12 weeks down.

Kate and I at a wedding in the church, the bride's family threw her out and disowned her for marrying a Christian. She had to hide from her family members in case they tried to kill her which happens often. 
Mary, Jyoti, Hittin, Akash
Rahul, Mary and Akash
This is one of our walls in our room. Thanks to Auntie Sue for the magazine!!!!
Well our time is almost over. It is kinda funny to us because we feel as though we have no time left, when most people go on trips for this long...But we are definitely in the home stretch!!!!!

 I can honestly say that this has been the hardest experience of my life, but it has opened my eyes about my relationship with the Lord. It has taught me who I am and who I need to strive to be. I have seen my weaknesses and been ashamed of the person that I can sometimes be, but I have learnt that confessing my sins before God is an amazing blessing he has given us. I have seen God's faithfulness over and over again, He has not let me down. This trip has changed my outlook on life, and I hope I will never go back to my old way of thinking. I know that the friendships and bonds that I have made over here will be life long, I will never forget these people...and I hope they won't forget me either. 

I will be ok If i never go on a train again...

Kate and I with the newly married couple
On our way to the wedding with Rani a member of the Kumar family. I think this was while the car was broken down (that happens alot)

A beautiful sunset in one of the villages 

The Paradeep harbor
A village in Rourkela (hottest place in Orissa) All the ladies who have been baptized cover their heads

Attu and Kate eating off of the leaf plates that we used almost our whole trip in Orissa we also ate only with our hands (who needs forks anyways)
Kate and I with the family who are in charge of the orphanage in Rourkela Orissa
Me in front of an old jeep at the King's palace in Balangir Orissa wearing a real saree
A 2 day  old goat, soooo cute
Babu (we just met him the night before the wedding, but him and Attu are best friends) and his wife Lina getting married. We actually got to see the ceremony (the wall was decorated with merry christmas, we couldn't figure that one out) 
This is in Pastor Daniel's fathers village, we spent a day there. The ladies put fairness cream on me and Kate, and loaded us up with powder. We tried to explain to them at that home we lay on the beach for hours trying to get darker, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. They really believe the stuff works...
This is how the bathe, looks like fun to me. It is their washing machine, their bath tube, and their play place
All of our fruit that we ate on the car ride from the train station. 

one of the cutest little kids, babu


This was a children's home where the kids were taken from where all of the Christians are being persecuted terribly. 
The Lord is good, so after over 100 hours on a train, eating the spiciest food of our lives, swimming in the bay of bengal, walking miles to villages where humans are still sacrificed while trying to hide from the witch doctor, traveling for 2 hours in a rickshaw with 14 people on to pray at a families house for 15 minutes, being watched by the whole of orissa and being known every where we went, meeting so many new people, speaking to crowds of people about Jesus,hanging out in the hottest place in India, sweating more than our body weight, staying in different orphanages, riding on motorcycles going not safe speeds while holding kate's hand on the opposite bike, trying to stomach the food we were given with a smile on our faces, not brushing our hair the whole trip, riding in buses that were packed with atleast 50 people too many, we finally got back to Delhi. 

So yes, if i never ride on a train i will be completely ok. It was wayyyy too long, it took 36 hours to get to Orissa, then throughout the trip we took other numerous trains around the state, and then to get back to Delhi it was another 40 hours. We felt like we lived on trains. oh and one of the funnest parts was going to the bathroom in that little hole in the ground while the train was shaking like crazy (it was not pleasant.) But once we got to Orissa, it was beautiful, but soooo hot. Like living in Florida we think that it is hot, but this was like 10 times hotter and with no AC, there is so much we take for granted. 

