Time Flys When Your Having Fun! July 18, 2009

So in the past week: I have become a doctor, (apparently if you have any education in that then your certified but more on that later), pushed a car with a dead battery up a hill cause the Indians think that rolling it down and trying to start it will help, (did I mention I was in a skirt and flip flops), spent 2 days locked up inside because of the rain, (its more like a torrential downpour), walked through gross brown water that went up to my calves and had stuff in there I don’t even want to know about because of the floods here, (I am sure feces and other bodily fluids were mixed in.. ugh), and went shopping at fashion street (where we were once again swarmed by people taking pictures, I think I am going to start charging money per picture ha).

 

All in all, it has been a great week. We have kept busy for the most part and it has really helped time go by! On Monday we began our medical camp. I never thought this day would come the whole entire trip, but I guess they wanted us going out with a bang. This little Indian guy named Solomon came to the house on Monday morning and talked to us about what we could do for the camp. We tried to tell him that we couldn’t do anything without the supervision of a doctor, but he said he had done plenty of camps without them. So we just went with it. (Did I mention he has no medical training whatsoever, just thought I would throw that in there) In order to get everything we need medicine wise me and Melissa went to this hole in the wall “chemist” shop right outside the train station. Apparently you don’t need a prescription for medicine either in this place. Oh I could only think about the drug addictions that people could develop with such easy access to medication but the money to buy them would be the problem. Not that they are in any way expensive. I am pretty sure a whole course of an antibiotic was less than 1 American dollar!

 

Crazy how things are so different over here, but what can you expect being half way around the world, literally! Once we got medicines for I think about every symptom you could possibly think of we lugged it all across the train station, into another rick, through the fish market, and down the slum ally ways into the slum ministry center. When we got there, there were women and children lined up waiting to see us. Word spreads fast when you have got 5 American girls coming to do a medical camp. Well we unloaded everything, tried to decipher what all the medicines that we got were, and set up stations to see people. There was a sign in station that had Faith and Melanie (both religion/mission majors) with a translator at the front that took their basic information, then they were sent to me and Mallory or Melissa (pre-med for me and the other 2 nursing majors). This is where we “examined” them and gave them the proper medication. Seeing as how our resources and knowledge was quite limited we basically were there for a placebo affect. Gave out some Tylenol/Ibuprofen and some acid reflux medicine. There were a few cases where Solomon insisted that they had worms so we administered that medicine, and even times when we had to do female examinations. They insisted on showing us what was wrong haha! Oh it was great

 

Some of the problems were way out of our hands, but we did get to see some pretty interesting stuff and did the best that we could. Their feet were probably the most common and worse problem there. Because so many of them work in water and have no shoes, their feet just get eaten up by whatever is on the ground or the bugs that are in the water. Several of them were just plain gross with peeling and crusty gunk everywhere, but we tried to clean it up as much as possible and gave to ointment to help the irritation. Another big problem is the need for dental work. I take for granted how a toothbrush and toothpaste are so common and accessible. So many of these people, including kids, came in with “teeth” that had been eating down to the gum with cavities. You could literally see right through their gums. I know it has to hurt, but all we could do was give them some pain medicine and refer them to a dentist. (And I whine about getting a numbing shot in my mouth) Oh what India will do to you.

 

We held the medical camp on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. The other days we were locked up in the house because of the rain. At first I just thought that these people were being lazy because they would not get out in the rain, but I now understand why. We tried to go to the station on day while the rain was pouring and was really introduced to Mumbai Monsoon Season. We were seriously wading in water that was up to my calves. I couldn’t let myself think about what was in the water that I was stepping in or I might have freaked out. (and it didn’t help with the fact that I couldn’t see through the water to my feet AT ALL) We did accomplish our goal in getting Faith’s nose pierced. I thought she was going to get an infection with the unsanitary way that they did it, but it has been good so far. They just stuck the ring right through her nose. Oh no I would never allow all those germs going through my nose haha! She was a brave one!

 

Today, Saturday July 18, we went to Fashion Street. I have to admit that it was not everything I thought it would be. So many people worked it up to being the best shopping there was in Mumbai, but only maybe if you were and Indian trying to dress in wanna be American clothes. Don’t get me wrong, I found a sweet futbol jersey for dirt cheap and was glad we got to go! Minus all the vendors trying to call out to us and swindle our money from us, it was an enjoyable day of shopping. So glad we had one of the teens in the church youth group to go with us and help us get good deals. And I can’t forget the awesome dinner that we had. I didn’t realize Chinese food was so popular here, but we have had it several times. It’s different, but good. I will actually eat this rice. I am not a big fan of the Indian kind though.

 

WE ONLY HAVE 4 DAYS LEFT IN INDIA!!

 

Agenda for next week: Sunday-have church and then youth meeting. We are going to through a little party for them tomorrow night with pizza and cookies. Monday and Tuesday-having the medical camp in the slums again. Hopefully we can use all of the supplies. Also going to try and go to Mulland Station that has some pretty nice shopping and get Henna done before we leave from Sneha (the daughter of one of the local pastors). Wednesday-clean and pack everything up. We leave from here at 11:20 p.m. Please pray for us as we travel!

 

I know I have been in so many of your prayers and I am so thankful to each of you. God has been the only thing that has gotten me through this journey!

 

Oh and I am currently reading Jesus for President. I recommend it to everyone, and anyone who would like to discuss with me about it feel free. I would love to. It’s revolutionary to say the least.

1 Wonder Down, 6 More to Go! July 11, 2009

It’s time to go to the TAJ MAHAL!

