Life Through the Eyes of a Child

This is JesLeah...2 1/2 year old daughter of Pastor John and Leah in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.  John and Leah are church planters turned leadership for India Gospel League (IGL) in Andhra Pradesh and they work tirelessly to spread the Gospel.

We first met them in the van that picked us up at the Vijayawada airport the day before the conference. JesLeah was just recovering from a sickness and was tired and cuddly...and wanted NOTHING to do with the 5 white women that wanted to invade her space!  She was curious of course, but didn't want to interact with us. I tried to play peek-a-boo between the seats with her, but every time I caught her looking back at us, she turned around and would fall asleep on her mother's lap.

I took it as my personal goal to get her to like me and play with me before we left India!  I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I was determined!  Luckily there were 5 of us working on her so it didn't take too long!

On the first morning of the conference, we were greeted with this!  Still shy and not wanting to interact with us, but more more bold and happy!

 Sitting on the front row of the church with her mom, Leah, who had coordinated the conference, JesLeah was directly in my line of sight the entire time!  Sometimes I got shy smiles and sometimes I was completely ignored, but I wasn't ready to give up hope yet!  I started taking note of how JesLeah was seeing the world and was fascinated.

**Side note, I love little kids. A lot.  I work with them every day at school for a reason.  I see them interact with each other and with adults all of the time.  I know their natural progression of learning and how absorbent they are when they are young.  But these two little girls taught me a lot of object lessons in the 2 days that we were together!**

As a young child, I remember being just like this.  Standing on the pew and looking at everyone around me to make sure I was doing "church" right.  These little eyes saw EVERYTHING and she took it all in without saying much at all. 

                                                  

This picture embodies the Scripture in Proverbs 22..."train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it".  With parents in the ministry, JesLeah is going to be surrounded with God-fearing people all of her life and she will be taught the things of God.  My prayer for her is that she will embrace the love of her Heavenly Father as she does her earthly father and will not turn away from the lifestyle she's been raised in.

Her mother's parents are both deceased and Pratibha has taken Leah under her wing as a daughter so JesLeah is her adopted granddaughter.  You can see the joy in JesLeah's face at being with grandmother, but then she squirmed down off her lap and ran around!

As a soloist came up to sing a song that JesLeah knew, the preacher's kid got up on the stage and grabbed a microphone to sing along!  She completely upstaged the beautiful woman that was sharing her heart in song and loved every second of the attention!

We were able to get to know John, Leah, and JesLeah better during our lunch breaks at the conference.  We learned more of their story and of the miracle of life that JesLeah is.  Told by the doctors to remove the "tumor" that was growing in her, Leah knew to trust and wait on the Lord.  When she was born, they were told not to take any pictures because JesLeah was sick and wouldn't live.  As you can tell even by still photographs, this spunky 2 1/2 year old is alive and well!  She even tells people at this age that she is going to be a missionary doctor when she grows up!

As we were praying over our hostess after lunch, this sweet child's face held me entranced...the sincerity of her face says it all.  Her childlike faith is a lesson to us all.

Needless to say, we were able to finally wear down her walls!  She acted like many other 2 year olds I know before too long!  Her mother would tell her to do something and she did the opposite!  She was asked to sit down and she got up and ran!  It's just how it happens sometimes!

JesLeah speaks multiple languages already in her young age...I only know English.  But I do know the language of smiles and tickles is fairly universal without much explaining!  And just like all kids...they love the tickles, then want down to run away, only to come back for more!

And because my "friends" were so kind to capture this moment on film, I'll share it with the rest of you.  This little monkey brought me a cookie during tea time and then wanted to dance!  I had the cookie in my mouth just like she did and we mirrored each other's movements for a good 5 minutes before we were both laughing too much to continue.  

This picture was taken during our final moments with JesLeah.  And this photo speaks volumes to me in a physical and spiritual way.  This little girl is in and out of many homes and churches and doesn't have a true schedule to her day.  She comes into contact with so many people and she entertains and loves them all.  But at the end of the day, she wants to be on her daddy's lap.  She is safe and secure there (no need for a car seat!) and knows that he will take care of her.  

