Updates Updates Updates

Hello again! I am so sorry about not updating more regularly, but we have just not had the time nor a reliable internet connection for a while!
I have so much to talk about, I'm not sure I will be able to get it all out in one post...but I'll try...

So after testing water from 40 villages for about 3 days straight I think the whole team was ready to move on from Jammu. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad we did that because we actually DID something that will help the people there. I think that is so huge because usually on trips like this all you do is get to be "exposed" to the culture and the people, but rarely do you actually get to participate and help. While I obviously think the exposure factor is so important it was nice to actully have some tangible things we did while we were there. The workers in Jammu seemed truly gratful for our work and I am excited to see where the project will go in the future.

After Jammu we flew to Shrinigar which is even farther north in Kashmir. It is a beautiful area surrounded by moutains and lakes...but what I was not expecting was all the politcal and cultural conflict going on. I will try to give a brief overview of what is going on up there... So since the Kashmir area is so close to the Pakistan border, alliances were split between pak and india. In the 80's India sent in hundreds of thousands of military in to Kashmir to try to keep Indian rule over the area. Militant groups from Kashmir sprung up all over the place and many men snuck over the boarder into Pak to get trained as soldiers. The conflict still continues today as Kashmir is still flooded with over 700,000 indian military. There are literally on every single street corner...it took some getting used to. The people of Kashmir obviously don't like having all those military people there all the time so they often fight back and then huge mobs form and riots break out. It is typical to have hartels and curfews on the city, where all the shops close and everything in the city stops in protest. The people of Kashmir are almost living as slaves, stuck in Kashmir. And then the other people in India see Kashmiris as traitors because they think they don't want to be a part of India. So basically they are just trapped in this militaristic state. It really is horrible. I realize i don't really understand all of the conflict, but our hosts told us a lot and I am reading a book now by a Kashmiri author that gives good insight into this history that many don't know about. Anyway, I will be reading more about this and would love to chat about it more when I get state side again!... But anyway, now that you understand sorta that background I can tell more about my personal experience there. So right as we get off the airplane we were told that two Kashmiri women had be raped the day before and many people suspected it was by Indian military there. So riots broke out all over the city and everything was very unstable. So we picked up from the airport by our friends and as we are driving back to our guest house on the road our diver suddenly stops the car and turns around. We were told that a riot had broken out just a few miles ahead and the miliatary were tear gasses everyone on the street! So we waited a while on the side of the road as miliatary trucks zoombed by... after a few minutes everything calmed down and we continued on the road... but then just a few minutes later as I was looking at the window I saw a bunch of kids on the side of the road...as i looked closer and as we passed i saw they were holding stones and ready to throw them right at our car! The next thing I knew we were all ducking and rocks were pelting our SUV! Ok, i know this sounds kinda intense but don't freak out (Mom :-) ) because our host said they were just kids that wanted to probably cause problems since all the grown ups around them were rioting. They didn't pick us out because we were foreingers or anything, in fact many people told us later forenigers are usually the safest during times of curfew and hartels. But nevertheless it was an exciting enterance into Shringar and Kashmir! Whew!

Ok, so next we arrived at our guest house which was very nice and surrounded by gardens and stuff...none of us were took shaken up about all the happenings of the morning but we were intrigued by this new place... The plan was to leave the city and go up into the mountains to trek in the Himalays for a few days. We had to watch the news to make sure we could travel on the roads and that we wouldn't run into any riots of anything but everything worked out and we left the next morning..in the pouring rain. The ride up to the mountains was beautiful, even with the rain, it was breathtaking. It reminded my a lot of national parks I had been out west with tall trees and a river full of rushing rapids below the huge snow capped moutains. We had planned to trek and camp that first day, but the rain did not let up so we stayed in a little cabin which was actually really cool. Then guess what happened?? IT STARTED SNOWING! We look out the window of the cabin and we were like wait..is that...snow??!?! I don't think I would have ever expected to find snow flurries in india in june. its just plain funny! It made everything even more beautiful. After the snow stopped and I took a nice warm nap, it began to warm up outside and we all took a walk to meet some of the nomadic people that our friends work with that live in the area. These people are buffalo and sheep herders and live up in the mountains during this time of year. We walked for a while and then came to a cluster of mud huts with thatched roofs... the family led us all in their home and we all sat around the clay stove as the women made some bread like thing and tea. Our friends has known this family for a while and the man had become a believer through him. We all sat in the dark on the dirt floor as our friend told the story of Jesus' birth in the native tounge of the people...it was beautiful. The people don't have a written language so everything they do is by oral tradition. That is how they learn about Jesus, through stories.