 

After much planning and preparation we were finally able to go. I know some of us, me included, were not leaving till we could go. I don’t know if I will ever make it back to India and this is a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Tuesday the 7^th, we leave to head to Bombay Central Station. It’s the main train station here in Mumbai, and it is HUGE!! We finally get on our train and get situated. Did I mention that it is a 16-hour trip on an India train. We had to sleep over night in it, and oh boy was that an experience. I made sure I took picture of it because I don’t think any amount of explanation would do it justice. There were like seats and they folded up to make little makeshift beds. Side note for next time: make sure you bring earplugs. I think every man (and women) snored in our car. I cannot even handle going on vacation and having to sleep in the same room as my father. He snores so bad, but this was 10 times worse. A benadryl later, I finally woke up to the guy calling out for breakfast. I wanted to curl back up in a ball and go back to sleep, but that wasn’t an option. On top of the food guy coming, there was another coming to pull all the blankets and pillows off. He literally took them right off of us while we were laying in bed/sleeping. How rude?! I told them that too, but I don’t think they understood haha!

 

We get off the train and go to our hotel. We had a SHOWERHEAD and A/C. It was like heaven on earth. But we were only able to enjoy it for about um.. 5 minutes before we were called down to the lobby to go site seeing. We went to Red Fort, which was a military fort and one of the kings palaces in Delhi. It was so beautiful. I am still in amazement how the workers were able to complete such gigantic projects with only the hand tools and other small machinery that they had in those times. Definitely took some patients and determination that’s for sure, or just the threat of king! We also drove around and saw the presidents house and the area where the parliament is. It almost resembled our D.C. area in a different sort of way! And then on to the cremation site of Ghandi. Btw did you know that he is on every piece of money here in India. A little weird for Ghandi to be on money if you ask me, but they must be proud. His memorial site was gorgeous. It was this giant park area, and the best part was that it was CLEAN! Trash and litter free. And they even had trashcans! That’s a first I do believe. The people there were very reverent when going into the site. You were required to take off your shoes before you entered, and they had a garden inside the barricaded part, along with his “tomb” or ashes I guess! 

 

It was so nice to be able to go around a different state other than Maharastra. Not all parts of India are completely full of filth like where we have been, and to see that was a breath of fresh air. We have been confined to the millions of people that make up Mumbai and the trash that goes along with it. Thursday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to head to Agra to see the Taj! I was unaware that it is 4 hours away from Delhi, but we were able to get a driver to take us there for the day. Even in my exhaustion I was thrilled to have the chance to see it in person. We are some of the very few people in the whole world who get the opportunity to go, and we were all so grateful! So the ride there, it was like I was on a constant roller coaster or playing bumper cars. The road conditions definitely didn’t help anything. (and I thought that Tennessee roads were bad) I will never complain about that ever again. I don’t really get carsick that easily either, but oh what Indian car rides can do to someone ha!

 

When we got out of the car, we got on a camel drawn buggy! That’s right, a CAMEL! Only in India would that happen! Oh we were all so excited as well. It took us right up to the entrance of the Taj, and were immediately swarmed by all the people trying to sell us stuff. I guess they see white and think we are stupid enough to fall for their little gadgets that are way overpriced, but we definitely are not. And they wouldn’t leave us alone for one minute until we were inside the gates of the Taj. It was BEAUTIFUL! I don’t know how else to describe it. The pictures and movie don’t do it justice at all. It’s something that you need to see in person to be able to fully appreciate it. We had an albino Indian tour guide, and he took us around the grounds, the Taj, the guesthouse, and the mosque. Originally I thought that it only contained the Taj, but the king who built it went all out for the burial grounds for his wife. And to think that we only get a little head stone at our burial grounds, and the kings wife got one of the 7 wonders of the world! Did I mention that while we were there, at one of the most beautiful places on earth, people still insisted on taking pictures of us. I am sure that we are on at 200 people’s phones and coffee table albums. I truly understand a bit of what celebrities go through haha! It’s frustrating and overwhelming all at the same time! Only 2 more weeks of the stares!

 

I took so many pictures while I was there, (of the actually buildings and us, not random Indian people because they have a different color skin than us ha!) so hopefully when I get back I can upload them to facebook or an email so I can share them with everyone! Because this is a place of the dead, we were all required to take off our shoes or wear the shoe covers that they gave us. I chose the later. You never know what is growing on the grounds of India! We walked through and saw the place where the casket of both the king and his wife now. His wishes were to be buried where he laid his wife, so now he rests right next to her under this giant monument. All of the walls were so intricate and made out of marble and different types of precious stones. I have never seen a building more beautiful than this. And how they did this 600 hundred years ago, I have no idea! We stayed there for a couple of hours, took a ton of pictures, and then left to head to Agra fort. This was place where the king and his ancestors ruled all of India for many years. He built it to look right out to the Taj Mahal so he could always look at his wife! How sweet right? This king must have been loaded. This castle/military fort/government building was so big. We went and wondered all through the grounds for hours and I know we didn’t even see half of it. I was trying to imagine how awesome it must have been to play hide and seek in this place! The king even had a room built full of mirrors so that we he became ill and bed ridden he could still see the Taj from the mirrors looking out towards it.

 

After our long and exhausting day we headed back to Delhi, but first stopped at a Methodist Hospital. It was kind of a bittersweet moment, because I see this and thought “this is what I wish I would have been doing the whole time,” but God knows best. Maybe one day I can come back and do a rotation here, like one of the girls there. It is run by a Norwegian nurse who has been there for 31 years. She has done amazing things with this place. It is mainly a maternity ward for women with and without aids, but they do other things such as regular doctor visits, giving out immunizations, and village visits raising awareness! One day that’s what I would love to be doing, and I was so glad I got to witness something like that. To see hope given to a country that is considered hopeless. What an awesome thing.

 

On Friday we left to head back to Mumbai on or lovely train ride back and I am now currently sitting writing after getting back to the D.S. house a few hours ago. I am exhausted but it has been an amazing week. Going on this trip made me realize how amazing all of the different places in the world are! Me and Mallory have decided that we want to go see the rest of the Wonders of the World! One day we will see them all.

