following the way of love - Katie Rowland WR'08 Alumna

A Nation on Its Knees: Revival in Haiti

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This is a must-see video giving a glimpse of the spiritual REVIVAL happening in Haiti. It truly is miraculous and something NEW - I don't think my generation, or even my parent's, has ever seen something like this happen before.

For those of you receiving this by email, click here to watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rWm84z-zg&feature=player_embedded

Interested in pitching in, IN Haiti? ...you can.

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

My friend Kim Daniels wrote this blog, and it's great, so I'm just copying...let me know if you want to know more about AIM, our work in Haiti, or if you end up going!

---

One of the things I love most about working with Adventures In Missions (which is, for those of you who don't know, the umbrella organization over The World Race) is that when there is a need, we as an organization immediately begin working to respond. And that includes everything from collecting donations to mobilizing people to actually go.

This morning, one of our directors who just got back from Port-au-Prince yesterday. Paraphrased, this is what he told our staff: "We didn't initiate the Kingdom there. We didn't singlehandedly bring it. It was already present. God is already moving, and the people are responding to Him. And the people of Haiti are releasing the Kingdom into their own nation. But God is inviting us to be a part, and to join with them as a family, as the Body of Christ. We aren't going to be their saviors; we are going to support them; to show them we love them. It is our honor, and our privilege."

Sweet and simple: If you want to go to Haiti, AIM is taking teams consistently for the next 6 months. If you want to go, we want to help get you there. If you know someone who wants to go, please pass this along to them.

This page has all the listed trips available as of now. Most are 7 days, some are 9, some are 14 days; for the next 6 months

This is the main site.

Take 3 minutes to watch this practical video on what your time in Haiti might be like. And let me know if you have any questions, or if you decide to go!

Seth Barnes and Team Leave for Haiti Today

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

AIM's executive director Seth Barnes and a team of youth ministry bloggers fly to the Dominican Republic today and then cross over to Haiti. They are going to serve the most destitute of people. You can continue to follow their travels and experiences on the Facebook page or at http://haiti.adventures.org. To make a donation, visit http://www.adventures.org/haiti.

Below, Seth shares the anticipation he feels for the coming week...

Today we fly to the Dominican Republic, and the next day we drive over the mountains, across the border, by the lake, and into Haiti, a land where the smell of death hangs in the air like a morning mist.

And I'm trying to take it in. How am I to feel?

I suppose I might feel like I did in the winter of 1980 as we prepared to cross the Thai border into Cambodia. A great human tragedy was unfolding in real time. Two million Cambodians had died or were in the process of dying. We put 225 live, clucking chickens into a pickup truck and crossed over to give them food. They were the survivors, the lucky ones.

Driving across the border into Haiti, my heart will probably beat as it did as a 22 year-old. But what will I see and what will I feel? Families without homes or tents are huddled under sheets. A million orphans, refugees and amputees are reeling, still in shock. Disease is springing up in the fetid camps.

Will I notice? Will I notice:

The young girl whose mother, father, and siblings are gone?

The school-turned-graveyard that collapsed on the students?

The mother whose three-year-old's leg was amputated at the hip?

The soldier whose uniform is all he has left?

Just how many details in plain sight will I miss as I navigate through a world in chaos? Me just trying to get from one place to another, trying to find the interpreter who is late, buying supplies, wondering if the pastors will show up? Will I slow down enough to feel the ache welling up from the ground, will I sense the emotional tectonic plates shifting in the air? Will I sense God's heart, still breaking for a people so inured to tragedy that even this cataclysm goes unmourned?

I received an email that said, "There is a desperate need for crayons, paper and things for the children to be able to express themselves in the midst of all of this mess." Crayons, people! For the love of God, there is a desperate need for crayons!? What do you feel in a land like that? Where does your soul retreat for oxygen?

The same email said, to bring "masks for all of the volunteers because of the dust and the smell of dead bodies." And I wonder what it will do to me and what I will do in response. What will I feel?

When we first prayed for Haiti the Sunday after the earthquake, I felt nothing. Haiti is a nation I've studiously avoided over the years. Its bureaucratic impossibilities frustrate me. Its intractable poverty is a thumb in the eye of a kingdom predicated on a theology of abundance. And for me, January 12, 2010 was another national catastrophe on the heels of Katrina, the Tsunami, and Swaziland. I was emotionally cool as we commenced praying.

But on that Sunday as we prayed, God gave me a gift I didn't want - he showed me how to feel. As my spirit reached up to connect with God, his feelings began to flow down, into, and through me. First in a trickle, a tear, something not from inside, but from him that began to cascade down and rip at my soul. And soon, it was an out-of-control surprise for me, a non-feeler, the stalwart in the crowd.

I don't even know any Haitians! I've only been there once, and I had no intentions of going back. But on that Sunday, he began to empty his heart, his great, breaking heart, for that tragic land and its people into me. Then, sobs began to rack my body. I gasped for breath. It wouldn't let loose. It convulsed me. I was beyond embarrassment or saving face. And I was laid bare by his divine, molten love for the people of Haiti,

Thankfully, nobody made a big deal about this man crumpled on the floor, heaving with unnamed grief as the prayers continued. Eventually a measure of control returned. Blowing my nose, I welcomed the return of my senses. But for minutes after, his heart seemed to convulse inside me like aftershocks.

It's not a place I want to return to. It's not a place you'd naturally love. And I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow. But for one day at least, I understood something of what God feels about Haiti and its suffering people.

video - a night on the streets of ATL

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What happens when a bunch of college students are sent to spend a winter night "homeless" in Atlanta's city streets? ... With intentions of ministry, the students often found they were the ones receiving ministry from the men they met. Watch and see.

(video link - http://www.vimeo.com/9045996)

What does Haiti need?

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I pulled this from my friend Jeff Goins' blog because I agree with it...and I, too, am a non-expert. Please read and watch the video!

After blogger Anne Jackson shared on her blog that she was going to Haiti, she got a myriad of responses, some of which criticized her as a "non-expert" going into a place where she wasn't currently needed.

One person shared a quote from Shaun King, a pastor who has been on the ground in Haiti since the earthquake, sharing what he's seen and experienced via Twitter: "The experts were wrong. What is missing in Haiti is passionate, hard-working... non-experts." (For the rest of the string of quotes, click here.)

I love that.

CNN reporter Anderson Cooper recently shared a report from Haiti, in which he said, "Each person's pain deserves to be known... there is not enough help to be had." In his reflection from Port-au-Prince, he describes the violence and chaos and despair in the country: "Most people are calm; they pick through the rubble and save what they can. They sweep up their past and find solutions to live."

Undoubtedly, Anne has experienced the first of what will be many criticisms of short-term Christian workers to go into Haiti and respond with compassion. Certainly, not all objections to this kind of response are unfounded, but it does raise the question: What does Haiti need?

My coworker Ashley Musick shared yesterday how her team was helping a church that was so overwhelmed by the need that they simply did not have time to clean or organize. Yesterday, another AIM worker Marcia Borg shared how her team was making a difference, as well as heart-breaking situations like the following:

One girl we helped last night was crying out in pain and holding her stomach. She was just sitting on the sidewalk outside of the hospital along with her sister and some family. It seemed to get worse as we talked and became unbearable for her. She had told us that her father had died in the quake and that she hadn't eaten all day.

Marcia goes on to say that they brought the woman into a hospital, but, she refused treatment. Scared and confused, she returned to the sidewalk to wait for a bus out of Haiti.

Yes, the skeptics will say that sending in "non-experts" is a mistake, that Haiti needs medical workers and nurses and people who can speak Creole. And that's certainly true.

But despairing Haitians also need to know that they have not been forgotten, that life will get better, and that there is reason to live another day. When you consider stories like the above, how could you not want to send compassionate workers to help overwhelmed and understaffed relief organizations? How could you not want to bring dignity to those who so desperately need it?

