Tuesday...

It's been a while. Mostly because internet at my house is down (has been since Sunday)... But, the computer in my office works, so here I am trying to do work and play on the internet. :-P

I'm currenty making the schedules for my lessons that start tomorrow. I'll have 34 private students and then my 6/8 periods of band... so teaching at least 40 periods a cycle. I've been told that once I get the schedule set, to see if I can cut it down a bit because that is a lot (core teachers teach 30 periods). So, I'll see.

I'm getting ill a bit. I've been really tired, and I can feel the cold in my chest, so I've been trying to take it easy. Last night, however, I still went out to eat with Yisu and my neighbors.. it was a blast. I'm so glad I went.

I'll write more some other time. (maybe later today) for now I need to get this done.

Reminder to me: write about Mercy House. :-)

about 6 hours later: And it's later; the power is out in my block of school, so I can't finish my work, so here I am in the computer lab.

I'm going through something right now that I went through when I moved to NZ as well. where you feel lonely, but know you need to be with people so you go out, but you don't really want to, and then you just want to be alone again, and on and on...

and I've decided that it's because 1) I'm in India, 2) It's my first year teaching, 3) this is the craziest place to be a teacher, 4) I'm on top of a mountain, 5) I haven't talked to anyone from home in quite a while, 6) the whole "it's old news that she moved" syndrome, in which people decide that when I take time to e-mail them, that it doesnt matter, because obviously, when you move, you want to lose all contact with everyone you've ever known, and 7) I think I'm getting sick.

Fun enough for you? lol. That's my ranting for the day. or the month, or whatever you want to say.

Time to go, I think. I'll try to be uplifting another day. But hey, it's my journal. :-)

Good couple of days

First, I want to ask you all to pray for a friend of mine. Her name is Jolina, and she came to India with me last year. She surrendered her life to missions last week, and I ask that you pray for her heart to be softened and ready for everything God has in store for her. She's hoping to come back this year, so also pray for her financial support to come through.

As far as my life goes, it's been a good couple of days. I've met my bands, and there will be some switching around and some catching up to do technique wise, but we'll be okay. On Monday I have to start scheduling my lessons and such. I'll have 34 private students and then 8 periods of band. So I'll be teaching basically 42 out of 60 a cycle, while "standard course" teachers teach only 30. But supposedly music is easier to teach than other subjects, but whatever. ::sigh::

I went out with some other music faculty yesterday and bought material for 4 salwaars and 1 sari, and we went to the tailor today. :-) I should have them in about 2 weeks. Zara also gave me material for another sari, so now I just have to find material for the blouse for it. At the tibetan shop today, I bought two shawls which will come in handy as it is often a bit chilly up here. One is really thick wool that i have around me right now, and the other is a little bit thinner wool.

:-)

I also finally got my cell phone that I've been working for all week. :-) If you'd like the number, e-mail me, because I'm not giving it over a website, lol. However, I don't imagine it's cheap on either end to call me, (I know it's about 25 cents a minute for me to call you in the states) but if you want it anyways, just let me know.

Tomorrow I'm going with some students to Mercy Home, so I'm really excited for a chance to be out in the community instead of inside the school walls. :-)

I guess that's it. Coco and I are going to watch a movie now. (he says "hi")

All my love,
<3

Cocomangolassidosa

He's so cute. I love this boy. I don't even know what else to say.

I still felt a bit yuck today, but it got better as the day went on. Now, Yisu and I are going to watch PotC and do our planning for tomorrow. What a wonderful Tuesday night, right? lol.

God's really working on me right now, and it's just wierd how I'm reading like 4 different books, all unrelated, and they are all speaking to me about the same thing: Patience and GOD's timing, not our own.

I love it. ::sigh::

Not much else to say tonight. I made mac and cheese for dinner, and now I'm feeling it. Fun times. I shoulda brought my lactaid. I'm a smart cookie though, we all know that!

A case of the Mondays...

Pictures of Cocomangolassidosa will be on their way in the next day or so as he is TOO totally adorable to pass up.

