Above All...

From Tim:

 

I have to admit, I woke up today in a bad mood. I was tired, I was grouchy, I was weary.  Tired and grouchy after a very hot couple of weeks and just getting over being sick. Weary from being in such a foreign place. Call it homesickness, culture shock or whatever you like – I was just ready for ‘normalcy’, whatever that is!

As we stood by the side of the road waiting to catch an auto to church, I just wanted to go back to bed.  A man stopped his scooter alongside of the road – right in front of us actually – to stare at the kids for a few minutes before getting off and coming to shake the their hands. I have to admit, I don’t think I was very gracious to him at first – but he went on to greet us and offer to give me a ride on his bike down the road to where some autos were waiting for customers. Although he had stopped to gawk at the white American children, he was gracious to offer assistance to my family and me. I felt a bit ashamed over my initial attitude towards him.

As we rode in the auto-rickshaw to church, I stared out, just wanting to go home. Not home here in India - - home home.  I felt weary in every way – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I don’t know why I felt this way, I can’t really explain it, but that’s how I felt.

After we dropped the kids for Sunday School, Karri and I found our seats for the morning service. We arrived just as they were singing Above All – one of my favorite songs. The chorus goes like this –

Crucified, laid behind a stone.

You lived to die – rejected and alone.

Like a rose trampled on the ground

You took the fall and thought of me – above all

Jesus came to this foreign world – infinitely different than His home. He was uncomfortable, un-welcomed, scorned and killed. He came for one purpose – to die! He knew it would happen, yet He still chose to come and stay here – and amidst all that He encountered, in the midst of His humiliation and death – He thought of you and me ~ above all of His circumstances!

I found it difficult to sing along this morning – but as I listened, my heart was convicted and broken over my attitude. But at the same time, my spirit was encouraged and strengthened.

What a whiner I was being…not to say that hard things are not hard, but one thing for sure has been revealed to me over these past months, I have a strong desire for personal comfort. This comes to light very quickly in such a foreign place.  My definition of comfort isn’t necessarily possible here.

But, I must not complain – I should not complain. God has provided for us far beyond what we deserve and far beyond what so many millions and millions of people around us here know as a reality each day.

After a bit of a rest this afternoon – I can thankfully say that the weariness has lifted a bit. Yes, I’m still a bit physically tired and probably still a bit so emotionally as well. But, I am encouraged and challenged with a different – I pray a more appropriate – perspective of being here.

He has asked for me to be here right now – for this time. My prayer is that my attitude would be the same as His – that I will willingly give up my ‘right’ to my definition of comfort and find true comfort in Him alone. And, I pray that my focus would be deflected off of myself and onto the people that we came to love and serve in this place.

Will you pray for me in this manner?

Life is a highway...

Don't worry Mom - the motor wasn't even on!

 

 

...we will NOT be riding it like this however! :) 

 

But people really do ride like this here....seriously!
Need proof - - ok - - here you go!    ---->

According to Wikipedia, India is home to the world's largest population of 2-wheelers on the road.  So, we figured what's one more among 37 MILLION?!?!

We now have transportation to scoot around and run errands.  The kids have enjoyed taking turns riding ~ with helmets of course!

 We are so thankful to have the scooter - running to the grocery store or vegetable stand will be so much easier now.  And -  it's fun to drive - even in Indian traffic!

Top 10 ways you know you're in India...

1.  Isn’t it Romantic:  You sweat to a candlelight dinner with your beautiful glistening wife and 4 children because the power is out! 

      2. Monkey Patrol:  Men at the church's VBS have the specific job of chasing off 

     the monkeys so they don't bother the kids during class time or try to steal their snacks!

    3. Light’s Out:  A rain shower means a power outage is coming!

   

    4. “Cool” is a Relative term:  You are cold at night with the AC thermostat set to 80 degrees!  Now I know how my Grandma Heldreth always felt :)  

 

    5. There’s  room for ONE more:  A 2-lane road is treated as a 6-lane highway!  Mario Cart has nothing on this traffic! :) 

6. “Take me out to the Ball Game”:  People are gathered in a field in the heat of the day (105+ degrees) to play the nation’s favorite game – cricket!

