Hard to Get

For some time now I have been searching for this song... It was a favorite of mine back in

my high school days. Listen to this, its a good one:)

You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt

Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said

Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then

Did You ever know loneliness
Did You ever know need
Do You remember just how long a night can get?

When You were barely holding on
And Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained

And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know

Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time

We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind

I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret

I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led

And so You've been here all along I guess
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get

Rejoicing with the Fisher family:)

This is Lindy Fisher and her two children- Manju, 7 and Jeewan Loy, 3. You may have heard about them in past blogs. This is the family I spent two and a half months with in North East India. My friend, Amy, was with them for five months and I joined her at the end of her time there. They have an amazing story of God's favor and wonder!

Where there's a need, there's a rice cooker!!

It was late January in the busy city of Kolkata, India and I was desperate for a hot shower. I, along with two friends and two children, were staying on the floor of a apartment being renovated. It had been 7 days since I had a "proper" shower. (Please see definitions below)

What is a proper shower, you ask?

In America- taking your time standing under a flow of hot water, shampooing and conditioning your hair and scrubbing down your body with a beautifully scented body wash and clean loofa.

In India (where I was)- squatting down while pouring warm/cold water over your head with a scoopy... you use your shampoo for both hair and body.. there's no time or enough water in the bucket for conditioning your hair.

Now that we got that straight... it had been 7 days of a wash cloth shower. I was completely desperate for some hot water. The climate in Kolkata was pretty chilly in the nights and the water that came out of the tap was like ice. That's where the the rice cooker comes in!

We had been lent a rice cooker from a family to cook our food in for the week we were there. This was the only appliance we had and who would have known, we would use this glorious machine for all our needs... starting with a hot shower-

After my body was finally refreshed, my mind started kicking and I began to use the rice cooker for all sorts of creative things-

Did you know that you can do these things with a rice cooker?

1. Boil Eggs

2. Make Chai

3. Make an entire meal (steam veggies on top of the rice)

4. Make Oatmeal

5. Boil Water

-for dish washing

-showering

-cleaning

So, if you're ever stuck on a deserted island and all you have is a rice cooker... find some electricity and have fun:)

Chai Anyone?

Jeewan demonstrating the bucket shower

I used a dupita and shawl to keep me warm.

In the hospital with daddy-o!

I will be spending my dad with my dear ole dad in the hospital. He's having an out-patient procedure done. I am grateful for the free wifi as I'm surfing away while my dad is in a nice dreamland. Pray all goes well and that I have a fun story at the end of the day:)

the Patient

Easter 2010

Easter pics!

Britnee and I (sister)

My second Easter ham!

I ♥ ham

Peepshi

aka- peep sushi

Bunny Slippers

Egg Dying

Tears of the Saints

My dear friends Katie and Elby (blog links on the sidebar) have both posted a link to this video. Please watch...

There's a Bollywood dancer inside me!

I'm a closet Bollywood movie/song lover.. oops.. not in the closet anymore;) Here is one song from the movie, "Love Aaj Kal". I highly recommend the movie. You can find it on netflix. enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDne5fEsxec&feature=fvsr

(sorry the embedding is disabled)

Re-Adjusting to life back home...

It's been four months since my last post. I didn't forget about the blog or decide to go on a hiatus... I just haven't had the words to type...

I moved back home a month ago today. Man, how time flies! Sometimes I think back on my 5 months in India and wonder if it was all just a dream, and then there are times I think back on it and it feels as if I was just laying in the living room with Manju (a 7 year old Nepali girl) laying on my back. Re-entry was the most awkward thing this time. My usual time out of the country is 1-2 months, max. But after 5 months, my mind, body and way of thinking was all jumbled. Food tasted funny, technology seemed luxurious, people changed, I had changed, my clothes hung off me, there was all this talk about a health care bill, I missed the brown skinned Indian folk and their fun accents, people didn't understand the head bobble, and then there was Wal Mart.

Although India did not work out long term for me, I am staying optimistic about the future. I will stay in missions- YWAM preferably. I will keep you posted on my next step. I have a window of opportunity to do something big with my life! So here's to the future... see you soon:)

Manju and Kristina dhi dhi

Every time I laid on the couch, Manju would find herself comfy on my back