looking back on 2010

2010 didn’t turn out the way I planned. If you had asked me on Dec 31, 2009 to write out 2010 for you the story would have been pretty different from the one that played out. Not that different is a bad thing. It still amazes me how God can take my plans, shake them around and make them something new. Something better. And so today I give you my unexpected blessings of 2010:

•  I started the year of celebrating my first Holidays overseas with friends in the mountains a few hours from here. What a gift it was to spend that first season with a group of people who have become my family away from home.

•  January and part of February were spent in full-time language class. It was a challenge, but it has paid off so much this year. I’ve also been blessed with some great friendships with several of the married couples who study or have studied there this year.
• I made a lot of new friends as I began to explore this city and meet lots and lots of college students. It’s funny how we can be so much the same and so different at the same time.
• THE Josh Zylks came to visit in April and May. What a blessing to have a friend from my “old world” come experience a part of my new one.
•  I went trekking in the Himalayas and hiked to the top of the Ganges River’s glacier. Who gets to do that?!?!
• I experienced a real life monsoon for the first time… and lasted 2 ½ months! Okay, so this one was unexpected (it was the worst monsoon in 40 years), but I don’t know that I’d call it a blessing.
• EasyDay, the Indian Walmart opened up just down the road from my house.
• We got a KFC and a Subway.
•  I spent almost 2 months in Thailand. Who would have thought that’d happen?
• I got to meet up with old friends and make new ones. It amazes how living overseas can be such a connecting bond.
• I held a white tiger (and I have a picture to prove it).
• I went “flying” through the rain forest on a zip line.

Talk about an improvement over my plans. I think it’s easy for me to get discouraged sometimes when things don’t go the way I think they should, but if they had I wouldn’t have experienced a lot of things on this list.

I’ve got big plans for 2011, but I’m willing to bet that God shows me one more time that my plans are little compared to what He has in store.

- एरिक

John: St. Andrew's Expostional Commentary

To read my review of RC Sproul's commentary on John visit it's new location over at EricRowell.net

There's No Place Like Home

Sometimes it’s not as easy as clicking your heels together to get back home. And even if it was, I don’t think I’d wear those glittery, red shoes that make it happen.

T and I were at “our apartment” in Thailand where we’d been living for a couple weeks while we waited on our passports and visas to come back. They’d arrived on Monday, so we emailed our travel agent that afternoon and asked him to book tickets for us to head to India. He said he’d do it.

Tuesday afternoon Travis emailed him again asking for an update on when we might be leaving, and we got a response a few minutes later. It was short and read something like this “Ticket information is on the way. You leave today!!”

It was 1:30 pm. I was thinking maybe a 5 or 6 pm flight. Nope. An email came a few minutes later – our flight was leaving at 2:55! We just started grabbing things as quickly as possible, stuffing it in our bags. I even had wet clothes that had just come out of the washing machine that I had to stuff in plastic bags so that we could get out as quickly as possible. Within 15 minutes we had packed our stuff, so we grabbed our bags and headed to the street to find a taxi. We got in a tuk-tuk that took us on the 20 minute ride to the airport, but I’m pretty sure he sensed the urgency because we made it there a little faster than I would have expected. Along the way I was making calls to friends, asking them to get out apartment keys to the right people and letting them know we were leaving in a rush.

At the airport we quickly made it through check-in and security before realizing that yes, we were on our way to India, but we didn’t have a place to stay when we arrived in Delhi. Using the last of my Thai coins, I got on a public computer and sent a facebook message to a friend there asking if we could spend the night with them. And then we got on the plane. All within an hour and a half.

After a layover and a rather uneventful trip through immigrations and customs we finally made it to Delhi where we headed over too my friend’s house. We spent two nights there (and were able to dry the clothes we’d washed in Thailand)before leaving early Thursday morning on the train to come home. I called my good friend who is a taxi driver to pick us up that afternoon, and he said he’d be there “big smile ke sat (with a big smile)” And sure enough he was, big smile and all. There’s no place like home.

-एरिक 

the story of my passport

 

Chiang Mai - After 44 days of being held hostage by various organizations such as DHL, the foreign embassy, and even for a brief time by my own mother, My Passport has finally been returned to me in good condition this afternoon – with only an extra entry visa to show for its trouble.

My Passport and I arrived in Thailand on Halloween, but it was taken from me by DHL on Nov. 1 with demands that a new visa be placed inside it before it could be released to its rightful owner. My Passport was transported by various methods including planes and mail trucks across several continents before reaching the deserts of El Paso. “The package,” as it was referred to, was given to my mother who was apparently in on the entire plan (the more hands involved in a complex situation the better). She was merely a middle(wo)man though, passing on the package to the foreign embassy’s outsourcing company which delivered it to its final destination – the embassy.

