Kyle and Lynea

2009-10-03T02:40:00.000-07:00

Last week was field trip week for our entire school. My class was supposed to to camping out in the woods but it was too wet and cold for the little guys. So, we camped out at the elementary school. We went horse back riding, boating, hiking, and on a trampoline. We saw monkeys, rolly pollies the size of your finger, cows, monkeys, cows, did I mention monkeys? According to the kids, we saw bison, a fox, and a baby grizzly bear. We didn't, but their imaginations get the best of them sometimes. We put their sleeping bags in the library watched a movie to fall asleep too and then dog piled Mrs. Mitchell.

I (Kyle) went with the 10th graders to a city called Coimbatore about 6 hours from our house. We did some various social awareness activities like visiting a tribal village, planting trees, communicating with a transgender community, hearing tough stories at an HIV/AIDS support group and learning about child labor. We also learned how to make bricks (see below).

Making bricks out of mud

As you may know, Kyle and I like adventure. We like exploring, climbing, and anything out of the ordinary. I wanted a bean pod. Not just any bean pod. A 1 1/2 foot long bean pod that you can shake and make music. Naturally they grow on trees, so I climbed up and took one. On the way back down however, the last branch broke and I fell shin first into the edge of a concrete hole. It was a bummer, but I got to see what my bone looked like up close!! Kyle got to take care of me all week with a bum leg...that was fun. I got lots of piggy back rides. I got the stitches taken out yesterday and it seems to be healing slowly, but at least it's healing.

Brick-making is one of the main sources of income at this tribal village. We learned how they do it and then we tried it ourselves.

Random stuff

2009-09-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Had some students over to the house (I'm their academic advisor)

Found a dead chipmunk under our bed...Lynea looked under the bed and exclaimed, "There's either a big hairball with eyes, or a dead chipmunk under our bed." It was indeed the latter.

Note from us

2009-08-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

well, we’re back in India and have jumped right into a new school year. for those of you that didn’t know, we went back to the U.S. for the summer and surprised some of our closest friends and family. we had an amazing time with our families, especially our 2 new nephews!! but now we are thoroughly excited to be back in india in our “little house on the mountain.”

we’re also quite excited to have momma harrill staying with us for 2 weeks! she has made the grueling journey all the way to india and up the mountain to kodai. wish she could stay longer (she just left this morning).

I (kyle) am teaching full time this year (grades 9-12) and lynea is still doing a superb job with the 3^rd and 4^th grades. the second year of marriage is just as good as the first so far. I’m still baffled by this girl that has come into my life.

I compare this blog update to the first time you work out. it’s easy to work out when you’re in a rhythm, but the longer the break, the harder it is to start back up, especially because you know there will be kinks and soreness to work out. I’m working out the blog soreness now in hopes that the blogging rhythm will start back up.

thanks for taking the time to stay connected to our lives.

uncle kyle

Tough job

With our mother!

First day of school

Uncle Kyle and Judah

Aunty Neea and Mathéo

Videos in order:

1. Lynea visits my 10th grade class

2. My 9th graders learning trust

3. Riding through a town

4. Eating "Indian" style

reflections on the first year

2009-05-10T04:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Lynea and I celebrated our one year anniversary. And to be honest, we didn’t do much that was out of the ordinary. But somehow, that’s one of the beautiful things that I’ve discovered in our first year of marriage – doing everyday, ordinary things with the person you’re in love with transforms those things into extraordinary things. We were discussing yesterday what we should do on our anniversary because we’re supposed to do something special. We both admitted that we had thought about writing a nice letter to each other, and perhaps we will in another week or month or something. Maybe if we were more of the gift type people, we would have done better at that. But somehow, it felt like forcing it. For us, the day-in day-out love that we’ve been able to give and receive has been the most precious gift that we could ever give each other thus far. It has been a special time for us, and the words we could try to write each other or even that I’m trying right now simply can’t do this year justice. We’re not poets, just normal people.

Having said that, we did wake up unusually early (5 something) and took a borrowed motorbike to a couple nice spots to watch the sunrise. It’s been crowded on the mountain as of late, but it was too early for any crowds and we cherished riding through the winding roads alone with the sun beginning to illuminate the sky. We don’t always get away from school much, and as we sat on the edge of a cliff, we were reminded that we live on a mountain in India. I don’t think we purposely tried to get away from our friends and family in the U.S., but somehow we ended up about as far as you can get (just ask my parents who came to visit). In some ways it’s been good – learning to rely on each other, developing our own way of life. In other regards, we’ve missed the heck out of everyone! The internet has made it so much easier, but it still isn’t quite the same.

Oh ya, back to the anniversary thing. We sat on a cliff and I pulled out 150 pictures or so that I had printed up of our first year together. We looked at them all and reminisced. Then we came home around 8:00, made breakfast, got back in bed and looked at some of the pictures and slideshows we had made throughout our dating and engaged relationship. A little while later, Lynea was asleep in the hammock and I would periodically, go outside, look at her and wonder how I got to marry her.

Sometimes it seems like we’ve been married for years, and sometimes it feels like the day before yesterday. I’m so thankful for our friends and family who have supported us in all of our life endeavors and now support us together. It means a lot knowing that people all over the place love you and pray for you and smile when they think of you. We’ve certainly had our fair share of challenges this year – new marriage, new job, new country, new sicknesses. We’ve had to learn how to say no; how to protect our young relationship. I’ve learned that I am more selfish than I thought (thanks for giving me the heads up on that one, Doc), and that I need to be home when I say I’m coming home. But along with that, I’ve also learned a joy that I’ve never known before in living with this girl that I love.

