Life is Good

Life is wonderful. Everything is working out for now. I like to really try to live in the moment during these short seasons of my life where everything seems to finally be going right. As if there was a right or wrong way for life to go.

Yesterday all the staff on our base were invited and encouraged to hop on a big bus and ride two hours to get to a beach. A BEACH! Everytime we go on picnics here to lakes or rivers it always consists of sharp, rocky shores and not so enticing water to swim in. However, this time we actually went to the sea. Salt water, sandy beach, sea shells everywhere, and millions of tiny hermit crabs. It was fun. I went swimming for a little while then spent most of my time in the water holding hands with a 4 or 6 year old girl who kept trying to jump over the "HUGE" waves. It was fun. Just being able to submerge yourself in water is very rare here. No one has bathtubs in their house. No one. It's always showering or using a bucket and cup to bathe. No where can you usually swim around or even just put your whole body underwater, so I like to take advantage of these times.

Here are some pictures from yesterday's time at the beach:

 And here is from our time driving home from the beach.

I really liked this old man in the back of this truck. It happens all the time, but this guy was just chillin'

I really loved the look of this overgrown, abandoned building. I always like to imagine what these places looked like when people were living there, cooking rice and daal, laughing, and feeling safe in this place they called home. Whatever happened to them? How did it become abandoned? I'll never know.

I thought it was impossible, but turns out my husband is able to get sunburned. I also got burned for the second time since arriving in India, but you don't need pictures of that. It's quite common to see white people sunburned.

And lastly, we have a new addition to our family. A little kitten named Arya. I love her so much. I didn't think I could ever love a cat but I love her. My neighbor's cat had three kittens and so I gladly took the one female. Although I better see how much it'll cost to have her spayed or whatever cause cats in India are production factories as my neighbor calls them.

This is literally what she looks like this very moment as I am typing this blog.

So, I hope that you all are enjoying life right now and living in each moment because you won't get it back. So be thankful for this moment, whether it's a good or bad one.

In other quick news. This week we will be submitting my I-130 Petition for Romel to get his Spouse Visa. Please keep that in your prayers as it usually takes months for them to process this and then once they process it he can finally apply for his Spouse Visa here in India. Pray it goes by more quickly so we can come earlier to the U.S. and that it continues to go very smoothly. I just can't believe how fast and smooth it's going since we hired this very wonderful lawyer. 

Home Sweet Home

And I'm suddenly in 90 degree weather getting sunburnt.

Seeing Romel again was so wonderful and I periodically wake up at night and smile because I know he is next to me in bed. It is pretty much the worst thing in the world to be separated from the one you love.

Leaving my family is never easy, but we always take comfort in the fact that we'll see each other again soon and next time Romel will be with me. We were able to finally pay the immigration lawyer and get Romel's Spouse Visa things on the way. I have been carefully selecting e-mails and photographs to send the lawyer. I have been filling out forms and requesting letters from family, friends, and church who are supporting us. It's easy to prove we're truly in love, but it is not an easy thought knowing we have to. I keep thinking, "if only I had married an American my life would be easier." but then, who wants an easy life? Life should never be easy when we are following God. Besides, I've never been one to take the easy way out of anything. This season is just a further testing of our trust and faith in God. Nothing is ever in our control. Nothing is ever under our influence. We see that over and over again and we're just in our first year of marriage! It's no wonder cross-cultural marriages on average are longer and stronger than marriages within the same culture and country/state.

So, a few days before I left I shaved part of my head: 

France's bathrooms in the airport were super cool.

I hate layovers.

Opening Christmas gifts.

Together again at last.

Chai!!!!

My welcome message on our front door.

A journey through the wilderness. An Exodus.

"Moses" leading his people.

Israelites.

The weather. I know you're jealous my Dear Minnesotans. How's that foot of snow treating you?

It certainly is good to be back in India. But I certainly cannot wait for everyone in Minnesota and throughout the U.S. to meet my husband later this year. Keep our immigration journey in your thoughts and prayers.

Eight Days a Week

Just eight days ago I was a worrisome old lady.

I had only received my first paycheck after coming back home, and by now I was supposed to be almost going back to India. I had hardly done all that my human brain had planned on doing in the past two months.

I thought I'd get a job the second I landed, work full-time, make $11 an hour. Pay not only the immigration lawyer, but also the I-130 petition fee, buy a new Macbook Pro, get an external hard drive, a couple iPhones (for my husband and myself), a plane ticket home to India for the 14th of January, and have enough leftover to get clothes and fun things.

Here's where I was really at eight days ago: $30 in my checking account (maybe), nothing saved for the lawyer, petition fee, Macbook Pro, plane ticket, etc. I was hopeless and worried I'd have to stay here much, much longer than anticipated.

I found this really cool website called crowdtilt.com. It's a site where you can put up a fundraising campaign. Want to start a new business? Need to raise money for a charity? Want to have a lot of your friends pitch in for a party you're throwing? Pretty much anything you need contributions for, you can make your own "campaign page" and start inviting people to join your campaign. The best part of it is, if the goal amount is not reached, no one's credit card will be charged.

So, on a whim and a prayer, I made one of those pages eight days ago and lo and behold, God has totally provided in miraculous ways!

Eight days ago Romel and I literally had nothing. Today we have $1,185 toward our $1,500 goal plus enough extra money to pay for the I-130 Petition right away and almost enough for my plane ticket to go back to India! I will be leaving two weeks after originally intending to, but that is better than the extra month I was sure I would have had to stay.

