My Story Monday | India Part Two-Travel | Northern California Photographer

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Welcome to My Story Monday!  Mondays are the day I invite you in and turn the camera on my life so you can see some of my family’s story!  I have done it randomly before in THESE POSTS, but now I will be writing weekly on Mondays.

As I told you I am starting this series by writing about India.  I think it is SO fitting as a small team Just arrived home, they were there conducting a discovery and listening trip. They are hoping to listen and get an idea of how we can do our trips better and have more of a continuing presence even when teams are not in country.  Hoping to create lasting care, and just in general help in the best way not just OUR way:-)

See Last week’s post here:

Today I wanted to share a bit about HOW we got there.  I don’t know about you, but before this trip, I had one stamp in my passport, and it was 11.5 years prior for our honeymoon.  Now I am not complaining, we have had plenty of great adventures here, stateside:-)  BUT it was a BIG deal to me to travel halfway across the world, and for such an amazing trip/mission! 🙂 Being trained as an architect, I am ALWAYS appreciative of the way other countries build and live:-)  So yes I have TONS of pictures of buildings!  Don’t worry I won’t post them ALL here!

We left our kiddos on December 2, the weekend after Thanksgiving, traveled to the San Francisco Airport, and then waited.  Waited impatiently for a team member to receive her passport (I know!) and join us, waited for a team member traveling across country to join us, and hoping his bags made it with him!  All the while anticipation, excitement and nerves were building inside me. Luckily it was nearing the middle of the night so tiredness was winning most of those emotions:-)  We boarded the plan for the LONG 15 hour flight to Hong Kong, where we simply got off the plane and got on another plane, and then a short 3-4 hour trip to Singapore.

In Singapore we got off the plane for a whole 7 HOURS! Which meant we got to explore!  I was SO excited!  And tired, but now EXCITEMENT won out:-) Just in case we don’t LOOK excited, remember we boarded a plane at 11:05pm, and then traveled for 20 or so hours:-)

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Before we left the airport, a few people tried to chat with their kids, and figure out where we were going:-)  First stop was to find some food!  I LOVED how the city was full of high rises, but then randomly you would see a truck with farm baskets piled high in the back:-)  The first place we tried was unfortunately close, SO we finally ended up at a food court for food, where we could choose form really a bunch of different options, even Subway, and other american faire for the less adventurous.

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I LOVED all the tall buildings in Singapore!  And the artwork scattered throughout!  The city was so clean, and it was obvious why, there were signs everywhere stating severe fines for littering, spitting, AND even eating or drinking ANYTHING on the public transit!

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The waterfront was great!  Next time Tom and I are planning on getting to the top of this casino:-)  With it’s green roof it looks awesome!  I was thankful we remembered to hand the camera off and get a picture of us together traveling, that isn’t a “selfie” 🙂  Then we asked our friends to get in a picture, and the person in the camera went all “pro” on us, with a little too much camera tilt;-) Still a fun shot!

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Sometimes I am a building nerd, and sometimes I am a perspective nerd;-) Regardless, I get a shot like this in a lot of cities we visit:-)

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I don’t know why, but I was surprised to see the Christmas tree set up:-) BUT more than that LOOK at that amazing green wall, and the glowing reception desk! 🙂

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After we returned to the airport and took our last HOT shower for a 10 days or so, we settled in for our 4-5 hour flight to Hyderabad.  Once there and through customs, (seamlessly I might add), we were met but this luxury bus.  Seriously this trip was cush! Tom said they traveled by cars, and the road had been improved since his last trip.  It was still driving in India, which is an experience you have to experience to understand, BUT at least it was in a comfortable vehicle;-)  The ride to Chillakalu was 4 or so hours, through the middle of the night, with a pit stop for Chai and my first experience of the non-western bathroom;-)  We arrived at Chillakalu in the wee, still pitch black hours of the morning, and the boys from the children’s home were up to welcome us and take our bags to our rooms.  The experience is hard to describe, I will try next week, so check back!

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Jump Ahead:

Part Three – In Country

Part Four – Clinic

Part Five – Our Last Day

If you would like to learn more about New Hope Ministries, which is where we went, you can go to their website HERE, IF you would like to donate to the current trip you can do so HERE.  THANK YOU!

Like MY STORY and want me to tell yours? Do you need new family images to tell that story on your walls, or in a book on your coffee table? Are you looking at your kids and wondering, where the time goes, and how they got so big? Do you want to celebrate who THEY are RIGHT now? I would love to tell YOUR FAMILY’S story, and CAPTURE YOUR LIFE! Send me an EMAIL, and we will grab a coffee and get to know each other!

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