Diwali on the Ganges

Yesterday was Deep Diwali - another Hindu "festival of light," this one has more to do with the religious beliefs than the Diwali that occurred 15 days ago. I don't know much about it, the biggest difference I saw was less fireworks and crackers and more lights. We went down to the Ganges River and the steps were lined with tiny, rough earthen pots filled with oil, their flames flickering in the breeze. Thousands of lights. 

I don't know much yet about taking good pictures at night. If I use my flash, it lights up the entire photo and doesn't give you much sense of the actual darkness there is. So, I did some experimenting...

Still have lots to learn about the different exposures and shutter speeds. 

They even had fire throwers. One guy had a fire stick and then this young guy was juggling smaller ones. I'd be a little scared to try it. Don't like hot. :p bad memories of hot stuff.

Psalms & Apple Pie

Everyone has days that they are discouraged. Guess its just part of living here on a sin filled earth. Even Paul had to remind himself to be content in all states of life. When I am down, I have several things I do to encourage myself. Lately, I have discovered another way. Now, we are not all alike, so what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. 

The past few days, I have taken to reading the Psalms OUT LOUD. It is easy for me to get distracted when I am reading the Word of God silently. So, I've been reading out loud and putting much emphasis on the reading. I try to read it as if I was the one saying or writing it. It has greatly encouraged my heart. There is so much truth in the book of Psalms about our God and what He thinks of us and how He takes care of us.

"I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about."
"I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high."
"LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:"
"But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation."
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

And, another way to cheer me up.... :)

Apple Pie!

well, any kind of baking would probably do, but that's the one we chose last night. I had three helpers that were very anxious to help, I think so they could eat it faster. :p The type of apples were new to me and probably not my favorite, but we made do. And of course, a square pie is not the norm, but hey we are in India, guys! And who cares what it looks like as long as it tastes good!
and it was yummy!!!

Fireworks!!

My last night in south India was the Hindu festival of lights. While I am not a Hindu and don't appreciate their strange ideas and beliefs, I have to admit they do some pretty amazing firework shows. 

Everyone and their brother buys fireworks, crackers, sparklers, etc. and has a good time. Its not like America where you can't set off crackers in the city limits. Don't think the Indians have gotten that memo. lol

And they set them off at all times during the day. One morning, I was awoke to the sound of a string of a 1000 firecrackers, right outside my bedroom window. At times, it sounded like we lived in a war zone. And outside even looked like it. 

awesome picture, yes?

After it got dark and everyone started going crazy with the crackers, we went up the 5th story roof of our building to see the grand display. We were in the center of the city, so we were surrounded by exploding lights and loud noises. Some huge ones were going off right above us and we were ducking for cover, literally. It was impressive to say the least. I love fireworks in other countries. A lot of more dangerous, but so much more exciting. 

Loss of Wisdom

Thin black mat on a marble floor in a drab green room with dirt on the ceiling fan and no toilet paper in the restroom – was my sleeping arrangements last Friday night. If you ever find yourself in that situation, you can probably figure that you are sleeping in an Indian hospital room as well. A good friend of mine was going to have her wisdom teeth removed. Not sure why, but they wanted her to be admitted to the hospital the night before surgery – something about having “blood investigations.” (that’s blood tests for you Americans) 

So, there we were, the three of us chilling in hospital room; which is my favorite place to be Friday nights. It was a private room; well it was private in the fact that there was only one patient in the room, but I think it was anything but private. After we settled into our room at about 7pm, our door became a revolving one. Nurses, doctors, cleaners, food service, more nurses, another doctor continued to come in and do whatever it was they needed to do. Of course it was normal for them to check on a patient, so why need to knock on the door first? After our last ‘guest’ left at about 1045pm, we locked our door. Not the doorknob mind you, cause it had broken off after the 3^rd visitor or so. So, we had to lock the sliding lock. Good thing too, or our first visitor the next morning would have barged in without knocking first. And I’m not usually ready for company at 530am; can’t I at least have a minute or so to wipe the sleep out of my eyes?

One of the oddest visitors was the next day. A guy marched into our room, without knocking, and walked past us without saying a word to the bathroom. We looked at each other and one of us got up to see what he was doing. No worries, he was just cleaning the bathroom for the day. Yep, he put a small, pink ball of something in the sink drain. Maybe to clean the drains when the water dissolved whatever it was? Anyway, it was clean now, so he signed his name on the sheet for that day. Uh, maybe I could send you to an American janitorial school?

Good news is, the surgery went well and we didn’t have to stay another night. My friend is just about as good as new, minus 4 teeth and some wisdom. And we all got the awesome experience of staying in an Indian hospital room. 

Life and Death

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

Philippians 1:20,21

These verses were part of a passage that was discussed the other night in a small group devotion. The question came up - "how does one magnify Christ with death?"

During our discussion, we agreed that if one is to portray God in their death, they must first magnify Him with their life. How one lives is a reflection of who they are and what they believe in their heart. It is no easy task to glorify the Lord every day, every moment of every day. It takes consecration and dedication. 

