An old friend…

A couple of months ago, on the social networking site Facebook, I got one of the sweetest messages I have ever received.  It was from a friend of mine that I had not heard from in over 16 years.  David and I were best friends at St. John’s here in Bangalore.  After my 10th grade exams, I left for Chennai where I finished the last two years of high school, and headed to the USA for my studies.

David and I lost touch immediately.  He left for his home state in north-east India while I stepped into a new chapter of my life.   Leila will one day scoff when I talk to her about the era before cell phones and facebook and yet that is where we were.   We tried writing letters to each other but neither of us got a reply.   Soon…David my friend was becoming a painting hung in the deep recesses of my head, a painting that with time slowly began to fade softly.

So…  hello 21st century!  David, after almost two years of earnest searching found me on facebook.  We immediately got caught up and then I realized that I was going to be in India soon… and providentially, I was also going to be traveling (a trip of about 8 days)to the remote NE corner of India…David’s hometown!  I have never set foot in this state before but we have a distribution planned there.   This was a place that we have been meaning to get to for many years.   For some strange reason, I forgot that David would still be there!  Furthermore, to go to this part of India, you need a whole series of permits and authorizations from the authorities.   This can be complicated, and yet, this is exactly the kind of stuff that makes you realize that God ordains your steps before you.

My friend David is now with the police force.   And wouldn’t you know it?  His primary responsibility is handling restricted area permits.  As a result, all of us have our permits stamped and ready.  David is going to meet us tomorrow at the airport with his men.  In fact, he just informed me, that all the authorities at the airport have been informed of our arrival and are eagerly awaiting us!

So, tonight, after some sleep, we will board a flight in the wee hours of the morning that will wing us to a part of India that is new to us all.  It will take us to the blue hills of Mizoram.   Sixteen years later, I am looking forward to connecting with my best friend.   I am looking forward to meeting his wife and kids.  I am looking forward to introducing him to Katy and Leila.   Isn’t life beautiful when God ordains your steps?!

5pm

The 5 o’clock hour has become one of my favorites in India.  The heat of the day begins to diminish, and the sun falls softer on the skin.  Folks are getting done with work, and the pace of the day changes.  Tea time comes around, and out come the stainless steel tumblers of sweet, spicy chai.  There might be biscuits (cookies,) or samosas, or some other tasty delight.  We often gather on the patio outside JP’s home where we’ll play with the dog, munch on a snack, and pause between the work-day and whatever the evening may bring.

Leila gets a pat on the head from Big Tata

Lounging with Dad

This is also the time of day when I (along with any sundry compilation of others) take Leila out for a stroller ride.  It is one of her favorite times of day as well.  She leans back, and soaks it all in.   You never know what you’ll see when you’re out for a walk here.  Most certainly, it is never the same, and it is never dull.

On one of our recent walks, we ventured down to the end of Osborne Road where there is a little old man who sells Tender Coconuts.  For 12 rupees, he’ll whack the top off of your coconut, and you can drink the coconut water inside.  Very refreshing.  (And you’ll notice how his sign also advertises the fact that it is good for your health!)  If you prefer, you can also get a coconut that is more mature, and it will have less water and more tender coconut “meat” inside, which you can scoop out with part of the shell.  I most enjoy the coconut water, myself.

This guy has been sitting here doing good business for 32 years!

Good for my Healthy!

On Tuesday we went on a day trip to nearby Mysore, and atop our visit to Chamundi Hill, we found more Tender Coconuts for sale.  They were also good for our health!

That superstar drinking from a coconut is JP.

Leila drank her fair share too!

Hopefully a few pictures of the sun and the dreamy tender coconuts will be a balm for those of you in the chilly parts of the world!!  While we are not missing the cold, we are missing YOU!

The Flower Show

Since the very first time that I came to India, JP and his family have told me about the Flower Show at Lal Bagh.  Lal Bagh is a park that we usually visit several times during each of our visits.  The park’s plants and pathways are well-maintained, and it is relatively peaceful there, especially in the late afternoon.  Lal Bagh’s high point offers a nice cityscape view.  It also boasts of what we affectionately call “THE TREE,” which for many years we would climb and take photos while perched on the roots–until they fenced it off last year, which was really the only right decision considering the visible damage to the tree (from many climbers, not just us!).  Best of all, at Lal Bagh we can generally find a group of at least 20 monkeys!  I’ve always enjoyed our trips to Lal Bagh, and yesterday we were finally able to attend January’s annual Flower Show.

