Ohh. Tank Kouu. Tank Kouu.

Vishwaasi = विश्वासी = Faithful


     So, obviously this is one of those times where I have "Great intentions, horrible follow through". So I apologize for that. Don't get me wrong every single girl here is truly incredible, don't let my lack of commitment reflect on them and their character in any way! I love each one dearly! You guys are awesome! I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to share my summer with you all! However, as my time here is coming to a close I have been distracted by life here and haven't had much time to write to you guys, but today I would like to share a story...

     A few days back (Saturday) I was sitting and talking with Leela, (She is one of the most beautifully genuine, sweet hearted giving people I have ever met. She has a shop on the beach where we stay is always happy to share time with us) she was sharing with me and my friend Ashlyn how her son Robby hasn't gone to school in 2 weeks because he cries the whole time he is there. She told us how much he hates to go and wants only to sit at home to play games and to watch cartoons. (by the way they have cartoon network here! I just got a kick out of that, anyways...) This story reminded me of when I was a very little girl. I have had 2 scull fractures as a child and after my second one I was required to wear this helmet all the time, so I didn't hit it on something and hurt or even kill myself.  I hated the helmet more than anything and would scream and cry all day. My mother was so worried, she asked my aunt and my cousin Kelly to pray for the situation. Kelly was just a girl at the time, but you know what scripture says about chid like faith. Well, Kelly got on her hands and knees and prayed to the Lord to change my heart,  to let me be at peace with having to wear it. The next morning I woke up and asked my mommy to put my helmet on. This incident in my life seems so small to share, but is a great example of God's faithfulness with us, if we are faithful with Him. He cares if we care no matter how small.

Robby and his new watch! He was so proud of it!

      Leela continued to share with us how the man who owns the shop she rents only lets her use it 6 months of the year; she has 4 children of her own and is taking care of her niece. Her niece is living with them because the girls parents do not want her, or care for her because she is a burden, a.k.a. a girl. Her husband does not have a job so the entire family depends on her income alone. This has been very hard on her, but is sadly the case for most families here, where the women are the sole source of income for the family.  The conversation continued and as we went to say goodbye I asked her if we could pray with her. We prayed that things with the shop owner would work out and she could open year round. We prayed for the Lord to truly bless her the way she has blessed us in our short time here. And then we prayed for the Lord to change Robby's heart, for him to desire to go to school.  The next morning I was doing her family pictures and she told me when Robby woke up that Sunday morning he said, "Mommy, are we going to school today?" she said, "Not today Robby." He said, "Tomorrow can we go?! please Mommy!".... The Lord is so amazing in how quickly He moves. Robby has now gone to school everyday so far this week and is now so excited to come home and show what he is learning! God is so good!

"You faithfully answer prayers with awesome deeds, oh God our savior.  You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those in far off seas." - Psalm 65:5

Ciao Bella.

The Randy Disher Project!

Prōtsāhana =प्रोत्साहना = Encouragement    

      So this really cool girl I know did this blog where she would write all about a really cool person she knew each day. So for 365 days she wrote.. I thought this was a great idea so I decided to do the same. Except each day I am going to share with you about someone awesome here in India! We all spend ALOT of time together and can often times find ourselves frustrated with each other because everyone is different. Different tendencies. Different personalities. Different struggles. This can sometimes attract attention to the negative in a person instead of the positive. Today I thought I would start with the girl who began it all.  She is one of the most encouraging, genuine people I known.  She never has a bad word to say about anyone and it is truly encouraging! She goes by Kate Miller... or Emily Watson... or Peter Pan. Pretty sure she will respond to them all!

