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