JP likes to say that Indians love their flowers, and that is why you see so many Indian guests at Tulip Time in Holland. I believed him a little more after yesterday’s trip to Lal Bagh.  Even on a school day, the place was swarmed, but it was a worthwhile wait in line to see the flowers and beautiful arrangements.

Take a look at what you missed…

Posing in front of the posies

The Qutub Minar made from flowers (tourist attraction in Delhi)

prettiness, up close

Amazing Orchids 1

Amazing Orchids 2

Elephants in the Flowers

While the Indian population certainly went to view the flowers, many of them enjoyed viewing us foreigners as well.  Leila is, like last year, a big, big hit.  Oh, how they love her!  Flock to her!  Reach to pinch her cheeks– and that is where I usually step in!  She really dislikes those pinches, and I really dislike comforting my child for the umpteenth time due to her shock/rage/fear/etc.  Thankfully, most interest directed Leila’s way at the Flower Show seemed to be of the less painful, photographic type.  (You’ll see below that much interest was directed toward JP yesterday as well- much to his enjoyment- due to his amazing parenting skills.)

Old Man patiently waiting to capture a smile...

Yup, he walked through the whole park that way!

Judith nestled all snug in her... backpack

In our strolling, we also managed to take in a decent amount of wildlife.  You just have to keep your eyes open…

Eyeing my juicebox

Do you see what I see?

Snack time in the sun

As we walked back to the car, there were all sorts of plant and seed vendors around, so I decided to treat myself to something I’ve always wanted… a Bonsai tree!  The cost is a bit more affordable here, and I really miss my plants when I’m in India.  Hopefully she’ll do well on our windowsill!

the newest addition to our apartment

Here!

It is currently 73 F here in Bangalore.  The sun is out, there is a light breeze blowing.  I love Januarys in India, especially if you had to leave the Michigan winters far far behind.   Now, there are some of you that love the seasons, especially winter.  I, unfortunately, am not one of them.  I like places where you can wear short-sleeve shirts all year round!  I don’t need it to be sweltering but I definitely do not mind my seasons going “brisk…warm.. warmer… and warmest.”

We arrived in Bangalore on the 10th of January.  It is hard to believe that it has been almost 10 days since we got here.   Leila did wonderfully well on the plane ride over.  Our concern was whether she would be able to sleep on the plane.  Leila is an amazing sleeper but she cannot sleep if she is not lying prone.   The little one adapted well and learned to sleep in our arms.  Which was a huge blessing to us on our long flights.   She was cheerful for the most part and barring the occasional hiccup, did well.   It still made for a long flight though.

I (JP) had to speak at a church the morning we arrived.  That went much better than I thought it would. I was afraid that I would be too exhausted to make any sense.  The adrenaline was enough to just get me past the morning service!   The first couple of days were a bit of a wash because we had to unpack and repack for our trip to Chennai.  We did get to see and play with Leila’s darling little cousin Judith.

We left for Chennai on Wednesday on the Shatabdi Express aka “The Fatty Express” (aptly named for the amount of food they feed you on it).

Chennai was a big blur of activity.  Leila had responsibilities as the flower girl, I had to emcee the reception, while Katy had to help with the rehearsals.   The wedding was spectacular, everything went really well, and I even got to emcee in two languages!  :)  Unfortunately for us, Leila caught a cold en route.

The past couple of days have been mostly days for us to recoup.  We are making ourselves at home here in Bangalore.  Katy has done, by my count, 100 million loads of laundry.  Leila has begun to feel better although we hope her appetite returns soon.   Here are a few photos from our time here so far!

The always endearing big Tata

Quite possibly the cutest sight so far!

Trying on her new favorite dress

Practicing!

Here comes the bride

The poor exhausted baby had to nap in the back of the wedding hall

Emceeing the reception

Tamil

Hello friends!

It has been a busy few weeks.   Our family had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving and as Christmas comes upon us, we find ourselves in the familiar realm of travel prep.  We negotiated a blizzard last week here in Holland… all the while, thinking about the tropical temperatures of balmy India.  We have to shop for flip flops and summer clothes for Leila while simultaneously thinking about snow pants and shoveling.  Crazy life we lead!