Lynea’s brother wished us a lifelong honeymoon after we’d just married, and so far, it’s been exactly that. We have to remind each other almost every week: “We’re married. We live in India. We’re teachers. We’re married!” It’s almost unreal sometimes.

So today, if I had a glass, I would raise it to my wife – the best wife imaginable for me! To our marriage – for many more years of joy and mystery and just good ‘ole fun. And to God – for allowing me to live this life with Lynea, the most precious anniversary gift I could ever ask for.

April Showers bring May Tourists

2009-04-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

This month has been quite miserable when it comes to leaving the house. There are about 5 billion more people in our quiet little town because of tourist season. Not only are there tons of extra people all over the place, none of them like to walk, so there are cars everywhere as well. Oh, and all the prices skyrocket!! Chicken that usually cost Rs.100 is now Rs.176. That's awful. Other than the stressful shopping days, life is GREAT!!!

Sadly, school is coming to a close. There are only 3 weeks left of real classes!!! Then we have a week of goodbyes and clean up. Our first year of teaching has been wonderful and it went so fast! In my 3-4 class, we are finishing up a unit on space learning all about the life and death of stars, the planets, craters and astronauts. It's been fun, but next month will be more fun. We're doing a 2 week unit on Bubbles!!!! We're going to create water games for the elementary school picnic, explore how soap is made, and what fun things we can do with bubbles, like giant slip n' slides!!

Kyle is finishing his year heading the exchange program. Have you ever prayed for a visa?? We have been praying that all the paperwork, visas, and passports arrive before summer for his students going off to the Netherlands, Germany, and soon he'll start the Australia paperwork. It's coming along, but I think he's pretty happy that he'll only be teaching next year. Visas in India are a stressful thing.

Coffee Coffee Coffee!!! My mother is wonderful. She sends care packages and they always seem to get here at the perfect time. For example, when I'm stressed my favorite chocolates come in the mail. When Kyle's out of coffee, he gets 4 lbs in the mail!! He was able to do another coffee tasting with some friends and make Doc's Famous pancakes. Our friends LOVE them! (Pictures to come soon)

Last night we went to a dinner party!! Our friend Yisu turned 26 and she's an artist at her core. She's always painting for us, so for her birthday we set up an easel and we all painted for her. She had a blast and so did we!

Oh and Kyle made bagels!! They are sooooo yummy! Who needs Panera!? (Actually, I do because they have cream cheese and we don't.)

Well the count down is on. Please pray that we (as well as our students) will finish the year strong and then have a relaxing vacation. We love you all!!!

Do you like green eggs and ham???

2009-03-15T03:55:00.000-07:00

My 3rd and 4th graders have worked so hard the last 5 weeks to perform a Dr. Seuss Musical in honor of 'I Love to Read' month. We have studied Dr. Seuss' writing and illustrations in class and learned songs and movements in music class. Our art teacher is a genius and guided the kids through the wonderful world of paper mache. Each student made their own Dr. Seuss hat from lots of newspaper, glue, and an amazing imagination. It was fun, but we had a few stressful moments. Some hats shrunk and had to be cut and re-mached. Some hats took forever to dry because of no sun. We even had a monkey eat a hole through a hat. Darn monkeys. However, in the end they were finished just in time to be shown off to the school, teachers, family, and friends. Enjoy the pictures and video!!!

The First Shear Glory International

2009-03-07T20:10:00.001-08:00

Well a few years ago God gave LisaMarie Rose a vision of Shear Glory. It was to be an outreach of Christ's love on people who needed haircuts, love, and someone to talk to. La Barberia (of Cleveland, OH) has hosted a few at their shops and have seen people touched by the experience. The stylists have given up a whole day to love on people in need in and around Cleveland. They have seen single moms, children, homeless, and members of Magnolia Clubhouse totally blessed because of this program. The only problem was that Lisa's original vision was global. Start small and let God do the rest. While I was in Cleveland last year I fell in love with this vision and then just happened to move to India.

In January, Kyle and I visited the Bethania Association orphanage a few hours from where we live. While I was there, Priscilla (the lady in charge) told me that a bunch of the girls had lice and a barber had given them all bowl cuts. In America this wouldn't be a huge deal because hair grows and children have all different length hair. Here, girls wear their hair in two long braids for school everyday. If you can't, you are seen as 'the little orphan girl.' It's a stigma that the kids have to live with at school everyday. I told Priscilla I'd come back in two months and cut everyone's hair once it grew a little. Kyle and I went this past weekend with 4 other teachers and 4 students to love on the kids. My friend Cath and I did 26 haircuts in 2 hours!!! The girls that had bowl cuts are now mullets, so i tried my best to cut so that it will grow into a bob. Cath took care of all the other girls who needed inches of dead ends cut off. Some were so scared but we assured them that it was healthy to get all the dead stuff cut. The other girls with us painted nails and drew henna to pamper the girls for a day. Kyle and the guys did construction and played with the boys. The kids were excited and I think we all left more blessed than the kids were!!

It's crazy how God works. Using someone on the other side of the world to carry out a vision.

