New Monument
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Bridal Hair Arrangement
Goes in her hair and down her back

Cooking gas delivery
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Umbrellas in the hot sun
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Colorful house
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Construction on the median
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Fruit and Vegetable Vendors
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Close up
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Appealing fruit arrangements
Welcoming sights in Chennai

Fruit Shop
We went for smoothies, and Emily found new friends.

Fruit Shop
Lots of people hand their cell phones to kids to entertain them. Emily is excited because we don't let her play with ou

Fruit Shop
Seeing another table, and more cell phones

Kiss from Daddy
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Smiley girl
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Janaki and Emily
Janaki made this dress for Emily before we left in 2008.

Riding in an auto rickshaw
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Trying dosa (yummm...)
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Buying produce
Emily hanging out with the cashier while we picked up the produce we wanted.

Buying produce
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Meeting Malathi
She's the secretary for the chairman of the hospital where Andrew hopes to work. She loved on Emily while we met the ch

Meeting Malathi
She's the secretary for the chairman of the hospital where Andrew hopes to work. She loved on Emily while we met the ch

Swimming
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Wedding Decorations
When a family has a wedding, they usually decorate their home so all the neighbors can know a celebration is happening!

Deepak at his sister's wedding
Deepak emailed us the wedding invitation and was shocked when we replied that we would be able to attend!

Wedding Meal
South Indian variety - Emily tried a few dishes too.

The Bride & Groom
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Random pic. of Andrew and Danielle
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Buying bangles
Emily loves to put toys around her wrist, so we thought she would like bangles. We went to a shop to buy some.

She loved them!
They make a jingle sound when she waves her arms.

Look how happy she is.
Clapping and jingling.

Vishakh, Arpitha and Janaki
Out to eat at Sparky's Diner.

Dinner with our friends.
We came to their house for a dosa dinner.

Making dosa
Ram teased that she wouldn't be able to make a nice round dosa, instead it'd look like Africa. She proved him wrong.

Ram's Dosa (made by Danielle)
Later, Danielle sneaked in the kitchen and made Ram a dosa shaped like Africa!

Meeting old neighbors
Roshini, Maria, Emily and Kumari

Meeting old neighbors
Naraindra, Shrey, Sashi, Simran

Emily's friend Andrew
Whenever we went to Sparky's Diner, Andrew wanted to hold Emily. He became her good friend.

Visiting with Amala
Amala taught us Tamil for one year.

Visiting our landlady, Renuka
Renuka, her daughter, and their house helper

Visiting the SWE Home For the Aged
Phyllis, Keith, Margaret, and Mr. Singh

Visiting with Madhan's family
Madhan, whom Andrew met on a public bus, came over to visit with his mom and sister before Emily was born.

Welcome, Emily Catherine Stammer
Emily was born on May 9th, 2008. She weighed 7lbs 10.5oz and was 20 inches long.

Meeting Opa
Danielle's dad

Meeting Oma
Danielle's mom

Meeting Amala
Our old language helper

Meeting Grandma
Andrew's mom

Meeting Papa
Andrew's dad

Meeting SRU staff
The principal and the chairman of the nursing college at SRU.

Meeting Ram & Arpitha
our neighbors that live right above us.

Meeting our landlady's daughter
She told her mother not to come and collect rent until she could come with her!

Meeting Dr. Nirmala Jayashankar
Dr. Nirmala delivered Emily and did a wonderful job!

All dressed up for...
...her first birthday party. Simran, who lives across the hall, called and invited Emily to her 12th b-day party.

Meeting Simran
Danielle was invited to the party too, but only because Emily couldn't come alone. :)

Meeting Simran's friends
They all wanted a chance to "carry" Emily.

Congratulations, Andrew!!!
Andrew received the results from his university exams--he was #1 in his class!!! All the hard work paid off.

Celebration cake
Jason and Karyn ordered a cake to help us celebrate.

Meeting Nila and Dylan
Nila, Dylan and Emily were all born in Chennai within a few weeks of each other. Emily's the youngest.

Meeting Malathi
Malathi is the secretary to Apollo Hospital's chairman. She's the one responsible for us getting to meet the chairman.

Meeting Neighbors
The family below us is a joint family. Lali's dad gave Emily Rs. 10 saying he only gives money to the best babies.

Party with Janaki's family
My sister, Dalenna, cooked for us all. She made artichoke & mushroom pasta--yumm!

More of the dinner party
My sister is on the left, in gray.

Uppanayanam ceremony
The ceremony where a Brahmin boy is officially recognized as a Brahmin. It's a right of passage into adulthood.

Uppanayanam ceremony
Andrew is wearing a dhoti, and Danielle is wearing a sari.

Uppanayanam
Traditionally the boy is under 12, but today families do it when it's convenient. In this case, the "boy" was 17.

Secret Family Chant
The father and son (along with a priest) are covered with cloth. The father reveals the secret family chant to his son.

Secret Family Chant
While the father reveals the chant, the guests come to the platform and toss flower petals over them as a blessing.

Neighbors at the ceremony
Banu, Kumari and Maria

Can't get enough baby pics!
The outfit Emily is wearing was one that Danielle wore as a baby. Isn't she precious? :)

Elaborate decorations for Pongal
Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated for three days in Jan.