 

This coming up week we are hopefully going to do a medical camp with a local doctor. We have been told this before, but hopefully everything will work out to where we will be able to do so. Please pray for us as we are nearing the end of our trip and wrapping up our ministry here. In 2 weeks I will be heading back home to Nashville and back into the hustle of life.

My Solitude with God July 11, 2009

Khandola- July 3^rd and 4^th!

 

There was no better way to spend the 4^th of July in solitude with God on a mountain, topped of with some Indian style Chinese.

 

July 3^rd we traveled by train 2 hours outside of Mumbai to the village of Khandola! When we got off of the train, I was in shock. I think everywhere that we have gone while here has been overwhelming crowded and full of trash and filth. But this place was different. Here we got off and headed to our Catholic “camp grounds.” We walked through the gates and were faced with probably the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. We are in the top of the mountains overlooking the this gorgeous view. I have never seen such a breath taking sight in my life. When I thought about India before I came, this is what I had pictured in my mind. Being in a remote place with beautiful lush forests and waterfalls all around. We even had wild monkeys all around us! We were thrilled about that. We were one of the few people that were there staying on the grounds, and it was awesome to have that peace and quiet. It was exactly what we needed after such an unexplainable week we had been through. God’s timing is perfect in every way and I am so grateful that we could have this experience.

 

 

This place we were staying was like a very simple campground. There was a building for housing, a mess hall, and a little shop that you could get some snacks and other essential items. All 5 of us girls stayed in one room. You walked right in the door and there were 5 cots line up and a door to the side with the bathroom. We were just excited that we had running water and a large area to bathe. You really learn to appreciate things such as that when you have to go without for so long. They even had hot water during certain times of the day that you had to go fetch in buckets. But it was so worth it because it was a little chilly up in the mountains. Me fetching buckets of water to bathe? I NEVER thought I would have to do such a thing. My parents will be so proud of me haha! Now the food was all India, of course, so I wasn’t a big fan. White rice was about all my food consisted of while we were there, but you learn to make stuff work when you have to. Flexibility and adaptation-the 2 keys words that are constantly coming up in our vocabularies while we have been here! But I must admit that when I get home, if I never see another thing of rice I will be completely happy!

 

So there was this cliff on the grounds that we were able to go walk out to. There were monkeys roaming around everywhere and waterfalls that surrounded us. It was the perfect place to just go and sit, admiring the beauty of God’s creation. As a group we decided that on Saturday we would spend the morning in silence. It was the perfect place to do this and we all agreed that it necessary while being here. I spent my time in prayer and reading. Some of the times I tried to just clear my mind of all thoughts and just let God take over. I have never experienced such peace and serenity. Going into this, I thought that it was going to be so much harder than it was. But I have realized that people talk WAY too much. Sometimes we find the need to talk just to talk and fill in those awkward silences. Too many times people are uncomfortable with silence, but I have learned to appreciate and embrace it. I am guilty of it sometimes as well, but being in silence during that time allowed me realize that noise is not necessary. It was actually easy to do and when we broke, talking almost seemed foreign. I wish that when I was at home, that time of silence could become a part of my routine. I don’t know how, but hopefully I will find a way to fit it in!

 

That night we ventured back to Raj’s house to stay and go to a church around his house in Badlapur. We ordered in Chinese in celebration of our countries freedom and went to bed early. That sunday we went to the biggest church on their district, which was about 100 people crowded into this little room upstairs of this “hospital.” I wasnt feeling very well, so i stayed outside and listened to everything that was going on! After the service everyone came up to me and wished me well. Some even prayed for me. The love of these people is so extraordinary. I can only hope that I can bring it back home to everyone I come in contact with!

The Night’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn! July 11, 2009

I know it’s been a few weeks since I have last updated! I will do the best I can with catching you all up, so be patient with me!

 

July 5th

I don’t even know where to begin when discussing this past week. God is bigger than any problem or trial that I may face and to know He is always with me is an awesome feeling. I think that I have finally come to a point in this trip (or even my life) where it is no longer about me. For so long I have made my life just that, my desires, my needs, my goals number one and everything God wants on the back burner! I have realized that I have been so selfish in all that I do. So many times I have done everything my way first, and then tried Gods, and I get so angry with myself when I think about all the time that I have wasted and not realized this sooner. He has allowed me to do this, but not any longer! No, God has been working in and through me this week and is continuing to change my life as we speak.

 

This was the week. The week we finally get to start a slum ministry that we were supposed to be doing this whole time. We were told time and time again that next week it will be ready, but it never happened. The Nazarene center in the slums has been under some renovation so we were not able to go to it. But we finally got our chance, and we were all so excited. We are going to get to work at this place for 2 weeks coming everyday to shares God’s love and be servants of Him. Monday the 29th we wake up to prepare for our ministry in the slums. We have to take ricks to get there and then venture on through the slums to reach our destination. We finally get there and walk into this one room little center with about 4 adults (all workers) and 2 little girls. We were told that this was a day care center for kids aged 2-5 from 10 to 12 everyday. My first thoughts, was this is not good, but I just tried to have a positive attitude and go with it.

 

All of the kids end up getting there around 10:30. (In India, no one is ever on time) There ended up being around 15 to 20 of them and probably over half of them were just a screaming. I thought I was going to go insane. They were the cutest little things, and my heart broke for them that they were so upset, but every time we tried to comfort them they just started screaming and pitching a fit even more. Apparently they are scared of white people haha! We asked the workers what they had planned for the day cause that might help distract them but they said, “they learn to sit still and quiet.” I think we about all lost it. These women are clueless on how to work with kids. They just sat there threatening them with a ruler and had no sympathy whatsoever. We did the best that we could that first day. It is so hard cause we cant understand what they are saying/crying but we made it work. Around 12 they all started to leave. These women just opened up the door and let all the children run loose outside and wander to wherever. (Hopefully back home) After this we left to go back home because nothing else goes on at the center.

