Some After Thoughts...

Been home now for 2 weeks and life is still not back to normal if there is such a thing as normal. I miss India and the friendships that were made there. God had prepared started preparing my heart for the journey to India long before I knew I was going. He was showing me how important it is not only to spread His word, but to disciple His people.

If you ever get a chance to go on a mission trip, go. It will change your life for the better.

June 9, 2011

I skipped blogging yesterday, but I learned how to haul maul. It was a very long day. I moved brick in a line, not to good at that, got injured right off the bat. I can't catch bricks; to be truthful I just can't catch. So I stacked bricks, the bricks over there are lighter weight than in America. I hauled maul which is cement. The walls were six feet at this point so lifted pans of maul over my head passed bricks over my head and had the best time doing it. Doing anything to glorify God is good. There were young, old, pregnant, men and women all working together to build a prayer hut.
Took time out to visit with the children they don't speak too many English words and my speaking in Telugu is limited even further, but we still communicated. Tried to encourage them to go to the prayer hut they were so eager to help move bricks. Some of the kids showed me their Hindu god necklace proudly as they would try and relate to my cross or my wordless book bracelet.
Then we cleaned up and went to a discipleship graduation. It is a 30 day training Dwayne passed out during the ceremony. The light went out, but the ceremony went on. The great thing was when Dwayne got sick people started praying for him, you didn't have to request prayer they just immediatly started.
Stopped back by the village where we were building the prayer hut for an 11:00 o'clock dinner. Life is good.
That brings me to the Women's Conference. I spoke on faith to 208 women with the missionary as my translator. I didn't speak long, now I know to make my devotion go about 30 minutes. The women came from 12 different churches out of 34 in this district. I was the last of the three from Holland Chapel to speak Jessica spoke on love and did a fantastic job, Lori spoke on spiritual gifts, Sheri was planning on speaking, but stayed back today at the hotel. We missed her, but she needed to stay with her husband.
At the end of the service Jessica and Lori passed out lollipops and tootsie rolls to everyone as they left the building that is a big hit. You would not believe how big of a hit a lollipop is to someone whose focus is more on heavenly things, then material things. I was enjoying watching them, when our missionary asked me to pray for a lady who felt she dealing with some demonic issues and one who had physical pains. So I prayed over them. Then when I was finished there were more ladies asking me to pray, this went on and on and on. Some had their kids with them asking me to pray. It was wonderful praying for sisters in Christ. Lori and Jessica joined me and we went outside to join the missionary. Within a few minutes the men arrived from their workday.

Learned just how important discipleship is along with soul winning. We focus so much on leading people to the Lord, but do we focus as much effort on making sure people know what to do once they accept the free gift of salvation. How to live for Christ, how to lead others to Christ, how to live in this world until He comes back or we meet Him face to face?

Tuesday- Second Day of Children's Discipleship Camp

Wow, is the best way to start of this blog. 493 kids and they didn't get here because their parents paid for them to come. They came because they disciple another child. Wow, I will say it again; these are some serious kids for the Lord. They are eager to learn and are full of love. There were 53 more people there that day including volunteers, teachers, and staff. That didn't include the missionary and the group from Holland Chapel. It ran very smoothly, so it was a God thing. We girls got on stage while the male camp director led the children. There were four women all who did the motions to the songs and I feel are a part of my family now. They stood there leading these children along with Lori, Jessica, Sheri and I and the men, some who  were teachers. Three women sang the words and one man played the keyboard. I am explaining this so you know that there were men participating at so many v.b.s. you don't see men up on stage doing motions, or singing. This seemed to be a good thing as the young men looked up to these men. Every song has beautiful motions; more important they are praising God.

In class time, which they take very serious they are very good students. Well, behaved and love scripture memorization. We passed out Telugu Bibles which NATIVE gives to them. In one group, which I had the privilege to pass the Bibles out to, I asked the teacher if they could  recite scripture. Four or five different kids voluntarily jumped up to quote scripture and they all said a different one without a problem. They we sang a couple of songs. The teacher who, who also was lead in the motions on stage,  is a great woman of faith, with a love for children who I call a friend. God is doing great things over in India.

One of the pastor's brought a widow woman from the state as you can sponsor them. This one is sponsored by one of the ladies from Holland Chapel. You have to be a woman of faith to be able to get sponsored.

Sunday in India

　
When we arrived in Hyderabad, the missionary and driver (who is my friend now) met us at the airport once we went through customs. It was back to the hotel for a brief rest then off with our missionary to feel like the girl in the movie when she gets to try on all sorts of clothes. We were trying on Punjabi. They are very pretty and colorful and the staff was so helpful showing us so many of them. He took four women shopping we each bought three outfits each in less than thirty minutes. Then it was back to the hotel as they had to do a little alteration on them. They sew some sleeves on to the Punjabis.

