Tomorrow at 3:15 our flight out of Kansas City will lift off and we'll be on our way to India. We'll land in Dehli about 24 hours later, spend the night and then get back on a plane the next morning for the flight to Siliguri. It will be Friday afternoon in Siliguri when we arrive, and although that is where most of our time will be spent, we won't stay in Siliguri on Friday night. We will do some sightseeing and spend the night in a lodge a couple hours north of Siliguri.
On Saturday morning we plan to take a ride on an elephant! That should be exciting! I have no idea how you "climb up" on an elephant, but I'm pretty sure we won't step onto its trunk and let it lift us up. (I've seen that in movies but I'm hoping that isn't what they do for tourists!) There will be pictures when I get back.
I am also looking forward to seeing the completed Immanuel Aademy. The last time I saw it was a year and a half ago when it was just barely more than a hole in the ground. Now it is complete and ready for its first students. Our job on this trip is to provide additional training for the teachers at Immanuel. This is an amazing opportunity and I am constantly aware of what an awesome experience and responsibility it is. Why God has blessed me with such an opportunity, I don't know. But I do know that each time I go and work with these teachers I come away with so many blessings and with a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity.
I am also very excited that we will be able to participate in their opening ceremonies. There is an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday before the first day of school on Wednesday. We will also get to be at the school as the students come in on the first day and watch everything start to take shape and see teachers and students begin their relationships and routines.
On Saturday we leave Siliguri to begin the trip back home. And while we'll all be tired and ready to come home we will also be sad to leave our friends from India behind. That is always the hardest part.
However, much has changed since I went to India for the first time six year's ago. Communication vehicles like Facebook have made it much easier to keep in touch. Through Facebook I can see pictures of my friends and share pictures of my family and myself. We have even used the chat feature to have real time conversations. It is truly and amazing technological world we live in.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Traveling to India: Part Two
OK It is T-4 and counting! I just made a list of all that needs to be done and I'm pretty sure I'll be ready by next Friday. Uh Oh we leave on Wednesday. Oh well! It always looks that way when you make a list of everything that needs to be done before a trip, doesn't it. The list seems larger than life and "nigh unto impossible." However, what I have also discovered is that everything that needs to be done always gets done. Once something is on the list then I have two choices. I can decide that it is truly necessary to do and do it or I can decide it isn't all that important and I just cross it off the list. Either way, the list keeps me focused and I see progress as things are either checked as completed or crossed off as not necessary.
So,what are some of those truly important things? Well the most important thing is to remember why I am going on this trip. When I remember that it puts everything on the list in the right perspective.
My reason for going on these trips is because I have been touched by the passion and commitment of people I have met. First there was Gary, who shared his love for the people of India and a man named Peter whom he had met there. Then I met Peter and I knew I also wanted to go to India to get to know the wonderful people he told us about. I wanted to meet his family and his friends and I wanted to see the beautiful tea gardens, ride an elephant and see the Himalaya mountains with my own eyes. Then there was the young woman, Kanjan, I met at one of the schools we visited on my first trip. We talked several times while I was there and she expressed her disappointment when people came to visit but never came back and didn't stay in touched. I made a promise to her that I would come back, and that I wouldn't forget her.
This time we will be there for the opening of Immanuel Academy, the school that Gary and his founders have built in Siliguri. We will hold a 3-day teacher workshop for the staff before their very first day of school on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. This will be a real thrill! I first saw the school in November of 2008 when they were just starting to pour the footings. Now the construction is completed and opening day is less than 2 weeks away.
There is still much to pray about: 1) enrollment is lower than expected and less than is what is fiscally required to operate in the black. 2) Classroom set up isn't contracted out to a local mover, it is done by Peter's employees in addition to their regular duties. 3) The health and welfare of all of our visiting team to stay healthy and energetic during the visit. And, of course, be thinking of us as we ride our first elephant. WOW who would have thought one day I could show my grandkids pictures of "Gramma Barb" on an elephant!
So,what are some of those truly important things? Well the most important thing is to remember why I am going on this trip. When I remember that it puts everything on the list in the right perspective.
