We are still not fully decided on what to do with our house here in N.Z. I was at one stage pretty much convinced we should sell. I like the idea of a complete break, nothing to worry about back in N.Z if there are repairs and maintenance etc, but, my cousin has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. She is a mortgage "something-a-rather" and asked if she could come see us the other day. I didn't want to waste her time so pointed out to her that we were probably going to sell. She still wanted to see us anyway. She has shown us a few options if we were to rent out our property. Options that would give us a better return in the long run and could generate finance for us while in India. Part of me goes "AHHHH" I don't want to think about other options and another part of me wants to weigh up all the options and then see where God leads us.
I organised a real estate agent to come and appraise our house for market value and rental value. He will be getting back to us this week with his assessment.
I have also found out the cost of breaking our current fixed mortgage.
We will then look at all options and go from there.
We even talked about selling our current house and buying a small brick and tile unit that was low maintenance and renting that out. No sooner had we talked about it and the phone rang. The lady on the other end said in a very thick South African accent, " If I could show you how to get a two bedroom brick and tile unit to rent out, would you be interested?" Now, normally I feel a bit annoyed with telemarketers calling my home but this time my ears pricked up. Is this coincidence? I guess time will tell. David and I did have a good laugh about it though. Very uncanny for such a precise call after just talking about it. There is just too much of this "coincidence" stuff happening for us not to take notice of every tiny thing that happens. I thought that if I write it all down, we can then look back one day and see how God orchestrated it all.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Flights again
I just found the cheapest flight ever to Bangalore ( Bengaluru). Malaysian airlines has a flight that would cost around $6120 for ALL of us. If you have read any of my previous posts, you will see the significance of a stop over in Malaysia. This is about $3000 less than other airlines apart from Singapore airlines who are about another $500 more. These prices are including tax. I was initially looking at prices of $10,000 to get us all there. We almost have the money for the flight already if we were able to go Malaysian!!!!
Cogs falling into place
Although I can n
ot elaborate just yet, we have had another cog fall into place.
Things seem to be picking up pace and I wonder if we are going to be in India sooner than we think.
We are still waiting on paper work but other areas seem to be working themselves out.
I am burning inside with wanting to blog about it but need to be sensitive yet until all is finalised.
David and I were laughing as we thought about selling our house and spending summer living in our car
avan. It is a 25ft 6 berth caravan that we have had many happy holidays in. It will be interesting to see if it ends up being our home before we go. It is a definite possibility.
ot elaborate just yet, we have had another cog fall into place.Things seem to be picking up pace and I wonder if we are going to be in India sooner than we think.
We are still waiting on paper work but other areas seem to be working themselves out.
I am burning inside with wanting to blog about it but need to be sensitive yet until all is finalised.
David and I were laughing as we thought about selling our house and spending summer living in our car
avan. It is a 25ft 6 berth caravan that we have had many happy holidays in. It will be interesting to see if it ends up being our home before we go. It is a definite possibility.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Provision
Check this out!!! The other day we were given $4500 dollars from a family will of a great uncle that had just been finalised. My grandmother gave us the money out of what she had been given. It is so amazing and so unexpected. It is going to cost around $9000-$10,000 dollars to get all our family across so this is a huge chunk out of it. Amazing provision.
The cheapest airfare I have seen so far was $8500 for us all but it has a flight change in Singapore with a 1hr stop over. I think that may be cutting it a bit close. I have not traveled there before and am not a very seasoned traveler.
It's a bit early yet to be finding flights but it is still fun to look and get an idea of a target $$$ we need.
I am not sure If I mentioned this in an earlier blog so forgive me if I have, The girls have sold stuff out side our house, toys, clothes etc. They are putting any money they make towards our baby's airfare. It is all their idea and they have raised about $70.00 so far. Way to go girls!!!
The cheapest airfare I have seen so far was $8500 for us all but it has a flight change in Singapore with a 1hr stop over. I think that may be cutting it a bit close. I have not traveled there before and am not a very seasoned traveler.
It's a bit early yet to be finding flights but it is still fun to look and get an idea of a target $$$ we need.
I am not sure If I mentioned this in an earlier blog so forgive me if I have, The girls have sold stuff out side our house, toys, clothes etc. They are putting any money they make towards our baby's airfare. It is all their idea and they have raised about $70.00 so far. Way to go girls!!!
Getting my head around stuff
Some times I sit back and say "Why us God?" not because I don't want to go but because we feel inadequate. I know that God will equip us for what is needed and as long as we remain teachable and open to God then he will build his church, but, still there are those thoughts that nag every now and then saying, "What the heck are we doing????" Usually when David and I talk about this we end up laughing.
