A sweet "adieu" I bid to you

This is me on my birthday. I'm wearing the most traditional Mizo puan,
called a puanchei. This is the principal of AICS (Mom). We are at
the restaurant I wrote about in my previous post. Goodbye Mizoram!

I came to Mizoram expecting to grow and to learn, but I didn't expect how difficult it would be! I knew that growing meant I would be stretched, but I didn't really think about what that would look like. Looking back, I have grown and learned much more than I ever anticipated. Yes, that came with struggles and tears and frustrations and confusion, but I've come out on the other side, and I am a little wiser and a little more knowledgeable than before. :) I will be leaving Mizoram tomorrow afternoon (provided the weather is clear). I'm sure I will cry. Being here has definitely had its tough moments, but I have found church family here. The AICS community accepted me with open arms. I have laughed, cried, broken bread, worshiped, taught, and learned with these people. I have made friendships and acquaintances that will last far beyond the next 24 hours. What an experience. I thank God for blessing me with this opportunity. It has certainly brought me closer to him, but it has also taught me a lot about other people and about myself, not to mention providing me with ministry experience that will help define my future endeavors. Wow.

Before I left France, I made a list of things I will miss and things I won't miss about my three months abroad. I am going to do the same, although my "things I won't miss list" will not be exhaustive as to not offend anyone here. :)

Things I will miss:
- Fresh tropical fruit (lychee, mango, and pineapple)
- Fresh corn (picked the day prior to eating)
- Fresh meat and vegetables (no storage facilities or growth hormones here!)
- The Mizo people I've met (especially Jenny)
- The beautiful, hilly, lush green landscape
- Singspiration and the passion of the AICS community
- Bamboo shoot!
- My students
- Tea all the time (one good thing brought by the British heehee)
- The crazy awesome rain and thunder storms
- The jungle noises that make up the background to daily life
- Delicious meals for $1
- The tropical flowers (I've never been to Hawaii, but the flowers must be similar)

Things I won't miss:
- The slow internet connection and the choppy phone calls
- The diesel smell in the city and black fumes coming out of vehicles (SMOG testing is unheard of haha)
- Rising early for 7am chapel every morning
- Ants in my tea and bugs in my food (lol)
- Bucket showering
- Instant coffee (pretty much no one has drip coffee in India)
- My bags/things getting mildewy (monsoon season + humidity = mildew :/ )
- The mosquitoes! (and all other ridiculously large bugs)
- Scary landslides that kill people
- Having the occasional upset stomach
- Not knowing what anyone is saying half of the time
- Frequent power outages
- Rice (haha)

That's all I came up with. I'm sure there are a ton of other things I could add, but I still need to pack and I have one more class period left. Thank you all for following me during my adventure. It was encouraging to know that people cared about me and were praying for me and thinking about me over these past few months. And so, the season changes...

Thunderstorms and Birthday Fun

Hi all. The internet was down for the first half of the week, and I've been super busy. I have pictures, but no time to resize them and get them up. I apologize. But here's a recap of what I've been up to...

On Saturday, I went to Reiek, a hill about an hour's drive from here. The goal was to drive close to the top and then hike to the very top in order to get a wonderful view. we drove to the top without a problem, but during the hike, when we were almost to the top, a HUGE thunderstorm hit. I mean, water was dumping from the skies, lightning, thunder, the works. It was great! But it meant that we couldn't see anything from the top. haha. Oh, and we only had one small umbrella for four people. I saved the camera, but by the end of the hike I was drenched. We took shelter in a huge cave/overhang, and I witnessed a landslide down a waterfall. Let's just say I had an amazing adventure and a ton of fun. :)

This week was full of preparing to finish up my classes. I made and gave tests to both of my classes. I'm almost done with the grades for my larger class, but have yet to grade the missionaries' tests. Like I said, I've been pretty busy.

Today is my birthday! On Wednesday, I went into the city to buy some things I wanted before I leave. One of the things I bought was a puanchei (google image search and you'll find some examples), which is the most traditional Mizo puan. I wore it today. It's only worn on very special occasions (weddings, nice parties, etc.), but I had to wear it at least once before I leave! I passed out candy after chapel to the AICS community, because I was told that this is what students usually do for their birthdays. This afternoon, I made a chocolate cake (thanks, Betty Crocker. lol), and John (Mom and Dad's son) made chocolate frosting to go on it. We haven't cut it yet, but we will soon. Oh and of course I bought 22 birthday candles to go on top. :) This evening, Mom, Dad, John, and I went into the city for dinner. They took me to the nicest restaurant in Mizoram, the restaurant at the Regency Hotel. It was sooo delicious and a very special memory that I will never forget.