Haiti needs more than handouts or medical assistance.

Haiti needs hope.

If that resonates with you, please consider sharing the following video. ( http://vimeo.com/8941583 )

And please comment with your own opinion:

What do you think Haiti needs?

How you can help in Haiti

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Haiti has suffered immeasurable loss in the last few days. I'll keep this simple and short.

AIM has two missionaries on the ground in Haiti right now who are going to provide basic relief and then find smaller communities outside of Port-au-Prince that need help (since the major city's getting the most attention). But in order to get some supplies, they need your help.

>> You can donate to AIM's relief work here <<

I'll keep you updated in the next couple of days on what is being planned in regards to short-term trips to help out. Our short-term missions department is busy putting these together. With the help of World Race Alumni, we've been able to get a lot of volunteers to go down and set things up for us. So in the meantime, please continue to pray for the country of Haiti and help us purchase supplies.

Full-time AIM missionaries Miguel and Kristen Shaul are on the field in the Dominican Republic right now and are headed to Haiti as soon as possible to begin providing some much needed relief and help to the country. Here is the latest:

Thank you to everyone who has been praying and sharing concern for our neighbors in Haiti. As we speak we are coordinating with other NGO's here in San Juan to mount an emergency response to those affected by the earthquake that occurred yesterday evening. Four hours Southwest from our home of San Juan lays the Dominican city of Jimani which is only about 40 miles east from the hardest hit area of Haiti. Our hope is to be able to travel to Jimani early tomorrow morning, bringing supplies with us.

If the borders are not too difficult, Miguel will attempt to get in as far as possible and access the nearest need closest to the Dominican border. We imagine smaller, poorer towns will have massive devastation as well due to inadequate structural integrity even though they are further out from the epicenter.

The primary goal is to bring first-response relief to those in need, supplies such as food, blankets, shelters, and basic health care will be needed.

Our secondary goal is to identify communities in which we can get involved in long term rebuilding. In both of these cases, we request prayer for the LORD's leading of our effort and favor, and we also ask for partnership in funding our response. Please consider joining in our work to respond to this great brokenness with the love of Christ.

Here are some other good blogs to check out:

Miguel and Kristen Shaul - AIM missionaries in the Dominican Republic

Haiti in Crisis and how you can help - World Race Alumna with a passion for Haiti

Praying for Haiti

Help Provide Relief in Haiti

Here's a video from CNN on the earthquake:

National Human Trafficking Awareness (yester)Day

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. (oops, sorry I'm late). That means that for the 27.1 million people that are enslaved beyond their will are getting some much needed attention. Who's giving it? We are. We are their voice. We are their deliverance. We are their freedom waiting to be delivered. The question is: what are you doing to help them? God's given me a platform through blog and other media outlets; He's also given me a voice that I've dedicated to Him. So Twitter this, Facebook it, Digg.com it, and do what you have to, to get the word out. You're welcome to copy & paste this blog my friend Matt Snyder wrote a while ago.

* * * * *

"Srey Neang followed him through the entrance. At first her eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness of the room. Slowly, she could make out the scene. At nearly every table a middle-aged man enjoyed the company of two or more young women who casually draped their bodies around him.

Chuan led her through the club, occasionally pausing to give a brief greeting to a male patron. Once they reached a staircase at the back of the club, he pointed upward with his index finger. Srey Neang went first. At the top of the stairs they reached a small hallway with three doors, all shut. She turned around to get further instructions. Chuan jerked his head deliberately to the right, indicating which door she was to open.

Srey Neang turned the knob and tentatively pushed forward. It startled her to see a man standing in the middle of the room as if he were anticipating her arrival. She heard the sound of the door click shut behind her... the room did not hold much furniture, save a bed and a small nightstand. The man, in his mid�thirties... uttered a simple, shocking command in the local dialect: �Take off your clothes.'"

-- true story, called "The Conspiracy"

My life was ruined last night. I don't think that I've ever said that before, let alone sincerely meant it to the very core of my being. In the matter of minutes I've never had my heart shatter into so many pieces that the only ounce of expression left in me manifested itself through more than three hours of tears.

Heart graced my cheeks.

And it wasn't something that I really wanted to happen � it just did. It hurt. It still hurts. And within me I can't ignore the urgency to act, to actually take a stand and respond out of obedience. I have to do something. I will not remain silent. It's one of those moments where the Lord's righteous anger boils within me, yet with such grace and love that my life pulsates with His goodness, His heart, and His mercy for all people.

Yet in the same moment I'm waging limitless war on hell.

I'll fight this until the day I die.

A few of us watched a movie last night called "Human Trafficking". I had heard of the issue in passing, not in depth, and I knew that it was a passion of many... yet I still never cared enough past myself to really dive in and learn. Maybe it was a subconscious attempt to keep myself distant from responsibility. Like I've said before, the further we can keep ourselves from an awareness of an issue, from keeping ourselves from knowing the facts, from the possibility of having some kind of "invested-interest"... we can void ourselves from having to react.

It's almost like an excuse for survival... but I don't accept it - even for you.

In case you don't necessarily understand the term "human trafficking", let me break it down for you into understandable terms: slavery.

I'm not kidding.

Human trafficking is, in fact, modern day slavery and it happens all over the world. At any given moment the International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that 12.3 million people are in slavery worldwide, the majority of them being for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked every year internationally (that doesn't include domestic trafficking) for sexual exploitation.

That means they're used for sex against their will.

We call that rape.

There's a lot of reasons that human trafficking exists, many I attribute to sewage that seeps out of hell and infects lives through all kinds of lies, deceptions, accusations, and the like. But it's also because people make a choice; they choose to feed the system, to turn over money to the monster that enslaves and imprisons. "Out of the total number of foreign visitors, roughly two-thirds entering Thailand were unaccompanied men. In other words, about 7.3 million unaccompanied men visited the country in 2003. Certainly, not all of these men came as sexual tourists, but it is a good bet that a significant percentage did. In fact, according to a survey of travel agents conducted by international aid agency World Vision, 65 percent of all tourists to Cambodia are men and one-fifth of them travel with the express purpose to have sex."

You might be thinking to yourself, "Well, Matt, I've never even been to Thailand or Cambodia and I never intend on going. I don't contribute to the madness." There might be truth to that statement - I agree. But think about this: every time you sneak onto your computer and check out a little bit of porn here, a little bit of porn there... you contribute. In the Netherlands and Germany, they've found a significant association between prostitution, pornography, and human trafficking. The pornography industry is a multi-billion dollar industry... every year... and prostitution's merely a front that will typically mask human trafficking.

So maybe you weren't aware, but now you are, that many people that are trafficked are also used for pornographic purposes, yet another ploy within sexual exploitation.

I can get onto more facts in another blog... but you might be wondering what the Lord's calling out of me.

I've never heard the Lord speak to me with such clarity. Last night I was sitting on the balcony/rooftop of the house we're staying at here in Phnom Penh, letting the Spirit express itself through my body. I was wrecked beyond words. Kim was inches from me crying her heart out as well. I've never prayed more in my life.

And I've never heard the Lord speak to me with such certainty.

He said, "Matt � I've made you an exhorter, a teacher, a fire-starter... and I want you to create awareness. You're my mouthpiece. I need you to speak. I need you to open eyes and hearts to issues long ignored. Don't remain silent." He also told me to go to Bangkok, ASAP, and see as much as I can first-hand. I have a responsibility now and I cannot be disobedient to it.

So, truly, let's consider this the beginning. I'm merely getting fired-up and I fully intend on catching y'all within the blaze.

* * * * * *

Here are some good resources to check out for more information:

The Not For Sale Campaign

NightLight

Click here for more...

