New Experiences

28 April 2013


“Amanda Ma’am! Amanda Ma’am!

This was the overwhelming sound coming from Shishya on Wednesday morning when we arrived.

Whenever I’d ask Amanda about Shishya or “the boys” over the past year or so that I’ve known her, a big smile lights up her face. I love that smile. Shishya is a place that I knew she held dear, one that I tried to imagine as best I could, but like anything, our best attempts of imagination pale in comparison to the reality.

I don’t know what I expected, really. I’d heard a lot about the people and the place, but when Amanda first took me on a tour of the campus when we got here I was, to be honest, completely overwhelmed. It all seemed like a blur. I was trying my best to grasp what I was experiencing, but failing to do so. I wanted to pinch myself along the way, and crammed in as many names of the 50 people I just met (all of whom seemed to blend into a mix of the sounds “pra,” “ash,” and “avi”).

The first thing that stood out was how the community here is like a big family. It’s beautiful, really. Surrounded by a culture inundated by millions of false gods, brutal deception, and profound darkness, Shishya sits as a beacon of God’s peace, love, and hope. It was such a blessing to see the staff and the boys’ excitement when they saw Amanda. I saw how loved and accepted she was into this family, and it hit me… I’m an outsider.

And I am. It’s true. I have been welcomed here with open arms, but, like any relationship, the initial stages are ones of semi-awkward feeling each other out. Can I trust this person? Should I trust this person? I have felt that from the boys here, and it's certainly natural. New volunteers come and go with the seasons and new faces continually abound. I realized I want (and need) to work hard to gain their trust.

We’ve only been here six days, though, and I already feel accepted. I'm not quite part of the family yet, but I’m definitely growing in relationship with them. I look forward to the day when I’m not a stranger but a welcomed brother.

When we dreamt about this trip back in Birmingham I felt anxious about what I’d be doing here. Amanda has so much history in this place and finding things to do will be pretty easy, but what will my role be? Well, within a few days I found myself side by side with the boys during the wheat harvest, playing cricket and soccer on the fields, and I even got to teach on Sunday morning during church!

One tangible project I’m excited to be jumping into and hopefully providing some assistance in is a building expansion they desperately need for the small boys’ house. There are currently 16 boys, age 3 – 10, crammed into a tiny area and they’ve asked me to help design a good solution. I'm so grateful for this season so far and can’t wait to see what else is in store for us!

Arrived.

26 April 2013


“Paradise Beach” lived up to its name.

Three gloriously lazy days of no shoes, no schedule, and no clock but the sun…

...waking up to birds chirping and the rhythmic waves outside our hut…

...reading (which quickly turned to napping) in a hammock…

...and gorgeous sunsets over the Arabian Sea.

These days were fun and much needed, but we were eager to settle in to some sort of  “normalcy” for the next six weeks. So, a flight back to Delhi and an overnight train later…

...we arrived at Shishya to posters and cards from the boys, flower petals in our apartment, and a grand “welcome back home” celebration—they must have known we love potlucks!


We’ve hit the ground running, both at the school and out on the fields. It’s wheat harvest time, which means there is plenty of work to go around.



With Amanda returning to her second home, and Danny experiencing this all for the very first time, we thought it’d be good to share our own perspectives in the next few posts. 

We love you all!

Goa

20 April 2013

What a whirlwind the past two weeks have been! 
Wedding. Smokies. Unpack, repack, and off we went...
...with just two packs for the next three months.
 Then, 30+ hours later... 
 ...we landed in Delhi, reconnected with some of Danny's old EMI friends...
 ...and continued on to Goa...
...where we've rested off jet lag and tried new foods...
 ... survived a scooter rental...
 ...stumbled upon a secluded beach...


 ... and found ourselves at a "Swiss Family Robinson" treehouse where we'll stay for the next few nights.
Next stop Shishya! We'll see ya soon!

New Beginnings

15 April 2013

After a magical wedding day… (we’re still pinching ourselves!)
and a blissful week in the Smokies… (no phones, no internet, and an endless stack of coconut pancakes!)
... our bags are packed and we’re headed around the world. First stop: INDIA! We’ll rest off jet-lag with some lazy days at the beach and then be on our way to see Amanda’s favorite place on earth, Shishya. She spent about 3 years here working at Shishya Children’s home and school, and fell in love with 50 precious (and cheeky) boys who can’t wait to meet their new jija (“brother-in-law”).

After that, the valleys of Kenya and the plains of Uganda await us, where we will visit Danny’s old stomping grounds, drink the world’s best coffee, and pet a few lions before heading home in mid-July. Stay tuned! 

Our Story

02 April 2013


If you'd have given us a pen several years ago and told us to write the wildest story imaginable, we could have never come up with this. But here we are in the middle of it, blown away by God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives and pinching ourselves in wonder at the way it's all unfolded!


Now we find ourselves at the beginning of a brand new chapter-- getting married (in only four days!) and embarking on a wild three-month adventure as we go back to India, Uganda, and Kenya-- together. Since early on in our dating relationship, we often dreamed of being able to share with one another these experiences, places, and people that played such a formative part in our lives (and, unbeknownst to us, were the long and very unsuspecting roads that brought us together). After we got engaged, those "dream" conversations turned into "why not?" conversations and, with much discussion and prayer, the "why not's" turned into plane tickets. We don't know if it's crazy or cool, but we do believe the Lord is leading us in this, and we are thrilled to be along for the ride. 

We'd love to invite you to come along too. We'll do our best to keep this blog updated (no promises!), and we appreciate your prayers as our story continues...