Steve and Ariel Go to India & S. Africa | The Journey in Gray, TN | Thomas Bier

India #2

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 22:28:23 +0530
Subject: India...Continued

Dear Everyone -
A few things that I left out in the past e-mail, was that they love to play cricket, they speak about 900 languages in India, the kids are very creative and create games from materials that we would not usually play games with. For example, they have one game that includes a circle drawn with chalk, and each child places a bottlecap inside of the circle. Then, for each of the children's turn, they take a rock and throw it down at the other children's bottlecaps trying to knock the bottlecaps out of the circle.

Today we ate a western restaurant, western is referring to the US. For lunch we finally ate Indian food, and it was very spicey. I chose to eat my food with a poon, although the rest of the Indian people eat their food with their fingers. Today we went to Secundarbad, India for my dad to lead a writing workshop which many people came to. This workshop went all day long. It will be the same tomorrow. Then we will visit a leppars colony on Sunday, and atend their church. This is where I will help lead the children and teach them about Christ.

The birds, smells and many other things are still very different here. I have to go, but love you all and will see you again very soon!

Apaka Sookriya!
(Thank You)

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #1 (Click Here and start reading!)

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Dear Everyone,      5 March 2009 9:13 p.m.

Today is our first full day in India, and we are doing great. The plane rides went well, although there was some confusion at the airport in Mumbai, India. We were stuck at the airport there for 5 hrs. 30 min. and 4 hrs. of that time we were trying to figure out where to go, check in, wait... Everyone at the airport was telling us to go in all different directions. But we found our way, and arrived in Hyderabad at around 3:30 a.m. this morning. As I type this e-mail, it is probably around 8:00 a.m. in TN. At the airport in Hyderabad, India, my dad's good friend
from India came to pick us up. He welcomed us with flower necklaces, mine was dagging on the floor until the bottom part of it accidentally fell off. The traffic in India is incredibly horrible!! Not yet have I seen one traffic light. You almost get run over walking to your car. I asked "Jacob" (my dad's friend form India) if he had ever run anybody over or hit anybody/ anything. His answer was "Not often." Four people a day die from traffic in India. Most everybody owns a motorcycle here. Everybody will drive in all different directions, and the only traffic rule here is - try not to kill anybody.

We rested today, and we are staying in a guest house for... I forgot the name of the organization. They plan VBS for orphans and kids in the slums for the summer. They are all Christians. For lunch we went out to a chinese place, and we just got back from dinner. (Their regular suppertime is around 9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) We had Kentucky fried chicken for supper. Every USA dollar is equal to rs. 45. {rs. = rupees}   Tomorrow my father is leading a writing convention, and the convention goes on to Saturday too. There are already lots more stories to tell, however, I don't know where to begin, and this page isn't big enoug to write them all down on.

Everything here is dfferent, the steering wheel is on the oposite side of the car, and they are supposed to drive on the left side of the road, but that doesn't always apply... They even nod their heads different than we do. Instead of nodding their heads up and down for "yes", they sway their heads to the left and right. It is hard to explain but I will show you the next time I see you.

On every step, or in every trash pile are homeless people, beggars, disabled people, etc. You will not go anywhere without seeing either trash beside the road, or homeless people begging. It is very sad.

This week is very busy already, but I wil do my best to keep you all updated on the latest. Thank you for your prayers, and support! :)

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #3

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 21:36:15 +0530
Subject: India 3

Dear everyone,

hope you aren't getting tired of these e-mails. Today we are in Andra Pradesh, India. It is the state that Hyderabad and Secundarabad India are located in. I am meeting lots more people, and friends. Today we went shopping, and Monday we will go clothes shopping, along with maye watching a Hindi film. Tomorrow we are visiting the leprosy colony, and I am eaching children about Christ. The place that we are staying is right next to slums, so today we took Goo Goo bars (almost like moon pies, found in TN) over there and ate "chocolate" with them. (what they call soft candy, or sweets.) They loved it. On Tuesday and Thursday I will be going on television to speak about the children in the US. About chruch,school, games... The children in India think that Americans do not go to Church, and that Amerians play around with... sexual activities... In other words, they think that we are unclean.