 

As soon as we get back to the house we have a team meeting. We have never been more frustrated in our lives. I honestly had no desire to go back. Those women seemed like they didn’t even care, and half of them had no idea what was going on. The kids were scared of us, and there was nothing for us to do but console them. I kept thinking, this is the ministry we have all been waiting for, and all we get to do is play with ids for 2 hours. We were all so down about it. This was nothing that I had hoped that we would be doing on this trip. I signed up for this thinking that it would be a medical trip, but apparently I was mistaken. I haven’t been able to really work with a doctor yet and my attitude was not very delightful. So knowing that we had several more days at the center this week, we tried to plan out some things for the kids to do, or at least entertain them.

 

Tuesday-Thursday. Absolutely zero improvement. All we would do is go and try to keep them quiet while the workers just sad there, occasionally grabbing the crying kids out of our arms to hit them with a ruler. I would get so frustrated at them. They would constantly tell us to put the kids down cause they are just going to cry more, but these kids are just craving some love and affection. Most of them don’t get any at home, and since there is no other way to communicate with these kids, at least there is love that we can give them. Love is an unspoken language. Something that can be communicated no matter what, and you could tell that these kids needed that in their lives. Even though I put on my best front possibly, trying to enjoy every minute of this ministry, I was bitter inside. Why why why? That was all I could ask God. Why seemed to be the question of the trip, but Thursday night was my turning point.

 

I cannot even begin to describe what I was feeling Thursday night as our team was having our breakdown of the day. It is our time to share how we are feeling about everything, whether good or bad! Something just came over me. A wall of emotions was finally coming down. I was angry with God for my purpose in being here, shameful that I felt that way, helpless in this situation, and weighed down with a burden in my heart. I remember running upstairs to spend time alone and everything I was feeling I finally released to God. I cried out to God, and in that moment I have never felt more light hearted in my entire life. For so long, I have lived my life with My goals, My desires, and My ways to go about them as number one, leaving God’s to come second when mine didn’t work. My heart was broken and needed to be mended, and this time I have left it up to God. 20 years of my life have been building up to this, My breaking point. I am now at peace with what God has planned for me here. Just to get away from the business of life and spend time with Him has been a blessing. He has allowed for me to get to this point in my life where I can be completely broken for Him so He can build me back up the way that He wants. This is what I have needed, and I am truly blessed to have this opportunity.

 

I have been reading through Acts about the apostles journeys. I thought it would be fitting seeing as their whole entire lives were dedicated to missions. I came across the passage in chapter 5 that talks about how the apostles were persecuted. In verse 41 it says, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” These men suffered and were tormented for declaring the name of Jesus as savior, and they were Honored. Truly honored to be able to suffer for Jesus. I related this to the situation we are facing here in India. Oh by no means are we suffering as the apostles did, but this gives me a new perspective on the ministry we are doing. I should feel honored to go and have the opportunity to be a part of these children’s lives even if it is just “babysitting.” To share the love that Christ has shown us is one of the best things that we can do, and I have the perfect opportunity to do so. Oh how my perspectives have shifted in the last few days, and I praise God for working in my life like He has done!

 

So what’s up next? This weekend we are traveling to the countryside for some peace and relaxation. Next week, the 7th through the 11th, we will be going to the Taj Mahal!

Life’s a garden, Dig it! June 29, 2009

Since the convention on Thursday and Friday, we have been pretty low key. Saturday we just hung out and recovered from our exhausting but incredible experience that we had. It is currently Sunday the 28^th and we are in charge of the services today! Oh I just love it when things are thrown on us like that, but the Key to missions in FLEXABILITY, and we have had to have a ton of that. Since neither the D.S. or the assistant pastor were able to be here, that left us to do it. We did the best that we could with the worship, we shared testimonies, and one of the girls gave a brief message. I am just glad that Joyce was able to be there to help guide us and be a translator when need be.

 

After the service we wanted to go to the local shopping center to try and get some ingredients to make no-bake cookies for the youth meeting at 5. Luckily we found some stuff that resembled things at home and were able to wing it. On our way back from the mall we stopped at a local coffee place, because we were really all craving some. I thought that I was taking a drink of death because my drink had crushed ice in it and we are NOT supposed to drink the water. But the drink was so good that it was worth it. Even for a small bit I felt like I was at home again going to Starbucks and hanging out with friends! That was a comforting thought. I kept expecting to be sick, but either the ice was purified or my stomach could handle it! Either way I was happy about that.

 

The youth services are my favorite part of the week. We are really being able to form bonds with the teens and college students since we have been here for several weeks. They seem to enjoy us being around as well. During the week we really aren’t with anyone our age, and it is nice to have that every once in a while. We all sat around and talked, sang some songs, had a devotions, played some games, and ate our cookies. You should have seen the look on their faces when we brought down the no-bake cookies (aka Cow Patties) ha! I am sure that is what we look like when they serve us their lovely food. But they all tried it and they seemed to like them. Several got seconds! Some of the kids hung around after church was over and we taught them how to play spoons. Since most of them were guys it got pretty brutal. No matter where in the world you are, the testosterone always come out when there is a competition at hand!

 

Tomorrow: 6 A.M. run for me and Mallory and the start of our slum ministry. Please pray that it goes well and we are kept safe!

 

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” –James 1:12

The Bigger Picture June 29, 2009

We have made it to the half waypoint. I never thought that this time would come. Looking back to the first week and looking at where I am now, I have come such a long ways. From wanting to get right back on a plane back to the familiarity of life at home to thanking God for this experience I am able to have realizing that it is not all about “what can I get out of this” but more about “God using me whether I understand or not.” This time in our trip is a milestone for all of us, and there is no better way to celebrate that at the Global NYI Convention.