My reason for going on these trips is because I have been touched by the passion and commitment of people I have met. First there was Gary, who shared his love for the people of India and a man named Peter whom he had met there. Then I met Peter and I knew I also wanted to go to India to get to know the wonderful people he told us about. I wanted to meet his family and his friends and I wanted to see the beautiful tea gardens, ride an elephant and see the Himalaya mountains with my own eyes. Then there was the young woman, Kanjan, I met at one of the schools we visited on my first trip. We talked several times while I was there and she expressed her disappointment when people came to visit but never came back and didn't stay in touched. I made a promise to her that I would come back, and that I wouldn't forget her.
This time we will be there for the opening of Immanuel Academy, the school that Gary and his founders have built in Siliguri. We will hold a 3-day teacher workshop for the staff before their very first day of school on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. This will be a real thrill! I first saw the school in November of 2008 when they were just starting to pour the footings. Now the construction is completed and opening day is less than 2 weeks away.
There is still much to pray about: 1) enrollment is lower than expected and less than is what is fiscally required to operate in the black. 2) Classroom set up isn't contracted out to a local mover, it is done by Peter's employees in addition to their regular duties. 3) The health and welfare of all of our visiting team to stay healthy and energetic during the visit. And, of course, be thinking of us as we ride our first elephant. WOW who would have thought one day I could show my grandkids pictures of "Gramma Barb" on an elephant!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Traveling to India: Part One
On Wednesday of next week I will travel to Siliguri, India. This is my third time to visit this part of India, so I know how to prepare and what to expect. Well, sort of. Although each trip is similar, there are also many differences.
One of the things that is the same is the arduous nature of the travel itself. Getting to India is just not an easy thing to do! It actually takes two calendar days to get there. We will board the plane in Kansas City about 3 pm and we don't arrive at our final destination until early Friday afternoon. Take a look at the schedule and you'll have a better understanding of all that is involved in the trip over:
- Kansas City to Chicago 3:15 to 4:30pm
- Chicago to Dehli 7:30 pm (Wed) to 10 pm (Thur) (Actual flight time is 15 1/2 hrs but you lose 12 hours because of the time difference.)
- Spend the night in a Dehli hotel and back to the national airport the next morning
- Dehli to Bodogra - 10:30am to 1:30 pm
- Board a bus for a 30-40 minute ride to Siliguri
The good news about all of this is that coming home, you can leave on Saturday from Siliguri and arrive in Kansas City on Sunday about noon. That 12 hour difference works in your favor coning back.
Packing is always a challenge because you can only check one bag now and it can't weigh over 50 pounds. Each time I go, i find I can take fewer clothes which allows me to put more things in to give to the school and the teachers we work with.
In my next post I'll talk about some of the things we do in India and the people we have gotten to know. I plan to do at least two more posts before we leave on Wednesday.
One of the things that is the same is the arduous nature of the travel itself. Getting to India is just not an easy thing to do! It actually takes two calendar days to get there. We will board the plane in Kansas City about 3 pm and we don't arrive at our final destination until early Friday afternoon. Take a look at the schedule and you'll have a better understanding of all that is involved in the trip over:
- Kansas City to Chicago 3:15 to 4:30pm
- Chicago to Dehli 7:30 pm (Wed) to 10 pm (Thur) (Actual flight time is 15 1/2 hrs but you lose 12 hours because of the time difference.)
- Spend the night in a Dehli hotel and back to the national airport the next morning
- Dehli to Bodogra - 10:30am to 1:30 pm
- Board a bus for a 30-40 minute ride to Siliguri
The good news about all of this is that coming home, you can leave on Saturday from Siliguri and arrive in Kansas City on Sunday about noon. That 12 hour difference works in your favor coning back.
Packing is always a challenge because you can only check one bag now and it can't weigh over 50 pounds. Each time I go, i find I can take fewer clothes which allows me to put more things in to give to the school and the teachers we work with.
In my next post I'll talk about some of the things we do in India and the people we have gotten to know. I plan to do at least two more posts before we leave on Wednesday.
Monday, March 1, 2010
An "Odd" Book Review
An Odd Book
I chose this book at random, not by design; I just happened upon it. First, the title caught my eye, and the very descriptive description further convinced me to take the book home and see for myself what was contained within its pages.