Prashant & Indira
Indira's family lives in our building. She and her fiance are engaged to be married on May 11.

Engagement Ceremony
I wore a sari, which was a bit tricky considering my growing belly!

Engagement Ceremony
The family and priests are on the stage performing poojas for the engagement.

Engagement Ceremony
Tying flowers around the neck of the bride-to-be

Turning 27
Dressed up and ready for a dinner out with Jason and Karyn. (and wanting a picture of my baby belly)

Turning 27
Blowing out the candles (yes, cake before dinner is okay!)

Turning 27
Andrew and I at the restaurant.

Visiting with friends
Madhan and Andrew met on the bus. One afternoon his mom and sister came with him to visit us.

Feb-Mar Combo Party
Janaki and I both made Indian food and shared it together for our monthly party.

Feb-Mar Combo Party
I made the yellow dish in the clear bowl and the green/red dish in the other clear bowl.

Baking with Arpitha
We decided to make sugar cookies together.

Baking with Arpitha
She really liked the Christmas designs.

Funeral Procession
The street in front of our house from the terrace. Notice the smoke from the firecrackers and the van with flowers.

Holi
A north Indian new years celebration involving lots of color! This year it was the day before Easter.

Easter morning
I wore a sari to church.

Easter
Arpitha came down and we decorated eggs.

Easter
She's so creative.

Easter
We also made cupcakes and icing. This is a licking the icing spoon action shot!

Easter
The finished products.

Easter lunch
Spaghetti!

Easter lunch
We couldn't fit all the food on the table.

Easter
Silly cousins!

Easter
Ben walks really well now.

Easter
Playing with Vishakh and Arpitha.

Easter
Sitting down to eat.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
A combo of both Indian and American customs, we had a baby shower for the ladies of my apt. building.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Starter snacks. Usually the food comes at the end, but I wanted to have some snacks early on. I had cake for later.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Simran, Sashi and Kamala

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Me, Lali, Maria, Krishna Kumari and Meena

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Younger girls: Roshini, Rangu, and Mahal Lakshmi. Janaki is in blue.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
We played two games. This one involved cutting string to guess the size of my belly. Everyone guessed big!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Lakshmi was so funny. She said she'd just save her string for next month and then she'd be right on!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Almost right on!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
The Indian tradition is to put bangles on the mother-to-be. I provided them b/c my hands are so large!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
I even put lotion on my hands first to help the bangles slide on.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Sashi is from North India and her custom is to drape a sari over the mother-to-be's head and also to put mehndi on her.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Applying the henna.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Game number two: draw the best picture of a baby you can with the paper on your head!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Everyone was cracking up as they drew and then even more so when they saw what they drew.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Lakshmi, Janaki and Schwetha. Schwetha won! Look at that concentration.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Having fun!

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Cake and ice cream were served last to signal the end of the party.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
It's customary to give gifts to the guests as they leave, so I made up these little bowls with an apple and candy inside

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Everyone brought a gift for me. I received nuts, saris, fruit, little gift boxes, and a couple cards with money.

Valagapu/Baby Shower
Andrew came home just in time to help me clean up from the party (and get a picture with his wife!)

December Party (upstairs)
Arpitha was showing how to assemble her dance costume. Janaki was the model.

December Party
My turn to model.

December Party
Andrew performing "I'm a little tea pot."

Wedding
The bride wore this sari for the wedding...

Wedding
...and this one for the reception. It's traditional to change clothes between the ceremony and reception.

Christmas celebration at SRMC
Students performed dances.

Christmas celebration at SRMC
Some students sang...

Christmas celebration at SRMC
...and even Santa came to visit and feed cake to the chairman of the nursing college.

Baking cookies
The smell of cookies baking really brought on the Christmas spirit.

Baking cookies
The finished product. They were good!

Decorations
This is the most common Christmas decoration we see in India. We finally got one this year.

Decorations


Christmas breakfast


Andrew reading from Luke


Gift Exchange


Celebration with the Frys
We ate spaghetti, garlic bread, almond green beans, cranberry cider, eggnog, cookies, walnut "pecan" pie and more.

Celebration with the Frys
We visited.

Celebration with the Frys
Cute hat, Ben!

Celebration with the Frys
We exchanged gifts.

Zoo Trip
We took the nursing students from WI to the zoo.

Zoo Trip


Zoo trip
Here are a few of the students and their professor.

Dance Lesson
Arpitha came over and showed the girls a little about the traditional dance she does.

Dance Lesson
Practicing the moves.

What the dance looks like
We went to this performance with Jason and Karyn before Christmas. Arpitha is on the back left.

New Year's Eve
We took the group to Sparky's (the American restaurant), which was having a buffet and carnival.

New Year's Eve
I wanted to win the green frog on the balloon popping game.

New Year's Eve
You had to pop three balloons in three tries to win the "big" prize.

New Year's Eve
Andrew did it!!!

New Year's Eve
Bean bag toss. It was addicting, but much harder than it looked.

Mahabalipuram
This is a temple in a very historical area outside of Chennai.

Mahabalipuram
According to our guide, this is the largest bas relief in the world.

Mahabalipuram
Old bas reliefs.

Mahabalipuram
This rock is called Butterball. It looks like it'll fall down the incline any moment, but doesn't (thankfully).