I leave on Wednesday. I'll be spending Wednesday night in Kolkata at the Baptist Guest House. I fly out of Kolkata on Thursday night to Dubai, where I have an 8 hour layover. From there, it's straight home to San Francisco! I haven't even thought about packing yet. I'm more concerned about finishing up paperwork for Princeton and completing my grades first. I'll try to write once more before I leave. I love and miss you all and I'll be home soon!

For What it's Worth: A story in photos

I haven't updated my blog for a week and a half, since I've been busy and
since I took a trip outside of Aizawl. So I decided that instead of boring
you with too many words, I will tell my tale with pictures. Last Sunday,
the staff presented a song and Jenny and I joined them. :) Mom is
standing next to me (the principal of AICS).

On Monday, I preached the chapel message. The theme for the week was
"Resources for Spiritual Growth," so I spoke on humility being the first "aid"
for spiritual growth. We must first recognize our inability to grow without God.

On Wednesday, we hit the road! Dad had some meetings at the baptist
headquarters in Lunglei, which is a district south of Aizawl. I would
recommend google mapping Mizoram in another tab to follow along.
The road pretty much looked like this the entire way. Lots of twists and
turns (miraculously I only got slightly carsick haha), and lots of greenery.

Since Mizoram is so hilly and since it's monsoon season,
it came as no surprise that there were waterfalls everywhere
along the road. They were all so beautiful! I kept thinking
to myself, "Now I know where they get those pictures
for computer wallpapers." haha.

This is Vantawng (meaning "almost touching the heavens"). It is the largest
waterfall in Mizoram. It was a hot day, so I was a little disappointed that
we were too far away to feel the mist, but it was still well worth the slight
detour to see this beautiful waterfall.

On Thursday morning, I went to Hatim College, a baptist college in
Lunglei, where I spoke at their morning devotions. They showed me
around the school, and I was impressed at how nice everything was.
It makes sense, though, since the school is only a few years old.

Later on Thursday, Jenny and I went to the baptist orphanage. Most of
these children are motherless. In Mizo culture, many families feel unable
to take care of a young child when the mother is gone. Most of the families
of these children will take them home again once they are older.
Jenny suggested that we give them candy, so I bought some lollipops
for them. I tried to get them to say "please" first, but they were too excited. lol.

Don't tell anyone that I gave her some haha. ;) She loved it, of course.
Don't worry, I didn't let her eat the whole thing. My mom and sister
are probably wondering where the shirt I'm wearing came from. While
in Lunglei, I had the opportunity to meet Jenny's family (there's a picture
with them later on). Jenny's mom made that shirt and gave it to me.
That is one of the best memories of my trip so far. What a special
gift, something I will treasure forever. :)

After going to the orphanage, Jenny and I went to the baptist hospital.
I just had to take a picture with the nurses because they were too
adorable in their outfits. :)

These to men are highly revered in Mizoram. They were the first
baptist missionaries. They settled on the hill at Lunglei, where the
baptist headquarters are now located. I have so much respect for
these men. I've had a hard enough time being here in the 21st century.
I can't begin to imagine what troubles they had coming in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. Tribal, head-hunting Mizos and a few missionaries,
trying to follow God's call literally to the ends of the earth.
And look how fruitful their ministry became. :)

A roadside snack of fire-roasted corn. YUM!

If you're wondering what the rest stops looked like... haha

The trip to Lunglei was about seven hours, which we did on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, we stayed at the Baptist Guest house. On Thursday
afternoon, we traveled three hours further south to Lawngtlai, where Dad's
sister lives. This is Chhimtuipui, the longest river in Mizoram. It begins
and ends in Burma, but flows through a lot of the state. Right now
I am standing in between the Lawngtlai and the Saiha district.

We went to the other side of the river for tea. Jenny pointed at that the
people aren't Mizo. Many non-Mizos live in Mizoram, such as the Bru
tribe and the Chakma tribe. The people in this district have noticeably
broader chins and speak a different dialect.

This is a tribal dish. The vegetable is called baibing. It has a very
unique and powerful flavor. I wouldn't eat it every day, but it
wasn't disgusting. I'm glad that I tried it. :)

This is Dad (on the far left) and his family. His sister, whose house
we stayed at, is standing in between me and the girl with the dog.

