Day Four

Saturday:

Today was neat! I loved getting to see some of the city here. We went to the Mall of Mysore today. It was a lot larger than I was expecting. There were three levels of stores and then a level with a food court and movie theater. The majority of the stores were European based with one department store, just a few stores I recognized such as: Nike, Reebok and Lee, and then some stores that sold the traditional Indian attire. It is a little funny because I have no idea how these stores stay open. They are very expensive and few people were buying anything. I guess the mall is a popular place to hangout because it is air conditioned but the majority just come and walk around. 

After being at the mall we came back and took some naps (I am still really struggling to get over the jet lag) and then got ready to go to dinner at some friends house. Brad and Krystal had us over for some Lasagna, "butter-dip" breadsticks that Steph made and cheesecake! It was delicious! 

When we got back from dinner we immediately got ready for bed.. It was pretty warm all day so it was pretty draining and exhausting! I got the chance to Skype with David for a little bit which was such a relief. It was much needed to be able to see and hear him! 

Day Three

Friday:
Today Tony and Stephany both had meetings so I got to stay with the girls for just a little while. I am loving getting to be a part of their family here! The girls are a lot of fun and so sweet (most of the time)! It ended up being a pretty relaxing day. Bekah had a friend over for the majority of the day so it was a good day for catching up on sleep and trying to get over the jet lag... I mentioned in my last post that I got to go next door and meet the neighbors. Well Chunada, the girl my age next door, was expressing how she wanted to learn to bake, so Steph invited her to come over on Friday (today). She came over around 11am, but since Steph was at her meeting she came back around 6. It was a lot of fun to be able to sit and teach her how to bake with an american recipe and measurements. While we waited for the cake to bake we just got to sit and visit. I have been told that it is a really neat thing when Indians are comfortable to come to an American's home. The majority of the time we are the ones that go visit people, very rarely do people come to visit in our homes. I am really glad I have gotten to spend a little bit of time with her and really hope to spend more before I leave in June!

Day Two

So this week is going to be a slow week of recouping. It is great to be here, but man is jet lag hitting me hard! I woke up last night at 1am here (2:30pm back home) and then again at 7am (8:30pm) and couldn't go back to sleep. I got a great nap today though and that helped a lot!
Today began meeting some different people. I went and met the lady that works with Special Needs children today and I also got to meet some of the students. Right now school is out here so they are actually not in session of the school year until June 4th. So starting June 4th and through June 8th I will be going each day from 9:30-2:30 to help there. I think I am going to even have the possibility of being able to help teach in the classrooms. I know God has something great in store and I just cannot wait to see what that is going to be. In addition to that, in the weeks before then I am either going to get to work with a girl that is 16 and has been sex-trafficked, in teaching her some english, or I will get to lead a Bible Study once a week with a group of girls who have also been sex trafficked. I guess that is extremely prevalent here, which is so sad.
After the meetin today at the school, the "principal" invited us over to her house so we got to meet with her, her husband, and her two twin boys for a while. It was really neat to be able to meet in the house of some fellow believers. Such a sweet sweet family! I am really excited to work along side them my last week of being here.
Tonight I was also able to go meet the neighbors here. They are Hindi have twins also, a boy and a girl, who are nineteen and attending college. They are both going to Engineers. Education is highly pushed here. It actually begins at the age of 2... Oh my.. There is also a very high increase of suicide here during finals week. I absolutely cannot imagine! They were so sweet though. Tomorrow one of the girls wants to come over so she can learn how to bake a cake! That will be another exciting opportunity to meet and talk with her.
I cannot Believe I am over halfway through a week. Before I know it I will be back on a plane making my 24 hours journey home!

Miss you all! 

And the Journey Begins

Hello Friends!

I am officially in India and all settled in! I am so excited to be here and cannot wait to see what God is going to do! The plane rides all went smooth. I almost missed my flight in London, but I made it! Thank goodness. I got to sit by some of the sweetest people! I met a lady from Fort Smith (what a small world) and we even got to sit together! She has such a sweet story and I loved being able to meet and talk with her! I also got to sit next to this Indian man on my last flight and he was so polite and helpful! I just love the people so far. India reminds me so much of Nicaragua!