Top Row: Courtney & Callie. (AIM Leaders)
Middle Row: Jillian, Beka, Amanda, Tara, Lindsay, Gopi, Kaitlyn, Sara Beth,  Evette
Extras: Ashlyn,  Ella, Nancy, Kate, Katie, Steph

     I met Kate our first day here in India. She had come in a few days ahead of me and Nancy and was slightly more rested than we were. We landed early Sunday morning and, against my better judgement went to church. I put on my blue salwar kamese outfit and headed off to church. At this point I'm pretty sure she thought I was In. Sane. actually I known she did, cause to told me later. Where these outfits are normal Indian clothes to me. To her they looked like ridiculous P.J.s with a funny little scarf. We then got to church... exhausted. jet lagged. starving. I did everything in my power to stay awake through the longest 3 hour, out door church services of my life. I mean everything. There was a constant standing and sitting, leaning forward and back. hand drumming and leg shaking, an occasional head nod... Oh yea. Talk about good first impressions right?
     Well, as crazy as she undoubtedly thought I was, she was kind enough to hide it, and we became fast friends. She has the greatest since of humor and finds humor in every situation.  She always knows what to say and how to lighten the mood. I have learned so much from her just through the way she views people, with so much grace and love.  She has showed me how to be open with friends in a way that I never thought I could, just in being totally raw with people. Kate truly has nothing but good things to say about people. Every person from her life back at home is so praised and loved through every word she says. So uplifting and focused on the positive, its incredible. And its so real, and honest when she says it that you know its from the heart. She is so intensional in all she does and in relationships she forms with the people around her. Always striving to understand the heart of those she is with.  We are polar opposites in that she hates to upset someone or confront, and I am overly honest... She has shown me the importance of sharing in love and not out of frustration, which is such a beautiful thing we as christians are called to do.  Her ears and and heart are always open to deal with my many problems and situations I just need a level headed person to talk me through. Her love for the Lord just flows through her in all these ways and all the things she does. Her heart is sold out to Him and she is constantly trying to walk in His footsteps, just as she did her mothers on the beach as a child! I love you Kate! I'm going to miss our Nestle Coffee Day Dates. You are such an encouragement  in all you do!
Love you Peter Pan.

Ciao Bella.
    

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Vada = वादा = Promise

     These past few days have been filled with thoughts of the first of many goodbyes to come.  With Thursday fast approaching, we all prepare to say goodbye to my roommates, as they prepare to head back to the states. It's also the mark of my last 3 weeks in India, and at the rate time flies here I'll be home before I know it... before I'm ready. My question is, will I ever be ready? In the past year, I have spent 6 months of my life in this tragically beautiful country, surrounded by some of the most incredible people. My heart and soul is here in India with the women and children, with the food and culture and even with the monsoon rains.  Their is something so genuine here, a peace, try thought I might I just can't seem to find in the states, and a peace I will be so far from as I spend my last few weeks home, before venturing out to my latest adventure... Samford. I am truly excited by my new life ahead and for all the Lord has to teach me both in and out of class, but my heart breaks at the thought of leaving India. With Nancy and Kate heading out so soon it already has me in tears about what's to come for me as well. I just want to freeze time and cherish these moments forever. My head is full of so many questions... I know I will be where I am supposed to be in the fall (college) but it isn't where my heart desperately longs to be.

Beautiful Stephanie!

Nancy. Me. Kate. I love you roomies!

Baby NeeshaNeesha!

My incredible girls!

Preetu! Means the world to me.

Happy Birthday Leela

"1 photo teachuhh, teacher teacher, 1!"

Home sweet home.

preschool:)

Manjunad! My tuition buddy with the greatest heart!

Nutrition Family.

Here. India. Home. I am so afraid my love for this country and my family here will keep me from hearing and keeping my promise to the Lord. A promise I made when I was a very little girl, a promise, at the time I didn't even realize I was making. A promise to go. To tell. To share. To love. Love as the my Heavenly Father loves. To love people in China, India, Africa, Israel, Egypt and wherever else He has planned. But in have loved India. More than that, I am in love with India, and that scares me. It's scares me that though I will be here to serve Him, I will come for my own selfishness and not for His glory.  That I will ignore His call to others gravely in need of His amazing grace.  It is in this amazing grace I find comfort.

"...Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid of discouraged.  For the Lord your god is with you wherever you go!" ~ Joshua 1:9

 Comfort in the fact that He will be understanding and kind to my weak and selfish heart. He will be with me and He in turn will keep His promise to me. He promise to be with me and guide me where ever I go. And I find peace in that. A peace greater even than the peace I find in I India. A peace only found in my Lord and Savior.

