Leavin on a Jet Plane. Jet Airways That Is.

How Ya Feeling? Hot! Hot! Hot!

India and electricity is interesting to say the least. Driving down the road you would see wires split and coming from every which way as power is "stolen" and half-hazardly spewn around from window to window, business to apartment, lobby to house and back again. The power usually goes out 3 times a week or so. It is usually for a few minutes but has lasted hours before. Living on the same block as Stalin Jr. (the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) the power on our side of the block is usually turned on first. Living near to him has turned out to be quite handy. With a battery backup/inverter in the house as soon as the power goes out the battery back up should kick in and cover at least the lights. Well today the power went out and the battery backup failed for the last and final time. It just completely died. So sad. Back home it is said, "if its not one thing its another", right? Well its the same here in India. I was reminded of one of my favorite books growing up about Alexander and the Terrible Horrible, NO Good, Very Bad Day and how through it all he wanted to move to Australia until he found out that bad days even happen on the other side of the world...even in Australia. Well they happen in India too.

Maybe it was a meltdown of sorts, maybe I was just frustrated, maybe not. But it was not a good day. Everything was going wrong today. And it was hot. There was no power for hours, no battery backup, which meant no lights, no fans, and no air conditioning. It is not so much the heat as i can take the heat most of the time. However the air here gets stale so quick. do you know what i mean? Perhaps its the humidity but the air becomes thick and heavy and stuffy and that is hard to breath. If anything the air conditioner gets rid of the stuffiness and helps dry the air out to be comfortable for breathing. For the last three months we would usually just patiently coax the battery backup, and pathetically coddle the dumb thing, calmly whispering sweet nothings and the thing would eventually switch over and run a couple lights and one air conditioner until the main line power returned. But like i said before, this time to no avail.

We called Rama in to see what needed to bed done. A few of the blog readers know Rama and are probably smiling right now reading this because Rama is amazing. He is our driver, bill payer, all around fix it man, translator, and go anywhere you want to go and get there "real fast" kind of guy! We love Rama. He is the one you would call no matter what the time is, no matter what the need and he will come running and quite literally go to bat and fight for you as well....if you ever needed him to. What would we do without you? At this point in time i am quite certain we just couldn'tWell the process of replacing the battery back up took 6+ hours. Ugh! Did I mention it was hot today? Really- Really Hot!

There was some funny parts amidst all this drama. That part came as our cook, Raju couldn't cook what he wanted to cook that day (quite the tragedy actually as that means no dinner) and he was standing in the kitchen with the people trying to install a new battery backup. Raju speaks Hindi while Rama speaks Tamil and it was hilarious listening to them" argue" over how to fix the thing. There was somehow some sort of communication between the two of them with hand gestures and a load of words in different languages. Craziness. Languages colliding over battery backups...it was electric...or maybe not so much :) Eventually the thing did switch over and allow the power (that had already come back) on. And yes, we did get fed as well. Just a little later than Raju had anticipated.

Never-the-less a very interesting day.
...and I am quite thankful for air conditioning!
-Jenny

Stirring Hearts Over Religion in India

India is such a sad country to us sometimes. Just a couple weeks ago was the time of the Festival of the goddess Durga (Festival of Bonalu) here in India which is a Hindu festival to worship the goddess of power. We were sitting in our apartment and jumping every few seconds and the horrendous BOOMS of fireworks being deployed at our balcony level from the buzzing street below. The air is filled incredible noise with people yelling and the major drummers all in a massive procession of worship. There is a large cart with very bright flashing lights carrying a god and garlands of flowers and pots of food, and very loud music and drums and people in procession dancing in the streets. It really is heartbreaking sometimes when we are reminded of how lost these people really are. Remind you of anything? For me my mind went to a story strait out of the Old Testament when Moses was on the mount and Aaron was with the people and they created a golden calf to worship. The people here were dancing around a cart with streamers and garlands of flowers to decorate a moving cart holding a depiction of some shiny gold god. Tragic.

Well this weekend (today) is the Festival of Ganesh. This god is a the strange elephant looking god with a long trunk. They are absolutely everywhere. Some devout Hindus refuse to work this weekend so they can go to the temples and pay homage to this god. Even the Rangoli outside our front door had a bronze bowl full of brightly colored flowers as an offering for Ganesh.


There are small lights above every door in our apartment complex of a Ganesh statue. Out of respect for the One True God, we never turn that light on. But they truly are everywhere you look- on street corners, in the corners of buildings, along the roadside, including the lobby of our apartment.
We stopped by a local mall today after church to find some lunch. On the main level there was a large platform with a huge Ganesh statue completely decorated and food prepared and laid out as offerings was confusing and sad.