There were a ton of baby chicks at Jenny's house! On the way back to
Aizawl on Saturday, we stopped at Jenny's house again in Lunglei
for breakfast. I couldn't help myself, but I'm made sure not to tell
them that they would be eaten once they got older haha.

Jenny's parents on standing on either side of me. The girl on the far
right is one of Jenny's sisters.

Landslides are part of Mizo life, particularly in monsoon season.
Fortunately for us, this one was being cleared away right as we pulled up.

And this one is covering about half of the road. We drove for ten hours on
Saturday, all the way from Lawngtlai to Aizawl. I was exhausted by the end,
but I'm back and would probably say that this mini trip was the
highlight of my time here, especially meeting Jenny's parents and
other family members (such as her great uncle who was so happy to see me).

Teddy Bears and Money

Jenny and I had an interesting discussion a couple of days ago that really made me think. For some reason, we started talking about having stuffed animals when we were younger. Jenny shared some about her home life that was interesting, but I won't go into to much detail. What caught my attention was when she started talking about a doll that she wanted in a store. She said that when she was a child, she would pass the store and daydream about having the doll. Unfortunately, it was too much money, and a doll is a frivolous thing to buy.

She explained that when she was young, she used to love WaiWai (the instant noodles that are delicious that made me sick earlier). But WaiWai was 10 rupees, which back then was probably around .30 or .40 cents. Her parents couldn't afford it, let alone buy her a doll. When she shared that, I instinctively tried to relate to her story by saying that my parents didn't have much money when I was a baby. I shared about how they were young and both had school to pay for, but I didn't go on. The more I talked, the more I understood that our situations were completely different. I only have my story and knowledge to use to try to understand Jenny's story, but it isn't enough. My world in America is a million times different from Jenny's here. Her family's poverty when she was a child can't begin to come close to mine.

Yet we are alike in so many ways. After she told me that story and I shared about my family, she told me that when she was old enough to have some money of her own, she bought several stuffed animals. I shared my young love of stuffed animals. We reminisced about piling them all on our beds, millions of miles away from each other. We lived in different worlds and had completely different levels of understanding about not having much money. But we were both teddy bear lovers as children. We both wanted things that we were not able to have. We were both loved by our parents who did their best to provide for us. I could go on. 


The world is a complicated place. I feel like I shouldn't compare myself to Jenny, but I have to. It's all I have. But by comparing my situation, the reality of hers becomes even more apparent, and perhaps it works the same for Jenny. And after that, here we both are, together, as sisters in Christ, teaching languages to missionary students at AICS. Our unlike pasts become our alike present. But even in our unlike pasts, we were still sisters in Christ, though we didn't know it. I'm so grateful for our church family all over the world.


I'm preaching this morning, so I need to get ready. I don't have any pictures from the past few days, because I haven't done anything out of the ordinary, but more adventures are coming next week. I'll fill you in soon. :)

Living by Faith

Girls from the orphanage sifting through the
rice to find rocks or dirt.

On Saturday I went with three final year students to the Thutak Nunpuitu Team (Practical Example of the Truth Team). TNT was founded in 1988, and moved to Aizawl in 1991. It serves as a home for orphans, drug abusers, alcoholics, sex workers, and the mentally ill. People come from all over North East India, as well as from neighboring countries, and TNT welcomes them with open arms. Currently, 1,041 people live at TNT, only 68 of which are workers.

Kids from the orphanage. Just me
being there seemed to make everyone's day.

I was impressed by the facilities, and was touched after seeing the children and adults who were living there. Most striking about this ministry, however, is that the workers live completely on faith. The organization receives no consistent financial backing from the government, but relies solely on donations. Because of this, there have been times when they literally did not have rice to feed everyone. They would boil water and pray for God to provide for their needs. When they arrived at the facility in 1991, the hill did not have a water supply. They prayed and miraculously water appeared in the grounds. We become so comfortable in our lives that we don’t leave room for God to work. These people have been in utter need, and God has provided for them. Wow.

So sweet.

This is in the section for the mentally ill. This lady was
so happy to see me. She grabbed my hand and showed
me around the whole place.

After going to TNT, we drove to a scenic spot on the
top of a nearby hill. Behind me is part of Aizawl.

Naga food, Naga style. :)

In the evening, I went to one of the student’s family’s house, where we had a bite to eat. But the real meal was served at the principal’s house. One of the professors, Senti, is from Nagaland. He prepared a special Naga meal for Jenny and I (since neither of us had ever had Naga food before), which we ate on bamboo leaves! So much fun!

