aubreythompson

And so it ends

2010-08-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Monday during CDC Regina, the teacher that I work with told me she admires me because I never scold the children, I always just smile... while this was very kind of her, it’s not for lack of desire to scold that I don’t, it’s just that I don’t know the words. I tried to tell a boy he was naughty once, and instead called him a monkey, so I think I’ll just stick to the smiling. Monday night after CDC Deepa, one of the teachers who really doesn’t speak much English, insisted that I come to her house, which Kingsley surprisingly gave in to, perhaps because it was a “walkable distance” means like 12 feet. He gave us half an hour, but after visiting every person she’s ever known and eating the strangest assortments of food ever, I came back about 2 hours later. That man didn’t even care.
Tuesday was a big Hindu holiday, so the kids didn’t have CDC, and Kingsley, for some reason I cannot understand at all, decided I should go nose ring shopping with Deepa and Regina!! By foot!! However, due to the fact that I was wearing a shin length skirt and t-shirt, I had to change... inappropriate you know. This will always be one of my favourite memories of India, the “pillar of Aubrey”, each girl (they’re the same age as I am so I don’t really know what to call them) on either side of me, holding my hide, and continually telling me how “jolly” they are... happiness is so simple here. After buying my new nose ring, they had a series of whispering conferences, and took me to this shop to buy me SO much jewelry that I never would have picked for myself but really is beautiful... I should be giving them things, but here they are, buying me anything they think I could possibly want! We went to have tea afterwards, because that’s just what you do, and I swear they asked me if I wanted every single thing in the little stall. When I would say no thanks, Deepa would get very angry looking and tell me she hated my words. Oh goodness I will miss those 2!
Wednesday I finished my last book due to the fact that the power was out all day, and prayed that Mumbai would be full of things to do, because as much as I’ve come to appreciate relaxing, having nothing to occupy my interest still scares me, I think lonliness itself scares me. But I think God heard my prayers in a different way than I meant to pray them, because during CDC Kingsley called me to the window to tell me that Raj will be busy this week and I can no longer go to Mumbai. Which means I basically forfeit almost all of the money I paid for the tickets, and go with him to Kotagiri, but really I don’t care, in fact I can really see a lot of good in it. God is in control, and I have no doubt that He has my best interest in mind, so it’s actually better than ok! In Kotagiri I’ll get to help Kings finish painting his church, help him pick out some new sound equipment, visit that CDC again, and attend a wedding of one of his friends! And when I’m leaving I’ll only have to wait in the airport alone 2 hours instead of the 6 I would have had to had I gone to Mumbai!
I also got to chase chickens with an old woman today... just delightful really.
Thursday, today, I was just overwhelmed by the way God has worked here, by the certainty that I have regarding the fact that I really was called to India for the last 3 weeks, for SO many reasons... But blessings tend to be forgotten if they’re not shared, and I think that’s something else I’ve been increasingly aware of while I was here... accountability isn’t just about keeping one another doing the right things morally, it’s also simply about sharing in the ONLY things that REALLY matter in this life...I read today in “Follow Me to Freedom”, a book I would recommend to anyone, “we begin to heal when we share in one another’s pain...”. So so true.
As I said goodbye to the kids tonight I thought it would probably be easier this time, because they didn’t throw a big celebration like last year, it was just another night at CDC, but really it was harder, because the kids just kept coming back to kiss me and tell me goodbye one more time, to hold my hand, and to tell me they love me through tear filled eyes. One girl told me I should come back next year, and my reply was something along the lines of lots of money. She thought for a second, and her eyes lit up as she told me “Jesus will help you!” Just beautiful.
But I can’t wait to be home, I can’t wait to share with each one of you in this journey we’re on! I love you all so much!

more than enough

2010-08-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

Well it’s once again been far too long since I’ve blogged for how much I have to say, but I think today I’ll break it down into days. This way, if you become too fatigued, you can take a rest between days.
First, because this does not fit into any particular day, I would like to tell my mother that she would hardly recognize me... I have become obsessively clean. Like I can’t leave my room without it being completely straight, my suitcase entirely organized, and my blanket folded. Get up off the floor momma. Strange things just happen to me in India.
I think quizas I left off last Wednesday, but my quizas reminded me of another story that just needs to be told before I even get into what’s happened since I last blogged. The work and witness team consisted of a very diverse mixture of people, one who happened to be named Eva... Kingsley called her the naughty filipino. I think I may have talked about her in my last blog, but come to find out, while she was trying to invite everyone to the church dedication, she was inviting them in Spanish! Which she doesn’t even really know, but tries to know. Bless her heart.
Wednesday- I had been looking forward to CDC, as I do everyday, and just as I was about to get ready for it Kingsley’s dad told me to be ready in 15 minutes because we were going to Trichy... over an hour later we left, and I was less than pleased. But it really turned out to be wonderful, mostly because it allowed me to really interact with Kingsley and his family, especially Sweety, who is just extremely shy! She was telling me that at her college a lot of professors will come from other countries and teach courses for just 1 month, then go home... I like this. More thoughts on that when I get home.
Thursday- The teachers at the CDC decided they wanted to take me shopping, but Regina goes to school during the day, so it would have to be on Saturday. They were too afraid to ask Kingsley, so I told them I would ask them, which they found to be”so so so bold”. They then insisted I come up with a plan that instant, so I did (mostly it consisted of a long drawn out please and slightly flirty eyes), but then they decided it must be carried out immediately. Since Kingsley wasn’t home we called him on Regina’s phone (resulting in a lack of flirty eyes) and he said yes, but he needed to talk to Regina 1st. I handed her the phone, which she promptly threw in Deepa’s lap and ran from the building... I don’t know why these women are so scared of that man! A plan was drawn up, but due to factors that I’m not altogether aware of, but may have something to do with the fact that Regina went to dance class instead of coming to teach the next day, I never went shopping with them. Oh well, the planning was delightful, and there’s nothing I really need in India that I do not already have! Side note: my plane ticket to Mumbai has finally been secured as of about 5 minutes ago... I’ve been working on it since the day I got here, but due to Indian’s complete disregard of timeliness, it was impossible to get Kingsley to purchase it til today. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in price, but life goes on, and money is just money, and will be acquired again.
Back to Thursday... I must have looked extremely hungry in the morning, because I was given 4 pieces of French toast, at least 4 eggs, a glass of whole milk and sugar sprinkled with tea double the normal size, and a pancake thing bigger than my plate with vegetable sauce. For dinner, since my lunch had been similar in size, I asked if I could just have crackers and peanut butter, to which I thought Kingsley’s father responded yes, but perhaps I was wrong, because he then brought out a special treat for me... a mcdonalds “hamburger” loaded with mayo, cheese, and fried chicken, at least 20 dark meat chicken nuggets, and fries. But you know, I just ate it, and praised the Lord that eating here is just so different, so wonderful, and something I actually enjoy... maybe some of you know what I’m talking about, maybe you don’t, but this in itself is one of the biggest freedoms and blessings India has to offer.
Friday- Kingsley finally came home... he had been mia for multiple days, but he came back finally, and he hugged me!! With no prompting!! I really miss touch here...
Mother, just to let you know, we have found someone who loses more things than I do.
Saturday- I don’t say a lot about days here, because to the average person they’re just so not exciting, and probably would make people think I’m lonely or something, but the greatest thing is, I’m just not... They are so FULL of relationship, a relationship I far to often neglect in America, because I can get direct responses from anyone around me at any moment I desire, but here, He truly is my BEST friend, and he DOES respond... He is my greatest distraction. I’ve been reading Romans,Peter, Luke, “Follow Me to Freedom”, and the Mark of the Lion Series, and the ways they all correspond with one another and enhance the reading of the other has just been so beautiful... not to mention the amazing peace I’ve been given about where I am in my life, the plans God has for me in my current job, my major, my relationships... God has placed me where I am for a reason I absolutely CANNOT deny! I just cannot express to you what a blessing this has been... PLEASE ask me about this when I get home, there’s so much I want to say to each one of you, so much truth God has spoken into my heart!
Saturday evening we had martial arts, during which I was called back to the house just to drink tea, but I wish I had not returned... basically it was an Indian disaster... It started off humorous and ended just entirely uncomfortable due to my flexibility and the instructor’s fasicnation with it.
Sunday- I was so blessed to be able to preach at a church that we painted last year with Beyonce... it’s now decorated beautifully, with a Santa Clause mask hanging directly above the podium.
I spoke on the hope that I have, living out of that hope, and accountability with others in our journey... probably other stuff too, but the Spirit was so faithful, and really just let the words flow.
But really, I think I may have been preaching to myself just as much as the Indian people, to see them worshipping and praying, their hope is just so evident...
Sunday was honestly kind of hard though in the afternoon, because I really missed my Sunday dinner time, and community in general. But then Kingsley and I started talking, and he suggested we watch the church service online of the work and witness team and my dear friends Tiffany and Dan... I first I wasn’t particularly excited about it, but I’m so glad we did!! I got to hear Tiffany play a flute duet, and it was such a wonderful service, and amazing to hear the team’s views on India related back to the church in America. Apparently after I left (the team stayed for 3 more days) about 20 kids were saved... and to think that I was questioning the team... I still wonder how the children will be discipled, but I know transformation has to start somewhere, and God is bigger than anything I can imagine... please pray for these kids though.
Also, one of the songs they played has kind of been my song for the trip... “You’re more than enough for me, Jesus you’re all I need, You hold my world in your hands...” Coincidence? Probably not.
Well you should probably go take rest now... Not sure if I’ll get to blog again before I get home, since I don’t know what my computer situation will be in Mumbai, but I love you all!