Truly tragic. In all the beauty that we see on a regular basis …it is times like these, times of festivals and incredible fan fare being displayed in long processions down the streets that we realize how sad and empty and LOST this country is. It is heartbreaking really.

Miles and I have been talking to lots of Christians we have met at Powerhouse (our church), and Sparky’s Diner and we have learned a lot about bringing the gospel here and what that entails. It is not the same as in the States or even other parts of the world. Culture creates some hurdles that are difficult to jump over and break through to bringing the Truth to this land. Talking to many pastors here as well as local Christians who have converted from Hinduism, we have learned that the visual is very important to worship and religion in India. Their culture is based on many gods they can see and touch (as empty as those gods are), and it is difficult to break through with Christianity which is based on faith in things you cannot see.

The other roadblock to spreading the Word here is the fact that the people are so confused when it comes to Christianity. Often Christianity here blends aspects of Hinduism, just substituting Christian symbols for Hindu gods. We see large statues of saints and Jesus and of Mary carrying a helpless (powerless) infant baby Jesus. There are parades for Mary too here, and people wonder why the locals are so confused. Seriously, it breaks your heart. It gets me choked up just thinking about it! This is a lost people who desperately need Jesus. It is so warming to hear from our new friends we have met through the diner who are here to share the love of Jesus through building strong relationships with customers, and the local communities. It is such a great time of sharing, learning about culture, ministries, and building relationships ourselves with them and others. It is our prayer that we too although here for a short time can let their Lights shine in this part of the world that is so very dark.

-Jenny

A Birthday for Miles!

Well let's jut kick this day off right with the traditional Custis family birthday song, shall we?
Here goes...

Whose Birthday comes today?
We're waiting now to see...
Come take your place by the (slice of) birthday cake
(er, uh...Tiramisu from the Azula restaurant)
that I might honor thee.
Today is Miles' birthday. I'm so glad!
Let us see how many he has had.
As I count the candles we are told...
10-20-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Yes, the candles say he's 29 years old!

Happy birthday to You
Happy birthday to You
Happy birthday Husband of Mine...
Happy birthday to YOU!

To celebrate today Miles picked a nice place to eat out for both lunch and dinner. This afternoon we went to Amethyst restaurant for some tomato basil soup, garlic bread, pasta, and frozen cappuccinos.

Tonight we went to the Azula restaurant in the GRT Grand Hotel. It's a 5 star Mediterranean place with fabulous decor and food. (Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Morocco, and Israeli) YUM! A great pick by the birthday husband of mine, I must say. A great friend of mine Michelle, sent over to me a recipe for a cake I can make on the stove. With several alterations to the recipe (too many I am afraid) it unfortunately did not turn out at all. Much to my disappointment and Miles'. Oh my stars! It's hard to make his traditional red velvet cake he is used to having on his birthday but without an oven, what's a girl to do? Well, although not the tradition -this year is all about the NEW so we're gonna make the best of it. The birthday boy got his dessert at dinner. It was quite authentic Tiramisu too. Quite delicious! Look, I even brought a candle to go on top. The local French Loaf shop generously gave some to me for this special occasion. Cool color, huh? PINK!
There was a live Spanish band playing as well and they played their version of Happy Birthday and it was fabulous. Miles, make a wish!

Well for Miles' birthday he wished for FOOTBALL....as in being able to watch the games... And just to be clear we are not talking SOCCER, rather, American football. So I went ahead and purchased an NFL pass that allows him EVERY NFL game for this season available on his computer. He is beside himself with excitement. He just found out he can watch 6 games simultaneously on his screen. Are you giggling with glee as much as he is right now? I think he has seriously lost it, but I am happy for him. We even found a funny, squishy, red pillow in the shape of an American football here at one of the malls -so we played a little catch in anticipation for this first big game. For those of you wondering with the time changes how this is going to work...Yes,, we will be up at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning to kickoff the season. So much for my romantic thought of pop corn, chips, and soda for a fun way to start off with some traditional AMERICAN snacks. Coffee anyone? Ugh. We will crawl out of bed at the sound of the alarm and watch the game in our pj's with a fresh, hot cup of coffee. But it will be fun. We will make it fun. And yes I am watching too, gosh darn it! It is important to Miles so I am going to learn....although if the football doesn't -the early hours just might do me in. Oh, naaah! It will be good. And seeing my Miles' happy face makes it so worth it!
Love you Dude.
Happy Birthday!

