For my Cali Girls!!

The time has finally come.... Coop and Kim have returned to California. The Apartment of B-603 is now eery quiet and honestly their absence has been hard. The Lord really knew that I needed their friendship this semester. I am truly at a loss having them back in CA, BUT I have a feeling one day we will get to see each other again!!

So here are a few fun pics....



This is Coop (AKA Lindsey). She has amazing blue eyes and loves to have these deep philosphical and deep heart to hearts. She also has this amazing compacity to love. She is great.



This is my white girl Kim. Don't be fooled by the Korean skin. She is one big ball of energy! She is a huge extrovert and has this amazing ability to love and to serve.

Top 10 things I love about my CBU girls!!!

Y’all brought joy and laughter into B-603
Y’all taught me how to cuss
Y’all Allowed me to continue on in my “ghettoness”
Y’all like use the word “like” in like every other like word in like a sentence.
Y’all made me fall in love with coffee shops in India
Y’all helped me come to the understanding that I really am a “fat kid”
Y’all put a strong and intense desire to visit California
Y’all squeal and scream when they talk about the kids at Rejeev Camp
Yawls love and passion for Indian food
Yawls amazing ability to love me and befriend me!!!

Celebrating Easter....INDIAN STYLE!!

This year for Easter my roomates and I hosted a Yeshu "Setsang". A setsang is a hindi word that implies a time for singing and a time for teaching. It is the closest word we can find in the hindi language for church. This is also the way that Hindu's worship. This was the first Yeshu setsang that I have been able to be a part of ...and it was wonderful. Let me kind of walk you through the day.




This is us making "rangoli". This flower is usually drawn and then filled in with powdered dye or in this case flower petals.



Here is the rangoli and flower petals that we did outside of our door. This is very traditional and shows that you are celebrating a special occasion!



My roomies and I got up early to dedicate this day and room to Yeshu. We put on our best dancing shoes...because today we are gonna celebrate!! Yeshu is alive!! We cleared out all our furniture and laid down carpets and set up the front with musical instruments and a "podium" but the Indian way.



More setup of a Hindu style worship.



We had about 20 Hindus come and worship with us today. We sang bhungins in Hindi and Ruman shared the message. Many of them loved to hear about Yeshu for the first time in an Indian way. After the setsang we served a meal! We hired a cook for like $8 (isn't that crazy?!) and we had chole (chick peas), aloo subzi (potato dish), and poori (fried bread). It was soo delicious!!



My landlord...said he wanted a picture of his 5 daughters! Isn't that sweet. The older woman is his wife and the other indian is his daughter Nehru.


Some of my neighbors that showed up!

I have come to really really enjoy the Christian holidays overseas. All of the comercialism is stripped away and you are left is the message. There are no words to describe how wonderful it was to hear Hindu's sing to Yeshu and to hear the message of Truth!! What joy I have knowing Jesus because of His death and resurrection!!!!

If you have any questions about our setsang...please ask!!!



Last but not least...its a roomie pic. Yes instead of getting excited about Easter dresses...we got excited about our Sarees. The Indians LOVE it when we dress up!! You also feel like an Indian princess when you wear one!!

Dying Easter Eggs with the Kidoes

Every once in awhile we like to steal the kids for an afternoon or weekend so their parents can have some time to themselves. So the big sisters (Alicia, Lindsey, Kim, Lindsey) stole the kids and we dyed eggs. Kim got a care package from her aunt that sent egg dye. So we celebrated Easter in a traditional American way. These kids don't get much American culture...so we take it upon ourselves to teach them. And we really really like to spoil them!!!

My Return to the Himalayas

This past week I took an unexpected trip to Manali. Manali is located in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes anywhere, it is a travellers paradise -lofty snow peaks, deep gorges, lush green valleys, fast flowing rivers, enchanting mountain lakes, and flower bedecked meadows. May it be for relaxing, sightseeing, trekking, mountaineering, fishing, para-gliding, skiing, ice skating and golf, Manalihas it all...

Needless to say...i had a great time. The city I live in right now is reaching over 100 degrees! So it was wonderful to pull out my sweatshirt hoody and count on heaters to keep me warm! It was such a great vacation and it was hard to say leave!















Julie and I at Snow Point




















Pahari Mountain Man



The Beautiful and Breathtaking Himalaya's!!!



Me, Julie, Lindsey, and Emily in the Snow!!



Me excited to be in the Mountains. Since moving to India I have realized how much I love the mountains! Why didn't I get sent here?! Seriously.



Yes...its me...on a YAK!!! Don't you think the massive red fur coat gives the pic the perfect touch?! I sure do. They have all these shops so that you can rent the fur coats. I didn't really need it, but I thought it would be great for the photo shoot!!!



This is near the view from the restaraunt we ate at. This place really was a dream world! Manali is famous for it's apple orchards. This is the time of year when the butterflies are pollinating the trees. It was soo dreamy... I love the mountains!!