"god does not call us to ease, but to faithful joy. he is closing in on some of you, smiling and with tears in his eyes, knowing how much of himself he is going to show you--and how much it will cost."

so here in this quaint and worn-in office/home of ours there are books that seem to float all around us. books on architecture. books on engineering [more interesting than you would think as i have flirted with a few], books on restoration, books on others who have gone before us, books on how we can reach the unreachable nations of this world, books on how we should breathe days.

i have been reading a book on the later, one that tells me: don't waste your life. i have had to take many small breaks and often stop only after reading a page to give a quick evaluation if this is how i am living my very own life. there has been wrestling and testing of motives that, to be quite frank, have grown into a few frustrations at the author. even amidst those i pressed on and finished the book in a clean swoop to conquer the mere two-hundred pages of paper. this book begins by describing a story of an early retired couple who moves down to flordia to live out their lives cruising the waves on their 30-foot trawler, playing some leisure softball and collecting sea shells. the picture illustrates that at the end of their time all they have to show is the shells they collected. this is it. a simple nice ending to a life, one might say. the author stops at nothing less than shouting without exclamation points and capitalization to let us know this is not what we are called for. and even larger, what we are made for. not that there is anything to ruin by telling you more, but i suppose you will just have to seek for yourself if you desire.

tonight we are setting out by taxi first, train second, bus third, airplane fourth and feet fifth. setting out on a journey. i can't yet put any description words before the journey but i'm sure will have more than a few words when we return. our team is at work for three weeks and onto all ends of india. departing home in mussoorie, down the mountain to dehradun and on an overnight train to delhi. we will be in lucknow in the north, bombay [present day mumbai] on the western coast and most described as indian's hollywood, or the coined term bollywood. our project site is a dash in indian standards, roughly five hours east of the big city and over to pune [poo-nay]. after this we gather up some more stamina to fly down south to the state of tamil nadu and the city of madurai. okay breath. in and out.

there will be so much to feast my eyes on. taste the deliciousness of in my mouth. hear sweet words of misunderstood languages. false interpretation will abound. my mind will be raw from drawings and meetings of all sorts. my heart will probably explode more than thrice.
and stories will overflow, i'm sure.

| musssoorie housing |

_one day last weekend i ventured around town. the goal was to pick up the traditional indian style clothing i got made for my time here. these are a few images that my eyes caught sight of.



--------------------------:: transportation::

--------------------------:: road cow::

-------------------------------:: architecture ::

---------------------------:: view ::

---------------------------:: street bazaar ::

this is just one day.


before i left i distinctly remember a friend of mine telling me that there would be ordinary days. awhat? you mean every day i spend in this unknown country i'm venturing off to won't be extra-ordinary? well, NO it will not be. no matter where you reside there are the routine days filled with humdrum tasks. you still have to wash your clothes without any electrical devices, and dare i say you still have to take showers or bucket baths depending on where you are seeking refuge [to date i've taken three, i won't do the math]. so here might be the layout for a conventional day around this place:

○ the mornings are precious as things are bright and so fresh in the mountains which seems to creep right into our home-office.
○ though waking up seems to be a bit of a struggle since outside of my cocoon of blankets is much below comfortable temperatures.
○ i make some tea, grab a banana from a bunch of twenty and gather round with all to worship in english & hindi, and to discuss how god is alive in us and this world of his.
○ then not moving very far we are all off to to the daily tasks. work on the computer. work in the kitchen. work around Oaklands. work collaborating for projects and project trips to come. this is mostly all dependent on if we have power for such activities and internet for connection to the world.
○ noon-thirty is lunch time and each day we are greeted with delicious indian food made by our cook, Annu. things are taking an upward swing towards my liking of indian food especially since we enjoy it in the warmth of the sun. this is usually followed by a small stroll around the block.
○ chai time is at three prompt and gives us just the right dosage to finish the work day strong.
○ we end at six pm and i either head off for a run to catch the last glimpse of the winter line sunset that graciously float through the sky or maybe walk to the prakash market at the nearby bazaar.
○ once back at home we all gather around and eat dinner together like one big family. there are kids, we might strum music on guitars or battle out a game of settlers.
○ then we have the rest of the nigh to explore mussoorie, read and read some more, catch up on e-mails or just enjoy each others company around the bukari [our life source of heat]

but like i said, this is just one day and tomorrow could be completely full of newness.

home.here.

i've never been much of a walker, often times i have caught myself running a bit when attempting to go on a walk. yep, there goes some girl. sort of. kind of. jogging...in jeans. odd, i know. what is so much of the difference really? people in the town of mussoorie [my current location] walk everywhere. i don't think it is because they might lack the transportation to propel themselves quickly, but instead that is the method in which they would prefer to move.

on feet.

taking it in.

making eye contact.

stretching the legs.

waves of hello.

stopping at leisure.

so today after our first full day in the office i went for a walk. it wasn't my first one here, and i know it won't the last by any means. you see, we live on a hill, quite a massive and steep hill that is a part of a greater mountain range. the start of the indian himalayas are to the east. the small-ish town of 30,000,mussoorie, is sprinkled amongst the hillside to the west. yes, third world countries have outrageously gorgeous landscapes too. i'm in awe morning noon and night as we are forced to work/live/eat/learn outdoors since the inside is quite the ice box. works for me. and i'm sure you would be fine with it too.

so this walk, ahhh yes, in the light that was left i first walked on the east road and gazed into the distant snow capped mountains. looped around and caught the last of a winter line sunset-(amazingly straight line that the sun sets upon and only in particular places)-. i had to keep reminding myself this was home for a while and i feel extremely lucky to be in such a beautiful place. god has given this landscape for anyone to enjoy and i'm reminded of this with each stroll i take. i pass more residents on foot than by car or motorbike which makes me smile as i greet a few. i'm thankful as the breath escapes from me and on into beauty.

we were busy today. i'm sure we will be busy tomorrow. there is a lot to learn. and the more i learn the more i realize i do not know. this is a great feeling and gives me topics to ponder on walks.

winter line---------------------------------

mussoorie floating through the hills----------------------------------

a new friend: Jalore---------------------------& the himalayas-------