There is always a reason.

There was a reason my dad taught me to ride a bike: so I could bike in Chicago and in India. There was a reason my mom fed us spicy Thai currys: so I could eat spicy currys in India. There is a reason why I always loved to sit cross-legged (or "Indian style") at my mom's dining room table: because one day I'd be eating on the floor, cross-legged in India.

Everything is going great still. I spend several hours everyday at Ramtedki (the slum). Visiting homes and teaching the children (English, Marathi, Math, Drawing). I see the CSW women at least once a week. Hope that in these next five weeks it is more frequent than that.

My birthday celebration was really nice. In the morning the HCC office celebrated with cake, the children in Ramtedki sang me Happy Birthday and ate candy, then I had a dinner at my place. Surita (who I go to Ramtedki with) helped me put it together. I helped her make chicken curry and rice for twelve guests. And I wore a saree for the first time! I would not have picked any other way to spend my birthday in India. Thank you for all the birthday wishes!

I've been able to attend many prayer meetings. I'm learning a lot about prayer.

Something else I have had a chance to spend more time doing: keeping life simple and trusting in God.

Hannah Joy.

My God is awesome.

After four weeks:
Learned to enjoy the incredible amounts of tea consumption. I have stopped asking "Where is that cow's owner?" Shaken the hands of thousands of Indians. Learned that English is weird (think about it: The soles of our shoes are very different from our souls.) Most importantly is that daily I'm being reassured on how awesome my God is.

I have relocated to Pune. This is where the HCC headquarters are and a city my group from North Park visited in January. My living accommodations are great.

Everyday from around one to three I help teach ~30 children in an upper room in the middle of a poor-slum area. The children are so excited to take in whatever it is we have to teach them. I'm working with a church member named Surita (she is a lovely women) and a lady from the area named Maya (very very kind). (I'm up for suggestions on fun games to play in a 15x15 room with anywhere from 20-30 students!) Tomorrow morning Surita and I will start visiting the homes of the parents of the children. We'll just spend time with them and pray for them. Not many people in this area are Christian but a church has been there for several years now and they know about the Christians and their willingness to come to their homes, listen to their stories, provide an informal education for the children, and pray for them.

In the afternoons I have been visiting with ex-commercial sex workers. HCC (with the funds provided by the Evangelical Covenant Church!) constructed a rehabilitation house for them. It's a beautiful house! The view from the room is amazing!! Because it is a new home the women and I have some decorating days ahead of us. Four women live there as well as a few children. In the coming days I will start tutoring the children in English lessons.


Those are the basics of what I have been up to. A quick list of other things: prayer meeting with another church ~30 minutes from here, lots of motor bike rides, eating out, eating at Surita's house, lots of rickshaw rides, visited Akshay's (the guy helping me plan all my work and my roommate) family, and help in Sunday School.

Everyday I'm learning how to lean more on God and look for ways he can use me. I have a heck of a lot more to learn in this area and others.


I hope that all of you are well. I'm disappointed that no one is leaving comments. Many tell me that they are reading, but I want to see some feedback people! Words of encouragement. Advice. Anything!

Love from India,
Hannah Joy.

You have to sail.

Sometimes you just have to stop, and listen.

"I wait quietly before God,
for my salvation comes from him."  
Psalm 63


A five thousand word essay wouldn't do justice to the feelings you get walking through a slum for the first, second, third, even fourth time. A picture cannot capture what sharing a cup of tea with a quaint Hindu women means for your heart. Listening to Indian music cannot begin to encompass all the sounds you hear in the frantic city or sitting out in a far off village. You have to sail [or fly] here if you want to understand.

India is indescribable. It's a country you cannot help but at first want to take a few steps back, eventually though you enjoy it's quirks. A couple examples: the stray dogs and the traffic "system".

Many of you are still not sure of what I have been doing here. Sorry for that, I just have not had a lot to say about my time. The last three weeks have been simple. I have visited many homes of the members of the HCC Panvel church, watched Hindi television, worked a small amount of time on learning Hindi, finished Stones into Schools (the second Three Cups of Tea book), eaten a lot of delicious food, had tea at least twice a day, visited a few villages and slum areas, and got to know the Patole family.


After a lot of prayer and talks with my parents and Kaj I have decided to move on from Panvel. On Thursday I will be going to Bombay to stay for a couple days then go on to Pune. In Pune there is the HCC headquarters. Nothing that is of any concern is causing me to leave. Things have just not worked out in terms of me being actively involved in the programs I had hoped to be committed to. I have limited time to spend here and am listening to what God has put on my heart for what is best in how I spend my time.

As for pictures I have put some on Facebook. Please view there because due to the new design of Facebook I cannot simply copy them and post them here. If you do not have a Facebook, find a youngster who does.

I know that many of you are praying and thinking of me. Thank you, God is working here. I ask that you continue to pray for what God has in his plan.

Hannah Joy.

Monsoon season.

Namaste friends and family!

India's monsoon season is in full swing. Talk about a relief! We get cool breezes all throughout the day.

India is hot, but not as hot as I was expecting. The temperatures are pretty much in line with Kansas and I know that Kansas isn't even in the worst part of the summer yet. The part that is tricky is the lack of air conditioning. I am lucky and get to sleep in a room that has air conditioning. I also get a nice breeze during the motor bike rides. (Motor bike=our mode of transportation.)

The food has been treating me well. No sickness yet! My mom prepared me well for Indian food by cooking spicy food growing up. I had my first scoop of peanut butter for the first time in over a month this morning. Delicious! And the bananas are fantastic. The water I drink is purified, so no complaints there either.

As for what I'm actually doing... there is not a lot to say. HCC stopped all their projects at the beginning of April. If you want to know more on that matter I'm not the person to ask, I only know the simple fact that they have been stopped. And many of you know, the projects were my main reason for coming to India. And to put it plainly, something I don't want to admit but I'm afraid I have to: I'm bored in India. 

India culture is a lot more slow than American culture. There is a lot of time between everything and when someone says a time to be somewhere it's basically considered a suggestion. This is proving to be a hard task to learn. I'm used to waking up and going non-stop until A. it is time for bed B. it is time to relax with friends.

My host family here does plan on keeping their women project going. I've visited the site of a children's program that I hope to be starting soon. Again when it will start is unclear. I have been told many different start dates but none have been right. When we went to the site we were asked not to come back for two days because a boy in the village was badly beaten and they didn't want us to be there for the drama it has created. The villagers lives are something that is out of our control, and something we must respect.

A few highlights so far have been going to Alibag (a beach city), seeing a Bollywood film in the theater, eating Indian food, learning some Hindi, and the simple pleasure of having a lot of time to read.

I have met a lot of kind and wonderful people. I'm hopeful that my trip will start to look up and my boredom will become infrequent. Please pray for this and for me to find peace in my personal challenges here.

Hannah Joy.

P.S. I'll post some pictures within the next few days.