"Thank the Lord! Praise His name! Tell the nations what He has done! Shout the news of His great might!" ~ Isaiah 12:4


Ciao Bella.

Pete n' Repete Were in a Boat...

Kripa = कृपा = Grace

Just another one of those nights,


"are you awake? how bout now? what are you doing? are you asleep yet?"


Anyone who has ever spent the night with me knows how this is.. So once again I am awake as the rest of the world sleeps. I just gave up o my semi-conscience roommates, so I ask you. How are you? Is there ways I can be praying for you? 


I don't know who is reading this, of if anyone even does. But if you are I want to hear from you! 


Today was an awesome day. It's incredible what God can do if you just let Him.  I so often find myself so wrapped up in how others view what I do or say I put a limit on the Lord, I ignore what He is telling me or give excuses as to why His idea is silly. Naturally, I am the one being silly, because ultimately what He wants will get done, I just miss out on an opportunity to see Him at work and the privilege of Him working through me. 

So everyday for lunch since we arrived in India we have been having lunch at Nestle Cafe. Its kind of like a coffee shop, except I'm pretty sure its not actually coffee, and there's no comfy couches and most of India has yet to discover what WiFi is, but other than that it's just like a coffee shop. Through our daily visits we have become friends with the two girls that work there (Sneha and Archana), they are so great! One is Hindu and one is Catholic, but they seem like typical teenage girls you would meet in America. So today, as we were sitting and drinking Cardamom Tea (one of the most delightful things I have ever had, its like Chai but with a vanilla sweet impossible to describe twist!) a girl was standing at the window begging. Now, this is something you see every day here, and sadly something over time you find yourself far too comfortable with. We know not to give money, because; for those of you who have seen Slumdog Millionaire, you know how it works. It is such a helpless feeling when you want to give to them, but you know in the end it is not going to help them... It was only the two of us and the Hindu girl (Sneha) in the cafe at the time and we were just sitting and reading our Bibles when the Lord showed me how ridiculous the whole thing was. There was a girl in need outside and I was sitting and enjoying the A/C and a nice cup of tea reading my Bible! Of course being the stubborn and proud person I am I convinced myself she just wanted money. The Lord wasn't so easily convinced however, and He reminded me that I was here to show his love to ALL the women here not just the ones in the classes but the girls He leads us to along the way, like the cafe girls. What kind of an example of His love was I being to Sneha as I read my Bible and ignored the the hungry girl in need, the very one He called me to love. At that moment Matthew 25:35-46 popped in my head..


"The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you,to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’" ~ Matthew 25:40


I knew what I wanted to do, I laid down my pride and brought her in, we got her something to eat and something to drink and  she sat and talked with us. She was only eleven and could not speak english so Sneha translated. (just another cool way the Lord works, it was the first time we had ever been there without the Catholic girl, Archana, there too) She told us about how her father left and her mother wouldn't let her go to school, because she had to beg and collect trash for money while her younger brothers were in school. She told us how much she wanted to be in school and she wanted to learn, and how she couldn't go back because she didn't remember how to read or write and her mother wouldn't allow it. We sat and talked with her for about an hour and invited her and her mom to come meet with us on Monday. Through God's grace we hope to get her a tutor and get her back in school! 

If I had let my fear of what Sneha would think, or my worry about what would happen, keep me from trusting God and allowing Him to work through me, instead of me trying to work for Him, I would have missed out on an awesome new friend and the chance to show the difference between a religion and a relationship with a god; with the God. After all He is God He doesn't need me to get things done. I am so blessed to be used by Him. 


"For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him." ~ Philippians 1:29


Ciao Bella.

Love is Calling YOU.

Pyaar = लव = Love

"...But the greatest of these is love."   ~   1 Corinthians 13:13

This week we've spent a lot of time looking at love, what love is and where love comes from. It's a word defined in so many small ways, but can literally change someone's world.