(The sunset picture is a view of our mountains while driving down!)

Long Time No Write.

2009-02-26T02:18:00.000-08:00

First of all, it has been entirely too long since we’ve blogged! But like the old saying goes, better late than never. So let’s jump right into it. Here’s our life in a nutshell the last 2 months.

Coffee-Tasting

Learning to appreciate the earth and the wonderful gifts that God gives us everyday has been one of my goals over that past couple of years. That’s

why I decided to host a coffee-tasting for our Indian and non-Indian friends alike. Here in India, a tragedy has taken place called “instant coffee.” It has become so popular that people don’t even realize that a coffee imposter has taken the place of good, fresh, strong and mo

st of all real coffee. So, I managed to round up 4 French presses and 4 different types of coffee beans. I grinded the beans, brewed them all at the same time and poured them in 4 separate cups for all of us to taste with our coffee-tasting spoons. Mmmmm…What a wonderful experience. You can really taste the different flavors when they are put right beside each other. Lynea even tasted them!!

Republic Day

Republic Day is comparable in celebration to the 4th of July. Everyone stays up for fireworks, there are parades, and group celebrations. Our school has an assembly inviting people in the community to come and celebrate. Some of our friends talked us into participating in an all staff Indian dance. Surprisingly we were the talk of the day!! It

was a fun morning to have all our hours of practice come together and pay off!!!! We will try to get the video up soon.

Class
In my 9th grade class, we were discussing what it means to have faith and to trust someone. We did an activity called the Blind Walk, where 3 members of a team are blindfolded and a leader has to direct them through difficult obstacles to make it to the goal. It was lots of fun and way

better than sitting in a classroom listening to me talk.

In Lynea’s 3rd and 4th grade class, they’ve studied food (cooking all sorts of delectable dishes), the 5 senses, magnets, electricity, reflections, and bounce. February is ‘I Love To Read’ month, so in honor they have studied Dr. Seuss and are in the process of learning a Dr. Seuss musical. They are wonderful singers and dancers.

Field Day

Elementary field day is a

chance for our elementary students to show off some of their athletic skills as well as learn about teamwork and encouragement. There are traditional track and field events such as high jump and the 400 yard dash. But there are also fun events such as the 3-legged race and the shoe fly (see who can fling their shoe off their foot the farthest). Some of Lynea’s

students thought it would be fun to play tackle Mr. Mitchell.

Senior Trip
We had the chance to go to Kerala with the seniors on their senior trip. We stayed at the

beach, which was really nice and relaxing (although the overnight bus rides there and back were not). Lynea met some locals from the nearby fishing village. What a different lifestyle these kids have, compared to our childhood.

Traveling and seeing new things still does weird things to us and makes us ask questions. Wouldn’t have it any other way, though.

School has been pretty good so far. It has been a really busy this semester! But overall, married life is going great!!! We love you all and promise to write before the end of March!!!!

P.S. I planted carrots!

Rajama, Christmas, and the Orphanage

2009-01-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

This is a little recap of our vacation after Thailand. We also added lots of photos to our Flicker ( go to picture main page).

RAJAMA

Do you remember my story of Rajama and the peanut grinder? If not, go back a few

blogs and read about Rajama, her granddaughters, and her need for a peanut grinder. Well because of your generosity and love, we were able to not only buy her a peanut grinder, but also pay for Anapriscilla's college bill this semester!!! While we were in Thailand, Heather was able to buy the grinder and have it delivered to her house. She was so surprised and she's been crying ever since. This is huge that she won't have to rent a grinder anymore. Thank you for being faithful with your finances even though the economy is crazy. Thank you for loving an Indian Grandma and her family. She definitely feels it and thanks God every day!!! (Pictures: Rajama, her son, two granddaughters Beena and Anapriscilla, and the grinder that looks like a time machine.)

CHRISTMAS

We arrived back in Kodai December 23rd and spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with the Nelsens and the Stewarts. Kyle says it was a real white Christmas because of all the white folk. It was a wonderful first Christmas as a married couple. If we can't spend it with family, we want to at least be with friends that we consider family. Great food, Great friends, Great time. (David and Lisa Stewart are sitting next to me. Heather is in the middle and David's parents behind her. Brian is taking the picture. Oh, and of course all the kids: Andrea, Tiffany, and Elijah Stewart and Cyrus, Isaiah, and Lydianna Nelsen!!)

THE ORPHANAGE

Kyle and I made a trip down the mountain Saturday and Sunday with a few others from the school to visit a friend in the hospital and then to spend the night at Bethania. Bethania is an orphanage with about 35 kids ranging from age 6 - 16. Our school has close relations with Bethania and our students often do service projects there. We had a blast playing with the children and learning about them. Their stories are often tragic and heart breaking. However, their smiles light up the world and their laughter clears the sky. It's often hard to find words for experiences like this. Your heart breaks but you are so thankful for people like Priscilla, Charlie and other workers who have dedicated their lives to serving and loving these children so they can have an education, a dream, and a future. Orphanages have had a profound impact on our lives throughout the years. We have held children in many different countries and we seem to have a huge sense of belonging in places like this. It'ard to come and go so quickly. It makes us wonder if we'll ever be able to stay at a place like that for more than just a visit.