The Vision by Pete Greig, and my heart on paper

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A World Race friend of mine told me to look up this poem. I sat amazed as my heart formed into the words I was reading on the screen. Take a few moments to read and contemplate how our world would transform if we can become more like the soldiers described here...

The Vision - by Pete Greig

So this guy comes up to me and says:

"what's the vision? What's the big idea?"

I open my mouth and words come out like this:

The vision?

The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.

They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations.
They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.

What is the vision ?

The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose,
that they might one day win
the great Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again:

"COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing...
This is the sound of the underground

And the army is disciplined.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs.
Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed?
Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays

like a dying man
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive

Inside.

On the outside? They hardly care.
They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.

Don't you hear them coming?

Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension.
Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be.
It will come to pass;
it will come easily;
it will come soon.

How do I know?

Because this is the longing of creation itself,
the groaning of the Spirit,
the very dream of God.

My tomorrow is his today.
My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great Amen!' from countless angels, from heroes of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

india, becoming kingdom

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I don't want to be un-broken

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Something inside of me is broken, and I DON'T want it fixed.

It happened somewhere along the journey. In bits and pieces, quietly and assuredly, cracks were working their way into my being, into my heart and my very soul. Tearing into the fabric of me, often producing tears (of the watery sort) and sighs filled with longing, they came and they stayed. And they're not disappearing with time.

...((crack))...In the village of Nicaragua where we poured into teenager's lives.
...((crack))...In the orphanage in Cambodia where we loved HIV+ orphans who have no hope for things of this world.
...((crack))...In the dirt paths of Nsoko, Swaziland where we met children and grandmothers whose lives are in shambles because of AIDS wrecking their country, yet who cling to the hope of Christ.
...((crack))...In the dusty streets of Delhi where lights for Christ are so few and far between, yet God is working in people's lives.

I live now in a dissonance of the heart. I am a part of one world but long for another. Yet it is my duty to live as one fully alive in that world I long for, the Kingdom of heaven, and in so doing, to see it come to pass in moments and glimpses of "oh!" so brief and beautiful I have to close my eyes to burn the sight on the retinas of my heart's eye.

As the cracks come, a light shines through them, revealing glimpses of Kingdom. Kingdom looks like...hope in the face of an orphan in Swaziland when she gets another meal to eat. Joy in the face of a child in India when she gets another Auntie to love and to love her for a little while. Light shining n the face of a teenager in Nicaragua when she talks of her passionate love for Christ, Her Saviour. These are the glimpses of the world I long for, the heavenly Kingdom, which someday will be established forever.

I am writing from home, Boone, North Carolina. Yet I feel here a strangeness, a foreigner-ness, that I feel in every other part of the world I've visited. Yes, I was born and raised here; but there's something in me that no longer fits into these small-town-America streets. It's all these cracks and breaks and tears that set me apart. It's the heart of my Father, my Saviour, being implanted in mine bit by bit as I journey for His glory. It's the Holy Spirit leading me onward in a quest to use my given small talents to earn more to give back to Him when He returns.

Everybody seems to think I'll be this way for a little while, then go back to "normal life" and get back to "real life" as an American, perhaps working a nine-to-five job with a regular paycheck and such. But I don't ever WANT to be normal again. I don't ever WANT to fit into the mold. I want my life to be fully His, wherever I am and whatever I am doing. I want to depend on Him for my very breath. I want Him to be my everything, my all in all, my reason for living and for dying if it came to that. I want to be God, with skin on, bearing His Love to a dying world. I want to be Katie "Christ" Rowland for life.

This isn't a passing phase.

Keep breaking me, God. I don't want to go back to who I was before. I don't want to forget the faces of the unseen and broken and hurting and lost people of this world. I want to see your love overwhelming them and your glory invading this earth...

Let your light so shine before men...

India moments - ministry locations

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I have a couple blogs of simple moments from India, which I've divided into category based on location. Some of these moments were joyful. Some were sad. Some were simply culturally amazing or funny. All are moments in which I was amazed at what was happening around me. I hope these give you a glimpse...

ASHA HOUSE

...one Sunday during church, the loud praises of the children being led in worship by Victor Sir with his guitar is so beautiful, it moves me to tears. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.

...eating lunch with the kids, scooping the rice and delicious curry into my mouth with my right hand the way Indians eat, smiling around at the kids as their little bellies swell up with the food God provides.

...two of my favorite schoolgirls, sisters Nazma and Heena, literally jumping up from their studies when they see me to run and hug me, shouting "Hello Auntie!" and throwing their arms around my waist and not letting go...

...holding Mithulesh's hand during a church service at Asha House, he kisses the back of my hand and tells me quietly of his own accord, "I love you Katie Auntie."

...walking around with Saniya on my shoulders. She shouts names at me when she sees her friends, and I stoop to one knee, holding her hands in mine and bringing them around in an awkward hug to whomever is the chosen recipient. It's hilarious and awkward and so much fun!

...spending the night at the home, and Heena asking me to sleep with her in her bed. I respond with a smile and "teekay" ("okay") and she's so excited she literally jumps up and down. ...Two days later, I'm in the girl's room surrounded by about 8 girls changing from their church clothes, and she comes running into the room, making a beeline for me and shouting "My Auntie! My Auntie!"

...during our English teaching time one day, little Bhagwan looks up at me with the most fearfully concerned look I can imagine a 3-year-old boy having. He says, "Auntie? Toilet?!?!" ...hilarious!

...working with Heena on her math homework one evening, I begin teaching her and Ruth a new method of multiplication. To my amazement they begin actually understanding the process and really picking it up! We had so much fun getting bigger and bigger numbers multiplied into bigger and bigger answers! I was so proud of them...

LEPER COLONIES

...our driver Saapsingh was excited to show us a beehive on a roof in one of the homes of the leper colony. Before we knew it he climbed up, cut down the branch it was on and next thing we knew, we were being offered chunks of dripping honeycomb to suck on. One of the women there stuck a chunk right in my mouth (fed it to me)! It was the most incredible honey I've ever tasted...

...being twirled into a beautiful saree by my friends Brinda and Shanti. They dressed me and Julia up (complete with brown lipstick, bindis and new hairstyles) and we had a photo shoot. so fun!

...the team praying for Leshmi as she lays on her bed, sick with stage III cervical cancer; her husband Vnglesh's sobbing as he broke down in front of us, helpless to ease her pain and suffering. The team later contributed out of our personal finances to help send her to a cancer hospital in Chennai for treatment.

...two of my little buddies, Ruth and Rajesh, pull me down to the floor and Ruth and I go cheek-to-cheek with a big "mwah!" kiss. Then we do it again, and again, and again--then Raji joins in so I have one on each cheek. Priceless love from two little girls...

... sitting in the alleyway with Julia and David Raj. My friend Brinda motions me into her house a couple doors down, then proceeds to make me some delicious South Indian dosa, which is like a crepe she serves with two sauces, one spicy flavorful red and one creamy spicy flavorful white sauce. Brinda's daughter Ruth, one of my little buddies, scoops some up in her little hand and feeds me!

SLUMS

...walking through the slums, we passed a cot on the street, as is common for sitting and talking to one's neighbors. On this cot there was a bundle of blankets, despite the heat; I only saw the head peeking out the top as we were right next to it. She had little pigtails and wider eyes than I've ever seen; her skin was stretched tight over her face, showing hunger; her mouth was open and her lips and tongue were blanketed in flies.

...during church in the slums, we take communion with the church body. The drink is sweet black tea (tasted almost like southern sweet tea!) and the bread is unleavened chapati. The Spirit was there...

...also during church, they are singing a Hindi worship song. I look out the door and there's a policeman standing there. I remember it's illegal to do evangelistic work in India. I tell the Lord I trust Him no matter what. The police man goes away and nothing happens.

