We Are In India!!!
I am writing this blog post from our hotel room in Bangalore, India!!! We wanted to update you all on how travel went.
Prior to boarding our flight to Delhi, we decided to get one last good meal before our only option was airplane food! However, our terminal did not provide us with a great amount of options, so Burger King it was. After about 30 minutes, we got our Burger King and went to the gate area for our flight. Ready to board!
Our airplane.
We found our seats, Denae by the window and I was in the middle... ready for our 14 1/2 hour flight. We had a Indiana University Masters Degree student sit next to us and it was great talking to him for the first portion of our flight. After about 4 hours of flight time, a stewardess asked us if we would like to move to the exit row for more room. I didn't even bother to hesitate in my answer, "YES!" I replied, due to the lack of leg room where we were at! That was SUCH a blessing!
Our flight path!
We watched about 4 1/2 movies on our flight, read a little of our books and took a few 20-30 minute snoozes here and there. Landing in Delhi was a HUGE relief. We had about a four hour layover until our flight to Bangalore.
The emptiness of the Delhi Airport spoke volumes to the reality of impact of the COVID virus here
YES! Dominos! Not quite like American Dominos, but it actually was very delicious!
As we waited for our flight to Bangalore, we ate some Dominos pizza and then found our gate. As I was waiting for Denae to use the restroom, I struck up conversation with a man running around with what appeared to be a two year old girl. I said to him, "She looks happy running around!" And he responded with: "She is actually a he, but yes, he is!" Whoops!
However, he proceeded to tell me that his little boy needed to run around because his flight from Chicago was very long for him to sit still the entire time. I quickly replied that I was on that same flight! We then made the connections--this man and his family were born in India, now living in Novi, Michigan! How cool is that?
He was bringing his family back to India because they wanted to see his wife's dad who was unexpectedly very ill. He grew up in Bangalore and was flying back there. We were able to share with him the nature of our trip and so forth. Such a blessed conversation.
We were also asking him about the taxi service from the Bangalore airport to our hotel, which we discovered was about a 55 minute drive. This man said that he would handle it all for us. So, he set up a taxi for us! Another wonderful blessing!
Our flight to Bangalore was again uneventful. Even though it was 3 hours and 45 minutes, it felt like it went forever! But it was beautiful to watch the sunset just before we landed!
We landed in Bangalore, got our bags and made it through customs just fine!
After making it through customs, we then followed our fellow Indian Michigander, who made sure we got into our taxi and communicated in Hindi to our taxi driver where we needed to go. We thanked him for all his help and gave him our blessings as he dealt with his sick father-in-law. We then had about an hour taxi ride to our hotel.
Indian driving is very different from driving in Michigan! Since it was dark outside, it was hard to see many things, but here are a few highlights from our taxi cab trip from the airport to hotel: 7 random dogs on the side of the road, huge rain puddles driving through, drivers honk for anything and everything--move out of the way! Cars, vans, mopeds, and tuk-tuks are the dominate mode of transportation. Very few traffic lights. People, people, people are EVERYWHERE. So many people. Blinkers are not a requirement for turning, merging or notifying people you are doing something. There was a stark contrast between the poverty we saw (tarps for houses) and the wealth in some areas (high rises and shopping malls).
We were warmly welcomed and greeted at our hotel. We checked into our room, took a shower and crashed.
This morning (Monday), I woke up around 6:00 AM ready for the day. Denae, not so much. However, we got ready, did some laundry in our sink, hung it up and then made our way down to breakfast. I was thoroughly impressed with the breakfast spread. I was quite nervous about what I was going to eat while in India, but this breakfast was amazing. We had a nice man explain to us what certain things were and how spicy things were. He even made us eggs and pancakes! Here is our breakfast meals!
The outside of our hotel.
Laundry hung up!
We got back to our room, did some devotions together based off Psalm 125, prayed together and then I began typing this while Denae rested.
Psalm 125 reminded us of a marvelous truth--vs 1-2 says:
"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forevermore."
Throughout this adoption process, we have been trusting in the LORD for His provision, timing and guidance. Has it been perfect trust? No. We have been frustrated and questioned His provision and timing. Yet, we have been reminded time and time again that the LORD does indeed surround His people. He provides in the most perfect ways. His timing is always perfect. And He is always working, even when we can't feel it or see it.
Today is a much needed day of rest for us. We are looking forward to meeting another American couple who is traveling to Bangalore today and is staying at the same hotel as us.
We want to thank all of you who have prayed for us. We cannot say thank you enough. Your words of encouragement through email, Facebook or text messaging have been greatly uplifting and such a blessing! Your words remind me of Proverbs 16:24 which says: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." Your words are encouraging. Your prayers are very much needed and appreciated!
I want to ask you to pray for us at the passport appointment Tuesday at 10:00 AM (12:30AM Michigan time). This is the next big appointment for us. In fact, I would say that our entire trip rests on this appointment. Please pray that Keerti's passport would be issued tomorrow. Pray for the official who will look over our appointment--that he or she would issue the passport. Pray for patience for Denae and I as we wait. Pray for our guides (Alex and Dolly) to be given wisdom.
Thank you all for praying!
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