India in a very large nutshell 2!

2010-07-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

Alright back to Anbu! When I asked him what he believes, I began to wonder if I could really tell him what I believe, the “reason for the hope that I have (1 Peter 3:17)”. He told me what he as a Hindu believes, and the thing that really stuck out to me was that he lives his life striving to not be reborn, while we are given the promise of eternal life, if we will only put our trust in God! How amazing that we don’t have to run from something, but only to someone, someone who’s love and acceptance is given so freely! If I’m constantly questioning the love of someone, I can’t freely love them back. But since I have been justified by faith I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reason for the hope that I have…

When we got to Chennai Anbu was so sweet and stayed with me through customs and getting my luggage, and was going to take me to my connecting flight, but then his luggage never arrived from London! So I set off on my own, found a small corner with a fan and a clock nearby, and began to read. During the 2 hours I had to sit there (you can’t check into flights more than an hour and a half in advance) 2 different Indian men came to talk to me, genuinely interested in my life! Each offered to buy me tea, and one had to leave for a moment, but he came back specifically to tell me “bye bye”.

When I got to check in finally I wandered around aimlessly for quite some time trying to figure out how to find a phone, since I realized I had miscalculated the time and would not be with Kingsley at the time I told mother I would, but some man stopped me and asked if I needed to use his mobile! When I finally got to Coimbatore Kingsley was not there, so I simply walked up to another man, asked him if he spoke English, and offered to pay him to use his phone, which he refused, saying he doesn’t care about money. I just like the Indian men.

After sitting on a curb alone (alone as you can get in India) for about 45 minutes, Kingsley finally arrived with this year’s team! Jenna jumped out of the car… I can’t describe all this, but it was wonderful. I thought I might feel some jealousy towards the team this year, or like I didn’t fit in with them, but spending the little time I was able to with them was just so wonderful!! In fact, when they left I cried… when I first got here I was lonely a lot, and really unsure of why I was here, what in the world I was thinking coming alone. Kings handed me his phone to call Ross the night I was the most lonely though, and then on the way back up the mountain Kings and I had a wonderful conversation about life in general, and I just knew everything was going to be ok.

Much to my surprise, a team from Houston, Texas arrived to work on Kingsley’s church in Kotagiri! Karlee and Aaron Webster were in this team (Lynlee’s sister and Josh Baskett’s cousin ) and they were from the church my friends Tiffany and Daniel go to! Oh and some man whose name might be Richard Crow knows Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy, and while talking to his wife, who lives in Bethany, also talked to Kathy Choate! Crazy small world… So to make a very very long story short, I ended up getting to stay with this delightful woman named Glenda instead of in a hotel alone, and I stayed extremely busy for the next few days, plastering, leveling, sifting sand, painting, touring India, etc. AMAZING!! I actually kind of resented the team at first, particularly because of how American they were, how I felt like their mindset was kind of let me come save this place for a week, not let me come live with you, and in the meantime help you… does this make any sense? Really though most of the people were wonderful, I’ll tell you many more stories about them upon arriving home… Oh! The lady I stayed with though, Glenda, got flowers from her husband on their 33rd wedding anniversary!!! So beautiful…

Each night we would put on a VBS thing for the CDC in Kotagiri, which was really cool, cause the kids just don’t get any sort of Sunday School or anything like that, only what they hear in church, if the even go to church, and a lot don’t. But my favorite woman, Silvi, came, and immediately pulled me into the kitchen and started kissing and hugging me! Indians don’t even hug!! On Sunday I was wearing my sari, and the minute she saw me she pulled me into her house and took it off me, calling in 2 other women to fix the mess I had apparently made of it lol. It was so wonderful to be back in Indian church, but I also really missed church at home, which I also love… it’s such a blessing to have finally found a church home, one I can’t wait to come back to!

The dedication of Kingsley’s church was on Sunday evening, and it was also wonderful! This little woman from somewhere in Asia (I know where I just can’t spell it) was crazy and ridiculous, but each day while we were working on the church she would invite people to come to the dedication, and so many people came!! This absolutely wonderful missionary family from Nampa came too, and it was just so amazing to have someone to talk to who really understood where I was at and my feelings towards the past week… I’ll tell you their story when I get home too, since this is turning into 12 pages.

The next morning I took off for Musiri with 2 men who don’t really speak English, stopping for a midmorning snack of a pot of fried rice and fried onions… let the intense eating commence! I’m actually not worried about it though, and the teacher I worked with last year at the CDC told me “last year so broad, this year so small!” hahaha Being back with the CDC here in Musiri has made this whole trip so worth it though… oh goodness I love those kids, and I know without a doubt that they love me! CDC last year wasn’t my favorite thing at all, but this year, well, it’s just wonderful!! The kids now have martial arts added into their curriculum… basically it ends up being the instructor teaching me about a million different blocks while the kids all stare and laugh.

During the day I basically only read and eat, but I’m doing pretty well with it… pray that I could continue to be present, that God’s truth would be revealed as I search for an even greater understanding of who He is, what His love means, and what His call for my life is… I love you all so much, and can’t wait to see you, but for now, I am so blessed to be in India!!

India in a very large nutshell

2010-07-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

1/100 of what I want to say

2010-07-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Due to my non-inquiring nature, at least in regards to plans while in India, I once again had very little knowledge of what I would be doing here... perhaps more than last time, but I still had no sense of a schedule. That being said, I had no idea that I would be spending my first week in Kotagiri with no internet capabilities and temperatures where you can often see your breath. I kept somewhat of a journal while in Kotagiri though, so I will go over at least some of the past week and a half!

On my flight to London I sat by a very large but very kind biker who shared his blanket with me, due to the fact that I had my broncho blanket on, my airplane blanket, and my hoodie with the hood up, and I was still shivering... I think I may have been slightly sick at this point. He was very kind, and going with his “brother from another mother” on a tour of London. The woman on the other side of me was not friendly in the least, but that’s beside the point. On my flight from London to Chennai I sat by
another very kind and very chatty Indian man from Houston who was going to meet up with his wife and daughter in Chennai. oh goodness this is just not working... every 15 letters the computer takes me back 5 words and starts typing there... I’ll try to finish with Sweety’s computer later... well now it’s working. Back to Anbu (my Indian friend) We were able to share our religious beliefs with one another, and the main difference I found was that... ok it’s stopped working again...

