Londontown...Londontown

We woke up on this Saturday in London, happy to see the sun shining. Had a bit of breakfast and then off to the British Museum - one of the best in the world. Here's Joy on platform getting ready to get on the tube downtown.

On the tube, we saw this ad...very interesting.
After getting off, we headed to the museum - here's the interior courtyard.

There we saw things like the Rosetta Stone - which is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing.

Joy doing knuckles bump with a big hand!

After walking around for a couple of hours, we were "museum'd" out and went to eat some fish 'n chips, soup and then finished off with a sticky toffee pudding. Yummm!

Snow in London. Can it be?

Not for 18 years has there been snow like this in London. Last Monday was the worst (or best) depending if you like school or not :-).

Here is a picture of our London hosts, Jay & Judy Smith, back yard.

It started to snow some more as we sat around the table catching up.

Suzanne & I are off to Tanzania to celebrate her 50th!

Will all this fit??????

(it did in 4 suitcases a couple that were a bit overweight, but we didn't have to pay extra -- yeah!)

India Trip, Oct 10th - Last full day on the Mountain

Tomorrow morning at 7 am Judy will be taking Mom and me down to Delhi on the train. Not sure when I'll be able to get back on line so I leave you with a lot of pictures. It's been a good journey!!!

THANKS FOR COMING ALONG!!

India Trip, Oct 9 Queen Marietta's 86th Birthday

Aunt Marietta has entered her 87th year on this earth! The day was filled with people dropping in to wish her a wonderful birthday. She received so many flowers the home here looks like a flower shop. She received gifts from near and far as well. It was a good day though at the end she did state that it was overwhemling.

Getting ready to blow out the candles on her cake

Quilted lap robe from her cousin Jo in California

India Trip, Oct 8 - "Dead Eye Mitchell"

At Wheaton College my mom was given the nickname of 'Dead Eye Mitchell' due to her ability to hit her target with a rifle. Her skills came in handy today as the monkeys became a nuisance. They had stolen a chapati (it's in the monkeys hand in the picture though you can't see it that well) from Biju's kitchen. Biju lives just below the Criders and the monkeys had raided her kitchen for the bread ... though we didn't know this when 'Dead Eye Mitchell' was sent out to take care of business!









Yosef gave her the sling shot he keeps hanging on the back of the kitchen door and she went after the rascally rascals. She's glad she didn't hit any though it did make for a fun moment.

















Here comes the back up .....

India Trip, Oct 7

This day Judy, Mom & I went to Union Church for their service. After that we went to the Four Seasons hotel and had a lovely lunch while a parade went by in the street below us. It was some type of 'eco' parade wanting to get across the importance of trees for our well being. Most spectacular part was at the beginning with bag pipes being played. Never know what you're going to see on this mountain.

After lunch we went looking for material for a Punjabi suit for Mom to wear to a wedding. Found some nice material that is being made, as I type, to fit her to a tee. The picture to the right shows her being measured for that.

We were able to fit all that in and get Mom home in time for a rest before the open house birthday party for the sisters from 4-6 pm. About 30 people came, in shifts, to wish the sisters a happy birthday. There was Chai, Samosas, cake and other things I can't pronounce let alone spell for the guest to enjoy. The guest were made up of people from church and Woodstock School.A good portion of the guests were able to enjoy a 'concert' put on by the sisters. Marietta on the piano & Esther singing with Dana joining them after the first song.

Here's a picture of the fine spread at the party. The sisters held up very well considering their age :-).

This picture was taken when we were talking, via Skype, to Bonnie in Turkey. Not only were we talking to her, but we were also able to see her on the computer screen & she could see us as well. This was a new expereince for me. Way cool!

We also had a chance to talk/see Andy (Criders son) & Sonya (his wife) and their four kids. Makes me want to invest in that 'eyeball' looking camera so I can do that with my family as well.

India Trip, Oct 6 blood pressure check

Biju has learned how to be a nurse to Marietta. One of the things that she does is to check her blood pressure each morning. She has added Mom and me to her 'patient list'. You can see the fun that we've been having with this to the right :-).

Mom continues not to feel 100 percent, but I don't think it's a cold as much as the altitude and the pollen in the air. She is able to rest a lot which is good.

She & Marietta spend a lot of time sitting at the table, outside on the porch and in the living room just talking talking and talking some more. It is great!

Dana & Judy went out on the town this night to celebrate the anniversary of some friends. They had a good time. I was glad that they trusted Mom & me with Marietta's care and were able to have some time together. Usually it is one of them going out at night while the other is with Marietta.

