India Trip: Days 1-3

I promise, I really will cover my whole trip.

It just might take me a while. :)

So, my group arrived in India at 7 in the morning on Saturday. I can't remember at what point, though I believe it was afternoon, we took a lovely four hour nap. I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of the day, for me. :)

Anyway, we also went and did some shopping. Clothes shopping in particular. This was the only time we went to an 'indoor' store the entire trip. We got taken to a fairly nice 'department store' style shop, with different items on each floor. It was at this shop that I got by far my favorite Indian outfit. It was made a light, cool, silky material and it was the reason I didn't die of heat stroke while we were over there. Though it started smelling really bad, since I only got to wash it once... Anyway!

After we were done clothes shopping the shop owner took us up the the top floor of his shop where he had a bunch of rugs and carpets. This was the REAL highlight of the day. He had us sit down on a padded bench against the wall while he and a few other workers did a 'rug show' for us. They pulled out the different sizes and kinds and (very dramatically) rolled them out for us to see. And they served us Chai Tea! All of their rugs were SO beautiful! All hand sewn and super soft and shiny. They even had really tiny ones that you might hang on a wall or something, with camels on them. I was *this* close to buying one, but I didn't really have that much money to spend on something I wasn't sure I'd use.

This was such an amazing experience. Obviously, they weren't just doing this to be nice, as the did want us to buy their rugs, but it was such an amazing illustration of hospitality! It was a shopping experience unlike anything you'd find in America.

Anyway, I think it was after this that we went back to our hotel and took a nap. I'm not positive, though. In the evening we had a surprise birthday party for Josiah. He works for YWAM Idaho, though he's currently living in India because his wife is Indian. (Please pray that they'll be able to get a visa for her soon!) We went over to their hotel (which was just a few blocks from ours) and had a lovely dinner with them. There was cake too! Though, it was quite different from cake here. Obviously. :)

After this, we went back to our hotel and went to bed... A little after midnight we woke up to welcome the rest of our group to India! And then we crashed again.

Our second day in India (Sunday) was full of even more shopping. Everyone who'd come in the night before needed clothes, etc. Josiah's wife, Binu, went shopping with us to be sure we payed a fair price for everything. It was SO hot and I was completely exhausted by the time we were done shopping. At some point before or after the shopping, Josiah told us (meaning all the girls) the story of how he and his wife met, fell in love, and got married. Seriously, it was the cutest story ever. :)

That night, we headed out of New Delhi. We walked about a mile in the humid heat to the train station, with our huge hiking backpacks on. It was miserable. We loaded on to the train, though, and I was pleasantly surprised to find we were in an AC car. It was quite nice, actually! More similar to an airplane than I'd been expecting.

We had a four hour train ride to Agra, then an exciting first ride in an Auto Rickshaw, a little three wheeled car with no sides. We made it to our new hotel at around 11, and I think this was probably my most depressed time. I was exhausted from all the traveling and heat. I was homesick. And our new hotel in Agra wasn't exactly 5 star. Or 2 star, for that matter. I went to bed in a pretty pathetic state of mind. But I was excited to get to start real ministry stuff the next day.

Unfortunately, the next day we didn't actually end up having much ministry stuff to do. In the morning we walked to the Mother Teresa home, but we were only given a tour. Apparently they didn't realize we actually wanted to help out, not just get the tour. They did tell us we could come back the next day, however, and gave us the time that would work best.

Our afternoon activity was much more interesting, even though it wasn't really ministry yet, either. We did a 'Treasure Hunt'. We drove to one train station in Old Agra and split into three groups. We each had to find our way from that train station to the Red Fort Train Station, about a mile and a half away. On the way we had to take pictures which represented the Seven Spheres of Society (Church, Family, Business, Education, Arts & Entertainment, Media & Communication, Government & Law).

It was overwhelming and very uncomfortable, but a great way to feel completely immersed in the culture. We walked through so many fascinating areas where I could hardly believe what I was seeing. One of the funniest things about Indian people is that they have very strong feelings about whether they do or do not want their picture taken. Either they REALLY want it or they REALLY don't. We had so many kids following us through the streets asking us to take their picture and adults would stop us and ask for their picture as well.

When we got to the Red Fort, one group was already there. While we waited for the last group, a whole bunch of 'spectators gathered in a circle around us. They would just stand back a little ways and watch us. And sometimes they'd get out their cell phones and take pictures of us. It was the strangest thing! I felt like a celebrity everywhere I went, because people were always taking pictures of us or wanting to shake our hand or wave at us. I feel rather starved for attention, back in the good old US of A, where no one notices when I walk down the street. :D

Alright, that does it for our first three days in India. Sorry for the long post, but a lot happened!

Till next time!

India Trip: Training and Traveling

I've now been back in the States for a few days; safely returned from my international adventures. Now, I'd like to share those experiences with you! This is the first in a series of blog posts because to tackle EVERYTHING that happened in one post would be impossible.

So, I'll start with the time I spend up in Cascade (or really, Warm Lake) for training.

My family drove me up there on Monday and it was a tough drive. I was starting to get quite nervous (though excited, too) and there was some drama with my visa still. Here I was, getting ready to fly out in three days, and my passport had still not been returned with my Indian visa in it. I was just a little on edge. :)

I arrived up at camp and for a while there were only a few of us there. I spent a little while visiting with my first team member, Janet, until the rest of our India group arrived.