-Jenny

A Night Out (with the girls) At the Theatre

Today was one busy day. Immediately after the Amnet events we rushed home to shower off a day of sweat of griminess and fresh’n up for a night at Sparky’s for Miles and a girl’s night out for me. I met my friend Ann there and then had Rama drive us to pick up a couple more friends and the 4 of us went out to see the musical Cinderella. It is so nice to get out and do things like that as there really is not a whole lot to DO in Chennai as in other big cities. The “arts” are not very prevalent in Southern India. There is a very nice theatre called the Museum Theatre available for small organized theatre groups…but they are very few and far between. Well, there was a group that got together for the plays Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella and finding out about it was quite exciting. We missed the opportunity to see Beauty and the Beast as they were only showing one weekend and we were busy, but we jumped at Cinderella.

(Karen, Ann, Me, and Elizabeth)

We arrived at the theatre to find that there was no power. Pretty typical of India. They were running on generators to provide power only for the stage lights and sound. That left no power for lights to find your seats or air conditioning. Did I mention how hot today was? SUPER HOT! The four of us were roasting! It was incredibly hot but we felt worse for the actors on stage under the heat of the stage lights on top of the heat already in the theatre. Crazy!

I so wish I could share pictures of the play and sets and all to show you what a play in India looks like, however the lighting (or lack thereof) made this too difficult.

The play itself was not that great. It was the modern day version of the play Cinderella. The band was live, and it was the best part. I was not sure exactly what to expect. The acting was terrible, and the musical numbers were American pop songs straight off of the season 1 soundtrack of Glee. I am not kidding. All of them somehow incorporated throughout the script and in very awkward places that did not quite fit the scene….At ALL! I giggled quite loudly as Cinderella got yelled at by her stepmother in a mall (opening scene) and she breaks out in Defying Gravity from Wicked. No joke. And if I hear one bar or anything close to the song “Don’t Stop Believing”…I think I might go crazy. I think we stopped counting after 10 times of that song being played. They played it in the beginning three times, before the play started during technical difficulties, during all the scene changes, and of course in the play once with the entire cast, and also at the end of the play as well as after the play while we were walking out.

The power did go out a few times on the poor actors who just continued their songs/lines until the power came back on. I am telling you it was a very different sort of experience than what one would expect when going to a musical. As much as I have many a high school play in comparison look like Broadway, and I am sounding very critical of the Cinderella production, I am so very glad they did it! Theatre needs to be supported and encouraged here at all cost. Most have never heard of these stories, or seen a play or any sort of live acting whatsoever. The arts can shape a community and give people hope as it widens horizons and brings in education and perspective….learning there is so much out there than the hardships of everyday life the people face here. The average local here is up early working…all day, rain or shine, fighting disease, poverty, hunger…and never get to see there is more out there than that. While the art community is small and plays are few and far between (and as “terrible” as they might be) they are WONDERFUL and such a good thing to support. I am hoping to see many plays while we are here and maybe bring some local people (like our driver Rama) along with us who don’t even know English that well so that they too can experience the wonder and magic that you only get from the theatre.

-Jenny

Ament Company Picnic

After the Lazy Saturday festivities, came a day chalked full of crazy business. Isn’t that how life is though? It was all good things. The company we are consulting for, Amnet, threw their version of the Annual Company Picnic today and oh my goodness was it FULL! It was held a nearby beach resort we had never been to before. It was called Blue Lagoon Beach Resort and located on the ECR Road very close to home. It was not nearly as nice as Ideal beach but the facility was nice and so much closer I think we will frequent it often.

It was a big event...Amnet has a staff of over 1000 employees (about 400 of which work on Logos projects). We were invited to come as well, and we felt very honored to join in. The festivities began at 9:30am and started off with breakfast. There were magic shows and silly elementary age style games, dance competitions, and much business since there were so many people to entertain.

Join in we did. Sometimes without a choice. During the magic show Miles was called on stage to “assist” the magician in a very cool rope cutting trick. Hearing his name called (“Can Mr. Miles come up?”) he laughed and like a good sport went on up there and did a great job.
The championship and third place cricket games were held in the afternoon and lasted for hours! Miles' team was playing in the championship game, and he was really looking forward to… It was incredibly hot and I was wearing more of a traditional outfit in my shalwar kameez and dupatta which is a long shawl/scarf that is a symbol of modesty in South Asian dress. I was HOT! And for those of you who know anything about cricket the matches last a very long time. Miles did wonderfully.After some amazing defensive plays the Amnet Super Kings pulled ahead to win the match and become the undefeated first place Champions! Miles team had not lost one game and the winning moment was actually eerily similar to a moment straight out of the World Series or something and watching it happen was a moment of swelled up pride. It was awesome.