India Trip, Oct 5 Singing in the Rain

There are a lot of experiences here that are so different than my life in Florida:

The most extreme experience I had this afternoon (Friday, Oct 5th). I was sitting with the sisters watching "Singing in the Rain" when a movement out the window caught my eye... some Rhesus monkeys playing in the trees. Because of the extreme incline of this place they were sitting in the top of the tree yet it was just outside the window for us. My mind had to take a few minutes to work through two extreme worlds merging right in front of my eyes.

Some other extremes:

--4-5 men waiting at the gas station to help fill up your car as opposed to self service

--Lanes used for multiple cars as opposed to just one car per lane

--Cows in the road having the right of way as opposed to cows in a fenced off pasture

--“Thunder” on the roof caused by monkeys running along it as opposed to a thunderstorm

--Groceries, flowers, meds everything delivered to the door as opposed to running errands to pick it up

--horn used as a vital part of driving with 'sound horn' painted on the bumpers of cars as opposed to a blowing horn being an unwelcomed sound in the US

--brushing my teeth with water from a bottle as opposed to sticking the brush under the faucet .. something you don't want to do here unless you want a belly ache


--Homes, shops, etc built on the side of a mountain as opposed to flat swamp land

I wish there was a way to show you the extreme steepness of this place. It's real hard for the camera to pick it up. To the right is the steps we must climb to get to the Criders place -- the top two floors of the building on the right.

When I went to Woodstock School the other day I ascended 500 feet. That's a 50 story building with no elevator! I had to stop often in my climb because of the steepness and also the higher elevation. The next evening I went up to Woodstock again with Judy and then the next day down to the Hanson Field -- the only flat place around here that they use for track & field etc. So my ascending & descending muscles are quite sore. This place is not for the faint of heart.

India Trip, Oct 4 - Queen Esther's 84

Mom wasn't feeling well on her birthday, but was able to rally for an evening birthday party. The picture to the right -if you're looking at this blog upside down or the picture to the left if you have your seat in your chair & your feet on the ground :-) shows Biju presenting the cake she baked. Biju is explaining that each of the center candles are, "20, 20, 20, 20" and the extra one on the outside is '4' :-).

We enjoyed time around the table with Mom telling stories, laughing and enjoying each other. Biju's 3 daughters came, plus Yoseph, his brother Abdul and his uncle Chhedi. All of them having served the Crider or the Smith households over the years (except for Biju's daughters).

This picture shows Marietta playing her keyboard for the first time since June. Mom, Esther, requested a few songs as a birthday present & Marietta rose to the occasion. She insisted that Dana sing while she played.

I feel like I'm a part of history here as the sisters get reacquainted and bond.

India Trip, Oct 3

True to our tiredness Mom & I slept until around 1 in the afternoon this day. It was wonderful to finally be at a place where we could let our bodies catch up with themselves.

We had lunch (our breakfast :-) with Marietta as Judy & Dana had gone to work many hours before. After the meal the sisters sat at the table and talked and talked. Such a refreshing sight. They are both amazed at what they remember.

Later, while Marietta rested, Mom & I went for a little walk so we would be able to sleep again in just a few hours.

The evening consisted of more food and conversation around the table. Not the light 'nice weather we're having' type of conversation, but diving in to deep stuff.

As Judy 'pulled' and Dana 'pushed' Marietta up the stairs for bed Mom played some more tunes on the keyboard. She had fun trying out the various modes she can play in. The 'choir' mode cracks me up as it really sounds like people singing :-).

Mom & I soon headed to bed, slept for a little bit, but then our long lie of the night before caught up with us & were we wide awake for most of the early morning. Such is the life of one acclimating.

India Trip, October 2 - Gandhi's Birthday a Nat'l holiday

After about a 5 hour train ride with kids from Woodstock and an hour taxi ride up the mountain we were greeted by Judy Crider. Once again a Crider was a welcome sight. Mom, as anticipated, did not enjoy the taxi ride up the hill. It is a unique form of driving where the horn joins the gas, brake & steering wheel as an essential tool for driving. The horn, as I figured, is the voice of the vehicle saying, "I'm here and I'm going around you be ready!". Then that is exactly what they do. We climbed from 1800 feet to 6500 in that hour span and the view was amazing!

It was good to see the sisters reunited on the porch. Marietta was sitting out on the porch the sun behind her creating a halo effect with her hair. Mom was a bit taken aback at how she looked -- older & more frail.

We were immediately taken care of by Vijay (pronouced "B jew") & Yousef (Joseph in English) with water and chairs to sit in on the porch. They work wonders around this place and help things run smoothly. Such a blessings to the Criders & Marietta as well.

