The Vat, the VAT, THE VAT!!

We have our VAT (value added tax) now so we are able to freely trade. Thank you God. The other thing is that there was no ¨unofficial payments asked for¨

Today David will be going into our new office that our friends kindly decked out while DC was away in Delhi. He arrived back to see the once garage that we were renting, turned into a vinyl floor, glass front doors, desks, cabinets, lights, internet. Too very good are our friends. What a surprise.

Today also marks the first delivery of sale. Our first order. We have also hired our first employee who will do a lot of the ground and sales work. It feels like itś time for things to get rolling.

Peace settles in the mind

I have this over whelming love for India at the moment. I step out my doors and I breath in the aromas and smells of Indian bakeries, spices cooking, smoke, exhaust fumes and it's almost like trying to sniff a rose and you just can't quite get enough of it. India has stolen my heart and the Indian people have captured it and I don't think I am going to get it back... not that I want to :) As I rode to our friends house last night with DC in an auto, both of us wrapped in Indian shawls, and I couldn't help but grin. I am so happy, so content and so peaceful right now .

After a post a week or so ago about things happening back in NZ with Church. I now can say that after talking to people and weighing things up, it sounds like the name of Jesus was lifted high, God was glorified, Faith increased and people more in love with God. That has got to be good. I really feel at peace.

Fly away but come back soon

DC (hubby) is away in Delhi at the moment and how different it is this time with him going away than last time. Before, I was a little sparrow learning to fly in this new world I had been birthed into. I was timid and afraid to stretch my wings. This time I feel more like a wise old owl that has a been around a bit. Maybe not a mature owl but a teenage owl. One that is still learning but does not feel afraid to be alone and fly a little. One that does not mind making a few mistakes for the sake of learning.

I sent some of my little owlets off free today and although they have not yet returned I know that they too are spreading their wings and flying. Each flight brings more confidence and courage and I have to let my nest feel a little empty for a few hours and know that they are watched over by one that can watch over them far better than I can.

And although I feel at ease here alone, I will welcome back the Daddy owl and the owlets and with open arms and it will feel good when we are together again.

"I just don't know"

It's a strange thing to be so many miles away but still entangled in the lives and day to day going on of friends and family back in NZ.

I am bombarded face first with conflicting news of the Glory of God being poured out vs others who think that things are not well in the church and that it has lost it's way. This is not gossip/sin stuff I am referring to but to how God is manifesting in the church. All I can say is that I don't know what to think. My inner most being sometimes cringes at some things I am told and I want to cry out "be careful" and I am not completely sure if it is a warning in my spirit or an immaturity in me that does not yet understand how God is moving. Part of me feels cynical and the other part wants to stay open to what God may be doing.
Part of me cries "don't be led astray" and another part of me sees people loving God more deeply than before and that must be a good thing. Part of me says "You guys just sound weird" and then another part says "stop judging"

Not being there means that my judgments are based on others reactions and there are people on both sides of the river whom I trust and respect.

At the moment I have resolved to say:
"I just don't know"

Unofficial payments, yeah right.

We have been waiting on getting our VAT for our company before we can start trading but have been held up due to various obstacles, one of the them being an unofficial payment of Rs 15,000 (NZ $500). When we read the schedule of payments and saw what was written as an unofficial payment that we would not get a receipt for I think we quite justifiable felt alarm bells ring. DC (hubby) e-mailed our accountant and said it sounds very much like a bribe, he then rang us back and said that is exactly what it is. From a government department we receive our first official bribe request. Our policy is to NOT pay bribes and our accountant is telling us that we will not get the VAT unless we pay the bribe. After talking to some veterans to India, they said to say that you will be happy to pay what is due to them as long as they give a receipt :) I like that.

In the end we have re submitted our forms via our friends accountant and all is looking good so far. No one has asked for any bribes.

A tribute to my kids

I know I am not the only one that had fabulous kids but I have to say that our kids have been an absolute incredible bunch lately.
In the last 9months they have moved house 5 times, leaving the home they grew up in and the home that two of them were born in. They have had to say goodbye to all their friends, grandparents, cousins, Aunties and Uncles, pets and home comforts. We have had very few tears shed at having to say goodbye to Aotearoa and they have embraced a new culture, a new land, a new people, a new mindset as if they have always been here. The mod cons of skype and the Internet have helped hugely but even still I just want to say thanks Kids. It has been a tremendous upheaval but you have all pulled your weight. You older kids have helped with the younger ones, helped around the house and made this transition as easy on us as you possibly could. Even doing all this with a 18 mth old baby when we first shifted has gone remarkable smoothly.

Princess 1- I love how your dreams are so big that I can't contain them. I love your creativity and boundless energy and you don't care what others think about you. I love the way you use use words and I am sure that one day we will be reading your book. I love how you need us to know everything about you, every scratch, hurt, idea, joke, new found skill. It makes you, you.

Princess 2- I love your gentleness and the way you surprise us with your talent. You quietly keep your skills hidden until we stumble upon them. I love how your jokes are always funny and when we are alone with you, you don't stop talking. I love your creativity and silly faces you pull. I love how you are the second mummy and the little ones run to you. You are so caring. It's what makes you, you.