Otherwise, tody I'm having a case of the Mondays. I don't really want to do anything, I don't want to be anywhere, I don't want life to begin. I guess the whirlwind of getting here and settling in is done, and now it's time to be a real person. I tend to go through culture shock a lot faster than most people, so I bet this week will be like my "o I'm so depressed"-stage. And then I'll get over it. It's just the "real-life" stuff is hitting now. Waiting for my shipment. Wondering if I'm going to have to pay extra (if I do, it's going to be around $2000 prolly, or 4 months of my salary). Knowing I teach my first class on Wednesday. Trying to learn the national anthem. learning Tamil. learning Korean. practicing piano for the staff recital. practicing viola for the staff recital. Just in general.

Yesterday was such a good day. I went to Chapel, had tea on the chapel lawn, practiced piano for like an hour, had lunch, hung out with Shreya and Beth and Neil, played ultimate, had tea at Maura and Will's, bryan brought Coco and his brother, cleaned up from tea, yisu made a korean dinner that we ate completely with chopsticks, and then we all watch harry potter 5 and then proceeded to go to bed...

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of the death of Mark Anthony Shook. A friend of mine in college. It was also a little over 4 months since my grandfather passed, and the 2 month anniversary of my good friend Mike passing away. So I'm really glad I was busy yesterday so I wasn't thinking about all of that. But I guess now it's hitting.

But Coco is sitting in my lap and loving on me. 8 weeks and 2 days old, he's so adorable. I love him. I wish I could think of a breed that looks like him so you could get an idea. Bryan calls them mountain dogs, but that's only because Coco's mom was a street dog. lol. Umm... you'll just ahve to wait for pictures of this beauty.

I'm going to head out now so I can hopefully get this phone situation straightened out. and then practice some, have lunch, and then come back down for a meeting to set up our ayah situation. AND today the dhobi should bring back my clothes, so I'll have clean stuff to wear.

Umm. not much else. please keep me in your prayers because it's going be a rough day at least. ::sigh::

I'm really missing you guys today.

Blessings all around...

Today has been full of blessings... I'll just let you read what I wrote in a more private journal about the current situation(s).

... Thursday has almost completely passed. At least tonight I get a real dinner. We're having all the staff together for dinner, so that should be fun and at least it's better than crackers. :-)

I still find it hard to believe that as I'm sitting here, I'm sitting here in India. That when I go to the market, I'm in India. That as I eat food, I'm in India. Can I reiterate that it's wierd to consciously think that I'm in India?

For those that might know, how do you go about raising support for a long term endeavor like the one I'm on. I'm increasingly finding that at least initially, it's expensive to live in India. (just getting set up and what not). Being just out of college, I don't have any savings to dig in to, and in fact, actually have debt to pay off. Most of my debt will be deferred for the time I'm here, so that's good. The only one I'll have to concern myself with is my credit card. But otherwise, getting my shipment here (which I think I'll probably owe on), and getting my house set up, and getting stuff together for different things (like in the band room) is expensive. Mostly because we are isolated on top of a mountain. However, my love for this area grows everyday, as does my heart for this country. I don't know if I ever want to leave!

I'm sitting here next to the head of the SoEx program, and was talking to him about the trips to orphanages on the weekends and stuff and I'm really excited about that. You have no idea.

AND, my housemate just walked in to the computer lab, and I've finally met her!

YAY! And we're getting a puppy! A mountain dog! So excited. This makes me REALLY REALLY happy. Let me explain, the SoEx teacher (Ryan) has puppies that are just 8 weeks old tomorrow, and was offering them around, but I told him I had to wait til I found out my housemate and what she wanted. SO, now that Yisu is here, I have a housemate, and she wants a dog as well! That is so exciting.

So, life is grand right now.

::sigh::


....
So basically, you can see that life is indeed interesting. Tomorrow I will have a housemate, and perhaps more living room furniture. She kind of wants to paint the house, so we might do that, as well. We'll still need to get the kitchen set up, and such. But we'll have a dog that Ryan is going to take care of "family planning" and shots. :-)

I'm excited about this turn of events as I was actually supposed to have a housemate on Tuesday, and so have been alone since Saturday. It's all good, and that quiet time has probably been for the best.

God is good all the time.
All the time, God is good!

Only an hour and a half til dinner. Good times.

My biggest fear...

... is that I'm trying so hard to hear what God's saying or where He's telling me to go, that I'll miss it and fail Him, or miss out on where He wants me to be. Do you ever feel like that? or is that just me?

