India // Friday, Saturday, Sunday

There is nothing like exploring the crazy, beautiful world we live in. But, exploring with your feet can be completely different than exploring with your mind and heart. Annie and I prayed before our flight that we would continue to have an open mind towards the fresh ideas that will soon be set before us in the next few weeks. Let me tell ya, as soon as I stepped on the plane to Seoul Korea, I was overcome by my timidness towards the new culture I was thrusted into. Come on Shelbs, it's only been an hour (Deep breath, move on). Who knew a plane ride would be so culturally shocking? For the first time in my life I had the humbling experience of being the minority. The Korean flight attendants barely spoke english, and the only word we could understand was "zone" which sounds like "john" with a think italian accent. They seated us and then handed us little slippers and a "fresh steamed towel". We glanced around, completely dumbfounded on what to do with this item that was burning our hands. Apparently its a cleaning mechanisim. Makes sense, right?

This simple occurrence yet again reminded me that I can not do this on my own. We can not go through this adventure only counting on ourselves- the independent American Women we claim to be. Oh my, that is a scary thing at first. After washing our hands and face with the towels, we were given a decent sized lunch. We were able to choose "Western" or "Traditional Korean". My not-so-adventureous/vegetarian taste buds chose the western meal. Which was... Interesting, to say the least. The 11 hour plane ride consisted of napping in strange positions, listening to Frank Sanatra (comforting, indeed), eating little korean meals (they kept us well fed!), gulping down as much water as possible, watching movies, and soaking in the fact that we are on our way to India.

When we arrived for our layover in Seoul, our first mission entailed SUSHI. My all time favorite. I was shocked to see most Koreans flocking to Wendy's and KFC as we made our way to the food court. But maybe they were shocked to see us galloping to the sushi bar? Annie tried a rice wine with dinner, which tasted like sweet tangy beer. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Sorry Mom and Dad, it's legal here! The airport looked like a shopping mall. Filled with upscale designer brands and tobacco & liquor stands that were placed all over the terminals. The consumer driven mentality is not much different than America. We eagerly jumped on the plane after our 2 hour layover, took some sleeping medicine to catch up on sleep and to get used to the drastic time change. Annie and I read through some of our favorite passages from the bible and this very verse is something I will attempt to implement throughout my time here. Bear with me, its a long one:

"If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good."

Romans 12:8-21

How precious and genuine is that?

8 hours later, HELLO INDIA! Immediately after stepping off the plane a wave of muggy-ness hit both of us. Being perpetually sweaty is something we will have to get used to, I suppose! We arrived at 12:50 am India time (12:20 pm WA time). Both of us agreed to pay about 8 dollars to go take a shower and freshen up in a small shower room. We then parked our bags in a coffee shop and dozed off for a few more hours, chatted about education reform, and embraced the new culture we were sitting in. OUr faces dropped as soldiers walked by us with ginormous guns draping over their shoulders. A little startling. However, they are there to protect, and that is comforting as well.

At 6:30 am, our program coordinator met us at the airport and drove us to our accommodation where we will be staying for the duration of our time here. The road rules here are simply insane. It is rare you see a white line separating the lanes on the freeway- and when you do, they are very much ignored. Cars and buses going 70+ MPH, while dodging people and bikes crossing the road ways. I have never heard so much honking in my life. As difficult as it is, this is another opportunity to trust those around me. Trust they wont slam into me, trust the driver is in control, and trust that God is holding our lives in his hands.

As I type this I can hear multiple screeches and honks from the road out side our accommodation. Ah! Just in the quick 15 minute drive I have seen extreme poverty and insane wealth. Slums and "projects" to upscale apartments. Moneys, chirping birds, and dogs crowd the streets. I witnessed a naked toddler trying to climb a chain fence, and I shamefully thought he was a monkey. I know my heart will be broken in many pieces while I am living here.. But I have faith that my heart and mind will be changed in many great ways as well. I mean hey, in the first few hours it already has.

Cheers to exploration!!