Roller coaster!

So I've been in Chennai a little more than a week. It seems so much longer than that! I've had some really good days and I've had some not so good days. It's all a major learning curve and sometimes I feel like I'm so far from catching it. I've had thoughts of coming home just for something familiar and comfortable. I actually miss wearing jeans and not have them stick to every part of your body. And this is only February. I think all in all I'm doing OK. I'm not great at getting around by myself pretty much because I doubt my ability to communicate to the auto drivers where I want to go. Yes, this is something that I will have to get over and it causes a lot of frustration for myself. I would like very much to just be able to talk with them but this is not the case.
I'm also horrible at taking pictures of the people I'm with. Sorry! I'm just trying to get adjusted and this means that I often forget my camera at home. I will get better I promise. As soon as I get into my permanent home I will make sure to take some pictures.

As far as getting involved in the ministries here, it's slow going. Right now the Dark Is Beautiful campaign is taking so much time that everything else is falling to the wayside. I'm hoping that I'll be able to start mentoring some girls in the next month or so. I wish it were sooner but I need to be realistic about my expectations. I think that meeting with some of the young girls would be the best way to use my gifts but it all depends on if they want it.

I have met some really great people here and I'm super thankful for that. The people I'm staying with, Steven and Rebekah, (who I want to call Jason and Jennifer and they call me Sally. It's great.) are wonderful! They've made me feel right at home and made the transition easy. I've met some great people at Powerhouse Church that I look forward to getting to know better. Once things slow down a little bit maybe there will be more time for socializing. Maybe.

Yesterday I decided that I would walk to the Powerhouse offices just to see if I could. It felt great to be able to be a little more independent and to be in the streets. It was a little frightening trying to cross some of the busier streets. It's not like in the US at all! There are crosswalks here but you may die if you stand the way of the drivers trying to make u-turns. So I went with the flow and watched what some of the other people were doing and this meant that you stood in the middle of the intersection! Cars flying by you on both sides like it's no big deal. Once I made it to the other side and on a less busy street, I just strolled along like I belonged there. I of course, was the one to watch by every passerby due to the color of my skin. One my walk I had to cross the small river/stream that semi-flows through the city. It's almost neon green in color and the odor that permeates from this stream is toxic! I almost lost it while crossing the river but I picked up the pace a little and held my breath as best I could. Sweet baby Jesus! It was nas-ty!! It took me about 30 mins and by the time I made it to the office I was drenched in sweat! And I can't begin to tell you what the bottoms of my feet looked like! Needless to say, my walking long distances in Chennai are done. No one needs to do that more than once. Really.
And the mosquitos LOVE me! I wake up with new ones every day. It's so special!
All in all, India and I are trying to get along. Sometimes I win and sometimes She wins.