...after church ends, we all hang out and are given chai to drink (as usual) and gulab jamun (a syrupy doughnutty thing) and seasoned chickpeas to eat (YUM!) Brittany is drumming with the church woman who drums, and when she asks if she can learn a drum rhythm, she is told "it can't be taught."

...visiting a home, I prayed for the man in the house who had asked us to pray for him to be able to stop drinking. He knelt during prayer, while others of us stood or sat on the floor in the tiny, dark, crowded room. When I was done praying, he tenderly touched my feet in an India sign of deep respect and gratitude. I nearly broke into tears feeling so humbled and unworthy, knowing it's not me, it's Christ....

...visiting a different home on another occasion, we are asked to pray for a woman's recurring fever illness. While speaking my prayer I had the strong sense from the Spirit that there was a secret sin going on in the household and until it was confessed and repented and cast out--but feeling it was my job to impart this to the Pastor so he could call it out, not me.

...leaving that same day, we see a Muslim funeral procession passing us by; the casket with no lid, only a piece of cloth draped over, and about 40 men following...

...walking in on our last day of ministry, a man starts talking vehemently with our Pastor. We keep walking and as we are going into the home where we always meet, our translator tells us, "they are beating him" -- being captivated in prayer until we find out they weren't actually beating him, just arguing, and he is safe...

India moments - Dwarka, Delhi & Driving

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

DWARKA & DELHI

...praising and worshipping God from the rooftop of our house in Dwarka; the sky around us exploding with Diwali fireworks celebrating Hindu gods...

...on the metro I was listening to my iPod. I pulled one earbud out to listen to which stop we were pulling into. The woman next to me promptly picked up the earbud and started listening; she muttered something about English and then handed it to her son for a listen, then on to the daughter. I let them all listen in as much as they wanted...

...another evening on the metro, a little girl smiled at me, and I enjoyed about 15 minutes of smiling at, tickling and talking to her. Her father seemed pleased. He was a good dad, I could tell!

...in a shop on a day off, I met a Burmese girl and connected with her when I told her I had been to her country. Turns out she is a Christian and much in need of an encouraging sister. We texted back and forth a little and I stopped by her shop a few times when I was able...

...handing a beggar food (pb&j sandwiches or leftovers) only to have her motion with her hands to ask for money. (this happened repeatedly)

...walking home from the market one day, my grocery bag burst, spilling vegetables all over the ground around me. I stood there having no way to gather them until a couple of teenager boys came over and politely asked, "May I help you, Madam?" They ended up finding me a new grocery bag so I could go on my way. ...

...on a team day off, going to the movies, watching it all in Hindi yet still somewhat understanding the plot, and ordering popcorn & Pepsi from my seat during "Interval"

...chai, chai, and more chai: every time we visit a home, it is the host's way of welcoming us. And I felt blessed by it every time...

...every time we walk down our street in Pochanpur Village, our little neighbor kids run to us with their arms stuck straight out in front of them, dirty little hands stiff to be shaken, shouting "hello! hello!" with huge smiles on their faces...

...ordering paneer naan at our favorite street restaurant in Dwarka, Life Positive Food Centre, run by one Scholar Sikri, who is always eager to talk with us about America and its scholars and how to live a positive life. Always trying to slip a word in edgewise to tell him I have a positive life but only through my belief in Jesus Christ and the ways He is changing my heart. He talks a lot and listens little, but now I know to pray for him to find the Way, the Truth, and the Life that is the only truly Positive Life!

...visiting the little beauty parlor on our street to get my eyebrows threaded (plucked/shaped using nothing but some strings in a fascinating twisty way) for 20 Rupees, or about 40 cents.

...hearing extremely rude and inappropriate comments from some men and teenage boys as we walk past them on the street. ...

...during a tour day around Delhi, we visit the Lotus Temple, the largest Ba'hai temple in the world, looking like a ginormous version of the lovely flower it's named for. Inside, I pray the Lord will reveal His truth to all who are seeking truth, and I notice how similar the sayings of the Ba'hai prophet Bahaullah are to those of Jesus Christ (who lived 1900 years before him)...

DRIVING

...driving home from ministry one day, we passed a car & motorcycle accident. There were dozens of bystanders lining the street; we finally saw the reason--a body laying in the street, covered by a tarp, but with one foot sticking out from beneath...

...the strange co-existence of cows, street dogs, rickshaws, motorcycles, auto rickshaws, cars, trucks and pedestrians on the streets of Delhi. I have seen cows respond to car horns by moving out of the way; likewise with street dogs, who know cars won't stop or swerve for them.

...another day leaving ministry, a motorcycle that had run a red light (quite commonplace actually) hit the front right corner of our vehicle as we pulled across the street. His head slammed onto our hood before he fell to the ground; I was terrified he had broken his neck or been killed eve, but he got up in five minutes holding a bloody lip. He and our driver had a shouting match, our driver offered him money even though the accident was the moto driver's fault, and eventually we drove off with nothing else happening, because that's how it works here...

...getting pulled over by the cops multiple times on random stops, always praying we'd be let go of since we had our papers in order. But one time, the cop said we were speeding and we should pay a 4000 rupee fine (about $90). We weren't about to be bribed, so called our Indian contact for advice; we ended up paying 400 (still way more than Indians would pay) for our driver's fault of speeding...

...driving home from Asha House one day, we get stuck in the same spot for about 45 minutes. Our vehicle is literally surrounded by about five huge trucks, and we're wedged in so tightly we can hardly look up at the sky. We wait for the traffic to untangle, as it always (eventually) does...

Please help the House of Hope!

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Dear friends and family,

If you are reading this in email format, please visit this link to watch the associated 90-second video.

http://www.vimeo.com/7534807

We are writing tonight with a sense of URGENCY. We just found out that Asha House, the home for about 35 children that we have been working at, is in danger of closing due to lack of funds. As it stands now, if they do not have immediate donations online via www.ashahouse.org, they will have to close the home in December--next month!

Need I quote James 1:26? -- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Friends and family, I ask you to make a donation to Asha, no matter if it's big or small, one-time or recurring. If the orphanage closes, many of the children have a parent to go to (they are social orphans, and their parents cannot take care of them), but they go back into homes of known sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Additionally, if the home closes, many of the children will end up begging on the streets or victims of human / sexual trafficking. This is a KNOWN FACT about several of these children's lives.

Asha House is a place of SAFETY, SECURITY and the LOVING ARMS OF CHRIST to these children! Many come here terrified and shut down from the trauma they have experienced, and after only a few months at the House of Hope, they act like normal children again -- eating huge amounts of rice, laughing, playing, even fighting with one another. The redeeming love of Christ is POWERFULLY AT WORK in Asha House. Please, I ask you to make a donation for the sake of these children! They need to stay safe in this little Kingdom haven.

www.ashahouse.org - kid's bios, photos
http://09in0908rl13.myadventures.org/?filename=photo-blog-asha-house-ministry - a photo blog I did on our ministry there
www.sixty1.org - the quickest way to donate

Here's the list of fundraising needs for Asha House AND all the other ministries we're working with here. You can see exactly what the needs are.

Please be a part of becoming the loving arms, hands & feet of Christ to care for these beautiful children of God!

Asha House

Washing Machines: $500
Construction Needs: $1500
Christmas Dinner and Gifts: $1200
Medical Needs: $500
Total: $3700

Asha House Monthly Expense Needs Through December:

Education: $650
Rent: $350
Food: $1450
Average Medical: $150
Utilities: $500
Staff Salaries: $600
Total: $3700

Pastor Lalmani Slums Ministry

Church Building Construction: $500
Electrical Wiring: $350
Gifts for Family: $150
Total: $1000

Leper Colonies

Christmas Dinners: $1200
Blanket Gifts for Christmas: $2300
Total: $3500

Total for Christmas and December Needs: $11,900

Please send support to

Sixty1

PO Box 2046

Boone, NC 28607

Make checks payable to Sixty1 with "Asha Christmas" in memo line Sixty1 is the fundraising organization for Asha House and other ministries. It is a registerd 501(c)(3) non-profit and all donations are tax deductible.

