Chris and Kris in India 36

This Month

Comment
Wildlife Special.
Drilling in India
New Kitchen garden
Christine's turn for Malaria.



COMMENT

What is self-determination, are we walking a path laid out before us, unable to change, unable to make our own decisions about our lives? Are we trapped in a lifelong play as Shakespeare said?

‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances’.

Do we as Shakespeare implies follow a script or do we actually enjoy free will? Do we as individuals have the choice to do good or evil, to help or pass bye, or to praise or jeer at the concept of a God?

This is a question many people ask about God and His role in our lives.

How can God be all knowing and yet we claim to have free will. He knows the day and the time of all things, when we shall be born until the day we die. Does this imply we are on a set course with either ‘fate’ or God controlling all we do?

This is a question as a young Christian I asked a friend and mentor, his explanation gave me an understanding of God that reinforced my faith. Never as a Christian be afraid to ask the difficult questions: so, how much free will do we really have?

If you struggle with this question perhaps this will help you as it helped me.

The following is taken from an email complaining that God's foreknowledge means we have no free will. The E-mailer wrote six points.

1.      God knows every decision that I am going to make tomorrow.

2.      For sake of simplicity, let's assume that I am going to make only one decision tomorrow.               My decision will be whether or not to go to the gym.

3.      God knows what decision I will make. He has it written on his "list."

4.      His "list" can't be wrong.

5.      If his "list" says I am going to the gym, I must go. The fact that "I must go” is incompatible with the statement that I am free to decide whether to go or not to go.

6.      Therefor I have no ‘free’ will. It is all predetermined if you accept God has control.

Interesting isn't it, let’s try and answer his questions:

1.      God knows every decision that I am going to make tomorrow.

A.      Correct.

2.      For sake of simplicity, let's assume that I am going to make only one decision tomorrow. My decision will be whether or not to go to the gym.

A.   A decision is a choice about something that you want to do or believe. It is drawing a conclusion while considering the options. Your statement that you are going to make the decision means that you admit that you are the one making the choice. By definition then, you are freely choosing to do something. Therefore, to later say that you have no choice in what you are doing is a contradiction of your statement here.

3.      God knows what decision I will make. He has it written on his "list."

A.   There is no "list" that God has anywhere of the things that anyone is going to do. The knowledge of God is not a list. It is simply necessarily complete since He knows all things. This is because God's nature requires that He know all things since He is everywhere all the time: the past, present, and future.

4.      His "list" can't be wrong.

A.   This is not an issue of the list being wrong. It is simply a fact that God knows all things. Whatever you choose to do is what God knows will happen. If you chose not to go to the class, then that is what God would have known would be your choice. So, whichever choice you freely make is the one God knows you will make. Furthermore, the "list" will always be right. That is, it is always right because it is a list of the free will choices you want to make.

5.      If his "list" says I am going to the gym, I must go.

A.   The problem here is that the idea of a list introduces the error that there is a set list of things that the person must accomplish, because it is on a list for them to do. This is not the case. You do not go to the gym because it is on the list that you must fulfil. It is simply an advance recording of what you will do based on the choices you will freely make.

       A better understanding of the "list" idea would be if God wrote a list of the things you did after you did them. He can do this since He is in the future and can look back from the future to see what you chose to do at any time. Time is relative to God. Because you have already done them freely (from God's future perspective looking backward), the list can be made accurately by God. Since He is also in the past and present, He can even show us this list in advance... only for Him it happened a long time ago as He watched you freely do what you wanted to do. So, since God is in all places at all times, He can look back in time to get the list, and then even reveal it in advance to you. It would be a list of things you freely chose to do -- or should I say, that you will freely choose to do.

6.  The fact that "I must go" is incompatible with the statement that I am free to decide whether to   go or not to go.

 A.  There is no "must" in this situation. You will freely choose.

There is no incompatibility at all if we see that God simply knows what our choices are going to be before we make them since it is necessarily true that He knows all things.

Furthermore, this idea of God's knowledge and peoples' freedom is ultimately an unanswerable issue since it involves us working in time and God is outside of time. Our question deals with a situation from a perspective inside of time where God is outside of time. By default, our questions and answers concerning this issue cannot be complete. Past, present, and future are concepts and realities created for us, not for God.

We think in linear time, yesterday, today, tomorrow, God is at all times outside this linear time, therefor He knows all things at all times.

As a Christian I struggle to understand why so many shy away from asking hard questions about their beliefs; did Jesus actually die on the cross? This is fundamental to Christian belief but some claim that he didn’t because he wasn’t there long enough, and his legs were not broken to speed his death. Has his tomb ever been found? (As some claim) Who were the ‘wise men’ from the East? Did he travel to India as a young man? (As many Christians here believe). Thankfully for some of the above questions there are witnesses who recorded what they saw, yes I believe Jesus died on the cross, it is recorded by many witnesses at the time, as was His resurrection.  But many other questions remain unanswered. Some intrigue me.

