Making Up for Lost Time

Well, it has been quiet here in blog land this week...mostly due to a lack of internet availability.  But also because my focus has been on being here, being present, being in the moment.  

There are SO many stories to share and I hope that we will have several different perspectives posted here for you to read. I've been trying for single day synopses to keep you in the loop, but each day has held so much within it that I don't know that we can ever fully capture this trip.

I have learned that I shouldn't really blog about things because then they happen!  Earlier I ended a post about traveling to the conference and praying that it was uneventful...the next day, it took us all day to reach our destination that should have been a total of 5 hours (flight and drive time)!  I also wrote about the beauty of being flexible...then our ENTIRE schedule got rearranged due to the planned strikes and lack of ability to get out of the country on Saturday.  Now, I'm leery of sharing my thoughts!

There have been so many lessons learned on this trip - but full reliance on God and His plan is first and foremost.  There have been some moments when we could have been fearful or anxious, yet we were at total peace.  There were times when we had no idea what was coming next, yet we knew that we would be guided.  We have been very well taken care of on this trip.  We have had nice lodging, lots of food (everything here is a "gravy"), and safety!

God has orchestrated every single step we have taken - it is utterly and completely obvious and everyone here can see it.  We have spoken often of how many people are praying for us and that we can see the favor of God on this trip.  Please do not quit praying just because our formalized ministry part is over.  There is still time for us to encounter others that need His love and we are more than willing to share it!  

We have 24 more hours on Indian soil while here in Bangalore...then our 27 hour trek back home...still a long ways away!  More blog posts will come...after sleep!

Endless Days, Enduring Drive, Enamored Devotion

It's MY (Holly) turn to write!

Until now, I have been too captivated by my surroundings to focus on writing and sharing this adventure with you.  But after the endless day yesterday, I have to share.

Since landing in the country of India, the time diffference and lack of sleep have not been a concern for me.  I feel like I have stepped into a whole other realm.  So, let me try and explain.

Rough terrain, hours in a vehicle, and a couple of hours of sleep; to get in a plane for a couple of hours, drive what was supposed to be two hours, ended up to be in the midst of a riot, which delayed our destination and detoured our van down one road which caused us to back up in reverse nearly 6 blocks to get away from that area.  We turned down an alley thinking we could go forward to get out of the riot (fighting over the possible division of the state of Andrha Predesh) realizing the road didn't go through. We nearly hit a man on a scooter when we heard the thud of his hand hit the side of our van.  Our precious pastor, John, who was with us, in his Indian tongue said "so souddy, so souddy (sorry)".  We take another turn into yet another road block.  

At this point, we have been in the van for 4 1/2 hours and I have to pee SO bad that I nearly wet my pants! I even considered using a ziploc baggie as a toilet!  One of our detours ended up in an alley in front of what "HAPPENED" to be the home of recent converts to Christianity.  Pastor John hopped out of the van and went to ask if a couple of us could use their bathroom.  They graciously agreed and we ran to their home.  I took off my shoes at the front door and made my way to the squatty potty, hole in the floor.  On the way out they asked, "would you pree for us?" and pray I did.  

Before I go on, I first have to tell you all of the images that are in my mind as well as my camera, but I want to interpret what I saw from my heart.  It was the boy with the bat that caused my eyes to well with tears after seeing so much filth, dirt, trash, huts, and half-clothed people; rice fields with laborers working diligently for, who knows, wages or maybe a plate of food; and women in sarees walking, some barefoot, some with tattered flip-flops, some with vessels of water sitting desparately on their heads as they make their way to who knows where.  The images brought a flood gate of tears to my eyes in this six hour drive through these many villages and towns before we arrived at our final destination.  My eyes were fixed out my window taking in all that I feel like God wanted me to see.  But it was the boy with the bat...........

On what should have been a two hour drive, I feel that God delayed "the time" once again so that my eyes would open.  "What do you want me to see?", I asked God.  "Besides what is obvious?"  After wearing out a camera battery for the hundreds of pictures I took along the way, then stealing Candy's camera and adding another few hundred, I realized it wasn't about the pictures, it was what penetrated my heart.  These people do not know the difference of what I so commonly take for granted.  First, my love for God because I only have One and not a billion (we saw many temples along the road with creature-like gods).  And second, my simple, common wealth.  I have a washing machine and don't have to beat my clothes along the banks of the river; I buy groceries at a store with a concrete floor instead of a tin roof sitting on 4 sticks to cover the produce picked by the merchant.  I'm blessed.  We're blessed.  

