Death by Drowning
Even while living cross-culturally for the first time for “Fifty-Somethings” is quite a difficult task (maybe especially in India, though I don’t know since it’s my only experience), many good things have also surfaced from our long string of trials. Jesus made it clear to me before we embarked on this remarkable adventure that life would be difficult for us in India but He also promised me that He would be here 24/7 and His Grace would always be sufficient. He also assured me that my obedience in coming would be the “fast track” to inner healing from my past. He is keeping His word, as He always does, on all of these accounts.
I am beginning to better understand the truth that God disciplines those He loves and count it a joy to be loved by Him. Through my encounter with this culture, He has been turning me upside down by the ankles and firmly shaking away many of those things that are not a part of His ways and His perspective (like my preconceived cultural notions, over-simplified worldview, host of hasty generalizations, extremely idealistic expectations, and crippling fearful assumptions – just to name a few!). Make no mistake, this process is a very painful one and as I look upside down at the pile of lies lying around my head, I feel naked, vulnerable and quite humbled! I am finding though that by allowing Him to undo me in this way, He can now gently turn me back over and set me firmly on His solid ground and re-clothe me with His Truth. Though the shaking will surely return from time to time, I believe I have just recently begun the journey of being redressed as the daughter of the King.
The first outfit He is giving me is one of the “right size.” Jesus showed me that I have been wearing clothing way too small for me, for way too long, through a recent dream.
In my dream I was at a water park with a young man from my fellowship named Shalem and a precocious 5 year-old girl with blonde curly hair. For some reason Shalem was in charge of watching over this little girl and I found it very irritating that he was not keeping a better eye on her.
I kept telling him, “She’s getting further ahead, you’d better hurry and catch up to her!” He would respond with, “She’s Ok, just let her go – she’ll be fine.” Finally I couldn’t take it any longer and shouted, “She’s out of sight and you don’t know what’s ahead! Go find her!” Shalem just calmly said, “Really, she’s ok and women always worry about these things. Just let her go and have fun.”
We got to the top of the watery stairway and there below us was a steep waterslide into a huge dark blue pool. We went down the slide and to my horror, the little girl was nowhere to be found. Then I woke up. I felt the dream was significant and thought about it for several days after.
Finally, at the close of a time of worship at our fellowship, it seemed Jesus revealed to me the meaning of this dream. I sensed that I was the bold little girl determined to explore what was ahead. I saw in my mind this little blonde laying on top of the water and her slowly and gently submerging into His “Living Water” where she was blissfully and joyfully swimming with Jesus who knew all along she was indeed “OK.” I realized I needed to let go of this little girl of my past and stop “wearing” her little hats and tiny dresses that cramped my thinking and constricted my freedom to grow into the adult He has made me to be. I needed to be free of all her burdensome baggage, her cumbersome wardrobe, that was weighing me down and entangling my progress. He is fitting me now with clothing that is just the right size – not too big so as to have sound judgment, but also not too small so I can think rightly about my value as His child. [this posting by: Janis]
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Morning Thots
New Delhi, India
May 11, 2008
“Careful,” I Keep Telling Myself…
I have been surprised at the impact of culture in our first 9 months here in India.
I did not understand, realize, nor appreciate the depth of culture’s place in my life.
I thought “culture shock,” and cultural adaptation were “head-things,” easily rectified by attitude adjustments. Little did I realize how deep culture goes – both in integration in one’s “home” culture, and in dissonance in a “host” culture.
So, I’m in a stage of cultural adaptation where I must constantly remind myself, “Careful, different – not wrong!” This can vary from experiences such as:
• a dried octopus falling out of a cupboard when I’m rummaging (by permission!) for breakfast and thinking, and then starting to say, “Ooohh, ick!”……
• being shocked at seeing everyone driving on the “wrong” side of the road, and being even more shocked at seeing someone driving on the wrong side of the “wrong” side of the road but no one being surprised, upset or even alarmed by it!……
• wondering at the utter ineptness of craftsmanship when many doors have three different latches – one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom, only one of which lines up and actually secures the door – (not realizing that with extremes of temperature and humidity here, each of the latches works at a different time of the year!)……
So, I have to keep remembering, and reminding myself, “many times it’s different, not wrong.” CL
May 11, 2008
“Careful,” I Keep Telling Myself…
I have been surprised at the impact of culture in our first 9 months here in India.
