Welcome to India

Whenever we leave India and have to come back, there is always a little bit of adjusting that you have to do when you re-enter the country. India is just one of those countries that is hard to explain unless you have been here. People either love it or hate it. I used to love it, but after living here for awhile there are times that I hate it. Not all of it, but the inconveniences of it, for sure....
So, we flew back into Calcutta on the 11th, and then into Bagdogra later that day to make our journey home. (or so we thought) There have been strikes going on here in our area for some time. They have been on and off, but when they happen it means that everything closes and nobody drives anywhere. So, our friend Anup informs us that there is a strike and so we will have to stay in another hotel for the night. Ugh...we are so close to home, but still so far away. So we get our hotel room and stay for the night and Anup picks us up the next day. We have to hurry and go early because the town we are in, they are throwing rocks at cars passing by that are going to our area. It is a long story of why, which I will explain another time, but needless to say, we make it home safely. Now we are here and welcomed with one thing after another. India is such an unpredictable place. Please pray for safety in the area we live and that we will be able to make our flights on the 30th to the M.E.

History in the Making
I thought maybe to explain a little about what is going on in the area, so if you see it in the news or something. The area we live in, is a part of the state of West Bengal, but for some time they have wanted to become their own state called Gorkhaland. This would include Darjeeling, Kalimpong and part of Siliguri. So, there is a new party that is trying to get into office and get their own state, but the old party is fighting them, thus...there have been many strikes and so on. For the past several months there have been marches through our city, where people are shouting "Gorkhaland, Gorkhaland!!!! " Caleb will even shout it out every once and awhile because that is what he has witnessed here. It is funny! But since we have returned from Thailand things seem to be escalating and they have just given all the children 2 months break from school, and a strike is going to start on Saturday, the 14th. So, please pray for peace in this area, and that God will give us wisdom on what we should do. Thanks so much!