only believer in a devoted Muslim family. Through her witness many of her friends and family are now Christians, she is passionate about bringing Muslims to the Lord. She travels around the world and does training sessions on how to reach out to people of the Muslim faith. God has so many surprises in store for us it is just amazing. To think that I didn't even plan on coming to Udhampur. I have just been sososososo blessed by so many people. THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!

In the morning I am getting ready to head out on a five day trip with some of the school students and teachers. I am excited to be able to hang out with the kids again and it will also be a good time to do more research with the teachers and students.

Well I have to go get packed so that is it for now. If I had time I feel like I could write a hundred more pages but I guess I will just have to wait for another day. :):):)

Patnitop

We took a trip up to a mountain hill station called Patnitop a few days ago with the V.B.S. Kids. It is so nice and cool up there. The temperature has been insanely HOT lately all the way up in the mid and high 40's. I am not sure exactly what that is in Fahrenheit but I was told that it was like 115 one day. I decided after hearing that that it was better if I didn't know the exact temperature because for some reason it makes it feel even hotter when I know what it is in fahrenheit. We had gone up to the same place a few weeks back with the school kids. One of the best parts of the trip is the drive up. The mountains are just amazing to see!!! It is also really crazy to fly on the curvy roads and see the drop of just a foot away and NO road rule. The trucks, buses and cars all pass each other whenever they feel like it even if there is a curve ahead and they can't see at all. Half the way up we were on the right side of the road passing slower vehicles and then swinging back over to the left side when a car was coming from the opposite direction. I guess I kinda thrive on those ON THE EDGE moments. I pray A LOT too.

Mahindi. I have no idea if that is really how you spell it but it is kinda like a henna tatoo that the ladies draw on their hands and feet here in India.

It was sooooooo cute all the little girls got the mahindi done. This is one of my favorite little girls. She is actually the daughter of a woman that Bethy(my big sis) was pen pals with YEARS ago.

The research is going pretty well. In a few weeks I will be going on a summer trip that the teacher and the 6th-8th standards will be taking together to a hill station. It will be a great opportunity to do some more research and to hang out with the teachers and students some more. I also found out that the school will actually start back a week before I leave. I should be done with all my research by then but it will be great to see all the kids again.

Thinking about research reminds me that I have to go get some work done. BYE :):):)

Testimony

My Heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises! Wake up, my soul! Wake up, O harp and lyre! I will waken the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

God is soooooo good. Today I was encouraged by a woman from the church who came for a visit and began to share testimonies of how the Lord is working through life. During her visit I bagen to think about how all of the believers here are so open to share their burdens, struggles, joys and testimonies with each other. I have been blessed time after time to hear about how the Lord is using them and the work he is doing in their lives. I have realized that I often am hesitant to share with others the things the Lord is doing in and through me because I think they will feel like I am boasting. It struck me that the thoughts I have had have actually been hindering me from encouraging others by sharing with them the things that the Lord is doing. When God does a work in any of his children he wants them to share it not keep it hidden in themselves. I want to humbly tell others of all the Lord is doing and not hold it in myself. I am sure that just as I have been touched by the people here sharing their testimonies God might use one of my testimonies to bless others. As the verse up top says I will thank the Lord in front of all people and sing his praises among all the Nations.

Monday

Today was the first day of work without the students around. They had their last day of school on Saturday and they are now on summer holiday until late July. I am really going to miss them. They were such a joy to be with. Thankfully the church is doing a V.B.S which is starting this Thursday so there will be cute little kidos around again.

I was a little worried that the days would go soooo slow once school was out but today was a normal day that flew by. When I was not working on my research there was always something going on so I kept busy.

I have been teaching a dance to some of the high school girls from the church. They will be performing at a women's conference that is coming up later in the month. They are really catching on quick, I have been really impressed. They are also teaching me a Punjabi dance that I will do with them at the same conference. It has been a blast.

I also went to one of the students houses today. He is one of the nursery students from the school and is one if the cutest kids I have ever seen. His parents are Hindu and in this area it is the tradition to grow the little boys hair out until they are five years old so this little guy has curly hair that they put into pigtail braid. Honestly he looks like a little girl but he is adorable anyway.

Praise the Lord my health is GREAT and I am able to try new foods and enjoy eating. I tried a new fruit yesterday called litchi and it was delicious.

I guess that is it for tonight. Until next time :):):)

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so I have been trying to post a blog with pictures for FOREVER and every time I would try to do it either the power would randomly go out or the Internet wouldn't connect. So here goes. I might right this now but there is no telling when I will be able to post it.

Well, Since the last time I wrote a blog I have just been busy, busy working on the research. The students are a ton of fun so It is always enjoyable to do the work. The teachers are also really great gals. They are sooooo funny! There are four of them that you would think they were little middle school girls rather than teachers. I have been taking as many photos as possible. The kids just love to pose for the pictures. They all come running whenever they see that I have the camera out. Most of the pictures that I have gotten have not been on my digital camera so I don't have many that I can put on here. But here are a few...