Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  Just thought I would share with you how we celebrated Thanksgiving this year.  First of all Thanksgiving obviously is not a holiday that is celebrated in India.  So...Kris got to work a usual day at the clinic.  I was at home with Molly making our supper for the evening (meatloaf) and Jude and Roopa decided to surprise us by taking us out for a Thanksgiving feast!  They decided to take us to an Arabian restaraunt.  Yes, we celebrated Thanksgiving in INDIA with ARABIAN food.  Something does not sound right about this dinner.  But, we all know that Thanksgiving is not about the food you eat, or where you are, but more about who you are with.  It is about being with friends and family that love and care about you.  

So here are some pictures of our dining experience.  The food was excellent!!  Molly even believed that she was eating turkey (even though it was chicken). 

 

I cannot remember all of the names of the things that we ate, but everything was so good.  In true Thanksgiving fashion we ate way too much!!

We all had mint and lime drinks to go with our meal.  Super tasty!!

After supper we went to an ice-cream place for dessert!   I was told to never eat ice-cream in India, but we decided to try it anyways.  None of us got sick...so that was a huge blessing.  (This particular ice-cream place is made from all natural ingredients, so we felt pretty safe in eating it.)  

So we want to say thank you to Jude and Roopa for making our Thanksgiving in India a memorable one that we won't forget!!  (We do plan on returning the favor on Monday when Kris has the day off by making a true American Thanksgiving dinner for their family.  I will post about that later, because I have encountered quite the challenges in preparing for this meal. To be continued...)

Serving at the Chiropractic Clinic - by Kris

We have been in Bangalore for three weeks now.  Becky asked me to write a little bit about my experiences working in the chiropractic clinic so far.  The clinic is open Tuesday through Saturday; Sunday and Monday we are off.  My average day begins with Jude picking me up at our apartment's front gate at about 8:30.  Jude is the owner of the chiropractic clinic.  I usually go and wait for him a little early because even sitting by the road in the morning is interesting for me.  I like to watch the students, adults, cows, dogs, families on scooters, motorcycles, cars, and basically everything coming by.

When we get to the clinic in the morning, the staff gathers together and prays (usually there are three of us.)  We thank God for the opportunity to serve in this clinic, for all the patients who will be coming, that they will be healed, and that God would use us to make an impact for eternity.  Most days at the clinic are quite steady for me, which I like.  The patients are generally very friendly, respectful, interested in where I have come from, and grateful for what we are doing.  If we happen to have a few minutes of down time, we like to go next door to the cafe and order a coffee or tea.

Most days we work from 9 to 12:30 (or whenever we happen to get finished with the patients who are there), go home for lunch, then work again from 3 to 6 or 6:30.  One of my funniest experiences was when I received what I am quite sure was my first kiss following an adjustment.  (It was from a 40-something year old man from Saudi Arabia).  We spoke different languages, and in fact needed two interpreters to communicate back and forth.  But that didn't really matter when I saw his face and his huge smile the moment I have him the adjustment.  As soon as we were finished he jumped up and gave me a big embrace and a kiss!  We didn't need to speak the same language for me to know how appreciative he was.  The next day he brought his two brothers and father along with him!  Some of my favorite things about working here are: meeting new people, especially people from a different culture and different country, getting to see many patients' first experience with chiropractic, and realizing how quickly you can bond with a brother or sister in Christ despite cultural or geographic differences.  The vast majority of the patients are Indian, but I have also already met people from South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, and North Carolina.

To sum it up in one word: rewarding.  Chiropractic is such a unique treatment here, so we have the ability to make a big difference in many people's quality of life.  We also pray that we can show the love of Jesus to each person we encounter.  It is a blessing to work with Jude and his wife Roopa.  They are so faithful, trusting in the Lord for everything.  They have done everything they can to make our arrival here smooth and comfortable.  There are many things about living here that are different, but also many things that are the same.

Thank you all for your prayers.  We appreciate the love and support we have received from friends and family.  I hope to write more again soon.

Finding The Beauty

Today for Molly's homeschool lesson we were learning about the letter "F" and the number "8".  So we decided to go on a treasure hunt to search for eight flowers.  She was allowed to take a picture of each flower that she found.  As we searched for eight different flowers we actually came across many more than eight.  We picked out our eight favorite to share with you all.  Plus I thought for those of you back home it might bring you all a little ray of sunshine as you are feeling the cold winter weather all around you.