As a wife, I know it is my job to support my husband and be there to encourage him and build him up.
I am not sure I have been doing so well at this lately. I have been a bit too wrapped up in practical stuff that I have side lined some of the important stuff. I have full confidence in my wonderful husband, he is very non religious and weighs everything carefully. He has such a solid and grounded biblical world view. I think I need to change my question of " what the heck are we doing?" to "How the heck do you want us to do this God?"
We are in a total reliance on God situation which I believe is a good place to be.
I have a hard job telling people that we are going to start a church and there is probably a couple of reasons for this.
The first reason is that I think people may think- Who, you???? I know, I just need to get over this and stand firm on the fact that we have so clearly heard from God that whether we feel inadequate or not, God wants to use us.
The second reason is that the usual perception of starting a church is that you find a building and fill it with people. I don't think that is how it will happen. My Idea of starting a church is that a natural collection of people begin to meet together at a home or where ever it naturally happens. Relationships are formed, you pray, discuss, teach, worship together and when you can no longer meet where you are due to lack of space, you then get a bigger meeting place. I guess time will tell how things unfold in this area once we are living in India.
So as you can see, there are a lot of things circling around in my head.
It will be interesting to look back over this one day when we are further down the track and see the process of how God works everything out in the end.
As a wife, I know it is my job to support my husband and be there to encourage him and build him up.
I am not sure I have been doing so well at this lately. I have been a bit too wrapped up in practical stuff that I have side lined some of the important stuff. I have full confidence in my wonderful husband, he is very non religious and weighs everything carefully. He has such a solid and grounded biblical world view. I think I need to change my question of " what the heck are we doing?" to "How the heck do you want us to do this God?"
We are in a total reliance on God situation which I believe is a good place to be.
I have a hard job telling people that we are going to start a church and there is probably a couple of reasons for this.
The first reason is that I think people may think- Who, you???? I know, I just need to get over this and stand firm on the fact that we have so clearly heard from God that whether we feel inadequate or not, God wants to use us.
The second reason is that the usual perception of starting a church is that you find a building and fill it with people. I don't think that is how it will happen. My Idea of starting a church is that a natural collection of people begin to meet together at a home or where ever it naturally happens. Relationships are formed, you pray, discuss, teach, worship together and when you can no longer meet where you are due to lack of space, you then get a bigger meeting place. I guess time will tell how things unfold in this area once we are living in India.
So as you can see, there are a lot of things circling around in my head.
It will be interesting to look back over this one day when we are further down the track and see the process of how God works everything out in the end.
Monday, August 17, 2009
cultural differences
I am about to make a gross generalisation so please don't shoot me down. A lot of Kiwi's (N.Zers) complain that Indian shop owners in New Zealand are unfriendly. There is not a lot of chit chat or making friends. I personally know our Indian shop owners well and they are friendly but I have also encountered some times where there has not been a hello and everything was very business like and to the point. We as Kiwis find that strange, as usually you will at least have eye contact and say hi.
The other day I was talking with a friend who is now living in N.Z but is of Indian origin. He was saying that he found it hard when he first came to N.Z because he went to a shop or the bank to get a job done and the sales person would want to have a chat with him. He thought it was odd because he had come to buy something or do some banking and not make friends. He realised that because of the huge population in India, things need to be done in matter of fact way and so you would all just do the job and move on but in N.Z there was not the same large population so people had time to ask how you were etc.
It made me realise the cultural difference going on here. The shop owners were not being rude, they were acting in a manner that they are accustomed to . "Lets just get the job done." ( again, please excuse the generalisations)
When we were in India I did not notice this personally as I found the shop owners to be very friendly and helpful. Maybe that was because I was a foreigner. It is an interesting concept though. It is very easy to jump to conclusions about a race of people and label them as friendly or unfriendly but sometimes there is a cultural reason for behavior that we are not aware of.
I am only basing this by what one Indian person has told me. He may be wrong, I don't know.
I guess the point is that we all behave according to what we know and it is good to be aware of these differences. The bank tellers in India may not be impressed if I start chatting away to them. I guess it is something I will suss out once we are there.
The other day I was talking with a friend who is now living in N.Z but is of Indian origin. He was saying that he found it hard when he first came to N.Z because he went to a shop or the bank to get a job done and the sales person would want to have a chat with him. He thought it was odd because he had come to buy something or do some banking and not make friends. He realised that because of the huge population in India, things need to be done in matter of fact way and so you would all just do the job and move on but in N.Z there was not the same large population so people had time to ask how you were etc.
