Landow's India Adventure

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving...

A time to reflect on our blessings:

In America, this time treasured holiday called Thanksgiving has different meanings to all of us; for many it's a time to enjoy a delicious meal of turkey and all the fixin's , oh and don't forget the pies, Jo makes the best :), then there is lounging around and watching football, or maybe hunting is more your activity of choice, or heaven forbid you choose to shop on this day, then of course there is the simple joy of being together with family and friends...whatever your day looks like, I hope it begins and ends with a thankful heart.

For our family, one cherished tradition is holding hands around the table and taking turns saying what we are thankful for before we dig into my sisters delicious cooking (which I'm always thankful for). As I anticipate what to say, I am reminded of so many things that are probably not on most people's thankful list but are quite high on mine, here are just a few... My family has the opportunity to travel for the 3rd time to India to visit people and a ministry that hold a very special place in our hearts, the gals passports have been renewed and all our visas have been sent in and are waiting to be approved, the typhoid and malaria medication we take to help keep us from getting sick while visiting a third world country, our "body guards" in Madhavapatnam who watch over us during our time in and around the village, modern technology like this blog (I can't believe how much the gals have grown since our first post) and all who take the time to follow along on it, a healthy but sometimes tired body that has enabled me to continue to "work 4 change" alongside my daughters to raise money for our trip, the incredible generosity of family and friends whose financial contributions are helping with the countless expenses accrued in this endeavor, the love and encouragement of those supporting us on our journey back to India, our homeschooling path and those who have paved it for us which has allowed the world to be our classroom, mashed potatoes instead of rice today, a husband who walks along side of me not in front of me, and the freedom I have in America to give thanks to my God. For all these things and soooooo much more I give thanks today!!

Today may your gratitude be extravagant

as your blessings continue to pile up!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

Namaste'

~Jenny

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

What are you grateful for??

After two action packed weeks, we finally wished the Valluri Family safe travels

as we took them back to the airport so they could return to India.

Their time with us was filled with many opportunities for them to meet a variety of different people who passionately support Joyful Journeys Ministry or wanted to learn more about it; as well as time to simply take in life in America! Karishma and Shekinah are around the same age as my gals so they ended up spending quite a bit of time with us...it was wonderful to be able to get to know them both better. I must say though, having the chance to look at "our world" through their eyes was a HUGE reminder of what we all have to be grateful for!! When I asked them what some of the things were that amazed them the most about our country (or more specifically our area), these were some of the things they shared...

Green Grass!!

They were blown away with the amount of land that had no other purpose than to have grass on it!