Women With A Mission Conference

As a team, our primary focus of our trip was the Women With A Mission conference in Akividu, Andhra Pradesh.  That was the job that we were brought to India to do...share the Word, share His love, and give encouragement to our sisters in Christ during a 3-day conference focused on "The Body of Christ".  At one point in our months of preparation, we were given the impression that we would be speaking to upwards of 500 women...most of us were relieved when we arrived and had only 250 women to listen to us!

I think that I can speak for most of our team in saying that public speaking in front of large groups of people is not an everyday occurrence in our lives and that this was taking us out of our comfort zones a bit.  However, we knew from the beginning that this was our goal and purpose and knew to pray and rely on the Holy Spirit to speak through us.

After all of the travel changes and difficulties that we had just getting to the town, we knew that satan was not only trying to discourage us, he was working overtime to discourage the leaders and the women that would be traveling great distances to come and be with us.  BUT GOD...He is much greater and more powerful than satan ever could think of being and the next morning, the church was filled with His people gathering together to worship and learn together.  

Because many of the women were coming from different areas of the state, not all of them arrived at the same time.  One TRUCKLOAD of ladies arrived after our team had taken our seats on the stage.  Prati, the national director for Women With A Mission, leaned over and pointed out the sight to me.  I grabbed my camera and rushed out the door to capture these 30 women climbing down out of the back of a truck with their "luggage" for the next 3 days.  I only was able to snap a few pictures before these women were coming down the sidewalk past me and towards the church.  

Each one of these women chose to make eye contact with the crazy, white chick with a camera and some even reached out to hug me or shake my hand saying "Namaste" or "Praise the Lord" as they passed by.   In that very moment, God set my vision on "her".  "Her" was not one specific woman, but it was recognizing each one of these ladies as an INDIVIDUAL.

India as a whole is overwhelming to think about...it's the second most populated country in the world, it's on the complete opposite side of the world, it is a Hindu nation, their culture is different from mine, they eat a lot of curry and gravies, and they speak a lot of different languages that I have NO CLUE about!  I was overwhelmed about having to present myself in front of so many people and God made sure I knew that it was just about "her".  I wasn't coming to change the masses, I was coming for "her".  In my human-ness, I really wish I knew who she was, which woman it was that came to hear whatever it was that God said through me, but it doesn't matter.  As long as I was obedient, I pray that He was able to use me some way, some how to touch a life. 

This post is just all over the place and random, but there is just so much of the scene to capture and I just CAN'T seem to transport you to that moment in time!

As our team of 6 (5 from Wichita and Prati) sat on the stage and looked out over the sea of faces eager to learn, I sat there trying to figure out what made us special.  In the US, women may take off work for a 3-day weekend mega conference like Beth Moore or Women of Faith.  In India, we were the "mega-conference" in a modest Baptist church filled with plastic chairs and a praise band of electric drums and a synthesizer.  And I realized that it had nothing to do with the crazy blond, the 2 red heads, and 2 brunettes from America...it had everything to do with the life and love that we have because of Christ.  They were thirsty to hear from God.  They would have come to the conference regardless of WHO was there...that was humbling and terrifying all at once because I really didn't want to screw up whatever it was that God was going to do!

In the last several years in my job, I have had to learn how to be a public speaker of sorts. I do not enjoy it, but I do it because it's part of my job description.  I have become more comfortable sharing about specific things because they are part of my daily routine, my "specialties" per se.  I can stand up and fill at least an hour with anecdotes and suggestions without any notice in these areas, but other things require me to study, prepare, write notes, do power points and outlines, and still I forget things and am not as fluid in speaking.  As I got my speaking "assignments" for India, I knew I'd have to study, prepare, write notes, etc in order to present anything of worth to these women.  I hadn't done enough preparation and I knew it.  And unfortunately, my spiritual life and quiet times don't rival Beth Moore and Billy Graham's to where I have Scripture memorized, stored up, and ready to go off the cuff.  I had two different sections of "The Body of Christ" to teach and share with these women...each of them were supposed to last an hour.  Um, I think clocks run much slower in India than they do in the US!  It sure felt like an hour or two or three...but I'm pretty sure my watch showed that I only spoke for 20 minutes the first time and a bit over 1/2 an hour the second time.  