Mahabalipuram
The group of nursing students and professors (as well as a few other people that just wanted to join in).

Mahabalipuram
Oh no!!! The rock is rolling. We'll save you.

Traditional Brahmin man


Baby Gift
It's tradition to give an expecting mother flowers for her hair and lots of bangles. Our watchman's wife gave me these.

January Party (at our house)
Our neighbors came over for a Mexican fiesta. I was so excited about making them fajitas.

January Party
Ram digging in!

January Party
Janaki looks like she's enjoying herself.

January Party
Vishakh eating up.

January Party
Arpitha delicately eating a chip. Don't let this fool you though, she dug right in.

January Party
Making sopapillas.

January Party
I can't believe they turned out. I got the recipe online and was very impressed.

Aug 15 India's Indep. Day
Andrew here is sporting an "I love India" flag.

Aug party
We dressed in India's colors and wore paper versions of the hats that were identified with the independence movement.

Aug party
The meal: salad with dressing, cold pasta salad and veggie pizza.

Aug party
Fondue for dessert

Girl's Day Out
Janaki, Arpitha, Karyn, Ben, and Danielle went swimming at a local hotel pool.

Girl's Day Out
Sunscreen hair looks cool!

Girl's Day Out
Arpitha learned to float!

September Party
Janaki cooked a traditional meal from her home state, which was wonderful. Danielle gave a long awaited violin concert.

September Party
Nice necklace, Andrew.

September Party
Benjamin meets Donny (the Golden Retriever)

Coconuts
Danielle's first tender coconut since moving to India--not bad!

Newspaper Ad
In preparation for a festival in honor of Ganesh, the elephant god, this ad was in the paper. Close-up is next.

Ad close-up
Ganesh is supposed to bring success to any venture for those who worship him.

Gowri pooja
Rangoli is the name for these decorations outside of homes.

Gowri pooja
Our neighbors invited us to watch their worship (pooja) to Gowri, the day before the Ganesh pooja. She is Ganesh's mom.

Gowri pooja
Mainly the pooja involved placing flowers or other object near the idol while saying certain things, led by Ram.

Gowri pooja
This day honors women. The main event was when mom and daughter each tied a yellow cord around the other's wrist.

Temple destroyed
An overpass is being built here and this temple was in the way. It will probably be rebuilt when the road is finished.

Hard hats!!!
Most construction we've seen has been done by laborers without much machinery or safety gear. This was impressive.

My Hibiscus
Three blossoms in one day.

Fast Lizard
These aren't the kind that can be seen on the walls of buildings, but are cool looking anyway.

Woodpecker


Onam-Teacher's Day
Andrew's college hosted a celebration in honor of Onam (celebrated in the state west of us) and Teacher's Day.

Onam-Teacher's Day
Students danced.

Onam-Teacher's Day
The king came. According to tradition, King Mahabali visits every home on a certain day of Onam.

Onam-Teacher's Day
Some of the guys danced too. The one on the front left, in blue, is Andrew's friend from class named Nibun.

Onam-Teacher's Day
One of the main parts of this celebration was lighting and dancing around this lamp.

Onam-Teacher's Day
Shooting the tiger dance.

Clinicals
Andrew has begun clinicals and this is his uniform.

October Party
We had veg. burgers, potato salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, chips and soda. A regular American cookout! :)

October Party
After dinner conversation

Funeral procession
Many castes have a procession with firecrackers, dancing, and mourning as they escort the deceased to the funeral pyre.

2nd Annual Fall Festival
On the painted mural, the leaves on the trees are all made from Ben's hand prints.

Leaves
Since the leaves don't turn here, we had to paint our own.

Spoon Witches
Arpitha made these and brought them over for us.

The Costumes
Ram

The Costumes
Janaki's a beggar woman.

The Costumes
Arpitha's a south Indian dancer

The Costumes
Jason's a rapper.

The Costumes
Karyn's a cat.

The Costumes
Ben's a hillbilly or hobo. Notice the beard!!!

The Costumes
Andrew and Danielle are salt and pepper shakers.

The Food
Vegetarian chili and cornbread!!!

The Food
Karyn made a delicious cranberry cider.

The Food
Chocolate Pumpkin Cake for Karyn's 28th birthday.

The Party


The Party


The Activities
We painted pumpkins. I forgot to get a pic of the neighbors', but here are ours.

Nursing Ceremony
The students took the Nurses' Pledge in this very important ceremony.

Decorations


Before the ceremony


Andrew in line.
They had to stand in height order, so Andrew was dead last!!!

Thank You Dinner
Amala taught us Tamil for one year, and this meal was in her honor.

Eating with our hands
The best silverware for eating Indian food is the hand!!!

They both wanted that hand!


Kiss


Best of Friends


Thank you dinner number 2
Kumar also taught us this past year, so we went out in his honor with his family.

The whole group
(minus Andrew) --he's taking the picture.

Divia and Ben


David and Ruth's engagement
We know Ruth from church. She and David were officially announcing their engagement. The date is planned for Jan.

Giving of the ring


Ruth's aunt, Ursula


Dishes piled
After hitting the buffet and eating to satisfaction, guests set their plates down in a corner to be cleaned up later.

Danielle and Shimthi
Shimthi is from N. India and is a Bible College student. While here, her bro. died and she is grieving far from home.

