WARNING: NOT GOOD ENTRY

So I know I haven’t written much in the last few weeks and again I apologize. I have been busy (good) and not in the blogging mood (bad).

Sometimes I am a perfectionist. When it comes to my writing, I want it to be good, no actually I want it to be much better then good. So it pains me that this entry will not be all that great, but I feel I owe something to anyone who cares enough to log on and read this blog.

Having said that, here is my half-assed attempt to begin summing up my time in India. I will definitely reflect and process and write more, hopefully better, from a beach on the North Shore of Oahu. J (Fruity drinks with umbrellas always get the creative juices flowing.)

With less than a week remaining in country, I have begun to enter transition mode between my worlds. Every trip changes, at least molds and refines me and my worldview. It’s hard to sum up for my experiences have varied. India is so big and she is so different, every state a new language and culture …

The images that the word “India” conjures up are diverse and often contradictory, suggesting that on must be the real India, and it’s only a matter of finding out which one. If only it were that simple! To understand India at all, you must be able to hold on to completely contradictory images, and realize that both represent the true India.

Gitanjali Koland, Culture Shock! India

I'm ready to leave, but my time has been good. I have seen God work in and through me. My biggest prayer request was to be used and I feel that I have been used some. The biggest blessing/feeling of actually being useful came from working with the video production guy (I didn't even know they had a video production guy until about a week into my trip). Being with the teams has been a good learning experience if I come back and do it again. I've got to observe and learn from the long-term workers here. Recently, I've gotten to work on some of their computer/email/communications/cell phone issues and we've resolved most of the technology issues. I enjoy troubleshooting, problem-solving and getting things done.

Probably the biggest thing I have learned or been reminded of is that I don't need to know what the rest of my life entails. I came to India not knowing if I would have a job or how much work I would have when I returned. A few weeks into the trip I received a pretty great schedule from The Golf Channel.

(I basically have mid November to mid-January or early February off. God-willing I will be somewhere abroad again. I’m still negotiating with mom a pre- or post-Thanksgiving Day departure :-)

I don't know if I'll ever be married, have kids or even have a "real" job, nor do I know if I want any of the three. But I know I don’t need to know now.

Once again I have been reminded that the most important thing, though I stumble often, is to love God and love others; to know Him and make Him known. All the rest is meaningless.