Back in Texas

HAPPENINGS BEFORE COMING BACK 

Libby is four years old, and Emerson turned 32. We celebrated by going to the mall and having a hotdog. 

Eating hotdog

Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday

Enzo got lost at the hotel where we were staying before coming back to Texas. He was crying when we found him. Hopefully that will teach him (both of them) to listen TO ME, and not get in the elevator even if somebody offers to give them a ride. They ran ahead of me, and they got in the elevator before I could do anything :(

Arriving at the airport

Last auto-ride

Emerson (we) had the visa appointments when we needed them, and exactly at the right timing. It is not funny anymore to see how sometimes we still doubt that God will provide for our needs... but it is still reassuring that God has a plan for us.

Enzo broke his head because he fell from the bed, but thankfully he didn't need stitches.

Open scalp

We sold the car promptly after one day.

The children got sick many times during the last weeks of being in India. With hotel rooms and the airplanes - and everything changing around us - there was throw up at unexpected times. 

Last idly

Pizza at the hotel

Life seems normal now, but not really. 

HAPPENINGS IN TEXAS

Being back is great. I felt weird at the beginning, but now it feels like I never left. It's difficult to describe, so this is not an attempt at all. Several things have happened in my life and my faith. It just "feels" different. America feels different. It feels like India was only a dream - it came and it left in the blink of an eye - and now I'm back here again not knowing what to make of it all. 

Current beds

My children are older and potty trained. I'm cooking more, but we are still living in a "hotel". We might be the owners of a house soon, but nothing is certain until it is certain. Friendships picked up where we left, so that's great. 

We've gone to church twice, and when I look around, it just feels different. We are going to Sunday School thanks to a bouncy castle that the children like. And we also do BSF and MOPS, so the children are happy. The playgrounds are awesome, and there is always something to do rather than being watching shows all day long. That made me choose to keep Libby from going to preschool this year (and only this year), and I will also be homeschooling Enzo :)

Cute

BSF

Castle

I wanted to send them to school so badly because I want to do my own thing - reading, watching debates, taking online classes - but it seems it is not time yet. The children and I are reading our Bibles together, and two nights ago Libby made a comment that made me think she is really listening. 

LIBBY AND ENZO MAKE ME SMILE :)

After I explained the gospel two nights ago, she casually said, "Oh, I believe that... Enzo, do you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Okay, mom, we believe, now we will never die."

I didn't jump in excitement because I know she doesn't understand many things yet. I guess this is the moment every mom is waiting for, like seizing the time when your child accepts Jesus in their heart. And I didn't seize it. It didn't feel authentic yet. 

They missed The Squirrels

My personal journey is still developing, and I am still learning many things within my own faith. And it just feels different. Not better or worse - just different. 

I actually laughed when Libby said she believed. I said, "Really?

It was refreshing to be reminded that there is nothing in the gospels that requires you to have evidence. The requirement is belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and repentance from sin. The New Testament actually encourages looking for evidence if you want to. Christianity is a reasonable faith - contrary to my own belief for the past eight years. And I am still gathering evidence. 

Family

Libby and Enzo made me smile when they said they believed. I smiled, and then I laughed at my own agnosticism or skepticism... whatever the right definition would be. They proved me wrong. You can believe just like that. I did that once. And if you don't believe just like that, it is okay. Doubting does not disqualify you from being a true follower of Jesus. It certainly hasn't disqualified me.

My faith feels like a choice right now. I had always said that, but I probably never really had the opportunity to choose differently - if that makes sense. 

The Christian faith IS a choice. And I am choosing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 

For YOU who have prayed for me, 

• Christian scholar John Crossan said that even if we hadn't heard it from the gospels, other two ancient Jewish historians - Flavius Josephus and Cornelius Tacitus - confirm that Jesus died by crucifixion. 

• Ex-Christian and now agnostic scholar Bart Erhman (who constantly challenges the reliability of the New Testament) said that the denial that Christ was crucified is like the denial of the Holocaust. For some it is simply too horrific to affirm. For others it is an elaborate conspiracy to coerce religious sympathy. But the deniers live in a historical dreamworld.

• Even atheist Gerd Lüdemann said that Jesus' death as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable despite hypotheses of a pseudo-death or a deception which are sometimes put forward.  

Yeah, it feels weird to say this... History - not faith alone - is saving the day for me. Thanks for your prayers, friends :)

BTW, I heard this song at church. And, of course, I cried. LOL!

Becasue He lives

New Delhi 2015

New Delhi was nice. It was relaxing - as relaxing can be with my children. LOL! 

