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!!

Random thoughts from me....

Many people ask me what is the hardest part about being away? Is it the no starbucks, or Chick-fil-A or Dr. Pepper? I love all these things, but I can't complain. They are just "things".

So when people ask me what is the hardest part about being away... I always say its my relationships with friends and family. I am a relational person to the core. I love people more than anything and I am a loyal person. So what I miss is not being an active part of people's lives. I miss being there for important events like weddings, watching cousins grow up, and having face to face heart to hearts with friends.

This past weekend one of my sweetest and dearest friends from high school and college got married. It was hard not to be there and support her on such an important day. But my amazing best friends kept their cells near by and the digital camera working overtime. I got an over abundance of pictures and phone calls along the way!! Even though I was a way, I felt like I was there. Thanks ladies and congrats Ashley!!

This is a picture of Ashley's wedding. I decided to photoshop myself in. You notice on the far right I am in a Sari (my indian attire). I couldn't bear to be out of the picture so I put myself in the picture!! he he

Even thought the distance is far between all of us...I can honestly say, I feel so connected. So thank you to all of YOU who are so wonderful to call me, to email me, and to pray for me! You truly are amazing and each of you has and continue to encourage me along the way! YOU are precious to me!!

I thank my God in all my rememberance of YOU.

Miss India

This is my absolutely adorable cousin Kiley. I sent her this Indian outfit for Christmas. She was too cute not to share with all of you. When I left she was just over 1 year old and couldn't talk. Recently Kiley's parents sent me a video saying "Hi Alicia" and "I love you" I have watched that video about 100 times! I miss you and LOVE you... Tye, Traci, and Kiley!!!

Another fun thing is that supposedly Kiley looks alot like I did when I was her age. My mom said this past weekend when Kiley came in the room she did a double take cause she thought it was me. So this is kind of what I looked like as a little almost 2 year old.

Her 2nd Birthday is in the middle of May!!

Happy Holi...The Festival of Colors

Happy Holi! Holi is the second and least religious of the Hindu Holidays. I was able to experience Holi in all its full color!!! Here is the rundown of how the holiday works...

• You wake up early in the morning and fill your water baloons or water guns or water weapons with colored dye of ALL colors.
• Once you have all your 'weapons' together you then go door to door visiting close friends and family.
• You knock on people's doors and then take powdered dye and smear it all over their faces, neck, or hair while saying "Happy Holi"
• There are several extremes to this day. For example buckets full of water, or swimming pools with dye and people dunking themselves in the pool. It was a crazy, YET SUPER FUN HOLIDAY!!!

The Bonfire at my apt complex the night before.

Us going door to door with dye wishing people a Happy Holi.

Ericka and I...oh the dye is just the beginning.



Bobby and Elaine's colony after their "Holi War".



Coop, Kim, and I. This is after Kim and Coop had already scrubbed their faces.



Members of my time taking refuge!!



This is me at the end of the morning. Dye every where and soaked to the bone!! It took me 20 minutes to scrub the dye off my face so that it wouldn't stain. The day after Holi, I saw so many Indians with the dye still on their faces....SO FUN!!!!

Below is some information for those of you nerds (like myself) who want to know more about the holiday.

History and Meaning of Holi
Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring. This aspect still plays a significant part in the festival in the form of the colored powders: Holi is a time when man and nature alike throw off the gloom of winter and rejoice in the colors and liveliness of spring. Holi also commemorates various events in Hindu mythology, but for most Hindus it provides a temporary opportunity for Hindus to disregard social norms, indulge in merrymaking and generally "let loose."
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.) Prahlad accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered every year at Holi.

When it rains...it POURS!!

I have been in India for almost 5 months and I have not seen rain yet. So last night we got a suprise...RAIN!!! The fun thing was that it wasn't a wimpy rain, but a very powerful storm. The rain brought beautiful weather today!!

Bush is in INDIA!!!!

The Indian Times have been buzzing with the fact that Bush is coming to INDIA!!! As American citizens and people who love Dubya... the girls of B-603 decided decided to have a welcoming party for the PREZ. We all dressed in our patriotic clothes and made signs showing our excitement for our president being here in India!!



This Is Erica, our neighbor's daughter welcoming Bush to her home country. I love it when my neighbor Mona and her family humor us silly American girls and join our fun.



Here is me holding up today's paper showing Bush's arrival. I thought it would be fun for a memory book one day.



I am tempted to email him or send him these pics...do you think he would get a kick out of it?

