It was not unusual to be greeted with, "One song please!" by the children in India (sometimes even the
adults).It was definitely the
most common English phrase we heard besides, "What is your name? … Nice name."
Like, they seriously expected us to just bust out with song,
wherever we were.
That could be weird.
So sometimes we did it!
And that encouraged the children to be bolder.
They started asking for "One kiss please," pointing to their
cheeks.
Although certainly more personal, sometimes we indulged them
in that too.
They honored us so much, acting as if whatever we did for
them was such a blessing.
That got me to thinking, what if I asked God for a song?A kiss?
So I did.
And He laughed and said, "Oh, honey, you got it!"
"The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
~ Zephaniah 3:17
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth [or His Word]."
~ Songs 1:2
I mentioned these ideas to the other Real Life team leaders when
we spent a day together this past weekend to debrief our summer
experiences.Kelly Chadwick (RL Coordinator and my former WR squad leader) agreed that the Lord has been
speaking to her about indulgence.
She understands that to mean that
God wants to give us what
we ask for and more.
For example, if we ask for a 5, He'll
blow us away with a 7.If we ask
for a 7, He'll blow us away with a 10.Regardless of how much we ask for, He wants us to indulge us, and He will blow us away proportionately.
So
let's ask boldly, expect great things, and humbly receive His generous gifts!
He promises those blessings to follow our faithful
obedience.
You see, God asks me for songs and kisses too.
"Sing to
the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things."
UNICEF estimates that
there are over 25.5 million orphans under the age of 17 living in India.
That means there are more orphans
in India than there are people living in Texas or New York! And only about 60% of these orphans aged
10-14 go to a school of any kind; many are left to fend for themselves.
India Christian Ministries believes it is the duty of the church
to take care of the orphans, the widows and the poor, and that a good education
is the best way to break the cycle of poverty and instill hope for this
generation and those to come. So they have established church-based
family homes to care for orphans and other children in crisis needing long-term
foster care.
We visited these homes
twice a week this summer while in India, and the children really captured my
heart!
We sang and danced, read Bible stories and recited memory verses, played games and performed skits, and gave lots of hugs and kisses!
We fed their minds, hearts, and bellies!
And our laughter always drew a crowd of
neighbor kids too.
Each
Church Children's Home houses about 10 children (boys or girls).They live with the pastor's family on the first floor. And the top floor is where the church meets.
It takes a village, right?!
You can sponsor a child for $49 a month.
To partner with ICM, contact info@indiachristianministries.org.
As a teacher, I delight in seeing and helping people learn. So naturally, I have loved being able to step in and serve at Sarah's Covenant Homes.
They do a great job of providing educational opportunities for the kids who live there. There is two classroom teachers on-site, and the kids spend a few hours each day interacting with materials, practicing vocabulary and writing, etc.
(And I mentioned in an earlier post that several of the younger children have started attending public school too!)
My team has been able to supplement this learning with activities that require more one-on-one attention. It is amazing what these kids can do! (especially considering their physical and mental disabilities!)
* * *
The kids also receive physical therapy. But sometimes the best therapy is fun!
Whenever he sees us, our outgoing neighborhood kid leads a
chorus of, “Vicki! Vicki! Kaitlin! Kaitlin! Shake! Shake!” (They misunderstood
when Shea introduced herself.)This catchy new nickname reminds me of how quickly kids wiggle their way
into our hearts! (I will post more specific kid blogs again soon ..!)
In the past two days, two children at Sarah’s Covenant Homes
Victory Colony passed away suddenly.The caring staff have had to mourn too often, but thankfully the spirits
of these two girls are free now, and they are dancing in heaven in their
restored bodies!
Theresa, an American working at SCH, got chili powder in her
eyes while cleaning out the kitchen cabinets.An Indian staff member immediately sat her down and licked
her eyeballs.Yes, she rolled her
tongue up under Theresa’s eyelids!(The video is posted on-line.)Quick thinking replaced the burning sensation with an odd octopus-like
sucking sensation, or so she said.
While I narrated the story of the Lost Sheep (Luke
15) to
fifty village children, a herd (of goats) pranced down the street in
front of
the church where we were gathered.As our Good Shepherd and Father, God truly does rejoice when the
Lost
get Found!
At one point last week, Kaitlin finally expressed
exasperation at having to preach yet again.We prayed her through it, and that day, guided by the power
of the Holy Spirit, she delivered a very meaningful sermon.The local pastors told us that both her
and Shea’s testimonies spoke directly to specific situations that his church
members were currently facing.Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!