I was in charge of organizing this trip. So I looked to all the things and attractions that Delhi had to offer. I ended up packing the days up, and even though we didn't do everything we were supposed to do, it was still a victory. It was super hot, and most of the time we had to walk under the sun to go from one place to another. I mean, we took taxis, but walking within the places we visited under this heat and humidity was really tiring for all of us. But the children were troopers. Emerson and I were troopers, as most of the time we ended giving them horsie rides.    

Old Delhi

Naan, Biryani and Kebabs

After eating lunch in Old Delhi, we visited Jama Masjid. It is the biggest mosque in India. I expected it to be packed since it was Ramadan, but it wasn't. I like the mosques. They are peaceful places. And they are beautiful with all the Quranic inscriptions. I was watching a video the other day on the psychology of Islam. It talked about why Americans feel attracted to Islam and become Muslims from a psychological perspective. Heck, I feel like wearing a hijab. I don't know why we Christian women don't wear it. Christian women in India wear it when at church. Not all of them, tough, but there's a Bible verse for that.  

People feel drawn to Islam according to this video. They want to belong. They go to this peaceful places, walk barefoot, they listen to the beautiful call to prayer in Arabic and they join. Americans lack discipline - not everybody anyway - but Islam gives them a sense of discipline. A Get-yourself-together kinda feeling. Anyway, this is just the opinion of the guy in the video. He is an Ex-Muslim. He is not a Christian either, so I don't think he is biased. I think he knows what he is talking about.

Interior

Jama Masjid

On Thursday, we went to the Mexican Embassy, which is the actual reason why we needed to go to Delhi in the first place. We needed to renew our passports. It is hard to believe it's been ten years since Emerson and I were dating and got our first passports together. Wow... this November it will be eleven years since we started dating. We've been together for a third of our lives! 

I couldn't take a photo of the embassy, but it was fun to be there. They guy outside didn't want to let Emerson in as he couldn't believe Emerson was a Mexican citizen in need of passport renewal. He said Emerson looked Korean. In Singapore, people said Emerson looked Singaporean. Even in Mexico they have told him he looks Chinese. LOL! Then my daughter and my son were making noises, and I had to stop them from playing with the flag. I was so relieved when we left there. 

After that, we went to Lotus Temple. I think is some kind of religious temple where people from all faiths can go and pray. It is very peaceful, too. And you have to be quiet all the time, and not making noises so that people can focus and pray. Good luck with that! So we just got in, looked around quickly, and took our munchkins out. That's it.

Lotus Temple   

On Friday we visited another Islamic architecture - Qutab Minar - built by Mughal emperors. It is impressive. Emerson also wanted to visit there because of  The Iron Pillar of Delhi. I guess this 23 ft pillar is amazing because it has never been subjected to corrosion, and it proves how skilled the Indian blacksmiths were. Big deal. I'm not kidding, I think it is a big deal for Emerson. I guess that if you were to take me to the prison where you knew for sure that Paul wrote his last letter to Timothy - weeks before dying - it would also be a big deal for me. 

We also went to a temple called Akshardam, but we couldn't take pictures since it is not allowed. It is beautiful. The architecture is amazing and also marble.  A lot of money goes into that temple. 

Qutab Minar

Family Fun

On Saturday we went to the Taj Mahal. It is amazing. It is so white, it looks as if it were floating - just there. There is nothing behind it, so all you see is the sky. It is truly a very expensive master piece of architecture that you cannot even begin to value. Twenty-two thousand slaves working everyday for twenty-two years. Could you imagine that? Plus all the materials were given to this emperor for free - as gifts. 

I think the Taj is supposed to represent Heaven on Earth. That was the idea. You can google it. It is a sad story, tough, because people focus so much on "LOVE" that they forget the rest of the story. Shah Jahan had three wives, and only one could give him children - or the most children (fourteen children of his sixteen). According to Islam you are allowed to marry up to four women, on the condition that you provide for them equally, and you love them equally. So, for me, that breaks the "love" story. Not because I am judging him for not keeping his religion. Everybody falls short. But the woman he loved the most died during the childbirth of the fourteenth children at the age of 40. Pretty young.

The Gate to the Taj

Then Jahan was put under house arrest by his own son, and could only look at the tomb waiting to be reunited with his beloved wife. The tombs of the other two wives are nothing compared to the Taj - obviously. But if this is the wife he loved the most then why did he make her pregnant again after the physicians warned him about her health condition? Then it is also said he had an affair with the sister of his beloved wife. Plus plenty of concubines. If that is not enough, he might have committed incest with his own daughter. And according to the interpreters of their religious law, this prohibited relationship would have been unjust to condemn because you couldn't deny the king the privilege of gathering fruit from the tree he himself had planted. Well, that's convenient...