Now this is where the story gets tricky. The demands of the embassy were simple: a couple hundred dollars and allowing them to permanently mark the passport with a new visa. After some consideration and signing the right legal documents I agreed to the terms set forth by the captors, but things didn’t progress as quickly as expected. The original terms of the agreement were three weeks, but I’d heard from people in similar situations that the captors would occasionally set the hostages free early. That was not the case this time. Three weeks came and passed, but there was no word from the captors… uhm, I mean embassy.

Four weeks passed, and it seemed that they had forgotten about the hostage all together. An interview with My Passport immediately after release revealed that it is very likely that they did forget about it. Reports show that My Passport spent 99.99998% of its time on a desk lying with a stack of other hostages labeled “Not Yet.”

How the embassy came to remember My Passport and the other hostages is still unclear, but they did eventually follow through with their end of the agreement, completing a 27 second process before boxing “the package” back up and sending it to my mother who was able to successfully arrange for the release of the hostage in a matter of days.

My Passport was handed over unhurt this afternoon, and after a day or two of recovery we are planning to head to put My Passport's new “scar” to use.

- एरिक

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

To read my review of Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years visit EricRowell.net by clicking here.

Where all have you lived?

Hank Hill once said with more than a little sarcasm, “sure, everyone’s a Texan. Change planes in Dallas, and you’re a Texan.” Not that I blame them for wanting to claim the Lone Star state as home, but now I’ve got a question for you along the same lines. How long do you have to live somewhere before you can claim to “have lived there?”

Is it a certain amount of time? Maybe it’s a year or 6 months, or does it just take a night in a hotel or a layover in the airport? Maybe it’s not about the time you spend somewhere but about the experiences you have while there.

So, how long does it take until you can say you’ve lived somewhere?

-एरिक 

Blue Sky Christmas Holidays

I didn’t grow up in the land of White Christmases. East Texas winters might get a little chilly, but for the most part it’s pretty mild (except last year which was exceptionally cold, but I wasn’t there to experience it). Even though my past has been filled with warmer winters it’s a little strange to be kicking off the Holiday season with temperatures in the high 80s and upper 90s.

Welcome to Thailand: more specifically Chiang Mai. This Southeast Asian getaway has been my home for the last month. Living in a hotel in a land where I can only say “hello” and “thank you” has been quite an adjustment from the life I’ve become accustomed to in India over the last year, but it’s been a great experience. Part holiday, part waiting game I’ve been able to catch a small glimpse of what it’s like to live in yet another country.

When I first landed in the Chiang Mai airport I was amazed at the cleanness. Everything was so sterile in comparison to where I’d just come from. Then we got on the roads, and I was amazed at how calm the traffic seemed (although it’s still a fair bit more exciting than American traffic). People drive so fast. The stores are stocked with aisles of goodies, and I’ve even eaten a hamburger (or two or three or four). There’s even Starbucks and 7-11. And so I rode around with my head in the clouds for a few days.

I went and did some super touristy things. I went zip-lining through the jungle, played in waterfalls and even held a baby white tiger. I visited temples and ate at some great restaurants. Chiang Mai actually has great Mexican food. Oh, did I mention I got to eat hamburgers?

One of the best things though has been the opportunity to hang out with old friends and make some new ones. They’ve definitely made a month on a small budget more enjoyable. In my city back in India there aren’t a lot of foreigners. I’ve got some great friends there, but it’s such a refreshing experience to be in the company of a half dozen young, like-minded English speakers. It’s been a while, and I can see that I needed it.

As I kick off this Holiday season in the tropics I’m reminded of just how blessed I am. I’m on a fantastic journey that has led me places I never would have imagined just a couple of years ago. A little time to sit back and reflect on the last year has been just what I needed. So, even though I may get a little bored lying around the hotel some afternoons I know that this past month has been a great time of refreshment for me. Believe it or not, I’ve even come to realize there are some things about that crazy place called India I’ll be looking forward to getting back to.

The sun is shining. Maybe I should go for a swim.

Loy Krathong

To watch an amazing video of over 10,000 lanterns being released for Loy Krathong click here to visit EricRowell.net

-एरिक

brushing my teeth on the front porch

It’s funny how we catch ourselves doing silly things, isn’t it? Strange little idiosyncrasies you didn’t even know existed until it just dawns on you one day, “Man, I didn’t even know I did that…”

I’m going to be honest here, I caught myself today. I just realized that I like to go outside while brushing my teeth. Weird, I know.