I picked up the book again, some days later. In the last paragraph of page one I read, “But these days I do not sleep as well as I did when I was young. I am twenty-one and much older than when I was twenty.”
I thought what an odd statement for a twenty year old! I flipped back for another look at the title. Ah! I wondered how the title came about. A little later I found that Odd was the main character’s given name. Oh!
Odd is possessed of an unusual ability; a super extra sense that most of us don’t have. I, for one, feel fortunate not to share this ability, though it makes for interesting reading. Hmm! This Odd book seems to provoke thoughts such as Ah! Oh! Hmm!
Odd has no available family, but has acquired a family of friends who love him and support him through the precarious episodes his unusual ability compels him into.
I find Odd very endearing, a splendid character.
Now that I have found the Odd fellow, I see that the book I’ve just read is the second one featuring Odd Thomas, which is the name of the first Odd book , plus two more that follow. Now my search for same will be intentional and not random.
I won’t say more, I’ll just pique your curiosity by saying, “You’ll find out,” when you read it for yourself.
The name of the book is Forever Odd by Dean Koontz, who has a host of other books to his credit.
I chose this book at random, not by design; I just happened upon it. First, the title caught my eye, and the very descriptive description further convinced me to take the book home and see for myself what was contained within its pages.
I picked up the book again, some days later. In the last paragraph of page one I read, “But these days I do not sleep as well as I did when I was young. I am twenty-one and much older than when I was twenty.”
I thought what an odd statement for a twenty year old! I flipped back for another look at the title. Ah! I wondered how the title came about. A little later I found that Odd was the main character’s given name. Oh!
Odd is possessed of an unusual ability; a super extra sense that most of us don’t have. I, for one, feel fortunate not to share this ability, though it makes for interesting reading. Hmm! This Odd book seems to provoke thoughts such as Ah! Oh! Hmm!
Odd has no available family, but has acquired a family of friends who love him and support him through the precarious episodes his unusual ability compels him into.
I find Odd very endearing, a splendid character.
Now that I have found the Odd fellow, I see that the book I’ve just read is the second one featuring Odd Thomas, which is the name of the first Odd book , plus two more that follow. Now my search for same will be intentional and not random.
I won’t say more, I’ll just pique your curiosity by saying, “You’ll find out,” when you read it for yourself.
The name of the book is Forever Odd by Dean Koontz, who has a host of other books to his credit.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Parenting that Develops Good Character
As I posted on my New Year's Facebook page, this is the year that I will finally write "that book" that I've thought about for 30 years. Over time, the topic has evolved but there has always been this consistent, internal voice that has kept whispering, "Write a book, write a book." Well, now, that voice is yelling at me, "WRITE A BOOK! WRITE A BOOK."
The book I plan to write, OK strike that out. It should say the book I am writing is a book on parenting. I've given this a lot of thought this past week, and I have gotten great input from several of my "young" teacher friends and others, who have kids at home, that has helped me find the perspective from which the book will be written.
Most of the books I read when I was parenting gave good and sometimes excellent advice on how to handle specific behavior or situation challenges. There are many more of those books available today. So my question was, what did I have to say that would make my book stand out from the others? What did I have to offer that would provide something uniquely beneficial and interesting?
Then I remembered the day I brought my firstborn daughter home. I recall sitting in the rocking chair, holding her and marveling about this "perfect" miracle that I had been given. It occurred to me that in truth, at that moment she was perfect. Not only was physically perfect, she was completely perfect in mind, body and spirit. I was suddenly aware of the awesome responsibility I had to write on this beautiful, perfect canvass of a life. For several moments I was overwhelmed with those thoughts. "How in the world could I keep from 'messing up' this perfect little life?" As I continued to think about this, I realized that the best thing I could do would be to raise this child as a gift to the world. (Yes, I actually thought those exact words!) What that meant to me was this: God had given me this child "on loan" from him. My job was to think about the type of adult who could and would make a difference in the world. That meant I thought about the type of character traits I wanted to encourage and develop in her. Thinking from that point of view gave me a foundation from which to make better day to day choices. I now realize that was also how I learned to plan a lot of things. It's called, "Begin with the End in Mind." And that is what this book on parenting will be about!
I'd love your feedback and thoughts. Just click on the comment button below!