Woman's Retreat

Many of the ladies (that have the same job as me) got together last weekend for a time of retreat in the capitol of India...Delhi! It was great to meet some new woman and hear about their lives. I always loved hanging out with the woman at my Fellowship in Irving. It is always refreshing to fellowship with woman of all different ages in all different places in life!!!



We went to a local mall as our main event on Saturday. Most of us hadn't seen anything that western in a long time. We were kind of a funny site to see so many white people looking so STAR STRUCK to see such a western mall.




This are some of the younger woman that I got to get to know better and some for the first time.




This is Debbie and Susan. They are some pretty amazing woman... you would be blessed to meet them!! They love the Lord in such an admirable way!! The weekend was filled with lots of food, some movies, a good game of Taboo, and some sharing of the Great Book together.

Keeping my American Roots

I am learning that it is important for me to find places in my city where I can feel 100% American and escape from Indian culture. This past weekend I had a very American day...and it was much NEEDED. I went to a soccer game at the American Embassy School. It felt good to feel like a soccer mom and cheer on Micah and Sean (two of the kids on my team). I also got to run around the soccer track. It felt great to RUN...I haven't gotten a chance to do that since I moved here.



This Pic is kind of funny because its look like America but there is a cute Sikh kid on the left with a white turbin on his head...isn't that fun?!

After the soccer game, Kim and I went to one of my favorite restaraunts in GK-1 N block Market called Cafe Turtle. This place is so cute and American. I feel like I have stepped into the movie "You've Got Mail." I love to come here with a girlfriend to just talk and enjoy a delicious dessert!!!







After that I was able to come home and rest a little. Then a group of us went to eat at this Mediteranean restaurant where I got Fettichini Alfredo (my favorite) then we went to a coffee shop and just laughed.

It was really nice to hang out with people my age and just enjoy each other. WE even all busted out our American garb. I love America!! Tell her I said hello!!!

My claim to fame

This is a picture of me in the Shimla News! I mentioned in a previous post, but I finally got the scanned article. I thought I would share it with you.

Sometimes in India I feel famous. Because I am white I get LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of stares. I think when I go back to the states I am going to get wierded out when no one stares at me. This "staring" thing has been happening for quite some time now. Even when I visited the Taj Mahal I had several people ask if they could take there picture with me. Even people in Shimla asked to take pics with us...its crazy fun.

So today, I had an interesting experience at the local market. I went to a fruit wallah on the side of the market. I usally go to a different wallah but I thought I would buy from this one stand for the first time. I need to tell you I have never met this young man before in my life. So I gave him 100 RS for my grapes, oranges, and bananas and he owed me 10 rupees back. So he asked me if I lived in MayurDwhaj apts. I answered yes and then thought...how the heck did he know that?! Then he asked me what flat number. So I acted dumb. See he was pretending not to have change so he could deliver it. I am learning recently...that everyone seems to know where we live and interested in what we are doing here.

White people in the part of my city where I live is soo uncommon that people don't know how to handle it properly. They really just stare. Sometimes its really annoying but sometimes it just makes me laugh cause its so obvious.


Lindsey and Kim said that when they left the mall...that all the rickshaw drivers reconginzed them and yelled to them their home location. Usually you have to tell them where you want to go, but NO they already knew. Its getting kind of weird.

All this to say...I think that the four white girls that live in Patparganj are getting a name for themselves. Its kind of amusing. It shows me that people are always watching.

I encourage your COMMENTS!!!

There is a new addition to this blog. You can now comment on my blog for the first time. At the bottom of each post or article there is a place to click that says comments. It would be really really fun to have your imput and to have some comments!! Thanks for taking in interest in my work here.

Phil 1:3

Alicia in the Himalayas!!!

My roomies (Lindsey, Kim, and Lindsey (coop) and I ) along with Jay (the boy CBU student) decided to take a road trip to Shimla, INDIA to vistit our friends. Shimla is a city in HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS!!!! The city is beautiful and the mountains were breathtaking. I wish all of you could experience the beauty of this place.

This trip was filled with many FIRSTS!!
- My first ROAD TRIP in India
- My first time to ride a TRAIN in India
- My first time to ride a BUS in India
- My fist time in the HIMALAYAS!!!
- My first time to make it in the INDIAN NEWSPAPER!! (we were in the Shimla news on Sunday morning... there was a picture of us at the Ridge. They were saying how many white people come to tour shimla these days...isn't that fun?)