Friday, October 31, 2008
He will provide rest for our souls....
One of the little girls from the orphanage went home with her mom to visit her sick sister about a week ago. Her mom is a prostitute and we found out the other day that the precious girl is nearing the age that they take girls for prostitution so we're worried she won't come back. please pray hard with us that she is returned to the orphanage. I don't have my thoughts pulled together enough to form a coherent post. i wish i did though. We've been spending some praying for the red light district here in Delhi. A pastor came by the other day and shared with us a little information about it. I am outraged. Women are held as slaves there in rooms the size of most of our closets. Their children are usually living in the same "room" that they do business in. I am at a loss of words here. A few of the children at the orphanage were taken from the red light district in Delhi. I am blown away by them. One of them kept made me pretend chai and drank it with me yesterday afternoon. It was pretty good considering it only took him 1 seciond to make it. He loves to laugh. He had on a ridiculous fluffy leopard print sweater the other day, it's probably one of the only ones he has so it was hard not to laugh at how funny he looked in that sweater and his little blue shorts. Please pray for fund raising for their Christmas party. :)
Friday, October 24, 2008
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone that I told I would update this blog regularly. Finding a good connection here is ridiculous. Maybe you’ve all stopped reading this by now…. But hopefully not!
The children at the orphanage have a time of prayer and worship every afternoon, and it is humbling to be a part of. One of the children stands in the front of the room and the rest sit down facing the front. They mostly pray in hindi, but for the past few days they’ve said a little in English. I’ve been wondering what they’re praying for, thinking they’re asking for huge blessings, praying for the Lord to do crazy things. So the oldest boy at the orphanage lead prayer time in English the other day and this is what they said:
The Lord has given us life today and He has kept us safe, so let us worship Him.
The Lord has given us shelter and food so let us worship Him.
Then they pray for their Auntie and Uncle (the parents of the orphanage), for their learning in school, for everyone who supports them, for the two staff, for the team and for our families and for the Lords provision.
They are so simple and grateful. I am humbled by them. We got ice cream today and it was the first time for a lot of them. The staff and the parents here barely get any time to themselves. They get up before five, get the children ready, feed them breakfast, have prayer time, and once the kids leave for school there is lunch to prepare, a baby and three little ones to look after, laundry, cleaning, and all of this on top of the administrative work it takes to run an orphanage.
Here’s the thing, these children will not have anything for Christmas this year unless our team raises the money for them. The group of people who normally raise support for them cannot come this year, so it’s up to us. These children are our brothers and sisters. How many of us would let our little brothers and sisters go without anything on Christmas? Here’s what they need: winter clothes, blankets, a bunk bed, winter school uniforms. They need the basics. As believers we are adopted in to one family with one Father. 2 Corinthians 6:18, “And I will be a Father to you and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Our family stretches across the ocean and across language and skin color, and our own personal preferences. So here’s you can do to help your brothers and sisters out this Christmas: get together with your friends or with strangers and put in however much you can afford or maybe more than you can afford and send it to this address:
First United Methodist Church
301 South Main St.
PO Box 35
Randleman, NC 27317
Make checks out to First United Methodist Church
Please write "orphan Christmas" in the memo line of the check
All of the money will go towards Christmas gifts for the two orphanages and their staff that we are involved with here. James 1:27: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”
The children at the orphanage have a time of prayer and worship every afternoon, and it is humbling to be a part of. One of the children stands in the front of the room and the rest sit down facing the front. They mostly pray in hindi, but for the past few days they’ve said a little in English. I’ve been wondering what they’re praying for, thinking they’re asking for huge blessings, praying for the Lord to do crazy things. So the oldest boy at the orphanage lead prayer time in English the other day and this is what they said:
The Lord has given us life today and He has kept us safe, so let us worship Him.
The Lord has given us shelter and food so let us worship Him.
Then they pray for their Auntie and Uncle (the parents of the orphanage), for their learning in school, for everyone who supports them, for the two staff, for the team and for our families and for the Lords provision.
They are so simple and grateful. I am humbled by them. We got ice cream today and it was the first time for a lot of them. The staff and the parents here barely get any time to themselves. They get up before five, get the children ready, feed them breakfast, have prayer time, and once the kids leave for school there is lunch to prepare, a baby and three little ones to look after, laundry, cleaning, and all of this on top of the administrative work it takes to run an orphanage.