I'm not pretending these kind of issues are not in the Bible. You should read the story of David and Bathsheba. How he gets aroused when he sees her bathing, has sex with her, and gets her pregnant. Then David tries to make the husband have sex with her to hide the pregnancy, but the husband refuses to have sex with her because they are at war. So David ends up putting him in front of the battle field so he dies. And then, finally, David marries Batsheba. This is the kind of story that make Muslims believe the Bible is corrupted because of all the "porn" and sin involved. Muslims believe all the Prophets never sinned.  Fine, up to them. But I see beauty in all this sinning. I see broken people in need of a Savior. I see people recognizing their need for God. 

Almost there

David repents from all of this and God forgives him. God calls David a man after His own heart - after all that David has done. And God promises David that the Messiah would come from his blood line. Is that amazing or what!!

So call the Taj Majal a Love Story if you want to - the tour guide had to talk to us about something - but people ponder that the Taj Mahal is actually the effort of this emperor to prove his power, show off his wealth, and cover his guilt. I am in the habit of reading too much of too many things lately. And this proved shameful for me while interacting with my guide.  He was telling us the story about the architect of the Taj Mahal having his hands cut off after he had finished building it. 

It is said this was done in order that he would never build another mausoleum like this. So I asked the guide, "Are you sure that was the only reason? I mean, there were precious stones all over the place... What if he stole some? In some countries, under extreme circumstances, Sharia allows to cut off the hands of thieves". 

Enzito :)

To which the guide answers, "No, you are wrong. It was so he wouldn't build anything more beautiful than the Taj Mahal". Then he looks at me funny, and even tough he didn't open his mouth it, my mind enabled me to hear him saying, "Good for you, lady, for reading your Quran. But don't ask me any more questions". So I didn't.  

But to wrap it up, the Taj Mahal is beautiful. It is something you have to see with your own eyes at least once in your lifetime. Emerson was so happy he was able to see it. He said he had always dreamed of it ever since he was a little boy. That was sweet. It was a first for the four of us :))

Taj Mahal. Agra.
July 4th, 2015

Children slept most of the drive home. And Sunday it was the last day in Delhi. We just relaxed at the hotel, we swam and then we flew back. We had a lot of fun. This trip was different from Singapore. There was not too much for the children to do. It was mostly historical places and such, and I don't think the children were into it, but I really enjoyed it. 

Traveling has become far easier with them. I'm sad that they don't really need me all that much for many things. I'm relieved, but I miss the times when Mommy is all they needed. They still need me - who am I kidding? I cannot sleep at night. I'm done nursing, but they keep waking up in the middle of the night - almost at the same time - and they come camp in our bed. We probably should have refused, they were so well trained to sleep in their own beds before coming to India. 

Emerson complains, but he is the first one telling Libby she can sleep with us when she actually asks, so... we are suckers for them. I'm sure one day they won't want or need to sleep with us anymore. 

Until that day, I will survive on few hours of sleep, and coffee. I love my babies :) 

Family

Tired and sweaty

Agra Fort

At the door

House-arrest. I think it was a good deal

Singapore 2015

I think Singapore is the best country I have ever been to. The cleanest by far. The subway is out of this world - with huge malls within the train stations. If you are a shopaholic, you can get lost there. 

Our trip to Singapore was more fun than our trip to Maldives. Maldives is amazing, but Emerson and I would think twice about going there with children. I love my children, I adore my children, but there is nothing for them to do there, other than beach and the pool. Of course, when you are a child, the pool is all you really care about. 

We had breakfast at one of the train stations. We had some bread and coffee, and the children had some smoothies. All of us were really happy. Also, we ate cupcakes that actually tasted good. The flour here in Chennai has something that just ruins the cupcakes. Either that or I'm buying the wrong flour. Also, the butter flavor is off. And that's why I personally ate three cupcakes in the course of 4 hours while in Singapore.

Getting breakfast

We also visited Sentosa Island, which is a huge place. You have Universal Studios, you have aquariums, water parks - all sorts of activities. We decided to buy a package that included three attractions. So we rode the cable cars, and visited the S.E.A. Aquarium and something else. Although we spent almost the whole day there, we couldn't do the third activity because we just didn't have the time. And the children were very whiny - but that is just a given. They walked a lot, though. They enjoyed the train rides and the bus drives. 