7.  Waste Not Want Not:  You always turn off the water while washing your hands to make sure you have enough water in the tank for the whole day!

   8. Diabetes here we come:  The foundational and primary ingredient for anything sweet is ghee (purified butter)!

   9. Our Boys’ Dream come true:  Your feet are still black with rubbed in dirt even after your nightly foot scrubbing!

 

   

     10.Feel the Love:  Everyone

     takes the time to warmly greet you and lovingly (if not gently) squeeze the kids’ cheeks!

Update on Bharathi

Friends and Family - thank you all so much for your prayers for Bharathi!

She began to have the serious problems on Monday afternoon. Her doctor prescribed 2 doses of steroids which seems to have helped.   All of the testing and investigative reports came back normal.  She was scheduled to have a brain CT scan on Saturday, but since she was doing much better, the hospital decided to discharge her and not do the CT scan.

Bharathi is supposed to take her TB medication on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Her Wednesday TB drugs were withheld, which seems to have made the big difference. To make sure that it is the TB drugs that she is reacting to,  her doctor directed that she be given her Friday dose.

We were hoping that since she was in the hospital they would keep her to observe her.  But, they insisted that she be taken home.  Within 3 hours after taking the medicine, she again began to have problems.  Tonight her doctor instructed that she be brought to his home.

He has observed everything, and again prescribed  2 doses of steroids  and then to report to him tomorrow.  She will  go off of her  TB medicine  for a week, and then try each of the 4 TB drugs one at a time to see which drug is giving her the problem.

Please continue to pray for strength and recovery for Bharathi, and please join us in thanking God for her doctor, (Dr. Ravi) who has given her such wonderful care through this time!  Dr. Ravi specialized in USA in infectious diseases and is working at Neerikshana Clinic, where all of the Ashirvad children are served!

Please pray for Bharathi!

Will you please pray for Bharathi?

Bharathi (left) playing with Abbie & Pooja (right)

Bharathi is a double orphan (both parents have died of AIDS) who has been at Ashirvad since 2005. She is a 12 years old little girl who is HIV positive and is extremely ill. She was recently diagnosed with TB and has started treatment for that. Her recent blood tests also showed a very low count, so that she has also been prescribed to start her ART treatment for the HIV.

She was admitted to the government children's hospital on Tuesday morning. They are unsure what the immediate problem is. She has been confused and lethargic, unable to walk without assistance and even unable to speak. They started her on an IV on Tuesday, but due to a government strike, no tests were conducted on Tuesday. She began to speak on Tuesday evening, which was of great encouragement.

We are hoping that tests will be run today (wednesday) for her.

Please pray specifically, that

• The doctors and nurses will give her immediate attention (without the normal prejudice because of her HIV condition) and run the necessary tests
• The doctors will have wisdom as they determine what is wrong with her
• Bharathi will be filled with peace. She has placed her faith in Him, but she has been filled with much fear over the last year, as she witnessed Teja lose his battle to TB and HIV last January.

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of Bharathi!

BUGS!!!

Update from Karri:

We are at the end of what felt like a  v e r y  l o n g  week!  

• Last Sunday we started the week in the ER with Ben (see previous blog for more details)
• Monday was all day testing at the hospital for Ben ~ and the waiting for and relief of the findings!
• Tuesday we pushed hard to catch up on some of the schooling we missed.
• Wednesday Ben woke up vomiting and our hearts sank as we thought of his head injury but were quickly relieved as I also became sick with vomiting, diarrhea and and fever : )
• Thursday Levi walked into our room and vomited on our tile floor (yeah for no carpets : ) and he fell sick.  Daddy joined in the fun as well but I was up and going a bit so we traded off.
• Friday (actually for couple days before Levi kept scratching his itchy head) YEP ~ Levi has lice!  And we had to cut off his adorable baby hair style (which I have been informed is a help to his character since he is not a baby anymore, but still rather an emotional blow to me for some reason!)  
• Saturday we continued the extensive cleaning to get rid of the lice on and around Levi and Seth catches the stomach bug.



The Ladies at Ashirvad helping diagnose Levi



We scalped em' both!!!

