Jess and I had the incredible privilege of going to Hyderabad, India last month with our church, Pinelake. Obviously, with our intense interest in the country and culture of India, it was a trip we’ll never forget. This trip wasn’t for the adoption per se, but Jess and I made the decision soon after we settled on adopting from India that we needed to make a visit to the country as soon as possible. We settled on joining a team from Pinelake that was going in early December and couldn’t be happier that we did.

We are praying that it is sometime in 2013 that God grants us a match to the Indian baby that will be our daughter (for those of you who aren’t aware, my wife and I are adopting from India and will be naming her Eden). At this point, we are still awaiting final approval from the Indian government as adoption candidates which we anticipate happening sometime this spring. But, when we go to get Eden, we will be in-country for only about five days, so we knew some time getting to know the culture was vital as we prepare to raise a daughter born in this country.

Honestly, we were nervous. Some of our most well-traveled friends shared stories of how difficult a culture India is for our vastly different American perspective, and yet we feel like God positioned us the entire 10 days we were there to seeing only the best this country had to offer. And we quickly found the best of this world to be the people that are in it. We were amazed, truly, by the selflessness we saw in them. Their hearts were for our good and they loved on us so genuinely and purely that we both were challenged in an incredible way to do the same.

We were excited before about this adoption and the journey God has begun arranging, but now we are so thrilled that it is the heritage and culture of India that God has chosen to be a part of our family.

Here are just a few of the shots from our time there. For a few others, visit my album on Facebook.

I’m not exactly sure why, but this little girl has captivated my mind and attention since our return. I posted this a few weeks back on Facebook and Instagram, but hers is the image that comes to mind when I think about our dear Eden.