I love you all and I’ll try to actually start talking about India sometime soon!
I miss you so much but I know this is right where I need to be!

Life is Wonderful

2010-07-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

So here I go again... once more trying extremely hard not to have expectations, only knowing that God WILL move! I'm nervous about going without my girls... their being a part of my life last summer made an impact on me that I know I can never fully comprehend, but only say STOTRUM!
As I go back I don't have a big ministry plan, I'm just going to further explore the call to missions God has placed on my life. I'm going back stronger than when I originally left in almost every aspect of my life, but I know there is still SO much growth to take place, more of my life the Holy Spirit wants to claim as His own. Pray for my pride to be broken, hearts to be open, and full surrender to the plans God has for me as I journey once again in INDIA!!

I'm done, but God's not!

2009-07-20T20:20:00.003-07:00

We started this week off with an awesome painting job… mint green, purple, dark, and light blue are always super colors for a church. As we were beginning to paint we began to sing hymns, like we do, and all the sudden we hear Beyonce blasting through the speakers… hahaha Kingsley loves our music and made sure to bring the cds we’d been listening to on our numerous car trips! The time painting went by so fast though, and it’s been awesome to do some of what I thought most of this trip would look like. But as I said in the YIM update, I never would have learned what I have from God and my teammates had it been all work or constant moving, even if this is what I enjoy. I honestly can’t say that I wish this trip had turned out any differently. I am so thankful that I couldn’t run, I love that we had so much time to spend with the CDC kids, I love that we were able to travel so much, I love that my face was stuffed with food, I love that I couldn’t understand the church services, and I love that my teammates and I had so much time to spend in the word, relaxing and coming to know the God we’ve been acquainted with for so long.
One of my favorite, but possibly also one of our hardest experiences here happened Saturday night. One of our favorite elderly couples had invited us over for dinner, and we were super excited about going. That morning when I woke up I prayed that God would give me one more insight that day, one more way to grow. Also, at every meal, and during our group prayer time, each person who prayed asked God to bless our time with the family, and I really questioned why. We’d never prayed for house visits before they happened, especially not ones we were so excited about. During group prayer I also prayed that our team wouldn’t be divided, and immediately I wondered why I had prayed that… we’d really never struggled with division before.
While we were waiting for the food to be cooked Joseph and Silva’s first son, Joseph, arrived. He was extremely loud from the beginning, but at first I just thought he was proud of his English skills, because they were actually pretty good. However, as the night wore on he became more and more obnoxious and it became very clear that he was drunk. He shoved food in our faces, all the while shouting “Hallelujah!” and saying other crazy things about God that made no sense at all. I began to get extremely frustrated, simply because the night was really just not going as I had planned. We didn’t even get to talk to Joseph or Silva, and the food I ate wasn’t out of love, really only fear of what the man would do if I said no. I left that place unexplainably angry, as did one of my other teammates. When we got back we all agreed we really needed to debrief over the night. When we began one of our teammates was very quiet, but when her thoughts finally came they struck each one of our hearts. She told us that the man reminded her of her homeless friends (she is extremely involved in a homeless ministry in Kansas City) and that it really frustrated her how that man had been treated that night. Our first reaction was anger, denial, and extreme justification, but when it came down to it, she was absolutely right. That man was just as much a child of God as we are. If he was outside and I was the one serving him, maybe I could have accepted him, maybe I wouldn’t have attempted to ignore him in order to somehow show him that I didn’t agree with his lifestyle. This is ridiculous, but it really was my mindset. But that night, it was his turn to serve, his turn to show love for love in return, and I refused to give it to him. His mother constantly repeated “my son, my son!” and I was so incredulous as to how she could still be proud of him, but how many times has God done that for us, calling us his children, even though we are clearly embarrassing Him. So many times I’ve claimed the name of Jesus, but if anyone looked closely at all at my life they could see how far off I was… At times I was blind, but others I knew exactly what I was doing. But yet He still is proud of me, He still continues to love me, not just when it’s convenient, not just when it looks good, when it fits well into His life, but always. God was absolutely at work before we even began this night… as we were leaving I remember thinking God clearly forgot to bless our night, but in reality He went way beyond what I could have asked our imagined.
Our last night in Musiri, after a day full of packing, cooking with Kingsley’s mom, and doing all kinds of last minute things, we began our amazing final evening with the kids. We stepped outside in our saris and were almost overrun by kids, so excited to tell us “sari! Beautiful!” We blew bubbles with them for a while, but that was extremely stressful. So we moved on to pictures, but that proved to be just as if not more stressful. All the sudden two of the girls grabbed me though and started shuttling me up the stairs, both with their arms around me, one holding my dress up so I wouldn’t trip. We stepped on the roof to see all our beautiful kids, the teachers, and each of our favorite church members at our goodbye celebration. Kingsley had our music playing, including, but not limited to Backstreet Boys, and the weather was absolutely perfect as the sun began to set. Person after person came up and thanked us, each with another gift, something else to gladly stuff into our suitcases. As the night began to wind down each child came and kissed us, telling us multiple times goodbye. Our 3 favorite girls each began crying, pleading us to come again next year, to promise that we would. We exchanged addresses with some, but that was really the best we could do. One boy, when we asked him his, replied, “behind the church!” I can’t wait to tell you each in person more about this night! We will miss those kids and the amazing people of India so much, but we know without a doubt that God worked in us through this trip, that we were where He wanted us. That in itself is a comfort I cannot describe. I can’t wait to see all of you!! Thank you so much for the ways each of you have supported me… I know I’ll never know the impact your prayers and love have had! Familia, see you on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!

I'm done, but God's not!

2009-07-20T20:20:00.001-07:00

oh the crocodiles

2009-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

While getting ready on the morning of Jen’s birth Kingsley knocked on our door and handed in Jen’s “birthday dress”. However, it was actually a size XL bright orange chooty, and unfortunately did not quite fit 5 foot 3 inch tiny Jen… thankfully Kingsley’s parents agreed though, and later Kingsley told us it was really a gift that had planned to give to someone else but could never find! So instead Jen wore one of Kingsley’s mom’s saris while we all sang her a rousing rendition of happy birthday and ate a lovely breakfast of butterscotch cake.
We then began our first journey for the weekend… a short drive of 5 hours to see some awesome crocodiles… people might tell you crocodiles are cool… they’re not. I’ve seen hundreds, just trust me. But once again, I suppose it’s all about the experience. And I perfected my Australian accent while I was there, which is great news.
That night our “delux AC” room did not include blankets in their definition of deluxe… who knew I relied on a blanket that much to sleep? After a rather restless night we trudged next door to the hotel owner’s house to have breakfast with his extremely large family and have them help us with our saris! They were really funny though and seemed very much like American grandparents. After that we went to 2 services, one that I was blessed to get to speak at. I did not actually feel blessed at all when Kingsley told me I was speaking, because, as I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been rather confused lately, but God totally gave me the words and I just felt extremely at peace with it.
After a quick potluck lunch we piled back in the car, still in our saris, for another 5 hour drive back up the mountain to the beautiful place we stayed last week for their 15 year church anniversary! As soon as we got to the church a plethora of children met us and led us up the steps, which were painted with all sorts of greetings in English! When we got to the church our bean picking friends were waiting inside… I wish I could describe to you how happy they were to see us and the way I’ve never felt so loved by people I’ve only known for one day!! That whole night was quite possibly my favorite night in India, but I’ll just have to explain this one further when I get home! One person I can tell you about though is Sounder, the church’s NYI president. As soon as we met him he began giving us gifts, but then he started asking where his gifts were! We came with candy, but other than that we were completely unprepared! Jen gave him her watch, because he gave her his “monado” watch, and I gave him a somewhat blurry picture of my family… we’d just cleaned out the car and everything was already in our room, I really had nothing!! We stayed there for over 3 hours, but I could have stayed so much longer… LOVE those people!!
The next morning we got up for a walk… 2 of the girls almost didn’t come, but at the last second they did. Then Jen wanted to go another way, but I’d already been that way running, so I insisted we go another way. After about 5 minutes on that road, there he was, like a beacon in the night… a white boy!!!!!!!! None of us allowed ourselves to think American, but then he spoke! And told us they were 12 more Americans and 2 Canadians in the house behind him!!!!!! It turned out they were actually leaving within that hour, but we stayed there talking to them right until they had to get on their bus. They were basically on a Jewish youth in mission trip, but they were just starting theirs! I don’t think any of us realized how much we had missed talking to people with no communication barrier, and people our own age… I’m sure we sounded waaaaayy too excited, but hey, how crazy is it that we even found them?!!
After our incredibly invigorating walk we, once again, got back in the car and traveled to Coimbatore to see Kingsley’s cousin who was in the hospital because he tried to commit suicide. He is fine, but I’m guessing he wasn’t extremely happy about the multitudes of extremely awkward family that filled his room. Almost no one talked to him, they just sat there in silence for a lot of the time, and then as more of his aunts came they began talking to each other. He was super nice though, and actually knew English very well… he’d read 6 of the Harry Potter books in fact! I’m still unsure of what his reasoning was behind drinking the poison… Kingsley said that his cousin blamed the parents, but that couldn’t possibly be the reason… I don’t know how Kingsley would know but I don’t have any other leads to the story.
After a few errands around town we finally left for home in a car that boasted “dvd! A/c”, although neither one of them worked. It delivered us safely home though and we are back in Musiri for our last week in this wonderful place called India!!

