Three Chicks and a Dog Walk into a Church
The title of my blog sounds like the start of a joke…but it happened in India. In the middle of my message I look up at the door to see three baby chicks with their fluffy feathers dyed different bright colors. They hung out in the back of the building for a while pecking at the sound equipment, and then they left. Shortly after that a dog walks in, sits down for a while to listen, then walks back out.
We have been to two villages so far this month, and I think we will be visiting four more. This is very different than any other month of our race so far, where we are always in the same place. I haven’t decided yet if I like it that way or not. On the one hand, we get to meet so many more people (and kids!!), but on the other hand it is such a short time that I won’t be able to develop good relationships with any of them. But that will (maybe) make it easier to transition out of this country. I don’t know.
So much has already happened. We named a baby. We prayed for countless families. We eat mountains of food. And drink so much chai. I love the chai. The food is… well… I can’t say I hate it… but I’m not at love yet. Growing up avoiding spicy like my life depended on it makes it hard to eat this… but I’m working on it. Surprisingly I enjoy the flavors, it’s just the heat that I’m not sold on. Maybe by the end of this month. (I know my family will be shocked at this.) But when we are forced to eat so much of it, you learn to first choke it down, then tolerate it, and hopefully the next step will be to like it. In India it is considered a compliment to ask for seconds of the food, and offensive to waste food. Also the plates are HUGE. Think serving platter for each person. We literally cannot force that much food into our bodies. There was one day where we very seriously were praying to God to not let us puke from being so full. It was a serious concern. The food is very different than American foods. Like breakfasts… The first few days while we were in Hyderabad for orientation we had dosa for breakfast. I would describe it like a spicy pancake that was filled with onions and tomatoes. When we moved to our new location (which we have been asked to not share) we continued to have dosa, but it was a bit different. Now it is the same pancake like base, but no veggies inside, and the spice is only in the chutney sauce served with it. We also have been served jalapeno donuts. We eat ridiculous amounts of chapatti (like a tortilla, but freshly homemade goodness), most often served with curry and/or dal, and chicken.
Funny story about the chicken… its all chopped up into bite sized pieces… but the bones are chopped up into it as well. So far in EVERY country we have been in they eat the bones. They look at us funny for leaving the bones on our plate. Also… three times now I have gotten the chicken heart in my plateful. I ate it. Twice now. And I’M the picky eater on our team…
But life has been great so far in India. I will be sharing more stories soon!
Also, my friend and teammate Geneva could really use your support to stay on the race. She is getting really close to her financial goal, but the deadline is fast approaching. If you want to give a tax deductible gift to her I know she would appreciate it! Here is the link to her latest blog, donate on the top of the page!
http://genevaobrien.theworldrace.org/post/surrendering-gods-finding-jesus