Nina, Priscilla, and Shimthi


Ozzie and his nephew
Ozzie will be engaged to Ruth's sister once Ruth and David are married.

East meets West


Dancing!!!


July Party
Just because, we have a party every month with our neighbors. We dressed in Independence Day colors & ate Indian food.

Janaki and Ben


Arpitha and Vishakh


Vishakh and Janaki


Jason's b-day (July 11)


Fajita Feast
We made fajitas, bean dip and pico de gallo. It was a great feast.

New Saris
Karyn and I went shopping for saris and found a buy one, get one free special. We dressed up and went out to dinner.

Arpitha's school fair
Each class made posters or displays to deal with the issues plaguing the world today. Here, she's posing with her work.

Speech to the Students
This lady is a sannyasin, which means she's an ascetic seeking liberation from reincarnation through meditation.

Recent president of India
Kalam came to see the projects and give a speech. From a humble start, he became a rocket scientist & then president.

Girl's Day Out
Karyn and I got together with Janaki and Arpitha on a day when Arpitha was off school. We had lunch and visited.

Girl's Day Out
Arpitha and Ben

Girl's Day Out
Karyn and I wanted practice tying our saris, so we wore them to our lunch.

Girl's Day Out
Arpitha is good at mehndi. After lunch, she decorated my hand.

Watch her skill


Finished product
After the paste dries, it is scraped off leaving an orangy-brown stain.

Beach Day
We decided one evening to head to the beach with Jason and Karyn. Here we are, on our way.

Sights on the way


Hindu temple


Wine Shop
Has about every kind of liquor except wine and unfortunately usually has a crowd around it throughout the day.

Ladies interacting


Getting water
I love all the color between the water jugs and the saris.

Western style shop


Vendors beside the beach


Selling flowers


Karyn and Danielle and Ben


"Muscle Beach"


The place to hang out
The beach in the evenings is very pleasant, because of the cool breeze that comes off the ocean.

Horse Rides





Ben's first trip to the beach
We had a good time catching his reactions on "film."

Soaking it all in


Andrew and Ben


Flower vendor
This little girl has a great smile.

Swimming
This beach isn't a great place to swim, b/c it has dangerous rip tides and since it's near a port the water isn't clean.

Playing in the waves


Waste on the sand
This section of the coast is usually fairly clean, but on this day waste had washed up here.

Danielle


Karyn at sunset


Selling snacks
He had the basket on his head right before this. You can still see the cloth coiled on his head to help balance it.

Lover's walking
This beach is a place many couples come to walk together or sit side by side in the sand.

Traditional picture
Andrew and I really like to do this whenever we're at a beach.

Whoa!!!


Cotton candy


Balloons for sale


Beggar woman


Jason and Andrew at sunset


Andrew's Birthday
Bowling party!

Look at that form
Andrew and I just wore our socks. Andrew b/c they didn't have shoes big enough for him. Me b/c the shoes hurt my feet.

Jason bowling


Karyn getting ready


Fun moment


Time for lunch
I was the high chair.

Surprise dinner
Andrew thought he and I were going to dinner, but when we arrived the Frys and the family that lives above us were there

Karyn, Janaki, and Danielle


Danielle and Arpitha


Opening gifts
Andrew got blue pens and an alarm clock. Blue is the color for taking tests, so now he's set!

Open House Cake
This cake was both eggless and absolutely delicious.

Arpitha and Simran
These were our first two guests. Soon after, people poured in, but I forgot to take pictures.

Please no gifts.
Every family brought something. He got: 4 bouquets, cashews, an apple, two pomegranates, a card, and a picture frame.

The school and orphanage
This is where we stayed while visiting the interns.

Inside
This is set up for Sunday. Other days, the school uses this space for assemblies. The orphan boys sleep on mats here.

View from the balcony


In formation


View of the surrounding village
One morning, I woke up at 5am and watched the village springing to life. I saw people eat, do laundry, & wash dishes.

Crazy Palm


Village School
We were invited to hand out free books to the children at a village school.

Photo op
All the kids lined up with their new books for a group picture.

Some had, others didn't


Serving Lunch
The kids had rice, a boiled egg, a potato dish and a kind of soupy vegetable gravy called Rasam.

Boat Ride
We were invited to join the interns on a day long boat ride through one of the most beautiful parts of India.

Foggy Mountains


Fishing Village


Andrew with Adam
Two of the interns, both named Adam.

Village Stop
We docked here and were allowed to visit the village where cold sodas were sold.

Scenery





Another stop
A brook ran through this village. It was very relaxing and beautiful.

Peeking sun
Most of the day was cloudy, but near the end of our trip the sun made it's appearance and lit up the hills.

Show time
Dancers performed to pop songs and even invited the audience to join in.

Our friend Corey


Too tall to dance
When Andrew stood on the stage his head was over the boat's "ceiling." That's his excuse for not dancing anyway. :)

Sun-lit hills


Small boat


Herding


Hanuman, the monkey god.
This statue was at the dock overlooking the river.

Construction
Brick workers carry many bricks on their heads. These men were taking these up several flights of stairs.

Bricks


Orphan girl
The school housed several orphans or children whose parents couldn't care for them, many from the tsunami.

