another day in india is going by fast. we went out to a green tea farm today to do some field work. we spent the entire day going door-to-door and talking with people. we saw 27 people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

i was able to talk to a buddhist and his family (through a translator). while we were there, he admitted that he was drunk and about halfway through talking with him, he pulled out a joint and starting smoking. my translator looked at me and i at him and we just rolled our eyes and laughed. he asked us for a bible because he wanted to read more about what we were talking about. my translator told him that he had to promise not to rip the pages and use them for his cigarettes. the buddhist did.

we went to a few other houses and were able to talk with more people. we will be going out again tomorrow.

via siliguri, india

greetings from india. we arrived in kolkata late last night are now in siliguri. we are staying with rin's family for the time we are here. they have a nice cozy place. much different than their house in the states.

we traveled for about 30 hours and had a layover in singapore for about 12 hours. i'll be adding images to my flickr account when i have some time. i really haven't been able to do any photography yet. tomorrow, we will be visiting with the school at the ltc and working with the school as well. i'll try and take some pictures there.

the temperature is fairly cooler than the last time i was here. the high today is about low 70s. right now, it's 68 degrees. much warmer here than back home though.

well, i had better go. gotta go get a heater with rin's dad.

via siliguri, india

something i love to do is go to my flickr account and click on last seven days. it brings up a page of the most recent interesting images posted on flickr. after scanning the first results, i hit reload and then, a whole new crop of pictures are at my disposal. granted, some are duplicates, but for the most part, the images are brand new.

there are a few that i don't think are great, but it gives me an idea of how others look at life through a lens. i wonder what people think of when they peruse my imagery. i hope that my work can convey what i was feeling at that time or capturing the moment that i can never get back. i know that i am still learning the art of photography, but i still want to be expressful.

i'm hoping that the shots i get in india can speak many words without using text. i look back to the first time i was there and i find myself getting excited for the days that i will return.

i was talking with my aunt this morning, wishing her a happy birthday when the subject got changed to india. she told me that there is a nurse that she knows, who is indian. my aunt told her of rin's and my plans for traveling there. her question was:

"why do they want to go to my dirty country?"

i don't think it is a "want to" but a drawing to, or a calling you might say...

welp, a few more days and we'll be on the plane, heading towards the asian land. i can't believe how much work there is just to be ready to go. emails here, calls there. making sure our confirmations are in fact, "confirmed". in cuba, our "confirmed" rooms sometimes went to other people, due to "just because".

anyway, it is going to be interesting to be traveling with just rin and myself...

the countdown has begun. india is in our sights. soon, our plane will be leaving the states and will be landing in asia. japan, singapore and india; here we come.

we starting our packing of luggage yesterday. we are taking four suitcases to be checked. 70lbs per bag is the allotted weight. two bags are for rin's parents (which are to capacity) and the only thing i have packed is my tripod. my carry-ons consist of a backpack and camera bag. rin will be a pack mule as well, carrying her backpack and laptop bag.

more to come (but don't hold your breath). . .

perceptions of being a kid are fascinating. this thought occurred to me whilst i was walking from my office to the coffeeshop. some of you know that we have two schools here. one is a bible college and the other is a full class academy.

why it befell me is because i remembered how i was when i was in school. my elementary years were always the same. the fifth graders are tough. don't mess with them. also, when i was the only student by a teacher, i felt so insecure, so timid, so nervous. there is no reason behind it, but i think everybody feels the same way (or at least i think so).

once i became a fifth grader, i felt unstoppable...until junior high. i think all can relate. you became a bottom feeder. great times, eh? you looked up to the eighth graders. if you could become popular with them, no one would touch you. but, alas, that didn't happen. soon though, you became what you aspired to become.

now, my highschool years i lucked out on. i went to a brand, spankin' new school. only freshman and sophomores ruled. there were no upperclass. how it worked was the sophomores became the juniors the next year and then the seniors after that. it was great. since no one knew where anything was and we were still learning our new 'roles' as teenagers, we had some breaks.

but now, as a husband and a daddy, my perceptions are different. no longer am i the timid, nervous, insecure elementary school child. my brother was h-u-g-e and i always ran to him for protection. now, my kids run to me for that protection that is needed. when i walk around the campus, i see many kids that look at me and i wonder what they are thinking. many of the highschoolers that i work with know that they are roll models, even if they don't think so themselves.

perceptions change...

saturday was our rake'n'bake that we do with the hs youth group. there were about 20 of us that went out and raked up leaves for different people. we only had time to do four yards, but we still were able to bless and serve some people.

the weather was cold and the wind didn't help warm us either, but we got the leaves picked up and taken to the street where the street sweepers would come and haul them away.

our trip to india is basically here. we are so close to the take off date that i can smell the indian air and feel the humidity on my face. i can taste the nan. i think rin is getting anxious with all the details that need to be taken care of before we leave. our plans have shaped up and now it's just the little things that need be be finalized and gotten.

there are many things that i am looking forward, but some things that are hard to do as well. leaving the luxury of home and family is a strain and a stress, but at the same time, the willingness of going outweighs those comforts. i believe that in due time, the rest of the family will be traveling to visit and work in india...

did you?

jack bauer; a sacrifical lamb? say it ain't so.