When you are driving down the road, you pass many temples for idols. Their "gods" are extremely ugly, and pointless. I will not judge them. Today we met a hindu lady with two children. She said that she became a Christian and that her husband went off and maried another woman. He left her alone with two children and she is disabled. She deosn't have a job, and depends on God for strength. The only thing decieving about her story was that she still had the hindu "red dot" on her forehead, but that could be usual. In india they worship over 3,0
00,000 fake "gods". Including regualr animals such as the cobra, elephant, tiger...

In india is is usual for people to have servant / maids. In the house that we are staying at, the servants bring black tea up to us everyday, and everynight. I drink it so muc now that I am afraid I might never drink it again. But that is okay. they eat snacks with their tea, and my favorite so far are what is called the Bourbons. They call them chosolate cream bicuits, but remember that they use the word biscuit to mean cookie. There are also KrackJacks and Gooday biscuits / crackers.

I will try to send more tomorrow! Thank you for your support and prayers!!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #4

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 22:52:42 +0530
Subject: India 5

Dear Everyone -

Today was a busy day. We taught youth pastors creative ways to tell stories, and I did a couple preformances. It is extremely hot here, and everyday during our preformances the power goes out and the ceiling fans don't work. The power has gone out for two hours a couple days ago. So far that is the most. Unfortunanately the mosquitoes are attracted to us.

It is common here for you to speak three or four languages fluently. The people here are extraordinarilly smart.

The people here have bathroom slippers. They are left outside of the bathroom door -- the washroom door -- and people slip them on when they use the bathroom. Because they do not have a bath tub or a designated shower space, they use the whole bathroom. When they do this, the whole bathroom gets soaked. That is why they wear bathroom slippers, so that their feet do not get wet when they go into the bathroom. You may ask hy they don't just wear their regular shoes inside. They do not because if you wear your outdoor shoes inside, they feel like we would in America if someone were to step all over your furniture.

Tomorrow I am going sight seeing while my dad teaches an all day class on stroytelling. He is teaching this workshop to people who create VBS material to 4.5 million children every summer.

In / beside every road is a hindu temple for their fake "gods." I might have already told you this but i'm not sure. There is a week of every year that hindus worship their elephant "god", it looks like a man with an elephant trunk and then at the end of the week they throw this idol into the big lake that separates Hyderabad from Secundarabad. Everything that they do is sentimental and they make a big deal about it. Tomorrow is what is called holy day, or color day. Tomorrow is the day that the men have a chance to paint themselves with all sorts of colors and pretty much splash pain onto themselves. Like we would for big football games, or baseball games. I am not sure if it is just for Hindus or if all the men join in in this activity as well.

I have attatched some pictures to this e-mail, but if you are on facebook, we have posted a few pictures onto my dad's profile. So just visit Steven James and click on pictures. They should come up. The title of the album is India March 2009. We've had trouble uploading some of the pictures. But the first one that should come up is of the slum that is right across from where we are staying. Every other day we bring them either candy, a bottlecap for their game that they love to play (mentioned in an earlier e-mail) or a ball to play with. Not sure if you are familiar with my dad's wolf puppet named "Jeddar" but today he went over and played with the kids using "Jeddar."

Some of the pictures are of me helping hand out candy (20 boxes for only $10 American money) to each child of the leprosy camp, one of them is of My dad standing with a man wth a distorted foot because of leprosy, another is of the woman with the stomach illness that I mentioned in my e-mail yesterday. There is another one of a woman with no hands, no feet, and her eyes have some sort of disease. There are a few others of people who just wanted their picture taken. The leppers siad that the next time that we come, we have to bring them a camera to take pictures. They are just fascinated with what the new technology can do. There is also a picture of the newest school that they built where we visited.

There is another e-mail after this one, and all it has are attatched files of pictures. Like I said before, they are not all the pictures that we have taken, they are just some that we felt like sending.

Hope you enjoy, and Thnak you for all of you support and prayers!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #5

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 23:03:14 +0530
Subject: Re: India 5

One of the pictures is of the slum next to where we are staying, there is one of the ladies bathroom sign -- the lady on the sign is wearing a Sari -- and some other pictures of the lepers.

India #6

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:18:28 +0530
Subject: India 6

Hello everyone!