The book I plan to write, OK strike that out. It should say the book I am writing is a book on parenting. I've given this a lot of thought this past week, and I have gotten great input from several of my "young" teacher friends and others, who have kids at home, that has helped me find the perspective from which the book will be written.
Most of the books I read when I was parenting gave good and sometimes excellent advice on how to handle specific behavior or situation challenges. There are many more of those books available today. So my question was, what did I have to say that would make my book stand out from the others? What did I have to offer that would provide something uniquely beneficial and interesting?
Then I remembered the day I brought my firstborn daughter home. I recall sitting in the rocking chair, holding her and marveling about this "perfect" miracle that I had been given. It occurred to me that in truth, at that moment she was perfect. Not only was physically perfect, she was completely perfect in mind, body and spirit. I was suddenly aware of the awesome responsibility I had to write on this beautiful, perfect canvass of a life. For several moments I was overwhelmed with those thoughts. "How in the world could I keep from 'messing up' this perfect little life?" As I continued to think about this, I realized that the best thing I could do would be to raise this child as a gift to the world. (Yes, I actually thought those exact words!) What that meant to me was this: God had given me this child "on loan" from him. My job was to think about the type of adult who could and would make a difference in the world. That meant I thought about the type of character traits I wanted to encourage and develop in her. Thinking from that point of view gave me a foundation from which to make better day to day choices. I now realize that was also how I learned to plan a lot of things. It's called, "Begin with the End in Mind." And that is what this book on parenting will be about!
I'd love your feedback and thoughts. Just click on the comment button below!
Monday, November 30, 2009
One Nice Thing
My mother saw this on a morning TV show and then shared it on her Face book page . (Yes, my mother is 83 years old and is very "techno-savvy! Way to go Mom!) OK back to One Nice Thing. If you click on the "One Nice Thing" logo at the right of this blog it will take you directly to their home page. There you will find a variety of suggestions for the "One Nice Thing" you could for someone this week. Some of the suggestions are time sensitive; like the one for female soldiers in Irag, so you don't want to wait too long to check it out.
When you do something nice for someone you know it is a way of saying, "I love you." When you do something nice for someone you don't know, it is a way of saying, I value you as a human being. So whether you choose to do your "one nice thing," for a loved one or a stranger, the message you send them will mean a lot.
When you do something nice for someone you know it is a way of saying, "I love you." When you do something nice for someone you don't know, it is a way of saying, I value you as a human being. So whether you choose to do your "one nice thing," for a loved one or a stranger, the message you send them will mean a lot.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Source of Strength
If you followed me during the month of September you will remember the 30-day goal setting challenge that I completed. That process has sparked a variety of results and has opened my eyes to a host of new opportunities. I have set a new goal for the month of December; a big goal, well actually a huge goal that is both exciting and challenging. That's all I'm going to tell you about it right now...but there will be more later!
One of the things a very bight lady recently reminded me of is that while there is certainly much that I am responsible for if I am to achieve my goals, I can't do everything. There are many things that I personally cannot do because they are out of my control. These are the things that I give to God to do for me. He is always there as my partner but sometimes I'm sure He is wondering why I seem to have so much more to do than He does. The problem is that I don't ask for His help and don't let Him take care of things that are really His to do for me and with me.
I have been reading a chapter in Psalms every morning and today I read a portion of chapter 18. It goes like this:
My personal goal throughout this next month is to remember every morning that God is the source of my strength and to give Him all the things that He can do, and wants to do, to enable me to reach that goal.
God IS the Source of my strength!
One of the things a very bight lady recently reminded me of is that while there is certainly much that I am responsible for if I am to achieve my goals, I can't do everything. There are many things that I personally cannot do because they are out of my control. These are the things that I give to God to do for me. He is always there as my partner but sometimes I'm sure He is wondering why I seem to have so much more to do than He does. The problem is that I don't ask for His help and don't let Him take care of things that are really His to do for me and with me.
I have been reading a chapter in Psalms every morning and today I read a portion of chapter 18. It goes like this:
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. Psalm 18:32-36
My personal goal throughout this next month is to remember every morning that God is the source of my strength and to give Him all the things that He can do, and wants to do, to enable me to reach that goal.
God IS the Source of my strength!
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