Biogas Project

Of traveling and Easter

Well, it has been an fun-filled 2 1/2 weeks. I'll try and give you a (brief) overview of my trip through Agra, Delhi and the desert state of Rajasthan. 

I traveled with 4 other volunteers- a married couple from Canada, Jason and Renee, a guy from Indiana, Ryan, and my roommate Lene from Germany. So it was a very interesting and multi-cultural trip.
First we went to the Taj Mahal in Agra (the only thing to really do in Agra) 

Lene and I at the Taj

It really is a magnificent building. I can see why it's one of the
7 wonders of the world.

Then we went to Delhi- I like Delhi because there are quite a few free things you can do. These are from the Ghandi museum (I should say one of the Ghandi museum. There must be at least one museum in every city he ever went to).

The last steps of Ghandi before he was killed.

I'm always a little surprised at the places you find Jesus.
This was a painting about "two of the greatest martyrs"

Then we went to Rajasthan. In Bikaner we went on a camel safari- which included one day  riding camels and sleeping in the desert. 

I got a camel kiss-the joy...

Then we went to Jodhpur, the famous city of blue, has an amazing fort. Even Christian Bale has been in it because they filmed a scene from the newest Batman movie here. 

The last city was Jaipur- the capital of Rajasthan... it's supposed to be the "pink city" but I didn't really see that. We were there on a huge festival Holi... It's kind of hard to figure out the meaning behind these festivals- I don't really know if any of the locals even know why they celebrate certain festivals. But basically you buy these colors and throw them at each other- I've heard its a party to celebrate the beginning of summer- and I guess that makes sense when you're throwing colors at one another.

The Holi colors

Elephant decorated for Holi

Elephants have always been one of my favorite animals-
They're just so amazing-hairy- but amazing.

A man was bicycling around with a bunch of chicks on the back of his cycle.
I couldn't believe I was seeing real Easter chicks. It was like a live peep. 

fat monkey

after Holi

And that was my trip. It was fun, but getting back to Shishya felt so great, it's amazing how it feels like coming home. We got back at 5am the day before Easter and Easter here was just- incredible. It was such a nice day. 

On Easter they loaded everyone up onto a bus and 2 vehicles and we went off campus to a riverbed and ate delicious food and sang worship songs and went swimming- it was a lot of fun and really special for the boys. 

Karo and Shiva were bus buddies.

They were more excited than they looked-- Mam, look! Water!!! 

the worship time

Auntie, Vijay, Ryan and Jason.

On the bus to the river! 

Well folks, I think that's it.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures and I wish you all a very Happy Easter!!! (even if it's a couple days late :)

Oh, and I just want to say that God is so amazing...  I was reflecting this last week about India and thinking of the present and how he's working everything out for the future and I just want to say that God is sooo good. I said that coming back to Shishya was like coming home and it's true. Traveling is nice, necessary to be able to learn about the country I'm living in and see the different places and different gifts and needs of the people... but being here in India, and being with the boys has been above and beyond what I thought it would be like. I've learned so much about people, about children, about myself and mainly about God and his relationship with us. He loves me so much and he's given me more than I ever thought I wanted and more than I deserve. I'm really enjoying these verses right now. 

Psalm 32:8; 37:4

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Vijay's Birthday

This has been a really fun week. At first I was feeling really ugh about things but thankfully God renewed my spirit in a lot of things.

But how can I not be happy when I get to see these faces every day?!?! 

I'm so happy to be here. 

This is Vijay's birthday. Whenever they wear this crown
they always call them Prince Caspian. They really like
the Narnia movies. The little boy is his brother Shivam.

At dinner. Dinner can be REALLY funny sometimes

They all got chopsticks from China on Christmas (Frieda's
daughter and son in law are missionaries in China). So whenever
we eat chow mein they get the chopsticks out.

The girl is Beulah, she is the house-parents daughter (Ruth ,
the mom is in the background) The boys really love her and
I think they have a really good brother-sister relationship with her.

I am with you heart & soul

           I was recently talking to my good friend Ashly about what it means to really follow Jesus and live out our lives for him. She recently started a blog you can look at here that talks about the same thing. I just want to say that I'm so incredibly thankful for her. She's one of those people who I can always count on to be honest and we can talk so naturally and freely about our relationship and walk with God. Her encouragement and prayers have really pushed me ahead with my walk so THANKS ASHLY! 
            But about living for Christ... I was watching this video by Francis Chan and I was just extremely challenged by the passage 1 Samuel 14:1-23- basically what is happening in this passage is that the Philistines and the Israelites are in a fight, but Jonathan and his armor bearer go first by themselves to fight... and it was only after they had gone and were gaining victory that Saul and the rest of the armor joined in. 

Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us , for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving the many or by few." So his armor bearer said to him, "Do all this is in your heart. Behold, I am with you heart and soul."

I just can't get this picture out of my head. Two men going into battle by themselves against an entire army in pure faith that the Lord would win the battle for them... and only after they were winning (with the Lord's help of course) the rest of the Israelites joined them.
And now in my life, I don't want to be the last one coming into the battle, I want to be the person who runs in first believing with my heart and soul that God will win the battle.