I hate you food poisoning!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Well let’s just say it’s been a hard few days… it started off with my decision to read the New Testament straight through. I’ve read the whole Bible in a One Year Bible way, with small passages from the old and new testaments each day, and I’ve read bits and pieces my whole life, but never in a continual manner. I finished Matthew, and realized just how inconsistent I felt it was, how the things I’d always told myself I believed weren’t necessarily backed up. People have used verses my whole life to prove points that, looked at in context, really don’t match up to what they were saying. I feel like we as a generation have made Christianity what we want it to be, something so easy and full of peace, but really I just felt a lot of frustration. I just didn’t understand so much, and it made me wonder, is my hard heart, like the people Jesus spoke of? I would find comfort in one passage, only to be brought back to my frustration in another. I want my view of God to be based on the Bible, rather than what I’ve always been told, what the world tells me about Him. Please ask me specifically about what I’ve been struggling with when I get home, because I know I’ll be tempted to just slip back into my “I don’t know the answers but that’s ok” mindset. While I know we can’t know all the answers, and even Jesus’s disciples struggled with faith, I want to really know what I can believe, otherwise how can I tell others?
I felt like I had come to so much peace while here, so much realization of who God was to me, but just by reading one book of the Bible I have lost so much of that, and maybe that bothers me more than anything. I don’t want my faith to be that shallow, that easily swayed. The other girls on my team embarked on this journey with me, and they are feeling very similar to the way I am, so please just pray for us, that we would open our hearts to what God has to tell us, and that he would use the next week and half to show us things we’ve never seen before.
Yesterday morning we woke up to paint the CDC and Kingsley told Jen and I that Meret and Tam were sick… we thought they probably just had a cold or something so the 2 of us just started painting… until I threw up. Well actually I went back to paint again after that, like I do, but then I realized that I was basically just splashing paint on the wall and had no idea what I was doing, so I went to lay down, and within with next few hours threw up multiple times and lost much of whatever was in my body, um, another way. Every fiber of my body felt like I’d fallen off a 20 story building and I couldn’t even lay down because it hurt too bad. Honestly I was thinking death sounded pretty great… I don’t think I have ever been that sick in my life. I finally fell asleep about 8:00 and woke up at 3:30 am… unable to fall back asleep because I was so hungry, but absolutely not for Indian food. I remembered there were some fruit loops at the bakery we got the despicable poisonous turnovers things at, so I just sat in a chair til 7:15, when I finally decided to walk across the street and see if that had anything at a little stand there (I’ve never been outside the gates alone… if I hadn’t felt so sick it would have been invigorating) They didn’t though, so I drew a picture of fruit loops and rang the doorbell, then gave my lovely drawing to Kingsley’s mom, who actually figured it out! Today I have felt much better, but I still just don’t feel good, and food doesn’t really work… we have a 5 hour car ride ahead of us tomorrow and the other 2 girls have very similar stories to mine, so we’re gonna need some intense prayer!! Don’t worry, we’re being very well taken care of though… they bought us cake, because you know, that’s what you want when you’re sick, and they were just sure we’d want to drink some oatmeal. Kingsley also offered to carry us to the roof, which could have been awesome if touch didn’t feel like death. He really is super sweet though, and I guess his parents and his grandma both called to chew him out for letting us eat food outside of the home!
Pray for Jen too… her 21st birthday is tomorrow, and she was already a little bummed that we’d be traveling for most of it… 3 sick friends really wouldn’t make it any better! Love you and MISS YOU ALL!!!!!

I'll miss you Kotagiri!!

2009-07-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

I got to get up and run one more time, then we said our goodbyes to the wonderful people of Kotagiri before we headed to Thermopaly (that spelling is crazy wrong but of well). We drove for 7 hours and as we went down the mountain it got hotter and hotter, but it really wasn’t a bad drive at all. We were going to visit Kingsley’s best friend Devaraj and his new wife Pushpa! Initially we were supposed to stay in a hotel “because they’re newly married”, (I laughed at this comment and Kingsley told me I am the initiator of all things bad.) but for some reason they changed their mind, so the four girls got to sleep on the roof!! They almost insisted that Devaraj sleep up there with us, but finally we convinced them that we would actually live, as long as we had Kingsley’s phone (I actually have no idea what that would have done, but hey, it made them happy). While sleeping on the roof sounds ideal, it actually sucks. Not gonna lie. But hey, we asked for it!
When we first got there Pushpa came to talk to us, which was really cool… most people here doubt their English so much that they won’t even try to talk to us, but she was so sweet, and insisted upon giving us more mahendi! We were a little scared, considering the other stuff covering our bodies had just come off, but she only did our palms and they were very pretty, not to mention that it made her so happy. After that we went to a CDC for mentally challenged kids that was actually really awesome. The kids were so sweet, and if what Kingsley told us and the way things appeared is true, they’re really well cared for. We were supposed to only stay for a few minutes but we were having so much fun playing with the kids that we stayed for over an hour!
The next day we visited another CDC and some women with AIDS who also work with AIDS awareness came to talk to us. The craziest thing was that almost all of the ladies had gotten HIV because they’re husbands are truck drivers, and would sleep with prostitutes while they were on the road, then come back to their wives. All of these women had still stayed with their husbands though. They were amazing ladies and they really made me miss my AIDS hospice friends back home. After that we went to a leper colony, where Kingsley told us you contract leprosy from the flies… which were swarming us… I really know nothing about leprosy, but this was a very interesting place. You really couldn’t tell any of the people had it, and all we did there was sing our 2 Tamil songs for them… sometimes I just feel like a tourist here looking in on people’s lives like they’re a novelty, when I really want to get to know them, to somehow show them that I love them.
At lunch I fell asleep at the table… I may be able to sleep most anywhere, but even this is kinda crazy for me. We were supposed to go watch people make handbags, but Kingsley insisted we take rest, so I slept for 2 hours on the concrete, then we left for the CDC again. It wasn’t so much of a surprise when I blacked out in the road on the way in, but still rather inconvenient. The CDC leader had them take me to his amazing house (with a western toilet, the first one we had seen in about a week!!) and I recovered quite well there. That night Tam and I got to talk on the roof, and she just asked me the simple question “Who is God to you?” I think that’s a question that needs to be asked a lot more, really to anyone and everyone. It just opened up so much for us, but also made me realize how important it is that I know who God is to me. It started to rain then though, so we were moved to the porch, where I was watched intently, like really Indians standing over my bed to made sure that I was taking rest. Finally they left though and we were able to sing patriotic songs very quietly, since it was the 4th of July. Maybe not the most amazing 4th, but hey, definitely different. Some people come back from these trips hating America, but while there’s definitely things that America has wrong, I am still absolutely proud to be an American.