As we make house visits, we are able to hear people’s
stories.One church member was
secretly housing another who had fled there out of fear for her life.Her alcoholic husband had beat her so
severely that she had a permanent dent on her forehead and a broken wrist.How do you assure someone in her
situation of the Truth that God is good?
Another man’s violent reaction to the Name of Jesus and his
unblinking eyes made it clear that he was possessed by many demons.We continue to pray for his complete freedom!
We were a little offended when the church children
said,
“Sari ... first time?” but we were honored when the church ladies offered
(well,
basically they just started) to unwrap and rewrap us.
At church the other day (keep in mind that we have
seats of
honor in front of the entire congregation), Kaitlin took a big gulp of
soda (something else they honor us with) and
promptly spit it out.She hadn’t
noticed the fly on the rim until she felt him swimming in her mouth!
Despite the strong undercurrent, we love getting pounded by
the waves in the Bay of Bengal! (We have only gone to the beach a few times.)
Pastor Johnson shared a special beach memory with us. It was his first
experience with underwear … at the age of 15 back in the 1980’s, he went to the beach with visiting friends from America. Key words: transparent briefs!
We are not at all surprised that miracle cures can be found
in nature, but the doctor actually prescribed coconut water for all our various
ailments last week.It is so funny
to hear the concern of our contacts when they (text us to) ask if we need more
of that tasty fruit.
These are just some of the many things that have made us
laugh and cry in the last two months while serving in India. Our experiences here definitely have inspired a unique sense of wonder …
We have adopted - but still don't quite understand - the Indian
head
bob. How can it mean so many things?!
And this.
Really?!
* * *
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support!
SIX MONTHS ago, Haiti was rocked by an earthquake.
Remember that?
Did you remember them this week in your prayers,
or had you forgotten that they are still affected?
Adventures in
Missions (AIM) has a long
term commitment to Haiti. We’re not pulling out.We’re mobilizing pastors, caring for
people, and helping rebuild.
Several
of my personal friends are in Haiti this summer.My former World Race squad-mates Janina
Laier and Kyla Cornelius are actually leading another World Race squad whose
first stops during the months of July and August are Haiti and the neighboring
Dominican Republic.
Kyla writes, “I looked over the endless fields of tarp
homes, the rubble-strewn streets, and hopeless faces and realized that I am
absolutely incapable of having any sort of impact in this place. I was humbled.
I realized that I can do nothing in this
place, but God can.”
Another former
World Race squad-mate, Neil Bruinsmais responsible
for juggling all 800 participants that come to Haiti for the summer. He
finds good pastors for the teams to partner with and arranges their housing.
He writes, “It is a delicate balancing
act of people’s emotions, physical health, supplies needed, unreliable
transportation, spiritual warfare, peanut butter and jelly, ministry, foreign
culture, and the movement of the Spirit.”God bless him!
And yet another
former World Race squad-mate, Steph Connors, is also spending
the summer in Haiti, primarily on a photography mission. (I borrowed all these
photos, many from her.)Steph was
amazed to hear Haitians reply to the
question, “What do you need?” by asking for prayer - not food, a house, or a job.Prayer.
They must realize
that the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces
wonderful results. ~ James 5:16b
My friend Jimmy
McCarty, also a World Race alumni and AIM staff member, totally understands the
spiritual battle going on.He just
returned from a short trip to Haiti, and he writes,
“While there are those who would scoff at this account, we
cannot overlook the strong Satanic
bondage this small country has been under. The story goes that 200
years ago in an effort to gain its independence from the French and Spanish,
the leaders of Haiti made a deal with the devil where the souls of the Haitian
people were sold to Satan. The oppression has been more than spiritual -
a distinct difference can be seen at the border between the Dominican Republic
and Haiti.
“The 200 year oppression technically ended 6 years ago in 2003,
however the leader in power at that time (for fear or what not) had the Voodoo
leaders (Voodoo is the national religion) extend the oppression until the end
of his reign... which ended last year in 2009.
“In January 2010, an earthquake not only blew apart the
physical spectrum of Haiti, but apparently the spiritual one as well. The
national “Day of the Dead” Mardi-Gras-esque holiday was canceled due to the
earthquake for the first time ever this winter. The Christian leaders of
Haiti led nearly 40,000 Haitians in a Ninevah-like prayer for their country: 3
days of prayer and fasting, pleading
with God to reclaim their land.
“Today … more relief workers than ever, more relief aid and
money than ever, and more missionaries than ever have traveled to this small
country in hopes of rebuilding. There is a ton left to do, but more
importantly than that, revival has come!”
Read the entire 4-part series on Jimmy’s blog, starting here:
The “ton” left to do includes removing rubble, providing
water and medical help, and educating the people of Haiti.You know this education is dear to my
own heart.