 

Preconceived thought about convention: Big convention center or church with hundreds of delegates and pastors in attendance. Being in India I have learned that what ever you have in mind about something just think the opposite. This conference was held in the local YMCA in Bombay. Apparently there are YMCA’s without a gym (this was new to me). It was like a little convention center with “hotel rooms,” a conference room, and a dining area. It was actually pretty nice, considering where we are, and had AIR CONDITIONING. I have never been more excited in my life for AC than I was then. For the first time on this whole entire trip I was actually cold. It was a good feeling.

 

Since there was another Youth In Mission group in South India, they had come up with their pastor to join in the convention. We were all so excited to get together. It was definitely needed for everyone. Just talking about everything that we have been though and being with familiar people was like a breath of fresh air. Since they had been registered they had 2 rooms for the 4 of them, but they were so nice and let us all have one of the rooms so we could stay the night. Otherwise we would have had to take the train at 4 in the morning to get back to the D.S. house.

 

I have grown up in the Nazarene church my whole life, but never did I realize that I have been part of something so much bigger than just my Tennessee district our even the North American Region. Its like I was in my own little Nazi bubble, but I have come to find out that the Nazarene church is stretched all across the world. I really look up to the people who have made it possible for individuals to be included in the General Assembly even though they can’t afford to come to the states. There were 8 different Global sites being live video streamed all across they world, and Mumbai was one of them. The other sites included the Dominican, Equador, Africa, Germany, the Philippines, Trinidad, and Orlando. We were actually able to see and communicate with all of these different sites. The technology that we have is incredible and to see it used for stuff like this just makes me happy!

 

There were about 30 delegates from all over Eurasia that were in Mumbai and probably 65 or 70 people all together. Since it was live streamed we were running on Orlando time, so most of the time we were up until 4 in the morning doing stuff. They were able to participate in all of the voting and business matters as well as the services that they had. And what an experience that was. To be able to worship with people all over the world at the same time all being connected. I could feel God’s presence there with us, and was so glad that I was able to be a part of that even if I was just a spectator. For so long I have only seen the American side of everything, with all of the fancy services and events, but God is never been more present than at this convention in Mumbai even in the simplicity of it all.

 

While there I had been given a sense of peace and serenity about this whole trip. I know that my expectations for coming and what we are actually getting to do are completely different, but in that moment during the worship service, I had finally felt okay with that. Too many times I try to take control of a situation, especially when things aren’t going how I think they should be, but I have to constantly remind myself to Let Go, and Let God do His work. Even though I wish that I could be in Orlando with my family at General Assembly, I know that God has His plan for me here and I don’t want to let Him down!

 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” –Isaiah 41:28-31

Just be Still June 29, 2009

I don’t even know where to begin. The red light district has become a familiar place for our group the past few weeks. That’s a scary thought but it has come with many blessings. I have learned that there are always two sides to every story and it holds true with this as well. When people talk about the red light district many peoples faces just give off this horrible look of disgust. I will admit that before going I sometimes thought the same things. It was just beyond me how these people would submit themselves to this type of lifestyle. I was aware that some people were sold into it, but most of them have not been. People would talk about how these women wanted to escape but couldn’t, and I was not able grasp that thought. I mean if I ever wanted to go somewhere I could. What would stop these women and children from just walking out? But then I was able to witness it first hand. The bondage that these people are in is unbelievable. Even though they are not physically tied down, the chains have never been more present.

 

This particular Tuesday we were able to go with a few other American women from California that were here for the NYI Convention. I will have to admit that I felt much safer with more adults with us, so that was a comforting thought. When we first got to the center there weren’t any kids there. I was a little disappointed because that’s really all our ministry has consisted of the time we have been here and was really looking forward to it. We were told that because of the construction going on in and around the center that the kids had been placed in different centers for the time being. We really didn’t want to go back, so Joyce was asked by one of the managers if we would like to meet some of the mothers of these children. Keep in mind that all of the mothers are workers in the red light district. I prayed the whole entire time we were walking through the streets, and I know for a fact that God was the one who protected us. So here we are, 8 American girls and 1 Indian lady stomping through the streets of the red light district. I wont go into much detail about it right now, but if you would ever like to know feel free to ask me. I don’t want to cause anyone to worry! Just know that we were surrounded by angels that day and could feel their presence all around me.

 

Joyce is like our prayer warrior here. She will pray for anything and everything and believes with all of her heart that her prayers will be answered. She is truly and inspiration to me. Since we are not able to speak the language, it makes it more difficult for us to share the Word and the love of Jesus. But she makes up for our lack of ability there. Everywhere we go and every person we meet, she shares what God is doing for her in her life and what He could do for them as well. Many times while we were walking through the red light district she would come up to women and talk to them about God, and 2 minutes later the majority of them had either yelled at her, given her dirty looks, or just pretended that she didn’t exist. But she never lets that stop or discourage her. She simply goes right on to the next person.

 

Once when we stopped to talk and prayer with a lady at her “home” we encounter two teenage girls. My first opinion of them was that they were demon possessed. I have never been confronted with something like that so I am not sure what it would look like, but there was something evil consuming them. They were beautiful girls and couldn’t be more than 15 or 16. You could definitely tell that they were working girls and Joyce shared with us that they already had children. I cannot even begin to fathom having a life like they do. They have been completely robbed of their childhood innocence. How could their mom’s allow such things to go on, but I guess that is the only thing that they know. When we were standing there while Joyce was talking these girls would come up to us and look at us in this way that I can’t describe. I could see it in there eyes that something was wrong. They would get up in our faces and try to whisper to us things we couldn’t understand and talk back and forth about us while laughing. I remember saying a prayer for those girls while we were standing there and I do so every time I think about them. I hope that one day they can come out of that lifestyle and make a future for themselves. There is such a need for rehabilitation centers there for the women and children, and I hope that more will soon come.