Leila has begun to get more adventurous in her walking.   Each day we discover her new skills and each day we discover potential dangers that our house and furniture pose!  We are also excited to see Leila slowly losing her “stranger-anxiety” which has plagued her for a while now.   We are quite happy to see her growing out of it.  She is back to giggling often and waving at people.   She also enjoys head-butting dad and offering kisses when she feels inclined.  This is a fun stage!

Katy and I sincerely hope that Leila will speak two languages at least.

We have (well…I have), when the moment has inspired me, tried speaking to Leila in Tamil, which is my heart language.   It has been quite a challenge to have a one-way conversation with a 13 month old.  It is a discipline that is hard to keep when you are the only one who speaks the language at home.   I must say that while I have succumbed to the English trap more often than I’d like to admit, I have had help come from some fun quarters.

Leila does not watch TV but the only exception we make is to watch a DVD of Tamil nursery rhymes that was given to her by her Indian Tata and Ava.  Thanks to the DVD, even Katy has picked up a couple of words!

The other tool that we have employed is the Tamil alphabet.   Last summer, we brought back from India a set of Tamil vowels and some consonants.   Leila LOVES these letters!

Here is hoping that as the little one grows, she grows with a love for languages!

A Walker!

Here is a short clip of Leila demonstrating to the world her latest accomplishment!   Enjoy!

A Gift of Providence…

Katy talked about, in her prior entry, our travel season.  We are back in Holland now, enjoying our time at home before we begin our next travel adventure.  I want to do a little back-tracking to tell  you about a gift that was given to us in the middle of a scary moment, a gift of providence.

One of our trips a few weeks ago involved a week of speaking in NW Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.  Our concern was to get there without harassing Leila’s sleep patterns too much.   We got a great suggestion from our sister-in-law Heather.   She wondered why we just did not drive through the night.  Brilliant!   So we prepared accordingly.   We loaded up our little car on Friday evening, changed Leila into her PJs, put her in her car seat, and set the course on our Garmin for Orange City, IA (15 hours away).   Leila fell asleep before we left Holland, MI and woke up in Orange City, Iowa.   It was genius.   Of course, Katy and I had to take turns napping during the day because we did not sleep a wink as we drove through the night!  It still was worth it.   We made good time, and Leila was in a good mood.

After about 10 days of speaking engagements and various meetings, we found ourselves in the little town of Platte, South Dakota.   After the morning service, one of the elders, BJ invited us to join his wife and him for lunch at a local diner.  Katy and I almost NEVER refuse eating at local diners; we certainly weren’t going to skip out here.   After lunch, our friend while saying good-bye told us that if we ever needed anything, especially a new set of wheels (he owns a car-dealership), to let them know because they would be happy to help us out.   Katy and I enjoyed our lunch and began our drive out to our next and last speaking destination in South Dakota.   As we drove, we talked about how kind the offer was and if we did need a new car.   After some deliberation, we both agreed that while a bigger car might be nice, we just couldn’t afford it.

After our last day in Orange City, we packed up our car and began our trek to Holland.  The drive was hard but definitely worth it because of the peaceful, drowsy baby in the car seat.   Katy drove first.   A little before the halfway point, we switched up, and I drove the rest of the way.   The drive was very non-eventful, at least it was ALMOST non-eventful.   After about 12 hours of driving, our GPS showed us 4 miles from home.

That’s when it happened.  I shone the brights on just in time to see a glimmer reflecting back to me.   Katy and I were both awake and knew instantly what that was… a deer.   The deer tried to avoid us but there is very little one can do when traveling over 70mph.   The whole incident took maybe three seconds to unfold.   Katy and I remember every millisecond quite vividly.  Before we knew it, the deer plowed into the car.   It crushed our hood and skipped across shattering the wind-shield and caving it in.   Fortunately for us, the windshield held…just.   The hood popped up, the air bags deployed, and our horn got stuck (resulting in the disorienting blare that we heard when we finally came to a stop).  Everything was dark but Katy had the presence of mind to realize that we were in the middle of the highway. Our car had just enough life to pull us to the side of the road.  We dialed 911 and waited for our tow truck.