As a last minute addition to our curriculum for the conference, I also "volunteered" for a 2-hour inspirational message slot.  I really don't know that I thought that through, but I'm always saying "I can" to things whether I WANT to do them or not!  I have been given the ability so I suppose I need to do something with it.  I didn't have a clue what I was going to say that would be "inspirational" to a bunch of Indian women and then God rescued me!  On the morning of the second of 3 days of the conference, we were told that once again, our schedule was changing!  We were having to end the conference early in order to be able to leave the area we were in due to the uprising happening throughout the state.  So, we were going to cram the last 2 days of the conference into 1!  I quickly offered up "some" (MOST) of my inspirational message time so that we could cover all of the curriculum for the conference and allow us some time to pray over these women that were going to commit to reaching 2 other people in their village for Christ in the coming year.  What an amazing task!

This was the concentration of our trip, a conference focused on women.  We were able to connect with them in spite of our cultural, language, and socio-economic differences.  The power of the Holy Spirit filled that church and touched lives in a mighty way.  There really are no words to describe how much unity we had with them as they sang in Telugu and we just clapped along with them.  There were times when we got to praising the One True God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever...the same God in Kansas and India...the Almighty Redeemer that set our feet to dancing...and we were home.  

Expectations...What Does That Really Mean?

One of the most asked questions upon returning from a trip is, "was it what you expected?".  As we have said from day one, we weren't going to have expectations, we were going to throw the agenda out the window, and just go with the flow.  Whatever God had in store for us, that's what we wanted, not to be following a schedule from day to day and minute to minute.  And it's a good thing we went with that mindset!  It's almost laughable to look at our "original" schedule from March because what really happened didn't fit into that "box".  I guess I will say that my expectation in this was to go, take a few pictures, hug a few Indians, pray, and teach.  Those all happened, so I guess I should just answer "yes" when I am asked if it was what I expected.  But really, that would be a complete and utter lie!

I didn't expect this trip to be so EASY.

3 flights that were a total of 24 hours. Sitting for a very long time on a plane and trying to keep myself entertained and occupied shouldn't have been easy.  All of our flights were on time or early, all of our luggage arrived without difficulty, and we met up with the last member of our team at the Bangalore airport. Our travel was easy.

Our first night, we arrived at 1:30 am.  We were beat and ready to sleep!  We got comfy beds, semi-hot showers, bottled water, and air conditioning.  It was easy.

After we got a little rest (10 1/2 hour time difference), we got into a van for a 5 hour trip south to IGL's headquarters in Salem, Tamil Nadu. As we traveled, we stopped for a lunch buffet at a nice hotel.  Even if we couldn't pronounce most of the dishes and some didn't look as appetizing as others, it was still easy.

Sharing sleeping quarters with 2 other women when I'm used to my own space...it was easy.

Being goofy and loving on kids...it was easy.

Giving a small gift...it was easy.

Praying for others...it was easy.

Sharing smiles and high fives...it was easy.

Speaking to a church full of women (and a few men)...it was easy.
**yes, I was quite nervous before the first session, but the second I stood up there, I had no nerves.  I probably spoke a little too quickly and didn't cover as much material as I should have, but it was still easy.

I expected the Holy Spirit to lead us and He did.  There were times when it didn't always make sense, like the 2 hour drive that took 6 and we were stuck in the midst of riots and traffic jams.  But in the midst of that, an opportunity to minister came from two of our team knocking on a stranger's door to use the squatty potty!  And a chance for us to seek God and see Him move the 'mountain' that was in front of us.  Yet, it was still easy.

So, I guess it was what I expected, yet nothing at all what I expected.