According to USAID,
Haiti’s public school system is only able to provide free education for about
10% of Haiti’s children. Scroll
down and watch the video below (by my friend, World Race alumni Katie Rowland) to learn how the church is responding and
how we can support the church in their
efforts to educate the children of Haiti.
And finally, pleasePRAY, especially for the spiritual leaders of Haiti.
Jimmy reminds us that “they carry an incredible responsibility
to not only provide for their own families but to organize incoming teams,
start schools, organize orphanages, (raising money for both), and lead 3-4
services a week for their (in some cases) booming congregations.Quite frankly, they’re exhausted.”But God is definitely moving!
You can click on
the highlighted names above to read more on my friends’ blogs and/or go to this centralized site to read much
more and to watch many more inspiring videos:
We were sent to India to deliver lovehope joy truthpower freedom
and we will do whatever it takes to share God's message!
... even if it means riding an oxcart across a river (of water buffaloes, swimmers, bathers, and laundresses) and through the fields and palm forests to reach villages ...
That was a new experience for me! I felt like we could have been riding alongside St. Thomas when he brought the gospel here two thousand years ago.
We were honored in the village with flower garlands,
foot-washing (and our feet were muddy!),
and beautiful times of prayer and worship!
Will you partner with me in this ministry? I really appreciate your prayers and financial support.
* * *
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who
are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
I mentioned back in May that we would be partnering with Sarah's Covenant Homes while in India, and now that we have been here for a month, I want to tell you all about the incredible children we have grown to love!
Theresa, one of the staff, is adamant about taking the children out into the community. So ...
On the very first day we met the kids, we took a few of them out to eat at a restaurant. What a treat!
We often take the kids who cannot walk around the neighborhood in a wheelchair.
We accompanied several children on their first day of school! (They have lessons at home too, but a new public school director is willing to try inclusion.)
(This is my favorite little guy, Aaron!)
And just yesterday, we took a few kids to the beach! (They were scared by the crashing waves, but we loved it!)
And here are a few more pictures so you can see just how adorable they are ...
Yes, these children have special needs - physical and mental disabilities - but they are simply SPECIAL to me!
Whenever I began to compare and fear that we were not enough, I was reminded of the mighty warrior GIDEON. Even though he was from the weakest clan and was the least in his family, the Lord assured him, "I will be with you."
In fact, the Lord wanted to reveal His GLORY, so twice He whittled down Gideon's forces, from 32,000 to 300 men! Gideon faced an imposing enemy: where the armies had settled in the valley was "thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than sand on the seashore."
So there would be no doubt that VICTORY came from the Lord!
Well, now half of my team has been called home. This week, Vickie and Mina returned to the USA to respond to family situations.
Three of us remain: me, Shea, and Kaitlin. We are confident that God has wonderful plans for our next month, and we are eager to step out in greater faith and serve Him with all we have - may He transform and multiply our life offering!
His power is made perfect in our weakness! (2 Corinthians 12:9)
This photo was taken from the rooftop of our church home. "Vwanda nalu!" Praise the Lord!
* * * I invite you to partner with us in this ministry! Please leave a comment (I appreciate those encouraging words!) and consider donating financial support (I still need $400).
So we sing alongside believers almost every
evening of the week.
My team,
Pastor K’s family, and often a few other ICM folks pile into a vehicle and drive up
to two hours away to visit village churches in the region of Andhra Pradesh, India.
The village churches, as you can see in the photos, are
approximately 30-40 ft x 15-20 ft.The women and children sit inside on the floor and the men gather around
outside - even when it rains! Microphones allow everyone to hear the service (except when the electricity goes out).
The women, us included,
respectfully cover our heads with saris or scarves. It is hot, but fans help (except when the electricity goes out).
My teamare offered sodas and seats of honor
at the front of the congregation. In a typical service, two of us preach a message of encouragement and truth from God's Word, then we pray for each person individually.
My team are power-house pray-ers! They are genuinely compassionate about people and find joy in ministering in this way.
I am also so proud of my team and the way they have approached
the task of preaching. They are not necessarily passionate about doing it, but they diligently prepare and deliver sermons and testimonies several times a week.
It is fun for me to hear them borrow, build on, and personalize concepts that we talk about at our morning devotions or even in casual conversation. I just love getting to hear and know their hearts!
Like, they seriously expected us to just bust out with song,
wherever we were.
UNICEF estimates that
there are over 25.5 million orphans under the age of 17 living in India.
We visited these homes
twice a week this summer while in India, and the children really captured my
heart! 
Each
Church Children's Home houses about 
The women, us included,
respectfully 
I am also so proud of my team and the way they have approached
the task of preaching.