So, about the boy with the bat.  It wasn't a bat at all, at least not like we know.  It was a really fat stick and he was in a muddy, patchy-grassed field with other boys laughing, hitting this ball, and jumping.  Then I realized his stick. He doesn't notice that it doesn't have "value" like those we buy in America, but it does have value to him and his friends as they enjoy their time together.  Even after we drove past, his image sticks in my head and it is still there. I don't know if he loves his life, but I love it that God has placed me here to see that He can bring hope to a nation, a place, to depravation.  Not because of me, not because of the team, but because of Him.  

What if surroundings never change?  But a heart can.  That changes everything.

I have to go get ready now...we begin the conference today.  I am the first to speak and as hundreds of pairs of eyes will stare back at me, I can only pray that God will use me, a willing vessel, to share His words and His love to change a heart.

India Gospel League

Our Monday was spent touring some of the facilities and grounds of the India Gospel League (IGL).  We were able to get a very quick glance across the spectrum of services and work that they do.

We started with a walking tour of the campus which includes:

* primary, secondary, and community college schools

* hospital for cancer and other terminally ill patients

* Sewing center to make items for resale in the city

* Concrete block and steel manufacturing

* Monkeys

Yep, monkeys.  And we were all pretty darn excited about those goofy little creatures playing in the trees!  I can't wait to post pictures for you! 

We then went into town to see the offices of IGL.  They currently have 50 or so employees in the home office and they greeted us warmly with flower leis that were beautiful and aromatic!

After meeting them all and hearing from them about what they do in the rural settings, we were able to shop for a few things that had been made in their development centers...of course, we couldn't pass any of that up!  The guys with us were definitely done with our shopping excursion more quickly than we were!  

Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity to meet the head honcho for IGL, Rev. Sam Stephens as our schedule and his schedule have both changed...flexibility is the key to life! But we have gotten to spend time with his wife, Prati, and she continues on with us to the conference so we will get to know her better!  

Tomorrow is more travel to get to the conference site so we pray that it is uneventful!  Thank you all for continuing to pray!

-Candy Girl

Oh the Life!

I've decided that Nadia Comaneci* must have been a missionary...there is no other training that she could have done to get her to be that flexible! 

*For those of you who don't know who Nadia is, please use Google.

Our team walked into this trip knowing the schedule that we had been presented would probably change,  so we should have seen this coming. But when you "expect the unexpected", but you already expected it, the change is compounded.  I'm sure I've lost most of you with all of that verbiage, but welcome to our world!

First, the change on Saturday night at dinner to have Holly preach, Brenda sing, and the rest of us participate in the service on Sunday morning instead of just attend a service.  We handled it like pros!  Then the news came that our in country travel route was changing...no biggie, just as long as we get there on time!  But, that change caused us to have to shorten our already brief stay  in Salem at the IGL campus and increased our time on the road by a couple of hours to return to Bangalore to fly to Vijayawada and then travel to Akividu...we will arrive there much earlier than planned this way - and we get to enjoy a shortened sleep as we leave for the airport at 4:30 am!  

The upside to this is that we will have time to get acclimated to our new accommodations and hopefully rest a bit before beginning an intense 3 days of teaching!  We only left home 4 days ago...yet it seems that we have been gone at least 5 (sarcasm...it's seemed like a week or so though).  I wish we could have had more time with the kids at IGL in Sharon, but am expecting much from our main focus of the conference!  Prayers are greatly appreciated on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!

- Pretzel Girl (Candy)

The Spirit of The Lord

Our day began just like any other "normal' Sunday morning:  We awoke refreshed in our cozy Salem beds, ate our breakfasts and put on our "Sunday best."  Pratti Stephens had told us we'd be ministering at a village church.  That's where "normal" ended.

After a 45 minute drive, we arrived at a pretty little chapel, already filled with the sounds of singing and clapping.  We were escorted to the stage and sat in a neat row of plastic chairs while the congregation sat on grass mats on the floor.

As I sat down, I was literally rendered breathless by the sight: 100 pairs of beautiful Indian eyes staring back at me.  It seemed as though those eyes were saying, "Please. Come. We've been waiting so long to hear from The Lord. Bring us a word."



