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!!