Well now i will tell you the good stuff, i could tell you all about the scenery and the beauty of Orissa but I'll leave that part out and i will tell you about what matters...The fact that there are Christians over here getting persecuted for standing up for the faith in Jesus. They are being tormented and abused, and killed for their faith. We drove for hours, hiked for miles, and finally reached a village. As we walked through the bush the pastor told us about the history of these villages; the people are still held by witchcraft and it dominates their lives, they live in fear...When the witch doctor sees something he doesn't like he performs mantra on them and some horrible thing happens sometimes death. The pastor was telling Kate about how one time he was in a village (not the same i don't think) and he was praying for people and this man started to perform mantra on him from afar wanting to kill pastor, but it ended up killing the man instead. It is hard for us to believe that this stuff is really happening, but it is. Right across the world from us... After hearing these stories and walking for miles we finally reached the village, the people were very welcoming and the witch doctor sat down the road and watched... As soon as we sat down two girls came out with a bucket and the came to me and motioned for me to take off my shoes and then they began to wash my feet. It is their custom to wash their visitors feet after they arrive...I pretty much just sat there in shock as they moved down the line of our little group washing foot after foot. And then it was our turn to speak, all i could do was pray and ask God to use my words to reach these people. I am not even sure what i really said, but i know they weren't my words. After we sang and talked they sat our group down on mats and told us to take off our shoes so we did. Then they brought out leaf plates and bowels, and served us dinner on them. We have had some practice with using our hands, but this was the real test...everyone was watching...I think we did a pretty good job, but the thing is everyone is watching to see how you like it, so even though it basically burned a whole in my mouth we had to smile and keep using our hands as spoons to put the spicy goat back in our mouths. By this time it was pitch black outside, and we had brought one small lantern so that was all we had to see by. After we ate, we spent some more time with the people, taking pictures and talking. We had to walk back in the dark, so with tribal drums in the background we took each step carefully and we hiked the miles back the where we left the rickshaw. 

Having this opportunity is once in a lifetime...I will never forget this, i will never forget the women of the villages who just want to hold my hand and stroke my back. Or the little children who we teach high 5's to. These people have made an impression on my life, their faces are etched into my heart and they are helping form me in the way God desires me to be. 

I don't know if you know what an auto rickshaw is, but it is this little three wheeled almost golf cart thing that goes pretty fast. Well i think we should get an award for the most people on it, because we functioned with fourteen on an over two hour ride through bumpy roads and rivers. We only had two days to visit all the villages because of how far out they are, so we drove a couple hours to this one village where there is a family who are the only Christians for miles and miles. They have even been shunned from the public well so they have had to make their own. They have no means of transportation and rarely anyone has time to drive out there. So they are alone, the family consisted of a mom, two daughters, and one son. Could you imagine being the only Christians in south Florida? That's how they were. We were only able to spend maybe 20 minutes with them because we had a train (uh) to catch. But they needed some encouragement, and plus for them to see white people is a rarity. Most have never seen a white person before. We are now used to the consistent stares and wide eyed expressions as we walk by. But seeing this family that has no one else, makes me think of all the encouragement we get from our church's and Pastors. I love my church, it is big, but everywhere you go there is someone there encouraging you and we think our lives are hard.... I admire the village people so much. They have so much faith, and so much perseverance. At another village we visited (where again we ate with our hands off of the leaf plates in the smoldering hotness) we learnt about the Auntie's(the lady whose house we were eating at) husband who had gone away thirteen years ago for business and got possessed by and evil spirit, so much so that when he came home he could not enter his house, the spirit would not let him. So he has been living outside their house for thirteen years. When we learnt about this, Attu and the pastor's wife went over to him and asked him to join us for lunch..He agreed!!!! We watched as this man walked into his house after thirteen years of watching from the outside. His expression was wide eyed as he took every thing in and walked through the front room. He came and joined us, didn't say much but had a huge smile the entire time. After we went and spoke to a group of people who had gathered under a huge mango tree. Before we left we were able to pray for the Auntie, and her husband. 

Over the two weeks we were gone, we experienced so many things... I have so many other stories to share also. But for now i will leave you with this. Please pray for our perseverance in these last two weeks that we are here. 

Akash!!!!!!!

This is Akash... and a picture of his ribs! (He was so proud)He was born with an extra finger on both of his hands. Some call it luck, but i think it would of made his life extremely hard as he grew up. 