For online donations, please visit www.sixty1.org and choose "Network for Good" and note "Asha Christmas" in memo line.

she's been dared to move...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here's an incredible blog written by my beautiful teammate Brittany DiSalvo. If you're interested in hearing the associated song as you read, scroll to the bottom of the blog and press play before starting to read.

---

Welcome to the fallout

While driving to the leper colony last week, I listened to Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move." In my mind I was merely selecting an album I hadn't listened to in a while, but it turned into much more than that.

Welcome to resistance

We came to a stop in traffic. A beggar -- no, a precious and beloved woman came to the window. She was obviously begging. Her red sari and crooked teeth didn't take me by surprise. Her leathered skin and foggy eyes weren't unusual sights. Her persistence in knocking at our window wasn't out of the ordinary.

The tension is here

But the words that hit my ears were ripping me to shreds.

The tension is here

I tried unsuccessfully to avoid making eye contact with windows of pain. This is her life.

Between who you are and who you could be

So unnerving...and I think she and I are different? One begs, another gives. But both die. Neither of us chose to be born. Who breathes without need of Christ?

Between how it is and how it should be

This isn't fair. This isn't fair. This isn't fair.

I have never felt so responsible for poverty: I looked at myself with my headphones through the window to a woman with empty hands and an emptier stomach. Dichotomy, anyone? And what about her soul -- is that empty too?

I dare you to move

Traffic continued as usual.

I dare you to move

I didn't. I couldn't.

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

What just happened? It had to be about more than food.

I dare you to move

But what will become of her if I ignore her need? And even if I can give to her now, she will be hungry again in a few hours, if that. She needs hope beyond all of this. She needs a Savior. So do I. Constantly.

I dare you to move - like today never happened

My heart won't cease to be raw towards every beggar I see. But as painful and uncomfortable as that is, it is given by the Lord, and I am thankful for it.

"What would Jesus do?" What did He do? He healed the sick and raised the dead. He drove out demons and played with children. But in His human form, He only interacted personally with a very small percentage of humanity. As far as we know, He passed by people that He didn't look at, He didn't get to touch everyone, and there was a lot more that He "could have" done. Or so it would seem...

But His Kingdom is not of this world.

He only did what His Father told Him to do.

And so I say, I can do nothing for these beautiful people. I cannot even do anything for myself. I can only receive and be transformed by His power into an instrument of His grace.

And His grace towards me glorifies Himself because it leaves no room for me to boast.

This is not to say that I am lowly, wretched, and worthless.

Apart from Him I can do nothing. But that is my joy! Did you hear that? The pressure is off for me to be strong enough, wise enough, brave enough, or loving enough. When I am weak, I am strong because His grace is sufficient.

He wired us to depend on Him, to live abundantly only when drinking from the Source of Life -- and that dependence is our rest, Church!

We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. The life we live in the Body we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. Galatians 2:20

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where would you go to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go...where you gonna go....?

I dare you to move...

Praying for you all with love and brokenness and joy,
Brittany

Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

lights of Diwali...lights of KINGDOM!

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last Saturday was the biggest festival day of Diwali, Festival of Lights, the largest Hindu festival of the year. We had a little lock-in for safety and watched the fireworks from the roof, enjoying our own sparklers as well. Wikipedia says this about Diwali:

The word दीपावली literally translates as a row of lamps in Sanskrit. It is traditional for adherents of Diwali-celebrating faiths to light small clay lamps filled with oil to signify victory over the the evil within an individual. ...

While Diwali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light".

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, imminent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (inner joy or peace).

As a follower of Christ, the spiritual parallels I can draw from Diwali to my own faith are obvious. Here is just a sampling of what the Word of God says about who I am as his child:

The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. (Prov. 13:8)

(about Christ) In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:4-6)

(words of Christ himself) See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you. (Luke 11:35-36)

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:5-6)

Like Hindus believe in the little piece of "Atman" that dwells inside of them as inner light, I believe in the presence of the Almighty God, through the Holy Spirit, born of my belief in Jesus Christ, that dwells inside of me and shines as light in the darkness.

Like Diwali is a celebration of the inner light and the realization of that eternal presence within oneself and awakening the individual to one's true nature, I celebrate daily my new life in Christ and how as I offer up my life as a living sacrifice to Him, He is changing me, making me more like Him and more like the daughter of the King that I was created to be.

My heart is sad that there are so many deceived by a false religion which has morsels of truth embedded in it. In fact, I believe these Hindu beliefs were probably originally born out of the truths of God, but have been twisted into a new faith altogether in something other than the one true God. If only those easily connectible truths would lead to the One Truth...but as this verse says:

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Heb. 2:8-10)

I know that the one true God, reaching out to us through sending his son Jesus Christ, and creating relationship with us through his Holy Spirit, will some day fully establish His Kingdom on earth. It is that day I long for and live for. And until that day, my heart's desire is to see that Kingdom coming to earth in glimpses, rays of light of God shining from His children.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. (Rev. 21:22-24)

ministry pics at asha

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Please enjoy these moments from ministry at Asha house!

some of the team with a bunch of the schoolkids at asha

beautiful kids at asha praying during church

eric and julia praying during church at asha house. women have to have their heads covered during church in India.

another shot of the beautiful girls praying during church at asha :)

the whole team after church at asha

rebecca & bagawan

julia & jyoti

the boys love hanging off eric's arms!

goofy little ragina & amy

looking out the window at love in action!

sarah & methulish

and me :)

ministry pics at leper colony * slums

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

enjoy :)

julia and me with our english-speaking friend David George and his kind wife

eric & David George

praying for Leshmi

jenny and a little girl from the slums next to the leper colony

laura is a missionary living in our community. this is taken walking down the alley of houses that is the leper colony.

jenny, sarah and kathryn praying during slum ministry

we can't take cameras outside in the slums for safety reasons, so i shot this looking out the open door of the house where some Christians live who let us do kids programs in the slums

julia and rebecca praying over kids in the slums after leading a little program teaching Bible verses and stories and singing songs

michael leads a final prayer while the others lay hands on the children

eric prays for a little girl

and after ministry, the girls rearrange the furniture to watch a movie in the house :)

in the valley of the shadow of death...

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

there are tears from the saints

for the lost and unsaved
we're crying for them come back home,
we're crying for them, come back home...
all you children will stretch out their hands
and pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home

Father, we will lead them home...

Tears of the Saints by Leeland

Her name is Leshmi, and she lives in the valley of the shadow of death.

Death hangs over her frail body. With a protruding stomach, wasted away limbs, and dark eyes set deep within cheekbones that are too thin and taut, her disease is evident. Stage III cervical cancer is laying claim to her body, cell by cell. She coughs weakly, her eyes rolling around in her head, searching for her husband's comforting face and hand as he gently strokes her hair or leg.

His name is Vnglesh, and he too lives in the valley of the shadow of death.

Broken-hearted he brings us to his small home, an 8x10 room that is their sitting room, kitchen, and bedroom, all in one. It is just one typical house in one of Delhi's leper colonies. His leprosy is evident in the bandages wrapped around his feet, and their ashy skin. Other than those signs, one would almost guess he is healthy. He sits on the bed next to his wife, Leshmi, speaking to her, stroking her hair and her skin, wishing to impart some form of comfort.

She moans gently and clutches at her lower stomach. She's curled up on her bed, and though she tries to make the effort to sit when we enter, we motion for her to stay reclined. Vnglesh brought us here, requesting that we pray for Leshmi. He sits on the bed next to his dying wife, waiting here in the valley of the shadow of death. But he looks into our faces, seeking rays of hopeful light. Will these foreigners help her?--he must be wondering.