Danielle and Mary
Mary is engaged to an American and came to visit to practice her English. She is waiting for her visa so they can wed.

Danielle and Corey


New Clothes
Grace gave us each a new outfit to wear on Sunday morning. Don't we look great!

Close up


Front and Center
We were asked to give a message, so we each talked a bit while John translated.




Honored Guests
To top it all, we were given shawls and floral garlands to honor us.

Visiting a large church
This Catholic church is the largest in the state we were in (Andra Pradesh).

Favorite flowers


Marina Beach
Coming home, we could clearly see Marina Beach from the plane.

Chennai from the air

Andrew and Vishakh


Snacks on the beach


Fishing boats


Restaurant


laundry


bus


Inside a new city bus


ticket taker


gods in the bus
We see Hindu gods everywhere.

Andrew at Sri Ramachandra


sharing


Fruit stand


watermelon season


Jackfruit


tender coconuts
On the far right, you can see a splayed open jackfruit.

getting there


Birthday jewelry


just can't pose


construction


small haul trucks


lady walking


Anyone for a banana?


Nice cars 1


Nice cars 2


Nice cars 3


Nice Cars 4


Really nice car-Mercedes


Holi
A north Indian holiday celebrated to bring in the new year with color.

Our neighbors got me too.


side street


lorry (aka big truck)


some roads


new main highway


ox cart


Chennai airport


Chennai from air


Bob and Peggy Kuest
The Kuests came to Chennai to teach at Lakeview Bible College.

Dinner with Lakeview Staff
We were graciously invited to attend the Faculty Dinner.

Fruit carvings


Thatch huts


Nice office building


Share auto in an intersection


Cart


Almond tree


Saturday morning


Danielle


long bananas


red bananas


calves


calf


Accord Metropolitan Hotel


Stall shops


Easter sky
He has risen!!!

Easter Decorations
We invited the Ramachandra Family over to have Easter dinner with us.

Table is set


Making pancakes


Ram, Arpitha, Vishakh and Donnie (the golden retriever)


1 Peter 3:18
We bought flowers to remind us of Christ's sacrifice and purity.

Janaki and Danielle


Group picture
The Ramachandra Family: Ram, Janaki, Vishakh and Arpitha.

Out to dinner on our 4th anniv.
I bought this outfit right after we came to Chennai and wore it on our anniversary last year.

Having Dinner


Cutting the Cake


Feeding each other

Custard Apple


Custard Apple Inside
The fruit is soft and has a sweet, but mild taste.

Custard Apple Seed
In each pocket of fruit there is a huge black seed. Makes for slow, but tasty eating.

Honeydew-Watermelon
Mostly this tasted like watermelon, but was a bit more expensive. Fun to try.

Valentine's Day flowers
Andrew bought me a rope of Jasmine flowers for my hair.

Ironers on Jagadambal Street
This stand of ironers is a permanent fixture on our street. They provide their service to the area for 5 cents an item.

Our street from our roof
Our street is near a main road, but is usually quiet with a small amount of traffic on it.

B-day girl at church
I wore a sari to church. The congregation sang to me (as is the custom) and afterwards, I handed out candy to everyone.

B-day lunch at Sparky's
The staff came out singing American-restaurant-style and brought a brownie with ice cream to help us celebrate.

Danielle's b-day lunch
The six of us at Sparky's (an American food restaurant) to celebrate Danielle's birthday.

Leonard and Pam Thompson


Jason and Karyn Fry


Andrew and the b-day girl


Ice cream sundae party
We had ice cream, brownies, strawberries, bananas, nuts, whipped topping, chocolate sauce and 7-up.

The whole party
Jason, Karyn, Danielle, Andrew, Vishakh, Arpitha and Janaki

Home for the Aged party
We took a cake when we visited the Home for the Aged a few days after Danielle's b-day. The ladies really enjoyed it.

Cutting the cake


B-day rose
One of the ladies insisted on cutting a rose from the garden for my hair.

Tiny Bananas
A bunch of these were given to us along with beetlenut leaves as part of a personal wedding invitation.

Watchman's son's wedding
At 6am (an auspicious time), but we went with our neighbors at 9. The ceremony was ending, but we didn't miss it all.

Janaki and Danielle
We're just waiting for Arpitha's dance show to start.

Andrew and Ram (pronounced Rom)
Also waiting for the dance to begin.

Offering flowers to their gods


The whole group
The final scene of the dance program. Arpitha is on the left in orange pants and holding an instrument.

Lunghi lesson
Ram taught Andrew how to properly wear the common south Indian men's wear.

Mock fight
Don't forget to twirl your mustache before putting up your fists. You can tell we really have fun with this family.

On the train to a wedding
I spent most of my time reading. Andrew really liked looking out the train door, watching the landscape pass by.

This is what Andrew liked to do.


Scenery


Field at sunrise


Gathering water


Bridge at sunrise


Landscape


Foggy at sunrise


Staircase at Bride's house


Flowers


Sari number one
My neighbor let me borrow three of her saris to take to the wedding. This is the first one I wore.

Sari number two
Danielle with Abby and Carol DeWelt.

Sari number three
An unknown phenomenon to us in the south, evenings were chilly farther north. I wore a jacket like the other women did.

Tumeric Ceremony
Two days before the wedding, friends and family gave their blessings to the couple by putting a yellow paste on them.