Time seemed to stand still but yet it rushed on and two hours later, it was over.  Pastor Abel introduced Pratti in glowing terms and Pratti in turn introduced the team.  I (Brenda) was called upon to sing a song.  I gave a short testimony and then launched into an old spiritual, "Give Me Jesus." As I sang a capella, the pastor tried to join in on the keyboard.  Let's just say it was the shortest rendition of that song I've ever been blessed to share!

Holly was called upon to preach and preach she did!  She poured out God's Word on the people from Isaiah 61.  My tears began to flow as she implored the congregation to "proclaim freedom" and "bind up the brokenhearted."  I saw women near the front begin to weep as they took those words to heart.  I have no way of knowing why they wept and for whom, but they wept.

As Holly concluded, Pratti and Pastor Abel invited the congregation forward for prayer and blessings.   The aisle filled as they streamed forward toward us.  The team moved among and through the congregation, praying with individuals and families.  Mothers brought their children forward so that we could bless them and pray for them.  It was an experience beyond expression.  I had no idea why they came forward and they had no idea what I was praying, but God did.  That's all that matters.

If nothing else happens for the rest of this trip, today's church experience was worth every bit of time and effort and money that you gave to make this trip possible.  The Spirit of The Lord came upon them and they, and we, will never be the same.

Tomorrow:  Bangalore again!

Goodnight from Brenda!

Only God...

Only God could coordinate our steps to be in this place at this hour.  

Only God would know the words and actions to encourage us and challenge us.

Only God could cause us to be the right vessels for this task (which we are still watching unfold).

Only God.

Well, I (Candy Girl) am writing this after yet another long day of travel!  I am thanking The Lord for wi-fi just next door so that I can write and publish from my bed in Salem!  It's late here and around noon back home.  

Today's travels began in Bangalore at our hotel after a breakfast of traditional Indian food - including tomato soup!  We got into our van that comfortably held our team and today our luggage rode on top of the van...."someone" had a bag that required 3 men to lift it up top!  What we thought was going to be about a 5 hour trip somehow turned into nearly 8!  We did get to stop for lunch at a nice hotel along the way and enjoyed a buffet of traditional food - some of the team is tolerating the spicy food while others inhale it like there may not be another meal!  Thankfully, we are all still healthy and feeling well.

We arrived at India Gospel League's headquarterrs at Salem and were warmly greeted.  The students of the school run by IGL performed a welcome program for us including little ones that recited Scripture, gave testimonies, and danced.  There were over 200 little faces staring at us!  We handed out gifts to each child; the boys got a bouncy ball and sticker while the girls got a bead necklace and sticker.  They loved them and we thoroughly enjoyed being around them and being able to spend just a brief time with each of their smiling faces and dark brown eyes!

We ate a late  dinner and learned from our host what our Sunday could look like!  We will be heading away from Salem to a village church that was planted by IGL.  Our plan was to go and just worship with those in that place, but during dinner conversation, it was determined that our team would lead the service.  Well, it was a bit quicker than expected and it is a wide open door to share about the POWER that the Holy Spirit can have in our lives!  Holly will be preaching and I know that she would greatly appreciate your prayers (it would be around 11 pm central on Saturday night) and Brenda will more than likely sing during the service also!

Other than that, we don't know what's ahead...blind faith brought us here and we will allow it to continue to lead us through this journey!  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers...your support means so much!  Nundri!

-Candy Girl

We Have Arrived!!!

8-23-13

There isn't much to say about the day that never really happened for us!  We left Wichita on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Bangalore on Saturday morning, so Friday was spent in the air and crossing 10 1/2 hours of time zones.  

Four of the five ladies in our team and our "son", Nathan, met at the Wichita airport and spent a little time with family and friends that came to see us off.  It was good to see the support and pray together with those that we were leaving at home.  

All of our flights ran on time and we were able to grab a final "American cheeseburger" in Houston for Nathan since he will be gone for 3 months!  

Our stop over in Frankfurt was brief enough to find our next gate and use the 30 minutes of free wi-fi and then board the next flight.  We had excellent service and arrived into !ndia on time and with expectation.  As we stood in line for our visas to be checked, we were welcomed by a huge lit up billboard with the "Wizard of Oz" characters on it!  It was an advertisement for a digital audio company or something, but it was just like God to show us something familiar as we stepped on Indian soil for the first time!  

We met up with our 5th teammate, Stephanie, who has been in Mumbai, India for the past week and a half doing other mission work.  She was outside the airport and yet another familiar sight as we embark on this journey.  Our IGL representative was Asaph and he took great care in getting us situated with transportation and to our hotel.

After a short, yet restful night, we are preparing to step out into the next phase of this journey and travel to Salem where we will see the campus of IGL and learn even more about the heart of this ministry that we are coming to support.

Adventure and revelations await!

Team !ndia 2013 - Meet the team!

!NDIA

August 22-September 1

With our passports in hand and our visas stamped and approved by the Consulate, Team India is about to take FLIGHT! We will depart from Wichita on August 22, 2013.

TOTAL DEDICATION

Team India became official in early March and we agreed that our first compelling call is to PRAY. So, each and every Monday we met downtown at the boathouse by the “RIVER”. The first time we gathered, a rolling thunderstorm came pounding in on us and a tornado warning was in the forecast. We remained on the porch of the boathouse until the weather broke. We realized that choosing to go on a short term mission trip is to first make a decision to step outside of our comfort zone and lay all expectations toward what you think or how you feel behind. We have been determined to become unified no matter what! Before we step foot on India soil, we knew, prayer is the most important part of our journey.

A CALL TO SERVE

As we travel to India, we will land in Bangalore and then continue on to Salem, where we will learn the legacy of this mission which was established in the 1800's by a Hindu who forsook his religion and put all his faith and trust in seeking JESUS. From one man's act of obedience, God established a Christian ministry now in its fourth generation of leadership under Rev. Samuel Stephens. It is there, in Salem, that we will begin to acclimate to our new surroundings. We will worship with them, love on them and embrace their children, many of whom have been adopted by the IGL organization.  After becoming better acclimated with the surroundings and realizing we are no longer in Kansas, we will fly to Vijayawada, and then travel to Akividu, Andhra Pradesh where the women will be waiting for us to assist them in leading in a positive REVOLUTION movement which was launched in 1996.  It is here that we will assist and lead in a conference, Women with a Mission. Honestly, we have no idea what is waiting for us there, but we go expectant and ready to serve.

UNREACHED PEOPLE

We will share our time with indigenous women, liberated by the power of God in forsaken villages. IGL has reached over 50,000 women believers to date and is steadily growing. We are only five women from Wichita who will be a part of the continual seed which was planted in love, long before we decided to say “Yes”. We will go. But GO we must.

FIVE WOMEN AND A 'SON'

THE WOMEN (shown left to right in the photo)

Holly Miller was introduced to Dr. Paul Goddard, our Mission Pastor, in January of this year. He asked if I would be interested in leading a team to India. After a testament in  singing solo songs of “Send me” and “I've been Changed” there was not a reason to say no. The answer resulted in a positive yes, and the group began to form.

Julie Chippeaux was the first approached by me at Burgers, Bibles, and Blessings (CCC's mission for the homeless) by passing her a post-it note and on it was written the word, INDIA. All I said was “pray about it.” She acknowledged with a big head nod and said yes to the call to go that very same day!

Stephanie London, with a burning desire for India since 2006, was asked and she didn't even hesitate. Her answer was: “Well of course, you know I've always wanted to go!” Stephanie will be in Mumbai, India for 2 weeks with another mission from New York before uniting with the team in Bangalore.

Brenda Neuhaus is a dedicated member of Pathway Church, located on the West side of Wichita. She heard a pastor and his wife speak about India which planted in her the desire to go. Brenda committed to travel with women she did not know to the other side of the world  and the rest of the team has grown to know her and love her. She never wavered once she committed.

Candice Anderson, (Candy Girl), last but not least.  She is always willing and always ready to serve.  She answered with 'you know I am always willing to do what God is calling me to do.' Our photographer (including this team picture) and our 'go to gal',....she is fixed and set for serving. 

THE HEART OF A SON

Nathan Hansen is the 'son'. He will travel with the team and remain in India until November.  Graduating from high school just this year, his mission-minded, compassionate heart is to 'Love the least' as his email address plainly suggests. What a blessing he will be to the people of India!

This is TEAM INDIA, please pray for us as we, G O!!

- Holly