!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
No comments:
Post a Comment