I arrived in Bangalore this morning around 5am and then had around a 4 hour drive. So I finally arrived around 9am. It feels so good to be out of a plane and to have showered. Traveling this far of a distance makes for a long few days. I was expecting to arrive in Bangalore on Tuesday morning, but little did I know I would really arrive here on Wednesday.. So my first week is already half over... I cannot believe it.

I am so thankful for all of ya'lls support and all that you have done to make this trip possible. I am loving the Wood's already! They are such a sweet family and I have loved getting to meet their daughters Sarah and Rebecca! I have been given my own room, closet and bathroom! What a blessing to have! I even got the privilege of using hot water!

I will update as the week goes on! We are planning to go meet a lady at one of the schools tomorrow so that I can possibly get involved there!

Cannot wait to see what is in store!
Kaylie 

God's Will is Always Better than Mine

Finally, I have been on quite the journey over the past six months. November of last year I branched out and purchased a plane ticket to Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. I was nervous about it because I am so used to going to Nicaragua each summer and I couldn't imagine a summer not spent in the country I love. But I really felt God calling me to Africa and it is a place I have dreamt of going to ever since I was a little girl. So my ticket was purchased and I was leaving in just two short months when I received a phone call telling me that the family I was staying with was having to come home due to their child becoming ill. While I knew God had a plan for my summer, I was quickly shown that Kenya was not it. This whole time God had a plan for me and I just didn't open my eyes enough to see the whole thing. With just two short months to find somewhere to go and switch my plane ticket I began researching and looking into organizations all over Africa. What I didn't know was that God had no intention for me to go to Africa, I was the one with every intention of a trip there.. After much prayer and conversations with great friends and my wonderful roommate Bethany, Bethany suggested that I look into going to India. My thoughts were: "Why on earth would I want to go there? It isn't Africa... God doesn't want me to go to India.." I finally put my thoughts aside and emailed a family from my church that is living there and this was her response:

"We have been praying that someone would come and help us with our kids for a bit so that I can get more involved in women's ministry here in [India]."

I could hardly keep myself from jumping up and down. You  mean all this time I have been doubting where God wants me to go and I have been convinced that I was going to be in Africa this summer?? You mean someone has been Praying for someone to come and help?? And not only that but you mean I am the answer to someone's prayer!?! Me, Kaylie, so unworthy, doubtful, Kaylie... God is using me to answer a prayer that someone has been praying for a long period of time... What a humbling, "God is so much greater than i" moment...

Well with all of this said, I am pleased to announce that I will be leaving two weeks from today to spend four weeks in India! Four weeks is a long time and I am nervous about that, but man do I know now that God has an amazing plan for my summer!

Pray with me for safety, for soft hearts and for a drastic life change in my own heart... 

My callused, dry, nasty heart... 

Oh Lord, Change my heart's motives and make them Your's...

Coming to an End...

Well, this is my last week of my freshman year! I technically have one more week after this one, but all my finals are this week, so there will be a huge relief once this week is done. Even though it is nerve racking to wait on grades to be posted, it is like a weight is lifted from your shoulders as soon as you hand in your last test! One of the things that I love about college is that I only have a particular class for one semester! Such a good feeling to be so close to done! I am in desperate need of summer. 

Also, something else really exciting is I am officially signed up to take the Praxis1 test on May 12th! Just one step closer to graduating and becoming a teacher! I love it!! 

I cannot wait to have year number two under the belt too! 

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball

I have a lot of catching up to do, so here we go!

Let's start with just a few weeks ago David was finally able to use his Christmas present I got him! We went to see the Brewers Vs. Braves game in Atlanta! It was such a great weekend to get away from school and do a few things that I have never had the opportunity to do before! I have become quite the avid baseball fan (thanks to David) and I love it! I was able to attend my first MLB game! It was such a neat experience and I couldn't have experienced it with anyone better! I even bought a Brewers shirt just for the game, but this doesn't mean I am a full on fan yet... :)

And to top it off while we were there we got to stay with our dear friends Cory, Liesel and Cooper! It was so good to be able to see them... been way too long! 

The Braves Park! David has a goal to go to all the different stadiums before he dies... Too bad this one was already marked off the list! 

David and I at the game! We even got to sit on a row of all Brewers Fans! Woohoo!! 

Cannot wait for the next game!!