I did not understand, realize, nor appreciate the depth of culture’s place in my life.
I thought “culture shock,” and cultural adaptation were “head-things,” easily rectified by attitude adjustments. Little did I realize how deep culture goes – both in integration in one’s “home” culture, and in dissonance in a “host” culture.
So, I’m in a stage of cultural adaptation where I must constantly remind myself, “Careful, different – not wrong!” This can vary from experiences such as:
• a dried octopus falling out of a cupboard when I’m rummaging (by permission!) for breakfast and thinking, and then starting to say, “Ooohh, ick!”……
• being shocked at seeing everyone driving on the “wrong” side of the road, and being even more shocked at seeing someone driving on the wrong side of the “wrong” side of the road but no one being surprised, upset or even alarmed by it!……
• wondering at the utter ineptness of craftsmanship when many doors have three different latches – one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom, only one of which lines up and actually secures the door – (not realizing that with extremes of temperature and humidity here, each of the latches works at a different time of the year!)……
So, I have to keep remembering, and reminding myself, “many times it’s different, not wrong.” CL
Monday, May 5, 2008
Morning Sounds
New Delhi, India
early Sunday morning, May 4, 2008
SOUNDS OF SILENCE
(apologies to Simon & Garfunkel)
(But, not really “silence,” maybe, “sounds of quiet?”
Not really “silence,” not even, “quiet,”
…more like, well…
“sounds of quieter” –
“quieter than the sounds of day or evening”)
A vehicle - only one - drives by, sometimes announced by a short horn beep,
sometimes the more usual obnoxious, blaring.
Residents still try to cool off,
• overhead fans and swamp cooler fans drone on,
• A/C compressor motors start, stop, and feast on scarce electricity.
The wind blows gently, sometimes rustling the tree tops of Tikona Park across the street.
A new building being built on the other side of the Park:
• A back hoe excavates, preparing the site,
• bricks are stacked,
• rebar is dropped, grinders cut it, welders weld it,
• cement trucks deliver concrete…
• any time - day or night!
Upstairs Neighbors – When do they sleep???
• A ball bounces, again and again and again… Do they have a disturbed child? Is one of them an insomniac?…or, do they have a computer with a screen saver?
• The interface between marble and the ever-present-in-India plastic chair creates such unusual noises.
Dog(s) bark, growl, snarl, fight.
“Tap, tap, tap,” “thunk, thunk, thunk,” the security guards’ lathi announce rounds - or boredom – each has his own lathi, each lathi has its own unique, resounding tone.
Pedestrians pass by in full – rarely hushed – conversation.
Holidays, celebrations and/or other auspicious events bring…
• Music, Singing, Talking, Crying, Laughing.
• There’s an 11:00 pm noise ordinance…but….
Call to prayer
• Often resembling – unfortunately – the bleat of a “sick cow,” but sometimes a…
• Younger, melodius voice…[We were spoiled by the voice of the Saket muezzin!].
Pigeons coo and battle for place on the air conditioner; birds chirp and sing.
Laughing in Tikona Park…
• The tormented anguish of mentally disturbed? the groan of exercisers stretching?
• No - laughter - not joyous though, evil, sinister - It’s Laughter-Yoga.
The local Madrassa has a daily children’s early morning observance:
• The younger, more melodius muezzin leads,
• The children joyfully repeat in response.
Venders begin calling out their wares:
• Newspapers, vegetables, fruit, garbage pickup, who knows what else?
• …and so begins a day in New Delhi… CL
early Sunday morning, May 4, 2008
SOUNDS OF SILENCE
(apologies to Simon & Garfunkel)
(But, not really “silence,” maybe, “sounds of quiet?”
Not really “silence,” not even, “quiet,”
…more like, well…
“sounds of quieter” –
“quieter than the sounds of day or evening”)
A vehicle - only one - drives by, sometimes announced by a short horn beep,
sometimes the more usual obnoxious, blaring.
Residents still try to cool off,
• overhead fans and swamp cooler fans drone on,
• A/C compressor motors start, stop, and feast on scarce electricity.
The wind blows gently, sometimes rustling the tree tops of Tikona Park across the street.
A new building being built on the other side of the Park:
• A back hoe excavates, preparing the site,
• bricks are stacked,
• rebar is dropped, grinders cut it, welders weld it,
• cement trucks deliver concrete…
• any time - day or night!
Upstairs Neighbors – When do they sleep???
