It's hard to believe that it's Sunday early morning, and Bekah and I are once again home in Conestoga, PA! Wow, what a wonderful 3 weeks this has been! (You will be receiving Bekah's reflections once she wakes up!)
As we left the rest of the team and our Indian friends on Tuesday, there were certainly "teary" good-bye's. Our time in India was a "leg" of our journey that Bekah was most apprehensive about, because of talk of uprisings, needed security, etc. However, our hosts provided for us in so many special ways. Rather than apprehension, we felt safe, secure and much love. These wonderful friends went out of their way to make our stay delightful and fruitful. It's amazing how connected one becomes after just one week of crossing paths, spending time together, etc. even when there is a language barrier. Bekah shared her "i-pod" with some of her new friends, which was quite a hit! We found much joy in the simple things of life that we certainly take for granted here in North America.
You will receive another wonderful perspective of the India portion of our trip from Ken H's blog at: http://www.kohconsulting.blogspot.com/
Our flight to London was uneventful, and when landing at Hethrow, we traveled the "tube" to our destination. We met Val at a station north of Central London. We got our exercise for the day as we maneuvered our luggage up and down steps, changing trains, etc. We reached our hotel after being en route for well over 24 hours. We had a short time to freshen up, and then went meet with our London team. The team had prepared a wonderful lunch for us, and we spent the afternoon together catching up, talking "shop", etc. We spent some time in the city Wed. evening with Carmen and Val, which was a delight. The city is beginning to look alot like Christmas! (The 50+ degree temperature drop to this part of the world was quite a shock to our systems!)
I met with each of our team members spanning the next 2 days, intermixed with time in the city. We made amazingly efficient use of our time, using every moment to capture what we could building relationships with team members, and spending a bit of time in the city. London is a wonderful place! We literally only had 1 full day and 2 partial days in this great city with so much to accomplish. I was thinking I would take Bekah to the Tower Bridge on Thursday eve., as it is a beautiful sight at night. However, Carmen and Val were planning to attend a Christian/Muslim debate regarding "Who is Jesus?" ---Bekah was very interested in this, and chose the debate over a "night on the town"! She was engaged, taking notes, and formulating her own "comebacks" as we witnessed this great event. We turned in for the night at about 1 am.
We did think of the rest of our team in India often each day, praying that they were enjoying the final leg of their journey together. It was neat to see Bekah sharing pics of our Thai and India adventures with members of the London team. I could see the "thread" of love, relationship, and passion flowing and the receptivity of our "Londoners" to hear these wonderful stories of others, with whom they share a broader vision and passion.
What a perspective we were able to gain, engaging in these 3 very different locations in a matter of 3 weeks! I am in awe of God's wonderful design of humanity, culture, nature, and love. Each location was very different, yet, we quickly found ourselves emmersed in fantastic cultures, customs, and personalities. It has been a privelege to connect with you as we've traveled and engaged at this awesome locations. I pray that there will be amazing eternal fruit in abundance in each of these strategic nations.
With thanks,
Chris
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