• It is Sunday again and all the kids are still down except Ben with a bit of the flu ~ Abbie has pretty bad diarrhea tonight and they all aren't eating much at all ....

As if the eyes weren't already noticeable!

 ...BUT it is Sunday and for the first time in three weeks we aren't in the ER on a Sunday!  None of us were up during the night with vomiting and so have slept pretty well (that never happens)!  Tim and I were not down at the same time so we could keep up with the work! Ben and Levi have taken to sleeping side by side and Ben doesn't have lice ~ how that is possible I don't know ~ praise our Father!  Our team mates are a Dr. and a Nurse Practitioner, so we have talked with them a lot this week and they have counseled us on what to do!  And today we got an itunes gift card and were able to get a new movie for a quiet family movie night!  Our Father has truly given us strength for each day and new mercies every morning!  And the week is over ~ maybe this week all the bugs, both inside and outside our bodies will leave us alone : )

ER Indian style!!!

From Tim: (sorry for the long post!)   :)

Well - if you saw some of our pictures we shared from our second month in India, you saw that both Levi & Benjamin had the joy of visiting our local ER!!

On Sunday, March 11th, Levi tripped while walking out of Sunday School. He had his arms behind him, so he landed squarely on his chin and split it open.  It was a bloody mess and a decent size gash.  Our church is only about 2 blocks from the hospital that we will use here in Hyderabad. So, our friend Chetan gave Levi and I a quick ride on his motorcycle to the ER.

Levi was very sad - - - but after he calmed down and the wound was cleaned, the ER doctor said that it was not deep enough to need stitches.  So, they used a little super glue to close it up and sent us home with some pain medication and  antibiotic.

After an ice cream treat on the way home, he went happily to bed for a nap.  He has recuperated just fine and his chin is almost healed up by now!


Benjamin's experience was a bit different and a bit longer than Levi's.  Just this past Sunday night (March 18th), the kids were playing in our living room. As they love to play rough, Benjamin ended up tripping and falling right on his forehead! It was quite a fall and a big bump.  Benjamin loves to bump his head when playing, so it was not unusual for him to have a goosegg. But, after about 40 minutes, he became very lethargic and began vomiting.  After consulting with our team-mates Dr. Ravi and Marguerite, we called our friends the Chintas, and they arranged for Raju to come and take us directly to the ER.  We were praying the whole way to the ER that the doctors would react quickly and do a thorough review.

When we arrived at the ER, it was empty (of patients that is!).  They gave immediate attention to Ben and gave him some anti-nausea medicine and he quickly began to feel better. They sent him for a CT scan and were able to confirm that he had no bleeding on the brain.  But, there was a spot of concern in the exact area that he had injured.  They felt that he was good to go home for the night, but they instructed us to return the next morning to have a consultation with the neurosurgeon.

We spent most of the day yesterday, at the hospital and at Ravi & Marguerite's house - just a short walk from the hospital.  After meeting with the neurosurgeon, he wanted Ben to undergo an MRI for a full picture of the spot on his brain that was of concern.  Ben did an amazing job laying still in the MRI for the 30 minute scan.  They allowed Karri to be in the room with him.  The MRI showed a cyst about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide and 1 inch deep. They are confident that it is just a pocket of fluid, but it is putting pressure on his brain. (just over his left eye)  At this point, they feel that no action is necessary.  If, at any time in the future, the pressure becomes too much, we will know based upon a number of symptoms they talked through with us. (seizures, severe headaches, temporary paralysis) YIKES!!!

We will follow up in another 6 months or so with another CT scan to make sure that it is not increasing in size.  The surgeon said that this is something that could have resulted from a previous injury, or it could be something he has had since birth.

Will you please pray with us that this cyst will dissipate in the coming months and that he will not have any trouble with the extra pressure that it is putting on his brain?

We are so thankful to God for the grace He gave all of us through the long day yesterday and the courage He gave to both Levi and Ben (and mommy) as they experienced their first trips to the ER here in India.

After two weeks in a row of going to the ER, we're thinking we may just need to make the kids stay in bed all day long this coming Sunday!

A video thank you to our Cornerstone Family

 Thank you Cornerstone family - we love you!!

Puzzling pieces...