• A ball bounces, again and again and again… Do they have a disturbed child? Is one of them an insomniac?…or, do they have a computer with a screen saver?
• The interface between marble and the ever-present-in-India plastic chair creates such unusual noises.
Dog(s) bark, growl, snarl, fight.
“Tap, tap, tap,” “thunk, thunk, thunk,” the security guards’ lathi announce rounds - or boredom – each has his own lathi, each lathi has its own unique, resounding tone.
Pedestrians pass by in full – rarely hushed – conversation.
Holidays, celebrations and/or other auspicious events bring…
• Music, Singing, Talking, Crying, Laughing.
• There’s an 11:00 pm noise ordinance…but….
Call to prayer
• Often resembling – unfortunately – the bleat of a “sick cow,” but sometimes a…
• Younger, melodius voice…[We were spoiled by the voice of the Saket muezzin!].
Pigeons coo and battle for place on the air conditioner; birds chirp and sing.
Laughing in Tikona Park…
• The tormented anguish of mentally disturbed? the groan of exercisers stretching?
• No - laughter - not joyous though, evil, sinister - It’s Laughter-Yoga.
The local Madrassa has a daily children’s early morning observance:
• The younger, more melodius muezzin leads,
• The children joyfully repeat in response.
Venders begin calling out their wares:
• Newspapers, vegetables, fruit, garbage pickup, who knows what else?
• …and so begins a day in New Delhi… CL
Thursday, May 1, 2008
2-Cup Showers
The 2-Cup Shower
Because of the method of water delivery, and chronic water shortages, everyone has these basic tools in their bathrooms – a bucket, a large bin for storing water, and a pour cup. The pour cup holds about 2-cups (16 ounces).
Water is pumped through the supply lines only at certain times of the day. When the water is on, each building has to use their own booster pump to pump the water to large black storage tanks on the roofs. When occupants of a building use their stored water before the next supply time, that’s when the contents of the storage bin must be used.
Because of weather variations, poor infrastructure and large, unregulated movement to the metropolitan areas like Delhi, water supplies are increasingly not enough. Hence, even when water is scheduled to be available, more and more often it is not.
Hence the 2-Cup shower…
For some, this means, wet, soap, wash and rinse with the contents of two pour cups. For others who are even more frugal, it means completely showering with the contents of just one 16-ounce cup of water! And we are careful to collect the “brown water” for use in flushing the toilets.
Because of the method of water delivery, and chronic water shortages, everyone has these basic tools in their bathrooms – a bucket, a large bin for storing water, and a pour cup. The pour cup holds about 2-cups (16 ounces).
Water is pumped through the supply lines only at certain times of the day. When the water is on, each building has to use their own booster pump to pump the water to large black storage tanks on the roofs. When occupants of a building use their stored water before the next supply time, that’s when the contents of the storage bin must be used.
Because of weather variations, poor infrastructure and large, unregulated movement to the metropolitan areas like Delhi, water supplies are increasingly not enough. Hence, even when water is scheduled to be available, more and more often it is not.
Hence the 2-Cup shower…
For some, this means, wet, soap, wash and rinse with the contents of two pour cups. For others who are even more frugal, it means completely showering with the contents of just one 16-ounce cup of water! And we are careful to collect the “brown water” for use in flushing the toilets.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
More on "Deemaks" and Some on Friends
Site of the “Deemak” Invasion
This is Janis’ “almari” (i.e. built-in closet) where the termites gained access, ate the cloth shelf lining, ate into a garment bag, and were swarming all over her clothes!
The Path of the “Invasion”
Apparently not only do termites eat wood and cloth, but they are also known to eat concrete and marble! Here’s their passageway from the floor above.
Our Neighbors
This young couple are from S. India and are living in Delhi because of his job – advertising consulting in brand name recognition, especially with technology companies. She is in a pre-doctoral philosophy program at Delhi University in preparation for doctoral studies in zoology.
This is Janis’ “almari” (i.e. built-in closet) where the termites gained access, ate the cloth shelf lining, ate into a garment bag, and were swarming all over her clothes!
The Path of the “Invasion”
Apparently not only do termites eat wood and cloth, but they are also known to eat concrete and marble! Here’s their passageway from the floor above.
Our Neighbors
This young couple are from S. India and are living in Delhi because of his job – advertising consulting in brand name recognition, especially with technology companies. She is in a pre-doctoral philosophy program at Delhi University in preparation for doctoral studies in zoology.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Whooie! Things Are Heating Up!
