8 a.m.

Me: What do you want for breakfast?

MP: Want to share a plate of rice?

Me: Rice for breakfast???

MP: Well, you said in India they eat rice at most every meal.

Me: I think we’ll be okay with pancakes.

5:00 p.m.

Me: When you get married, I think we’re going to do like Rachel from the bible. Your husband is going to have to work 14 years for your hand.

MP: No way. I’m going to marry one of  the boys in India.

Me: You trust me to pick one out? Are you sure you’ll like him?

MP: Yes. You said they had a lot of God in their hearts.

8:30 p.m.

Me: Are you finished with your bath?

MP: Yes, and I folded my towel.

Me: Wow, that looks really good.

MP: If I’m going to India, I need to be able to pack my own things.

At this rate she’ll be speaking Tamil by July.

INDIA! Did you think I’d forgotten? Never. In fact, I don’t think of India as that place I WENT a few weeks ago, but rather as that place I’m going BACK to in 11 months.

India, I know you’ve not OFFICIALLY invited me back, but I’m coming. And I’m bringing two more people with me. If you didn’t want me to return, you shouldn’t have seduced me with your all-you-can-eat rice buffets and 4 hours of electricity each day.

I’ve got a year to get Team Tyre ready. JD is easy. I had him at all-you-can-eat. The MoonPie is a little tougher. We’ve already made great strides in her behavior. We’ve adopted a Rupees Reward system and she is loving it. My biggest concern though has been her eating habits. This is a child who lives on chicken nuggets, bacon and ribs. Anytime I ask her to try something new, the conversation goes something like this.

Me: Try it, you’ll like it.

MP: No thanks.

Me: Seriously. It’s mashed potatoes. It’s like smashed french fries. You LOVE french fries.

MP: No thanks.

Me: Try it or no dessert!

MP: Fine. Takes a bite the size of a pea, mimics vomiting, runs to the trash can and spits it out. That was HORRIBLE.

So I haven’t been super excited about introducing her to rice.

Behold –

She’s TRYING it!

She likes it She’s eating it.

If that’s not confirmation from God, I don’t know what IS!

Still, I think I’ll wait before introducing her to sambhar. No need to use all of God’s miracles at once.

Every morning in INDIA started the same way – with Chai and prayer.  I found out that one’s day goes smoother when you start it at peace. And also that I am not as lactose intolerant as I had believed.

I’ve made several attempts at Chai since I’ve been home and am pretty close to the yummy brew I experienced in INDIA. Here’s the recipe if you’re feeling up to it –

2 cups water

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp ginger

2 tsp black tea

2.5 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom

Bring water, milk and ginger to a boil then remove from heat. Add sugar, tea and cardamom. Let sit for 3 – 6 minutes, then using a strainer, pour into a teapot.

Drink slowly, savoring the spices. Pretend you’re cool and are hanging in INDIA. Feel superior. Realize that’s not a Kingdom value and pray for forgiveness. Receive the grace. Ahhh, PEACE. Works every time.

I was called to India for holy purposes. I spent a great deal of my time praying, getting to know the locals, and basically bringing joy to everyone I met. It was why He called me there. I sought a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the Creator.

I’m sure that’s why the rest of the team went too.

While away, to that super cool country where only super cool people go, God revealed many things to me. For instance, every morning the team would meet in the Prayer Garden. For prayer.

Kim Auntie would pray like this:

“Lord, your word says in John 9, that you healed the blind man saying, Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. And the man went forth, telling others of the man who had healed him. We pray that you would help give us eyes to see, too.”

I would pray like this:

“Lord, you know how in the movie Overboard, the Goldie Hawn character gets her memory back and suddenly she can see how Kurt Russell had made her a wife and mother and she’s all like,  ‘why did you do that, you’re that sweaty carpenter that hates me’, and she’s confused but then they get together.  Could you open our eyes to see, too?”

The contrast is striking. Yeah, I can SEE now. Before going to India, I had no idea Kim was such a show-off.