"We did not consume any beer"

Mom has been hogging the computer so here is what I have managed to type out on word when she's not using it. I will update as I can and copy it over to the internet as we have access. I'm sad because so much of what I have been able to type our so far seems to be mostly complaints. I haven't gotten to the good stuff yet. But don't worry....I Will!! I love and miss everyone! Please keep praying for us. I am starting to feel homesick. It is much harder for me to connect with the people here than it was in Uganda. I think because I was giving so much physically to the kids that it was hard not to be giving emotionally as well. Although it's taking longer, I feel like the last two day's I have really connected on a more emotional level.

I hate to stop typing here, but I have to hurry and update before we lose the signal. More to come later.


March 5, 2010

Flight to Newark, New Jersey

We have started the first leg of our journey. One hour flight time down, nineteen more to go. We’re seated in the very back of the plane, and boy, it makes a difference. It’s much more bouncy. Now I know why people pay for first class. It’s not good to start a missions trip out by whining so I’ll stop now. Actually, although we are in the back, we are very lucky to have an empty seat in our row. We can stretch out and get comfortable. I pray that we have the same blessing on our fifteen hour flight.



We are both sharing my head phones and listening to Dr. David Platt’s first sermon of the Radical Series. I had already listened to it yesterday, but it is just at new and thought provoking today.



March 7, 2010 2:30AM



We’re HERE! We lost a day in travel, and have has quite a few adventures along the way, but I am to tired to journal them just yet. Here is the short version:



After a tough flight around the world, we’ve made it. After going to through customs and gathering the bags, we headed off to find our group. I should say, mom headed off. She left me in her dust fighting a crowd of staring men. It was lovely. We let up with the rest of the team (Betty, Patricia, and Debbie), waited a few hours to be picked up, and took two taxis to our hotel (which is very nice).



I’ll tell the long version later, but for now, after a hot shower and some comfortable night clothes, all I really have to say is “We’re HERE!”.



March 7, 2010 7:56 am



I keep getting confused about the date. Losing a day feels weird. I want to journal about yesterdays adventures before the memory is forever lost. I stayed up late packing…and getting distracted from packing. My sister Hana came in and kept me company and we ended up talking until about 3:39am. She’s gonna miss me, so she needed to get some bonding time in before I left. I was up by 8:00am and we left at about 9:30. Our plane was running 15 minutes behind which set us back about an hour. Don’t ask me how that happened .We landed in Newark with barely enough time to grab a sandwich, I would have savored it a little bit longer if I had known how much curry I was in for. I love just starting out the window when flying. I am never failed to be touched by the splendor of an aerial view. To see the world from that perspective makes me feel philosophical. I always take lots of pictures out the window, but they never seem to turn out how it really looks.



For our second flight we where once again in the very back row of the plane. Right by the bathroom. Amazingly enough we had an empty seat in our row again! I was thrilled! It made up for having to sit in the middle isle. I was all settled in and the plane was getting ready to take off when all the sudden some girl decided to switch spots. She told me the woman in front of her had on really strong perfume…so I forgave her. At least I though I did. By the time we reached the 5th hour of our flight I realized how much I disliked her. By the 10th hour I didn’t care anymore I just wanted to be dead. On this flight there was an Indian man who was in our same row, but a different section. Apparently he couldn’t find any movies that interested him, because we just watched me the entire flight. I didn’t realize until we stepped out of the air port that it’s a cultural thing. The boldness in the way the men stare is so unlike Americans. It’s even worse here than it was in Uganda or Mexico. Not that they are leering, they just watch you. It’s very discontenting. After going through costumes we started to hunt for our bags. We went and waiting with all the other people who where on our flight - I am sure I saw at least 5 people I recognized. So we waited….and waited. And finally realized we might be in the wrong place. Meanwhile, an official looking man came and stole our passports. As we watched him walk away we realized that we might still need them, so mom chased him down and took them back and off we went to wait at the next turney thing. After being abandoned a few times by mom we found our group. Unfortunately, no one was there to pick us up at the airport. We waited awhile and finally realized that no one was coming. None of the woman could get their blackberries to work, although it took a few hours for any of them to admit that. We spent at least two hours waiting on the curb playing with the phones. Soon someone managed to reach someone who told someone else to email another person to call our contacted and someway our another a woman appeared holding a sign for us. Off we went in our taxi. Technology hasn’t made things easier in my opinion.

March 8, 2010

This morning we ate got ready and went to check out of the hotel. We left some bags there, which was risky, so we’ll see if they are there when we get back. The front desk tried to convince us that me and mom drank too beers out of the mini bar. I know I didn’t have any, but mom may have snuck some while I was sleeping. I had to write on an invoice “We did not consume any beer” -signed Callie Denny.

After that we changed some money, loaded up the taxi and away we went. The roads are wonderful. Driving in India is similar to being on a roller coaster. Amy would fit in great. The honking is constant so no one would even know her horn was broken. I had trouble in the local airport. The man kept insisting I had a “metallic item”