They aren't sleeping this time! haha. ;)

On Sunday evening I preached again. This service went much better than last week. My supervisor, Pu Zolawma translated. (“Pu” is the title given to a respected male elder, “Pi” is given to a woman). The people were very attentive and kind, and I enjoyed meeting them all after the service. The week before, I preached at Luangmual. This Sunday I preached at Ramhlun South. Next week I’ll be preaching at a small church on Sunday morning. So many sermons, so little time! (Except I’ve been using the same sermon every time haha).

I’ve been busy editing student’s sermons for chapel, grading papers, and having class. When I’m not working on those things, I’m reading Lord of the Rings or watching TV (usually The Mentalist). I think these last few weeks will be especially busy. I’m definitely over the culture shock hump, and now I’m trying to make the most of the time I have left. I want to do so much, but my stamina only lets me do a little bit every day. Why does traveling have to be so exhausting?

PS Pray for Jenny’s aunt and uncle who lost their 3 month old baby this morning. The baby had health problems since birth, and last night things took a turn for the worst. Jenny is in Aizawl tonight grieving with her family over the loss of her cousin. Keep them all in your prayers. Thanks.

Church, School, and Crazy Cults

Jenny and I eating baby mangoes at the
principal's house in the city

On Friday I went to the seminar on the problem of rape in Mizoram. Unfortunately, the entire seminar was in Mizo, but I brought along the kindle, so I just read The Lord of the Rings for three hours straight. haha. I didn't stay for the whole thing. Jenny and I ducked out during tea and went shopping for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't planning on going back out on Saturday, since I had spent all day Friday in the city, but Mom, Jenny, and Rengpuii wanted me to join them on a little outing. Apparently the principal has a house near the city. The house they're living in now belongs to AICS, which makes sense. In about a year from now, she will be retiring and moving to the other house, so she wanted to plant a couple of trees now. The Baptist Church of Mizoram has a forced retirement age of 62, which is why she'll be leaving AICS. Anyways, we went to her other house in order to plant a couple of trees. It was a fun outing, and I was able to see a new part of the Aizawl area.

Preaching on Sunday at a local church

I preached at a local church on Sunday morning. A few days earlier I had given the pastor a copy of my manuscript so that he would be able to look it over in order to translate it. I didn't know what to expect when I got there, and I arrived when the singing had already begun. Being late wasn't my fault, I promise. When I got up on the stage, the pastor told me to present my entire sermon, and then he would give the translation. I saw that he had my entire sermon typed up in Mizo. This wasn't what I expected, but it worked well. After the sermon, I asked two AICS students who had attended if his translation was good. They said that it was almost word for word, which is encouraging. After church, I had tea with the pastor at his house. He said that I will be a great preacher someday and that my sermon was very applicable for the Mizo context. :) Then we had tea again at a church elder's house. After another service in the afternoon and Singspiration at night, I was exhausted!

The daughter of the church elder where we had
tea on Sunday. Isn't she too cute?!

Nothing new has happened in terms of my classes this week. Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a devotion at a local elementary/junior high school. I spoke very briefly on fear and Paul and Silas. It was a simple message, but I could tell that they were all paying attention and enjoying it. This morning (Thursday) I preached at chapel. The theme I was given was "Stir us up, oh Lord!" from a gender perspective. I felt really good about it, and it's always encouraging when students and professors come up after to thank you. As you can see, I've been busy every day, and I have many more busy days to come. 

I meet with my supervisor every week, and this week I asked him about a building called "Solomon's Temple." It's a large white church-like building on the top of a hill nearby. On Sunday we drove past it, and someone mentioned a few things about it and I was curious to learn more. Apparently, it's a cult led by a charismatic man. Initially, he simply wanted to break away from the Presbyterian and Baptist churches, which were, according to him, becoming to worldly. Eventually, though, his "holiness" driven move grew into some crazy beliefs and ideas. Now he has a large following and a lot of wealthy members. Other cults have sprung up in Mizoram, including one which has given Mizoram a name in the Guinness Book of World Records. The largest family in the world (200+ people) is in Mizoram! My supervisor told me that they live close to Aizawl, and someone else told me that the father figure has about 34 wives (some of which he supposedly inherited from his father...ew). Thought y'all would be interested in that.

I've been getting homesick lately, but I'm over halfway there. And I wouldn't trade this for anything, even if it's hard... or maybe especially because it's hard. <3

I couldn't help but take a picture of this beautiful flower.
It may be humid here, but look at what grows!