traveling in the Nazarenemobile

2009-07-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

The next morning I got up and was allowed to go running, which was absolutely amazing!! The fact that there’s even space here to run without being hit by some sort of vehicle was a miracle. I got some awesome looks in my running tights, but everytime I would smile or wave the kids on their way to school would get these huge smiles on their faces and start giggling. We left for somewhere that I can’t remember the name after that to head for our elephant safari. On the way we stopped at this Chinese restaurant that played Kenny G music! The drives here are always absolutely amazing and I can remember thinking that I would be perfectly content if I never got out of our little Nazarenemobile. When we got to our safari site a monkey immediately stole Meret’s snack, then we were whisked away for our elephant ride. The problem was that we all had to pee like none other, so the safari leader talked some random people into letting us pee on the floor of this little building in their yard… can’t say I’ve ever peed while using the person in front of me for support until this trip, but it’s a memory I wouldn’t trade!
The elephant ride itself was fairly uneventful and the fact that the poor thing frequently got beat by a man walking behind made it not really that amazing, but it’s still cool to be able to say I’ve ridden an elephant I guess! After that we went on a bus safari and mostly just talked to the little boys sitting beside us, because the safari basically had a few deer and bison on it, and a “wild” elephant that was chained to a tree. After dinner Kingsley let me drive his stick shift car through the forest, and at one point we even saw a real wild elephant. Apparently they are very dangerous though, so our hired driver drove after that, and we eventually came upon at least 8 more elephants! The next morning we heard that elephants and bison were outside our door at 6 in the morning, but we were fast asleep… the minute we woke up Kingsley had us wading through a freezing creek… Meret fell in and grabbed me, to which I kindly responded, “If you pull me in I’ll punch you in the face.” Let’s just say we were all a little edgy. Meret was able to fashion a skirt out of Kingsley’s shawl though and we headed on our way with her jeans flying our the window to a stand full of more types of amazing bananas than you could ever imagine! Pretty much for the rest of the drive home it rained, but even that was amazing… it was just so beautiful and peaceful and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. We also stopped and got homemade chocolate, fresh plums, mangoes, and carrots… who knew carrots could taste so good?! When we got back to our little cottage we ate the various foods we’d accumulated on the side of the road and gave each other pedicures… definitely one of my favorite days in India!!
The next day we visited the self-proclaimed best rose garden on earth… it was pretty awesome, but the best part was being invited to play a way cooler version of duck duck goose with a huge group of Indians, ages ranging from children to older adults!
When we got home we went back to the wonderful church/house and celebrated Jen’s sister’s birthday there… love those kids!! We also found out while we were there that’s it’s totally cool here to marry your cousin… hmmmm
The next day we thought we were leaving Kotagiri but Kings changed his mind and decided we would paint a church! So after a lovely 4 mile run we headed to begin the biggest scraping job of our lives. Kingsley had it in his head that we had to get every single bit of paint off… it was looking like Jesus would come back before we finished the job but thankfully a delightful lunch came first. Really though, I was getting rather discouraged, but then Jen started singing hymns and it was like the time flew by… Brian Lee, you were right all along, you can have fun doing ANYTHING as long as you’re with the right people! After lunch we went to work in the fields picking beans with these hilarious ladies! They were just sure we would understand Tamil if they spoke a little louder, but quite unfortunately that wasn’t true! One stuffed a leaf of some sort in my mouth, which I tried to chew, but was then hit by another lady and told to spit out, because apparently it was some kind of drug, and “Christians, no!” accompanied by very exaggerated hand movements! Eventually it got to just be us picking and an audience of people watching us, while occasionally they asked us to show off our dancing skills.
We were told before we ever left for Mumbai that we would have an opportunity to do laundry, but that was actually a lie, so underwear and other clothes now have levels of dirtiness for us… Jeffrey you might not love it here. It really is amazing though and Kotagiri has been such an amazing part of this trip, and so much of our team bonding has happened here!

the earth is filled with His glory

2009-07-06T19:32:00.001-07:00

By the time we left Mumbai we were all feeling pretty homesick, not to mention that we were super tired of hard boiled eggs and toast (hotel Indian food is rather disgusting). I knew that if some change in my attitude didn’t happen quick the next 3 weeks were gonna be absolutely miserable. God totally answered my prayer though, and allowed us to visit Kingsley’s grandma after we left the airport. She and her husband were so incredibly sweet, and they both spoke amazing English, possibly because she is half swiss. She and her daughters made us the best meal we’ve had since being here, and we got to really enjoy just being part of a family again. We left there at about 10:30 to begin our drive up the mountain… we were all kind of dreading it, but it was actually one of my favorite experiences of the trip. As we drove higher and higher up the mountain listening to John Mayer and Jason Mraz the scenery became absolutely breathtaking and the air became cooler and cooler. After what seemed like no time at all we arrived at our awesome little wooden cottage surrounded by more greenery and flowers than you can imagine! The only set back to that night was that as Meret layed down on her cute little bed it crashed through the floor… when we told the pastor who owned the house he simply replied “it’s an old building, these things happen”… the Indians we interact with have such amazing attitudes! As a result of the hole in the floor, which led directly to the ground, our room was quite chilly at night, but thankfully they had given us five blankets each, so we weren’t too cold!
Considering that we arrived at about 4:00 am it really wasn’t a surprise that we slept through our alarm, but it did result in some frenzied getting ready for church… luckily I remembered to through on my running tights under my chooty though! Yes, they did look hot, but hey, I was warm. In order to get to the church we had to climb about 50 steps, and we heard that just recently had they even put steps in, before they just had to climb the hill! After about a 3 hour nap we headed out to another church, where we fit at least 25 people in an 8 by 8 house, with 6 people sitting in chairs… if Americans were as flexible as Indians, I would say we should all have church like that. The spirit was just so there, and after giving our testimonies once again they prayed for us… I have never felt so loved, appreciated, and believed in as I do when these wonderful people pray for me. Sudas, the man who helps Kingsley, was about to go into the ministry, but recently he decided to back out, for reasons that don’t quite make sense, I think we’re missing something because of the slight communication barrier, but his mother was at this church and extremely sad… please pray for Sudas and his mother.
After church we were surrounded by the friendliest people we’ve met here, even though they really didn’t know English. Most people here want to give us things and watch us, but these people just really wanted to be with us. The girls grabbed out arms and directed our every step back down the steps, which was extremely kind considering it was pitch black and freezing out! My wonderful friend Jen compared the drive from Kingsley’s grandma’s house to our spiritual journey… we don’t want to leave what is safe, what feels like home, what is familiar. But sometimes we are called to, but if we do, God promises what he has next is even better. It may not be the easiest journey, or feel like it’s at the best time, but God absolutely has greater things in store for us. We can’t just remain stagnant, we must keep moving, trusting in the Lord with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding. In all our ways we must acknowledge Him, and he will keep our paths straight.

finally back!!!!!!!!

2009-07-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

So it feels like I’ve been away for forever, when really it’s only been 2 weeks, but so much has happened in those 2 weeks! I’m just gonna post a few days at a time, partly so I don’t overload y’all with info but also because I just don’t have that much time on the computer! I got up at 6:30 this morning even though we arrived at 1 last night just to type these all up (yes I’m as compulsive about getting things done as ever), but Kingsley’s mother was praying so I didn’t wanna use the computer. But here goes… I’m sure I’ll forget things but I’ve tried to keep a few notes to remind myself of the highlights.