In India, women decorate their bodies with a brown paste called henna. In the states, you'd call it a fake tatoo. A friend of mine did it to me the other day and it was started to ware off. One of the little girls was admiring it so I used marker to do a simple one on her hand. She loved it. Next time I visit, I'll have to bring a few tubes of henna and do all the girls.

PHUKET, THAILAND

2008-12-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to fly to Bangkok for 5 nights but because of all the craziness, we flew straight to Phuket. That's ok because Phuket is like heaven. Sun, beach, ocean, sun, bathtubs, Starbucks, fruit smoothies, sun, pools, McDonald's (sorry Dad and Doc, we had to eat there once), great stir fry, sun, sun, and more sun. Phuket is a big island with lots of small beaches and small islands off of it.

First we stayed at Karon Beach for 5 nights, ate breakfast buffets, fresh fruit smoothies, banana pancakes (a crepe with bananas and chocolate), snorkeled, and were really really lazy. We took a boat tour of the Phi Phi islands. We snorkeled with beautiful fish and coral, fed monkeys (yuk), ate great food, swam where the movie The Beach was filmed and unfortunately got a little too much sun.

Then, we rented motorbikes and drove a half hour north to Surin Beach for 3 nights. This was also a lot like heaven. Sun, great dinners on the beach, gorgeous pool, sun, fried bananas for 1 baht (like 3 pennies), elephant trekking, sun, and more sun.

There was this cool buoy/floating/dock/walkway thing. (See picture and video) We discovered that when a wave comes, if you run up the walkway and jump off the top of the wave you get tons of air. So fun. So tiring.

The elephant trek was exciting. We bonded with our elephants by sitting on their heads. That was fun and scary and really hard to balance. Elephants are massive animals with huge feet and really big jaws. They could definitely crush me in one second.

Best part of Surin....The Lotus. This is a grocery store. They had Ritz crackers, 3 different kinds of Campbell's Chunky soup, Smuckers strawberry jelly, dried shitaki mushrooms, and best of all.......Philadelphia cream cheese.

We are now back in Karon for 6 more nights before mom and dad leave. More adventures to come.

Mom and Dad Mitchell come to visit!!!

2008-12-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 21 was a beautiful sunny day. My students spent the afternoon making gingerbread cookies and reviewing what we learned about the USA. Although I was fully there with my kids, my brain was waiting in expectation for Kyle and his parents to arrive from Madurai. When they came, I ran and gave them the biggest hug!!! The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, I was eating amazing cookies made by my 3rd and 4th graders, and now we could share our new Kodai life with our parents.

Friday, November 21 at 9pm was a mess. It started to rain.....and it didn't stop until we left Friday, November 28th. YUK. It is odd for it to rain at the end of November with that much intensity, however, when there is a cyclone over southern India...run for cover. It poured nonstop the last week of school. Our laundry never dried, the mold came back, the fire wood got wet, and that damp annoying feeling was definitely present. But praise the Lord for rain boots, rain coats, and umbrellas. Owen and Lauren experienced the bad side of Kodai. At least now they will really be able to sympathize with us when monsoon season comes back in July.

Thankfully, rain doesn't hinder relationships. We were able to share our parents with our friends allowing them to get to know all the people we've come to love here in Kodai. Oh, and they got to experience Cheese Dosai. Soooo good. Unfortunately, our last day in Kodai (the day to finish up last minute responsibilities and to pack) I woke up vomiting and found out I had E-coli and a bacterial infection. YEA!!!!

Just in case you do not know what these are....it is vital that you have a bathroom handy at all times. Lucky for me the next day we had a 3 hour drive down the mountain, a 9 hour train ride, and a 4 hour flight. Sweet! The odds were definitely against us, but the Lord healed me quickly and I was fine by the time we got off the train!!!!

As you may have heard, people have been going a little crazy in this part of the world the last few weeks. There were bombings in Mumbai, more bomb threats in Chennai, protests in Bangkok which is where we were headed, and all airports closed in Thailand. We arrived in Chennai not knowing if we would even be able to get to Thailand, but they had a flight to Singapore and then to Phuket (our final destination). Do you know where Singapore is? I do now!!! It's amazing. They have Starbucks and Subway!!!! Dad was a little stressed because our plans were totally changed and we weren't sure what was going to happen. Kyle and I were in heaven...Starbucks and Subway in one place!!!!! And they had toilet paper in the bathrooms!!!!

That is our travel story. Next up....Phuket!!!

Lynea's Grade 3/4

2008-11-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

My class did a read-a-thon to raise money for a village school called Kombai. First Assembly sponsored the kids at $.10 per page that they read for a month. F/A donated above and beyond what my kids ever dreamed of raising. Here's a little thanks from us to you.

a normal update + a message from us

2008-11-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

Our Adventure to Pillar Rock
We needed to get away for a day but during monsoons you don’t have many options. So during the 2-hour break of rain one Sunday, we took Brian’s bike and drove about 20 minutes out to the edge of part of the mountain. Pillar Rock is mostly a tourist trap, but it is very beautiful with the clouds rolling in. Kyle is so good looking we can’t go anywhere with out someone asking for his picture. I think because he’s white, so good looking, and way taller than most Indian people. It was a beautiful ride and our first bike ride together. Kyle did great. It’s hard driving on the opposite side of the road. When you get into a pickle, you automatically want to go right which can be detrimental here. However, my husband is amazing and got us home safely.
Harvest Fest.
It seems no matter where you are in the world there is still Halloween or a Halloween substitute. The elementary school had a harvest fest last Friday night for all the ES students and a local Cresh school (preschool). The ES secretary is in charge of this preschool for Dalit children. Dalit means they are not allowed to go to English schools because of their social class. Every year the 5th graders run the harvest fest booths for the Cresh school in the morning and then the teachers run it at night for our students. I dressed up as a cat and Kyle a scarecrow…a very convincing one too!! We were in charge of the apple-dunking booth. It was gross. The kids were just dunking their whole head under water. Some kids came 5 or 6 times. By the end of the night the water was just full of spit. Luckily kids don’t care about that stuff, but I couldn’t take it. The students all looked so adorable.