Princess 3- I love your sparkle and cheeky smile and the way your dimple draws people to you. I love how you make friends so easily and make people feel special. I love how you give away everything even if it leaves you with nothing. I love how you tilt you head and squint when you are thinking and how you look out the corner of your eye to see if we are watching when you are doing something clever. I love how you walk on your tip toes to make you feel taller. It's what makes you, you.

Prince 4- I love how your brain works, mathematical and clever. I love how you strive to do things the right way and stand back and watch until you are sure of how to do something. I love how you tackle your brother and play rough. I love how you like a goodnight kiss and follow me around all day just for the sake of it. I love how you like to cook with me in the kitchen. I love how you always have questions about everything. It's what makes you. you.

Prince 5- I love how you love people and make people feel loved. I love the quaint things you say that make us laugh. I love how you have so many words in your head that you can't get them out fast enough. I love how you cuddle and kiss. I love how you jump around and play like a puppy dog.
I love how much feeling you have inside you. it's what makes you,you.

Prince 6- I love how you never have pants on and just don't care. I love how you enjoy the stars and moon, lights and decor. I love how you like to put things in order and away in it's place but also how you pull things out of place when you want to prove a point. I love how you are talking with a slight Indian accent and that it is normal for you. I love how everything is so interesting for you. It's what makes you,you.

To whom it May Concern?

I have come to discover that pressure is not in fact real. It is a response we learn when we no longer rely, trust and have faith in God. We spend so much time worrying and sweating over things that we simply cannot control or over what we perceive to be way above what we can achieve. Too many sleepless nights tossing and turning over things we cannot change. What a big waste of time and something I have done far too much of over the past few months.

What a relief to finally understand that the pressure I have felt has really come from what I have invented in my head. Big deep breathe…..release slowly through the nose…. Ahhh.

We were encouraged to write down things that worry us and then cross off the things we have no control over. It’s amazing how small the list becomes. The things we worry about are things that we simply cannot change and these are the things that we should leave in God’s hands. I could quote a few scriptures here but I am sure they are known. In essence, I feel free. Free to just be me and to carry on doing what we are doing and to consult with God and see how he sorts things out. It’s such a great feeling.

• Visa extension
• Finances
• residence permit extension
• Business fully operational
• Will we be sent back to NZ?
• How will we pay for tickets?
• Sort paperwork for applications for Visa, business, residence. ( guess this is all we need to do right now)

This is not a Kay Sara mentality but it is putting our faith in the one who can do all things and even more than we can imagine. I will address my letters to God as "To whom it does concern."

Talking of Birth

Yesterday was the 9 month anniversary of our arrival in India. So.... the pregnancy is over and it's time to give birth.

I should nap

Right now I should have my head on my pillow and be trying to take a wee nap before we go out tonight but I am bubbling up with excitement of what could be opening up before us. If I lay down my head, it will be jumping with all sorts of thoughts so why not write instead.

We met With Mr and Mrs G again yesterday and also met their Son who is our age and their children. It was lovely for the kids to play together and met new friends. It's a shame that their son lives in another part of India.

So what I am excited about is that they are looking for someone to hand over the running of the girls home.
Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, pick me, pick me my heart is screaming out.
Here we are with a passion for something like this and they are trying to find someone to do the job. So the praying begins..... let's see if this is what God wants us to do. We have not talked anything concrete yet but plan to go and have a look at the place and meet the girls etc. We have no idea what this would entail, in fact we have no idea about anything yet but what I do know is that a bounce has returned in my step, an anticipation and excitement. They have only dropped hints about us being an answer to prayer so have not officially asked us to take over anything so everything is still just in baby stages. Is this something that is about to be birthed into our lives?

How crazy was I?

I Lay in bed this morning chatting to my beloved and was reflecting on our first arrival In India. I was recalling when we first arrive at our new apartment. It had been exciting to be picked up from the airport by friends and driven to a home that we thought we would be in for 3 months (that didn't work out but never mind)

I remember standing on the side of the road in the darkness of the night. The ground was a little wet and muddy, not from rain but from a leaking pipe. The street was quiet apart from a few stray dogs roaming around. We were waiting for the other car to arrive with our bags, some kids and the key to get in. I was so excited to be here after waiting for so many years.

Then came the first walk up the stairs, the missing windows that would not meet OSH regulations in NZ. The marble steps that were caked in dust and then our front door. We walked in and I remember thinking, I can't wait to give this place a good scrub. It had already been cleaned but there is nothing like cleaning yourself.

The table had some goodies on it for us all and we plonked down our bags and made our first cup of tea in India. The funny thing was that as I began to open kitchen cupboards and pull things out, I wanted to wash everything. I suddenly felt like everything was covered in Indian bugs that were somehow going to jump from everywhere and make us all sick. Even when washing the cups I didn't feel like they were clean because of the water I had just washed them in. I felt like everything was contaminated. This is why I titled this post 'How crazy was I?' It was as if anything I touched was covered in germs and I needed to wash my hands all the time. It was complete and utter stupidity looking back now. It was a wrong perception of India. This is how the west thinks of India and I was living it out I am embarrassed to say.

