Shaken

Yesterday, Nepal was rocked by a massive earthquake; I’m sure you heard about it.  Today, Nepal continues to quake with aftershocks of significant size that are also rattling nearby countries.

Click HERE for more information on CNN about the quake.

We live more than 300 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake, but even we felt and continue to feel the effects.  Yesterday, during the initial earthquake, I was in our home, a third-floor apartment with Desirae.  I had just walked into the kitchen and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the water in the sink moving.  As I stood in the kitchen, I began to feel disoriented because the walls around me and the floor beneath me were moving.  After a few seconds, I heard our landlord’s family begin to yell and start running down our common stairwell.  Desirae was already somewhere in the stairwell, as we had just talked about going outside.  A feeling of panic filled my heart and I began to run out of the house and down the stairs to find my baby girl.  I knew the rest of the family was already outside and safe.  Both Desirae and I as well as the rest of the landlord’s family made it outside.  Then, we along with all our neighbors congregated in the open field in front of our home.  We were all quite unnerved…but safe.  In every direction, we could see groups of people standing outside their homes.  Our city experienced very minor damage from this powerful earthquake.  Unfortunately, this is not the story for millions of other people within a 300 mile radius of the earthquake’s epicenter.

Since the initial earthquake yesterday, there have been a number of aftershocks.  We have felt at least three aftershocks, the latest of which was this afternoon.

Please pray for all those who are experiencing the devastation of this mighty quake.

Perseverance Pays Off

We have been in northeast India for about five months now.  One of the first things we did when we arrived was try to open a bank account.  A bank account is one of those “need to have” items for a number of reasons.  We need one to open a business.  We need one in order to book train tickets.  We need one to get our gas cylinder exchanged. Etc…etc…etc.  One might think that opening a bank account would be a fairly simple and straight-forward process…and it is…unless you are a foreigner in a “small city” (one million-ish people) where this has rarely if ever been done before. 

Back in November, when we started the process, we went to one of the largest bank chains in India.  Being as thorough as possible, Tony had all of our necessary documents in order and ready to go.  Even so, it’s not as easy as submitting the necessary paperwork and filling out the required forms.  The first bank visit was followed up by at least one visit per week for the next two months.  Each time Tony visited the bank, he was wearing a smile, showing nothing but patience and grace.  And each time he was given a different reason for the delay…they needed another copy of his passport or a signature in a different place…they needed further proof of our residency or to talk to our landlord.  They even came to see us at our home to verify our residency.

After two months of weekly or bi-weekly visits to the bank met with explanations for further delay, we were finally given “the green light” from the main office.  We received our account number, our debit card, and we put money into the account!  But, the branch manager refused to open the account…simply because we are foreigners.  So, we walked out the door with nothing to show for two months of waiting…except for the 30 rupees (about $0.50) interest made on the money we deposited when we thought our account was open.

In February, we started the entire process over with another bank: submitting paperwork and re-submitting the same paperwork; signing documents and re-signing the same documents; making weekly or bi-weekly visits to the bank to check on the progress.  Today, after three more months of waiting and smiling and waiting and smiling some more…our bank account is finally open!  This is such a victory not only for us but also for this local bank.  Not only were we super excited to have an account finally opened…the bank manager rejoiced with us.  He was blessed and amazed by Tony’s patience through the entire process…that he never got upset or showed any kind of aggravation or impatience with the continuous delays.  This is just one example of how challenging and time-consuming it is to get even the simplest of tasks accomplished here.  Nothing is easy...but with God all things are possible!

Difficult Life

Our village trip helped our family come to an even deeper understanding of how difficult life truly is for so many people in this country.  You may have read stories or seen documentaries about the countless people in India who slave away at brick factories.  We had only heard these stories but on our trip across the countryside, they came to life for us.  The landscape was dotted with large smoke stacks, with rows and rows of bricks being formed by the hands of old and young alike.  Families make their dwellings among the bricks which they have labored to form, with no hope of earning enough money to escape their slave-like existence.

Whether it is forming bricks, tending rice fields, picking tea leaves, or breaking and sifting rocks along the river bed, life in India is extremely difficult for millions of people.  Not only is the work back-breaking, but also the living conditions offer no reprieve.  It certainly was humbling to experience, even for a few hours, village life where electricity, running water and indoor toilets are luxuries that most people live without.

Below are a few pictures taken along our journey to the village.  We did not take pictures while in the village because we wanted to show our hosts the utmost respect for their hospitality. 

Everybody's got a Water Buffalo

If you have children or grandchildren you might be familiar with the Veggie Tales song called The Water Buffalo Song.  It, like most Veggie Tales Silly Songs, is random and rather obnoxious when you hear it being sung repeatedly by your precious children on long car rides…you might be able to relate.  Below are a few of the lyrics that we sang over and over again on our 35 hour car ride, as we drove through the countryside…

Everybody's got a water buffalo 
Yours is fast and mine is slow 
Oh were did we get them I don't know 
But everybody's got a water buffalo

After our road trip this past week to a village for our friend’s wedding, this song has an entirely new meaning for our family. Actually, contrary to popular belief, it seems that this song does ring true for many in rural India…at least where we were.  Many people, have a water buffalo tied to a stake in front of their homes.  Water buffaloes are rather interesting creatures.  They are huge and rather hairy, and many of them look like they have bad toupees parted in the center.  In this country, these massive creatures have a variety of purposes…used mainly for their milk and their meat but also for pulling carts and for plowing fields.  Also, their feces, is handmade into patties or bricks that are dried in the sun and then used in fires for cooking and heating purposes.  

We saw thousands of water buffaloes on our trip…the sight of a water buffalo would often result in our family (excluding Tony who was not amused by our singing) burst out in song. Unfortunately, we could not remember all the lyrics so the above few verses were repeated over and over again as Tony clenched to steering wheel a little tighter. Haha! 

There is so much to process and share about our trip to the village…this past week was an educational experience like none other for our family.  We will continue to share little snippets from our journey over the next several weeks…so stay tuned.  We praise God for the gift of allowing us to experience it and for His provision and protection through it all. 

Oh, and if you find yourself singing the lyrics to this obnoxious song for the rest of the day…all I have to say is – you’re welcome! We love and appreciate you for your ceaseless prayers and for sharing this incredible and sometimes crazy journey with us.  Below are just a few pictures of the water buffaloes we saw...