I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to lately. Ideally I would like to post two or three times a week, but that just hasn't been happening. I feel like I have told you all a lot about my girls and what is going on with them, but I haven't told you much about what is going on with me.
So here goes. A blog post about my life lately in India.
I absolutely LOVE living in Ongole. I never want to leave. I love my girls more than anything and I can't imagine not being their mom. I love fostering. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it is so amazing. I love this city and feel so at home here.
Ongole is considered a village by most Indians. The population is a little larger than Knoxville, so it doesn't feel small to me! It isn't clean whatsoever. I rarely see real cars that are used as a family or personal vehicle. True American food is a thing of the past, and I eat more and more like an Indian each day. The city is loud, crowded, and far from what I used to consider home.
I'm not going to lie - my first couple weeks in India were HARD. I cried 5-8 times a day for the first two weeks. I hated living in Ongole. I didn't feel prepared to be a mom. I only knew 5 Telugu words and couldn't communicate with anyone. December 8th felt years away, and I wanted to go home. I thought I might have made a mistake by coming to India. Oh how wrong I was.
Ongole is my home. My girls are my family.
I walk down the streets of Ongole with a smile on my face. I love hailing rickshaw autos and telling drivers to go away when they try to overcharge me. I love learning Telugu from my nurse friends who work here. Lalitha, a nurse about my age, has quickly become one of my closest friends. We talk, laugh, and tease each other every day. She talks to me about my life in America, and I talk to her about her Indian life outside of SCH. I'm thankful to have an Indian friend who is just as sassy as I am. :)
I am quickly picking up more Telugu, and will be starting formal lessons in a few weeks. I've learned enough that I can communicate more efficiently with my Indian staff, as well as tell my girls useful commands like "go to sleep!"
I'm doing things I swore I would never do. When I first arrived there were certain Indian customs I never wanted to become my norm. But now I buy live chickens to cook, eat with my hands, use the squatty potty in my bathroom, balance things on my head to carry, and sometimes eat rice for breakfast. No worries though - I still use toilet paper and I am NEVER going full Indian on that front.
India really is my home now. Before I graduated high school, I really felt like I wasn't following God's will by applying to colleges. Once I started college I felt like I was flat out disobeying God. I felt like this my freshman year, and felt it even stronger after I returned from my first trip to India last summer. Hear me out - I am incredibly thankful for the two years that I spent in school. I learned so much and made friends I never would have otherwise. Most of my closest friends I either met or rekindled with in college. God definitely worked in my life during those two years. He stretched me and grew me tremendously. He put me through extremely hard things, refining my heart and preparing to send it to India.
But I still don't think it is where He wanted me to be. He definitely used my time spent in school, but ultimately I never once felt like I was in the center of His will.
Living in my tiny apartment with my six wonderful girls is different. I finally feel like I am in the center of God's will. I am exactly where He wants me, and it brings me inexplicable joy to know that.
This is my home. This is my life, and I love every second of it. I love Heidi, Angel, Naomi, Chelsea, Paula, and Stephanie. I love all the other kids at SCH. I love hosting volunteer teams that come through and seeing them love on our kids. I love the other missionaries fostering here. I love the city. I love the simplicity. I love the chaos. I love it all.
God placed me here for it to become my new home, for my girls to become my new family. And I praise Him every second of every day for doing so.
So here goes. A blog post about my life lately in India.
I absolutely LOVE living in Ongole. I never want to leave. I love my girls more than anything and I can't imagine not being their mom. I love fostering. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it is so amazing. I love this city and feel so at home here.
Ongole is considered a village by most Indians. The population is a little larger than Knoxville, so it doesn't feel small to me! It isn't clean whatsoever. I rarely see real cars that are used as a family or personal vehicle. True American food is a thing of the past, and I eat more and more like an Indian each day. The city is loud, crowded, and far from what I used to consider home.
I'm not going to lie - my first couple weeks in India were HARD. I cried 5-8 times a day for the first two weeks. I hated living in Ongole. I didn't feel prepared to be a mom. I only knew 5 Telugu words and couldn't communicate with anyone. December 8th felt years away, and I wanted to go home. I thought I might have made a mistake by coming to India. Oh how wrong I was.
Ongole is my home. My girls are my family.
I walk down the streets of Ongole with a smile on my face. I love hailing rickshaw autos and telling drivers to go away when they try to overcharge me. I love learning Telugu from my nurse friends who work here. Lalitha, a nurse about my age, has quickly become one of my closest friends. We talk, laugh, and tease each other every day. She talks to me about my life in America, and I talk to her about her Indian life outside of SCH. I'm thankful to have an Indian friend who is just as sassy as I am. :)
I am quickly picking up more Telugu, and will be starting formal lessons in a few weeks. I've learned enough that I can communicate more efficiently with my Indian staff, as well as tell my girls useful commands like "go to sleep!"
I'm doing things I swore I would never do. When I first arrived there were certain Indian customs I never wanted to become my norm. But now I buy live chickens to cook, eat with my hands, use the squatty potty in my bathroom, balance things on my head to carry, and sometimes eat rice for breakfast. No worries though - I still use toilet paper and I am NEVER going full Indian on that front.
India really is my home now. Before I graduated high school, I really felt like I wasn't following God's will by applying to colleges. Once I started college I felt like I was flat out disobeying God. I felt like this my freshman year, and felt it even stronger after I returned from my first trip to India last summer. Hear me out - I am incredibly thankful for the two years that I spent in school. I learned so much and made friends I never would have otherwise. Most of my closest friends I either met or rekindled with in college. God definitely worked in my life during those two years. He stretched me and grew me tremendously. He put me through extremely hard things, refining my heart and preparing to send it to India.
But I still don't think it is where He wanted me to be. He definitely used my time spent in school, but ultimately I never once felt like I was in the center of His will.
Living in my tiny apartment with my six wonderful girls is different. I finally feel like I am in the center of God's will. I am exactly where He wants me, and it brings me inexplicable joy to know that.
This is my home. This is my life, and I love every second of it. I love Heidi, Angel, Naomi, Chelsea, Paula, and Stephanie. I love all the other kids at SCH. I love hosting volunteer teams that come through and seeing them love on our kids. I love the other missionaries fostering here. I love the city. I love the simplicity. I love the chaos. I love it all.
God placed me here for it to become my new home, for my girls to become my new family. And I praise Him every second of every day for doing so.
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