He can't stop the tears from coming as he tells us about her condition. They have very little money for hospital trips or treatment. "I have four daughters," he says. "If there is no mother at home for the daughters, what will become of them?"

All she eats anymore is coconut water. They have no money for pain medications. As Leshmi groans softly, clutching at her stomach, the three of us look on, helpless. Julia sits on the bed, softly caressing Leshmi's back turned away from her. I sit on the bed corner or stand, able to look into Vnglesh's eyes full of hurt, Leshmi's eyes deperate for relief from the pain. Eric squats on the floor, watching the scene carefully. Outside the open door, children play their way by, and older lepers hobble by on knobby feet with stubs for fingers and hands. One crawls by crab-like, hoisting his body up on his arms, moving useless legs forward down the concrete alley bit by bit.

Vnglesh breaks down before our very eyes, sobbing and wiping his eyes with his clothing.

Truly, here is a man at the end of everything he knows and has lived for. What will he do without his wife? How will he raise his children? He is an outcast from society because of his disease. That translates to his children also being outcasts with very little hope for more than mere survival. And those odds won't be helped by being orphaned.

I don't have the heart to tell them that even in America, people usually die of stage III cervical cancer. Even rich people die. Money can't save them. What can it do? What can WE do? Perhaps buy her some coconuts for their precious water, and perhaps some pain medications to ease her passing. But in our hearts we know: she is too far gone. There is little hope left for her.

Little hope left for her in this world, anyways.

As we sit with Leshmi and Vnglesh in the valley of the shadow of death, though our hearts break for them, we ask the Lord that He would shine His LIGHT (jyoti) in that shadow. That His HOPE (asha) and LOVE (prem) would be known by them, for this life and their eternal lives to come. Through complications with translation, we were unable to share the Gospel with Leshmi and Vnglesh. But the aroma of Christ will be visiting that home again.

Pray for Leshmi and Vnglesh, and that the valley of the shadow of death they live in would be lifted, and that they would come to know the "Probu ka prem" (God of love). Pray for Leshmi's pain to ease, and if the Lord wills it, for miraculous healing for both her and Vnglesh (from leprosy). Most of all, pray for their salvation.

My God is close to the broken hearted...

below - Megan and Brittany sit with and pray for Leshmi when we first arrived at the leper colony, before Julia, Eric and I sat with her and Vnglesh inside her house.

an easy burden...

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My heart is so burdened for this team. But it's not in the way I thought it would look. It's a quiet yearning, a soft hunger for something that has nothing to do with my own self's needs or desires. A gentle call within my soul that longs for the Lord to show his all-consuming fire to these nine young men and women. They come from different backgrounds; some have been following the Lord most of their lives, some have come and gone. But whatever THEIR reasons for being here are (those vary as much as the students do), I know there is ONE purpose for each of them being here. God is working in their lives. He is desiring MORE OF THEM. He is desiring for them to give up their very lives, to take up their crosses and follow Him, to live for Him and die to their selves, to offer up their bodies as living sacrifices....He wants more of them. And whether they identify it as such or not, they are here because somewhere deep inside their souls, they know they want more of God. They came to the mission field seeking something--whether fulfillment from doing good deeds or self-satisfaction in reaching out to poor and destitute--but really what they are all seeking is a deeper relationship with their Creator, their Father, their Saviour, their King.

Though my heart is burdened for them to "get it," to understand that only in giving away their lives for Christ will they gain anything of worth, to be led by the Holy Spirit, to walk every moment fully alive in the Kingdom of God, to shine Christ so brightly that they become transparent and He becomes apparent....this burden I have for them is light, because it is a burden of the Lord.

I struggle with the burden, nonetheless. I know the Lord placed me as a leader on this trip for a reason. The fact that I'm right where God wants me has been verified numerous times since the trip started, despite some doubts I initially had. I can testify to His provision in my life in EVERY WAY. He has given me all the financial resources I need. He has given me all the physical strength and yes, even comforts, I need (or want!) He has given me opportunities to connect in the ministries right alongside the team, which fills my heart with such joy and light I think it might burst.

What He has not given me is the words to share my burdened heart with this team. I have NO IDEA how to even begin discipling them or teaching them in any way. I haven't the words to tell them about what Christ has done in my life, especially in the past 13 months, ever since the Race began. I cannot possibly begin to take on the role of "squad leader" or spiritual mentor that I wish I could. In all reality, I know Real Life is not the World Race, and inevitably lessons learned by these students will differ somewhat from those I learned on the Race (and continue to learn).

How do I act on this burden? How do I continually offer it up to the Lord, knowing that though He's given me this desire to see their lives wrecked for His Kingdom, that I can seemingly do so little about it? I feel, more than ever, that while the Lord has given me abilities to take up the role of leadership with a certain grace, there are other parts of leadership in which I am totally lacking. I have no idea how to do some of this stuff, is what I'm saying. I have no idea how to communicate to this team my desire to see the CHOOSE ALL IN to the Kingdom and start walking in the freedom that comes from full surrender. Some of them are holding on to things that I wish they would let go. But I know this is work of the Holy Spirit and not my job....

Sorry this blog has gotten so ramblingly long. I just don't have the words to communicate the things God has put in my heart for this team. All I can do is give my life over to Him daily and ask that He uses it. It's no sacrifice on my part. It's pure joy! Please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom for hard situations that need resolution, as well as grace under pressure and, most of all, the continued burdens of Christ for this team. Pray that He will pour out His Spirit on their lives....

wonderful blog by my teammate Brittany

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My beautiful sister and teammate Brittany DiSalvo wrote this blog for our India blog! Thought I'd share it with you.

Namaste, Church!

"Namaste" translates to, "I bow to the holy one dwelling within you." Oh that we as disciples would view the members of His Body as dwelling places for the Almighty!

As a short intro, I want you all to know that I am so thankful to be here. As a dear friend of mine said recently, "Apparently I was chosen to be blessed beyond measure." (I adore you, Ashley!) And that is exactly what I am. The team I get to be a part of is incredibly encouraging of each other, laid back, prone to service, attentive to the Spirit, and so much more. Our leaders are phenomenal - who wouldn't enjoy being led by Spirit-filled people who are eager to serve us and who know the right balance of fun and seriousness?

Also, the humidity is becoming more bearable and the geckos on the walls are viewed as allies rather than enemies. The puppies aren't trained yet, but their cuteness more than makes up for it. Everywhere we go makes me wish I had a camera in my hands; I am not incredibly skilled in photography but I firmly believe that skill in that area is not terribly necessary to portray the beauty and depth of these people. And finally, the open archways on all floors of this house provide a wind that constantly reminds me of the Spirit moving among us here. And there. And everywhere.

I want to post a few unedited bits from my journal today (September 16). Let me preface this first:

To dip our feet into the culture, our team was split into three groups of three and sent into a market on a scavenger hunt. We were given a list of questions to ask, desserts to try, and places to go. One thing that we couldn't have been prepared enough for was being approached by children begging for money.

We were told that some people can be particularly aggressive...but we were not prepared to be the recipients of violent but beautiful shadows set on pulling money from us. I wish to learn from their persistence.

We were told that to give money to these beggars is to do them more harm than good...but we were not prepared to be inwardly shattered as we refused to give precious faces what they were seeking.

What I wrote in response to this. Please forgive me if it seems scattered:

"...How eye-opening it was...and how prideful I can be.

Walking away and firmly refusing the cries of the beggars was so heart-wrenching. I long to show them affection, to bring them in, to dance and to laugh with them. They are seeking money, but they need so much more than that.

'I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you can become rich...' Revelation 3:18

Love is not equivalent to affection,

But affection can express love.