This is Steve, Ariel is laying down.

We've had a big couple of days. I'm not sure all that she has written, but I've included a picture of her eating with the leper's at the leprosy church, sitting beside a field of red peppers drying in the sun, and a snap (that's what they call pictures here!) of one of the colorful villages we passed through.

Today, I led a seminar for curriculum writers who provide materials that reach more than 4 million children each summer at VBS programs throughout all of India. Ariel also demonstrated how to tell a story with props, taught a Bible verse, and helped me with several skits. They loved her!

She isn't feeling well tonight and is concerned she might have strep. She is requesting prayers.

We love everyone and will write more tomorrow and fill you in.

--
Serving Christ,
(Steve writing for) Ariel Huhn

India #6 continued

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:15:26 +0530
Subject: India 6... Continued

Dear Friends,

So sorry I could not write en e-mail last night I wasn't feeling well. I feel better today.

Here they do not say their "v"s. When they are talking with you, instead of saying a "v" they will say a "w" in it's place.

Yesterday was holy day, today is color day. If you are walking down the street, people will splash color paint on you. They made a bad "god" to burn on this day today. They will make a bon fire, and will have their bad "god" in the middle of that fire.

Yesterday we also went to somebody's house for dinner, and there they gave me a punjabi - a beautiful shirt, pants, and scarf-- and gave me presents to give to my sisters. Yesterday I also went clothes shopping, and accumulated a little more than I had intended in the first place, but that is okay.

Yesterday at the workshop that my dad led, at the end they presented us both with new watches. They are the same type of watches, but different sizes.

Please remember that you can go to facebook anytime and see the pictures that we post on my dad's profile. I am also making a video of our adventures. I take short videos of people singing Telagoo songs, or of the leppers or of my dad teaching. We have had a great time so far, but we are leaving India in five days to go to South Africa.

Thank you again for you love, prayers, and support!

By the way, I have attatched a picture of me in the new punjabi...without the scarf.

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #7

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:59:44 +0530
Subject: India 7

Dear Everyone,

Today we tried coconut water. It is very different, but it is satisfying. It has a weird taste, but it fills you up. My dad likes it. We also tried a new type of fruit today. It is very sweet. I don't like it, it has a sweet taste and bad aftertaste. It is again, something that my dad doesn't mind eating. Today I also told stories to pastors from rural parts of India. They are from Harvest Ministries, and thy minister to people who have never heard the Gospel before, let alone the name of Jesus.

Today was color day, and it was dangerous to be on the streets for the reason that you may probably get splashed by pink or green paint. It was pretty chaotic. A lot of the stores were closed, and school has been out for the past two days in India. (Tuesday was holy day, today was color day) The story behind color day, is that there is a Hindu tale that a famous King somewhere conquered their bad "god", so they celebrate the king's victory over the evil "god." {Sort of like when Jesus conquered sin on the cross...) It is amazing that even in religions like Hinduism still kind of resemble the crucifixion.

The lake that separates Hyderabad and Secunderabad used to be clean and people used to swim in it. But now, for years, Hindus dump their famous elephant "god" into it one week of the year. That one week they worship it all week, and then they dump it into the lake. I don't get it. It makes no sense to me.

I am making a video of our trip, and it is coming along great. Except for one little detail. Today our digital camera that we have been using to record our photos and videos appears to be dying. Today it wouldn't turn on, and when it did it wouldn't turn off. Then it stopped taking pictures and videos. It is a good thing that we brought two extra disposable cameras along. We have decided that we would get a new card for the digital camera. Hopefully that works. :)

Tomorrow we will be performing in front of about 800 children, and afterwards, we will do a television performance. My dad's friend owns a television show, and would like us to go on. I will be telling a few stories, and talking about the children in the USA. I think my dad will be telling stories.

Is it warming up in the big TN? Hope it isn't too cold! :) <3

Thank you for your prayers and support!! We miss you all!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #8

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:28:17 +0530
Subject: India 8

Dear Everyone,

Today we told stories to about 500 children at SGHS, Stanley Girls High School. This school was founded in 1896 and at one time was the largest girls school in Asia. About 75% of the girls are muslim, and very few Christians. Most of the rest are Hindus. This is a Methodist school, but like I said, very few Christians attend. As far as we know, I was the first American girl to speak and tell stories to these girls at their chapel. Also for the leprosy colony.