Confronting the doubts and questions within us about our beliefs can only make us stronger and more enlightened.

Searching for the truth should never be avoided but embraced with joyous fervour.

One such question I am pursuing is where was Jesus between age 12/13yrs and 30yrs when he started his ministry? I may never know the answer, but no matter because inevitably I will learn more than I now know of the life of Jesus my Saviour and the times he lived in.

What I will learn I can’t say, but I am sure that the journey will be worth the effort.

May God bless you all.

Some of the wildlife in and around the garden

A 'friend' it's a Gecko, they eat fly's, in particular mosquito's,
' The enemy of my enemy is my friend'
We have several who actually live in the house.

This is one of a pair of birds that visits daily

Getting braver and coming closer to us

This bird is an Indian Cuckoo and it makes a cuckoo sound

Love birds who are never far from each other

Calling for its mate

A Hawk just visiting our back garden to have breakfast.
note the remains of a lizard!

An ant hill in our front garden border.

These were large ants living under and in a tree,
look at leaf on right and you get the idea, they are about
1/4" -  3/8" in size and very territorial.

The main entrance to the underground nest,they

 live here in harmony with us, we don't bother 

them in their tree and they don't bother us.

The tree is about a 18" in diameter

Camelion in our lemon tree, it was green/grey but
changed to a red because of me being there.

Relaxing a little now but still feeling threatened.

After waiting a few moments it went back to
this silver grey colour. I took this shot
from about 10' away at 135mm so I guess
at that distance he didn't regard me as a threat.

Lizard trying to find way in through window mesh, looking
for flies and insects to eat.

Fine specimen of local lizard who says dragons don't exist!

Up close and personal, Kris kept her distance

This was a huge lizard in our home found between
 sofa and curtains a lot larger than he looks here
about 2 ft long maybe more, Chris blocked off it
getting further into the house and shooed it out
the front door, goodbye!

A form of Indian centipede quite fast!

Local goats just roaming on open ground next to our home

No idea what this is its a sort of beetle

Just to show the size of it

Monster centipede on our stairs frightening thing

Seen in perspective found when going to bed ugh!

Flying Ants, its mating time, 24hrs and they lose
their wings and die.
Dead bodies all over our porch in the morning

A local cow, it has come for the fresh green plants
that grow outside, we also feed them a handful
of weeds now and again.

Looking better now the rains have started,
in Summer they go very thin due to the lack
of food available.

Jumping spider, they normally walk but when
 threatened they can jump several feet.
Its about 1/4" in size.

A not so welcome visitor, it went one way
we went the other! Just goes to show why
walking around with no shoes on is not
 a good idea.

So lucky to catch this on camera, full telephoto, (350mm) range about 60ft.
If you look carefully you
can see a local squirrel busy dragging nesting material back
to its hole (one of many such) in the wall opposite our house.

Then this appears

It may be small but the little squirrel goes in for the attack, Tail up and puffed out like a brush.

It has just bitten the lizards tail.......

 Hiding in one of the other holes now but the squirrel continues to rush back and forward at the lizard trying to drive it away

Continually squeaking at the intruder  

                                             Until finally out it comes, still being harassed 

From all angles, a continuous assault, rushing in attempting to bite then flicking away at tremendous speed, far too fast for the lizards (or my) reaction speed.

Frustrated by the assault it tries to escape

Then it makes a rush up the wall pursued at every step. 

                                             

     Away from the nesting area's.

Squirrel 1 Lizard 0 Amazing.

And finally, "George", we include him in wildlife because if anything or anyone goes
near his ladies 4Kg of angry bird goes for them as several friends who said he won't
bother me have found to their cost...............better than a watch dog!
Isnt he a lovely looking bird.

Baked Potatoes, a first for us in India!

Bonfire of tree stump that would have been
in our new kitchen garden just getting going.

At this point we decided baked potatoes sounded
yummy and we had never had them for years, note
the glowing bricks! 

Blazing away cooking our potatoes, getting
hungry waiting to eat, took about 1 hr to bake in foil

Yummy cheesy potatoes and daal, must do again, 

the flavour was wonderful, that smoky bonfire

taste. It reminded us of Nov 5th and our childhood.

Kris collecting Charcoal.

Bonus after fire found home made charcoal, yippee

Excavating ashes for useable charcoal for Drawing

Lots of charcoal for Art and all for free

Bang, crackle fizz in the night!


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                         

 A small electrical problem.......Maybe it got a bit hot!

It used to be a 40amp switch, we fitted a better one.

The monsoon season will soon be upon us.