From Karri:

 Throughout our daily life here in India one thing we constantly do is work to fit pieces of Indian life and culture into our frame work of thinking.  It is like taking a new puzzle piece and searching for the right spot where it fits and fills in more of the picture.  Ben and Seth do it as they learn to play cricket by comparing it to the rules of baseball.  I do it  as I cook, smelling different spices and discovering coriander powder is just like cilantro.  But sometimes we take a piece and try to cram it into a part of the puzzle where it just doesn’t fit and the results are not good!

Levi took this latter approach after hearing the Muslim call to prayer over the loud speakers in the market on different occasions.  One time, as the Imam was crying out in a language we don’t understand and this sound filled the air, Levi’s eyes brightened.  He had figured out what was happening and thought he found where this new piece belonged.  He stopped and at the top of his lungs belted out the opening lines of the Lion King ….”AAAAHHHH  Sshhhubenya …”!  Having recently been to Disney this made perfect sense to him.  He wanted to join in the song!

So after being equally horrified and humored at his processing, we put our hand over his mouth and walked quickly on.  Some pieces of the puzzle are totally different from what we know and can’t be fit in by comparing~ we have to start on the other corner of the puzzle and put the pieces there until we can fill in more of the picture.  Eventually all the pieces will start connecting and reveal the beauty of an “American Indian” life!

Are we settled?

From Tim:

Some of Seth's photo fun!

I keep finding myself telling people that we’re getting settled into our new lives here in India. But what does that really mean? As I sit here and think about it, I’m not sure how to best answer that.

We’ve unpacked all of our bags and trunks.  We’ve got some pictures hung and clothes hanging in the closets. The kitchen is mostly done now – just a little bit more work to be done. We have curtains hanging on most of the windows and as of this afternoon, new dust 

covers for all of the beds!

Our house is settled and feels homey to us all ~ I think.

For me though, I think being settled is more than just having our house in order – though that is certainly important to the kids and definitely to Karri as a mom.  I’m feeling a bit restless myself.  I’ve found myself on several occasions asking the question “what in the world are we doing here?”  Things are so very different. Everything – every part of every day is different. That’s probably the best way to describe it – DIFFERENT.

It is still very surreal being here!  We’ve been working and planning to come here for so long, but now that we’re here, it seems so strange.

Just today, we travelled into the city to do some shopping. As we were crammed into an auto-rickshaw for the 30-minute drive, the sights and smells came flooding in. All of these new things are still quite foreign.

We had a special treat for lunch today – Pizza Hut!  As we sat at our booth and ate our pizza and drank our Pepsi, it seemed like our ‘old’ life back in Ohio – a Friday night treat. But, as soon as we stepped out of the restaurant, we were back into a different world.

It is interesting – one of the definitions of settled is to ‘stop floating.’  I guess, based upon that definition, I’m not actually settled yet.  Don’t get me wrong - I’m not at 30,000 feet, but I don’t think my feet are quite yet on the ground!

I can see the ground coming closer – I think it will just take some more time.

Tiny Treasures

It was my birthday this week!  Though I have had 33 other birthdays before, I have never had one like this year’s.  So many of you, my friends and family, remembered and sent messages ~ that meant so much!  My new friends and family here surrounded me with kindness and rather spoiled me I must say.  And then we went to Ashirvad to treat the kids there to some ice cream (in India when you celebrate something special, you are the one to treat others ~ I like that :)

 During the whole time we were there child after child came up to me and handed me beautifully crafted and colored cards (they don’t want to waste a coloring book page by coloring it only once so they first trace the outlines of the picture and then color it in).  The cards were thoughtful gifts of time and effort!  And then some of these precious children wanted to give me presents ~ so they went through their small boxes of items (they each have a locker to keep all their clothes and things in) that they have saved and loved.  They gave me stickers (that have long since lost their stickiness), pairs of their earrings, little barrette clips & bobby pins, and small plastic flowers to put in my display case at home!  In short these orphaned children shared their treasures with me ~ what can I even say?!?   May our Father fill my heart with such generosity and love ~ I have a lot to learn here!

Hello from India!

We're going to try this out - to see if we can do better with updates from our daily life as we settle here in India.

We'll post more in the coming days.

Tim