               I was in Rishikesh for the day yesterday to pick up my roommate's jacket she left at the hotel last time we were there. On the bus ride home I was thinking about the plans for the next couple years I think God is leading me in (I'll write another blog about that sometime) and I was just thinking "God what can I even do for the the people in the world? I only have your message to give". He just told me "My message is enough to send you anywhere in the world, because I am enough for the world. I am enough for you" 

and I think the message the God is trying to get across my heart is that he IS enough, more than enough. Doing anything, whether its being a homemaker or a missionary or a farmer or whatever, it is only worth doing if it's for him,out of love for him and for the people he died for. And I don't just want to do his calling begrudgingly or for the sake of doing something nice.I want to run after him- being willing to stand alone if that is the cost, or live in a different country for the rest of my life, or working a minimum wage job and giving my entire salary to the church or to the poor. I want my life to wholly reflect to the world his goodness and faithfulness and sacrifice. 

Matthew 10:25,37-39- It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Ad whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, an whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

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We live in a beautiful world... This is my beautiful India :) 

I don't know if you can tell but not only is it raining but it is hailing!
I was going crazy because this is the closest to snow I ever got here... frozen ice
falling from the sky.

The Ganges river at sunset. 

This is a ghat in Rishikesh. People wash here because
the ganges river is supposedly able to wash you
from your sins.

My beautiful roommate, Lene and I. 

A monkey joined us for lunch.

I've been told that the pictures of the Hindu gods are there to keep
people from peeing on the walls because "god is watching you"
I guess it's one way to get things done.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 

Life Goes on Forever...

"Before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil having already having put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13:1-5

This week I'm coming upon 7 months in India... And it is just crazy to think of everything that has happened, and that I have a mere 4 months left if I leave as planned on the last week of May. I do think about the future quite a bit, what I will do after this, what God has planned for me next. I've come to the conclusion that I should stop making plans, I should stop creating scenarios in my head of what it might be like coming home... good and bad. I need to live, live with the conviction of this:

 "Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true." John 3:33.

 And when I was reading John 13 something in it hit me like I was just kicked by a horse and tears just came out- that Jesus... knowing he would die, knowing he would be betrayed by someone who claimed to love him, knowing he would suffer, and knowing that God had given all things into his hands. He could have said no and lived a normal life.. he could have been satisfied with the fame of few and the power he already had. He could have said no... He knew he was from God. He knew he hadn't done anything deserving of death, let alone a painful death. But instead of saying "no" instead he humbled himself before the disciples. Removing his clothes, wrapping himself in a towel, he washed the disciples feet (any of you who have lived in a second or third world country would know how dirty your feet are!) and dried them with the towel tied around his waist. How amazing is that.... How humbling is it to realize the God who created you is washing is your feet... in his underwear! All to give us life. To give us a new life, an eternal life, in Him and His Father, to give us the Spirit.

I've been thinking about life lately. There was a new life, a baby girl, Simyana, born  to the son, Asher,  and daughter-in-law, Lara, 

to Frieda and Ken who run this place. They have recently become the houseparents of the older boys and are just really an amazing. Lara has been a good friend and mentor to me in the months here.

The other volunteers and I made a baby mobile for Simyana

Something I appreciate about life is that you can always have a chance at a new one, or a new opportunity to understand and appreciate the gift given to us. Especially an opportunity like moving to a new country for a year. It really does give you a new perspective, a renewed perspective. Not only of your own country and home, but of the God who created it all. It's been nice to come here and have the chance for God to teach me so many things about himself that I've always known but never really known before. 

This was one of our activities in "Activity Time" at school. 

There are so many new things for the boys when they come here. One big focus is education. Many of the new boys who have come here don't speak any English, many of them don't even speak proper Hindi. When they come most of them have never been to school regularly before. So my roommate and I get to teach them. Which are not only new experiences for them but also for us as well.

These are two of my best students. Devender and Vijay. I've been teaching Devender for  nearly the whole time I've
arrived here and I'm just AMAZED at how we started with the alphabet and now he's trying (and succeeding!) at reading so many other things. 

Vijay is my little professor because he loves to learn. He's so funny
when he finally understands something... "Ohhh yess Mam Yess!!!!!"

I have to say that I really do love my students. They can be so sweet sometimes. "Mam, are you happy? If you're happy we're happy!" 

We are also reminded of life at our birthdays each year. Sometimes I think I often to forget to be thankful just for being alive. 

It was my roommate, Karo's birthday on the 28th of January.

We almost always eat chow mein for birthdays... all the boys have chopsticks but they
were trying to eat with one in each hand!

 One of the boys school books called for a family photo. So I luckily got a couple snaps of this family!  Something that I've been quite impressed with is that this really is a family. It's diverse, with 16 boys from India (and with 2 from Nepal), it can be a bit chaotic and messy sometimes... but somehow it works. But I think that somehow is a somewho... aka God. Because slowly, steadily, faithfully, God renews them. He renews the houseparents, he renews and heals the boys... its plain and clear that God is working in their lives. And I'm so thankful to be a part of that.

Beulah, Ruth Auntie,Devender, Rahul, Vijay, Bharat, Ashish, Ratan, Miraj, Rohan Preetam, Gautam, Harsh,
Daksh, Bhaskar, Shivam, Anit, Shiva. (Not pictured: Kirran Uncle. He was feeling sick this night).

                       This is Shivam. When he got here he just hung on his brother's back for the first week. I didn't see him smile for at least one month. Now it's been a quite a few and he doesn't stop talking to you, he will run and play and scream like a normal 4 year old. He can already speak some basic English. And God loves him so much. It's the only way I can explain a smile like this. And I can't help but smile back. Because not only does God give new life to us, he makes it new every day. With every blessing, with every smile from the boys here...with every tear shed from sadness or frustration, God is breathing His life into me.

And I am so thankful. That even when we feel uncertain, or our hearts are just broken from the loss of someone close, the upheavals of life are still God's way of reaching us, of finding our dead places and breathing his life into them. Because he loves us.