 

 We also were able to experience a brothel of some sorts. This was the only house that we entered while we were in the red light district. I don’t even know if you could call it a house. There were beds lined up with sheets separating hung down separating them from one another. When we came in she offered us a seat on one of the beds, and being in India refusing is considered rude. SO we had to sit on the beds. I just tried not to think about it, hoping that the sheets were clean. We later found out from Joyce that they owner of the brothel has quite a few women employed to his business, but there is not enough room for them all so they have to rotate nights. I am not sure if they have living quarters outside of this brothel for when they can’t work, but I have a feeling most don’t.

 

After we got back we discussed our day with Joyce and the team and decided that it might not be in our best interest to return to the red light district center, or at least not walk through the streets. We all really enjoyed hanging out with the kids though so we might just go back to the center only. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to witness what life is like on the inside of that area. Although I am pretty sure it might not be the safest place for 5 white American girls, God protected us and made a way for us to experience it. I wish there was something more that I could do for these women, but the center is doing amazing things. They are really giving these kids another chance of life outside of the slums. A chance to grow up and do something with their lives. To have an education that so many people long for. You can just see it in their faces, whether they admit it or not, that they long to be released from this prison. These memories and what I have been going through will last a lifetime, and I cant wait to share with everyone when I return home. I give thanks to God that He has allowed me this opportunity to come and be a part of the bigger picture he has in store for His people.

 

 “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” –Exodus:13-14

To be still and fall upon the Lord, to lay limp in His arms and trust Him to take care of His child.

Life on the Outside June 22, 2009

I know my blog’s can get long sometimes, so I will try to make this one kind of brief! Haha we will see how that goes. God is teaching me so much even though I feel like we are doing so little, and I just feel like I need to share everything I see, learn, and experience!!

So on Sunday we attended a different local church here from the one that we have been staying at. It was all in Hindi or Marathi, I am not too sure, so we were not able to understand what was really going on. This church was on top of a flat like house that you had to climb this steep later thing to get to. It wasn’t very big at all, but there were quite a bit of people in there. We did get to sing a special for offering, share our testimonies, and one of the girls gave a sermon type deal. Sometimes I get frustrated that every church we go too we are basically in charge of doing everything. I just wish that we were able to attend one of the services, especially the ones in English, without being put in the spot light every time. I mean I don’t mind doing it, and they are so blessed that we have come, but it would be nice to enjoy it! Oh well, I don’t think we will get that opportunity to do so while we are here. The service was nice though, and you can always feel the Lord’s presents when we gather! I have never sweat so much in my entire life than those 2 hours that we were up there, but glad we got that experience. After service they gave us some cold drinks, and I do believe that I have found my new favorite drink of all time. It was the mango juice drink and it was SO good. I am going to try and bring some back so I can share the awesomeness of it!!

Today, Monday, was a very exciting day. I didn’t think we were going to be able to sight see because a mode of transportation wasn’t available, but things worked out to where we could go. It was so nice to get out of the house and go somewhere, because otherwise we would have just sat there and stared at walls or something. The neighbor came and picked us up in his miniature-sized van looking thing and we headed to the downtown part of Old Bombay. It felt amazing to be able to see the “Manhattan of Bombay!” I think we have been living in the Bronx or China Town or something to that affect, and escaping for even a little bit was incredible. We drove around and saw the Victoria Terminal. For those of you who don’t know it is the biggest and oldest train station in Mumbai, and it happened to be the exact same spot where the train station scenes from Slumdog were filmed. The exterior was beautiful. It actually looked like something that you would think would be in India. The architecture was phenomenal, as well as the majority of the buildings in the surrounding area. It was “clean” for the most part and didn’t smell to bad as well!

 

We also went to the zoo and saw ELEPHANTS. Haha!! I know your probably wondering why we were so excited to see those because you can at the zoo’s back home, but this whole trip we have been asking where the elephants were and the jungles that were supposed to be in India! We were sadly informed that they were a long ways away, so the zoo was as best as we could get and we definitely embraced it! We stopped at the McDonalds near by and had an AMAZING lunch. What would the world be like without American fast food??? Pretty sad place if you ask me. It was like we were in heaven on earth, or pretty close to it. The menu was definitely different, but the world famous Mc Chicken was definitely on the board, along with fries and a strawberry milk shake of course!!

 

We later ventured to the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel, where the terrorist attacks took place last November. We were not able to go inside, but the outside was beautiful. It looked kind of like a castle from the Renaissance Era. It was right across the street from the Gateway of India so we got to kill to birds with one stone. I had never seen pictures of it, but had heard how it was built for the king and queen of England as a welcoming gift when they came to visit India. It was amazing and all of the intricate details blew me away. While we were standing they’re taking pictures and admiring it, one of the souvenir people walking up to Faith, a girl on the team with me. She wanted to buy the post card booklet and gave him 100 rupees. Apparently that was a rip off because the guy who was with us came up and asked how much we paid for it. Faith told him and he seriously hunted down this guy and made him give her money back. I personally thought it was hilarious when our guy tried to call the police on this man!! We caused quite a scene with everyone staring at us, but they were staring already. Why not give them something to actually look at!!

 

After our little fiasco, we took a boat ride out onto the ocean to get an ocean view of the hotel and gateway. It was beautiful to see the entire skyline for that part of Eastern Bombay; however, the boat ride was not so great. I thought we were going to tip over from the rough waters or I was going to through up from being tossed back and forth. This business would never be allowed to continue back home. I don’t even think they had life jackets for all of us if something happened, and I just kept praying we would make it back alive. Needless to say I was overjoyed to touch dry land! Oh and the water was absolutely disgusting. I remember asking if we could go to the beach, but I would never want to step foot into that brown murky ocean!

Walking back to our car, I could not tell you how many people actually came up to us and asked if they could take our picture. I guess white people are famous around these parts because everywhere we went people had their cameras pointed at us and trying to get as close as possible. It was really annoying and finally we just had to walk away from the crowds that would form all around us. I would have thought that they would have been more used to white people being around since we in the big city but I guess not. As we were driving back we passed a lot of really cool looking things, and you can definitely tell that there is British influence all around. I couldn’t really understand what our guy was saying as we were driving by some places, but they did look pretty cool!