Here’s the thing, these children will not have anything for Christmas this year unless our team raises the money for them. The group of people who normally raise support for them cannot come this year, so it’s up to us. These children are our brothers and sisters. How many of us would let our little brothers and sisters go without anything on Christmas? Here’s what they need: winter clothes, blankets, a bunk bed, winter school uniforms. They need the basics. As believers we are adopted in to one family with one Father. 2 Corinthians 6:18, “And I will be a Father to you and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Our family stretches across the ocean and across language and skin color, and our own personal preferences. So here’s you can do to help your brothers and sisters out this Christmas: get together with your friends or with strangers and put in however much you can afford or maybe more than you can afford and send it to this address:
First United Methodist Church
301 South Main St.
PO Box 35
Randleman, NC 27317
Make checks out to First United Methodist Church
Please write "orphan Christmas" in the memo line of the check
All of the money will go towards Christmas gifts for the two orphanages and their staff that we are involved with here. James 1:27: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I still haven’t had much time to gather my thoughts so sorry that this might be a little scattered. Last night our rickshaw driver couldn’t have been more than 12 years old. He was tiny. Everything in me hated the fact that this child was taking us to our house. The only thing I could offer him was prayer. Every time we go to the market we’re faced with such deep poverty. Little kids follow us around begging for money. To be honest it gets really annoying after a while, what’s most frustrating about it is that I have no clue how to respond to this. We’re not supposed to give them money because most beggars work for a pimp who will take their money at the end of the day, and if you give money to one person you will soon have a small crowd of beggars expecting you to give them money as well. I could buy them food, but the same thing happens there as well. It’s hard to spend time with someone who is begging because we’re usually in the market to get something and leave, and then there’s the language barrier. I don’t think Jesus would just throw cash at someone, but what would He have me do?
I think I mentioned that my team is working at Asha Mission. This orphanage is about a year old and is run by an amazing couple. They treat these kids as if they are their own. It is beautiful to witness. Some of the kids have one or two parents who are still alive but are unable or unwilling to care for them, but at Asha Mission they have a family with the strongest foundation. They have the same Father, who went to the most ridiculous extreme to show them that He LOVES them.
Yesterday morning I got up to spend time with the Lord, but something was off. I tried to read and couldn’t, I tried to listen to music and journal and pray but I was so distracted and unsettled. Then I stopped DOING everything and just sat there. The Lord was just asking me to simply Be in His presence. I felt like He was looking at me saying- What are you doing? Just sit with me, you don’t always have to be doing so much. I don’t know how to describe it, but I like that He just wanted me to sit with Him like a friend.
I’m learning a lot from the other leader I’m here with. We’ve been in a conversation about love on and off for a while because of what the Lord is teaching her, which is so rich to me. Here’s the question I’m asking myself, Do my actions flow from intimacy with and love for Jesus, am I responding to His love or just doing, doing, doing? If my actions don’t flow from intimacy with the Lord than they’re worthless and I need to stop dead in my tracks. At the end of the day Jesus is it, He is my life, so if I’m not getting everything from Him than what am I doing? The Lord knows my heart better than I do; I’m praying His truth will guide me.
I really am shocked each morning that this team hasn’t voted me off the island. They are such a gift and a picture of God’s grace to me. On an unrelated note there was a mouse in my bed the other day and a random Indian man looking in our window. I screamed out of fright at the Indian man who was completely unfazed and held out his hand like I was being ridiculous which was uncalled for on his part.
I think I mentioned that my team is working at Asha Mission. This orphanage is about a year old and is run by an amazing couple. They treat these kids as if they are their own. It is beautiful to witness. Some of the kids have one or two parents who are still alive but are unable or unwilling to care for them, but at Asha Mission they have a family with the strongest foundation. They have the same Father, who went to the most ridiculous extreme to show them that He LOVES them.
Yesterday morning I got up to spend time with the Lord, but something was off. I tried to read and couldn’t, I tried to listen to music and journal and pray but I was so distracted and unsettled. Then I stopped DOING everything and just sat there. The Lord was just asking me to simply Be in His presence. I felt like He was looking at me saying- What are you doing? Just sit with me, you don’t always have to be doing so much. I don’t know how to describe it, but I like that He just wanted me to sit with Him like a friend.
I’m learning a lot from the other leader I’m here with. We’ve been in a conversation about love on and off for a while because of what the Lord is teaching her, which is so rich to me. Here’s the question I’m asking myself, Do my actions flow from intimacy with and love for Jesus, am I responding to His love or just doing, doing, doing? If my actions don’t flow from intimacy with the Lord than they’re worthless and I need to stop dead in my tracks. At the end of the day Jesus is it, He is my life, so if I’m not getting everything from Him than what am I doing? The Lord knows my heart better than I do; I’m praying His truth will guide me.
I really am shocked each morning that this team hasn’t voted me off the island. They are such a gift and a picture of God’s grace to me. On an unrelated note there was a mouse in my bed the other day and a random Indian man looking in our window. I screamed out of fright at the Indian man who was completely unfazed and held out his hand like I was being ridiculous which was uncalled for on his part.
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