Day off in Kansas City

Leaving the frigid weather after a week in Iowa was no disappointment! Our host families in Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, and Marshalltown were very welcoming, but it's good to be in a slightly warmer climate.

I've had a rejuvinating weekend off in Kansas City, Kansas. Yesterday it was warm enough to be without a jacket, though I about FROZE today running across the parking lot.

Many thanks to Kendra and Dustin for inviting me over to their home tonight to hang out. I met their family when they hosted Neha, Maria, and me back in September (a few week into the tour!); it was wonderful to see them again. I happened to have a day off in their city today, so Kendra asked me to come over to fellowship with some of their church friends. Thirteen of us adults (six married couples with children...and me! ;) plus about ten little kids spent the evening together in their homey basement. I was amazed how easy it was to strike up conversations with both the wives and the husbands; they were a blast and so welcoming!

I spent the first part of the day getting my hair trimmed at the mall, followed by helping Prava with her shopping needs. It's always enjoyable to spend "girl time" with her when we're not distracted by the kids. Last night, the six of us (Jay, Taylor, Alan, Kory, Prava, me) went to the movie theater to see Slumdog Millionare. Striking movie. I highly recommend it. I loved the Indian music, the talented actors from India, the heart-warming and heart-wrenching scenes...everything about it was just wow.

Taylor wrote out some "quirks" belonging to our kids...so I am borrowing this from her blog. Here are a few of the humorous ones. Never a dull moment!

*When we watch animal movies on the bus, the kids compare each character to someone on the team (i.e. Lincoln is "Baloo" and Suresh is "Mogli" from "Jungle Book").

*Sarah is our roller coaster of emotions, up and down all day long. She has her funny moments though, and has started occasionally referring to us as "Girlfriend," as in "No way, girlfriend!" or "You're crazy, girlfriend!"

*Ezera says "No thanks" probably a hundred times a day, but he pronounces it "No sanks."

*Isaac and Zurufah (our two littlest Ugandans) have some kind of romance going on. Isaac is constantly battling with himself over whether or not he loves her. This usually depends on whether or not the feelings are returned on that particular day.

*If Yeshoda or Neha mess up on any of their solos in the concerts, they immediately sticks their tongues out and roll their eyes (an unattractive reflex that we are trying to overcome!). Must be a Nepali thing!