Happy Holi!

Today, March 27th, is the day where people around the world celebrate HOLI.  It's a festival of COLOR welcoming the spring season and the ripe opportunities and new beginnings that accompany it.  Last year, we celebrated HOLI on our campus to raise funds for a couple teams doing work in India.  Here's a video by the awesome photographer/videographer Jake Morgan. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/47564466]

Here are a few of my favorite moments I captured from the event:

Some images from HOLI festivals captured by my favorite photographer Steve McCurry:

Here's an interesting article in The New York Times by Vishnu Varma about the colony of widows in northern India's Uttar Pradesh and how they are breaking conventions by playing Holi.

Happy HOLI!

Sabzi Walah!

As I sit at home here in the states, studying for my midterm tomorrow, my mind wanders to India. One of the many things (dozens, hundreds of things.......) I miss about India are the vegetable salesmen that walk throughout the neighborhoods shouting, "Sabzi walah!" Sometimes if my friends and I were feeling snarky we would hide out on the roof and yell it back. That usually wasn't appreciated by the salesman, but we got a momentary chuckle out of it.

Check out this video I found on YouTube of a singing wala. Pretty cool!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGq1W5ZZaME]

BE JOYFUL ALWAYS

Let yourself be overwhelmed with JOY. LAUGH. JUMP. DANCE.  for HE is GOOD. the LORD will PROVIDE.

God is good. God is good. All the time. All the time.

These children [that give me so much JOY] [that I have been so blessed to have visited in 2011 and 2012] [that are so incredibly indescribable] are in need of a new home. The house that Asha Mission currently rents is busting at the seems with the 37 children that need room to RUN and JUMP and PLAY (and of course, also quiet places to STUDY). They have purchased land nearby and are planning to build a new home that will provide all the space and a YARD for these wonderful children. If you would like to learn more about Asha Mission or to donate to their housing fund, just click!