Tumeric Ceremony
You can see the paste applied down the bride's arms and legs.

Tumeric Ceremony
The groom covered in the yellow paste.

Henna Mehndi
Several of the girls got mehndi done the day before the wedding. Henna is the paste & mehndi, the art.

Entertainment the night before


The groom's transportation
On the way to the church, the groom got to ride an elephant.

Andrew on stage
Andrew was asked to read a few words about lighting the unity candle.

The Bride and her father


Beautiful Bride


Andrew reading


Tommy and Shiny
Shiny was a dormmate of Danielle's at OCC. When we were in India in 2004, she met us in Delhi and guided us around.

The reception area


Making bread
The wedding feast was so good. They had all types of Indian food and the bread was made hot and fresh.

At the reception
It was a little chilly, so we sat around small fire pits to visit and have dinner.

The wedding party


Lookin' good!


Chris DeWelt, DeePak, and Andrew
Chris and DeePak were very encouraging to us, especially about what we are trying to do here.

Wedding #2: Suresh and Bharathi
Leonard Thompson's office boy got married this month. His marriage was arranged.

Andrew's aunt and cousin
Karyn, Kathy and Keesa dressing up for dinner out.

Baby Fry
Isn't he cute?

Andrew and Benjamin


Benjamin and Danielle


Dinner after Ben's dedication
During church at ACOC, Jason and Karyn brought Ben before the congregation and had a small dedication service.

Serving biriyani
Biriyani is a rice dish that can have meat or be vegetarian. This had chicken, served with an eggplant side dish.

Check out that pot!
Biriyani is cooked in a huge pot and shoveled into serving bowls. You have to think big serving a crowd of 200.

The Sitra Apartments Party
We all gathered on the terrace to introduce ourselves, visit, and have dinner. It was a lovely party.

Dinner
The meal was catered in, which gave all the women a break from cooking.

Christmas tree shopping
We went to an area of the city called Parry's. It was row after row of tiny streets lined with shops.

Lots of Shops
Here's a glimpse of some of the wares for sale.

Bicycle Rickshaw
Not common in our area of the city, bicycle rickshaw were abundant in Parry's.

Fruit stand
Colorful and delicious. We bought a bag of apples here.

Working on the tree.


Fluffing the branches


Yeah, all done.


Dec. 3rd is a Hindu festival day.
This car looks to be decorated in honor of a god.

Festival clothing
The guys who wear black dhoti's and scarfs are dressing in honor of the god who is celebrated in early Dec.

Rangoli
By pouring a powder on the ground in patterns, Hindus honor their gods and invite them into their homes.

Snacks from our neighbor
Puffed rice, peanuts, and jaggary rolled into balls. (Jaggary is similar to carmel).

Andrew eating sweets


Anna Arches
We pass under these on the way to language lessons.

Inside a share auto
We take these to language class. Notice the driver's seat is actually a chair bolted to the floor.

Spencer's Daily
One of our local grocery stores. The sign is also in Tamil on the other side of the entrance.

Veggies at the grocery store.
Just this week we learned the names of many of these vegetables in Tamil.

Grocery store aisles


Pondy Bazaar
This is a shopping area near our home that has small stalls all in a row.

Getting a new key made.
The guy filed this key by hand!

Key filing closeup


Be Indian, Buy Indian
A campaign instituted by Indira Ghandi encouraging Indians to buy Indian products alone.

Outside our window
A man was cutting away the dead fronds and putting a net around the coconuts so they wouldn't fall on the cars below.

Dead ant, dead ant
Andrew left for a moment when what to his wondering eyes should appear but a column of ants attacking our kitchen.

Danielle and Janaki
Janaki lives above us. Her son was entering their golden retriever into a dog show, and they invited us to come along.

Vishakh and Arpitha
At the dog show

"Ram" and Janaki


Lining up


Don Pedro
He's 7 months old and his category was pups from 7 to 18 months old, so he was a bit immature this round. Next time!

Great Dane


Pug


Asian breeds (1)


Asian breeds (2)


Asian breeds (3)


Karyn's Shower
The ladies from the Anna Nagar Church of Christ got together to give Karyn words of wisdom and celebrate with her.

Karyn's Shower Game
The ladies had to cut off a piece of string and guess Karyn's girth. The one closest to her actual size won a prize.

Eating out with our guests
Phil and Gwen Hudson and Mary Helms were our first visitors from the US. We enjoyed visiting and showing them our home.

Goodies for our neighbors
We made no-bake cookies and put chocolates with them for our neighbors. We got to visit with four different families.

Christmas Eve Morning--24th
I am feeling more comfortable tying a sari now. I wore this one to church on the 24th.

Lunch with Kumar and Family
Our language helper took us out to eat on Christmas Day.

The whole crew


Neighbor's decorations
These paper or metal stars are common Christmas decorations.

Deepawali Decor
Look at the markings on the truck. They are made to honor the gods and therefore receive good fortune.

Deepawali
The festival of lights includes lots of fireworks. The streets were hazy on the main night from so much smoke.

Deepawali
A group of believers marching the streets with their idol.

"Meals" to-go
Meals are basically a buffet on one plate. Notice all the different dishes to be eaten with rice. (banana leaf=plate)

Me posing with lunch.


