New Friends in the City

With our new friends, Raksha and Pinky, at our favorite meeting place - Cafe Coffee Day!Girls at Cathedral Pre-University College (11th & 12th grade). We met up at lunches or after school nearly every day. Girls in Cathedral High School (9th grade) on the same campus. Precious girls!

Church, culture, clothing, and children of the Indian village.

The church at the Ashram where we joined with our Indian brothers and sisters for worship (both Western and Indian style), prayer, and teaching. It is beautiful to see both the cultural differences and the spiritual unity that make up the body of Christ. We took our shoes off to enter. The women and men sat on separate sides.
Women from the Ashram and surrounding villages, wearing traditional sarees. We had fun wearing some of the traditional clothes, too.
Do we look Indian? :)

The Indian women below wear a tunic top called a "kurta", baggy "Punjabi" pants, and the "dupata" or scarf. This is the other tradtitional outfit (called a "salwar") besides the sari.
The children are so beautiful! There is a children's home and a school at the Ashram.

The Ashram.

Our awesome team! The girls...Michelle, Callie, Me, Aubree, Krystal, Bethany Ingram.
The guys...Dagen, Joel, Drew, Matt, Ryan, Reid.The Ashram (Christian Retreat Center) outside Bangalore where we stayed for a week.

India. July 07

Drew & I a couple weeks ago in Bangalore, India, where we led a college summer trip from our church in Waco, Texas (an amazing trip! more pictures soon!). Our team ran up to the hotel roof to see the stormy sky, just before the rain began.

Friends in Waco

Anna Maria, Lorin, Laura, Rachel, Me. Laura lives on the small side of the duplex and the rest of us live on the big side. My massage studio is in the front room. Great roommates!
Lifegroup friends from when I first came to Waco.

Thailand. New Year 07

Our missionary friends' house where my Waco roommate, Anna Maria, and I stayed. Bangkok. Beautiful sunset over Khau Lak, an hour north of Phuket. The tsunami hit here two years ago.
Memorials (this boat was left here by the tsunami)...

Baan Nam Kem, the village where our missionary friends live and work with Thai and Burmese.

Two radiant missionary women from Burma. Seeing their love for Jesus and sacrificial lives so inspired Anna Maria and I. Great thai food!

A Thai Bible.

We hiked in to this jungle village, the home of Burmese workers of the surrounding rubber tree plantation.

Children making rubber. They start at 4 or 5 in the morning, collecting sap from the rubber trees, and work until school at midday. Playing games and teaching English in the jungle village school, a simple tarp under the rubber trees. Their Burmese teacher, passionate about his kids learning about Jesus and having an education, hikes in to them four days a week...even in the muddy rainy season.

Leaving the jungle. Our leaders Nick & Stephanie Shores (Lily and Elliot) with Kat, France, and I. The Shores and Kat leave in a few months on a long term team to southern Thailand.

Sydney. December 06

Sydney Opera House, the night Mom treated me to The Australian Ballet's Raymonda.
Michelle & Me. :) Another ten year reunion.
Rendezvous with Renee (one of my besties in elementary school) in Starbucks Darling Harbour. Fun times!

Australian Christmas Reunion

Christmas at Hat Head holiday house. L to R; Uncle Drew, Auntie Rae, Me, Mom, Jack (and Sossie), Dad, Auntie Jennie, Uncle Glenn, Amy (and baby), Steve, and Adam. Adrian & Jo with little Monisha, in England, complete the family. Grandpa & Grandma Bewsher would have been so happy to see the three boys and their families together after ten years. :)The river across the street from the house. The river met the bay, just down from the house. Perfect for both river and ocean fun: snorkelling, fishing, canoeing, swimming, tubing, water skiing...

Drew & Rae's boat.Dad's big catch! Cooked for "tea" later...and delicious. Just like old times.
See all the kangaroos?
A summer Christmas.

Tasmania. December 06

The beautiful beach I grew up on in Tassie. A cool, sunny summer day.

Gum trees.
City of Hobart, Tasmania's capital, 20 minutes from my old house on the beach. Quaint, historic, and picturesque...under Mt. Wellington and on a harbour. My great grandparent's house.

Other quaint houses in South Hobart.Hydrangeas (my favorite flower!) in St. David's Park.
The Hazards and Coles Bay. Tasmania's East Coast.
Friendly Beaches.
A wallaby and joey in her pouch!

Freycinet Peninsula. Tasmanian coastline...breathtaking!

Daddy & I climbed to the top of Mt. Amos, overlooking Wineglass Bay. This has to be one of the most beautiful views in the world.

Danielle & I...best friends in elementary school. Wow! It's been ten years.Katie Madden, all grown up. We had the sweetest time re-connecting after years of letters. The Maddens were our wonderful hosts, staying on "our" beach.

Sherrin Ward (soon to be Sherrin Drew!) & I reunited a few years back in Texas...and now in Tassie again. So great to meet Dave.