Adventures in Jodhpur the "blue city" India part 2

Jodhpur was one of my favorite stops in India. The city is beautiful and even though it is pretty big it felt very different than Delhi. Large but not anonymous. Busy bit not crowded or hurried.  You could not walk around for more than an hour without an invite to tea or a meal. Did I mention I ate A LOT during my time there? Vides is the word for foreigner and although cultures are vastly and beautifully diverse you would have to try hard to feel foreign for long in India.

I posted images from my time there at Hawa Images here so please check them out!! I wanted to post some of the images that didn't make the cut but I still love because of the memory that click captured. Some of these images are also from my awesome team mates (thanks Tricia, Lisa, CJ, and Mitchell). One of the first full days in Jodhpur Lisa and I wandered around and accepted an invite to tea with this family.

They showed us the shrine in their home and made us fabulous warm, spicy tea while they asked us as many questions as their English allowed. We sat on their floor together and drank chai while the small kids added chaos by running around. Made me feel like home.

We asked about their family and discovered the woman in orange was a elementary school teacher near by and one of the younger girls Sareem (of the far left in this photo) was an excellent student and loved showing off her English skills. This family even said they thought I was a god! to which I quickly responded that God was big and I am sooo small! I love that so many cultures love to talk about faith. Such rich opportunities to pray, be blessed, and be a blessing!


This beautiful woman is Sidiria and we walked by her home as she was rolling local cigarettes to sell in town. After a few moments she invited us in and her daughter made us chai and then asked if I would stay for some henna.  Her son and daughter are both studying and hope to open their own business together.

Sidiria showed us around her home and gave me a bindi before making us chai.  This is the location in her home for "making pretty." Just love.

Ravina; her daughter, was soft spoken but so kind and allowed me to leave with this beautiful reminder of our time together....


I loved that every where we went we were not the only ones taking photos! I now am in the photo feed of MANY cell phones in India. "this is the crazy white lady I met..." so the story begins...

One afternoon I wandered around by myself and ended up in a wholesale areas for buying and selling textiles.  I met this woman who was in town from a smaller village to stock up on fabric to sell at her shop. She loved looking at my photos from home and then took me around with her to get some scarves and dresses for my girls.  At one point we were walking up some very shady looking stairs and down a dark alley but ended up in a huge warehouse shop for dresses and fabric.  I've learned again and again that God will provide friends where ever you go.

The day before we left Jodhpur we were walking through the narrow streets and an older gentleman named Radhey was standing outside his home with a little girl.  He invited us in and told us his wife would make us some chai.  We accepted and upon entering realized he then woke her up! I gotta say I would not be feeling it at that moment but she was happy we were there and she sat with us while he actually made us some chai.  The grandmother; Sontosh and her husband watch their granddaughters while their daughter and daughter in law work at the high court in the city.  We got to check out the view from their roof (see Hawa Images) while we waited until the rest of the family arrived home after work. I think it must have been so funny to come from a day at the office to find white folks resting on your couch :) But after many early mornings and lots of walking it was a welcome break and great visiting time.  They said we can stay with them when ever we are back in Jodhpur.  Please join me in praying healing for the smallest granddaughter Pari as she has hearing loss that will require surgery. May God bless this family!

Jodhpur is a must in India. The blue houses are an amazing backdrop to the colorful and welcoming people. I loved my time there. Please check out more images from my time there here.