Dehli & my first world wonder!

July 7-10

I have now been to a wonder of the world! What an amazing, rare opportunity I was given and it was such a great experience! We had to travel sixteen hours by train to get from Mumbai to New Dehli, which was also quite an experience in itself. We were told that our train would be like an American train, very very nice. But I have learned that little here is like the states… Anyways, the train did have air conditioning but it was also packed. I slept on a fold down bunk in a car with about fifty other passengers, fifty other snoring passengers! It was quite interesting. And there was one “Western” and one “Indian” toilet per car; that also made for some laughs.

But we made it there and back safely, with lots of stories! The landscape throughout India was absolutely beautiful, it seemed to be all rice paddies with a mountain backdrop. And Dehli was a great escape from Mumbai! It was so much cleaner and organized. It was nice to finally see the historic side of this country and have a little tourist time. I took so many pictures and it was hard to pick which ones to post, we saw so many things!

We spent Wednesday in Dehli, exploring the city and visiting the Red Fort and Ghandi’s cremation site.

one of the beautiful buildings within the Red Fort

the team at the Red Fort

soldiers patrolling in front of the president's house

an entrance to Ghandi's memorial park

Thursday was unreal- we drove four hours to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. The Taj was absolutely breathtaking, I definitely know why it made the cut to be a world wonder! Everything was so intricately done, and just so beautiful. I can’t describe to you how unbelievable it was, just take my word for it and if you ever get the chance to go, jump on it! Agra Fort was the fort of the king that built the Taj Mahal, and you can see the Taj, his wife’s tomb, from the fort. He built it as an expression of his love for her, what an unreal way to do so.

of course we rode behind camels to the Taj!

a shot of the Taj

the guest house to the right of the Taj (and the mosque on the other side is exactly it's twin)

filled with happiness in my holy ground slippers

one of the towers climbing into the darkness

like a snowglobe..

part of the outer wall of the Agra Fort, this place was huge!

the architecture was beautiful, just like the Taj

intricately designed rooms

the view of the Taj from the king's fort

During the ride back to Dehli we drove out into an extremely rural area to visit a Methodist health and birthing center. It is run by a Norwegian missionary who has been there for thirty-one years. She lives on site, along with several other staff members, and has an amazing ministry. Their facility was wonderful and everyone there was so kind and happy to tell us about the center. One of the things that stood out to me the most about their work is that they will care for, and deliver the babies of HIV+ mothers. Most women here with HIV are shunned and refused medical care, and they open their arms to them by caring for and counseling them. I could feel God’s smile shining down on their work.

spending time with some of the staff at the center