As for the television interview, the power went out for two hours. We practiced and practiced, until finally we were ready to show. The cameras and light were all set up; but the power went out and we decided to leave. We will probably try again later tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to a Slum school, and two different slums. I believe we are also going to an orphanage tomorrow.

Today dad and I discovered that not only do Hindus have temples for their “gods” but they also have small temples that are portable for their “gods.” Today we saw what looked like a small telephone booth, but it was a temple for a snake “god.” My dad took a picture of it.

Unfortunately our digital camera is trash. We have used it well, and taken many good pictures on it. We are buying a new digital camera today.

My sister has given me about $10 to spend on slum children. Here, that is a lot. These are the items that we bought with that $10 for the children — a cricket bat, a cricket ball, a jump rope, and a doll. Amazing.

Today was more of a relaxing day, and tomorrow will be as well. We are going sight seeing tomorrow, as well as to the previous activities listed earlier in the e-mail. We are constantly watching American films that we brought along. Tomorrow or Saturday we will be watching a Hindi film.

Attached is a photo of me in the new Punjabi that I bought a couple days ago.

Last night we went to a friend's house (which was three stories, the largest house that we have seen so far, and the only person that owns a hosue to themselves that we have met so far) and we played the Wii. Yes, they have the wii over here.

So sorry that I could not send this e-mail sooner, we were unable to get internet connection.

Thank you for your prayers and support!! ☺

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #9

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 08:13:51 +0530
Subject: India 9

Dear Friends, 3/13/ 09

Today was a frightening, yet miraculous day. This morning we went to a slum. That part was fun. However, there was a new group of people that had just moved into the slum. They did not know what we had done to help their new community in the past. They did not like that we came. It was very good that we left the slum when we did. A couple minutes after we left the slum, the new group of people came and they wanted to attack us. But we are all okay. They just had a misunderstanding of our ministry, and they don’t like foreigners to begin with. Which is okay. Anyway, we went to visit another slum in the evening as well. That went smoothly. When we went t the slums both times, they wanted to take the white color out of my skin and give it to themselves, so they were holding me and climbing on me. They were swarming to us. They also were fascinated by my strawberry blonde hair. They were touching it and playing with it. My dad told an Easter story, and we taught them games. They love trying to pop bubbles. We left a bottle of bubbles there, so that they could play with them.

We bought a new camera today. It is similar to our old digital camera, except this one works.

Today we enjoyed trying some different Indian chocolate. Earlier in the week we tested some Indian chips and soda. Their chips are spicey, except for the Lays Classic Salted type.

We are leaving late Sunday night to fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. We will only be there for a couple hours, then we are flying to Johannesburg, South Africa. Tomorrow night is our last night in India! :( It doesn’t seem that it has already almost been two weeks since I left!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #10

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:14:22 +0530
Subject: India 10

Dear Friends,

Today we spoke to two churches. At the first church, they greeted us with gifts. They gave me real Hyderabad pearl jewlery. They gave my father a plaque. We are leaving tomorrow night to leave for Africa.

The second church was specifically centered toward youth. I enjoyed it. They sang some English songs, but mostly Telagoo. Dad's preformance was on Forgiveness. It was great.

Today's e-mail is short because of the low battery on my dad's laptop. And because it is late at night. We ate pizza tonight, and had McDonald's for a snack earlier today. It feels refreshing to have some American food, even though that it is bad for you.

Thank you all for you prayers and support!!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

India #11

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:17:13 +0530
Subject: India 11

Dear Friends,

This e-mail will be my last e-mail for a day or two. My apologies. We will be traveling to Africa, and we won’t have internet access. We are leaving for Africa in about six or seven hours. We are flying to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and then from there to Johannesburg, South Africa. So don’t be worried if you don’t receive an e-mail from us for a couple days.

Today we visited an orphanage, and they put on a dance for us. I took a short video of their dances, and lots of pictures. They greeted us with lace tablecloths, and pillowcases. Those will be given to my mother. ☺

There is another interesting type of fruit that we discovered here. It tastes like watermelon and pears put together into one fruit. This fruit is a yellow melon, and they call it a “Mashmelon.”