I bought this cute rubber shoes for less than $4 (I got two other
pairs as well). Oh wait... what's that by my foot?

Here, Lara, this is for you. Looooooove youuuuuu. <3

A sap wearing a puan with an umby eating momo? You don’t see that every day.

Hello all. This entry was intended for last Thursday. I tried to post it, but the internet in the computer lab has been down for about a week. I'm using another source of the internet right now. I'll try to give another update soon, but who knows if I'll have the internet!

As of last Thursday:

Translation of title: A white person wearing a traditional Mizo skirt with an umbrella eating chicken dumplings?

Rengpuii and I on our way into the city.

Yesterday, I went into the city with Rengpuii (Mom and Dad’s maid/cook). I was craving some sweets, and I don’t have class on Wednesdays, so I thought it would be fun to get out. Plus, it was a holiday! Our first stop was a government office, where Rengpuii was going to get the principal’s family approved for food rations. I tried to understand how the rations work, but either I wasn’t paying close enough attention or the English explanation was a little off. Pretty much, the Indian government intended the rations to be for the extreme poor, but at least in Mizoram a ton of people use them. I think that it pretty much means that your family is allowed to buy a certain amount of food from the government stores, which is significantly cheaper than in private stores. Unfortunately, after waiting for almost an hour, Rengpui found out that she needed her I.D. in order to complete the process, which she had left at AICS.

From there we went to eat (it was after noon, so we were both very hungry). I had momo at the Millennium Center. That’s the mall-type place I went to a couple of weeks ago. Then we went to an ATM so that I could get money out. After a few other errands, we headed back. On the way there, we rode with Faka, who is one of AICS’ drivers. But he had gone back before we were done, so Rengpui and I took the city bus. Note to self: the city bus becomes very busy on weekday afternoons when school lets out.

Craziest bus ride ever. haha. It was like taking
the Paris metro during rush hour, but on a bumpy,
mountainous bus ride in India...

My sister told me that she’s planning on going to Disneyland in a few weeks. Well, Lara, I had an Indiana Jones ride like you wouldn’t believe. Haha. Imagine the Indiana Jones ride, but in the Indian rainforest… cliffs without railings, surrounded by jungle, rain pouring down, twists and turns, crazy bumps… Now picture all of that while standing in the back of an EXTREMELY crowded bus. You’re trying to hold on to the railings for dear life, because one turn and a misplaced hand could end up with you flying out of the back door of the bus, the back door that isn’t really a door, but more of an entryway because it’s wide open. It was so much fun!!! :D

In the bus, taking a fast photo during one of the
very short stops.

The day before the fourth, I started to set out my red, white, and blue outfit, but I realized that I didn’t really have anything red to wear. So I made it my goal on Tuesday to get a red puan to wear for the fourth. I asked some people who were going into the city to buy me one, but they ended up calling Jenny and Mom and asking them to pick one up for me while they were out. Mom bought one for me and wouldn’t let me pay her back. (They’re about $4, but still…). So I had an awesome outfit. Haha. And at the end of chapel, the principal had me come up and say a few words about the holiday and America. A handful of people wished me a happy Independence Day, and I plan on returning the favor on August 15 (Indian Independence Day).

I'm so ridiculously patriotic here haha.

I am preaching this Sunday morning and next Sunday night, and I’ll be doing another chapel on Thursday morning of next week. Not to mention a seminar I’m going to tomorrow on the issue of rape in Mizoram and another trip I’m taking next Saturday to I can’t remember where. In other words, I’ll be busy for the next week and a half! But I’ll be preaching the same sermon I preached before, only this time it will be translated into Mizo. I’m excited to see what working with a translator is like, since I’ve never really done that before. I think we had one once when I was in France, but it definitely wasn’t me being translated. This should be quite the adventure!

I’m getting to know the students better and better. Today I took tea in the cafeteria with the students for the first time. I have no idea why I never did it sooner. I have decided to do it every day from now on. The girls I sat with are some of my BD students. They’re very sweet. One of them is from Nagaland (a state north of here), so she doesn’t speak Mizo. All of the students are supposed to speak English all the time, but they always speak Mizo when they’re away from the principal (who fines them for not speaking English). But since this girl can’t speak Mizo, everyone is forced to speak English with her. In other words, they’re good people for me to hang out with because they speak English all the time and not Mizo. J I’m looking forward to getting to know them better over the next few weeks.

I miss you all, but more adventures await me here!