Traveling the World

One of my best friends is now blogging!  She has a wonderful idea of sharing her year 22 bucket list.  Check out all 22 items here and follow along with her on her journey.  Item number 16 has inspired this new part of my blog: discover a new country via the internet.

I'm reluctant to change my current address on facebook back to the U.S.  And since I don't think I'll be using my passport anytime soon, this seems to be a good way to get my need to travel out of my system.  Or just make it worse.  Probably make it worse.

Instead of throwing a dart at a map or spinning a globe to see where my thumb lands (I've considered both) I'll be using the Joshua Project as a starting point in exploring the world.  For those who aren't familiar with this organization one thing they do is put together a collective list of unreached people groups and update it when they have new information.  An unreached people group is an ethnic group that has not heard the Good News of Jesus, or one that has very few Christians.

I have added a gadget to the bottom of my blog to help you keep track of unreached people groups daily.  I'll try weekly to highlight one in a post.  The website has information such as obstacles the people face, outreach ideas, and how we can pray for the people of that group.



Ahar of India taken from the Joshua Project.

Today it is the Ahar of India.  The caste system was officially outlawed several years ago, but most people in India still practice it.  They belong to one of the higher castes, which can work against them when it comes to accepting the Gospel.  According to the Joshua Project they may not see the need of a Savior like some of the lower caste people do.

Some interesting facts...mango is the national fruit.  I just happen to be allergic to mango.

They have an Indian version of Hollywood called Bollywood.  I've seen one of their movies and it was actually pretty good.  I would suggest you find one that sounds interesting and watch it.

And for weddings and other special occasions they decorate themselves with henna which is a substances made from tea leaves.  Do it.  Just make sure it's real henna and not the fake stuff at county fairs that burns your skin.  I'll post my picture as soon as I can find it.

One of the favorite tourist cities and one that holds great importance to Indians is Agra which is also a small town in Oklahoma.  Tell that to the international student at OSU.  They find it odd.  So do I.