My First Stuffed Chicken
As some of you may know, before moving to India I could cook pancakes and eggs. Oh and I could make a mean salad. Sadly, that was as far as my talent went. However, I am proud to say that I have broadened my horizons since being in India. I cooked my first chicken…(Mom I was actually able to find the hole this time!!! But all the guts were still in there and I had to pull them out. Gross!). I spiced it and filled it with apple-onion stuffing. It was so good!!! Sorry I’m bragging but I was so proud.

Mapping and the Earth
During the month of October my class was studying maps and the Earth (rocks and the layers of the Earth). To bring the unit to a close, we had a treasure hunt. I had the students in 6 groups running all over the ES campus. There were 10 stops. At each stop they had to complete a task with their group and then figure out the clue to get to the next stop. One of the tasks was using the library search to find out how many books we had by Eric Carl. The hardest part was figuring out how to spell Carl. Carol. Carul. Karel. Carel. They were so pooped by the end of the Hunt. They had been running up and down and around! But they all finished. I was very proud of them and they had a blast. Luckily I have an athletic husband who was willing to chase them all around the campus taking videos and pictures for you to see.

Monsoons = Mold. Lots of it!! If I say anything else I’ll get bitter so I’ll leave it at that. Just know that we had a rough 2 weeks in the middle of the season.

A Friend Needs Help

2008-10-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

I have a friend names Rajama. She is a grandma supporting her 3 sons, 2 daughter in laws, and 6 grandkids. She is also putting two of her granddaughters through college to be teachers, which costs WAY more than what Rajama makes from being an ayah (a maid). She works for Heather and Brian Nelsen (my principal). Between the Nelsens and Rajama, they have been able to pay off one school bill but still owe $5,000 ($1,000 by December) for the other granddaughter to finish school. To make extra money, Rajama makes homemade amazing peanut butter and sells it to the teachers for 200 rupees ($5). She only makes 40 rupees ($1) off each jar of peanut butter. In the past she has had to rent a grinder from a neighbor. But, that one is broken so recently she has been grinding the peanuts by hand. If she had her own grinder, she would be able to make more money off of each jar because she wouldn't have to pay rent to her neighbor. And, it would give her a better chance of paying the $1,000 by December 23rd.

Rajama has been bound by her low social class her whole life. That social class binds her children and her grandchildren. However, if her granddaughters can continue to go to school, this could break her entire family and future generations out of this low social class. The girls will be able to get good jobs teaching and be able to support their families allowing Rajama to retire.

I have already shared this with a few of you and together we have the peanut grinder covered. Heather found one for 5,000 rupees ($125). However, Rajama still owes $1,000 by December 23rd. She only makes $50 a month. Our math skills will tell us that this is impossible for her to do it on her own. If you would like to pitch in (even $5 will help!!!) Please write a check to Carol Harrill and send it to : 1531 Parker Drive, Mayfield, OH 44124. (Sorry we don't know how to give tax credit). My mom will put it in our account which we can access from here. Thank you!!!!!

We love you all so much....and Thank You for the comments!!!! We love them, I know we don't respond but we read every single one. After we post, we check multiple times for the next few days seeing who commented. Keep it up, it keeps us going at times!!!

Life on a mountain in India

2008-10-11T03:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we celebrated our 5 month anniversary yesterday!! We celebrated by looking at video clips and pictures of our wedding, reminiscing about our long and storied marriage. Ok, maybe not long, but we do have a few stories so far. Speaking of stories, it's fun to have people over to the house and hear about their life journey. The other day we had some people over to celebrate the life of our friend Chrissy (it was her birthday). Though the rain put a damper on our bonfire, it didn't mess with the great food and conversations we had under our roof. Speaking of roofs, we're so thankful for our house. Lots of people around here don't have much of one and we're really blessed to have a great one. Hopefully it can be a place of peace and refuge and acceptance for anyone who needs it.

Speaking of refuge (this email is all about tying everything together by saying "speaking of"), I (Kyle) have been creating a vegetable refuge in our backyard known to most as a garden. I've found that I actually miss manual labor, and it has given me joy to get out and get sweaty and dirty, making manly grunts every so ofte

n. A lot of my work involves being in an office, and if you know me, you probably know that this kind of thing won't satisfy for the rest of life. But for now, it's serving its purpose. Anyway, back to the garden. Our maid, Selvie, saw me working in the backyard, and she started scolding me, claiming the work was too hard for me and that she would call a gardener to come and do it. I know she's just trying to protect me, but I tried to explain that I like it and that it feels good to get dirty. She didn't underst

and. To her a white person shouldn't

be doing manual labor like that. I also get weird looks from the neighboring workers who work at the small motel behind our house. They stare at m

