oh hey rach...what's that?

what? *blink blink*

oh this!


this is just a small testament to the fact that my friends are the bee's knees.
the BEE'S FREAKING KNEES!!!

the bee's knees??

yeah i don't know what it means either but those bee's must have some fantastic knees

note: pedro has claimed the jellies for himself. who knew ducks like jelly beans?

somehow i just knew this would happen
i didn't even have to ask
my Father is true and faithful
and He is abundantly good

He's wonderful, friends
absolutely wonderful

Dum Dum

Orientation took place around 3 pm yesterday
i filled out my card and waited
chatted with some guys until my name was called
i sat down in front of the Sister and collected my thoughts
she asked where i worked before and what sort of work i did back home
then she asked if there was a particular place i'd like to work this time around
i, of course, answered Daya Dan and then said i was open to going elsewhere if need be
so she asked me about Dum Dum
it's a home that was only recently opened to female volunteers
she said most people have a really difficult first day/week
and that she'd honor a decision to go elsewhere
but that she really believed it would be a good fit
so i said i'd do it.

from the moment we arrived there this morning i was overwhelmed by how fitting it all was
overwhelmed by how well He knows me
and how He takes my passions and my dreams and meets them with His perfect will

He knows me
He know my name
and He keeps calling

exhausted!

Hello loves!
i arrived in Kolkata 5 hours ago. (i still haven't slept so i apologize for any gramatic error and anything that just plain don't make sense)
somewhere between London and Dehli, everything stopped making sense and i just wanted the comfort of being back in Englewood. in Dehli, i met a girl from Boston who is currently living in Boulder and spending two weeks volunteering with an anti-traffiking NGO here. small world. the flight to Kolkata was spent wondering what had made me think i loved this city and why i'd wanted to return. i recited psalm 51:8 & 12 until i felt a small semblance of peace creep in. and it kept creeping in as i stepped off the plane, walked through the airport, waited for Antonio (he ended up on a different flight due to a mishap in Dehli), and found a taxi. now i can't imagine not being here.

i arrived at the guest house i wanted to stay at only to find that they had no beds available. bummer. i walked (well, more like teetered. a large back pack, a guitar and two bags made me feeli like i might fall over at any moment.) a couple blocks to the next guest house and found that they too had no beds. as i walked out, disheartened and not looking forward to coming up with a new plan, a woman called out to me. she informed me that she was staying at a guest house down the street and was sure they had beds. she gave me the information and sent me off. 15 minutes later as i sat waiting for my room i realized that he was still working things out for me. i may have had better plans this time around but his are perfect.
so here's to the next 5 months of seeing his hands at work.

love you all!
ciao

happiness is...

drinking chai in tiny terra cotta cups
taking long walks with new friends and feeling just a tinge of akwardness
listening to a little boy strum random notes on a guitar and realizing its one of the most beautiful sounds you'll ever hear
washing laundry by hand for hours with wonderful people
curry stained fingernails
getting lost and not having to care
finding Skyla(r?) and Gabriel and Jean and David and Clara and Ares and Ben and all the people whos names i cannot recall but whose faces i can't forget
knowing the women in my family would be proud of me if they knew what i'd been doing
hearing as much spanish spoken as hindi
seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of broken children
singing and playing mariachi songs in the street

Happiness is knowing that these, even in all their brokenness, will be made new

seven days and counting...

oh my! the real countdown has begun. yipee!
i leave next Tuesday. well given that the site i just bought my ticket from isn't a scam. haha. i'm not worried though. its all in His hands, and i absolutely adore His big beautiful hands and the things they do.
nervousness is setting in. slowly. surely.

so much on my heart right now. i promise i'll share just not now.
i'm too busy happy dancing.

happy dancing!

i got my visa!
10 days.
sanity left me
and still i'm waiting
trusting
or at least trying