I was thinking about the restorative nature of, well, nature. We have the ocean here in Vishakapatnam and when we walk along the beach the ebb and flow of the waves soothes my soul.
We went to Darjeeling where we were in the foothills of the Himalayas and saw Mt. Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world. It would have been nice if it had been a clearer day so that we could have better witnessed the majesty of the mountain but we did get to see the sunrise gradually illuminate its peaks. It replenished my soul.
Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and witness how His glory illuminates us in ways we didn’t think possible, cleansing us from deep within to bring light into our countenances that we in turn might glow with His love and share that light with others. He restores my soul.
Because we are currently “servants who aren’t serving” we got permission to take a little trip and went to Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is a hill station known for the production of Darjeeling tea and was a place of respite from the heat for the British. It has a lot of historical significance and beautiful places to see. We mainly went because we wanted to see the Himalayas (pronounced Him-al-y-as here) and got to see many other fascinating things. The people and customs are very different from Vizag and Delhi. I felt like they were more a reserved people although our drivers were very friendly. Language barriers made communication difficult. (Bengali is the official language along with Nepali.) Darjeeling has influences from Nepal and Tibet as well as that of the British and India. The main religion is still Hindu but there is also a large percentage of Buddhists. The roads are narrow, hilly and congested. It took over half an hour to go 6 km from one side of the town to the other. I call it a town but there are about 120,000 people who live there. At first I felt a little scared and definitely uncertain, but in the light of day (we arrived after dark and had to go down what seemed like a dark alley to get to our hotel) and as we learned our way around I was less nervous. The whole concept of building a city on a hillside is incredible. It was hard to get photos that really showed it though.
One of the places we visited was the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center. We learned a little about the oppressive history of the Tibetan people and saw some of the traditional crafts they use to provide for themselves and keep their culture alive. 
Yak fleece being prepared for carding
Woman spinning cashmere wool.
Tibetan woman weaving a beautiful rug.
I really felt the truthfulness of this quote that was on display in the photo exhibit:
“Tibet will never die because there is no death for the human spirit. Communism will not succeed because man will not be a slave forever. Tyrannies have come and gone and so have caesars and czars and dictators, but the spirit of man goes on forever.” —Jaya Prakash Narayan, Indian Freedom Fighter and Political Leader
Prayer wheels used by Tibetan Buddhists to accumulate wisdom and merit (good karma) and to purify negativities (bad karma).
Vertical Tibetan Pole Prayer Flags. They believe the prayers and mantras written on them will be blown by the wind to spread good will and compassion.
The last thought for this week was the feeling of coming home when we arrived back in Vishakhapatnam. We both felt it and I was very surprised that our flat with no personal touches in this huge city in a foreign country feels like home.
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