I’m not actually sure where I left off in my last blog… I’m not able to get online right now so I’m just making this a word document and then I’ll paste it later, but I’ll start with the night we got to Mumbai, after the train. Kingsley’s friend from Mumbai took us around to see the city, and we got to see the hotels that were attacked by terrorists and the train station from Slumdog. After that night we pretty much spent all our time in the hotel during the day, picking and choosing what we wanted to go to as far as the NYI conference went. We didn’t go to much of the business stuff, but we went to all the worship services and the global services, which were AMAZING. It was so crazy to think that we were really worshipping with people in America, people we knew, at the same time as them. The fact that it was at the same time meant that for a couple services we were up til about 3 in the morning though… everything really was catered to America, which frustrated our leader to no end. For some reason that I’m not really sure of she was from Germany, and she did not hesitate to make her dislike of Germans, or for that matter Indians, known.
During the worship times each region took turns leading the music and there were some really awesome ones… the crazy thing was that English was the common language spoken, because of the huge variety of languages spoken in India. For example, the only other people who spoke Tamil, the language Kingsley speaks, was from Sri Lanka! There were people from Lebanon to California there (they just decided it would be way cooler to attend in India than Orlando… I tend to agree with them!) For one song Kingsley began to dance, just him, exactly like dad!! Worship times were so fun though, but also so wonderful to just sense the spirit across the world, from Ecuador to Germany.
The second day we were there the Mumbai YIM team got to come see us!! It was so wonderful to see them and hear their stories… their Red Light District stories were absolutely incredible. Their leader somehow, only by some miracle, got them in, and within a matter of minutes she was praying with people she had never met before… why have we so overcomplicated spreading the gospel? These stories are so intense but I really want you to hear them firsthand… I’ll try to find a link for one of the girl’s blog. Each night we were there we ordered Dominoes Pizza (yes that’s right!!)… the first night we accidentally ordered four boxes of breadsticks though instead of 4 breadsticks, but don’t worry, we ate them all!! Raj, the Mumbai team leader, also took us to Baskin Robbins every night… the ice cream was amazing but just the time with friends and Raj, who was so hilarious, made these some of my favorite times in Mumbai. It definitely made me homesick too though.
The last day we were there we made a super quick trip to the mall to pick up some things for Kingsley, then we ran out the door to a taxi to catch our flight. The drive of 1 ½ only covered 12 miles… sometimes when we’d be stopped a woman with a baby would come up to our window and point at her baby and her mouth, but Kingsley wouldn’t let us give them money, because he said there were Lords just waiting to take the money from them, almost like they were employed to beg, but that the money wouldn’t go to them anyway. The Mumbai team said they saw some kids begging and their Lord right around the corner… Slumdog was amazingly accurate. This part was so hard though… the women would stay at your window until you started moving again which was sometimes an incredibly long time… Mumbai is a rough city. It has absolutely beautiful buildings and is the economic capital of India, but if you move a few feet, literally, from the beauty, you find huge slums and people with absolutely nothing.
When we finally arrived at the airport Kingsley got out of the taxi and walked in, because you can only have four in the taxi at the security checkpoint, so when we went to get everything out of the back in the midst of trying to get the driver paid and the fact that the four of us girls were pretty shaken up, we ended up leaving the things Kingsley bought at the mall. After making it through security, which was nothing like in America, we also realized that we had brought a man’s bag with us from Bangalore, which is like 10 hours from where we were heading. Kingsley had also lost his phone the night before, so… it just really wasn’t Kingsley’s day. He was so cool about it though and stayed so calm, giving his standard, “no, no, it’s no problem!” Even if he does tell me that when I sing sometimes he thinks the car is having problems, and that when I braid my hair it looks like a rat tail, he’s really a great guy! Mumbai was a very emotional place, and I’m glad we went, but I don’t think I ever want to go back.

trip to Mumbai!!

2009-06-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

we set off from Tamil Nadu at 5:30 in the morning and were on our train by 9:30 after a quick breakfast with our favorite pastor that we've met. We said we needed to use the washroom so he led us to a small sink, but we really needed to use the bathroom, which was out back by some defeaning machine... so different from home!
Our train ride took 28 hours but we had bunks and I really absolutely loved it! The only somewhat annoying thing were the people that walked through every 2 minutes, no exaggeration, and yelled out "Tea!" "Caawfeee!" We had little picnics for every meal on our bunks that we couldn't sit up straight on because the bunks were 3 high, but it was actually really fun, and Kingsley even brought our jam that we consume like crazy!
When we got off we waited under a bridge where we saw a small child just drop their pants and pee on the sidewalk! Finally Kingsley's friend came and we got on another train that was absolutely stuffed full of people but we luckily had a seat and some men beside us were playing backstreet boys so even though the rain was streaming through the window we had a lovely hour ride in that train!
There's so much more to say but people are waiting for the computer so I'll write more later! We saw our first white people here though and absolutely stared like Indians!! love you all!!

momma's birthday

2009-06-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Mostly the days here have been very similar since I last posted, except for mom’s birthday… that night at the CDC they totally surprised me with a birthday cake for mom and I got to serve it to each one of the kids!! It was so sweet and so many people told me to “send your mother my birthday greetings!”
We don’t do a lot during the day except “take rest”, and the other day the 4 of us were exploring what God was doing through that. One thing that was mentioned was for prayer, because if we were at home, we would never make the time for it like we do here. Still, I had been feeling guilty, because I don’t think I’ve ever in my life felt like I prayed enough for others, or that it was good enough, but I had no idea what was “good enough”. Yesterday during the 1 ½ hour sermon entirely in Tamil (it was for pastor’s appreciation day… what a way to be appreciated) I had a lot of time to think and read my Bible though, and I came to Luke 11:1-13. This passage contains the Lord’s prayer, which is so simple and straight to the point. It made me think of the verse that talks about not babbling on and on like the pagans do. This passage also says to approach the throne with boldness, believing in what you ask. I think a lot of the time we don’t ask things, because we’re afraid of not receiving the answer we want. However, we know that if we do ask, God will answer, maybe not the way we had hoped, but he will answer. And we need to ask specifically, rather than just generalizing. Just because I pray “please bless Peter”, once more, does not make it happen. If we ask over and and over it’s almost like we’re not trusting that God actually hears and answers. And this frees me to pray for other people, rather than worrying that I did not pray for my mother to be blessed one more time. As for praying without ceasing, it’s more of just being aware that God is constantly there, and keeping Him present in every aspect of your life. Prayer is really about keeping the lines of communication with God open, something that is absolutely critical in every relationship. If I don’t talk to one of my friends for awhile, they’re still my friend, but we’ve lost something in that time we don’t talk. We can catch up, but we still missed out on a part of each others’ lives. I would really like to hear each of your thoughts on prayer and what it means in your lives!
In the CDC the kids get hit with rulers when their grades aren’t up to what the headmaster thinks they should be. At first I thought it was just their culture, a form of discipline I had to accept. But then the 6th standard kids took a test, and the average was 12 out of 50. Each one of them was hit and yelled at, and this I could not just accept, because somewhere the teaching had to have been wrong. If everyone was doing poorly, it could not just be the kids’ fault. This school is the only place most of these kids hear about God, and how is that showing God’s love at all? I don’t have the answers; this is just something all four of us have been struggling with here. I won’t be on for awhile probably… on Monday we embark on a 31 hour journey (3 hour car ride to the train, 27 hour train ride, and 1 hour ride to our hotel) to Mumbai. After we leave there we’re going to Karela, then to the mountain where Kingsley lives most of the year! We’ll be gone for 2 weeks and I may or may not have internet during that time. I love you all though, and will post again as soon as I can!