It's just that it seems like everytime I turn around I'm going in a different direction. Just wierd. But, unfortunately, that's more of just me trying to figure things out than letting God do it. I'm tellin ya, the hardest thing to do is to step back and let God do the work He has planned.

However, the more I sit through the different (morning) meetings, I realize what a great experience this is, and that I really probably should definitely stay for all 3 years. Where else will you find a CHRISTIAN school that also has students from about 7 different religions, where they try to understand eachother, and reach for mutual understanding and respect while the school is still based on the core beliefs of Christianity (which, actually, are at the core of most world religions). I think it will be a great opportunity to learn about these religions and their place, and what they stand for and really believe, so that whatever I do end up doing in the ministry will be so much better rounded. ESPECIALLY if I do end up in the mission field. having this understanding will only be better for me. ya know?

So, we'll just see where it goes. Right now, I have to think about what's got to be done. Hopefully soon I'll finally have a roommate, and then I can buy a stove and a fridge and other things needed for my house. (There is so much to buy, i have no idea how the settling in grant will cover it all!)

::sigh::

I miss you guys!

PS: pictures are posted on my webshots (on the right there is a link to them). The album is called "Home in India". It includes pictures of my house as well as pictures of the walk I take to work. It takes about 10 minutes and is uphill the whole way. At least at night I get to come downhill!

No droughts here!

It's raining again. Surprise!

We were all just getting ready to leave tea when it started to pour, so Gayathri brought me and Charlene (an ESL teacher) down to the music dept office, so I'm sitting in the department office, and I must say, it's really nice in here. I'm excited to see what happens this year.

I found a good book in the staff room library today, so I'm going to read it over the next couple days. It's called "Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World." It seems interesting so far. It's about Christian evangalism, why we're so scared, and what it REALLY means to evangalize. I'm hoping it will be as good as it has been so far.

Today was Marcia's birthday so we had cake for her at tea, and that was fun. Instead of going on the shopping tour, I showed her where Spencer's is, because she needed food (she has even less than I do!).

I really want to walk home and go to sleep, but it just won't stop raining. I keep wondering if this is also a monsoon season, because it's rained almost everyday!

It was a good day for the most part. I woke up feeling ill around 4am, and I've been awake since, but that's alright. I watched the sunrise, wrestled with internet, and when I gave up on it, I had a good bit of quiet time before I came up to school for the workshops. It's interesting to hear what God says to me on different days. Today was dealing a lot with how much I worry and think ahead. Already on my heart is applying for grad schools, even though I have no idea if I'll want to be attending next year already.

I have no idea why I think so far ahead. It's odd actually. But that's okay. I have to keep pulling myself back.

That reminds me of something I read in a devotional a while back:
When we pray to God for something (patience, persistance, etc), He doesn't just GIVE it to us, but He gives us the opportunity to learn and practice it. Since I've been praying recently for God to help me stay back and enjoy my time, I guess that makes sense. So now He's giving me a chance to practice it.

::sigh::

Going to go check some other websites. Don't ever feel scared to comment just to say hi!!! I like to hear from people. It makes me feel still connected to the world at home.

Also: If at any point you want to donate to my living fund, please do. While I was out showing Marcia where to shop and such, we were looking at toilet paper. TP is litterally a dollar a roll, even in the bigger packages. In general, paper is just expensive. So, if ever you feel like you want to help me buy a roll of TP, donate a dollar or two! It sounds awful, but I only brought 7 rolls, and shipped another 12 (so I won't have them until whenever my shipment comes), but at some point, I will have to break down and buy it.

O, and today I set up my bank account so I can get PAID! Fun times. There's so much to get done before school starts. Everyone is like "come by my office and fill out these forms" and all I can think is that they have us booked from beginning to end of day, when am I supposed to come and do that stuff?

O well. Life is good in general, and that's what matters, ya know?

Alrighty, I'm out for a while. Have some other stuff to check and, as it's stopped raining, home to get to!

14 Music Teachers?!?!

Yes, you read that right. There are 14 of us listed on the website. Of course, a good many of them are piano teachers. And you also have to remember that we only teach a couple classes. Me, I have Intermediate and Advanced band. so, 4 classes a week. And then lessons. And the VP today said something that I hadn't recognized yet. One of the new volunteers was like "Well, with all the assemblies everyday, and the pro d on tuesdays, when do we have time to PLAN?!" and the VP said "it looks like a lot when we state it all out there like this, but each teacher only teaches 30 periods per 6 day cycle"...