We are already getting pre monsoon storms, lots of lightning and heavy rain.

The worst so far lasted all night. The wind was tremendous, that and the rain meant we awoke to a very humid day. Luckily we were advised when we bought our A/C (nearly three years ago now) to have 'dehumidifier' types so that in the monsoon season we can be more comfortable.

So many of our friends are still amazed that we stay all year, most foreigners disappear for the Summer only returning when the monsoon rains cool the air and refresh the land. we have gained so much respect by being 'permanent' in our adopted country. When asked 'where are you from ?' we say 'Udaipur' then explain we are here to stay (God willing). Our Indian friends of all faiths and castes accept us now as 'local', a complement indeed. 

The local shops and stalls all know Kris and treat her as Indian, gone are the days of 'tourist prices' and suspicious looks. Even the children who beg relentlessly of all foreigners at every opportunity now leave her alone as they do all Indians.

She wears the 'sindor' which is a red mark in her hair, centre of her forehead, this denotes she is a married woman, she is treated by Indian men with a lot more respect because of her adoption of Indian culture. This is not to be confused with the Bindi mark worn on the forehead just above the nose, this is a religious symbol of Hinduism.

We attend all sorts of different occasions of all faiths but always make it clear beforehand that we cannot take part in the 'religious' aspects of the ceremony because our faith does not allow it. Our views have always been respected, and we have always been treated with respect and concern that we enjoy the occasion. If only the whole world would learn the tolerance the Indian's have for ALL faiths then so many conflicts could end, and maybe, just maybe the world would begin to live in peace. Jesus said 'Love thy neighbor as thyself', he did not say love only those of your own faith. His message was for all men alike, something I wonder if some Christians have forgotten.

I once heard a Christian tell his son that Muslims were the enemy, I was so ashamed to even be associated with him, Jesus taught love, not hate.

Drilling for water at the resort on our colony. A new well going in. Approx 200'.

This is a job I never want to do.

Bring in the clothes washing NOW!

Local fruit in season now (By no means all)

A collection of fruit from our garden

Chris went shopping and brought back  2 types of
mango,bananas, oranges and pineapple plus lots
of seasonal vegetables.

The local markets are full of all sorts of fresh veg and fruit from all over India now that the rains have begun. Capsicum, potatoes, cauliflower, bottle gourd, cabbage, chilli peppers, aubergine, ginger, methi (green leaf herb used in most curries and much more), a wonderful time of the year both for farmers and of course the customers. Farmers in Rajasthan are now sowing to take advantage of the coming rains.

It is a wonderful time to visit India, just after Monsoon when it is cool (comparatively) and so verdant and lush. The rivers flow full and the lakes are brimming. Wildlife in abundance. Rajasthan is a beautiful state, deserts, mountains and of course Udaipur 'City of the lakes'. 

Jaipur, the state capital is one of the many places we intend to visit. We have been told by a good friend that the fort there is a must to see. India has so much history that most foreigners never hear about or see. We consider ourselves truly blessed to live here.

The beginning of our new kitchen garden

It started with  a pile of bricks and sand

Amberbai teaching the 2 labourers how to mason

Amberbai
Very skilled Mason, as well as maid and gardener

Work continues to progress, hard workers

Amberbai to the rescue to keep wall in line

Just got to go along by hedge now

Guess who's peeking out of the shrubbery?

Just to give you an idea of size of kitchen garden

At last just a few more bricks to lay

Thank goodness thats done 

This will be our kitchen garden, the area
is only a little less than we had before
as it is wider.
The next stage will be moving all the shrubs and
a small tree but that has to wait for the monsoon

                                            rains.

Rain stopped play as the first path wall
was going in

   Hey it rained, ALL day, then two days     overnight, 

      Phase two can begin!

Shrubs transplanted, first path wall going in.

Work in progress

Chai break, tea sugar Cardamom milk and 
water boiled three times....Chris says its great! 

Nearly finished

 After this cow dung and soil goes in and planting can begin.

Centre path

Shrubs and plants now moved and the pathway walls built. We will use the heaps of old bricks we have to lay a path (two bricks wide) so that it makes life easier to work on the two raised beds.

Lots to  do yet, import soil, shading, paint walls with 'glop'.....ah glop, we don't know what else to call it, it is a mix of outdoor masonry paint and cement that you glop on, hence our name for it!

This may seem a lot of work but it really is worth it to be able to grow crops that are not available here in the North, Lettuce, Chinese cabbage, Cucumber, English carrots, Runner and French beans, Radish, Spring Onions, we are even going to give Leeks a go this year. We do this by controlling the micro climate with shade netting, and for the first time for us we are going to try controlling the humidity so that in effect we can control air temperature. Plus of course our roof garden of Tomatoes, Capsicum and Melons. All of this not only means fresh wholesome food but saves money that can be better employed for other causes.