" My own family doesn't care about me... why do you?" ~ Raju

This statement brought tears to my eyes as Raju spoke after telling the tale of how she had attempted suicide earlier that morning. Their pain is so real and so deep.  Raju's story is one of many taking place daily here and all throughout India. These women have lost all hope and seek the only escape they know.. They are why I am here. Bringing God's unfailing love to the children His heart yearns for.  

"Father break my heart for what breaks Yours, give me open hands and open doors, put Your light in my eyes and let me see that my own little world is not about me... "

So often I get so caught up in my own little world, my troubles, my wants, my needs. Me. Me. Me. Living in the midst of the least of these makes me realize my constant selfishness. My own little world is NOT about me. This is what God is always reminding me of, in those moments where I am hurt or upset He puts in perspective my short comes. It is through His love that I love.  There is nothing I could give these girls without Him, it is His hope and love they so desperately need...

"So when you get the chance,
are you gonna take it?

There's a really big world at your fingertips

And you know you have the chance to change it

There's a girl on the streets, she's cryin'

There's a man whose faith is dyin'

Love is calling you..."

Ciao Bella.

Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

Pratīkṣā - वेटिंग - Waiting


I just wanted to share what the Lord's been teaching me, as I learn to wait on Him and His timing in all things..

Going anywhere in India is a process; waiting for the bus to come, waiting for the the bus to leave, and waiting on the bus ride.  Coming from the country that opened the first fast food joint and developed the first microwave, the concept of waiting is totally foreign.  We are taught faster is better; faster cars, faster food, and faster lives. It's a culture which leads us to believe having down time is wrong, wasteful even. Yet without time to just be, life passes you by, its gone before you know it. I love to take these opportunities to think and breathe. A wise person once told me, "Life is a balance." In my own life I have found this to be true, to much of a good thing for instants spoils the joy found in it. Though one might argue you could never spend to much time with the Lord, if you don't share what He gives you then how is that loving, the greatest of His commandments. While being here I find my peace during these daily rides into town. Its where I spend a lot of my time chatting it up with the Almighty. When I am running low He always knows what to say to fill me up again... We talk most trips to and from town, however today was just one of those days I just needed Him to talk...

Music is where I turn when I need inspiration, comfort, energy, or just a smile.  Music is often how He moves me and through music He shared with me today as I was lost in my own troubles, so I wanted to in turn share with you...


"You're not alone for I am here let me wipe away every fear, my love I've never left your side, I have seen you through the darkest night and I'm the one that's loved you all your life.. "



This is His promise to each of us, and after His reassurance of His ever present help He preceded to gently remind me why I am here...


"They took the heart of a little girl and made it grow up too fast ... Those damaged goods they see in their reflection, Love sees them differently, Love sees perfection, this is a song for the broken girl the one pushed aside by the cold, cold world ... now be amazed by how Grace can take a broken girl and put her back together again"  ~ Matthew West


Every word in this song speaks of the hearts and souls of the broken girls I try desperately to love each day here and the ever pressing call we all have to love.


Ciao Bella.

Letting Go.

Today was one of those days... it was filled with unreal goodbyes and a realization that from today on my life has changed. I can definitely say it hasn't truly hit me yet, but I'm waiting for the moment to come, likely when I least expect it too. The moment when I learn the meaning of change, when I can clearly see the people in my life who mean the world to me and always will, are no longer in my life as they have always been. It's a scary thing when all you know is pulled like a rug from underneath you causing you to loose your balance and comfort in the know, falling into the fear and excitement of the unknown.   Though I am thrilled to be returning to India in just a few short hours, I can't but wish I knew what was coming.. I guess this is the part where I hand things over to God and the time to let it all go..

I wrote this on May 22nd during one of my many flights to India, it was a long 40 something hours of traveling and waiting, filled with plenty of time to think about the past and hope for the future.. I can honestly say that no matter how long I have spent here this country and it's people never cease to amaze! We went for our first of many swims in the Arabian Sea as the sun was setting and let me tell you, it will take your breath away! I am truly blessed to be here and thank the Lord for all He is doing in my life!

Ciao Bella.