The Whys

Earlier I said I would expand on the "whys" of this trip.  Other than the big questions of where and what we'll pack, this is the question we get asked the most.

Each of us wrote a list of our personal whys and I'll share some of the common themes:

1.  Get Tan (this may or may not have been on my list) :)
2.  Spend Time as a Family Selfishly, I'm really looking forward to some dedicated time with the six of us.  Ella will be close to beginning her senior year when we return and the time has just gone too quickly.  I expect it will be bumpy adjusting to so much time together, but I'm hoping we soon hit a new normal of really enjoying each other.
3.  Relaxing and Resting  We all (Mike most of all!) run a million miles an hour when we're in Michigan, so we're all looking forward to some time on the beach with a good book (or maybe an iphone :/ )
4.  Learning, Learning, Learning...about different cultures, places, people.
5.  Spiritual Growth? Awakening? Passion?  This is our biggest why and the toughest one to wrap our arms around.  We want our relationship with God to be more--more authentic, more passionate, more trusting, more of what He wants it to be rather than what America tells us it should be.  So we're attempting to go into this trip with an openness to let God speak to us and show us whatever He wants.  We hope to come home with an increased understanding of who He is and His plan for each of us.  We want to spend time with Christians around the world and get a bigger picture of God.  And our big prayer is that the same will happen with the girls--that they will understand the importance of deeper things and feel a stirring for why God has them on this earth.

I've already begun my list of "God sightings" with a pretty amazing one.  For a number of reasons, I delayed getting our Indian visas.  When I finally got around to it, the consulate said 7-10 business days and we were down to only 6 business days with the holidays.  The processing center was also not encouraging.  I kept telling myself this was my opportunity to trust God (and tried to) but I was almost physically sick from the stress of all the what ifs.  The applications were supposedly brought to the consulate on Christmas Eve but then I got an email on December 29 that they had just arrived there.  At this point, I figured there was no way.  But later THAT SAME AFTERNOON I got an email that the visas were complete and in the process of being overnighted.  So not only did we get them in time, but with time to spare.
Secondly, Mike has a connection with a manufacturing company located in India--Turbocam--which also has a number of stewardship things going on in India/Nepal.  They stepped in and within days had set us up with visits and drivers and hotels.  So our plan is to fly to Delhi on Monday and then spend a couple of weeks around northern India and Nepal.