e, and I smile. I'm not an

expert at Indian culture, but I think it could be a couple things. For one, the caste system is still in place, though not officially. You're born into a certain caste and you're expected to do certain jobs and not do certain jobs. I hope my perspective doesn't offend anyone, but I just don't see anyone being able to make a good case that this system isn't still here (though I admit to still knowing very little). As a westerner coming here, I'm seen as a job opportunity for someone who does certain jobs, like gardening. So when I get out in the backyard and work, it's not only a strange sight, but job-threatening as well. Hmmm...It's a hard thing, trying to promote equality by your lifestyle (having no problem getting dirty or helping the maid do the dishes), and also support gardeners who need all the money they can get for their family. So, in that social context, I decide to get my shovel and bucket and walk the street picking up fresh horse and cow manure for my garden (I eventually met this guy on the street who offered to deliver some nice soil/fertilizer to my house for a good price). People were staring at me so hard, and I just tried to smile everything off. I had a few people take a picture of me with their camera phones. So I smiled. At least they have a picture of a smiling white guy picking up cow manure instead of a scowling one. One of the many things that I learned from my Dad is that it's always better to smile.

Speaking of smiling for random peoples' pictures, Lynea and I had just finished our tandem bike ride around the lake (more on that later), when these guys walked up beh

ind me, stood there waiting patiently for us to finish our conversation and then asked if they could have their picture with me. I asked if it was because I was white, and he said yes. I obliged, and now I'm forever in some random person's photo album, probably known as the tall, skinny, white guy they met in Kodaikanal. Lots of westerners are bitter about all the attention they draw from the locals: the pictures, the stares, the laughs and shouts as we walk by. I've tried to embrace it, just smiling my best smile and saying hi, answering their questions (sometimes in the gibberish language I make up as I go...this always confuses them and one guy even asked if I was from france, to which I replied in my own language that he and I both didn't understand).

Oh yes, the bike ride. The school had a long weekend last week (wednesday to sunday), but we still had some weekend chaperoning responsibilities like the "around the lake bike ride." Let me first say that riding a bike in India is life-threatening. Secondly, the rental bikes aren't guaranteed to work when you need them to. Lastly, the only bike they had left for us was a tandem bike. It's kinda like driving a 15 passenger van when you're used to a Ford Fiesta. Great fun!! Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.

And now for my better half...

Well that's a hard act to follow!!! But I'll try to keep your attention just as much. I have come to realize that I LOVE teaching and LOVE LOVE LOVE my kids....and I tell them that every day! Currently we are doing a read-a-thon fundraiser for a nearby village school called Kombai. Kombai has 105 students, 55 of whom are boarding kids. They have no bathrooms, no clean water, no cafeteria/auditorium/room big enough for them all to meet, small classrooms with tiny hand held slates to learn from, and to top it all off, the boarding kids sleep on the ground in the grade 1/2 room. Our elementary school has done some outreaches there in the past and our 5th graders decided they wanted to get clean water, bathrooms, a covered court and a playground for the children at Kombai. SO.....we are doing a read-a-thon for the month of October raising money for this school. My students are doing amazing in their reading!! One of my students had read 1,054 pages over long weekend!! She's 8 years old!! My students are motivated youngster who really want to help. My class is being sponsored by my church back home, but if you still would like to donate, let me know!!!

Speaking of long weekend, I p

ainted again!! This time I tackled the bedroom (see picture). It was fun, although my maid was here that day and kept trying to tell me not to stand on the dresser because I might fall. Thank God she didn't see Kyle standing on two chairs stacked on top of a table. She would have had a heart attack. Now we have a nice picture to look at when we wake up each morning.

Please leave comments if you have any because we love reading them!!

Finally, another post

2008-09-20T04:22:00.001-07:00

First of all, we need to apologize for not writing for over a month!! We were battling health problems, closing out the first quarter, and planning for field trip week all at once. But that is no excuse for not keeping you posted on all our fun and adventures. So, here's to make up for lost time.

Four major happenings.
Happening #1 Decorating our first home!!! Kyle had seen a picture on my sister-in-law's website that inspired him. He showed me and I got inspired, so I painted our living room. Kyle also wanted to spice up our corner table so he found a sweet looking stick in our yard and placed it between a lot of our wedding pictures. My next task is the bedroom.....wait until you see it!!!

Happening #2…closing out the first quarter. Grades Grades Grades. Oh my goodness we had to write so many reports for grades! And you can't just write the same for everyone, you have to make it personal. It's nice communicate to parents how their children are doing, but it takes FOREVER!! My students are wonderful and I love to talk about them. I love each one of the little rascals! They are sweet, kind, hilarious, and so darn cute! It's hard to ever be mad at them because of their cute little faces. Dimples, missing front teeth, puppy dog eyes, you name and I have it! We are in the middle of studying oceans/water. I will show pictures of all their ocean animals and water experiments soon.

Happening #3…Field Trip Week. Every year the entire school PreK-Grade 12 goes on a week long field trip in the middle of September. Each grade goes to a different place(s) in Southern India. My class gets the pleasure of going to Poondi Camp. The school owns a wilderness campus 2 ½ hours from Kodai in a town called Poondi. Since my kids are so young still (8 or 9 years old) we only went for 3 days. We had an absolute blast!!! Field Trip week is not just a random week off of school between quarters, it's an extension of the learning that takes place in the classroom. The kids were able to experience a wide range of activities at camp: Zip line, rock climbing, archery, team building to learn the importance of communication, hiking, getting lost on a hike and having to find their way out of the woods, how to make rope from leaves, making a fire, rafting, and creating team songs and skits to go along with all they learned. On Thursday, we took the kids to the lake here in Kodai to go boating and had so much fun. Friday was a recovery day because we were so tired! Overall, camp was amazing and we can't wait for next year!