I was in my hotel room this morning and I went to brush my teeth. The next thing I knew I was staring at the gardener from my porch, toothbrush in hand (and mouth). Oops. I laughed about it, but then I realized it’s something I do a lot. At my house in India my bathroom is connected to the rest of the house by the porch, so instead of staying in the tiny bathroom while I brush my teeth I usually go stand on the porch and look at the neighborhood, mountains, cows, etc. It’s not that it’s intentional; I just sort of do it. The problem is I didn’t even realize I had this funny, little habit until I was in a new environment and sort of got called out about it.

And that gets me thinking… What other little habits do I have in my life that I might not even realize? What are the things in my life that I didn’t even realize I was doing, the things that have been flying under the radar?

I’m going to take the funny look from a Thai gardener to remind me to be more intentional in everything I do. What else am I doing that people notice? What does my “normal routine” show about me? Or better yet, what does it show about my Father? Am I living my life in a way that shows I’m constantly being made more and more into who He would have me be, or am I just cruising on auto-pilot?

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31

-एरिक

Ode to the Missed Call

Living in a land of prepaid phones is pretty nice most of the time. You only spend money on the minutes that you use. You can buy special “tariffs” to make text messages cost a fraction of a cent or make your phone calls cheaper. Also, if someone calls you they pay. It doesn’t cost the recipient to receive calls or texts.

One down side is that voicemail is almost unheard of here. “Leave me a message and I’ll cal you back,” just doesn’t work here. In America if you didn’t leave me a message you probably wouldn’t get a call back. I don’t have that liberty here because there just isn’t a way for you to leave one.

Instead people use the “missed call” and it can have lots (and lots) of meanings. Here are just a few examples:

1) I meet a new friend. We want to get together for lunch next week. He gives me his number and then says, “Give me a missed call.” I call him and as soon as the number shows up on his phone I hang up. He’s got my number now and can put in address book.

2) A predetermined meaning can sometimes be behind a missed call. A friend of mine is coming to my house for the first time. He says, “I’ll give you a missed call when I reach,” so when he gets to the intersection on the main road he gives me a missed call. I know to go out and meet him and he didn’t have to spend any money.

3) My friend is short on cash. He doesn’t want to spend the 2 cents that it costs to call me, so he calls and as soon as it starts to ring he hangs up. This means “You call me and spend your money.” This one can get frustrating, especially if they call and call and call if you don’t answer the first time… I mean, I can’t reach I my pocket and answer while riding my motorcycle. I like to play ‘try and answer the phone before he hangs up’ not because I’m worried about the extra few cents but just have a little fun and maybe sharpen my reflexes.

-एरिक

Wisdom of the Sadhu

Oops! This blog about the life and faith of Sadhu Sundar Singh has been moved to EricRowell.net. Click here to read it now.

Narnia

This post about The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and what I learned from it when I reread it is now available at EricRowell.net. Click here to read it!

imagine this

a pizza and grilled cheese have a baby. sure it’s a stretch, but hang in there with me. i imagine it’d end up looking like the cousin of a calzone… maybe the half-sibling of a ham and cheese sandwich.

“that’s ridiculous, eric” you say. well, yes, you’re right.

“why would you even think about something so absurd?”

well i’ll tell you…

when i get packages here, they’re often filled with delicious surprises. in my birthday package from my parents was all the stuff to make some homemade pizzas. after the pizzas were eaten (it didn’t take long) i had only used about 1/3 of the pepperonis i’d been sent. now comes the time to get creative. seriously…i can’t let good pepperonis go to waste.

then i got to thinking. i took some fresh, sharp cheddar, some good bread, a little oregano-ish seasoning… okay, okay... so it was a domino’s pizza seasoning… i’ve got limited resources here… added pepperonis and cooked up two delicious grilled pizza sandwiches!

i cut it into "triangles" for illustrative purposes, but i think it made it taste better. something to do with 3rd grade memories i'm sure

mmm… i think i’ll do it again some day soon.

and on a very different note, this reminds of the classic movie… or I think it should be a classic, but hardly anyone has seen it… Hot Rod! near the end of the movie and grilled cheese and a taco battle it. let’s just say the grilled cheese wasn’t as successful in the movie

and just for fun
here's a picture of me dressed up as Hot Rod a couple years ago for halloween.

the hair was fake, but the mustache was real. because as Rod would say, "All great men have mustaches, Frank."



-एरिक

oh, and don't forget to check out my photoblog. www.eric365.wordpress.com