It runs deeper than cultural differences,

But I have to rely on the God of love to meet their greatest need.

'And so we have come to know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.' 1 John 4:16"

"Brothers, pray for us..."

Pray for rain to fall on the harvest of the Lord all throughout the world. Pray and do not doubt.

And as another good friend of mine likes to say, "Let the Jesus inside come out!"

Real Life training camp - video

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Enjoy watching the "test" we put our Team India to....

meet the Real Life leaders!

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone, I made this video for all the Real Lifers to be introduced to their leadership team for the fall. Enjoy!

...our AWAKENING

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

COME ALIVE: Join the Journey!

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Kim Daniels did an incredible job editing this video for the World Race. She even used some of my clips from throughout the year :) Watch and feel the pull on your heart...and remember....you can make the journey, too.

Bound for the nation of...

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It all started about eight months ago in the middle of the World Race. God put this idea in my heart to apply to lead an Adventures in Missions Real Life trip for the fall.

So I applied.

Now I'm going to INDIA for three months.

In about a month I'll head down to the AIM offices in Gainesville, Georgia for leader's training, training camp with my college-age team and my co-leader. Then, we'll fly to Delhi on September 13.

As I prepare to leave the country again after being home for under three months, I know God is going to do big things this fall. He is going to break the hearts of my team for what breaks His heart. He is going to awaken them to His Kingdom. He is going to use them to love the unloved, reach the unreached, serve the unserved. He is going to touch hearts through them that wouldn't otherwise be touched. He is going to call the names of the lost, using the voices of my team.

We are the voice. He is the Word.

In short, it's going to be freaking incredible.

I am so excited to step up as a leader for this trip. I know the Lord has given me something to say to this team. I know He is going to challenge me in many new ways this fall. He is going to continue breaking me in new ways, opening my eyes to the kingdoms of this world, revealing His Kingdom ways in them.

I currently have NO financial support needs, thanks be to God! He provided abundantly for the World Race, and as it stands right now I will not need anymore! (How cool is that?)

What I AM asking for is your continued prayers during these next four months. I still feel so freshly back in the country and I'm already preparing to leave again! Some call me crazy. I just think I'm addicted to following God...WHEREVER He leads. So, please pray that I'll feel fully rested and be able to finish my to-do list in the next month. Pray for my heart as I prepare to lead this team with my co-leader (introduction to her later, when I know her myself!) Pray for my team that the Lord would be preparing them for three months of Kingdom craziness, amazing adventure, heartbreak, brokenness, and invasions of pure love and joy.

More to come soon. Love. Oh, and the video below was made by my friend and incredibly talented photographer, Matt Powell. It's a glimpse of the beautiful children of India....whom I can't wait to meet. (The video was made for Samaritan's Purse--I am not going to be working with them--but loved the video anyways).

"The bad men come at night..."

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When I was in Swaziland in February, part of the time Race alumnus Morgan McKeown was with our squad and other adults on the AIM Vision Trip. It was great to have her alongside us because she had worked at Nsoko before and had testimonies of how the carepoints and the children had grown in her 1.5-yr absence. Currently, Morgan is back in Swazi and just wrote this poignant blog about a little girl we all knew then. (The Race squad Morgan mentions was ours). Please read this, know it is TRUTH and it is actually happening. Please be in prayer for how you can help or serve the broken country and people of Swaziland.

I met Eliza two years ago and instantly fell in love. She was one of the students whose education we were able to sponsor through contributions from blog readers. (Photo at the left is with Eliza on this trip - taken by Paloma.)

The last day I was here in February she arrived at the carepoint with open sores all over her foot and leg. At nine years old she was cooking over the fire and was burnt by hot oil.

After I left Swaziland Gift started investigating her injuries and the World Race team here looked into what was happening to her. It turns out that there were more then just burns, Eliza had scars and bruising all over her body. I cried and prayed and felt utterly helpless being so far away.

All I could think about was her sweetness. Every day I'm at the care point she runs to greet me and sits with her hand in mine, refusing to leave my side.   She knows her place, her hand belongs in my right hand when I'm walking and when I sit her head gets nestled right under my chin.

On Thursday we had a few free moments so, Eliza, Gift, and I sat down to talk out of earshot of the other kids.

She leaned her frail body against me and placed her hands in mine. I didn't know where to start, what do you ask when you suspect that a child is being beaten.

"How are things for you at home?" I asked. It took a moment for Eliza to respond, her small shoulders slumped further forward and she didn't lift her head while murmuring a quiet answer in SiSwati, which Gift interpreted.

"Things are bad."

"What is bad?" As I questioned her she begun to nervously run her short finger nails over my long thumbnail.

"The bad men come at night and I'm scared."

Gift explained more to me. "Her father just lost his job. The economic crisis has affected much more than people in the United States, her father was one of the ones who lost his job. Now he is drinking a lot. I think that the men she is talking about are some type of loan collectors, or some men up to not good things."

My thoughts immediately flashed to Grace and Mswana both beautiful teenage girls who have contracted H.I.V. through rape. Unfortunately their stories are brutally common in this place. Eliza doesn't show signs of having been sexually assaulted, but if she stays in her home the likelihood of her becoming a statistic and loosing her innocence as well as her life to rape is astronomic.

I tried to keep up the conversation but the words caught in my throat. Gift encouraged me to continue with more questions.

"Does your family have food at home?"

Her back pressed closer into me as she sucked in a deep breath before answering. Eliza's words came out, quiet and hesitant. "We go with out food most nights, all the nights I'm in school." At her answer a tear slipped from my eye, before I could wipe it away it landed on her short rough hair. That meant that a majority of days the only meal she was getting was the bowl of corn meal from the carepoint.

Gift explained to me, "Her father has been here at the carepiont asking for food for his family, since he lost his job he has not been able to buy food."

I felt helpless, with only questions and no answers, nothing I could do to ease her pain. A gentle breeze blew through the tree we sat under, and the sun provided enough warmth to be comfortable in a tee shirt. The setting was a stark contrast to our conversation. No child anywhere should have to go to bed hungry a majority of nights.

"Can you tell me about what else is going on at home?"

Her voice came out scared but she kept talking. "My father beats my brother and me when he comes home drunk. My mom tries to get in the way and stop him, but he just beats her as well."

"What does he use to beat you?" Tears start streaming down my cheeks, I was thankful that she's leaning against me and can't see my reaction.

"He uses a shoe or a log." The thought of someone touching this beautiful, sweet spirited, girl in that way, made me shudder. I looked into her down cast eyes and somehow despite everything they still look hopeful.

Gift continues talking with her and translating for me. He asked if she would want to go to school away from home. There are some funds available to send her to a place for abused children in Swaziland, unfortunately spots are limited and Eliza's case may not be severe enough for her to be admitted. The social worker has decided that her case only counts as negligence not abuse.

The cell phone rang and Gift leaves to take the call. I wrapped my arms tighter around Eliza's small frame while praying over her. All I want to do is shelter and protect her forever.

Eliza had to walk back before dark, and the afternoon shadows were getting long. Loosening my grip and letting her go home took every last ounce of my strength. As I watched her slight frame walk away my head fell into my hands and the tears tumbled down.

thank you from their perspective

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

These are the photos I printed for my thank-you cards to all my supporters. If you are a supporter of mine and did not get one, please send me an email with you address in it--you deserve one!

Each photo says "Thank You" in the local language of the children pictured. This is a huge Thank You to all my blog readers who supported me all year with prayer and encouragement. I appreciated every comment and email you sent my way!