It made me realise the cultural difference going on here. The shop owners were not being rude, they were acting in a manner that they are accustomed to . "Lets just get the job done." ( again, please excuse the generalisations)
When we were in India I did not notice this personally as I found the shop owners to be very friendly and helpful. Maybe that was because I was a foreigner. It is an interesting concept though. It is very easy to jump to conclusions about a race of people and label them as friendly or unfriendly but sometimes there is a cultural reason for behavior that we are not aware of.
I am only basing this by what one Indian person has told me. He may be wrong, I don't know.
I guess the point is that we all behave according to what we know and it is good to be aware of these differences. The bank tellers in India may not be impressed if I start chatting away to them. I guess it is something I will suss out once we are there.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Kids and palaces
We have just celebrated our eldest daughters 13th birthday. We had such a great day.
After fun time of ten pin bowling and skate boarding at the local skate park, we came home and got spruced up for an evening out. We decided that for each of our kids thirteenth birthdays we would take just that child out in the evening to a special restaurant, just them and Dad and Mum. For this bir
thday we went up the Auckland sky tower and had a fantastic meal over looking Auckland harbor. It was definitely an occasion to remember.
Our second eldest daughter commented the next day that she would miss out on going up the sky tower because we would be living in India but you should have seen the excitement on her face when I mentioned that maybe she could go to a palace for her 1
3th birthday. The children's dream of palaces and Maharja, princes and princesses has been kindled.
I can tell you for certain that the history and sheer beauty of a palace far out weighs anything we have in New Zealand. I love New Zealand, it is very clean, picturesque and has a little bit of everything but the one thing we do lack is history and large scale historic architecture. We are a very young nation so you come here to see the sights and not the history. How wonderful to think of all the places we will be able to explore and visit as a family in India.
After fun time of ten pin bowling and skate boarding at the local skate park, we came home and got spruced up for an evening out. We decided that for each of our kids thirteenth birthdays we would take just that child out in the evening to a special restaurant, just them and Dad and Mum. For this bir
thday we went up the Auckland sky tower and had a fantastic meal over looking Auckland harbor. It was definitely an occasion to remember.Our second eldest daughter commented the next day that she would miss out on going up the sky tower because we would be living in India but you should have seen the excitement on her face when I mentioned that maybe she could go to a palace for her 1
3th birthday. The children's dream of palaces and Maharja, princes and princesses has been kindled.I can tell you for certain that the history and sheer beauty of a palace far out weighs anything we have in New Zealand. I love New Zealand, it is very clean, picturesque and has a little bit of everything but the one thing we do lack is history and large scale historic architecture. We are a very young nation so you come here to see the sights and not the history. How wonderful to think of all the places we will be able to explore and visit as a family in India.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Obsession or God's given desire
To be totally honest, not many minutes go by in my day where I do not think about India. I really have to make sure I do not talk about it all the time because I am sure that it would become a bore to my friends. I have a select few friends that I know I can rave on to and who share my passion with India.
I have thought long and hard about whether I am being a bit obsessed or whether it is God who has given me this desire to find out all I can about India. I can liken it to being pregnant. I feel very much the same. I find out every bit of information that I can even though I have had six kids. You would think I have learned enough by now. I find by reading and investigating, it prepares me and gets me mentally prepared. The same goes with India. I believe God has placed a love and fascination with the country and it's people. I think it would be rude and arrogant to go to a new country, a new culture, and not be aware of its customs, religious beliefs, its politics, it's food, its language, its clothing, its social customs. The more I can be aware of these things, the more I can embrace the culture and be aware of how not to offend people and how to show respect to those whose country they are letting me share. I do not take it for granted that we are aliens who are being welcomed in. ( although in saying that, we don't have visas yet, I have full faith that we will though) Hhmmm aliens, I am having visions of the slimy green kind with big eyes and antennae type eyes. I hope we can blend better than they could but with our kids with blond hair and blue eyes, it may be hard to fade into the back ground :)
I have thought long and hard about whether I am being a bit obsessed or whether it is God who has given me this desire to find out all I can about India. I can liken it to being pregnant. I feel very much the same. I find out every bit of information that I can even though I have had six kids. You would think I have learned enough by now. I find by reading and investigating, it prepares me and gets me mentally prepared. The same goes with India. I believe God has placed a love and fascination with the country and it's people. I think it would be rude and arrogant to go to a new country, a new culture, and not be aware of its customs, religious beliefs, its politics, it's food, its language, its clothing, its social customs. The more I can be aware of these things, the more I can embrace the culture and be aware of how not to offend people and how to show respect to those whose country they are letting me share. I do not take it for granted that we are aliens who are being welcomed in. ( although in saying that, we don't have visas yet, I have full faith that we will though) Hhmmm aliens, I am having visions of the slimy green kind with big eyes and antennae type eyes. I hope we can blend better than they could but with our kids with blond hair and blue eyes, it may be hard to fade into the back ground :)
Ramdom desires
I have a couple of funny, maybe strange, desires for when I am in India. These are not "have to have" things but just a couple of quirky desires. I don't even know why I am writing about this,but hey, I am.