rebellion

2009-06-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have become a hellion while away. I am now driving motorcycles through the streets of India and have tattoos covering my hand, arm, and foot… ok fine, it’s henna, and it was a scooterish thing, but hey, when else have I been able to say that? The henna is actually amazing… Kingsley had a lady come do it for us that actually makes a living doing it! To do the four of us it took over four hours, but it looks so amazing! One of the girls also has large scribbles over her other arm… the teacher she works with in the CDC (Child Development Center) just took her hand one day during class and started working away, then when finished leaned back and proudly said, “My first time!”
A couple nights ago we went to pick up some more mosquito oil to try to combat the large red bumps that continually cover our bodies, even our eyelids, and the owner of the stand gave us “cracks” (firecrackers) to welcome us to India, so we set those off, then Kingsley taught us to drive the scooter. For those of you who have ever doubted my driving, I would like you to know that I’m the only one he actually lets drive it on the road, and he said I could drive his car, because “Thompson is a very good driver, I trust her very much!” (Everyone calls me Thompson because they just don’t get Aubrey)
Saturday there was a medical camp for all the CDC children. A big banner was strung with our faces blown up larger than they really are, and we really felt like celebrities or something. The only problem was we did basically nothing at this so-called medical camp… Jen and I, the nursing students, sat and watched the doctor, in order to absorb his knowledge I suppose. I actually hope I absorbed nothing though, because his diagnosis techniques were extremely sketch and he only used herbs tested on rats (I know all about them… he didn’t speak English so he just gave us the herb book to read) After approximately 2 hours of sitting watching him do whatever he was doing the kids were allowed to come talk to us, so we spent the next hour learning Tamil words (I know about 30 now), and singing with the kids, which was really awesome! The doctor worked for 7 hours, but thankfully we got to come inside about 4 to practice our songs for the next day… there were supposed to be 3 doctors but 2 had some sort of emergency.
Yesterday we drove for 3 hours to go to another church… the people there were wonderful and more of them spoke English, so we had a really great time with them! After many many pictures we went out to lunch in an auto (I’ll show you a picture if you ask) and then to a really cute little ice cream parlor with soft serve ice cream!! After the pastor showed us many home movie type things, we drove to another church where the service was on the roof during sunset!! Definitely in my top three favorite worship services ever! Think African American church worship to Indian songs… the piano player was absolutely AMAZING… who knew India had accomplished keyboardists? I asked him how he learned though and he said he asked God!! He didn’t even look at the keyboard, and everything was by ear. I was supposed to play the songs we sang, but somehow we lost the small scraps of paper that I had written the notes on, so I was (extremely wonderfully) unable to play! Afterward he had me play though and I played him How Great Thou Art, and he loved it so much he recorded it. He was just sure he could guess another song I knew, but unfortunately I know absolutely nothing else by memory, but I promised I would send him some recordings when I get back to America. During the service we each shared our testimonies, then they prayed for us and we prayed for them, and at the end they put towels around our shoulders and gave us gifts! The people here treat us like we’re queens, when really we’re nothing, and they are the ones we should be thanking and giving things to!! Before leaving training camp they warned us that many people don’t like Americans, but it is absolutely the opposite here…and I just don’t understand why. They also believe that our prayers mean more somehow, so person after person asks us to pray for them, but it’s absolutely our privilege! I want so much for God to absolutely break me of my pride while I’m here, to allow me to humble myself before others like I never have before.

falling in love

2009-06-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

I’m falling in love with people who give so selflessly, expecting absolutely nothing in return. I’m falling in love with people who live in contentment, in situations we would never dream of being acceptable. I’m falling in love with people who respect each other so much, but still know how to have fun, who still have amazing senses of humor. I’m falling in love with children who are so well-behaved, with such an intense desire to learn. I’m falling in love with people who still hold marriage as something sacred, people who don’t just reside in the same house, they truly love. I’m falling in love with a place where eating is an act of love and gratitude, rather than a selfish thing. I’m falling in love with a place where I don’t worry about running, about the way others see me, because everyone just loves. I’m falling in love with a place where a nap is an everyday occurrence, actually encouraged. I’m falling in love with people who know the meaning of Christian fellowship, who come together to eat and their conversation actually turns to God, something that rarely happens in our version of “Christian fellowship”. I’m falling in love with a place called India.

churidhars

2009-06-09T01:21:00.000-07:00

Well mother, I was beginning to feel like we made a dire mistake in not constructing those lovely skirts, considering I had 2 pairs of pants, and very luckily 2… I threw in the 2nd pair at the last minute, but finally 2 days ago we were finally able to go to Trichy to get some new clothes. The department store we went to was absolutely amazing! It was 4 floors full of Indian clothing, and was very much like old time dept stores… you picked out the things you wanted under the careful watch of a salesman, then they were somehow sent down to the bottom floor to be paid for and picked out there, so you were able to continue shopping! Complimentary coffee and tea were given, but not necessarily appreciated considering that Indian department stores do not have air conditioning…I am now the proud owner or 4 churidhars… I must say I felt somewhat silly as I flew down the road behind Kingsley on his motorcycle in my puffy purple pants, but I guess I look the part… except that my skin isn’t quite the right color.
We also went to a candy store while in Trichy and to eat lunch at a wonderful little air conditioned place where you ate off banana leaves. From Trichy we went to a little park with paddle boats and a very sketch swinging boat like the one at Frontier City… yes we rode it, and only by the grace of God am I still alive!
Sunday we were in charge of the children’s lesson, we sang 2 American songs and one Tamil song in the service while I played, 2 teammates shared their testimonies, and after the service we taught the youth a song. One boy named Eugene (who is 20… youth goes to 25 here) told me I look like Britany Spears… he also told one of my other teammates that she looks like Kate Winslet though, and she’s half Jewish, with dark brown hair and olive skin… not quite Kate Winslet, but close. That night we watched Slumdog Millionare with Kingsley, and he gave us his views on marriage and love… very different from the American point of view but very beautiful at the same time. After that we spent at least an hour on the roof… when I get home y’all better be ready to talk about God, where you’re at, the things you’re struggling with, the things God’s helping you with, on a regular basis, because I absolutely getting used to it and loving it. Love you all!!

America should learn from India

2009-06-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

3 days ago Kingsley let us sleep for 12 hours during the day, only waking us to eat what would be equivalant to a Ted's meal for every meal. We stayed up for about 3 more hours, then went back to sleep for the whole night! The next day we felt so much better though! After another huge breakfast we went to visit Kingsley's grandma with his wonderful sister ghetsy, then randomly dropped in to a Hindi family's house who rents from their family. They were so welcoming and gave us snacks and lemonade (much to the dismay of Kingsley who was just sure it was going to kill us, but we're all fine) and one of the daughters drew henna on our hands! After that Ghetsy taught us a song in Tamil we have to sing on Sunday, and I learned how to play it and a few more songs on the keyboard. After that we ate more food, rested, and then met the children at the school they run here! They were so adorable, and they had bought us roses for our hair! After that we were instructed to rest more (eat and rest are our basic commands), then we went to visit families from the church. We were supposed to go to 2 homes, but instead the 1st family we visited took us to a very sketch carnival!
After that we ate dinner and we were able to go up to the roof to talk about everything we had seen, but we also talked about the things we're struggling with and just other questions we have about God... it was ideal, absolutely ideal (movie?)
Today we worked on our devotionals we gave to the people we visited tonight... Kingsley really helped us and I finally realized that maybe I really could have my mom's gift of teaching... never thought that would happen! He taught us it's all about relating God to your life, and then back to the rest of the world. The people tonight were so wonderful! They gave us so much food but more than that love... love is something that transcends all language barriers... they actually gave us some nasty coconut milk straight out of the coconut at one house but I was very tricky and said I just had to have a picture of it, so I took it home with me and pinched my straw everytime I took a drink. Other than that I have not had any problems with the food, it really is good, but more than that it just means so much to the people that we eat or drink it!
Tonight Kingsley bought us all jasmine for our hair and one of the girls was very allergic to it, but when she told Kingsley he said no, it's not that, it's all the cold water! He tells us all the time that we drink way too much water, and that we would not be so full and would have better digestion if we did not. All the fried foods we eat are "good for your health!" India is wonderful though... the people here are amazing and I can't remember the last time I felt such a closeness to God... but I'm coming to realize while my relationship with God is important we need to share much much more with other people than we do... everyone has struggles, but we are so selfish and prideful we only worry about what's going on with us, without thinking about how what we're going through could really benefit others. We all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses... we need to share all of them.
ps I'm not going to be on e-mail or facebook barely ever... Kingsley has an addiction to facebook that rivals mine, so computer time is limited, but I have no problem with that :)

journey to India!!