 

It has been a long, exhausting, but productive day I would say, and I can’t wait to shower and crawl into bed and read a book! This has become my new favorite hobby while I have been here! I was able to talk to my family yesterday and it was so good to see and hear their voices. Although I enjoy every minute of it, every time I get off I feel a bit discouraged because I just wish that I could be there with them. Soon enough I will! Today starts the countdown of exactly one month till we are back in the states, and I think everyone was excited about that!

So the agenda for this week? Tuesday we are going back to the red light district. Please pray for us as we go there. It is really sketchy and I am sure that it doesn’t look so great for 5 white girls to be going. We also have a college pray meeting as well. Wednesday I am not too sure what we have planned, but Thursday and Friday we will be at the YMCA here where they are hosting the NYI convention for countries all around the world. There will be several services and conferences that will be live video streamed from General Assembly in the U.S., so I am pretty excited about that. Please continue to lift my entire team up in your prayers, and thank you for all of your support!

A Little Bit of The Way June 22, 2009

Well the past few days have been good. God is great and he has shown me His love this past week. I have had a rough couple of days physically, mentally, and emotionally and it was a struggle each and every minute; however, God has been with me every single step of the way. “The way”, which I might not understand all of the time or have a hard time accepting what it entails, but nevertheless it is “the way” that God has put me on and I am not giving up. Most of life’s time is spent on “the way!” It is a constant journey until you reach your final destination of eternal life. There are times that this “way” includes things that are difficult and unpleasant and you just want to hurry and get through them, but I am learning to embrace and cherish everything about it, whether good or bad. God has placed me on this specific journey of life and rushing through one thing and onto the next is almost as if it is not good enough. I have had a lot of time to think while I am here, and I am trusting that God knows what is best for me whole-heartedly. Even though sometimes I question “the way” and what it involves, such as me being in India, God will never lead His children astray and I know this is where I am supposed to be.

 So a little bit about what we have actually been doing. We relocated ourselves to a city called Badlapur (pronounced Bud-la-poor) for a couple days and stayed at Raj’s house. He is one of the pastors here at the church we have been staying at, but he lives about an hour from here (by train.. ahhh!). We left here on Wednesday morning and of course the lady who was supposed to be taking us to the train station was about 45 minutes late, which made us miss the train we were supposed to take. Therefore we were forced to wait around for the next one for 30 minutes in this super crowded train station. I am telling you it is like a war zone in there. The women are the worst about it and the men just walk around like they are better and more important than everyone else. Coming from a place where women are taken as equals, it really irks me beyond measure. I will have to admit I have gotten pretty good at standing up for myself when need be. When we were trying to get out to switch trains it is like a mad rush onto the train for everyone getting on, and the people getting off get stuff forcing their way though. I thought for sure that one of us would get left behind either getting on or off, but God’s hand was around us the whole way.

When we finally arrived at Raj’s house we set down all of our belonging, met his amazing family, and set out to the Joyce Meyer- Prem Kiram Transformation Center. This place is out in the sticks, in the middle of a desert slash mountainous area. My initial impression of it from the outside was “wow! This is really nice” considering what country we were in and such. It was a gated little area with 3 living dormitories for the children and mothers, a larger gathering building, a kitchen and dining building, the main office, and a medical clinic. There are only 3 of these in Mumbai so far but they are trying to build more. This place is an amazing escape for these kids, who come from a mom working in the red light district and living in the slums. I don’t see how they can bare being away from their homes and mom’s but they know that this will give them a future and every single one is so grateful for the opportunities that are awaiting them. I have always taken education for granted. Here in the states we are required to go and it is provided by the government, but here only the middle to upper class are able to afford to send their children to schools. It is a privilege for them to be able to attend school and they actually look forward to it haha, unlike most of us back home who dread every aspect of it.

 We spent 3 days there at the center. Most of our time was spent playing with the children and just entertaining them. We would try and play games and such, but most of the time that wouldn’t work to well considering the major communication barrier there (once again). We were provided with a translator, but she didn’t understand too much English herself so that made it more difficult. Although we really couldn’t speak to them, relationships were able to form. Just another one of God’s way of working out things!! Through the little English that a few of them know and with the help of the translator, one afternoon we were able to sit down with a few of the older kids and kind of get a life background. The stories that these children have are unbelievable, and they give all the glory to God. It was a humbling and heartbreaking moment for me while I was listening to them pour their hearts out to us. I have prayed that God would break my heart for what breaks His, and hearing these stories definitely did just that. I found myself becoming almost angry that these children have had to endure so much at such a young age. Many were left hungry, had serious health issues, and no one to look after them for hours or days on in. But God’s love prevails and He has taken special care of these children.

I only wish there was more I could do, but the more I experience things like this the more I know that I could not be the one to help these people fully in the way that they needed to be help. I find that what needs to be done is equip people from their own culture and background the training and financial aid necessary for them to step in and take care of the needs that are there. We can’t communicate with them properly and we don’t know the culture, and what they need is someone who can do just that. So many times I find myself wanting to step in a take control of things that need to be done, but I am learning that I am not always the best person to do that. There are other more qualified people to do the job sometimes, and we need to be training people to do these types of things all around the world!

One of the days we were also able to work in the clinic. We just took the height and weight of all of the kids and got some background information. Although it wasn’t much and not the medical clinics I had imagined, we were able to start charts for them so they could continue to keep track of all of the kids as time went on. By the time that we left of Friday afternoon, the kids and ourselves had really bonded. Whether it was just sitting with them and watching, acting goofy, or trying to find ways of communication, the connections were made and they were sad to see us leave. Most of these girls have never had an older woman figure in their lives and you could tell that there wanted to soak it all in. I was glad that we were able to have the opportunity to go and see how these centers work and witness the lives that are being changed because of it. Although I sometimes I felt like we weren’t doing anything to help them out, just being with the children and forming bonds was more than enough for them. Sometimes I take for granted the opportunities that life throws our way to reach out and meet new people because I am so busy with the hustle of life. God must have known that in order for me to do that, I had to be taken away from the rush of everything and just have time to make new friends.