Training itself went very well. The speaker for the week was Brian Hogan, a former missionary/church planter in Mongolia. He had some truly AMAZING stories to tell! I enjoyed his teachings to no end. In between morning and evening sessions with him, we had workshops on building our testimonies and learning to tell stories. The latter was my personal favorite. I wonder why? ;)

We also had lots of meetings just for the India team. We went over etiquette and other basic things we'd need to know about Indian culture and we each learned parts of a Hygiene teaching to do in India.

For the India team, most of the recreation times were actually team meetings. The one 'recreational' thing we did was climb a mountain. If you know me very well, you know that I do NOT like heights. I didn't want to go on the hike, but since everyone else was going, I figured I could handle it. Serves me right for giving in to peer pressure. :P Anyway, I pretty much thought I was going to die, climbing up that mountain. It's amazing how any reluctance to get yourself dirty goes out the window when you're trying not to die. I got so filthy! When we got to the top, I wanted to cry, because I thought going down was going to be even harder. Thankfully, the route we took down was MUCH easier than the way we took up. And I'm typing this, so I obviously didn't die. :)

That was on Wednesday. Thursday we packed up, had our last morning session, and headed out after lunch. All the girls drove down to Boise together in a big van and all I really remember about it was that it was very windy because we had the windows open and I was nervous about getting to the airport on time. :)

But get to the airport we did. And guess what? We then spend 26 hours traveling. The first international flight was 11 hours and I don't think I slept at all, though not for lack of trying. It was not too fun. But there were a few good movies on the flight. I saw The Eagle, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Beastly on one of those two flights. I can't remember which ones now. We had a four hour layover in Munich, Germany and after writing and sending a postcard to my family, I spend the rest of it dosing off in my chair.

Being in places where the majority of people were speaking something other than English was a completely new experience at that airport, but one which I have now become accustomed to. :)

Anyway, we finally made it in to New Dehli at 7:00 in the morning local time. Though it didn't feel like morning, I think I was running on adrenaline. Getting to our hotel was an adventure, since we missed the person who was supposed to be meeting us at the airport.

So we hired a taxi. Let me tell you something about driving in India. It's scary. I drove today for the first time since I've been back and I was in awe of how orderly the roads are. The best way I can describe driving in India (especially once we got to the smaller city of Agra) is like a giant game of Chicken. You yield if a vehicle is bigger than you, in a better position to get in front of you, going faster, or just has a more aggressive driver. When you're walking on the side of the road, don't move suddenly, because someone is probably calculating just how many inches of space he needs to give you, in order to pass someone and not kill you. It's intense. They don't use blinkers, but they do use horns. A lot. And they drive on the left side of the road. Unless it suits them to do otherwise. And forget stopping to look at intersections. Anyway, enough on my tangent. It's almost scarier to think how quickly I got used to this.

Our taxi driver said he knew where he was going, but really didn't. We had to go into a tourist center to help us find our hotel. Eventually we made it safely, though, and our first hotel was surprisingly nice.

And that's where I'll leave the story for now. Next post will cover Days 1 and 2 in India. Till next time!

The Time is Approaching!

Hello, All!

I know it has been a long time since the last update, so I've got quite a few things to share...

First of all, I'd like to thank all of the amazing people who have supported me in this! The response to my support letter was overwhelming... God has truly provided for me. I am at nearly 100% funded!

Second, I got my passport in February and am sending off my Visa application tomorrow! Things like this make it seem so real. I still can hardly believe I'm going! Next step is vaccinations, I think, so I'll probably try and get on those within the next month.

Last, I'm really starting to think about serious preparations for my trip. I got a packing list from YWAM and have been going over it to see what I'm going to need to buy before I go. Please continue to pray that I will be spiritually prepared for what I'm going to face there, and physically strong as well. And maybe that a good portion of my taste buds die before then, so I'm able to eat the spicy Indian food. :)

I'll update again when I get more news!

~Madison

Update!

Hi Everyone!

So, I've got a few updates to share with you...

Though I was planning on going on the trip in June, I was informed by YWAM that the team for individuals is only the third cycle, July 18-August 6th. So the dates of my trip have changed. Honestly, I'm a little relieved. It gives me a whole extra month to fundraise and it's not right on the heels of my graduation.

The second thing I'd like to share with you is about my recently concluded Valentine's fundraiser. It was a huge success! I earned about $550 dollars selling cupcakes... I am so grateful for all the support I received and thank God for his wonderful providence!

The last updates is that my deposit for airfare is due on March 1st, not April 1st. Yeah, just a small difference there. I'm doing my best to stay calm and trust that God is in control. He has proved faithful so far, and I trust that he will continue to be. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated, though!

That's all I have for now! Thank you everyone for your prayers!

Madison

Welcome!

Hey everyone!

Welcome to my blog!

Here I will be keeping you updated on the progress of my trip to India in June!

For those of you who are curious what my itinerary is, I'll quickly run over what my trip will look like...

On June 20th I will be driving up to Cascade to spend four or five days at the local YWAM training center. I will meet my team and participate in general mission training. After that, we will return to Boise and fly out to India. I will spend approximately two weeks in India, working with local YWAM missionaries. This work may include working at an english school, helping at a widow's home, and doing street dramas/evangelism. Then we'll fly back to Boise around July 10th.

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this!

So far I have applied for my passport, and I'm sending in my registration form and first set of fees tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted about any new developments!

Thanks everyone, and keep me in your prayers!

Madison