A True Christmas.

Right now I’m looking out of my jungle hut window. I see youth building a new fence outside the church. They’re chopping and shaping bamboo amidst the kids wrestling on the ground. This village, Pongching, might be the purest place on earth. We’re above every city and town, just us (a community of about 1,000 people), and God. What a perfect place for Christmas.
These people amaze me perhaps more than anyone else ever has. Their lives are defined by work. From sunrise to well after sunset they are moving. Every meal has a huge amount of effort behind it. The water to boil the rice has to be hauled from either the well (which is sometimes empty), or the river, 10km down the mountain (Normally water comes closer but this year the pipe is broken). The pork or chicken has to first be raised to maturity, then butchered and prepared. Vegetables have to be dug up, pineapple has to be plucked from the top of tall trees. There isn’t really anything easy to cook. Laundry, a.k.a. my greatest foe, has to be done at the well, and hauled back up to the house to dry. If you have to use the “toilet”, you carry your own water. If you want internet, you go off- roading for about 30 minutes to the nearest town, and you might have a chance at connecting. A lot of the things that make my life comfortable are impossible to have in this village…

 Christmas in America gives me comfort. My mom makes my favorite chocolate crinkle cookies. My dad puts lights on the house and tree, I usually have a new warm peacoat and a scarf to go outside with. I can even take a hot shower in the morning. There’s a sink, a medicine cabinet that has everything to aid any ailment, hot cider or cocoa, a fluffy couch, 1,000 books to read, and no school. =]

Here there has certainly been comfort, but of a much different kind. I’ve never seen a 5 year old carry a 6 gallon bucket of water on their back while giggling. I haven’t heard 1 complaint since being here. Not one, except in my own heart. I’ve received more generosity than ever before. Villagers who have absolutely nothing and are almost too old to work, come and give us chickens to eat for dinner. Our host makes me chai every morning even though I’m hardly contributing to her day. I smile and listen to her, but she knows I can’t help her. I have no idea what she needs, and everything I try to do I usually do wrong or too slowly. So what am I celebrating when I feel stared at, out of place, and unable to contribute or repay? This Christmas I celebrate the day that true life was made possible for me; Life regardless of location, language, or lifestyle.
John 1:18- “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”

THIS is Christmas. Today I celebrate the day that the God of the universe made himself known, to me. Wherever I go, he keeps me and speaks to me.

Thank you, Jesus, for walking on earth.

What a Merry Christmas!

Shrirampur

I cannot possibly describe to you how much I learned and experienced during these two weeks. But I’ll try to share something =]
My team, a group of 7 fine artists and a 2 year old, went for our “mini-outreach” in a fairly large city in the state of Maharastra. Shrirampur is primarily Hindu but has a huge Muslim population as well. It also has a strong network of Pentecostal churches. We had just been given the location, knowing that someone had arranged our ministry schedule ahead of time.
Our journey began with a 7 hour Indian train ride from, what has become our home away from home, Lonavala. We were picked up by a Marathi speaking Pastor who we would stay with and work with for the next 2 weeks. We immediately started ministry in a remote Hindu village outside the city. We visited 26 houses with prayer, and had a couple of opportunities to share the gospel with families. It was amazing.

But it definitely set the tone of our outreach: exhausted and unprepared =) The whole two weeks it was spur-of-the-moment ministry. That might have been the biggest blessing though. We didn’t have time to get nervous about preaching or running a children’s program. We were just asked on the spot, and God always provided words and activities. I experienced God as my provider on a whole new level. Even when we were broken, tired, and uninspired, God always quickened our spirits when we had good works prepared for us.

Here is just one out of a million highlights:

When we were at a pastor’s home having dinner, he brought a young woman to me who had previously poured me a glass of water. He led her by the arm and opened her hand so I could see her palm saying, “Pray for her.” I said, “Okay, but why?” not understanding what was wrong with her hand. She had very unique skin, white spots in the midst of a tan complexion. He wanted me to pray for her healing, just because her hand was different. But he said it in a very degrading way, like she wasn’t made before the foundations of the world. Instead of praying for her hand to magicly turn colors, I was able to speak God’s love and acceptance over her, and she started crying. This pastor, who might’ve been the Father I’m not sure, had planted so many lies in her head about being ugly. God definitely brought healing to that woman but of a much different kind.

TRUST in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways acknowledge Him and lean not on your own understanding. For a large portion of our outreach, I felt very in the dark. It was chaotic and confusing, the fruit seemed far and few between. Communication became our team’s weakness. In language, personality, walks of life, and culture, our team is the most diverse. The enemy was trying sooo hard to rip us apart and there were definitely some close calls. We really had to not lean on our own understanding, because we had none=] It was so confusing! But God reminded me that even in the raging storm, he’s holding the boat. At the end of all the chaos, confusion, and offenses, I can really say God actually had a purpose in that. I’m so grateful for it now. It was a great outreach, although challenging. Good character on this trip was like a beautiful, ornately wrapped, sparkly Christmas present, but inside the box was flaming, refining fire. I had so many ungodly ways burned out of me!

Overall, amazing trip FULL of blessings and lessons I’ll keep for a lifetime. We were the light of the world, everywhere we went, and God used us to be a blessing to so many of his creation.

Thank you so much  for your prayers. And to my dad, who prayed on the phone with me when I was on the verge of a freak-out. =] Love you!