Glory

These last couple weeks in India have been so spread across the board from our time in Pune to our time in downtown Delhi and even now to our time in Faridabad outside Delhi. Its been a time good time of ministry but also a lot of inconsistency. I feel like more than anything that has really defined our time up to this point. A number of times before we left as we prayed we really felt like God was speaking about interruptions and that ministry would really be in the small things. As I look now from a birds eye view at these last couple weeks I really see how God intended that to be. The moments of sitting with people and just doing life. While on the train we met a guy from Kashmir (disputed territory in northern India) named Danish who has spent a lot of time with us since weve been in Delhi. While in the hotel some of the girls made friends with some other backpackers who ended up coming to dinner with us most nights. These both were small moments but they were interuptions that turned into something so much more. By making ourselves available for God to use in the times that we find incontinent or inopportune weve allowed him to build a relationship with people who see a difference in the way we live. Weve allowed God to show his glory in the small things and found the joy in those.

The other day as a couple of us walked around old Delhi we came across this random building which was down a side alley and was mostly decaying, it had gorgeous carvings though so we decided to explore. Not only was the inside amazing but we discovered from a local that it used to be the courtyard for one of the kings on India. In this small back alley lie a building nearly 500 years old, forgotten and abandoned by the ones who once found it so amazing. Another man showed us a staircase along the inside that wandered to the roof. From the roof was one of the most amazing views of the old city and the red fort. It always amazes me how God works in the small things. The things so intricate and simple yet completely within his design always seen to be the things that bring me the most joy. The sheer fact that he allowed a day like this with a roof overhead and a family who loves and cares from me is a sign his glory. It is shown in the smile of a kid, the love of a friend, the food we eat everyday, or so many others if we really choose to look for it and find it each day. Find the joy in the glory that he shows you today in the small things.

Hope in Pune

I want to introduce you to some friends that I have met during my time in Pune two weeks ago. We worked at an orphanage there which recuses street kids whose parents dont want to or cant provide for them. Most of the kids moms are either prostitutes or beggars. This will be a little more of a photo blog this week instead of wording.....

Jashmim and Pritim: a woman who worked at the orphanage and her son (ie andrew and zach combined via India)

Lata: most amazing little girl, always smiling and happy. some of her siblings are still on the street.

Siddharth

The land of colors....

India! Yes, we are finally here. Its hard to believe its taken this long. It feels like so much time has gone by already, I cant believe it. We got to Mumbai on Tuesday and stayed the night in the city at a hostel so that we could meet the guys on Wednesday at the Mumbai airport. After we picked up our remaining two team members at the airport we headed on to Pune to stay at an orphanage there for about a week. Tuesday we will be heading out for Delhi where we will spend the remaining 5 weeks. At this point we are not totally sure about what we will be doing. We feel as a team its where we are supposed to be and God has given us a pretty good idea of what he wants us to do, now its just a matter of us connecting with the right people to do it. This last half a week at the orphange has been an interesting one adapting to the culture and people. Even having been in India before myself there are a lot of things I had forgotten, mainly the feeling of being a white woman walking around in a country run in which men are held to a higher level than women. For those of you who have walked around Rosarito or some parts of Mexico it is very similar to that. The stares are unbearable at times. Its funny of all the things that I remembered of India the first time around that is not one of them. Despite that this last week has been an intersting time. We had the opportunity to get punjabis and saris this past week to better fit in locally (dont worry a photo will be coming shortly). This morning we also went to a local service at a very large church this morning which was pretty cool. We all wore traditional attire which was pretty cool. I gotta run now but will write again shortly!

And the travel time continues.....

So the last almost 2 weeks have been slewn with travel through approximately 4 countries and one Tuesday we will finally arrive in India making it 5 countries. I didnt get stamps from all of them, I know bummer. Let me just enrich your knowledge though with our exciting travels and the stops along the way.

On march 23rd we left the base in San Pedro, parting with some of the students from our lecture dts group (:( ), to catch a about 4 hr boat to Chetemal, Mexico where we then went through customs (yes I got a green light-those of you who have been through Mexico know what I am talking about), then got a taxi to the bus terminal where we took a 5-6 hr bus ride to Cancun, Mexico. we then stayed in Cancun for two nights at the YWAM base there and made a lovely breakfast (brittany and I were quite proud of ourselves-scrambled eggs, pico, tortillas, and homefried potatoes oh yea!). Then on March 25th we took a plane from Cancun to Philly to New York Laguardia going through US customs in Philly (never knew you went through customs in your first US city you enter-the things you learn). Then we took a taxi to JFK where we had a lovely dinner and PEETE's(!!!!!) (for those of you that live in CA you know my obcession with Peete's). We then got a flight to Quatar (near Saudi Arabia) on Quatar Airways (actually amazing flight). Im justv going to take a moment here to say, I know the name raises a few eyebrows about the airline but it was pretty freaking amazing, probably the best plane food I have ever had and we got Ben and Jerry's ice cream and oreos on the flight!!!!! Anyway, to continue on, we had a slight layover in the Doha airport in Quatar (no I didnt get a stamp, I know total bummer-Im gonna try on the way back though) followed by our flight to Bangkok, Thailand where we arrived on the afternoon of the 28th and have been since then. (picture to the left is some of the girls on our team rocking the thai pants making our jet lag faces)

All that to be said, we have been in Thailand this last week waiting for our visas to India which take about 5 business days. We have been able to do some good ministry, though, while we have been here as well as get over jet lag and do some cultural orientation. We have done a prayer walk at one of the temples in Bangkok, have been to the slums two times (once to meet elderly and work with a group from the Ruth Center and once to help lead a bible study for the elderly and play with kids), and we picked up trash along the streets. Our time in the slums have been, as always on my travels, so good. It is probably one of those things that people least look foward to when they travel, but it is always sooooo good.

Being in a foreign country and confronted with the sheer poverty that exists there is always a hard thing to see; it makes you question what you spend your money on. Do we really appreciate what we have and how we got it, or do we take it for grated because if we loose it we can just get in our car and drive around the corner to get more? 2/3 of the world exists in a state of poverty in comparison to our developed world and yet we rarely take our eyes off the pretty tourist centers when we travel.

Thailand is a country deeply involved in Budhism as well as ancestor worship which can be seen everywhere. Not only are the spectacular temples all over the country with large gold plated Buddha statues but at nearly every business and every corner there are miniture idols that people pray too and place flowers and other offerings around. Each time I enter a culture so different from my own where idol worship is so heavy it stops me dead in my tracks. There are cultures like Thailand that are so beatiful with generous and loving people, warm hearted and kind and yet completely sucked into their idols. It makes you realy think how it all started.... As I sit here on Easter Sunday on my bunk bed in Thailand, I remenised back to our worldview week back on base and Chris' talk about Issac and Ishamel from the Old Testament. The battle waged between two brothers and they both became the father of a house of religion that still stands today. Our world today is never at a lack for choice in which God to follow and so many choose one without seeing it all, without looking at what it is they are serving.

2000 years ago a man died on a tree bearing the sins of the world in an agonizing death and then rose from the dead three days later much to everyone astonishment even his closest followers. He did this not because of anger or judgement but because of love. He willingly put himself on the tree when he could of ended it at any moment but he didnt because of his great love, "greater love than this has no man than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends". 2000 years ago a friend laid down his life so that I could choose to take it up and walk in new life. We all make the decision of what or whom will be our God and I pray we never take the choice lightly because when we do decide we lay a line.