It goes without saying that this incident left us shaken quite a bit.  The initial thoughts that ran through my head as I tried to sleep later on was the many ways I could have avoided the deer.   Soon, those thoughts were replaced by thoughts that were far grimmer, thoughts about how much worse this could have easily been.   God protected us all.  We escaped without a scratch on our bodies.

Soon, we were forced to face the reality of life without a car.   Again, we were blessed by the generosity of friends who loaned us their car while we figured out what was next.   The first call I made with regard to a new car was, of course, to BJ in Platte, South Dakota.  BJ was kind and gracious and through his help, we found a new car, a car that we still find hard to believe is ours.   It is a car that looks sharp, is bigger, has fewer miles, and drives so much better than our old one ever did.  God is indeed good.

We are grateful for the safety that was afforded us.  We are grateful for the people who walked beside us as we dealt with the aftermath.   We are spoiled by God’s goodness.

One

ONE Year Old!

Leila turned One two Saturdays ago, on October 17.  It has been one amazing and spectacular year!  Seen above in her classic ankles-crossed pose, our little princess has won the hearts of many friends and family all around the world.  However, she has won no other hearts more fiercely than her Mom and Dad’s.  Each little trial, and each little joy are time well earned and spent as we have watched Leila grow and mature throughout her first year of life.  How we love her…

We managed to create an international birthday party for Leila at my parent’s home in Holland, along with her Uncle Ben, Aunt Heather, and cousin Eleanor.  I say international because we had a lively video conference with her Indian relatives who were all staying at her Uncle James’ house for the weekend.  After singing Happy Birthday with them and eating lunch, we web-conferenced with Aunt Amy and Uncle Kyle in Seattle for a second round of Happy Birthday.  Quite the delight, and very special to have the technology available to celebrate in worldwide fashion!

Connecting with India

Happy Birthday, Bumblimas!

Make a Wish!

Amy & Kyle's bird's eye view of the cake tasting

Reading a new book with Daddy

Receiving a blessing from older cousin Eleanor

After Leila’s little-Big party, the three of us headed off to Wisconsin where JP spoke at one of our friend’s churches.  It was good to see Pastor Bill and his wife, Amy, settled into their new church after graduating from seminary in May.  We also got to spend time with other seminary friends, Terika and Nick.  It was nice to be able to catch up over a delicious meal and a game of “Ticket to Ride.”  Leila was proud to sit at the table with the adults and share her thoughts on world matters.

Good food, Good friends

We have not been posting very often because we’ve been in the thick of travel and speaking season.  JP just arrived back from a trip out to San Francisco yesterday, and that will be the last of the out-of-town travel (we think!) until we head back to India in January.  We feel that the September and October travel was necessary, and rewarding, and blest, but it sure feels good to be home together for a couple of months.  Through all of it, Leila has been a trooper, adjusting and adapting to the new places and the new people with amazing flexibility.  We could sense the change in her, however, after we came home from Wisconsin and she recognized that she was home to stay.  She seems to sleep and eat better, and her little monkey-smile comes out more regularly.

In honor of Leila’s Birthday, we’ve complied this pictorial growth chart for you to enjoy!!

One Year (holland)

11 Months (holland)

10 Months (holland)

9 Months (holland)

8 Months (holland)

7 Months (india)

6 Months (india)

5 Months (holland)

4 Months (seattle)

3 Months (holland)

2 Months (holland)

1 Month (holland)

1 Day (zeeland)

How great is our God!

Thank you for this gift of a daughter, our little Leila Ruth.

The Same but Different.

This year’s trip to Crane’s was just a bit different from last year’s trip.  :)

It was fun to go poking through the apple orchard with three people who had never been picking before.  Dan and Teresa, and Leila, along with JP and I, all had a marvelous time.  The temperature was mild and there was just a slight cloud cover, which made for good picking.  After we took advantage of the sliver-sized samples at the barn, we rumbled off toward the Honeycrisps, our apple of choice this Saturday.  Leila was perched happily in Dad’s backpack, and was more than delighted to receive her own little apple from Teresa Auntie.