Saturday, a tractor load of cow manure arrived, as we are 'local' we got it at a very good price thanks to friends.

Comments from Kris.

Our blog disappeared from Google where we have a short cut. Tried to get into it but failed. At first we thought the blog was deleted, and we had lost access to writing the blog, but eventually after a lot of trying managed to to access it. 

The problem, like so many other PC issues we think was caused by sudden voltage drops during         'brown outs' followed by complete failure of the supply. We now have the system fed via an inverter (mains to 12v battery that switches to supply 230v) it will only support things for a few moments but controls the spiking and voltage drop.

Malaria, my turn!

Well finally it happened, I thought I might have some sort of immunity, many people have but well as you can see I don't. 

I got a mild case of malaria, my blood showed Typhoid antigens and I had all the malarial symptoms Chris had previously and I felt rotten, rigors, hot and cold and no energy. I spent most of the first week sleeping and Chris looked after me very well, ensuring I got the correct medication, reminding me to eat and drink. He even had to help me shower, which was sweet of him.
Here I am at last out of bed but as you can see fast asleep lying on the sofa with the antimalarial aerosol plugged into the electrical socket on the wall. We have them in every room since Chris got his first 2 doses of Malaria. It gives some protection but is not a guarantee by any means. I have no intention of trying to beat Chris's score of 3 types of Malaria, once is definitely enough for me.

I still feel tired and lacking in energy but each day I am seeing an improvement, not up to work yet but hopefully after the college holiday I should be up, but maybe not running at full speed. 
Chris put it really well when he said its a bit like the Duracel bunny, I get a little energy then my battery goes flat and crash till I get recharged, hee hee.

Chris looked after me very well, but sneaky pic!

The meal above is of roast chicken complete with skin which was crispy, maybe not unusual in the UK, but here in India they skin the chickens even if you buy it whole. 

This one is our own chicken we reared and lovingly cared for, then a quick painless end. I plucked the feathers myself after helping Chris kill it and clean it. We both believe very strongly that we should respect our birds, they must not suffer or we must not waste any part of them. Hoppy gets the carcass and 'bits' so he is also happy! 

Yes it tasted so much better than the Broiler chickens you can buy at Market and at least we know it had a happy life and was well fed till the end. We believe it is important to care for our chickens and give them a nice environment to live not stuck cramped in a cage.

We now get at least 4 Anda (eggs) a day, occasionally only 3 of the 4 hens lay but not very often. Again the eggs taste so much better than those you buy locally. Our neighbours and friends who are not vegetarian have enjoyed them too.

We now have 2 cocks in their own pen which we are rearing for food and George and his 4 hens that are in the larger pen. George is extremely protective of his hens or girls as Chris calls them, he will try and attack anyone he does not know or considers a threat, he's the best guard dog you can have in the garden. 

'Hotel Anda' (non AC) 'Cheep' rates: he he.

Windows at both ends and the front to allow
for good ventilation. The top can also be opened
2" in summer and folds half back for egg collection,
or fully back for cleaning. Raised up to prevent
flooding in the monsoon. made from marine grade
plywood so it should last. When it gets dryer again
we will paint it, maybe sunshine yellow!!

I collect the eggs daily, but I have learn't to make sure all 4 hens are out of Hotel Anda first. I got it wrong one day and George protecting his girls tried to peck my feet.  I have not made that mistake since. He recognises the sound of my scooter when I ride onto the drive and you can hear his cock a doodle do, until I say hello and give him a treat such as dry bread or weeds from the garden. He comes to the hatch as soon as he hears the back door open in anticipation of more treats. 

George is a real character and he is not upset by Vishali ( a friends little girl) coming around to see him as she used to pick him up when he was a chick, he is nervous of strangers though.

At 4 a day I haven't bought tasteless bland eggs from the Market for well over a month now!

Hope all of you followers from the UK, America, India, Albania and those of you who are in other parts of the world too many to list so forgive me, enjoy this months blog and what we have been up to. 

May you all have a good, happy and healthy month to come.

Kris and Chris, here in wonderful Udaipur awaiting the full monsoon to break ahhhhhhh, to be cooler and enjoy the rainy season. We can't wait to play in the warm rain!

God bless you all

Chris and Kris

A Small Boat on the Ocean.

We are in a small boat on the Ocean of life.

We sit together, side by side paddling.

Sometimes the weather of our life is rough and stormy, 
sometimes smooth and calm,
 No matter what though, we  keep paddling in faith.

We have no idea where we are going because we aren't steering, 
But we are never worried or afraid because Jesus is steering for us.

As long as He knows where we are going, we know everything will be fine.

All we need is enough faith to keep paddling.
Amen