So we lay in bed and laughed at ourselves, well at me actually, and reminisced about changed mindsets. How crazy was I?

Contacts

Don't you love it when you meet people you just click with?

The other day we were put in contact with a couple (I shall call them Mr and Mrs G) that have been in India for 46years, that's right 46. Oh, and they aren't Indian. These guys are legends. Here's what I like about them.

• They are in their late 60s (I think, they have kids our age so I am  guessing)
• They are so humble
• They have wisdom
• They are encouraging
• They are down to earth
• Easy to chat with

Not once did these guys make us feel inferior to them just because they had been here for years. They were genuinely interested in what we were doing and wanted to do anything they could to give us advice on Visa extensions etc. The wisdom they had with these matters was amazing.

The other thing that was exciting was that they run a girls home/orphanage about 2 hours away from here. It also has a school attached to it. There are about 62 girls in total. This gets something in my heart jumping with excitement. I know that we are going to be involved with something like this because it is such a passion within me. We hope to take a visit sometime and see if anything happens from there. Interestingly, Mrs G's comment about us was that maybe we were an answer to pray but just left it at that, nothing more, just left us hanging there :) I will wait with eager anticipation to see what this contact brings. I feel revitalised and encouraged, nothing seems impossible anymore. This seems funny to say when we are facing our visa extension soon and the odds look like we will be sent back but  the thing is that we have seen the impossible happen, so why not again?

Gone nuts

Here's a little secret...shhhh... I am a bit fixated on coconuts. I love putting the oil in my hair and using it as a body moisturiser. I love to drink the tender coconut water followed by the creamy, soft, slippery flesh. I have gone completely nutty. It is soooo good for you and is what I would describe as the perfect food for the body. I hold a coconut and see it as a pure body perfect pill. Mmmm... must...go....get...one.

Here's some trivia for you though. I went to oil my hair this morning only to find that my usually runny oil had solidified. From this I can conclude that the days are indeed getting colder. After investigating this I can now tell that a day is bellow 22º just by looking at my oil. My life has been enlightened.

Provision

Right, so now I can speak a bit more freely about what had been a financial concern to us. The reason I can speak about it now is because God has provided.

Here's a bit of back ground info:

When we first moved to India we had ended up needing to pay more than we thought we would need to, in fact, it was way more than anticipated. We had to pay 10 months in advance on our rent as a bond plus pay monthly on top of that. This means about NZ$20,000 this year just for rent. So.... we had also opened a bank account here in India and it had a minimum amount that needed to be in it, this was NZ$16,000. We ended up borrowing this from our business in New Zealand (all legit) with the thought that we would then be able to transfer it back quite quickly. As it turned out, we needed it for the rent. This lead to us being $20,000 short in our business account and we needed to pay our sub contractors their terms salary. These sub contractors also happen to be friends. I would be lying if I didn't say that we were pretty stressed out about this. How were we going to find $20,000 when we are not earning anything. We prayed and we fasted and we even tried to apply for an overdraft on our account but because our business financial statements were being done late this year the bank would not do this until the report was in. We were kind of doing the pray but see the doctor too thing.

During this time we went through huge emotions of stress, lack of faith, worry of letting down friends or simply going into debt so we could at least pay our guys (not something we wanted to do) but... during this time we came to be able to rest in God and be able to say "it's got to be you God" we can't do anything and before our very eyes God did it. Money started being returned to us from various sources. Tax rebates, donation rebates, a client that I had forgotten to invoice (oops) It was amazing, something that seemed so huge to us just melted into being.

It was an amazing feeling to pay the last of our guys the other day and we sat back with dopey grins and said, "how did this happen? This is just amazing provision" Every time I think about it I am filled with over whelming gratefulness. It seemed impossible but there it is. Man, our God is amazing and yet he did just what he said he would, " God will provide all my needs according to his to his riches and Glory." No income= $20,000, go figure.

What I learn, learned and am learning.

After my last post that almost sounded a bit like chaos in my head, I am grateful that I had to ask myself those questions. In doing it I realised how much I want to be here. Not that I am enduring being here, not that I feel I have to, not that I feel I need to be a martyr. I actually love India and Indian people and this is where I want to be. Yes, I miss family and friends but this is where my heart has settled for now. I am where my desire is.

There are a few things coming up soon that are critical points for us. The main one is our visa extension. This is not a small task here and the truth is that we do not meet the requirements at present. We need to show what we have been earning a certain amount and that we have been paying our taxes. As of now, we have not earned anything so we have not paid taxes. At face value it does not look good but we are keeping praying that God will sort this for us.

So there are two things that may happen in a couple of months:

a) We get our extension and have a party

b) We get sent home and need to re evaluate what to do from there. ( I don't really want to think about that option) Maybe I shouldn't even let it be an option.

That's where we are at.