So Kate and I decided to raise money for this chance of a lifetime for him. Just look at that face, he is a sweetheart!It wasn't easy on him, he didn't really understand what was going on. And he definitely did not like getting the iv in his hand. But he was brave, and he also got to ride in a wheel chair!!! He loved itHe also entertained us basically the whole time, with his singing and dancing. This was a little while after surgery, look at that smile!!! He made friends with everyone in the recovery room, even if they couldn't participate in the friendship, he still tried.

It did hurt him a lot, although he tried to be strong. 

But he got to stay with his didi's (sisters) and he even got his own bed on the floor.. but.. he would much rather stay in the bed with me. 

This little boy has stolen my heart, he is always one to initiate prayer when something is wrong, and his personality is amazing. Right now he is sitting next to me listening to my ipod and just dancing away. There is never a dull moment with this kid around. 

Little things

So there is a million things i could say about the last week, but i am going to tell you a story that completely touched my heart. Besides going to the Taj Mahal (Which was absolutely amazing, and we had a lot of fun) there is something else that happened that will forever be on my heart. A little boy named Akash, born with 14 fingers, he is the sweetest kid ever. Kate and I really felt a tugging on our hearts to do something for him. So we asked Daniel's wife Eunice about him getting surgery, and she told us they just couldn't afford. So we prayed about it, and decided we would pay for the surgery and try to raise the money when we got home. So yesterday we took him to the hospital and he had the surgery. We were there all day, he went through ups and downs, but he was extremely brave. In the recovery room we took 30 minute turns of going in and sitting with him. He was out of it for the most part, but as we started to wake up he began to sing. There was an older man and an older woman on both sides of his bed, but he said to me Didi can we sing some songs, so we did. He started with Light of the world, and it was so cute. He definitely made that room brighten up a little bit. He also asked me to pray for him, and to thank God for helping him in the surgery room. It completely melted my heart... After being at the hospital for 9 hours, we went home. And Eunice asked us if we could take care of him, so we brought another mattress into our room and we took care of him. He didn't want to be left alone so he followed us everywhere even though he was pretty out of it. He was so grateful for everything we were doing for him. We tried to get him to sleep on the mattress on the floor but he didn't want to be alone. So i let him sleep in the bed with me, he's a hard one to sleep next to thats for sure. Half into the night i had to pick him up and put him on the other mattress, but i had to pry his little hands and feet off from around my body. I was really sick in the night (throwing up) i think it was from the hospital food...But this morning after i gave Akash his medicine, he made sure i was taken care of. He gave me some ibuprofen and water and then told me Didi your room is dirty and he started to clean. This is a little boy who just had surgery on his hands the day before, yet here he was trying to clean my room. I pretended to sleep while i watched him our of the corners of my eyes. It was such a precious thing to see, and i doubt i will ever forget it...We don't have anywhere to put our clothes so we keep them in our suitcases but that just makes more of a mess, but he made sure everything was cleaned up. All the dirty clothes put in the bathroom, all the clean ones back in the suitcases and he cleared up our table and put everything in it's place. I can not describe to you how it made me feel to watch him. He has such a servants heart. Once the other kids got home from school (today was their first day back from holiday) he got a couple of them and brought them into my room, he then told them that i wasn't feeling well and asked them all to pray for me. I was stunned, i did not expect it at all. But the faith they have could honestly move mountains. They all prayed separately with all sincerity, believing with all that they have that i would feel better. These kids are a special group, i will never forget them. I hope and pray that i can learn to have the faith that they have. 

taj mahal

This is us on the way out of the Taj



Our train was at 5am, so on the way there we had beds. I have no idea who those people are under me. They weren't there when i fell asleep.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

My heart was broken yesterday.

If only i could explain to you the things we saw, the smells we smelt, and the people wasting away right before us. But i do not think that my words could ever fully explain it, no matter how hard i tried. 

We were told when we first got here about a man who has a heart for lepers, we met this man, his name is Victor.

 We really felt a tugging on our heart to go to these people. So yesterday we got in the car, not really knowing what to expect, but giving our day to God. 