Happening #4…Subduing the jungle. Kyle got inspired yet again to fix up the house. There is a jungle in our back yard with weeds taller than my 6'4" husband. He took our machete and went to work tearing out all the craziness back there. Now we have a pleasant little spot where he would like to plant a garden. While I'm painting the bedroom, he'll be planting a garden of string beans, broccoli, carrots, and who knows what else. Luckily for us, we don't get monkeys or bison around our house like all of our friends. We only have to worry about the darn crows that are always on the roof.

I promise it won't be another month and a half before you hear from us again.

Lynea

P.S. Check out our new picture links at the top, on the left or click here to see some of our newest ones. Also, look below to see more of our living room transformation!

Lynea Transforming Our Living Room!!

2008-09-20T00:17:00.001-07:00

pomegranates are so good!

2008-08-03T02:42:00.000-07:00

with all the things that have been happening in our lives for the past few weeks, I might actually be most excited about the pomegranate that I (kyle) just ate. I'm not sure how I missed out on these heavenly fruits back in the states. maybe I didn't know about them or just didn't look on the right aisle, but i would encourage anyone who is reading this to stop, leave your computer, find the nearest fruit stand or grocery store, purchase a half dozen pomegranates, come back to the computer and finish reading the blog while enjoying this incredible fruit. Go!!...

ok, so hopefully you have a pomegranate by now, but if not, make sure that you find one soon. i can't get over how much i enjoy this fruit now. it looks like a normal fruit,

similar to an orange or an apple in shape. but once you open

the outer layer, you don't just find one piece of fruit like a banana or even a few pieces like an orange, but you find hundreds of little tasty treats (called arils) just waiting to be consumed by an appreciative mouth. the color of the aril is bright red (looks to good to be true) , the taste is so sweet and yet, it is quite healthy. ok, enough about pomegranates. but seriously, it will enrich your life.(transition into what we've been doing)...

Lynea has been doing an incredible job with with the 3rd and 4th grade. and i'm not just saying that because she's my wife. i've been down to see her in the classroom a few times, and the kids absolutely adore her. they are like little sponges, excited to learn and soak up everything that she presents. the only thing the kids get in trouble for is getting out of their seats while raising their

hand because they are so desperate to answer the question. they make little noises...oooh oooh oooh, me me me, aaah aaah aaa

h. if only we could all maintain that excitement and desire for learning throughout our lifetime. as for me, i've been teaching some middle school classes and coordinating events for the exchange program. i've been able to visit 2 orphanages in the past couple weeks (a boys one and a girls one) with some of the exchange students from the Netherlands.

everytime i visit a place like that, i find myself remembering my first experience with an orphanage in honduras when i was 19. it changed my life forever. it's the reason that i began traveling, the reason i married the girl that i married (because we have a heart for the same things) and the reason that we came here. i know it might sound absurd that i would attribute

my life now to a 2-week trip i took 5 years ago, but it was during that trip that i began to think more deeply about my life. and it was all because of the kids. out of all the huge and catastrophic things that are going on in life, maybe the most profound thing we can do is spend time with children, who don't seem to be worried about the election or global warming or the next paycheck. sure, some can be quite selfish and bratty, but what i saw in honduras the first time and what i've seen at the 2 orphanages and even in my classes since i've been here is beautiful. i'm not saying that everyone must go to a different country or to a foster home or an orphanage in order to solve your problems or

experience true joy. but maybe we all should consider what it means to become like a child. they seem more worried about who's it during tag than if they'll have a meal on the table at night. and even though these kids that i hung out with the past couple of weeks initially appear to have less than me (seeing that there's 32 of them in each home that's only slightly bigger than the one the 2 of us stay at), i think they actually have more of what really counts. some are there because of the tsunami that wiped out their home. some are their because their parents died or couldn't take care of them. and yet you would think by their smiles and laughter that nothing had ever happened. so may we all be more care-free, laughing and smiling more often. may we gain a deeper sense of trust in God, finding fulfillment in the simple things in life. and may we understand even better what it means to become like a child and see with our new kingdom eyes.

i just heard lynea say buuuurrrrr, and so i took the cue and put another blanket over her. she's in bed not feeling so well. she threw up last night, and i must say that it was pretty good for a girl.haha. we're getting along fine and i'm learning how to be a better, more nurturing husband (i know that nurturing is motherly word, but she is sick and i feel that i'm giving her that type of love). we don't really have a given set of responsibilities so far. we trade off and switch it up often. i usually make breakfast and she usually makes dinner. though this could be switched depending on the day. i did the shopping at the open air market today, though she's better at it. we like to do most things together, seeing that we haven't even been married for 3 months (feels like 10 years...in a good way). we have 2 bathrooms, one we use for the toilet (bec

ause the shower head points directly on the toilet seat) and one we use for showering (imagine a shower head placed randomly in your kitchen and turned on without a shower curtain...ya, everything gets soaked including the other toilet that we use for decoration). but, although we have 2 bathrooms, we only have one bar of soap we share. sometimes we realize that the bar of soap is in the other bathroom after we're soaking wet, trying to share the hot water that doesn't last too long. no need to be worried, though. this is one marital crisis that can be solved by a quick game of rock, paper, scissors (the loser has to run out of the warm, steam-filled bathroom to the other freezing cold one, retrieve the soap and come back). come to think of it, a lot of things in life could be solved by a quick series of rock, paper, scissors. or maybe we should just

buy another bar of soap. on that strange note (i'm trying to be somewhat open about our lives without going over the top), thanks for reading our update and being a part of our lives. thanks for all of your prayers. pray that lynea gets well soon! we love you.

kyle and lynea

We're here!!

