snapshots.

snapshots. the moments in life we long to capture. to remember.

i feel like i have millions to store. as i'm sure you do.



somedays are just too enjoyable here.

when i'm not in a hurry, when i walk places with a stroll. and look at people. really look around me. i see so many things i love. people make me smile here. kids playing on the sidewalk. men bathing at the sidewalk water pump (not so enjoyable but always quite a scene). honest taxi drivers. folks who compliment my bangla (ha, i have them convinced i'm a pro...) i love watching out the window of the bus, seeing folks drinking their noontime cha, bargaining for a kilo of fruit, taking a little snooze. a guy on my team said this week that kolkata might just be his favorite city in the world. i might have to agree. life simply explodes here. and i might add, i had the best mango lassi of my life this week. and that in itself is enough to brighten anyones week. unless of course you're allergic to the stuff....



however as enjoyable as this place can be, the warm weather brings its own set of problems. sometimes the fan just can't shake off that wool blanket feeling. but alas, when else can a person get ripe mangos the size of small children. or litchi fruits. and there's probably no other time that i appreciate a good soaking rain like may in kolkata...except maybe june in kolkata...



many times i'm too busy, too annoyed, too tired to let this place touch me. to look around. its a discipline i think. to stroll. and take snapshots. and enjoy.

its been an intense month, w/one of our friends and her daughter finding out they have HIV. our landlord for the sari bari building telling us we have four months to find a new place to work. two of our three bengali staff members recovering from malaria and typhoid. and a number of other day to day pressures that just add fuel to the fire.

in some ways it seems as though we've been trying to just keep our head above water, gasping for a breath when we can, and continuing on. but this is no way to live.

and basically, we know it comes down to time carved out for jesus. time in prayer. a mind and heart and schedule submitted to him.

we are transformed by our interaction with jesus.

how desperately we are needing his touch. and stillness. and peace.

so if you think of us this weekend, please pray for that peace that passes understanding to flood our hearts and minds like the sweeping monsoon rains.



and i wish i had a picture to offer you of my glorious mango lassi or the termites that ate my bangla folder or the sign on the bus that said "first air box" instead of first aid... but here's sarah and kristin and i on sarah's birthday...itsn't she beautiful! its a close second place...



any of you have any snapshots of your life, wherever it is you are? i'd sure love to hear a story or two. come on, give it a try, you never know where a good stroll will take ya.