This week we are planning on visiting a juvenile prison, and are hoping for the opportunity to share the gospel there. This will be in South Africa. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love you all, please keep praying. Thank you for your time of reading these e-mails. I appreciate it. ☺

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

S. Africa #1

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:56:08 +0200
Subject: Africa 1

Dear Friends,
So sorry that I was unable to e-mail last night or the night before. The night we arrived was so crazy trying to unpack and go to sleep, and then last night we arrived late from dinner. I will be arriving home on Tuesday, but it doesn't feel that I should be going home so soon. I've been having so much fun!

We are staying with a German family, they moved from Germany to South Africa, then up t Switzerland, then back to South Africa. English was their second language, and they have two children. They understand and can speak perfect English, and they have British accents. This is not a bad thing. I like it.

Yesterday my dad visited a juvenile prison, and today we are both visiting a school, then another juvenile prison. This time I can go with him if I would like to.

Last night we ate hotdogs, and for lunch we ate pasta and pizza. Thank you again for your prayers and support!!

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

S. Africa #2

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:58:04 +0200
Subject: Africa 2

Hey Everyone!

There are tons of interesting new saying here. My dad's favorite saying is the surfer talk for sharks " the man in the gray suit", but they use alot of the same words as us. I find the funniest sayings are when people refer to "just now" to mean somewhere in the near future, but probably never. Someone might say - "I will see you just now." This simply means that they will probably see you later, but there is a chance that is will never happen. Also, they will use "now now" to mean that it will happen very soon, most likely in the nxext ten or fifteen minutes, if they don't get distracted. For exapmle - " Mom, I will clean my room now now." So different.

Today we visited a lion park, where you would drive through, and see the animals in the wild. We were also able to play with the lion cubs. They were so adorable. We left this morning to go to the lion park with our camera battery fully charged, and we came back with a totally empty battery. We saw zebras, ostriches, wildebeasts, hyenas, wild dogs, giraffes, cheetahs, and of course lions. We saw female lions, male lions, lion cubs, rare white lions. All sorts of different lions. We took pictures of one of the cubs chewing on my shoe, and me sitting with two lion cubs on my lap, while I was sitting next to two other lion cubs. They were adorable.

After the lion park, my dad insisted on visiting a crocodile farm, which was turned out to be alot of fun. I held a baby crocodile, and we took pictures of many older crocodiles. We also learned many new facts on the crocodile. Like they will strike up to 50 Km when they eat their prey. They have 72 teeth, and their feet in the back have one webbed skin attached to the third and fourth claw. (It might be the second and third, not for sure.) Anyway, they also had snakes, and goats and rabbits at the crocodile farm. I had a lot of fun, and hopefully we can send you the pictures later tonight. The camera is still charging.

Thank you all very much for your prayers and support! :)

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

S. Africa #3

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:10 -0400

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:25:09 +0200
Subject: Africa 3

Dear Friends,

This morning we told stories to a very old and run down school. All African children attended this school. I wish I could have taken pictures there, but we accidentally left the camera at the house that we are staying at. They sang some really nice songs, and they danced to them. If you ever see black children dance, it is something else. Unlike white children, they really get into the beat and just to watch them is a lot of fun.

My dad's friend, Jeff Smith, arrived here last night and he will be helping us lead a children's festival tonight. He'll also help us with an all day conference for teachers on Saturday & Sunday.

If you would like pictures of our Africa trip so far, just let me know and I will do my best to send you some of the best pictures so far. It takes so long for them to load and there is a limit on how many photos I can attach. I wish I could attach all of them, but that is okay.

If you travel North of where we are, you will get to the real "Africa" if you know what I mean. Right now, we are in the city part of South Africa. If you go north, you will find wild animals like lions, zebras, hyenas, giraffes (all the animals listed in the past e-mail...) and tall grass. The type of things that you would most likely think of when I say Africa. :)

I will be busy tonight, but I will try to send another e-mail explaining more details and adventures that we have accomplished. Right now I have to go.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! :)

--
Serving Christ,
Ariel Huhn

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12