Making parotas
Parotas are a pan fried bread that resembles a cinnamon bun in shape (swirly).

The double decker!
I've never had the priviledge of riding one of these.

Rainy Season
The playground across the street from our old place.

Rainy Season
After the first heavy rains, there was some flooding.

Rainy Season
Some streets turned into rivers.

Rainy Season
The main roads were better.

Rainy Season


Rainy Season
The rains don't keep people from getting out.

Rainy Season


Rainy Season
This parking lot had water up to the front end of the cars.

Rainy Season
On the main road.

Rainy Season
This man is scooping out muck from the drainage system to help alleviate flooding.

Helen's good-bye party
Helen worked for Leonard Thompson's ministry, SWE. She's leaving because she's getting married (arranged) and moving.

The office staff
Suresh, Maliandi, Florence, and Emelia

Jason and Karyn at the party


Visiting the Home for the Aged
Joyce, Margaret, and Mary

Andrew having tea


Philomena preparing lunch.


Jason and Karyn's keys.
The day they got the keys to their house, we celebrated. And, by the way, check out how many keys they got!

Introducing...
Our new landlady and her father.

Signing the papers


Sitra Apartments


Our front door.
We live on the 3rd floor.

Our new flat
The last tenant in the master bedroom.

The Master Bedroom
We're still waiting for the bed frame to arrive. We had to have it ordered extra long, for Andrew's height.

Kitchen Before
The house needed some work done before we moved in.

After
The kitchen cabinets

After
The kitchen counter

The Fridge
We have an access room off the kitchen, which is perfect for our fridge, drinking water, and washer.

Our Washing Machine


Our dining room
Our new table is perfectly suited for having guests over!

The guest bedroom being painted.


The guest bedroom.


Our guest bathroom
We have two bedrooms and two bathrooms (both toilets are western style!)

Shower in the guest bathroom
This is typical of Indian showers--a faucet mounted to the wall with no curtain or other walls around it.

The living room to the balcony.
After the new paint!!!

Living Room


Shopping for the new place.
Check out all the "vessels"--stainless steal is popular here.

Fall Festival
In honor of what we miss! Karyn made cornbread on the stove.

Fall Festival
The Feast (chili, cornbread, apple cider, and smores-like objects for dessert)

Fall Festival
Notice the homemade leaves hanging from the fan.

Fall Festival
We carved melonkins!!! They were like pumpkins and melons, but either way they got carved!

The wedding sign.


Entrance to the church


The bride, with friends.


Look at all her jewelry!


The Ceremony
Notice the really bright light on the camera--ouch!

The Ceremony


Signing the papers


The bride and groom waiting


The reception musicians


Cutting the cake


Each guest gives their gift
and then has their picture taken with the couple.

Group Picture
Poor bride and groom--tons of pictures!!!

The guests!
Danielle tied her sari herself.

Anu and Kumar
Our Language helper and his wife.

Dinner
Paper is rolled out on the tables and then banana leaves are placed as plates.

Served down the line
Menu: biriyani (rice/chicken), raitia (onion/yogurt), brinjal sidedish (eggplant), and keseri (dessert).

Eat up!


Filming in our neighborhood.
This is right in front of our gate.

View from our balcony
Workers are setting up lunch to feed the hungry crew.

DeePak, our neighbor. (left)
He and a friend got to be extras in the film.

One of the actors preparing


Is my make-up okay?


Filming--take one!


The director watching the film.


The table where we sat.
We just had to sit and talk and act normal--wait...is that possible?

Church Picnic
We went to a retreat center for a day of fun and fellowship.

Church Picnic
Here we are, sitting in the shade having a lesson.

Andrew with Jeremy
Jeremy is finishing his degree at Lakeview Bible College. His wife and 2 kids are waiting for him in Myanmar (Burma).

On the way home, we saw this!


Festival Decorations
This shop has banana stalks and other decorations up for the Oct. 2 festival.

Festival Decorations
See the banana leaves on the side of the auto.

Festival Decorations
Plants are hung from the signs.

We got a care package
Thank you everyone from CCO who sent us notes and goodies. You're great!

Sadly, rats ate our chips


Balancing an egg on our table.
We heard that this was possible only twice a year on the day between two seasons. Later we learned it works anytime.

Egg Number Two
Look at that poise and skill.

Don't eat me!!! Fun with food.
This cookie had a nose and eyes, let me repeat "had." Yummy.

Mosque


Muslim men


Call to Prayer


Sport's Day Opening Ceremony
We were invitied to a local school's Sport's Day!

Traditional British dance
Yes, that is a kid in a camel costume.

Lunch
Veg. Burger, chips, and samosas

Samosa
Potato and spices in a fried crust. A common snack.

Household items dance
The kids had foldable laundry baskets and collanders that they were dancing with

Let the races begin
The little kids were the cutest.

Dance
This dance involved tapping sticks in rhythm

Badmitten Dance


Government Building
I think??? Either that or a nice big white building

"Fire Tree"


Close-up of "fire tree" leaves.


The lake that...
Lakeview Bible College is named after.

More of the same lake


Herd
All the ex-city cows gather outside town.

Jeffrey's gotten bigger
Isn't he cute?

Humphrey
Our second pet baby lizard.