Here I am at the Hotel in Hyderabad with the team and the missionary. God is good, all the time. We are waiting on our outfits to arrive so we women can change into one of them and head off for a 5-6 hr drive; to our prayer hut dedication in a small village.
Last night we had our first prayer hut dedication the people had to wait two and one half hours for us to arrive. We had a six hour drive to get there. It was amazing they were overjoyed and not tired after the wait.


We were greeted with lively music.

 It was truly amazing that the people would wait six hours and still want to hear preaching. They were not ready for it to end either. I think they could have sat there all night listening to God’s Word. That is how much they seem to seek the Lord.



Jason reading the plaque. Holland Chapel helped with this praye hut.



Just a few of the women at the prayer hut dedication.



Touching Down In India for the First Time

Sitting in the Abu Dhabi airport waiting for the flight was interesting. The airport is truly a work of art the colors are so vivid.


The center of Abu Dhabi airport, what a view.

Had to jump up as part of the team just walked by on their way to go through the gate, and so I got up in a hurry. It was amazing my heart swelled when we touched down. It was 7:08 pm India time and back home it was 10:09 am central time (USA) I knew it was important to write down the time. As God told me to record the moment when I arrived on India soil, my feet landing on International soil for the first time. It was like He spoke to me, not audible, but yet He spoke and was letting me know that this was the beginning of things to become. I said a prayer at this point, preparing myself for whatever He wants for me.

June 4, 2011

The following blogs are written from journal entries I made when I had the time on my trip. It was such a loved filled trip. Here we go...

My cell phone says 9:28 am and I am sitting on a plane next to Jessica Moore. The flight plans on the little TV on the seat in front of me says it is 6:20 pm in Abu Dhabi, India. That is where we will land before are finale flight to Hyderabad. The pilot just announced we are about to start our decent.

We are at 37,500 feet. The joy that is filling my heart is great. It feels like I could fly by myself. There is such peace that my God can give me knowing my family and friends are watched over, taken care of by Him, the one I am.

This is the day the Lord has made.

As I woke up praising the Lord for today, reading in 1 Timothy 1:16 it says that "But I received mercy for this reason, that to me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life"

How different my life would be today if I hadn't accepted the free gift He offered me. There is a peace in my heart when the world is crazy as you know it is going to be okay, yes, I still have my emotions. Then I just need to stop and feel that peace that is there, but if I didn't have that peace from Him. It would still be drama, craziness, chaotic confusion so many people live that way when they don't have to.

The joy that is overfilling my heart this morning at going to see family in India is exciting. We are all one big family on earth, created by Him. The love I already have for this new family I will be meeting in less than 48 hrs is exciting. It is a good thing I know my family here is safe and secure in the arms of Jesus, each other and friends. I have that assurance.

Thank you to all who have prayed and supported me.

The Night Before....

                     

Wow, the night before I get to go on my first mission trip. The closer I walk to God the more I fall in love with Him. The more I want to know Him, He amazes me everyday. Just look at the blue sky with clouds, or the little flowers that bloom. Every breathe I take, the way my hands and joints work together to pick up a glass, this wasn't a random Big Bang accident. How can a person not want to know the creator and live for Him? When you do live for Him, life goes so much easier, yes I still have life’s up and downs. It is the differences of knowing everything is truly okay when things are down. I know how my life on earth will end and I have streets of gold and a mansion waiting for me.
Here are a couple of pictures of some of our team getting toys ready to go to Hyderabad, India.

Just four more days....

My heart is filled with joy at the thought of what God is going to do on this trip. A few weeks back in our mission class Josh showed DVD’s of the last mission trip to India. This only made me more certain that I was to go on this trip. The last couple of years I have felt lead to go on a mission trip, but different things I would keep telling myself. God is faithful and kept leading me back to go on one. Praise God for this as there is children and women over in and around Hyderabad it is going to be so exciting to meet.

Just to lean on God everyday here, but knowing I won't have a cell to call someone over there if a problem arises. It will be about trusting Him 100% for everything. What we are supposed to do everyday. In those DVD’s you saw that the people had so little it is hard to describe in words, but they looked happy. Here we tend to complain when it rains, or our paycheck isn't that much. I am so excited to go meet people that work together and seem happy to do it. Kids who don't have the latest toy and who don't even know what the latest toy is, yet, they seem to have smiles on their faces.

20 Days and Counting

Here it is just 20 days until I leave for my first mission ever and it is to Hyderabad, India. I never got the opportunity to go on a mission trip or to church camps growing up so this will be something new for me. The Lord has been laid this on me the past couple of years to go and has blessed me with the opportunity to do so. The past several weeks has been preparing as much as one can for a women's conference and bible school in a different language. They speak Telugu in the part of India were we are going, no I have not learned Telugu.

Just trying to prepare with the other women that are going over there the lesson material has been different then preparing your lesson material for a v.b.s. lesson for your home church. As you have to think about the color sheets having words on them, bookmarks, what you might say needs to be able to translate. The back forty will not mean the same in a different culture and such; the great thing is the Lord will not forsake us. So I am excited, not nervous