Joy, joy, joy.

As of recent, I've had so many insane thoughts. This city is fuel for someone's brain. It just keeps it going and going and going and going. I cannot seem to let my mind rest. It's good, no worries, just a bit exhausting. I'm gonna talk about my Diwali day for now, maybe soonish I'll actually have the mental capacity to spit out everything that's been flopping around in my brain.

So, Wednesday night was Diwali. Yes, cannot forget about that. You might can, but I promise you that for those who were/are anywhere near Kolkata, India, we are still feeling it. In fact, about 30 minutes ago a firecracker was blown up in the ally in front of my host family's kitchen and it was so loud and bright that for half a second I thought the fan above the oven blew up. My heart just almost fell out of my chest...and it took me about 45 seconds to realize my jaw was still dropped. Oh boy.

Anyways, while everyone else was parading (literally) around all morning, evening, and night on Wednesday, me, the other girls, and the family stayed in doors. Me and the girls stayed home all stinking day and it was grand! We got to sleep in until 9 A.M., which is quite the privilege, and then we got fed so well the next day. Holy moley...we woke up to a delicious potato curry and more puri (this deliciously fried bread thing) than we could possibly eat...but because we are living with an Indian family and their love language is force-feeding (I'm serious), we did eat it all. Oh man. Then our host mom made a feast of a lunch. We had sauteed okra, sauteed eggplant, onion pakora, and rice and dal. It was one heck of a fancy lunch. I also watched every move of our host mom while she was in the kitchen cooking and yes, I did write down her recipes. I'm gonna be a chef upon my return to the states...all thanks to my host mom. And then...drum roll, please...me and the girls cooked Mexican food for dinner! You bet we did! Had to get creative, but we made it happen. Deep fried chipatis for the chips, made some snazzy veg quesadillas, super delicious salsa (I used a legit stone grinder for this and it was so cool), typical rice and beans (with an Indian flare), and some serious queso. It was so much fun. The daughter of our host family helped us and she said "I'm never going to forget this night, cooking with my aunties." That made my evening. Almost as much as the dance that their five year-old son does when we've served chocolate in the birthday treats. But it was an absolute precious day at home with the family. They cooked us amazing food and we cooked them something that is familiar to us. Only problem was that Indians don't care for cheese, which we didn't understand how much they really dislike it until they didn't even touch the queso...they just sorta made a face at it. Haha. It was funny. But as our host mom told us the next day "we don't really like the food, but we ate it because we care for you." Haha. Made me laugh because it's just so sweet. All in all, we had some delicious food that day. I could barely breathe after dinner...pretty miserable feeling, but so worth it.

But the only reason that I'm really going to remember the Diwali that I spent in India is because our time with the family was absolutely beautiful. Our host mom will tell us some incredibly intense stories about their past while she is cooking (we've learned to run to the kitchen when she's in there to get in on the good stories), and because we spent a full day in the house, we got to hear some incredible stories and just straight up wisdom. Each time I hear her speak of their lives, I'm more and more amazed by their strength. And I know that her past bleeds directly into how bright her faith is now. I've never heard someone pray like she prays. I can guarantee you there is not a bit of pride in that woman's heart. As I passed through their room on the way to the kitchen for breakfast this morning, she was down on her knees praying out in Hindi to God. No other's ears. He heart is so precious. It was such a sweet day. Their faces lit up when we offered to cook dinner, and they repaid us times a billion with devoting their day to making us amazing meals as well. They are so giving.

And as there were fireworks going off like crazy all in the streets, we had worship music playing in the house. The Lord absolutely blessed us with a hedge of peace around the home. There's no other way besides his blessing that I could say that my soul was rested after that day. After the chaos that was happening outside. After the ridiculous amount of darkness that swallowed the city. Only through Jesus, his light, his grace, his goodness, his presence, and all else that he is, did we find that day to be calming. He set aside beautiful time for us to be with the family. To be blessed by them and to bless them. And I'm so grateful for that day.

I truly mean it when I say that this family is one of my anchors in this city. The Lord provides so much through them. For all of our souls. They are amazing beyond any words that I have. I just wish all of you could meet them.