1st Annual Nielsen Cow Walk

I was invited by my co-trainers Tony and Candy to be part of the first ever cow walk. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the first step is to be living in a city that lets cows freely roam the streets without any level of containment. For us, that place is Bangalore.
We planned roughly an hour of time to walk the local streets around our hotel and take snapshots mostly of cows, but we were also able to include dogs, chickens. goats, and pigs. I used the time to also make some snaps of local color. I highly recommend the experience to all reading, but know the key is to have good friends with you.

Fathers Day 2009 in Bangalore

Although my kids were not physically with me today, I was made to feel totally at home and with family. The Church I have been attending in Bangalore invited me to be part of their own Father's Day celebration. It was a great celebration. The wife of the Pastor (Susan) created a movie of snapshots of all the Dads and their kids. They had contacted Lori who had send them some pictures of my kids. After the movie the kids presented all the Dads a key chain with beads that spelled out Dad. It was a really fun and unique experience. To be honest -- I did miss my kids still. They are the best. My daughter Taylor is a beautiful young woman with a pure heart. Her brother Nate is now 10 and has a desire to bring joy to those around him. His younger brother Mitch has a passion for adventure and a love for others. They are amazing children whom I know have a heart for God and hand for others. Most of that is due to my wonderful wife Lori. She is an incredible woman!

Slum Dog Hockey Clap

Today was a day I was looking forward. This was the day I was able to meet with the young men and women that are being assisted through the Bhagya. I met with 17 young adults from age 17 to 20 (12 men and 5 women). It was an incredible time for this Nebraska kid. Again, a surreal moment that I was in a Bangalore India city park playing games and having conversation with a group of young adults from the slum areas of the city. As I said it was incredible. We played some games (Dog and the Bone and Cho- Ko). Both games are locally played so I had to learn something new. I was able to teach them something -- the hockey clap. We did a rousing round of 3 claps following the games.

More importantly, I was able to talk with each young man and share my principles for success. I hoped to share with them that they should live with at least 3 criteria. I tried using a phrase I use with my kids (no lying, cheating, stealing, and especially no hitting people with fishes) that usually gets a laugh from my kids, but these guys were intent on my words and did not realize the fish hitting part was funny. I hoped they did learn to reject passivity, accept responsibility, and lead courageously. I gave them a fourth one as well, which was to follow God. My prayer is that the words shown light into their hearts. I did get many promises from the men that they would email me and keep me up to date with their schooling and lives. I really hope that happens. In case your wondering about the girls, my friend Andrea was able to speak many many good words and life lessons. I didn't hear it all, but I am confident that Andrea provided hope and confidence to the young women.

The men's names are Satish, Raja, another raja, Kathik, RanJeeth, Sam, Balchandar, Hazarath, Prabakar, Yesuraj, Sham, Shiva. The women's names are Priya, Soni, Shalini, Pushparani, Aninamma. I doubled my friends in Bangalore in one day! Life is good.

Shopping with friends

Here is a picture of me and my new friends. From the left is Leena, Wendy, Meredith and Andrea. We are eating at a restuant called Ebony which is on the 13th floor of a large shopping complex. It was quite hot this day.

Room with a view

This is a view from my hotel room looking west. I just completed my first day of teaching. We have about 60 students that are very bright. My problem is I am having a hard time understanding their English. But it will get better with time and prayer. I will post a short video from my trials in traffic. If you think traffic is bad in your city, you have seen nothing like Bangalore. There are many roads and almost no rules. It is an experience