1st:
Each day has 10 periods
So, 6 day cycles= 60 periods a cycle.
So technically, we're only teaching half days... or, if you want, i guess you could have 3 days off a week... (well, 2 on some weeks)...

So, that's actually pretty ideal. AWESOME!

There's also a lot of ways to get involved in the spiritual side of the school, as well as with CAS and do work with the students in the local orphanages, so I'm WAY excited.

:-)

I think it will be a good first year of teaching.

It was a good day, even with dumb questions all the time. ;-)

Not much else to say. I'm going to go and get ready for bed as I'm exhausted and tomorrow looks like it's going to be a long day.

Peace out homes!

Let us rejoice...

... in the amazing fact that I've been here 2.5 days and haven't blown anything up yet!

When I was in NZ I blew up quite a few things cus I'm not always smart... but this time, I've been much more cautious... often being in chat with someone from the company of which the product is that I'm plugging in (in the case of my phone, sprint, and my computer, HP).... just in case something DID happen... luckily, however... neither my phone nor my computer has blown up... according to the zune charger i have that shouldn't blow up either... the only thing i brought that will is my rechargable battery station.. which is sad... because i need to recharge batteries... so i might buy a voltage adapter at the stock room on campus...

i've got such a list of things to get. ::sigh:: and limited funds... I don't know when we get our "settling in grant" of basically $250. I hope that's enough to get what I need in the house...

I've been thinking and praying a lot today. I pray a lot all the time. But really, a lot today, because I feel so content sitting here in my house in India. Thinking that maybe, in fact, India might become a more permanent home for me... that almost makes me want to come home sooner so i can go to school and then come back and start my life here, you know? always looking ahead... that's me...

so I've been praying for God to pull me back. It's important to look ahead, yes. But you miss so much of what's around you when you do that. I don't want to miss things that God will show me while I'm here because I'm too busy thinking about NEXT year or 10 years down the line. (there's a quote from Sidhartha I'd like to put here: " 'When someone is seeking,' said Siddhartha, 'it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.' " Fits, doesn't it?)

Because like i tell almost everyone who asks what I'm going to do in the future: I have no idea. My plans don't always line up with God's and His are what matter, so I'm letting Him show the way rather than try to forge some crazy scheme.

That's my life.

Fun, isn't it?

Books I want to read...

My utmost for His highest (It's a devotional book, probably going to look for it for next year since right now I've got an awesome one or two going on)

The Cost of Discipleship (I've wanted to read this book forever, but have never found it or gotten around to it)

There are some others but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

It's Sunday morning, and I slept too long to get a ride to church (I'm not so much jet lagged as tired from all the walking and searching and exploring i did yesterday)... and i feel awful about it, so I'm going to have my own chuch service here in my house. :-P

anyways. I didn't really have much to say, just making a list for my reference... also, if anyone has Becky Cranfill's e-mail address, could you pass it along to me? that'd be great.

:-)

Safely here

So my first night last night was actually pretty amazing. I got in around 5, and my neighbors came over and invited me to their house and we had tea, and then dinner, and it was wonderful. we sat around chatting. they're from upstate new york as well, and they have a dog and a cat. So I'm pretty stoked. They say my roomie is really nice as well, so that will be AMAZING.

Umm... the whole way over here, i was missing everybody, and i still am, dont get me wrong, but I hope it goes away soon, because i hate feeling lonely, though i know tomorrow i will feel lonely as im on the compound by myself all day. great. lol.

umm.. this morning maura took me around and showed me around the school, and then showed me around some shops and i bought some bowls and some storage canisters and some silverware... all in all, stuff i really needed... o, and food. i've eaten at their house 3 times and now im on my own, lol. they just left to go get foreign exchange students, so that's kind of exciting.

ummm... I don't really have a lot to say. just kind of been unpacking, trying to settle in and make my room look like MY room and not some space im sleeping in.

i'm also petrified to plug in my computer. if you remember, my dell crashed when i was in nz after being plugged in for a day i think. i dont know if the plugging it in had anything to do with it crashing, but it's definitely on my mind as i try to charge some of my stuff. maura and will plug their ipod into one of their indian surge protectors and it hasn't blown up, but im scared to try it with my zune. i'm also scared to try to charge my american phone because it is what i use as a clock at this point. so i leave it off during the day and then turn it on at night.