2009-06-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

At about noon on Saturday we headed out from training camp back to El Paso to have a final seminar and an AMAZING prayer walk... 2 1/2 hours of prayer is really something I should try more often. The next morning we left the church at 4:30 to head to the airport! We had a fairly long layover in Chicago but that was nice because I got to talk to my family one last time! From there we flew to Brussels, Belgium on an awesome airplane. I got to sit next to the cutest little Indian boy named Kevin! That flight was 8 hours long but with the constant good and personal tvs the time flew. Because the date changed while we were in the air we were not given our tickets from Belgium to India in the states, so we had to go through customs and security again in Brussels, and even though we were running as fast as we could to the farthest possible gate in the airport, we still arrived at our gate with not even one minute to spare!! We really didn't think we were gonna make it (ps Miriam, we forgot about the time change when we thought we had longer). We finally stepped on our plane though and from that moment on things were different... it smelled different, it looked different, the flight attendents were all Asian, and we were definitely in the minority (we saw 3 other white people). The food they gave us was definitely Indian, but, at least for the first meal, we were pleasantly surprised how much we liked it! On this flight they had tons of movies to watch, so this flight went very quickly as well.
When we got to Chennai we made it through customs (in a rather untimely manner), then made a stop at our first Indian washroom! It really wasn't bad though... working in the fields taught me well!
When we finally managed to push our way through fro our baggage we stepped outside and were greeted by a wave of heat and a mass of people behind a gate, almost like you see in Holocaust movies, except these people were all yelling and were very brightly colored. Thankfully Kingsley, our site coordinator, had a YIM sign though, and we spotted him very quickly and jumped into the 70s style air conditioned van he had rented for us! Driving in India is CRAZY. No one uses signals and they just push their way through, honking all the way. The lines mean basically nothing on the road.
After about 20 minutes of complete amazement as we drove through the city we made it to our hotel place. It was about 1:30 AM Chennai time, so we tried to go to sleep but the actual sleeping was limited at best. Thankfully the next morning we had a hot shower though, well really a shower head in the middle of the washroom, and a very American breakfast of eggs and toast (mom you would have loved it). Kingsley told us what we'll be doing here over breakfast (Jen and I will be helping at a med clinic one day a week, we'll be teaching English, and cleaning the streets with the children). He also told us that at the end of the month we get to go with him to Mumbai for district NYI, so maybe we'll get to see the Mumbai YIM team!! Kingsley shared a lot with us over breakfast, including his testimony,... he wanted to be a vet but God called him to ministry! He's only 25 and extremely nice!
After breakfast we left for St. Thomas's tomb with a local pastor and his 13 year old extremely intelligent and funny chatterbox of a son! At the tomb we had to pay to use our cameras, but it was a very neat experience... rather commercialized but neat! From there we went to get some juice at a little outdoor restaurant where the waiters all wore belt buckles with $ on them. Then we went to the zoo, but apparently animals need a day of rest, and the chosen day is Tuesday! We then went to eat lunch and we got to try all different kinds of Indian food, but it was actually really really good! We also ate with our hands for the first time, which was surprisingly successful!
From there we went to another town and got to do a little shopping, and visit some stone carvings, where some adorable little girls came up and asked us for a photo, then the whole huge family joined in with us and thanked us over and over! We also were able to walk to the beach from there! For Indians it was 20 cents to get in, but for foreigners 5.00! The beach was beautiful though... all the women wore Saris, but they still just let themselves get wet! No one really swam, but according to Sam I was not having any fun because I wouldn't let my skirt get wet! Men were racing around on horseback all over the beach, and the vendors extended clear to the water! By this time it was over 100 degrees, but it just reminded me of OK!
From there we went to watch a very sketch sea lion show, where Jen, Kingsley, and I volunteered and instead of the sea lion doing something cool it just splashed us!
When we got back to our hotel we cleaned up, ate dinner, then headed out for the train to go to Kingsley's town. The train station is really indescribable... soooo many people!! The train was actually a sleeper train though! Not quite like white Christmas, but the beds were much appreciated! However, I didn't sleep more than 2 hours, so I'm running on 16 hours of sleep in the last 4 nights... I think I will now go take a nap!! I love and miss you all!!!!!!!

Training Camp

2009-05-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

So we haven't even left for India yet, and this trip has been absolutely amazing. Even if we saw absolutely nothing happen in India (which I am confident won't be the case) the past few days have made this trip completely worth it. I have never experienced such a constant, driven focus on God, because we're all here for the same purposes. The girls on my team are absolutely wonderful... we're all very different but we were without a doubt brought together for a reason. I've seen so many ways God has been preparing me for this experience through this past year, things I never would have guessed would have any significance in India. At times I've doubted how much control God really does have over my life, but this trip is completely in His hands. The people I've met here truly inspire me, and I can't wait to see the ways God is going to continue allowing me to grow... I can only imagine considering the amazing ways He has shown Himself to me in just 2 days! What would it be like if I lived my life this focused on Him everyday, with the support of such a sincere body of believers?

While this time at training camp has been absolutely amazing I know that there will rough times, and that satan will definitely attack when we leave this support system, so please pray for each of the girls on my team, that we can remain close and grounded in the Lord. God has shown me over and over this week that He has such amazing things planned for me through this summer, and no matter what we do while in India, whether it's just learning about another culture and promoting awareness when we return, whether it's working in orphanages, or whether it's simply building each other up, this experience is a total blessing... yes, I will be blessing others, but I will absolutely be blessed as well.

2009-05-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

So here we go... I leave tomorrow for training camp, then India on Sunday! People keep asking me exactly what I'm doing, exactly where I'm going, exactly who I'm staying with. But basically the answer is "I'm really not sure.... ". Some people think that's crazy, but the unknown is what makes this exciting! Also, things are bound to change, and to not be exactly like i had them planned in my mind anyway. I used to be a big planner, but change from my plans kind of stressed me out, so mostly i just go with the flow now. Which is the plan for India.

There's so many people I'll miss so much here, but the girls on my team seem absolutely amazing, and I really can't wait. God has something planned huge planned for our time there... i may not know what it is for months, and i may never know, but i do know I will come back changed, if I will allow Him to change me.

so I'm going to India

2009-02-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

Growing up I always knew I would do youth in mission. I just assumed I would go somewhere with a beach when I was younger though, because I mean really, who doesn't want to go to the beach? Then as I got older I feel in love with the Spanish language, and was just sure that I would go somewhere taht spoke Spanish, and come back fluent (and maybe get to go to the beach at the same time). But that wasn't what God had planned for me. As I began filling out my Youth In Mission application multiple things kept drawing me towards India. This came as somewhat of a shock, since India had never before even been a consideration. But I just couldn't get past it, so India became my number one choice, and that's where I got accepted! At the time I applied I still wasn't really sure why I was supposed to go to India, and I know I still can't even comprehend the things God has planned for me, but more and more I know I'm headed to the right place. We didn't know what we would actually be doing in our respective sites until we had already been accepted to them, but each thing at this site seems to be tailored to my passions. It will be very hands on, and I will even get to work in a medical clinic! I can't wait to see the way God is going to use my teammates and me during these two months!
I probably won't write on here much until it gets closer to my departure time, but thank you to anyone who reads this for your support and prayers!!