Waiting for the train

Be Good, Enzo

Very tired, but happy :)

Riding the bus

I think I have a sensible, somewhat normal, fear of heights. I have noticed that whenever I see I am way up at a certain place, my legs experience some kind of tingling, like a rush of adrenaline. I can actually feel it. That happens every time I take a flight during lift off. I seriously pray every time we are taking off. The same thing happens when we land :)

So when we were riding the cable cars, I was excited because I had never been inside one of those. Ever. At the same time, I was able to see the cables, how the pulleys were working, and how the towers were able to hold all that weight of cable cars coming one after another. In my mind I was wondering, "What if these people do not give proper maintenance to these cables, and the towers with all that weight... What if these things corrode?" 

Then I looked down, and people were walking. We were riding on top of the water to get to the actual Island. I could see water slides and I was enjoying the ride, but actually wishing we could make it to the final tower to finally get the heck out of there. So yeah, I mean, if one of those cables broke, we were done.  

Enjoying the ride

Posing with the tigers

After that, we got to enjoy the aquarium and it was amazing. It was enormous. The biggest one I've seen is the Columbus Aquarium. The Houston Aquarium kinda sucks. But this one is unbelievable. When you are entering, they give you a show - like a movie - when they sit you down on a 3-D screen and you pretend you are on a boat, and going on some expedition. And then, the boat shakes, and it begins raining (you can actually feel the breeze and the water sprinkling). And there is thunder and you end up crashing on the rocks. So, yes, Enzo cried. LOL!

S.E.A. AQUARIUM

(South East Asia Aquarium)

The boat crashed and sunk

Huge tank

Sharks

Happy with the fish

Marveled

I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy. 

Libby was not very gentle with the star fish, she just lifted one up and then threw it. I think she didn't like the feeling. Thankfully nothing happened to the fish. Enzo also touched them, but it was not his thing. 

Outside the aquarium

We also got to spend time with Chiayin. She is Emerson's friend. Well, I mean, she is our friend now, and Auntie to my children. She was so kind opening her house to us, and introducing us to her family. She took us to have breakfast  because Emerson wanted to eat some pork dumplings that were delicious. She also very graciously spoiled my children to death, and bought them presents. Libby got a stuffed Peppa Pig, a plastic Peppa Pig with a salon set inside, and some legos for a Frozen Castle. Enzo got legos, a robot, and plenty of cars to play with. They also got new clothes. 

Chiayin's mom also gave my children their own money to spend in China Town, and spend it they did. The bought some chickens that make lots of noise. I am so blessed to have met them :))

 CHINA TOWN

Walking

Normal incident for us lately

Waiting for girls shopping

Figuring out what to buy

Enzo using chopstic

New family :)

We also went to the Night Zoo Safari. I wish we had photos, but the ones we probably had were not good enough. Therefore they didn't make it into the pile of photos Emerson edits. It was a really nice experience. There was also a very long line waiting for all the people to get into the little cars, but I think the children were excited to see the animals at night. I really had fun at this trip. Again, it's not that I'm ungrateful and didn't enjoy Maldives, but Singapore was a more active kind of trip. 

The last day in Singapore we visited the Singapore Flyer. We had ice cream for dinner. Emerson was excited to take a photo of the F1 Race Track that can be overseen next to the flyer. The same thing happened to me with my legs once we were at the very top. I mean, once we were getting up, I was nervous. But as we go up, up, up... there came a point when I could actually see the two little cabins next to me at a lower sight level. We were totally at the top. I did not freak out, but those were definitely some of the slowest 30 minutes in my life. 

Singapore Flyer

Singapore Skyline

F1 Race Track

After the flyer, we walked a lot. We wanted to see the Helix Bridge and also the Gardens by the Bay. It was a lot of walking for the children specially. But they are troopers :) Emerson took some nice photos, and there were a lot of people running on the bridge. It almost made me want to run, LOL! 

Seriously, tough, Singapore strikes me as one of those countries where I wouldn't mind living if Emerson's company moves us there. Actually, I think Singapore was an option, but Chennai ended up being cheaper. Uh, DUH! 

It's a very expensive country. Very clean. You pretty much have to be stinking rich to afford a car. Just to be able to get a regular Camry, the cost is around 150 thousand dollars. Singaporean dollars, but still. Then we saw children walking on the streets alone at night. It felt very safe. Chiayin even told us the police cracks the cases so fast mostly because there is not a lot of cases to deal with. Of course, there has to be crime, but my point is it is a very neat place. Looks and feels safe. Plus it is an island, and all those things add up to the cost of living.

We really had fun, lots of fun. And we kept on having fun. Next post will be New Delhi, 2015. Be on the look out for that one ;)

Gardens by the Bay

Sight from Helix Bridge

Helix Bridge

Excited to see all those lights :)