Today we definitely witnessed some of the beauty that exists here in Bangalore.  Thank you God that we can admire the flowers of your creation!!  

Prayer Requests

        Well we have officially been in India for a little over 2 weeks now.  I was hoping to post today about the clinic and some of the fun stories that Kris has already encountered, but I'm waiting for Kris to get some good pictures of the clinic showing him in action.  God is definitely using him to help many, many patients.  Each day is jam packed with patients to see, many who are experiencing chiropractic for the very first time.  I really want him to write down his own thoughts and feelings regarding his initial impression of the clinic (simply finding time for him to do this is the challenge at hand!!).  So hopefully by the end of the week we can have that posted with some pictures.  

         In the mean time I thought I would share my own experiences so far along with some prayer requests.  The transition for me and Molly has been far from easy, but going well thus far.  We are slowly falling into a routine.  I did not anticipate how hard it would be for me to simply slow down.  Many of you know my personality well and the word "slow" is no where in my vocabulary.  I am used to going 100mph (or in India it would be kilometers per hour...still getting used to that).  This brings me to...

             Prayer request #1:   Molly and I have been somewhat confined to the apartment.  We do not have a car right now.  We are praying for God to provide us with a car soon.  We would love to have some independence to simply run errands, get groceries, go to a Bible study, go to the park...something other than stay in this apartment.  We cannot afford to buy a new car, but it seems the used car system is very corrupt.  You cannot really trust to buy a used car from a stranger or even a dealer.  They are not honest with the history of ownership and condition of the car.  The only way to buy a used car is if you know the person selling the car personally or if you know the individual is a Christian.  So please pray for a nice used car to turn up, or that God would provide us with the finances to buy a new car.  

           Prayer request #2:  Pray that God will show us where our little baby would be born.   God knows the time when he will be born and we are completely trusting in God for his timing in this.  God told me to move to India before this baby was born, now I just ask that God would show us where to have the baby and who would be helping us with the delivery of the little one.   I have received several recommendations for doctors and hospitals, but we need to start checking things out.  I pray that the answer would be very clear in every aspect.  

            Prayer request #3:  Pray that God would help us find a church and a community of believers to be a part of.  We have been able to attend a few churches.  Community is so important and we just want to feel at home with God here in Bangalore too.   I don't want to waste too many Sundays searching for the right church.  We just pray that we can find one rather quickly.  We have had a few fellow believers reach out to us already, and we are so thankful to God for their kind hearts toward us.  Pray also that Molly would have friends to play with close by.  She comes alive when she is around other kids (Mom gets kind of boring after awhile).  

           Prayer request #4:  Pray for Kris in the clinic.  He has to see so many patients in so little time. Pray that God would give him the energy to do this.  Pray also that God would anoint his hands with the healing power that only comes from above.  We pray that his patients would come to know Christ through this clinic, and that many would experience the miraculous healing power of God.  This truly is the reason that we have travelled half-way across the world.  I pray that Kris would witness at least one miracle by the end of each week, and I seriously think he has.  

           Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read this, but more importantly who are committed to praying for us.  We truly appreciate all of the prayers that have been spoken thus far.  We miss so many things about home, but we know we are where God would have us be for this season in our lives.  If God gives you a scripture or word of encouragement on our behalf, please feel free to share.  We would love to be further encouraged and strengthened through God and his people!!

Where's the Beef?

Many of you might be wondering....where in the world do you find beef in India?  Well we have been here one week and we decided to venture out to find it today.  Kris has Mondays off, so we had a little extra time on our hands.  Our friend Jude mentioned a place named Sonny's that sells "minced" beef (or ground beef as we call it in America).  We searched for the place on google maps and found it!  The only bad thing was that we had to cross a very busy road to get to this place.  But we were up for the challenge and decided to try it.  We set out at about 9:15 in the morning and began the trek.  The funny thing about Bangalore is that hardly any of the streets have signs.  On the map it gives you a street name, but once you get to the street in person, there is no sign to label it as such.  This can make things somewhat difficult for the new-kids on the block.  We knew the general direction we needed to head in so we decided to go for it anyway.  Luckily we crossed the busy road without too much difficulty, but with a lot of apprehension. (OK it was quite terrifying!!)  Then we found what looked like a main road that led to another main road.  Then before we knew it...we found it!!  Success!!!  We picked up our minced beef and headed home.  We were home by 10:15am, only one hour later.  We were pretty proud of ourselves!!  We'll have to let you know how our minced beef actually tastes.  I'm sure it will be nothing compared to the home-grown beef in the midwest, but it's better than nothing!!

