A Week of "Lasts"

      4 days.  Yep thats right!  Only 4 days until we get on an airplane and head back to America.  It seems totally surreal to me at this point.  I feel like I'm going to get home and it's going to feel like India was one crazy dream.  "Did we just really spend the last year in INDIA?"  Yeah, I guess it really happened.  I don't know if I've ever experienced so many emotions at the same time.  Sadness, happiness, excitement, anxiety are among the few that I experience on a daily basis right now.
      At times  I feel so sad to leave this place.  I feel like I'm just getting the hang of life here and starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the pace from to day to day.  I'm extremely sad to say goodbye to all of the friends we have made here.  Most of them have welcomed us into their homes as if we were their own family members.  It's hard to say goodbye when you don't know if you'll ever really see them again.  Everyone keeps asking "When are you coming back?"  And right now our answer is, "I don't really know."  It's tough…really tough.
     On the other hand I am having feelings of excitement as I think about seeing all of my family and friends from back home.  My stomach starts doing flip-flops just at the thought of seeing them.  I also can't wait to introduce them to John in person. (He's not much for Skype calls).  I get too overwhelmed and happy just thinking about it, so at this point I try not to think about it.
     I also get quite anxious thinking about moving to yet another place as this will be the 5th move in the 9 years that Kris and I have been married.  I get anxious about starting over, finding new friends, a new church, a house, a moving company, and the list could go on and on.  I find myself giving the same anxieties over to the Lord every single day.
      Despite all of these emotions, the reality is that we are leaving in four days.  This week has been filled with many "lasts"…our last time going to ACCEPT, our last time walking around the neighborhood, our last time with friends, our last time driving the Nano, our last time shopping on Commercial Street, and the list could go on and on.  I'm trying to take in every single sight, sound, and smell.  Here are a couple photos that capture a few of our "lasts."

Our neighborhood

Saying goodbye to our friend Amos

Double-trouble at the clinic.  These 2 ladies have been helping Kris day in and day out at the clinic!

Saying goodbye to our pastors Rick and Ellen

These ladies are some of my closest friends here in Bangalore.  They were even sweet enough to give us a going-away party.  Love these girls!!

Kris and the guys a the going-away party.

Posing in front of the sign they made us :)

One last dinner with our dear friends James, Anita, and their daughter Judith.

Molly giving Judith one last hug goodbye

Our last night at ACCEPT.  We are going to miss these guys!

     God truly has given us quite the adventure and I can't even begin to write it all down now.  I probably won't even know the half of it until we get home and have some time to process and decompress.   At this point I feel like I could write at least 5 sermons about all that the Lord has taught me and I'm sure thats just the tip of the iceberg.  The cool thing is I feel like the adventure is just beginning and that there are many, many, many more adventures yet to come!  God is awakening something deep within our souls and he's just watching us from Heaven as it unfolds.
      We're excited to share with you about the many things we have seen and experienced in India.  For those of you back home, please don't be afraid to ask about it.  We would LOVE to share with you about our time here.  I probably won't have time to blog again before we leave as I will be busy packing, packing, and more packing.  So I'll sign off for now until my feet hit the soil of the good 'ol US of A.  Please pray for us as we journey home!

The Two Wheeler

     The two-wheeler.  What an amazing invention.  Here in India, it's so much more than a mode of transportation; it is an amazing vehicle used for almost anything and everything.  It covers every square inch of the roads and has proved to be an efficient mode of transport for many people all across India.  From transporting your family of 5 to delivering your Domino's Pizza, it is being utilized to its fullest potential.  During the many months we have spent here we have collected a few photos showing the many functions that a two-wheeler posesses.  Many of these things simply blow my mind, and coming from a "safety first" mentality, I will never understand or comprehend all that it can be used for.  

     This post is for all of my friends back home to give you a little taste of life on a two-wheeler here in India.  I hope it makes you appreciate and enjoy your cars a little bit more.  For those of you reading that are from India…this is simply a boring post showing things you see every…single…day!

This is one I posted on Facebook a while back.  I couldn't resist posting it again because it still amazes me to see 5 people on a scooter!

This is a picture of the Dominos delivery scooters near our house

This is a man pushing his bicycle loaded with things like paper and cardboard.  I have no idea how he loaded that all on his bike or how he manages to balance/push it.

This is a two-wheeler delivering cooking gas to my neighbors house.  That's 4 cylinders of cooking gas on his bike!  I guess I would not enjoy delivering such a flammable device.  

The man on this two-wheeler is carrying 4 huge plastic containers.  You would need some good balancing skills for this one!

This man is using his two-wheeler to carry a bunch of blankets/fabrics/rugs.  This particular bike isn't as loaded down as I've seen, but still quite full of stuff. 

This man is carrying a huge mirror or frame while his friend drives the two-wheeler.  We've seen people carrying TV's, large pieces of glass, ladders, chairs, tables…everything!

The road is just FULL of them!!

 Two-wheeler parking in front of some shops.

      I hope you all enjoyed seeing some of what we witness on a regular basis here.  Sometimes we just shake our heads in amazement by what we see.  In exactly 2 weeks we will be preparing to get on an airplane back to the United States.  I hope to post as much as possible before we go as I savor every last minute here and try to take it all in.   

The Next Adventure

       Many of you may have heard through the grapevine…THE ISAKSON'S ARE OFFICIALLY MOVING!  We are at it again.  New adventures, new location, new job, new house, new everything…again.  Wheeew!! Sounds exhausting, right?  Yep, it is.  But there is much excitement and anticipation yet again with another move.  We are sad to say goodbye to India, but we feel God is calling us somewhere else.  We knew our time here would be short, but we didn't really think it would be this short.  I can't even begin to write down in words all that the Lord has been doing in our hearts during the past 10+ months, so right now I'm not even going to try.  To make a long story short we are moving and we couldn't be more excited to be living in the will of God.  

"Grandpa and Grandma, here I come!!"

      So where are we heading, you may ask?  Back to the midwest?  Nope, but good guess.  To another country?  Wrong again, but we considered it!  The new place where we are making our new home is sunny Southern CALIFORNIA!!!!!  I would have never predicted this one, just like I would have never predicted moving to India.  Why in the world would God call us to move to California?  Good question, let us know if you figure it out :)  We know God's ways are higher than our ways, and we are just trusting in his plan for our lives.  

Molly's bag is packed

      So our journey continues.  We are coming back to the midwest on Sept 29th.  We fly into Sioux Falls airport at 7:30pm…if any of you would like to welcome us home.   We plan to spend at least a month or more seeing family and friends and then we will drive out west.  Kris has taken a job with another Chiropractor in Murrieta, CA.  This particular doctor specializes in prenatal and pediatric chiropractic.  This will be another great experience for Kris to learn more about these specialties and work side by side with another Christian Doctor.  What am I going to do?  I am going to continue to stay at home with the kiddos and possibly look for a part time nursing job to keep my license active, but we'll see.  

Can't believe this is actually happening.  

     We don't have an official moving date, we don't have a house, we don't have a moving company either, but we are trusting in God for all of these details.  Please continue to pray for our family as we move across the world yet again and please pray for God to work out all of the details as there are many things to consider and think about.

  

We are ready for SUNNY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!!  (except maybe John who hates the sunglasses!)

     For those of you that donated money for us to buy a car back in January, we are using the money from selling that car to pay for our plane tickets home.  PRAISE THE LORD!!  Your money is at work once again and we cannot thank the Lord and the body of Christ enough for this providence.  I hope to blog a few more times about the heart behind these decisions, but for now I thought I better fill everyone in on our little/big secret.  Thanks for all of your support and prayers.  Keep it up!!