Thank You India

So I went back and took a look at those early blog entries, what a riot. In one of the earliest ones, I make a sacred pledge to try to "do better”… Well as Yoda will tell you (and my son can attest), "Do or Do Not, there is no Try". So I realize that I can’t make a career out of ‘the blogging’ (I do just love how putting "the" in front of certain technological things makes me sound like someones technically deficient aunt), as life seems to move a little too fast for me. It's a good thing that my lovely and talented wife had more dedication to the craft, but I did notice a few things left out at the end of the school year.

We bought a new house (in Michigan) just around the time of her last post. We love the place, and we love the location. Also, we spent a fantastic week in Newcastle, UK with some of the best friends that we have ever had. We already miss them very much.

So what else? Well, the whole bunch of us went back to the US for the summer, and at the end of August, I returned to India without my home team, not exactly sure when I would be back in Michigan for good, but definitely before November.

Being back in Chennai again, alone, just like I started this program has been an interesting experience. Unlike those early days I already had some good friends (thanks Clay, Jennifer, and others) to keep me from going stir crazy. It did, however, make me think again about those first days, just being so new and so lost, but sure that it would all work out. Remembering again the most important thing was to be with my home team again, and now really understanding that my home is wherever they are.

Things worked out well here and as it turns out I'll be heading back very soon, so this is the final blog entry of this (mis) adventure, and yes, I know it's a little boring, but I just had to say the next bit...

My family and I have been so blessed, and enriched by this experience. In two years, our ordinary family has had some extraordinary opportunities. We have stood atop the Great Wall of China, trekked through rainforests in Borneo, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, marveled at the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Burj Khalifa, the Mona Lisa, and Buckingham Palace. We have now visited Mickey Mouse on three continents (the mouse has so much of our money...), and found nearly every Outback, Chili’s, Hard Rock Café and Starbucks in more cities, towns, airports, and countries that I can even recall.

Travelling by airplane, subway, car, taxi, bus, train, cable-car, Tempo Traveller, tram, skyway, rickshaw, elephant, and camel, we have seen more of God’s fantastic wonders in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East than any single person has the right to.

We have made friends from different places, cultures and backgrounds. We have learned that no matter where we are from, the love of our families, sports, and music make us all more alike than we are different. We have learned that English is just English, unless you are from America, or Britain, or Australia, or India, or Korea, or Thailand, or Singapore. We met people who became family, We have laughed a lot with our new friends, cried a little, and shared some fantastic experiences.

We have all been taught valuable lessons from our national hosts. Lessons about communication, and community. We were swept up in their feverish struggle to turn this geographically diverse, culturally rich nation into an economic power. I have learned to let go of many of the the cultural norms that I take for granted, and realized that while we should hold on dearly to our beliefs, values, and families, the rest of it is the small stuff... and hey, there is already enough sweating going on in the Chennai heat, so no point in sweating the small stuff.

We have been blessed with family and friends in the U.S. who not only wished us well on the way out and came to visit, but have also welcomed us home with open and loving arms.

We have been profoundly, deeply, and permanently changed by this experience. We thank God for this adventure and for His power and grace that we experienced every step the way.