We had some soup & grilled cheese sandwiches before heading up to our room for a short nap. The short nap turned out longer than what was recommended, but we made it to supper sure 'nough. We ended the evening around the Clavinova keyboard....Mom kicking out songs from memory and the rest of us trying to remember the words :-)

India Trip, Sept 30- Oct 1

'Wheelchair guy' let me push mom through Chicago Airport .. Don't think he was suppose to do that, but he had his hands full pushing another lady :-)

Mom & I are in India at the home of Dana & Judy Crider. We made it and here's how we got here:

Sunday, Sept 30th:

We departed from the Orlando Airport at 4 pm heading to Chicago. Not long after landing in Chicago and me being allowed to push mom through the airport in a wheelchair (more on that later) we entered into another world at the gate for our flight to New Delhi. My instincts as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) immediately kicked in and I begun to feel 'at home' once again. Being immersed in another culture again was one of the things I was looking forward to and here it was happening at the gate already :-).

This flight from Chicago (scheduled for 7:05 pm departed about a half hour late) to New Delhi was a concern to both mom & me because of it's length which we thought would be 15 hours. It turned out to be only 13 hrs & 54 min from wheels off the ground in Chicago to wheels on the ground in New Delhi. We both did real well. We had seats across the aisle from each other, our own movie screen in the seat in front of us, and plenty of food/liquids. I've been very impressed with mom's ability to adapt to her surroundings.

Monday, October 1:

Somewhere over during our flight we jumped ahead to Monday, October 1st and landed in India at 8:30 at night. For my sake we had requested a wheelchair for mom (she doesn't need it really). Plus: it gets us on the plane earlier than everyone else and after a long flight I'm able to follow the person pushing the chair, who knows exactly where they're going, rather than to figure out a foreign airport. Minus: last off the plane and waiting for the chair to arrive after landing. So, we sat at the end of the ramp in New Delhi while they figured out how to get all 5 people who requested wheelchairs their chairs. Mom & another man were the first 'out of the gate' in the wheelchair race. We got to customs via a circuitous route as the elevator wasn't working on the side we came out. We whipped through customs -- was it the wheelchair (perhaps another plus for that chair :-) and had caught up with our fellow travelers at the luggage carousal (as they called it). Here there are people to help you do everything. It takes a while to let go of the American self sufficiency, but once you do it is quite a blessing to let them bless.

Dana Crider (my cousin by marriage) was there to meet us as we rolled out. He was a welcomed sight and immediately took charge of the situation calling a taxi and getting us where we needed to be. I had the privilege of sitting in the front seat of our taxi (picture above). Surprisingly I wasn't nervous as our driver took us through the busy streets to the Metropolis Tourist Home Hotel. Wasn't nervous that I could touch the car next to us & in front of us if there wasn't a windshield. Wasn't nervous when I noticed that our driver had pulled in his side mirror so it wouldn't get damaged though it stuck out a mere hand lenth. Wasn't nervous as the trucks that are only allowed into the city after 9 pm filled the far left lane and the rest of us filled the other two by making it three and sometines four lanes :-). I wasn't nervous at all amazingly -- perhaps I was more asleep than I realized.

After a nice shower Mom & I bedded down in our Deluxe room, at right, for a nice sleep before our 5am get up. Unfortunately the street outside our room, due to the trucks in the city only after 9 pm, and it being a market street... was quite a hustle & bustle with activity and sleep was sporadic. Mom jumped up at one point, when a motorcycle was using his horn to alert the other drivers around him that he was there, wondering if that was our alarm.

We definitely are in India ..

Going to India

LEFT: Mom 'Packing' yesterday :-) .... RIGHT: are the sisters in 1995. Esther, my mom, on the left & Marietta

I POSTED THIS LAST WEEK, BUT AM MOVING IT UP TO THE TOP BECAUSE TODAY'S THE DAY WE LEAVE -- WOO HOO!!!

A week from tomorrow I'm going to India...taking my mom to see her sister. They are both in their 80's & I know this trip is going to be a hoot.

I've created this blog so I can share the experience....

concerns:

-Getting there = LONG flight, long train ride &, from what I've heard, a wild taxi ride up the mountain

-altitude = live at 105 feet & going to 6,500 feet --- (Woodstock School)

-coming off a few strenuous weeks at work (think I'll sleep for a couple days upon arrival at that 6,500 feet destination :-)

looking forward to:

-time
....to get to know my extended family better
.....to rest & ponder
...to "smell the roses"

-making memories with my mom

-being immersed in another culture again

Can't wait. Let's get going Mom.

Thanks to the generous Mitchell clan for making this trip possible!!!

I just want to praise my LORD ....

