I've been away for a while (15 days to be exact) and hopefully some of you have wondered where I've been! Well, judging by that photo, I've apparently been doing ballet in front of monuments in India! Haha, actually I was in India for 6 days visiting all the touristy sites and cracking up the locals by forcing my parents to take photos of me jumping in front of beautiful things.

I arrived in New Delhi at 2:30am, drowsy and exhausted, only to find out that the hotel had given away the interconnecting room we requested, so I was stuck on the 6th floor while my parents were on the 4th. Unfortunately, in our sleepiness, I ended up with my dad's suitcase and he with mine, so he had to come up to the 6th floor to give it to me and he wasn't too happy about that. I really needed my pyjamas though.

The Indians we met were as a general rule very friendly although very talkative. It was hard sometimes to get them to stop talking so that I could eat my meal! We saw a protest on our 3rd day there while we were driving up to Agra (that's the area of India where the Taj Mahal is). I don't know if this picture of the protest is very clear because I took if from the car window, but isn't that just the most colourful and beautiful protest you've ever seen?

The Taj Mahal was so beautiful. It definitely lived up to my expectations and more. For those of you who don't know, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a burial tomb for his wife after she died while giving birth to their 14th child. The whole building and the gardens are built in perfect symmetry and everything is symmetrical except for one thing - his tomb which is next to hers (hers is in the center). The architects even designed the building so that the four towers (they call it minarets) that surround the main building is build a few degrees tilting outwards so that if there was ever an earthquake, they would fall outwards and not crush the main building and tomb. In his last few years, he was imprisoned (house arrest) by his son who wanted to be King, and for 8 years he spent his most of his time in the one room that overlooked the Taj Mahal.
This picture is of the Taj Mahal, which I took from my hotel room. That's right, this was the view that I had from the room I stayed in. Isn't that just magnificent? Oh, my only regret is that I never looked out the window at night and saw the Taj Mahal bathed in moonlight. That would've been out of this world.

Driving on the roads of India was awesome. Can you picture driving on a road that is filled with cars, motorbikes, trucks, electric rickshaws, cows, goats, and buffalos??? It was insane. We drove across this bridge - it couldn't have been more than 50 metres - and it took us nearly half an hour because the width of the bridge was less than 3 metres, and the cars were going in BOTH directions. Then of course you'd have to slow down because there would be a cow in front of your car that decided to take her own sweet time walking.

I would definitely recommend going to India for holiday...I can't wait to go back there! If you do go there, definitely do not miss seeing the Taj Mahal, it's one of those once in a lifetime places you just have to go to.

It's amazing how much God has changed me from the person I was 6 months ago. He took me, a broken person with a multitude of problems, and redeemed and restored me to wholeness. So in celebration of this transformation, my Thursday Thirteen this week will be about the changes in me.

1. He has freed me from the power of alcohol. I no longer need or want alcohol anymore, and am learning to deal with life sober.

2. I quit smoking! After 6-7 years of smoking, I think I deserve a big clap! :D

3. God taught me to put aside my pride and humble myself and ask my cousin for forgiveness and so ended our 2 year argument.

4. One big thing is that people are actually reaching out to me when they're hurting so that I can minister to them...it's so awesome how just a while ago I was such a mess, and now God is actually using me to be His hands to reach out to people.

5. I am so much healthier and stronger than I was before.

6. I'm able to pray with other people and in public now.

7. Oh, and I also have made it a habit of saying grace before eating...it took me a few weeks to be able to remember!

8. I'm no longer involved in immoral relationships.

9. The depression that I've struggled with for years is going, and most of the time, the joy and peace that comes from God reigns in my heart.

10. I actually find my Christian friends fun! Haha, a year ago if you'd told me that I would actually enjoy hanging with my church friends, I would've laughed in your face.

11. I smile and laugh more...and when I do, it's not a cynical or sarcastic laugh but a real genuine one now.

12. God has filled me with so much love for Him that I can honestly say that He is my first love and above all things.

13. God has brought healing to my relationship with my family and things have improved so much.

Isn't God awesome???