2008-07-14T03:24:00.001-07:00

We made it!!! 56 hours later we made it to Kodaikanal. Our house is perfect...well almost perfect. Our showers make the entire bathroom wet, the toilets leak, and the power goes out on average all the time. But, it's perfect. We love it. We cannot wait until our shipment comes so we can finish decorating and really settle in. So far we have met a few new staff that we have connected very well with. There are people here from all over the world! I think there's about 40 or so nationalities represented between the staff and students.

Right now, we're going to lots of meetings, learning about our new responsibilities and trying to get over jet lag. Lynea will be teaching grades 3 and 4 (they're combined) and I will be taking over the foreign ex

change program at the school as well as teaching a few middle school RE (religious education) courses. It might not sound overwhelming, but I assure you it is!

Altogether, though, things are turning out quite nice and we are excited to see what God has planned for this season of our lives.

Uh oh. I just got a call informing me that I do in fact need antibiotics! Indian food is good to the taste but extremely hard on the stomach and I'm already having my fair share of aches. Pray for us to get well soon, since Lynea is in bed not feeling well either.

Anyway, that's it for now. We love ya.

Kyle and Lynea

Leaving...

2008-07-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

We are sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to start our 50 hour journey to Kodaikanal. I can't even begin to explain the emotions running through us. We're excited, nervous, joyful, sad, and can't wait to jump in the puddles that this adventure brings us. Before we leave American soil...I have to take a second to say Thank You. Thank you to our family for loving and supporting us. And thank you to our friends for loving and supporting us. Thank you to anyone who has offered encouragement, prayer, financial support, emotional support, or a hug along the way. We could not be doing this without you.

We have successfully packed up our life in one shipment (that will arrive in about a month), four check in bags, two carry on bags and two instrument cases (that will hopefully arrive with us in India!!!!) Packing up puts your life in a sort of perspective. As you sift

through your room full of memories, it reminds you of

where you've been, where you are and as you shove it all in a suitcase...where you are going.

The Sunshine State

2008-07-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

We've now been in Florida for 3 weeks. Man was it hard to leave everyone in Cleveland. Our time there was full of love, laughter, and volleyball with our friends and family. Although it was hard leaving, we were welcomed here with wide open arms...and we hit the ground running, helping with Kenna's (Kyle's sister) wedding. The wedding was beautiful!! We now have a new and improved appreciation for everyone that helped with our wedding! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!! Weddings are crazy behind the scenes! Since the wedding we have spent much time with my new Dad and Mom. We went to the beach for a weekend and played in the waves, went running, played some frisbee, and had some great conversations. Owen and I played horse the other day, he beat me 3 games in a row. I don't get it...both my dads can run circles around me. That is not right. These last 7 days will be filled with love, laughter, and not volleyball (way to hot!!!) But I will be challenging Dad to one more round of horse. Pray for me...ha.
Lynea

We're married!

2008-06-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the wedding day couldn't have gone any better. We're still having a hard time believing that it actually happened like it did. The weather was beautiful, the food was tasty, the music was delightful and the smiles and tears were all over the place.

After the wedding, we jetted off to a cozy little cabin in the southern part of Ohio and enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature that we don't always get here in the city. Then we headed up to Niagara Falls (stopping to camp out in our 2 person tent for one night on the way - which turned out to be rainy and cold, yet adventurous nonetheless) for a couple more nights.

Now, we're gearing up to head to Florida to stay with my (Kyle's) family for about a month before we fly off to India.

The end is near

2008-04-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

In less than 3 weeks from now, Lynea and I will have already embarked on a new journey affectionately known as marriage. As the end of our singleness draws near, we're beginning to learn new lessons in selflessness, humility and love. Over the past couple years, we've built our friendship and communication skills, talked about our pasts and dreamed about our future. We've been together for months at a time and traveled apart for what seemed like forever (though it was only a few months). We've asked other people for wisdom, read books together, learned each others strengths and weaknesses and sleeping habits and eating methods. We've learned how to be patient and how to express our feelings with each other, how to have deep conversations and playful ones. We've laughed and played and danced and climbed trees and sang and even cried a few times. Yet there is still the unknown of what it will be like living everyday with the same person for the rest of your life; what it will be like to wake up every morning with this person's morning breath and slobber all up in your face. I imagine that there will be times to celebrate and times to cry, times to be together every second of every day and times to give each other a bit of space, times to be romantic and times to be brutally honest. We don't expect marriage to be the solution to all problems, and we don't expect each other to meet our every need. But we do expect something beautiful and fresh to come out of this joining of our lives as we begin a new life together. And we hope that you can celebrate this with us!!