Vehicle Trailer
Hyundai's tractor trailer

Overcrowed Bus
Notice the guys hanging out the door.

School Bus


School Bus close-up


Convertible
I'm not sure if this is a product of ingenuity or an accident.

The Ambassador
20 years ago this would be the only car you'd see here in India.

Child seat


Carrying a large bundle
Notice the henna decoration on her hand.

Two boys and mom and dad


Family of Four
Finally, a clear picture of a family of four on a motorcycle.

Elderly lady


Gathering Water
Always a colorful scene between the pots and the saris.

Making Coconut Chutney


Christmas Saree


Danielle in her PINK salwar

Welcome Sign


Call Taxi
He came to pick us up at 5am

Stage
A permanent fixture in the wedding hall where fresh flowers are hung for each wedding.

guests


Bride doing poojas
(worship ritual to receive favor from their gods)

Hindu Priest
He is handing out flowers for us to throw at the bride and groom.

Our team with the hostess
(The Mother of the Bride)

Breakfast
Rice cake with several gravys and sauces.

The couple who invited us
The man works with Andrew's dad in the US and is from Chennai.

Bride and Groom

Chennai skyline
Taken from Saint Thomas Mount

Fire Trees and Palms
These beautiful trees set the city aflame during the summer months.

Red Carpet
The leaves fall as a majestic red carpet.

Entrance to a Hindu Temple


Man in plaid lunghi


Mango Stand
It's mango season right now--yummy!!!

Working Ox
Notice the decorative bells on his horns

Ox-cart in traffic


Hello!
Friendly woman waving at us as we drove by.

Road Block
Mooove out of the way.

Selling Jasmine Ropes


Jasmine in my hair


Carrying water


Illegal Wonderer
Cows are no longer allowed to roam the city, but near the outskirts, they can still be seen.

Hauling bicycle
Cooking gas and water are often hauled like this.

Somia
Our very cute little neighbor

The Matrimony Page
Looking for suitable partners.

Muah haa haa
My favorite sign (only read the first line). Is this a confession to evil plans being formulated within?

Tortillas, salsa, and eggs
Our own Mexican creation.

Jason Preaching


Joyce
After church, we always have tea.

Anita and Maureen counting
The offering being counted.

Antie Pacheco and Joyce
Visiting with friends is a must.

All-Church Sing
We sang "And Your Praise Goes On" by Chris Rice. He does it much better though! :)

Kumar and Divia singing
Our language helper and his daughter.

John and Maureen
The church secretary and her husband.

At San Thome Cathedral
Jason, Karyn, Danielle, and Andrew

Felicia
Comes to encourage the ladies.

Victoria
Works at the home.

Margaret
Is asking questions about life after death.

Mary
Loves to sew hair scrunchies.

Catherine
Makes quilts.

Joyce
Is moving to Canada to be with her son.

Sweet RAIN!!!


Caught in the rain


Soaking wet


Cow (1)


Cow (2)


Family of Four


Construction


Temple


Bus stop


Marble Business


Someone's home


Traffic


Loaded motorcycle


Snack shop


Hotel means restaurant


Small business


Grazing cattle


More cattle


Still more cattle


Trash heap


Vendor


Ain't it purdy?
Okay, so I didn't know what to name this pic.

Thatched building and scaffolding


Lorry (aka big truck)


Tired worker


Small shops


A monument


Piggies


Public restroom


Man and child


Lady and baby


People (1)


People (2)


People (3)


People (4)


People (5)


People (6)

Look to the fridge for the first clue.
I sent Andrew on a treasure hunt for his anniversary present.

"Clock Clue"


At the clock...


Next clue--going for a shirt that's blue


Wrong shirt # 1


Wrong shirt #2


Still looking...


He found it!


Almost done


Searching...


Still searching...


Being a cheese


"The God Who is THERE"


Found it!


Last clue


The Pot 'O Gold!!!
AKA: Chocolate-Covered Cashews

At the office


Cake and chips


Emelia and Helen


Us with the cake


Steak Diane
Yes, we can order beef at fancy restaurants!

Fish n' chips


Cutting the cake


Feeding each other

Cooking lamb (1)


Cooking lamb (2)


Cooking with Asha (1)


Cooking with Asha (2)


Danielle and Asha


New Sari


New Earrings and Jasmine


VBS kids (1)


VBS kids (2)


Games-Human Knot


Games-Balloon race


Crafts (1)


Crafts (2)


Crafts Finished (1)


Crafts Finished (2)


Lesson Time


VBS kids dance (1)


VBS kids dance (2)


Our dining room & front door
from the living room

Our kitchen
from the dining room

Our living room
from the kitchen

Our bedroom
from the living room

Our living room and dining room
from the bedroom doorway

Our guest room
from the living room

The rest of the guest bedroom


Our little pet, Jeffery


Auto Rickshaw


Side view of Auto


From inside an auto


Share Auto
These autos fit more people in them. I ride these often.

We two ours one
Campaign to encourage families to only have one child.

Gas station


Local bus
We don't ride buses very often because they get very crowded.

Traffic Scene


Green light


Street Scene 2


Family of 3 on motorcycle


Snack vendor


Shop


Streetside shops


Our view from the balcony
Behind the building is a small playground and off to the side are a few tennis courts.

Cricket in the park


Batter up, Andrew