i've been sitting here waiting for the plumber to come fix my aquaguard so i can have clean water to drink without boiling it all, but man, he hasn't come yet. disappointing. he was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago... o well... TII.

on monday, the stock room opens so i can buy a stabilizer (for my appliances), and then a voltage adapter or two. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

okay, going to go try to talk to the hp guy to make sure i can plug in my computer without it blowing up. maura and will plug their mac in without grounding it (two prongs)... and im wondering if that makes a difference. so im going to find out.

wish me luck.

ps: Have I mentioned lately that God is amazing?

Hi from Belgium

It's 4am state-side. and it's 10am here. i board in an hour.

so for now, im bored and just updating everybody so i can then turn off my computer to conserve my battery.

I miss you guys terribly already.

:'(

Nothing of real importance to say.

Last one state-side

This is my goodbye from the states! I'm leaving in a minute to go to the airport and I doubt they'll have free internet, but if you see me online, feel free to say hi!!!!

I realize for some people that the only contact we still have (for whatever reason) has been online, anyway, so this won't really be that much different, but it feels the same no matter how I've been in contact with you on this end. It feels like I'm losing everybody. And I know I'm gaining so much and will learn so much, but it doesn't mean I won't miss home.

It's all in God's hands and we'll see what happens.

I'll be thinking of you guys. and I'll miss you.

Peace

Packing and cleaning

So I've been getting stuff together this morning, and as a test run, I put things in my suitcases, and unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to leave behind more than I thought. I mean, that's good, I shouldn't need as much as I've packed, but it's just odd to sit here and go through everything, you know? and I should probably be out of here by 5, so that leaves me with 4 more hours to get everything done.

I better get going. I'll update better in a little while when I'm done and such. ::sigh:: there's so much to do. I'm such a slacker.

Please pray for me. My heart is going crazy this afternoon.

Thanks.

"Honestly, I need to be broken..."

"Honestly, I need to fall down. Go ahead and shake my foundation. Cus honestly I'm figuring out. Of all that I have, all that I need is You. Honestly"
~Carl Cartee

I think it's amazing how God uses us when we're broken. "Honestly" is a song by Carl that I fell in love with the first time I heard it and it became my prayer for the longest time. I thank God that there have been times in my life when I've been broken and what he's done in those times. If I had not been broken down to the point of ending my life, would I really know now how to depend completely and only on Him? If I had not been digging my own grave, would I have been able to appreciate and fully accept all that God's done for me? If I had not felt so alone and abandoned, would I have been able to understand God as my father, my husband, my best friend, my EVERYTHING?

Last week, He broke me down in the early morning and used that brokeness to make me listen to Him. He clearly spoke to me as to where He wants me to go in my life. He used that brokeness to soften me up so I would appreciate what a blessing it is to see old friends.

My heart has been on a rampage of emotions for the last week and half-ish. Today, I really needed to stay for both services at church. My mom wasn't too happy about it, but my heart needed it. Who knows when I'll be in a situation like this again? who knows when I'll be in a church with this many brothers and sisters around me? who knows when I'll have the chance to visit with people in this congregation?

So I stayed. And because I stayed, even more blessings fell on me. For those that follow, finances aren't necessarily the best. I trust God to provide and to fulfill my needs where they are and in His time, and He definitely made that point today.

I was reading a devotion today and it says "Leading a life of faith often means leaving things alone." Amen. That is so true. As I've been learning this the last year, I've been blessed in so many ways. It's hard to not worry about where the money will come from, and it's often hard to think that I don't know everything. But as one of my dear friends said to me the other day, "When we don't know what we're doing, that is often when God shines through the most."

:-)

2 days left, and countless things to do.

Blessed

God answered so many prayers this week at the Crossroads youth camp. It was totally by chance that I got to go as a chaperone, and I'm so glad I didn't make excuses to keep me home when it would have been so easy to do so.

A few points from this week:
Passion comes from pathos- a willingness to suffer or endure pain.
Passion is faith in the face of fear. Believing when you should be doubting.
Passion is faithfulness in spite of consequences.
Passion is finishing well.

and a lesson from 1 Samuel:
Nothing should ever replace obedience, even when conventional wisdom and outside pressures make more sense.

