Parent blog:
We are 4 weeks out until we leave for our Parent Vision Trip (PVT) and it’s starting to look real. We’re tacking a couple of days in Delhi before our PVT to Hyderabad so we’ll be gone from home 10 days. Ten days with just carry on luggage! Before this point, a trip to India was not on our radar, and now suddenly we’re getting malaria meds, typhoid shots and worrying about getting “Delhi belly”. The process to get a visa for our trip while tedious was not difficult; we got our plane tickets so maybe we’re almost ready. Each week, our daughter, Emma, adds something else for us to bring her besides her favorite homemade cookies; new underwear is a real treat, some good deodorant, a sharpie marker; all little things that mean a lot to her!
We’ve never been on a mission trip and now we’re going to India (if we keep saying “India” it may help this all seem real!) We’ve traveled internationally before and have experienced different cultures, however India seems pretty chaotic and colorful as we explore the books we’ve checked out from the library. Clothes, is an issue, women have to be conservatively covered, so some closet digging and bargain shopping is happening. Flights have been purchased. Hotel reservations made. Transportation arranged. Now we have to figure out what we’re doing on our “vacation” days in Delhi/Agra before we join the World Racers in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad- what will we be doing there??!!! That’s a question on our minds. We are not evangelists. There, we’ve said it. We prefer to live the life; quietly trying to be good people, not putting ourselves “out there” to discuss, challenge or educate others about our faith. This PVT will be a stretch for us, hopefully a good stretch. I’m sure, our daughter Emma, will help us through. We’ve been going to the contemporary service at our church so at least we may recognize some of the songs the “kids” (okay, we know they’re adults, but they are still “kids” to us!) will be singing, so that should help. According to the Adventures In Missions website, we may have two options for our “ministry” and both sound exciting. Even more exciting is that we get to see Emma and meet her team and squad members, whom we feel we have got to know through their blogs if we didn’t meet them during the send off in August. Ready or not, we’re going to India!
Kristine and Tom