Ok i know this is getting long but I still have so much more to tell... you can stop now and get a snack or just come back later if you want...:)

So the next day we woke up early for our trek. It had cleared up and was a beautiful day. We started up the moutain with 5 horses carrying the kids and our packs. It was pretty steep for the first hour but then leveled out and started going through shady forests. I had forgotten how much I loved the mountains and hiking and it made me want to take a trip out west when I get back home! We walked for about 4 hours and stopped for lunch. Marko Lindsay Sonja and I decieded to continue walking to the river while the others turned back. We made it to this bluff overlooking the river and a waterfall that was probably one of the most amazing places I had ever been. Pictures will not do it justice. We sat there for a while just taking it in. We made it to the river, which was from a glacier at the top of the mountain. The water was crystal clear and so cold... we all filled up our filtered (supposedly) water bottles and drank it. Life was good. ha.

We trekked back to camp and stayed at the cabin again that night. That night we all sat around one Kerosyne lamp and talked for hours. Our friends shared stories about their work with the people and about their struggles and joys. One man from Brazil was with us and he shared many amazing stories that left us all in tears. It was a very overwhelming night for me because after seeing God's amazing creation in such a huge way during the day I was already feeling small, but then as we talked more about God's call for our lives and all the needs and cries of the world, it just became almost too much to handle. One thing the Brazlian said that really broke me was this statement: "The price has been paid...they just have to know." Upon hearing those words i felt like i had been punched in the gut... i was bombarded with guilt and confusion, wondering why was I so priveliged to know Jesus and have access to so much, but these people don't have that opportunity? And then if I know this amazing news of grace and salvation, how am I not responsible for sharing it?? "The just have to know"... Seems so simple....but it scares me so much.

It is funny becuase after getting to interact with people working on the field this whole trip I was pretty sure that I did NOT want to be a missionary. The idea of "evangelism" weirded me out and I had this very tainted view all that. However, I have got to see much more of the interworkings of the mission life and it is not what I thought exactly. I guess in my head I just saw crazy Jesus freaks running around throwing the gospel at people. But it is all about relationships. I knew that to an extent, but now I got to see first hand that your day could consist of just going to coffee 5 times with different people and talking. All of the people we worked with were in country for some other business, like handicrafts or water testing or whatever. Just something to help the people but more importatnly, to get to know them. It is kinda hard to explain all this in writing but I would love to talk more about this with anyone later.

Ok, one last thing. So Todays is my first day in Pune. alone. ha! Last night i left the rest of the group and headed to Pune to hang out with some friends Janet has that own a Coffee shop there. My flights were smooth and I got to my guest house fine (run by texans! ha) But I won't lie...I realized that I have rarely ever been truly alone. I felt it last night. It was amost oppressive. But at the same time, that made me need God in the moment. I feel like in our comfortable lives, we rarely NEED God....It is a scary and liberating feeling. This morning I went to the coffee shop and met some other people from the US here. I am excited to see where God moves me in the city. Keep praying for boldness and strength for me. I am doing great, but I can always use the prayers.

Ok, I'll save the rest for another day this is too long and I'm hot. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Leave some comments, or facebook me or email me!

-Matt