Dear Friend,
Hello from Cambodia. I want to say "Arkhun" - Thank You - for helping Katie come to Cambodia last October. I have HIV and my parents don't have enough money to feed me, so I live in an orphanage with a bunch of other kids who have HIV. We get enough to eat there but let me tell you there are never enough people to give us love and attention! Whenever foreigners like Katie come, we love to hold their hands and let them carry us around when we play games and have fun. It is nice to have them smile and laugh with us. They don't understand our language but we can always get their attention by shouting "Niel! Niel!" When Katie and her friends came they taught us about Jesus and gave us yummy snacks like apples every day. APPLES! I loved them. Arkhun for helping Katie come. Please pray to Jesus for me and my friends here in our orphanage home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

Dear Friend,
Minglaba - Hello from Myanmar! I want to say "ce-zu-tin-ba-deh" - Thank You - for helping Katie come to my country last November. Ever since my parents died during Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, a nice Christian lady has been taking care of me and some other kids. She is teaching us about Jesus and how to pray to him and how even though my parents aren't here to love me anymore, he always will. When Katie and her friends came, they played some new games with us and gave us presents! I got my very own towel, toothbrush, comb, bar of soap, CANDY, and some toys. My very own! Since the lady taking care of me is caring for 24 other kids she can't really afford to give us much of our own things so we were so grateful. We told Katie and her friends "ce-zu-tin-ba-deh" just like I now say to you, for helping Katie come and buy me presents! Please pray for me and my new brothers and sisters, and for the nice lady caring for us here in Myanmar!

Dear Friend,
Hello from Matchovane, Mozambique! I want to say "khanimambo" - Thank You - for helping Katie to come here in January 2009. We live on our farms really far from any big cities, and Katie and her friends came all the way here to visit our churches. They came to my church every day for a few weeks, and they taught us many, many things about Jesus and what it means to be a Christian. They showed us this movie about Jesus and they even brought the electricity with them when they came! And one night we all went to where they were staying and we had a big party with dancing and lots of singing about Jesus. I've never seen foreigners so much! I was kind of shy with Katie at first but even though she's a white person I think she's nice. She sang some silly songs with us after teaching at our church. There's one called "A-roo-cha-cha", we looked so funny doing it that we all laughed a lot! We called her Khanimambo since it was so funny that she learned how to say Thank You in our own language, called Changana. She also learned a song about God in our language, and she can sing it for you if you ask! Please pray for me and my church here on our farms. We want so learn more about Jesus but there are not many people here to teach us, since most of the adults don't know how to read. But Katie and her friends helped buy some Bibles for those who can read and don't have one, so we are trying to learn more. Khanimambo for helping Katie come to my village in Mozambique!

Dear Friend,
Unjani - Hello from Swaziland! We want to say "Siyabonga" - Thank You - for helping Katie come here in February 2009. We live in Nsoko, the poorest area of our country. Many of the parents in our community have died from HIV, and many more have it, but no one likes to talk about it. But it means that kids like us don't have parents anymore to take care of them, so we go to care points and eat there two times a day. We had SO much fun playing with Katie and her friends at all the care points! They did all sorts of things! One day they gave out a bunch of shoes. We didn't get any because there weren't enough for all the little kids like us. Please pray for us and our country, because it is hard to live every day. We don't have money to pay school fees when we get old enough, and without education there is no way to get a job. Siyabonga for helping Katie come to Swaziland!

Pastor Gift writes pain from Swaziland.

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes the truth is hard to hear. That is why we need to hear it. If we don't know the truth about situations, we may fall prey to deception from Satan. But when we know truth, we can pray in the Spirit for God to be working in those situations. Below is another blog written by Pastor Gift Dlamini of Swaziland. This man is appointed by God to serve his country in the poorest area, Nsoko, and his love for Swaziland and for the people of the country is so great, it can only be God's love indwelling. Please read this account and pray for Swaziland, specifically this time that God would be working in this woman's heart and she would be healed, and also that God would be working in the men's life that hurt her. Please note, this true story deals with some very sensitive subjects.

The Real Life Team has left for Manzini and I am sitted in my house with Mxolisi playing a game of cards. I'm trying to tone down in preparation for the Young Adult coming with Morgan. Phumzile, a shop keeper from the small grocery shop across the street comes running into the house as if something is after her. "Pastor, they have sent me to call you. Maswane is very sick and they need your help", she announces.

We immediately stop playing and the much needed toning down and rush for the Matsenjwa homestead which is not more than 4 kilometres from the Community Center. We find this 19 year old girl writhing in pain and her grandmother begins to tell us what is wrong with her. I began to observe her from a distance and realized what was wrong with her. I then drove back home to get my first aid kit and a book loaned to me by Isabel 'When the Doctor is Away'. Maswane has a terrible skin problem. Her skin looks like a rough snake or lizard skin and has sores that are full of abscess all over the body. Her breasts are covered in scales that are hard to look at. Putting gloves in my hands I began to imagine the pain she was going through and wanted to know all about where it began. After having washed her sores, applied sore cream to them, I then gave her antibiotics and pain tablets. We used a vitamin c drink to wash them down her throat and waited. When she looked calm and settled I ordered everyone out so I could talk to her. Here is what transpired:

"Tell me Maswane what happened to you when you were young?", I asked.

"Pastor, I have been meaning to talk to someone about this before I die. When I was almost six years old, in the year 2000, I was raped by my martenal cousin. It happened right here in this house. Every one was away and I was not schooling then. He came to the house early in the morning and he raped me. The issue was reported to the police and I was taken to Saint Philips clinic for examination. But to this day nothing has happened to my cousin Zakhele. I hear he has done a similar thing to another five year old. They say he has completely damaged the young girl womanhood. No wonder, he damaged me too. They even say he is now on the most wanted police list because he raped an older woman.

Pastor, there is something else I must tell you. Not only Zakhele raped me but also my uncle. He is my father 's brother because they share the same mother but they have different fathers. He died in December but after a long illness. The scales you see on my body started soon after Zakhele raped me, but I think I got HIV from my uncle. I have only one wish now, to see Zakhele, my cousin paying for his sins. My uncle is dead and I cannot do anything about it now. However, can you help me pastor make sure the police find Zakhele and put him in jail."

"Where is he"?

"I hear he is up the mountain with relatives in South Africa. It is possible to get to him. You know what pastor. One thing that is painful in this whole thing is that I have never had a man have me because I consented. All the men that have been with me they had done so by force. My privates parts were damaged from young and now I DO NOT KNOW A MAN."

When she said this, I was already weeping and could not imagine the amount of emotional pain she is going through even as I write. Maswane is a real person and this is a true story. It is not fiction at all as it might seem. The Real Life Team while in Nsoko visited with Maswane on several occassions. In fact there is one girl who struck some kind of a relationship with her. We praise God for these teams because they help by spending time with the dying in Nsoko. I believe for Maswane to open up to me is because of the ground work that has been done by the team members.

Her mother came to me in the afternoon to say thank you for helping her daughter while she was at the farms working. She narrated how painful it is to leave her daughter alone in the morning for work. There is nothing she could do since she is the bread winner. She confirmed Maswane's rape by the cousin and how that created animosity in the family. She was surprised to learn that she was also raped by the late uncle and we began to cry together. We cried with no one to comfort us. I'm not sure why I was crying. May be because crying was the only thing I could do. She cried right by the training ground where she found me and it hurt so deep to see a mother weeping for a daughter that knows not a man.

Maswane gave me permission to use her story and her real name so people could realize the level of child abuse have come to in Swaziland. I do not know how to react. I do not know what to do. I do not know what to think. How can we stop this? How can one fulfill Maswane's wish?

Pray!

BE THE ONE

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Please watch this video most excellently put together by my squadmate Brian Alonzo.

Brian and his wife Stacy are heading back out in August to lead the K-Squad. They are Kingdom-bringers and I'm excited for them as they go on another adventure to awaken other's hearts to what God is doing in this world and serve the nations. If you appreciate this video and feel led to, please support Brian and Stacy by clicking here.

video - LOVE, or: Faces of the Nations

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT