Monkey Business

Over the past few weeks we have formed a love/hate relationship with the monkeys that frequent our patio every day.  There was an initial fascination with watching these strange creatures interact with each other and the environment in which they find themselves, but patience quickly grew thin as they began to steal our clothing and slip through the bars on the windows to wreak havoc on the kitchen.  Needless to say, my friend Dan and I have spent many hours scheming ways to exact revenge on our furry little friends.

It seems that we have drastically underestimated the craftiness of the monkeys and have yet to successfully outsmart them.  This has left us with no foreseeable alternative but to simply resort to taunting them with bananas.  Childish... I know.  Gotta admit that it makes for pretty funny pictures though!

*Disclaimer: For those of you who may be sensitive to the feelings and well being of the monkeys, I can assure you that all participating parties were well compensated with bananas and no monkeys were hurt in the process of picture taking.

Spiritual Disneyland

I am now in the Northern India town of McLeod Ganj and it is perhaps the most unique place I have ever visited. While the town is home to mainly Tibetans and and Indians, it is inundated with travelers and sojourners from every corner of earth that come in search of meaning and purpose.  The atmosphere here can aptly be described as a spiritual Disneyland as everyone is  searching for truth.  The people who travel here are slightly reminiscent of the hippie movements from the 60's and 70's. Any of these people would be completely out of place in the communities they are from, but every dread-locked, eclectically dressed truth-seeker that visits is right at home amidst their peers.

City of McLeod Ganj

The small town of McLeod Ganj will be my home for the next two months and is also where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government reside in exile. The town is mainly populated by the brave Tibetans who escaped Chinese persecution by navigating the harsh Himalaya mountain range in search of religious and cultural freedom. Almost every Tibetan I've met has a personal story of surviving the trek through the snowy mountains, walking at night and sleeping during the day to avoid being imprisoned or shot by the Chinese army. My heart breaks for these people who have endured so much oppression and suffering.

The streets of McLeod Ganj

I am here with a community of seven amazing people to the love and serve the Tibetan people. As we practice loving God and one another in the context of our small community, our hope is that the natural outpouring of that love will flow through our relationships with the local people. We will be serving the Tibetans by teaching advanced English classes to those who are interested in improving their English skills. Already we have a class of 30+ students that meet every weekday as well as a second class comprised of 12 monks that meets in the monastery attached to the Dalai Lama's temple. Almost everyone we have met has a desire to learn about the teachings of Jesus so we are in the process of crafting stories from the Bible in order to teach grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure. We look forward to establishing many friendships with the Tibetans over the coming weeks!

Tibetan Monk Spinning the Buddhist Prayer Wheels