Sorry its been so long since an update… our internet access in South India was very limited… After a week just a few kilometers from the Bay of Bengal, we flew north about 1700 miles to get to Delhi, the capital of India.
It was a fascinating place. We met with a guy named Ramesh Landge that started a a ministry there called Cooperative of India and it’s an outreach to inner city and rural folk alike. God is really using him. In northern india alone he said there is something like 600 million… and less than 1% of them are Christian.
We went to Agra for a quick day trip to see the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort, both of which were quite extraordinary… Then we came back to Delhi and flew to Nepal the next morning.
We were able to meet with a guy named Nate Sprinkle who used to be in a missionary in Nepal for about 5 years at a hotel the night before we left Delhi. Really a wonderful deal that we got to meet with him and benefit from his insight and experience. He hooked us up with a bunch a great people here in Nepal. We got here yesterday and had a guy, Pastor Surya, waiting for us at the airport. He became an orphan at age 3 years old when his dad was killed hunting in the jungle and his mom ran away. Then he began living at an orphanage where he was taught about Jesus Christ.
He is now a pastor here, running a ministry that is opening and running a number of hostels here in Kathmandu. It’s a really cool deal. Him and his wife got their education by going a Bible college in India, but neither of them spoke English and everyone made fun of them. Somehow, with the help of the Lord, he picked up English and was nominated as the best student in the college and was asked to preach to the entire school. People weren’t making fun of him anymore…
Anyway, we are here in Nepal and just met up with a bunch of guys from Wichita which is pretty wild. Paul Lavender and his father, as well as a couple of other friends. They’ve just returned from a trekking around base camp at Everest and it amazingly worked out with both our schedules to grab lunch. Sounds like they’ve had an amazing adventure.
Anyway, I’ve got so many images I want to share and a much more thorough write-up to go along with them but no time to put everything together right now. We are headed to Pokhara now, about 5 hours drive from Kathmandu, where we plan to photograph some national parks in the Himalayas and some monasteries and such.
But I did want to share some of the images and a quick update to let everyone know we are still alive! I just don’t know if we will have internet in Pokhara… so here’s a handful of stuff from the last week… I’m really pleased with the work we came out of India with!
Thanks for all your comments, I will reply when I get the time! Dad and I love to hear from you.
A friendly face at the foot of the Taj Mahal.
We photographed the Taj Mahal from the back, a different angle the most... in fact, we were the only people on the beach shooting from there, and it was a beautiful angle with a wonderful reflection. We got out on the boat to take some shots too, but before we did so I shot a bit of our boat guide.
Loved the way the light fell on her beautiful face and eyes...
At the mosque next to the Taj...
Well we got into Vijayawada Airport on Sunday about 11:00AM local time. As soon as we got off the airplane, we were greeted by our host Kumari and her two kids, Rachel and James. They put giant flower garlands around our necks right there in the airport. When we arrived at their home there was a giant sign, probably 5 feet wide, that was put up in front of the house saying “WELCOME MR. AUSTIN AND MR. DAVID MANN!” We were so happy to see it and figured it was the only one. Nope. Every place we have gone since they have had the signs up and put the flowers around our necks. I love it.
One thing we immediately realized that struck us odd is that the time zone is not just 10 hours ahead of CST but actually 10.5 hours ahead. We really can’t make sense of it but I’m guessing it has something to with the latitude line that falls across India.
Down at the watering hole, the guys were bathing... AKA having a pool party. They were jumping off the bridge, tackling each other, doing all the thigns any guy would do in the water. I really like this shot.
The first thing that struck us about this wonderful country was the kindness of the people.They are extremely courteous, polite and helpful. They will do absolutely everything and anything they can do to accomodate you. They have huge smiles and have a contagious joy.
One of the older guys working at the fabric looms.
The food here is amazing. I usually like pretty spicy stuff so I’ve really enjoyed it. Their spices are used perfectly with just enough to add some punch but not too be over-bearing and have you crying. I especially like custard apples, which is a fruit only available in India two weeks of the year. It’s a white, creamy fruit about the size of an apple with a thick skin that is textured a bit like a pineapple but softer. That was a bit hard to explain, bottom line: they are quite tasty!
The orphanages here are really wonderful and many of them take a different approach than what I have seen in the past. Many of them call themselves hostels and what the hostels do is basically invite kids that are living in very impoverished homes to come stay with them for 9-10 months of the year. While they are there, they are given a place to sleep, three square meals a day and they are educated in all subjects.
The power here in India is very inconsistent. This is a shot of Rachel, and 18 year old student here, studying her mathematics during a power outage.
It gives the kids a great opportunity to make friends and learn useful skills that can take them somewhere in life. They are also taught about Christ and taught how to pray and have a relationship with God. Then the two months of the year when they are at home they share these things with their parents and it has proven to be really encouraging to them.
Watching these people work on the looms was really quite extraordinary. We guessed they were about 80 feet long each, probably about 15 of them total. The people would wet the fabric and drag this device down from end to end. I don't really know anything about the process but the fabric looked beautiful
One of the guys working at the looms, he had an awesome smile, as everyone else seems to.
We have gone to a number of different hostels, some as far as 80 miles away. Tomorrow we will go about 100 miles. Now this doesn’t sound so far but it takes a very long time. There are so many people on the roads, and so much going on, that we are stopping so much its unbelievable. My dad and I decided to figure out our average speed on our trip today so I got out my GPS and we calculated our average was about 21MPH!!! Going 100 miles at 21MPH stopping and starting can be quite a different experience! And every time we stop, I’m thinking “there’s no way that goat can get out of the road before we hit it.” But alas, we have yet to hit anything.
One of the guys taking a break at the fabric factory... errr the outdoor area filled with looms
The images I have included in this post are just a quick handful from a million that I have shot but they are all I can afford to upload considering the internet speed. India is really quite an exciting place for a photographer, beautiful image to capture everywhere you look.
One of the little girls at the orphanage we visited today. They are all so beautiful and they are very shy to smile in front of a camera but when they do it's wonderful!
Alright well the internet isn’t so snappy here and this one update has taken almost 2 hours! I had probably get going. But thank you for all your comments on previous posts, I love to hear from you and know who is keeping up with us. We appreciate your prayers – God is doing a great work here in India and we can’t wait to bring it back with images and share.
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