So Yeah, About That...

So I had this Fiction Writing Professor at Auburn who, after our final story was turned in and grades were received, told me to "keep writing."  Now I'm not crazy enough to think that I was the only one he told.  There were some amazing writers in that class, writers whose abilities far exceeded mine.  But that's not really the point.  The point is, I didn't keep writing.  Sure, I'd scribble some things down here and there.  But in the midst of education classes, work, some resemblance of a social life and sleep, the writing just kind of fell away.  Part of it was an inspiration problem.  For that class, I guess the fear of presenting trite and elementary plots in front of my peers and not making a good grade was inspiration enough for me to sit down and make up stories.  All that to say this: the stories that I have been surrounded with over the past several months are not made up.  They are so very non-fiction in sometimes the worst and sometimes the best ways possible.  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm certainly not naive enough to believe that I understand even the top layer of what life has been like for some of these people.  But I must share their stories.  I am almost 100% positive that what I have to say has been said before.  But maybe eyes will read it that have never read it before. 

We went to the mountains this past week.  As we made our way up, going back and forth on switchback after switchback, I struggled to remind myself that the destination would surely be worthy of our frightening and at times seemingly life-threatening journey.  I was right.  As we went through the mountain pass that had only been opened the month before, I caught my first real, up close and personal view of the Himalayas.  I cried.  I was listening to a song by the group Addison Road called "What Do I Know of Holy."  And as I was attempting to take in the beauty around me, that's exactly what I thought.  What do I know of holy?  Looking at those mountains, I felt the same thing I feel when I look at the ocean.  small.  And I thought about how the day He made those was probably so amazing.  Now I don't know if He spoke and they just appeared or if the whole earth shook as they emerged from the ground.  (Personally, I think the latter is way cooler.)  I do know this, though: they're there.  And I can tell you that they are breathtaking and that they are so happy to be mountains, doing what mountains do...drawing our eyes up, "bursting into song before [us]" (Isa 55:12).  

After a few stops (one of which included us playing in the snow), we arrived in the small city where we spent the next two days.  Our purpose was to lift up the people there (no work is currently being done among them), get to know the town, take pictures, and make contacts.  We were able to meet a lot of people, speak to them a little and learn more about the culture of that particular district.  I have to admit, I really liked the people there.  Something about their faces made the inside of me come alive and ache all at the same time.  And I have to hope, that in spite of the obvious language barrier, His Name, when it came out of my mouth, was heard and understood.  As we would walk through the town, we would run into these little women with sacks of grain and dirt on their back.  You know what their job is?  They go up and down the mountain all day...all day, up and down, up and down.  It's insane.  The school children would speak to us and ask us to take their picture and now we get to take their precious smiles with us wherever we go.  I've posted pictures below.  I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did.

Our summer volunteers are doing wonderful!  We had a great orientation with them and now they are traveling and doing research for us in both the northern and southern parts of our focus state.  Haley and I will be telling stories for the next week in a state to the south of us.  This is a really neat opportunity for us and hopefully it will result in more doors being opened in the future. 

On a weather note, monsoon season has come early this year.  In fact, it's pouring outside as I type this (she says excitedly).  No, seriously, it's wonderful.  For some reason, the rain makes the heat more bearable.  Does that make sense?  Anyway...some currents:  currently reading: Genesis, Joshua, In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, and Digital Fortress by Dan Brown; currently listening to: Addison Road, David Cook, Coldplay, U2, Mat Kearney, Nickel Creek, and Eastmoutainsouth.

Now some pictures!

Some women in Delhi.  I practiced a little Hindi on them and then we took some pictures. 

Precious little boy.  Check out those big brown eyes. 

Little baby girl!

     

This has to be one of my favorites of our summer girls with the Indians we met.       

 

Story behind this pic: Our first time on an overnight bus, and I just happen to really like Choco Pies...

   

Carmen (one of our summer girls) and I taking a break while hiking to the waterfall. 

   

One of the views of the Himalayas.

      

Okay, so shoutout to Johnson's.  This place was incredible...so incredible, in fact, we went back several times.  Chocolate covered waffles, coffee milkshakes, strawberry banana pancakes, omelets, pasta, etc.  It was wonderful.  Without them, we would not have made it up the mountain. 

  

Sharing!

              

So I think they were looking at the water.  Regardless, it made a cool picture of all the girls, minus me because I'm taking the picture of course.               

Our spur of the moment hike on day 1. 

   

Our rickety bus that took us to Keylong.  I saw my life flash before my eyes several times on this bus.  It was quite reminiscent of one Hawaii 15 passenger van ride I took circa 2003, only 20 times longer and way colder.  

      

D and I happy to be out from behind the cold waterfall.  It's hard to see it in the picture, but my feet are pretty much covered in mud and I'm pretty sure both of us are quite wet.  Oh and check out that rainbow. 

          

The three of us (plus Todd) before hiking down behind the waterfall. 

     

Excited to be on that night bus!  And some of our summer guys being...strange.                    

   

So we wanted to get some handmade items from Keylong and we found a place where they made sock, hats, gloves, etc.  The socks that we got were made from angora.    

    

Socks!   

   

These were some beautiful little Spitti girls we met on our hike down to the river. 

   

Sweet Keylong school children. 

  

Himalayas...enough said.        

  

Our reaction to the previous picture.       

 

Our team...no other 2 people I'd rather travel through this country with :)

Thanks for lifting us up!