As we parked the car, we saw a village of small shacks that was complete destitution. We could not even leave a water bottle in the car because the car would be broken into and the water stolen. 

We started to walk into the beginning of the shacks. But this wasn't just a normal slum in India. It was a leprosy colony, full of people whose bodies were slowly being eaten away and falling off. This was one of thirty six colonies in New Deli alone, there was over 200 families living in the colony, which completely blew my mind. There are so many people suffering from a disease that is now curable. 

These people have come to Delhi, because once one member of a family gets leprosy they are shunned from their villages. Not only the one member, but the whole family also. These people rarely have contact with people outside of their colony, except for when they have to go to the hospital in extreme situations. 

We missed the church service which is held by Pastor Victor every sunday, because we got locked inside the Children's home. But the pastor asked us if we would be willing to go house to house and pray for each family, so we did. 

So we prayed, in each house of this colony. We prayed for everything, there were moments of laughter, and moments of sadness that took your breath away. These people honestly have nothing, since they have gotten the disease they have been cast out of their homes, and are looked at as disgrace's. 

Although some of the people had accepted Jesus as their Savior, hope was missing from their faces. The joy of Jesus wasn't there. Hardly any outsiders come and visit these people, and the lack of physical touch among them hung in the air. All they want is to be accepted and loved for who they are. When Jesus came upon a leper in the Bible, He didn't turn him away, He healed him. 

I do not think that most people could stomach what we saw, so i am thankful to God that He gave Kate and I a heart of compassion for people like this. As we walked from house to house people were handing us babies left and right, either to pray for them or just to hold them. Walking into different houses it was amazing to feel the different atmospheres in each house, you knew if it was a Christian home right when you walked in the door, prayer came easily and laughter soon followed. But entering into a hindu or muslim home was a completely different experience, Satan didn't want us there, so he made it hard for us, either by causing distractions or having the people not want us to pray for them (but would always let us pray for their children.) 

We met a girl, she was about 8 years old. They us pray for her for deliverance of evil spirits when we first got there, but we really didn't know the whole story. But at the last house, the girl appeared again, and we were told her story. Both of her parents were lepers, and they both had aids...so she had aids. This 8 year old girl, had no parents,  was living in a leper colony, and had a disease that will soon take her life. The Pastor said she was his special case, and that he knew Jesus would heal her. I pray so hard, that she will be healed. She was beautiful, and her smile was contagious. Please pray for this girl. She may never get to move away from the colony but she can be healed and make a difference in the lives of her neighbors. 

On an amazing note, we met this one man. He was old, most likely in his late 70's. His wife was extremely sick, and will probably not live much longer. But this man's stories is absolutely amazing. He was the first Christian in the colony, he gave his life to Christ 37 years ago, and since then he has brought 185 people to Christ in the colony. Which has completely changed the outlook in the colony.  

Hopefully we will be able to go back and visit the people again, and be able to go to the other colonies.

amazing children

"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4

Every night at 7:30 twenty two kids gather downstairs in the living room, and they worship the Lord. Kate and I sit in awe at these kids love and devotion to Christ. They do this bible study all on their own, with no one pushing them to do it. The oldest of these is thirteen and the youngest five. They challenge each other to learn new bible verse, and to learn new praise songs. And the way these kids pray, is amazing. I now know what God means when He says He wants us to have a child like faith. When these kids pray, there is no hesitation, no holding back. They pray and they believe what they ask for will be given to them. These kids have nothing, and when i mean nothing they literally do not own anything, or have anything to call their own. Even the clothes they wear are not their own, they are just passed around each kid. At dinner tonight i was sitting next to Vikash a ten year old boy who has lived in the home for three years, and he was telling me abut his life before coming to the children's home. It really broke my heart when he started crying about how his dad had passed away and how his mother doesn't want anything to do with him. He is the oldest of four, and his mom just abandoned him.  I am sure all of the kids have similar stories, but it will take time for them to open up to us enough for them to trust us with their hurt. Please pray that while these kids open up their hearts to us that we will know how to respond to them, and how to keep their thoughts on the ultimate Father who will never leave them nor forsake them.