Snow in India = party/mass confusion

Once again, the L-rd has provided a day full of India...

06:05-06:30ish AM - Over the past few weeks, I've gotten used to seeing my breath when I wake up in the morning; being used to something and enjoying it are two different things though, so my day starts out with a test of character.
06:33-07:00 AM – Checking on my laundry (which I washed for a second time the night before - the first time they were blown off the clothes line and into the dirt) as I walk to the kitchen brings the first real choice of the day. Run the dryer for another thirty minutes and perhaps there will be enough power to dry one of the five shirts I was going to wear today, or plug in the water filter so that we can have water to drink for breakfast. My other shirt isn't all that dirty and hasn't begun to smell noticeably yet, so clean water it is. Ryan (a staff architect) and I head out at 7:00 to catch the bus down to Dehra Dun in the plains.
08:05-08:35 AM – A uniformed, school-aged girl with pig tails in the front seat of the bus says, “Uncle, you're five minutes late.” Now this bus (or vomit comet as it's endearingly called here) doesn't really have a schedule, but the driver must have considered getting this girl (who's not actually his niece) to school on time a challenge worth rising to. Half an hour later, Ryan and I can barely walk straight as we exit the bus; the task of finding our footing is made more difficult because bus drivers seem to consider anything under 5mph to be equal to a stop here as far as I've been able to tell.
08:45-09:45 – After a short walk from where we got off the bus, we arrive at the Moravian Institute to meet with the school's director. At the Moravian Institute, boys and girls who are struggling to maintain their academic studies in their last few years of high school and would have dropped out are given the opportunity to learn some valuable skills in a vo-tec type atmosphere. eMi has done several projects with this ministry and the church at which the director is also a pastor, and today I learn that there are still many irons in the fire. Speaking with the pastor is encouraging, and I can see first hand the value of eMi's services in the local ch-rch body. Being able to speak with a brother or sister who is an architect or engineer gives ministry leaders a sounding board and a reassuring (or cautioning as the case may be) voice for the plans that the L-rd has put in their hearts.
09:45-11:00 – We visit the site of the director's church. It's been raining for an hour or so now, and will continue to rain in Dehra Dun for the rest of the day. The church has been under construction for 11 years! Various issues (monetary, neighborhood unrest, and eminent domain land seizures) have strung out the construction for a long time, so everyone involved is quite happy to be so near to completing the job. Ryan and I get to provide some construction administration services for the church and the nearby lodging house and fellowship hall. Matthew (the office director) and two of the other interns (Eric and Michelle) will be going down later to survey the site so that the best location for the access road and water management practices can be determined.
12:00-12:30 – After stopping by the glass contractor's shop to discuss some design issues, we all stop by the hospital to visit one of the ladies working at the Institute and to drop of lunch for the pastor's wife who is staying with her. Just the day before, this sister had a 13lb tumor removed from her stomach, and today, she's in good spirits! Praise the L-rd!
12:45-4:00 – Lunch!...and then more discussion on the plans for the church and Institute properties. This brother has so many things that are going on to expand the ability of these ministries to serve, but monetary support is sparse. From talking with folks on staff with eMi, this situation is typical in India. As a result, most of the projects that we produce are design and presentation drawings that the ministry can present to potential and current supporters. This service is quite important both for the supporters and the ministry as the vision and future plans for the ministries can be outlined and presented in an easily understandable format. When and if the funds that are required are raised, then eMi will work to provide drawings that a contractor can build from.
4:00-5:00 – The pastor provides us with a ride up the mountain...almost all the way up the mountain, that is. During my time down in Dehra Dun, Mussoorie was getting blanketed with snow. Snow! Apparently snow is a HUGE deal in India. Folks were driving up from the plains in droves just to stop their cars on the side of the (narrow) road and take a picture of everyone in their family holding snow. So eventually we could go no further up in the van, so we started walking. I quickly find out that there are no rules as to who you can and cannot throw snow, slush, snowballs, or just really cold water at here in India. Everyone's fair game and it's all a part of the snow party (seriously, almost everyone was going crazy!) fun. For many of the people coming up from the plains that we talked with, this was their first time seeing snow.
By the time Ryan and I make it to the place where we're meeting the rest of the office for a good-bye dinner for one of our departing staff members, my shoes and three layers of socks are completely soaked, but the view out over Dehra Dun during the walk up the rest of the mountain was definitely worth it. Amidst all the craziness someone yelled at us, “Welcome to INDIA!”. Why thank you!

All in all it was a good day.

[unfortunately, my camera was broken about two weeks before the day I described above...however, at least I can say that I broke my camera while riding on a human-powered ferris wheel! it was definately a fun and unique experience to watch these two guys climb around and inside the wheel]