We headed back to Bhandup (the D.S. house) on Saturday afternoon. We were planning on leaving a little earlier, but RAIN CAME. So that kind of put a damper on our leaving time. But oh how I was so thankful for that. It didn’t last very long, but they are in such a desperate need for it that any amount will do. I didn’t realize how much this drought has affected them, but I sure found out when the electricity and water would go out for hours at a time while we were in Badlapur because they were trying to conserve. It got pretty annoying at times, but it just made me appreciate home and what God has blessed me with that much more!!

There is Beauty in the Gray June 16, 2009

So what has happened since the last time I wrote? Um… I am trying to gather in my mind some information to write, but not much is coming to me. You could say that it has been a very frustrating, very boring past few days. There have been some moments that have been good, but the amount of down time that we have everyday is becoming a bit much. On a lighter note, I have read 3 books in the past week! I do get some sense of accomplishment in that. Since I last blogged, I believe I was talking about our plans for the upcoming week. We are still waiting for those to come into action, and tomorrow we are supposed to be heading out to go to the Joyce Myer (spelling?) center right outside of Mumbai for the next few days. We are leaving early in the morning (supposedly, Indians have no sense of time) and I am so excited to be able to really get started.

Thank goodness for technology. I introduced my parents to the concept of Skype on Saturday and have been able to talk and see them over the past few days. In some ways it is great and I love being able to see them and talk to them without running up my phone bill, but in other ways it can be a bit emotional. So much of me just wants to be able to be home with my friends and family and enjoy the summer break with them; however, God seemed to have other plans for me, hence me being half way across the world. Sometimes I sit and think “what have I gotten myself into?” Actually this thought crosses my mind about 12387345027 times a day haha! In the frustration with not being able to really do any ministry, or ministry like I had planned, I find myself questioning God. Why couldn’t I be doing this exact same thing back at home, but I am reminded by God and my parents that He has a plan for me being over here. For some odd reason, unbeknownst to me, I just had to come this far from everything familiar to be doing what He wants for me right now. I am in the process of learning to completely trust and lean on Him for my strength. I am such an independent person and like to be in charge of the situation and what is going on at the moment in my life, and I am slowly learning that that cannot always happen.

Sometimes I think God has a sense of humor about Him. Throwing us into something that is completely out of our comforts zone watching us struggle, until we learn that we have to give over complete control to Him. What a lesson that is, and a never ending one at that. 2 Corinthians 12 has been a familiar passage for me while being here, and I read them several times a day just to get me through. I am reminded that even though we are faced with hardships that may weaken us, in those moments God can use us to make us strong in Him. Maybe the whole purpose of being here was to be in solitude with Him building that relationship that couldn’t be done at home with all of the distractions. Whatever the case may be, it’s a struggle and a blessing all in the same time. I had so many expectations for when we got over here. I wanted to change the world and make such a difference in these peoples life, but there is SO much that needs to be done that I wouldn’t even know where to start. But I have faith that He will direct me in the right path that I need to take.

So now that you know my thinking process over the last few days I guess I could enlighten you in what we have been doing. Saturday… lets see… we hung around the house all day until Sneha, local pastors daughter who is our age, came and took us to the outdoor shopping mall sort of thing for the evening. We went and ate pizza hut, visited to book store, and got some groceries. It was a nice break from all the boredom at the house. Sunday was church! Surprisingly the services are much like ours at home. They start off with some songs, have reading of scripture, share testimonies, and have the message. Of course we were introduced and sang the special for the offering for both services that morning. One was in Marathi, the local language, and the other in English. It was nice to be able to go to church and understand what was being said. I never realized how frustrating it would be not to be able to communicate with everyone, but we serve the same God and he makes ways for that barrier to be broken! After church, which ended at like 2 mind you, I came back and took a nap and then went back downstairs to church at 5 for the youth meeting. We did a small little devotional from the books that they had and then just had time of fellowship. They asked so many questions about American and things about us, and surprisingly we have more things in common than I could ever imagine.

On Monday, we did NOTHING. I read pretty much all day, except for our little 1 hour trip down the road to the market just to get out of the house and get some veggies for dinner. From now on I take Tylenol every time I exit the house, because I get an overwhelming headache when I step out on the street. I think its from stress of SO MANY PEOPLE pushing and shoving everywhere trying to get by. It doesn’t help the fact that everyone stops to look and stare at us as we walked by. I don’t see what the big deal is. We look absolutely gross in these ridiculous outfits that I will never wear again with sweat dripping from every inch of our bodies haha! Maybe they are making fun of how bad we look!

Today we did get to go and do a bit of ministry for part of the day. We went to the local red light district rehab center for women and their children that have come from their profession. It is a Christian organization that takes them in for the day, gives them food and clothes, and educates the children as well. I was touched to see how these children, in the midst of all the adversity and trials that they have had to face, still give all the glory to God. When we were leaving, these kids and teens all got down on their knees and prayed for us as we left. They have such sincerity in all that they do, and we, as individuals AND the church, could really learn a lot from the simplicity of their faith. Sometimes I feel like people try to complicate everything. Life isn’t always black and white, and there is beauty in the gray matter. But why try and upset that beauty by the disagreements about the not so important things in life, that in the end no one really knows the answers to but God??

As you can see I have had a lot of time to think, and ponder, and enjoy this time to do just that. Pray for me as we begin our journey tomorrow. For God’s hand amongst us as we travel to the ministry that we will be doing at the Joyce Myer Center