...my Creator, the One who has given me purpose and joy in this life. The past few weeks have been INTENSE and He sustained me. Last Tuesday night (Sept 25th) was the biggest event in my career at Wycliffe! Big not in numbers, but in complex details. We offered a three entree plated dinner = chicken, beef and fish to those coming to honor Chuck & Cynthia Swindoll with the Bill Bright Scripture Award *. It went off real well. An event always has cliches behind the scene that the client never knows about :-).

As the event coordinator a lot of my time was put into the planning out of this event thus taking time from my 'desk work' which kept piling up. Normally in situations like this I start 'whigging' out which starts a downward spiral, but this time I took a different approach --- keeping my focus on my God & TRUSTING Him to take care of the details rather than letting the details distract me from my worship of Him. The analogy of Peter walking on the waves towards Jesus was my 'mantra' so to speak. It was as Peter focused on Jesus that He was able to walk on top of the water, but when Peter's focus changed to that he was walking on as it rose up in waves that is when he started sinking into it. It was hit & miss as the waves got bigger for me, but I'm so happy to say that I came 'off the water' more dry than wet :-). (In the Bible the book of Matthew Chapter 14 is where you'll find that story). I'm just blown away by how much the LORD is there for me, how He longs for me to lean on Him and my 'job' is to do that. It lightens the load so much and also puts a joy in the journey that goes a missing when the details become my focus.

I praise God for bringing back to my attention an email from a cousin forwarded by a cousin that talked about this concept and gave me the hope to try it. Here is an excerpt from that email:

For a few weeks I struggled under a cloud of bleakness, feeling very disheartened, but ...I determined to fight this in prayer... that was the only recourse we had. That's why I started out this letter with the emphasis on prayer. But a healthy reminded for me was what Bill Johnson wrote in his book, "Strengthen yourself in the Lord": Firstly we are to love God in prayer, to worship and adore Him, to seek to bless Him....

"...the affections of our hearts get drawn away from the Lord, to the point that we care more about the problems than about giving Him what He deserves. We are letting other voices speak louder than His, and that is irresponsible!... I am responsible to Him first, and for this reason I have decided to live in a healthy state of denial. ... I have learned to ignore problems just enough so they don't become a threat to the affections of my heart. I know I'm not being irresponsible because God has promised me over and over that if I'm faithful to be who He has called me to be, especially as a worshiper, He is more than happy to bring the solution."

It is the part that is bold & in italics above that I highlighted in bright green & had laying on my desk at work. I can attest to God's faithfulness as I sit here with a mound of work from work DONE and me now ready to fly off to India with my Mom. THANK YOU MY LORD, SUSTAINER, CREATOR and One who loves me so much. Thank You for turning my eyers towards You, for helping me lean heavy on You these past weeks. It's an experience I want to have become reality in my life.

*

The Bill Bright Scripture Impact Award was created to
recognize those who have followed in the steps of Bill
and Vonette Bright- and Cameron and Elaine Townsend - with
a lifelong dedication to Scripture Proclamation.
Please join us as we honor Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll with
this award. As part of the evening’s celebration Chuck will share
about his life experiences.

TheBill Bright Scripture Impact Award Dinner will be held on:
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
5:30 PM-8:45 PM
at the
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA Headquarters
WordSpring Discovery Center
11221 John Wycliffe Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32832

Next post has some pics from the occasion. I'm still learning how to use this blogspot thing so they're a little rough :-).

Here are some pics from the ocassion...

A tribute to my brother, Peter

Here he is with his his lovely wife Tammy
(they are working in Tanzania with Wild Hope Int'l)

My Brother had a birthday yesterday. My thoughts flew his way often as I went through my day. We've come a long way in our relationship. We used to fight like cat & dog .... I've thrown everything in this world at him 'cuz he would make me so MAD! He was pretty quick on his feet I must say - so his injuries weren't too bad :-). We knew where each others buttons were and enjoyed pushing them.

Today I'm glad to say the night has turned to day and I have a deep love for him that is hard to explain without talking about the healing power of God's Father heart love. We've been able to work through a lot of the past hurts, come to a place of enjoying each other and wanting to actually hang out together. It truly is a miracle.

I love you bro! So glad you're in my life. Thanks for shining the light on the path in front of me. Wish we were on the same continent,

Joy

Mom has arrived!

I was able to go to the gate to meet mom as she arrived in Orlando. To the right is a picture of her prepping to leave Los Angeles. (Do need to say that as soon as we stepped outside here in Orlando the coat was shed :-).

Two more days then we head across the world.

Woo hoo

Why THE JOY OF ORANGE?

a) my favorite color is orange

b) the other blog sites I tried were taken ... "sprinklersintherain" ..."desta" ..."faraha"

c) it will be easy for people to remember