Leila held on carefully to her apple for the rest of the picking expedition, which may have been the cutest part of the whole day.  Oddly, she never tried to eat her little apple, but immediately took a chomp out of my prize Cortland.  As you saw at the top, Leila enjoyed grazing on the apples as much as we did.

a Tiny apple for a Tiny hand

The Picking (and eating) Crew!

We probably all came home we several pounds too many apples, but we’re choosing to live into the adage, An apple a day keeps the doctor away, as we head into a big trip  to Iowa at the end of the week.  We’ll pack a sack of apples in the car to keep any sickness at bay, especially since Leila has just recovered from her first ear infection, and JP and I are getting over our first (and hopefully only!!) colds for the season.  Good thing we like apples.  (And what about apple pie, does anyone know if that counts too?)

My pookie pie

Last year this time…

JP, Katy (and Leila)!

Weekend Crazy-ness

Life can be sometimes so very hectic.   Jobs can become demanding, school work may pile up, while your social obligations spiral out of control.   To grant respite from that syndrome, we celebrate Labor Day.  A day in which we stop working so we can spend time doing other, more pleasurable things that will re-charge your batteries and celebrate the lives we lead.   It was exactly that sort of weekend for us.   Fortunately for Katy and me, life doesn’t change too much.  We constantly live into this chaos and love it (most of the time).  This weekend was no exception.

On Friday night, Katy and I went out on a date.   It was a double-date with our friends Dan and Teresa.   We got Leila a babysitter (the lovely aunt Betsy) and we drove out to Grand Rapids to have dinner at this new restaurant called, “The Electric Cheetah.”  As strange as that name might sound, it was one of the best restaurants we had been to in quite some time.  The food was delicious, the atmosphere…well… electric, but most of all, it was good to just head out and celebrate the weekend with people we love.   Leila did well that night!:)

Saturday opened up quietly.   Beula and her friend Becca stopped by to say hi and meet Leila.   Beula is getting married in January and has requested that Leila be her flower girl (even if she can’t walk by then!).   I (JP) will also be involved in the wedding as the emcee.   It was good to see the bride and her flower girl getting to know each other.  They got along splendidly.   Later that afternoon, Katy and I were joined by our dear friends Chris and Lindsay Zeller.  Our destination this time was the zoo!   This was Leila’s first excursion into the zoo.   She has lately preferred to ride on daddy’s backpack (versus the stroller) as she can get an unobstructed 360 degree view of everything.  And for those of you who have gotten to know Leila, you know that she is VERY curious about EVERYTHING!

Sunday came along.   We were still not ready to breathe normally.  We took Leila to the nursery in church.  Handed her over to the lovely people at the nursery, slapped on a name tag on Leila, picked up our pager and made our way to the sanctuary.  We were able to sit through the whole service for the first time since October of 2008, without a baby that was ornery!   I must admit, Katy and I kept looking at each other and wondering when that pager would go off!  It did not.  Jayme Aalberts took wonderful care of Leila that morning.   In the afternoon, we headed back up to Grand Rapids to have a barbeque with our dear friend Lori.   The food was spectacular.  Katy and Lori can cook up a storm together.   I benefited greatly from that partnership.

Monday…yeah… we are not done yet.   Monday, the Wings had a family get-together at a park here in Holland.  The menu was chicken, both grilled and fried, from KFC!  Leila’s cousin Eleanor was there to join in the festivities with her parents.   We had, again, GREAT food, relaxing walks, and just good ol’ fashioned family time which was good for the heart.   Monday night, my friend Miki joined us for a couple of days.  Miki and I went to college together over 10 years ago.  She is from Japan but currently just finished up some grad work at the University of Washington.  Before heading back to Osaka, she decided to make a quick jaunt over to the mid-west to meet up with us.  It was truly special to have her with us.  I enjoy introducing Katy (and Leila) to people in my life who were such an integral part of my college experience.  Miki was an important section of that chapter.

Miki left this morning.   We have a “quiet” week to negotiate now.  Sunday begins the first of many Sundays when I will be speaking in places all over the U.S.  It was truly the perfect way for us to celebrate with friends and family.  We trust that regardless of where you are, you have weekends like that (even if it is not that busy or full).   Here are a sampling of pictures… enjoy!

Lori Aunty and Leila

Space Monkey?

The Other Monkeys

Beula and Becca with Leila

Katy and Leila

My beautiful women

Learning to walk with Ava

The Gang