I desire to have a front door on our house that has a the traditional look with a padlock. ( I will be happy with whatever we have but this is just a dream of mine, don't ask me why)
I desire to have the typical Indian sheet on the bed that you just toss over yourself on those hot sticky nights. The light cotton ones with the paisley. It's a memory I have of sta
ying in Indian homes. I guess it may make me feel more like an Indian.
I desire to have a front door on our house that has a the traditional look with a padlock. ( I will be happy with whatever we have but this is just a dream of mine, don't ask me why)
I desire to have the typical Indian sheet on the bed that you just toss over yourself on those hot sticky nights. The light cotton ones with the paisley. It's a memory I have of sta
ying in Indian homes. I guess it may make me feel more like an Indian.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Spying out the land
I am sitting in bed with my laptop after having a nice cup of tea that my hubby bought me and with the joys of modern technology I am looking at Indian real estate. Isn't it incredible that from so any miles away I can actually see what the housing market in Bangalore (Bengaluru) is doing. It's not that I am looking for an actual place for us yet but it's good to see what is around. I like to look at both rental and for sale properties. We wont actually get a place until we are over there and can have a good look but magicbricks.com has been recommended by many expats. There are restrictions for foreigners buying a place so I am still trying to work that out in my head. I think rental will be the way to go.
A lot of what you do in India is about who you know and the relationships you have with people. I know our friends in Bangalore will be a big help to us when the time comes.
As I look over my shoulder I have to have a little snicker because my husband is looking at internet providers in Bangalore. (I know it seems a bit excessive to both have a laptop but IT is his job so computers are never short in this household.) So while I am keeping an eye on the housing situation he is making sure we can get internet access..... Mmmm..... priorities? To be honest though, internet access to back home once we are in India will be pretty important for all of us, although, it's a luxury really.
A lot of what you do in India is about who you know and the relationships you have with people. I know our friends in Bangalore will be a big help to us when the time comes.
As I look over my shoulder I have to have a little snicker because my husband is looking at internet providers in Bangalore. (I know it seems a bit excessive to both have a laptop but IT is his job so computers are never short in this household.) So while I am keeping an eye on the housing situation he is making sure we can get internet access..... Mmmm..... priorities? To be honest though, internet access to back home once we are in India will be pretty important for all of us, although, it's a luxury really.
Friday, August 7, 2009
I love that picture!!!
Every time I see the photo at the top of my blog, it just makes my heart leap. I love it soooooo much. Did I say how much I love it????? I took it when we were at the Taj on our last trip. I don't like it because I took it and think I'm amazing but I just love the contrast of colour, the beauty and story behind the Taj and I guess the excitement of an amazing country, INDIA!!!! Yay for India. Can you catch my love for this country. I love it, love it, love it.
Ok, enough said.
Ok, enough said.
Waiting waiting, patience patience
I am now in the official wait and see stage of things. Our business records are in at our accountant and we need to sit back until we hear from them..... la la la la la..... It's all good though. I am actually enjoying a brain rest for a while and feel quite content.
We watched a great movie the other night with a couple of friends. It is called "Taare zameen par" It's a hindi movie with english subtiltles. Our kids really enjoyed it too even the ones who could not read the subtitles. Another movie we have en
joyed is called "Water". Both these movies show real life issues in india and give us the chance to listen to some Hindi being spoken. We are managing to pick up the odd word and are so proud of ourselves when we do. It must look so silly when we jump up and down with glee because we have understood the word "pila" (Yellow). Every small step seems like a huge success at the moment.
We have also watched the BBC series called "The Story of India." An excellent documentary that gives a bit of insight into Indian culture and history.
We watched a great movie the other night with a couple of friends. It is called "Taare zameen par" It's a hindi movie with english subtiltles. Our kids really enjoyed it too even the ones who could not read the subtitles. Another movie we have en
joyed is called "Water". Both these movies show real life issues in india and give us the chance to listen to some Hindi being spoken. We are managing to pick up the odd word and are so proud of ourselves when we do. It must look so silly when we jump up and down with glee because we have understood the word "pila" (Yellow). Every small step seems like a huge success at the moment.
We have also watched the BBC series called "The Story of India." An excellent documentary that gives a bit of insight into Indian culture and history.
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