And We Finally Made it to Happy Valley

After tossing and turning in our dark Delhi hotel room for nearly six hours to see that alarm strike 8am, we couldn’t have been happier to pack up and head onward in our journey here in India. I am so thankful for our time in Delhi as we got some sweet bonding time as teammates in our windowless hotel room enjoying American snacks, a round of arm wrestling and a game of Bananagrams. [Which was made even better because Syd was tired and I actually beat her at the arm wrestling!] Re-match to come, I am quite sure, but no one is keeping score, not really.

We flew two hours South and made it here to Bhubaneswar. We are so blessed to be hosted by an American pilot living here. After being picked up from the airport, first stop:  Baskin Robins! Priorities right? It was exciting for me to get to see Philos, (the son of the Pastor we are going to serve) as he is here studying at a boarding school.

After a tour around the old part of the city, we viewed several ancient temples and walked within an arms reach of plenty of cows which never feels normal! We ate a good meal at a vegetarian restaurant. I’m still trying to decide if man can indeed live on naan and veggies alone…to be continued! I am so thankful for Syd’s willingness to try and eat just about anything while I remain my picky self. Last night we stayed in our pilot friend’s boss’s guest houses and had the whole place to ourselves. We were exhausted and both slept pretty well.

Yesterday, we headed to Happy Valley, the compound where we will reside for the remainder of our journey, and I am so thankful to be reunited with our brothers and sisters here! The five-hour drive up into the mountains was be a long, hot one, but I can never take my eyes off of the people just doing life outside of the windows as we pass. I don’t know that I could ever live here long enough for this culture to become normal to me, but I am so excited to see how God is going to allow us to serve and encourage the body of believers up here in these mountains and to bring a gospel of grace and hope for those who have not yet heard.

Reunited with Pastor Sam and Bano, so thankful!

More updates to come! Thanks for your prayers!

In His Grace,

Courtney