Notice the leafy pom poms that the guys made?

The team was waiting for one more catch of the ball to storm the field in victory dances and clobber each other to the ground in excitement.

That is exactly what happened.

Screaming, Yelling, high fives, and hugs it was just like in the movies when a team wins the final game! Incredible moment. My favorite was when they all grabbed hands and danced in a large circle in the middle of the field. It was so funny and their joy was so infectious.Following the game we scarfed down some lunch of Rice, dahls, and lots of pollata bread and cold refreshing water before the award ceremonies began. The place was all a buzz with the winning team and the white guy they call “Mr. Miles” who assisted them to victory. They were so respecful for Miles for playing with them and entering their ‘world’. Little do they know Miles as he is always willing to get involved in a sport and he excels in most. His great competitive nature drove those guys hard and they were thrilled. Every time he hit the field they would stand up and cheer loudly and make a huge point to be very welcoming and encouraging!

The award ceremony was no different. He went up with the team onto the huge decorated stage when they made the announcement. Confetti blew everywhere, fancy gold metals were handed out to each of the players, and there was wild cheering and whistling as the entire place erupted in excited energy. They handed Miles the large trophy which he held up high and the place erupted again.

Sorry this pic is so dark. The sun was going away for the day and it was difficult to get a good shot.

Then the dancing started (a very cultural thing). I could not see anything as all the people on stage surrounded each other and while each one held the trophy they did a dance accompanied by some incredibly loud music. So wished I could have seen that dance. There were some very shy female employees that know Miles sitting in front of me that could see a little better than I could. When he was holding the trophy about 6 of them whistled really loud and then buried their heads in their dupattas in complete bashful embarrassment. It was the cutest thing! Loved it! I will smile on that one for a long time. Miles was awarded with a certificate along with his gold medal. Pretty exciting stuff, wouldn't you say?

The executives and Amnet employees did a wonderful job of putting on this event and while Miles was uncomfortable being the center of attention through many of the events, we both felt so loved and it was their way of showing us love and respect . It felt good to be “IN” with the employees and share in their special day...such an honor.

-Jenny

Hello Happy Weekend!!!

(And a happy Holiday weekend to you and you and you!....)

This weekend seemed jammed full of new and exciting things. There is so much that went on we will split it up into a series of posts starting off with our lazy Saturday.

Don’t you just love Saturdays…especially when nothing particularly pressing is going on? There's the sleeping in part...so nice...and then breakfast that usually consists of more than the usual cold cereal. Then there is the part about lounging around reading and checking out blogs (for inspiration) for hours… well, just because you can! Love it! Doesn't happen very often. Well, Saturday was one of those days.

It was not particularly sunny so a trip to the beach resort did sound as interesting considering the hour it would take to arrive there so we literally just lounged around the house as long as we could. It was around 4:00 when our phones rang and our new friends Ann and Taylor invited us out for coffee at Express Avenue. It is always good to get out of the house too, and a coffee date with our new “BFF’s” in India is really exciting. We raced to get ready and headed out to hit the town. Express Avenue is this gigantic mall that is brand spankin’ new filled with all “western” stores, American brands, and luxury Italian leather handbags and shoes. But the coffee place is incredible! So great to visit with our friends and get to know them better.

We usually eat out with them and Thom on Monday nights. Thom being a chef and current owner of Sparky’s Diner, we usually hit up all the new restaurants in town which is really nice to get to know all the foods in the city.

I am just so excited to have "couple” friends for us who are our age and in a similar place in life that we can do things with on a whim. We are so thankful and are fighting away the temptation to not get “too close” as we know it will be so tough when we part ways within a year...we will want to take them with us. :) We will just have to soak up every minute—incredibly thankful for the blessing they are to us now, and are so excited for this treasured relationship to grow and last for years and years and years to come!




-Jenny

Surprise Package = Early Birthday Fun!

I am sure you can imagine after my last posting full of dreariness and homesickness, the pure giddiness that came over us when a package arrived from HOME! Miles fabulous Sisters (Andrea and Krista- whom I dearly love and consider my close friends) had their families cram into a box tons of lovely gifts for our birthdays. The box was overflowing with care, and oozing with yummy goodness!

