Coolest Story

Oh my....where do I start. I feel like I am so behind and there are so many things to fill everyone in on since my parents came to visit. I guess that I will share about the coolest thing that happened lately, and that is that Pema decided to get baptized!!! It is a very cool story.
About a year ago, Pema came to us one morning and was sharing about a dream that he had, about He, Mike and I riding on a white horse. We were going up to heaven and when we got up there he wasn't allowed to enter because he didn't have a "red rock". Hmmm.....Mike and I are not into interpreting dreams usually, but we told him how in Revelation 6:2 it talks about the "white horse"that is symbolic for conquering. And that in Revelation 19 it talks of Jesus the "King of King and Lord of Lords" riding on a white horse and He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called The Word of God. The red rock symbolizes Christ and His blood that was shed on the cross for him. In Psalm 78:35 God is the rock and the Most High God the Redeemer. In Ephesians 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace." So Mike also explained to him that whenever he wanted, he could choose to follow Christ and "have the red rock", so to say. And that whenever he wanted and was ready to let him know.
So, about a year later, Pema came to Mike...(which was about 2 weeks ago) and shared with him that he wanted to get baptized and follow Christ. Woohoo! So Mike and Thinley sat Pema down and shared with him what it meant and asked when he wanted to do it and Pema said, "Tomorrow". That was the day my parents were coming in, so that day wasn't possible, but we said that we would do it on Saturday. Which was cool that my parents were there to witness it as well. Praise God!!!!
So much more has happened in the past few weeks and I have so many things to share, but this was the most important thing that I wanted you all to rejoice with us about! Please keep Pema in your prayers as he grows in his faith.

On the Blog Again...

Wow, it is amazing how there are certain things in life that you so look forward to and then before you know it, they are over. My parents just left this morning and we had a great time. It was SO good to see them and for them to be able to hang out with us in this crazy house. I think it was quite the test of patience for them, but they did great. Between screaming children, boys studying their spelling words out loud, over and over, and just the general chaos that comes with our household, they did a great job! It was so fun to be together! But, now before I could grasp it, it is over and I go on with the day to day of life in Kalimpong. I guess that is why they say, "Like sands through the hour glass...."
Thanks SO, SO, SO much to everyone who sent stuff over to us. Especially my sister who went way out of her way to send so much stuff to everyone. What a blessing! And KC, thanks so much for the package and the goodies too. I am hoarding them away in my cupboard. :-) I guess that your package arrived about 2 hours before my parents were off to the airport too, so great timing! Thanks so much!
Well, I have pictures to come, but just wanted to let you all know I am still alive. Love ya!

Week of Fathers

I know that this Sunday is Mother's day and that is probably all you are hearing about lately, but this week has been filled with Fathers.

Let me first start by giving you a little background info on the status of fathers in this house. Kelden and his father have a rocky relationship, although he does get to see his dad more often then the other two boys. Kelden has both a father and a mother who take care of him, they just weren't sending him to school, so we took him with us so that he could get an education. Before he ever came, he and his father said to us that they don't like each other, and the way that Kelden talks to his dad is so horrible. Although they do have some sort of relationship and it does seem that his dad tries to care for Kelden the best he can.

Then there is Pema and Dawa. Their mother committed suicide when they were young, and their dad is a drunkard. For the most part he has been pretty negligent and not much a part of their lives. I think that it has been 3 years since Dawa had seen his dad, and I am not sure how long it had been for Pema. Right now their dad is living in Sikkim with someone else's wife, so he cannot return to their village.

Anyway, so there is the story in brief. Saturday we get a call from Kelden's dad saying that he is coming to visit on Sunday. Odd...it isn't like him to just want to come and see his son. What is going on? Turns out that he wanted to come and take Kelden because he doesn't like the school that we switched him to, only to find out once he got here that we are trying to switch the boys back to Graham's homes. He said he was just going to take him back to the village to help his mom. We are not sure if it was a manipulation move or what. Then he requested that we take Kelden with us to where we are moving. Not possible... Then he wanted to know if we have a sponsor that can help get him to the US. Hmmmm....if it wasn't for the fact that we love Kelden, we would have told him to take his son and go. (well, and for the fact that maybe that wouldn't be the best way to respond)
So, he stayed one night and then the next day Pema and Dawa's dad came. We have been calling him and trying to get ahold of him to get Pema and Dawa's birth certificate and things in order. So finally after about a year, he came to help with that and we have that taken care of. It was strange to see the two different boys interact with their dad. Pema, the older one, seems to be a little bitter towards him, so didn't show much interest, but Dawa on the other hand, seemed very happy to see him, and even slept in his bed with him that night. (a very cultural thing to do and the same thing Kelden had done with his dad the night before) He left the next day and says he will come back to see the boys once he has found work. Hopefully it's true and he will try to be a little bit a part of their lives.

Then there is my dear old dad! He comes tomorrow and I am SO excited! I will keep you posted on that. But seeing these other relationships really makes me thankful of the dad that I was blessed with. I couldn't have asked for one better!

Escalators and Elevators

These are something that is non-existent in this part of India that we live. Although the town down the hill has just recently built a shopping mall that has both. Siliguri is about a two hour drive down the mountain from where we live and it is the place that we usually have to travel in and out of. When we first moved here about 4 1/2 years ago there was no ATM anywhere in Kalimpong, so we would have to make the journey down the mountain when we were in need of money. Luckily maybe 3 or so years ago, they put in an ATM here in Kalimpong. Now we actually have 3!
Last Thursday we had to go to Siliguri to drop a friend off who had been visiting, the boys had a holiday from school, so we decided to make it a fun day and go to the mall. This mall has an arcade with 4 bowling lanes, so we decided to go bowling. We had a great time and the kids absolutely loved it! I was shocked though, when my friend Anup told me that it the first time in his life that he had been on an escalator. Wow! He is 32 years old and had never been on one or seen one in person until that day. We come from such different worlds!