God is so good and we have 12 days left to raise the last $315. I just am in awe of how quickly things have turned around and how truly faithful and good our God is. Sure, we question him a lot, especially me during this tough time. Why do I have to be separated from my husband? Why does it have to cost so much to do immigration the right way? Why couldn't I have gotten a better paying job sooner? Why? WHY? WHY? But each time I'd start to question God I always reminded myself that his ways are higher than my ways. He is on the throne. He has overcome. He will provide in HIS time, not mine. And he did, he has, and he will!

So, please pray about contributing. Pray about joining us in our ministry overseas and also joining us in getting Romel here. Just $315 left to go and I believe it is going to happen.

https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/immigration-lawyer-fees-for-romels-spouse-visa

No matter what; no matter how hard the enemy tries to get us down; to keep us apart; to make us worry, cry, and fight...

God is on our side. What can man do to us? What can the enemy really do?

Just a little something for us all to enjoy. My once-rehearsed version of Titanium by David Guetta feat. Sia. But actually...feat. Sarah! I just love this song.

Happy Birthday to me!

Apparently I am 27 years old today. It still feels like I'm in my early twenties. I mean, does anyone really feel their age? I remember being in 7th grade and thinking, "wow, I'm going to be a sophomore in high school some day and I'm going to be so grown up." Who thinks that? I was such a freak.

Anyway, birthdays have never really been my favorite. Having a birthday two days before Christmas, or as I've always liked to call the 23rd of December: Christmas Eve Eve. Having a birthday today sucked growing up because all my friends were out if town on my actual birthday so is have to have my party a week or two before my actual birthday.

The best parties that have been thrown for me were not birthday parties at all, but going away parties. What does that tell you?

Needless to say, I'm sitting here at a bad coffee shop to pass time until the thrift store across the street opens. I still have some Christmas gifts to buy and who knows, perhaps I just might buy myself another Cosby sweater or vintage shoulder-padded blouse because its my birthday.

Pictured below we have my current look, and yes, I am in a public place right now. Next is the bad coffee, then my current thrift sweater which just might be the most normal one I own to date!

Just Breathe.

My oh my, it has been quite a while since I updated this blog. Sorry for all of you who have been checking every day hoping for a post, as if.

Life has been better.
Life has been worse.

Being in Minnesota with my family is pretty awesome.

Being in Minnesota without my husband is pretty much the loneliest.

I found a job at a hotel here in Maple Grove. It is not the best pay, but I'm working almost full-time and it is really easy stuff. I'm basically a janitor. I clean all the common areas at night. Second shift. I spend six to eight hours alone, cleaning. Often not seeing or talking to a human being for hours. It's kind of perfect.

You see, the more I fly back and forth between India and Minnesota, the more withdrawn I am becoming. I prefer alone time or else I follow my mother around the house like Peaches does.

It is quite depressing to be home during this freezing, snowy weather without the one human being you love most. It's quite depressing falling asleep alone every night and waking up alone every morning. I pray that Romel and I will never have to be separated again.

It's all because of money and immigration stuff. I could go back to India tomorrow, but I don't have a plane ticket and the sole purpose of my being here is to pay the lawyer so that we can finally start this process.

Romel is with his family in Nagaland right now experiencing the same things as I am, minus the working part. Getting a job in India without a college degree is pretty pointless because you will literally be paid next to nothing. So, it's up to me to be the bread winner this season of our lives and that is hard for Romel, as the man, to swallow. I don't like it either, but what else can I do?

I feel like I'm not quite trusting God like I should be. I haven't quite let go of this control that I think I have over my life.

All I am asking for is money, but I hate only asking for money. I feel like I only approach the Amazing, Perfect, Magnificent Creator and King with stuff I need and not with anything to offer or give up. I got a lot of stuff to give up but I'm like a child holding onto my little toys so very tightly.

Sigh.

Just some pictures of two cross-cultural lovers.

Help get this handsome devil to Minnesota!

Packing is a Pain

Well now, look at how adorable my husband looks. Taking a little nap while I'm finishing up cleaning and packing. 

I can't believe that I am leaving tomorrow night. I knew this day would come, but never thought it would come so fast. This is my sad face.

Sad because I won't be with my husband for a little over two months. Sad because I won't be able to eat real Indian food for over two months. Sad because I really will miss this place.

As much as I can get frustrated with this country, I friggen' love it. I'm going to miss the simple things and the cheap food. I'll miss the beautiful women and adorable children. I'll miss seeing them playing cricket in the streets. I'll miss old uncles going for walks and laughing with missing teeth. I'll miss all my dear friends that are mostly over here now. My how things have changed in the past four years. My world has completely flip-turned, upside down, as the Fresh Prince once said.

However, things need to be changed once in a while and it's about that time for me to once again walk on U.S. soil and be with my family. Eleven months is a long time to be gone. In fact, I called my dad on the phone the other day and I can't even describe the feeling I got listening to his voice. I haven't heard his voice in too long. Usually I call my mom or skype my mom, not because I don't like my Dad or anything, but my mom's always around and my mom loves to talk. My dad however, is just like me, you call for a purpose, you don't call to just "chat" and when we're on the phone with each other it's short, and full of long pauses. It's like "hi" "how are you?" "that's great, I'm fine" "anything new?" "No? Cool." "well, have a good night." When we are face to face however, we can talk for hours, and it's that I'm looking forward to.

Sometimes I really do feel like my life is in a suitcase. And I just finally got used to living with my husband.