Yes, we felt a tad bit naughty opening up all the contents wrapped in brightly colored tissue paper, before our actual birthdays, (which is a huge no-no on both sides of our family) ... but how could we possibly be expected to wait another week for Miles' birthday and an entire month for mine?

Nope.
It was unanimous. We were opening it and we are so glad we did. It was just what we needed! Love from HOME! But oh my goodness we got so much!!!!

Feeling so blessed!

Just look at all our fabulous goodies....that even included REAL brown sugar, baking soda, a bottle of REAL vanilla, and yep, you guessed it, REAL chocolate chips. You know what that means.....CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES....Woo hoo! So excited!



To: Jason & Andrea and Kelsey, Jenna, and Alex
and Mark & Krista and Nathan, Megan and Josh...
Thank you so much for these wonderful gifts! We feel so blessed to have family like you and it is so tough being so far away...
Thank you for sending these presents to us. We feel so loved!

Happy Birthday albeit early - to Us!

Jealous for Fall~Yet Finding a Place of Gratitude

Fall, Oh Fall. How I am jealous for thee!

I am constantly hearing of the wonders of the world back home as the pure magic of the Pacific Northwest unveils It's best this time of year. Mornings are crisper with a heavy due and fog settling in on the open pastures and fields, the pumpkin spiced lattes, and ooooooh the leaves...those deliciously crunchy nearly edible, wonderful, leaves!!!! The trees are simply magical. It is so beautiful. There, there is a smell in the air of honey crisp apple cider, pies, and smoke from the piles burning as the ban lifts from summer. (best smell ever) All the kids are talking on Facebook of school supplies, new first day outfits, and school starting this week! That means football games will soon be in full swing and oh how we already do miss living in Lynden.

Truth is, life is real right now, and it is hitting hard. That includes missing home and pumpkin patches, buying apples, getting out the autumn decorations setting them free from their dusty bins in my garage, hosting fall parties...and oooo la la..simply savoring the best time of year. I love the changing of the season into colder weather when my favorite clothes also get to come out of storage boxes and make an appearance again. I can dream about wearing my favorite chunky flat boots, soft wooly sweaters, and knobby knit scarves over a fabulous toggled pea coat that also symbolizes the season.

This year I will just have to pretend, but it is tough because the temperature is still in the 90's, I did not bring my traditional fall Yankee candle, or any decorations for that matter. The apples here are a far cry from the apples that scream fall back home, and the burning smell from the piles is not at all pleasant as here in India they pile up all the garbage on the side of the highways and burn it. Vile stomach wrenching odor!

Ok. Breathe. In and Out. Apologies for my pity party.

As cliché as it might be to type *sigh* into a blog. Yet here it is. *Heavy sigh*

I will pretend. If I don’t I might drive myself mad. If i close my eyes I can see the Yankee candle lit, and I can find some powered cider and pretended that maybe...just maybe...it was chilly(er) outside. If i squint my eyes and look at our trees off the balcony, i can kind of imagine them -the bright yellow, orange, and red blossoms still in full bloom, while squinting they can mesh (like Christmas lights) into the leaves I so desperatly crave as being northwestern and autumnal. I know I’m emotional and my sentimental heart beats wildly at these "little" things, but really this season is so special and having pumpkins growing in my backyard (in our old house we called home) and 2 nieces and a nephew close to carve out traditions and memories and childhood magic with...what an honor...and i am missing all that. I am missing it terribly!

But alas, I am not HOME. I am in India. My new HOME for a time. And while the rest of the America back home prepares for all the things I love in the coming months...so will I. Because I will make it what I want it to be. The sun in India may be hotter...but it's still the same sun that hangs above our friends and families back home. And I have to choose to be content where I am. Today, after my pity party here I choose to happily wear my flip-flops ...for I get summer year round and I sure there will be days after we are settled back in the States that we long for a longer summer when the sun never seemed to stop shining and our skin would just drink it in.

...the grass may always be greener on the other side, right?

There is certainly a lot of beauty here...so much beauty here...and the more I stay, the more I see. And I am grateful to be here. …

To football and apple orchards and back to school, and huddling with hot chocolate in styrofoam cups at the local high school football games might be starting in some parts of the world but I still get to run wildly barefoot on hot sandy paths laden with shells along foamy ocean shores in my part of the world…. this is the place of gratitude—recognizing that where we are is important.

Breathing it all in…..
Where i am...Is here....and even through missing home,

...I have to admit...

...it's pretty "green" here too. :)