100 Dosas to Go

I cannot believe another week has come and gone, kind of like those moving sidewalks in the airports...my week carries me along and holy cow (esp. in India) it’s almost Friday again.  This is what I have been thinking about this week...  ham.  Or maybe the lack of it.  Not in my every day, but as I think about hosting Easter next week - boy would I love to serve up a bit of Honey Baked Hallelujah.  Pork products are pretty hard to find around here.  If you are curious about that, do a Google search on Hinduism and Pork and you’ll find all you need to know.  Anyway, I did splurge and bought some imported bacon from Malaysia last week (I bet you didn’t know that Malaysia was a hot spot when it comes to pork products), and it did the trick, but it didn’t hold a candle to the bacon my Uncle Spin produces in southern MN... So, I am thinking lamb for Easter instead.  

Jayson here. In our last blog we mentioned to you the story about Reha, one of the rescued girls who graduated from Freedom Firm’s aftercare home in Ooty. Reha has one of the tragic stories of a 12-year-old girl sold into the sex trade after running away from home. For years her parents searched, but being a very poor family from a remote village, they didn’t have the resources to find her. Last week one of our social workers brought her home to visit her family - she had not communicated with them in any form for 10 years. They literally thought she was no longer alive! Amazingly, the day before Reha arrived back in her village, her mother had a dream that she had returned. So when Reha walked into her village, her mother knew she would be coming - which didn’t by any means hold back the waterfall of tears that the two exchanged the moment they saw one another. There was a remarkable party that began immediately when she arrived. 

Reha was not able to tell her family about what happened to her. For them to know would bring disgrace to the entire village. It’s a twisted and broken reality in the Indian culture. But the truly beautiful part of this story is how she was lost and now is found, not only in her family’s eyes but also in the eyes of God. 

I’m back.  Isn’t that a great story?  When my days are long and I am feeling a bit lonely for home, it’s great to come back to stories like this one - they revive me.  Other exciting news, Jayson and I are going on a date tomorrow!  I really thought when we moved here that we would have to wait until we’re back on visits to the States to go out on a date.  But we met a family from South Africa that have two older girls that can babysit for us.  So, Jayson and I are going to check out the 100 different kinds of Dosa’s (the outside looks like a really, really big Italian Cannoli, like as big as a tire) at Nahar’s Garden Restaurant.  I wonder how many of the 100 I will be able to try...  I’ll let you know.

A few last notes...  I was mistaken last week when I said it is Mango Season.  I asked for a mango smoothie last week when I was out and the waiter said that Mango’s were not in season. :0  (That’s what I looked liked when I found out.).  I thought of all of you and how I lied to you.  I am so sorry.  There is so much to learn.  The mangos are still good though...  Second, we had a great Freedom Firm get-together on Sunday.  Even in the midst of awkward conversation lulls, I was just so glad that everybody was together.  I made both Western and Indian food, or maybe I should say cuisine, it sounds better.  No, it was just food.  Anyway, I was kind of unexpectedly nervous about the whole deal... but people smiled while they were here, nobody got sick and when I saw everybody throughout the week, they didn’t ignore me :)  Lastly, thank you for giving into my whining about the zero comments on the Obi’s food...  I appreciated all the feedback, even if I did have to ask for it.  

100 Dosas to go...