it was on a bus to bangkok i realized i didn’t want to go back to india. if my plane decided to make a detour to the plains of kansas instead of to the smelly streets of delhi, i would have been okay with that. the two weeks i had been able to spend in thailand reminded me of what life was like outside of india and i forgot how much i liked it. i forgot the freedom my skin feels uncovered by layers of material and what life free of stares feels like. i remembered travel on highways and...
Read Moresome of my thoughts and ramblings from my two weeks in thailand as the rest remain between me, the pages, and the waves… …my jaw dropped as i stepped into the terminal. i had never seen this much steel and glass in india…er america…uh ever! is this real? does life like this outside of the third world really exist. i’m definitely not in india any more and i’ve forgotten what this life looks like. …so clean and fashionable, so modern and technological, so thin and small! i feel like an overweight giant in this thai world. if there is one...
Read Morejournaled 3 january i should be lifting off in my flight to bangkok and instead i’m sitting in a hotel room in delhi. seems there are fog problems and indian airlines aren’t exactly equipped to handle fog. all the other flights are going out…american, british airways, thai…but air india? grounded. the rumor is we’ll leave after lunch today, but somehow i doubt it. i’ve probably lucked out with traveling in this crazy country far too many times. i was due for some kind of delay. last night, my sleep was restless. we arrived at the hotel at 2am and i think my...
Read Morein a pluralistic world, a religion is valued based on the benefits it brings to its non-adherents. [111] to call the ch.n ch. ‘holy’ is to say something about its purpose, not its behavior at any given moment. the word ch. means those called out. holy means devoted to a sacred purpose. thus, the ch. is a community of people called out from the profane rush and secular hassle of life to be devoted to a sacred purpose. [222] what if we were to redefine protestant as pro-testifying, pro meaning ‘for’ and testify meaning ‘telling our story’? what if protestants switched their...
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if i seem to show too little respect for your opinions or thought, be assured i have equal doubts about my own, and i don’t mind if you think i’m wrong. i’m sure i am wrong about many things, although i’m not sure exactly which things i’m wrong about. i’m even sure i’m wrong about what i think i’m right about in at least some cases. so whenever you think i’m wrong, you could be right. if, in the process of determining that i’m wrong, you are stimulated to think more deeply and broadly, i hope i will have somehow...
Read Moreobviously, there are many things different about the everyday of india compared to the everyday of rest of the world…clothing, food, language…and eunuchs. yes eunuchs. perhaps you remember them being mentioned in the OT and maybe even recall hearing of them in history class. but their existence in the modern world of today? who would imagine? once again, the answer to such questions…only in india. a little background for you… eunuchs - castrated males - have been in existence since the 9th century b.c. the word is derived from the greek “keeper of the bed” because castrated men were in popular demand...
Read Moreif you would have told me this time last year that i’d begin 2007 in india, i might not have believed you. if you would have told me i’d be leaving shortly after for two weeks in thailand, i probably would have laughed at you. and as for next year? i’m not going to even try to predict. the past 12 months have been quite a whirlwind that i’m in the midst of processing… trying to look back on all that’s happened and where He’s lead, the words i’ve heard and the people He’s used. i don’t think we, in general, take enough time to reflect....
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