---------
The week was a great chance to get to know some of the youth that I haven't spent much time with. I got to see an amazing son of God and brother in Christ give his life to the ministry. I got to see a young girl who is so eager for a deeper relationship with God, lift up her hands in praise to God.

It is odd to NOT see me raise my hands when singing and praising God. It has become part of me to fully open myself and surrender to God when singing or praying. The act of being open to God is a big part of my life, and it is an amazing feeling to see others let go and let the Holy Spirit fill them up.

I got to hear great messages that include some of those points above. I got to hear Carl Cartee read a verse and share part of his testimony that seemed aimed STRAIGHT at me, and when we talked about it later, we rejoiced in following God's voice in our hearts because you never know who needs to hear what you were told to say.

I also felt really blessed by the fact that I was given the opportunity to pour my heart and soul into some of the girls. I would keep my door open at night so they could come in while I was reading or journaling and ask questions, tell jokes, just hang out. And it was great to be able to be there when they had questions, when they just needed and ear, or when they wanted to know what kind of animal I'd be if I could be one. I love stuff like that.

::sigh::

-------------------
Thursday was a truly blessed day. The morning devotion was amazing, and so was the workshop "Creative Christianity". I was supposed to be going off campus to the river that day, but God was calling out to me to take some time out and fall on my face in front of Him. I ate lunch in the caf early, sat down with Clayton King, Nathan and their friend Mike, and later, Charie (Clayton's wife) and their nanny Abby sat down. It was a chance thing that I sat over there. I'm often shy in situations like that, but I felt like I needed to have adult contact, and besides, I had questions to ask Clayton, and really just wanted to even just LISTEN to this amazing man of God off of the stage.

Abby and I had great conversations, as did they continue when Charie joined the table. It was great to sit down with two women of God, and except for a short little bit, talk about something other than India. It's very exciting, yes, but we got down to talking about God's will and what it means, and having a deeper conversation than just "I'm moving to India." and it truly blessed my heart. Truly.

I had finished long before Abby as I had been sitting there talking with Mike and Clayton before she got there, but it was such good conversation and never felt right to leave, so I stayed, drinking water and having amazing conversation. After a bit, there was a shadow over my corner and someone said "Melissa..."

And a prayer I didn't even know I had was answered. There were Mike and Patti and Jake. O my goodness, my heart lit up. I know at some point one of them will read this, and I hope they've read the journal below as well, just so they know how much Mike means to me. That whole family is an amazing and Godly family, and just by being a part of my life, showed me how much more there was to life than what I had. That I could really wait for the man who was more like Mike and less like my natural father. He has always encouraged me and made my heart smile.

Seeing them after two years, and after having that time on Sunday when I was mourning the seeming loss of him in my life was AMAZING. It was a true blessing and meant the world to me. God is SO good!!!!

We went down to the river to see the kids and walked around, and then came back to GWU and walked around the quad. Shortly after, Amol and Rachel came up with their kids, and it was definitely a great time with them. It was exciting to see that Patti and Rachel knew some of the same people, and, like I said, was just amazing.

Paul finally answered his phone and we surprised him with the Paynes. :-) And I got to spend an afternoon with 3 very special people and eat dinner with them, and worship with them. They got to hear from Amol and Rachel that evening at the service and then went out to DQ for ice cream with us.

It was a truly blessed day.
--------------------
Today was also blessed. Amol prayed for me after the devotion time this morning, and it we had a nice talk and it's great to know that there are people over there that I know, even if they're basically no where nearby. To know that during long breaks I can go up there makes me SO excited, and just generally hopeful. Amol and Rachel are truly following the will of God and that makes me happy.

Amol was talking at one point about bringing his children to Crossroads one year and I got this picture of these kids, singing side by side with the youth at Crossroads, and it made me tear up. That is so exciting. Such a sight to see, even in my head. The nations worshiping side by side. Amen.

Amol is also planning like a youth retreat for next summer, and depending on the timing of it, I'm thinking I'll stick around for it. That is so exciting. O, so blessed.

Crossroads 2008: The year the Grey Squirrel died.
And the year my tank was filled up to the brim to carry me to India with even more passion than ever (if that was even possible).

Acts 20: 24

It's been an emotional week, but it has been so great. I'm sad that I'm leaving this place. But so excited to see what God has in store for me.