I expected to look into the face of a child and feel such a compassion for that child...and a desire for them to grow up in the Lord and make a difference.  It happened.

I expected to see sorrow and hope in the eyes of women.  It happened.

I expected to see hunger for support and encouragement and knowledge of things of God.  It happened.

When we expect from God, He shows up and doesn't disappoint!  In fact, He goes far above and beyond our expectations.  He takes us out of our normal comfort zones and then provides us comfort in Him.  He loves us so much.  When He asks us to do something, we just have to be willing and He will provide everything we need...finances, training, support, encouragement, courage, and words in our mouths.  Our job is to say "Yes"...sometimes it is to GO, sometimes to STAY, sometimes to step up where we are.  Obedience is our job, everything else is up to Him!

So, yes, India was what I expected.
So, no, India was not what I expected.

I came away having learned and been blessed by the people I went to teach and love.

- Candy Girl

Changed?

!ndia...was I really just there a week ago?  On one hand it seems like a dream that we were there, on the other, it is a real slap in the face.

Missions SHOULD change us - it SHOULD show us the blessings we have, the excess we have, and what we can share with others - it SHOULD cause us to re-prioritize - it SHOULD change us, but does it?

The five of us come from all walks of life; a housewife, retired hairdresser, freelance artist, bank employee, and school psychologist.  We all have families, homes, vehicles and would be considered "middle class".  I can't speak for all of us, but I know I have never been truly persecuted for my faith - made fun of, left out of things, etc., but not truly persecuted.  We have so much - and not just physical items and wealth.  We have religious freedom...which many times we take for granted.  In India, they have religious freedom, but it definitely isn't a equal freedom.

As we drove down the streets, there were Hindu gods and temples everywhere...some large, some small...we learned that an individual or group can put up a god or temple on any piece of government property at any time without approval.  Yet, if a Christian organization wants to purchase land for a church, the price can double or triple and the paperwork can be tied up for a long time before it is granted.  Our Christian brothers and sisters are trying to change their world, but it is more difficult than we realize.  90% of the Indian population is Hindu and the government is Hindu.  Christians make up 2%-5% of the population which is awesome, but because so much of their culture is Hindu, it is difficult at times to separate out the religion from the culture.

During one of our many highway miles, we were talking with Pratibha (our hostess) and she expressed her sorrow for America and for the path we are headed down.  "Equality" - what a word.  It is the cry of America right now it seems...that we are all equal.  That we treat one another in such a way that no one is offended, but some of the things that are happening in our country SHOULD offend us, but are we (am I?) willing to speak up and stand up for what I believe in?  Or are we willing to just let those with the louder voice to get what they want and at what price?

I don't know yet if this experience has CHANGED me...I would love to say that it did, but I know that I'm still processing through so much.  Yes, India is a third world country - the dirt, trash, filth, and poverty is everywhere you look.  I was extremely grateful for all of the amenities that we were able to have as we traveled (beds, air conditioning, western toilets, bottled water, soap, etc), but I know that many people that we spent time with don't have those things.  I came home to a beautiful home, a puppy dog, food in my cabinets, a family that loves and supports me, a job, a car, and so much more.  When God calls me to give these things up for Him, I will.  It won't always be easy, but I know it can be done. When He asks me to use of my "wealth" for others, I will...because I can.  And not because I can, but through His strength all things are possible.

What I truly hope to take away from this experience is to model THEIR hunger for Jesus and the things that are in His Word.  Some of the women we talked to can't read or write, but they hear it and are able to recite it and share it with others so that the Truth goes forth.  As I sat in our large church building this morning with orchestra, large choir, lights, video screens, etc, I was humbled.  I missed the simplicity of the place I was in just 7 days ago.  Yet, my surroundings don't matter.  What mattered was that the Word of God was preached and that I take that and apply it to my life - to better myself and to reach out to those around me.

So, my prayer is that God continues to CHANGE me each and every day - not just because I walked in India, but because He is the One I follow after.

- Candy Girl