(We took a video of crossing the busy road, but unable to get it on the blog.  If I figure out how, I will post it later!)

On November 1, we left for Bangalore, India.  Wow, was it a lot of work to get to that point!!  I just want to say a huge thanks to all of our family and friends that helped with all of the moving and preparations to get us here.  We could not have gotten this far without you!!  Unfortunately I did not capture any pictures of the big move, simply because I was just too busy to care.  Despite all of the craziness, we were able to get on the plane that day to make a move that we know will change our lives forever.  The goodbyes were emotional, but I know they are not final.  We were so excited to start our new adventure and simply get to India after 7 weeks of preparation.  

Here are a few pictures of our long journey half-way across the world.  Our first flight was from Minneapolis to Chicago.  From Chicago we headed to Frankfurt, Germany.  This was an 8hr flight.  From Frankfurt we headed to Bangalore.  This was our 2nd 8hr flight.  We were upgraded to 

business class on this flight, which was a huge blessing from God.  We were able to rest and enjoy some extra leg room on this flight.  We were also able to sit all together unlike the first 2 flights.  God knew what we needed!!

Molly watching all of the planes in the Frankfurt, Germany Airport.

Molly and Kris enjoying the larger seats in business class on our last 8hr flight.

We arrived in Bangalore on Sunday, November 3 at 2am.  Jude picked us up from the airport and brought us to our apartment.  We were so excited to finally meet Jude.  He is the person we have been corresponding with and also one of the owners of the clinic.  His wife's name is Roopa and they have 2 children, Jaden and Jarred.  After getting settled in to our apartment we rested for a bit and then met Jude and Roopa for lunch with their 2 boys.  Molly made quick friends with the boys and they even gave her a gift of a stuffed puppy (her favorite type of toy).  At our lunch we ran into a couple that is from Sioux Falls, SD that are missionaries in Bangalore, and also patients at the clinic.  What a small world!!  They said that they had never met anyone from SD in the 20 years that they had lived in Bangalore.  Keep in mind we hadn't even been Bangalore for 12 hrs yet.  

Jared, Molly, and Jaden watching a movie.

Molly's favorite part of the apartment is the playground.  She could spend hours playing here everyday.

The rest of the pictures are of our new apartment.

The Living Room

The Dining Room

Molly's Bedroom

The Hallway

Future Baby Isakson's room

The Kitchen

The Master Bedroom

Well as I post all of these first pictures we have officially been in Bangalore for 5 days.  I think I can speak for both Kris and I that we are feeling quite overwhelmed.  There are so many new things to learn and do.  Kris is up and running in the clinic.  He has been working half days this week until we can get adjusted to the time change.  He has really been loving the work in the clinic and they already had him fully booked with patients this first week.  The language is somewhat of a barrier for him as he tries to communicate with each patient.  

Getting over the jet lag has been much harder than we anticipated, but slowly we are adjusting.  Molly and I are also trying to adjust to having so much time together throughout the day.  We have been going  for walks around the area, unpacking, homeschooling, playing at the playground, working out,  and simply relaxing.  This is a huge adjustment for me as I was more accustomed to working full-time and rushing around every day.  

For this week they have someone preparing meals for us, so we don't have to worry about shopping yet.  We also have a cleaning lady come every morning.  They have not been able to find us a driver, so we have been relying on Jude and Roopa for all of our transport needs.  They cannot find a driver who speaks or understands English.  

Now that we are a getting a bit more settled I hope to post a little more frequently.  I am so grateful to God for getting us to this point.  Our prayer requests right now are for a continued smooth transition, health and safety, and for new friends/community.  Thank you for thinking and praying for us and we would love to hear updates from you all as well!!