Take a look at the following Delhi 7-day forecast:
[don't miss the entries following the forecast!]
Wednesday
4/23/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 11mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 25° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Thursday
4/24/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 11mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 27° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Friday
4/25/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 73°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 13mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 27° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Saturday
4/26/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 12mph WNW. Humidity will be 5% with a dewpoint of 23° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Sunday
4/27/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 12mph WNW. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 16° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Monday
4/28/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 70°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 10mph WNW. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 14° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Tuesday
4/29/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 70°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 8mph W. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 16° and comfort level of 97°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
A Few Other Things...
Add in:
* a little lack of water (over the weekend and up til 8PM Monday our building was without water);
* occasional power outages;
* a termite infestation discovered on the same day as the official, public opening of Reflections art gallery (initially treated with washing down all wood work in the flat with very smelly kerosene - still awaiting the exterminator who will use the "real" stuff!);
* a proposal for Chuck to take a 3-month leave from responsibilities at the Foundation to re-assess if Kingdom advancing purposes will be better met in some other ways;
* Janis began art lessons for a 13-year old dyslexic girl; and...
* this just developed while typing this blog - Janis will begin art lessons for an artist at the Sewa Ashram who will, in turn, begin to give lessons to the other residents of the Ashram, a place of restoration and recovery for recovering drug addicts and any who are seriously or terminally ill who have no other place to recover or die in dignity and peace.
It's been an interesting month filled full of change and challenge!!!
[don't miss the entries following the forecast!]
Wednesday
4/23/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 11mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 25° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Thursday
4/24/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 11mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 27° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Friday
4/25/2008
Hi: 100°
Lo: 73°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 100°F. Winds 13mph WNW. Humidity will be 6% with a dewpoint of 27° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Saturday
4/26/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 12mph WNW. Humidity will be 5% with a dewpoint of 23° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Sunday
4/27/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 72°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 12mph WNW. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 16° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Monday
4/28/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 70°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 10mph WNW. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 14° and comfort level of 95°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
Tuesday
4/29/2008
Hi: 102°
Lo: 70°
Sunny. Extremely hot, Dry. Temperature of 102°F. Winds 8mph W. Humidity will be 4% with a dewpoint of 16° and comfort level of 97°F. There is a 0% chance of precipitation.
A Few Other Things...
Add in:
* a little lack of water (over the weekend and up til 8PM Monday our building was without water);
* occasional power outages;
* a termite infestation discovered on the same day as the official, public opening of Reflections art gallery (initially treated with washing down all wood work in the flat with very smelly kerosene - still awaiting the exterminator who will use the "real" stuff!);
* a proposal for Chuck to take a 3-month leave from responsibilities at the Foundation to re-assess if Kingdom advancing purposes will be better met in some other ways;
* Janis began art lessons for a 13-year old dyslexic girl; and...
* this just developed while typing this blog - Janis will begin art lessons for an artist at the Sewa Ashram who will, in turn, begin to give lessons to the other residents of the Ashram, a place of restoration and recovery for recovering drug addicts and any who are seriously or terminally ill who have no other place to recover or die in dignity and peace.
It's been an interesting month filled full of change and challenge!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
A Tale of Kings: a Sultan, an Abyssinian, and The Utmost High King
We finished our first collaborative painting for use by our son, Chris, in his efforts to catalyze interfaith dialogues and re-direct attention to The Utmost High King rather than to the differences between the faiths.
The painting is an adaptation of a mural depicting St. Francis talking with the Sultan during a time of conflict between Crusaders and Muslims. Below is one of the photos of our painting (please do not copy or duplicate).
Planned for next in this series is a painting by Janis of when the Christian Abyssinian King, al-Nejashi, gave refuge to a group of Muslims.
On A Personal Note...
We've posted pictures before of views from the front of our flat. Below is a view toward the other side for context and perspective.
The painting is an adaptation of a mural depicting St. Francis talking with the Sultan during a time of conflict between Crusaders and Muslims. Below is one of the photos of our painting (please do not copy or duplicate).
Planned for next in this series is a painting by Janis of when the Christian Abyssinian King, al-Nejashi, gave refuge to a group of Muslims.
On A Personal Note...
We've posted pictures before of views from the front of our flat. Below is a view toward the other side for context and perspective.
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