But when a faithful servant of the Lord dies - the focus of their life should be directed back to Christ. 

One's dying for Christ has more significance if their life also proclaimed Christ. 

Another thing I just thought of - we talk of dying to self. Putting the flesh in subjection and yielding to the Holy Spirit's direction. Isn't this a way of magnifying Christ through death? It is not a physical death, but death to our wishes, desires and ambitions. Isn't He glorified when we deny ourselves and yield to Him? 

I am reminded of Hebrews 11, when it says that "[Abel] being dead yet speaketh." Though Abel had been dead for thousands of years, his life still speaks to us because of his actions and response to God's commands. I too, want to live in such a way, that Christ is magnified in my life and one day in my death as well. 

Just recently I visited the Great Wall of China. It is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. Built hundreds of years ago, it still stands as a monument to a people and kingdom from long ago. 

I want my life to be like the Great Wall, in the sense that I want to stand strong for my Saviour. And even years after my death, when people remember my name they don't simply think of my crazy hair or loud laugh, but instead they say I lived for God. 

Just a thought for today. 

Beijing

While in Beijing, I was able to go out with some friends to see some of the sights. Some I had visited 6 years ago, but some I had never see before. Everyone was saying how cold it was getting there, but I thought it was nice weather. :) cool in the mornings and evenings, but nice during the days. 

Being an Alaskan, I love cool weather. Hot weather is a bit harder for me to endure. :) 

Temple of Heaven

my new friend

Tienanmen Square

lots of pollution - but its still awesome!

giant steps at the Great Wall

Mountains and Desert

After a long, stinky sleeper bus ride, it was pleasantly nice to take a personal car for the 7 hour drive up through the mountains to Tashkorgan. The drive was beautiful, as the skies were clear and the rocky mountains jutted up alongside the road. We stopped several times during the drive to get pictures of the mountains. Every time we would stop, the air was cooler and cooler. Coming from the desert, it seemed cold, especially since the wind was also blowing. But oh, the snow frosted mountains were worth it.

We only spent a night and day in Tashkorgan, but it was fun. The main population of the town is Tajik – which is a Turkish people group. Many have lighter brown hair and I saw some with green or blue eyes. They have their own language, but it is unwritten, so they also know Uyghur and/or Mandarin to communicate with others. Thankfully, I did not have to greet any ladies in the culturally acceptable way, since they kiss on the lips when they greet each other. That could have been…. Uh interesting?

in the Pamir Mountains

On the outskirts of town is an old stone fortress, built about 1300 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. It was fun exploring the ruins with Tim & Cara. Especially when we discovered an long -lost mummy. Just kidding. But we had fun pretending and those who were also visiting the site got a kick out of it. We even got asked for our picture. (which happened several times during the trip)

After driving back to Kashgar and spending one more night there, we set off on another  bus to our last stop, Hotan. Located in the desert area, Hotan was much warmer than the other places we visited. Actually it was quite hot there, but the people who live there looked like they wore the same amount of clothing as those who live in the cold mountain regions.

Many interesting things happened and many unique places visited during our short stay in the south desert. One of my favorites was the Carpet Factory. We watched as many ladies sat and handmade beautiful, intricate carpets by hand! Some were as small as one meter square and others stretched about 10 meters in length. The larger ones have as many as six women working on them at a time. All is done by hand: the different color silk threads are knotted into a pattern, cut roughly so they can do the next thread, after a few rows have been weaved, they use large shears to cut the threads to be one length. Several of the ladies have been weaving carpets for 15 years or more. Because they use silk as the threads, the carpets are very soft and smooth to the touch. And yes, I did buy a small one.

We also went to the Atlas Factory to see how their strangely unique material is made from start of finish. They begin with silkworms, which they boil so to loosen the silk threads of their cocoons, then the rough threads are spun into bundles, after it is refined a little, they die their random, rainbowish patterns in huge vats. After the threads are dyed, they are hooked up to a loom manned by a single person. And then there it is – the vibrant, chaotic fabric.

Another stop in Hotan was an ancient Muslim mosque in the Taklimakan Desert. The people there are Islamic, but they have mixed that faith with older folk beliefs. So their religion is lax form of Islam with much superstition. The path leading to this old mosque was strewn with burial plots of fallen warriors from an archaic battle and though Islam teaches not to worship any but Allah, many stop to pray to these dead heroes. Most are not avid follows of Islam; to them being Uyghur is to be Muslim, even if all that means is that they don’t eat pork.

We also visited a Jade Market – which was an experience. All’s well that ends well, but the way to the end can sometimes be unforgettable. Not understanding the language did not hinder me from seeing a near riot begin. For a time, it got quite heated. Thankfully most of those involved were on our side of the argument and we were able to leave with anybody getting hurt. It was kinda cool to see 40+ Uyghur men campaign for us, even to the point of pulling money out of their own pocket to pacify the crazy shopkeeper.

Yep, another unusual day in my life.