homeless in delhi–>home to america

we found ourselves in a rather difficult situation when we arrived in delhi:  our flight to amsterdam was overbooked and due to our late connection from kolkata, our seats ended up filled and the gate was shut on us.  due to lack of communication on behalf of the KLM flight staff and the apparent chaos that seems to hover over india, we were left on our own to handle the situation… well, not exactly alone.  as frusterating, hopeless, tiring and unfair the situation was, we serve a God who is able to work all things out for the good of those that love him.  and he did.

we got split up on different flights and different days, but 4 days later than expected we are all now safe and sound in minnesota enjoying a very much shortened debriefing time together before graduation night.

words are difficult to find to sum up the feelings of being home from an experience like the one we have had.  One always comes home from things like this with new perspectives of the world around them, sometimes a lot of questions, a lot of stories, a lot to think about.  its hard to go back to the way things always were before you left them, i know that much.  to suddenly be thrown back into life in america after experiencing life in a place like India is a difficult transition.  but God who has been faithful to us, and given us strength to do everything-he will be faithful to us now to give us the strength for what waits for us in our lives here at home.

thank you once again to everone for praying for us.  our adventure has come to a final close, though the things God did will stick with us forever.  the students will be graduating thursday night the 25th here at the ywam campus if you’d like to come and hear a few stories!

returning home

well, our trip has come to an end.  we have our bags packed and our taxis arriving at 4:30 this afternoon (indian time.)  while we wait, we are distributing some of our clothes and blankets to homeless families and having some prayer and worship to thank God for all he has done for us in this time.  he has been more than wonderful to us in our ministry, in our lodging and food, in our health and safety, in pretty much every way we could imagine.

a long day of travel awaits us, we fly from kolkata to delhi (3 hours) from delhi to amsterdam (8 hours) and from amsterdam to minneapolis (8 hours)  not to mention all the layover time.  (needless to say, we’ll be playing lots of dutch blitz and other card games.)  we will arrive sunday afternoon in minnesota.

thank you all so much for your support and your interest, your prayers and encouragement to us!  it has been fun to read comments and hear what you have to say on the other side of the world.  we will post again when we arrive safely in minnesota.

as for prayer requests, please pray for the following:

safe travel, lots of energy for the long travel, continued health (its difficult to travel if one gets sick…), and for our transition back to american life which can be rather difficult (the plane rides are a nice time to process things, so pray we would be able to do that!)

-lisa and team

jonos’ post

As we mentioned before, from the moment you enter India, you enter an entirely new world. In all countries and cities you get the good and the bad, happy and the sad, some things are quite open and many things are hidden, but here, in India, it is all quite ‘in your face’… well it is where we are here in Kolkata anyway. The garbage and the burning of the garbage (which is quite problematic to many people’s sinuses) are not only in the streets, but on the MAIN roads! Death and sickness is to be seen in every street, whether dogs and puppies, or children and adults, it cannot be escaped! Almost every day I go to 2 of the Mothers of Charities’ hospices here in Kolkata and spend my time with the patients showing the love of Christ. I sit holding them, rubbing lotions into their skin, and recently I have been massaging a couple of the patients, but I especially love praying for them. I saw a few of those people end up dead there. I also go to Kalighat (the other hospice that I and many other of my team mates volunteer at) in the afternoons and yet again I witnessed the deaths of numerous people. That is why they call it ‘The House of the Dying’! People are brought there to die! Well, 2 days ago we all felt that we should worship between the patients at Kalighat and so we did. We prayed about it before hand and all the way there I prayed for the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of the patients, volunteers and even the nuns. We finally did worship between the patients, first among the women, then among the men, while holding them, and God really came through! It was beautiful. As we worshiped in ‘spirit and in truth’ God gave us favor with everyone! The last few songs we sang as I was stroking the head of a dying man. At that moment I felt that the Holy Spirit was truly present. The man died as we sang ‘Mighty to Save’. As we walked away that day we were all sad at the death of that man and I got the realization that this man would have died anyway if we weren’t there. The fact that we were there that day to worship might have a much bigger impact than we thought. Who knows, the people who were listening might get saved because of the fact that we worshiped the God who is mighty to save while they witnessed a death. Every second 2 people die on this blue-green planet. Most of those will not end up in heaven, but what we do and what we say to any person who is destined to die one day might change that person’s eternal destiny. So I made a conscious decision that this death will encourage me to make a difference in as many people’s lives as possible, whether I worship among them or speak to them, that their last second on earth will be a good ending and an even better beginning.

“The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.” – Joan Borysenko

“The Ultimate statistic is that 10/10 people die.” – Ray Comfort

a story from hayley

Kolkata, a whole different world; a city filled with garbage, dogs, dead rats, live ones too, people living and breathing in the streets, beggars, tourists, the list goes on and on! Now, there are a lot of good things too! There are little children pooping on the side of the street (cute, really), little puppies running around, genuine smiles and people, and so much more!! But Kolkata is known as the city of death. Death, what a word. It’s a word that we all are so afraid of and yet we really can’t comprehend. I encountered death this week. At one of my ministry sites, a younger woman was dying. She had eyes that were filled with love and kindness. She stopped eating and would sleep. I would visit her and pray over her while she slept. I knew she was dying. The thought of her dying scared me. Friday, Feb. 5th I came in and sat with her. That day she had her eyes opened and was looking at me when I spoke. I sang songs to her and talked to her about Jesus Christ. She would respond sometimes by getting tears in her eyes and just looking at me. The nurse told me that she only had a few hours left. At that moment I realized that she was going to die. I watched her breathe. She would use every muscle in her body to inhale and exhale. There would be long pauses and my heart would just stop. I took her hand, looked into her eyes, smiled, and sang to her. I mostly sang the song “I could only imagine” by Mercy Me. For my lips could only sing that. I had to leave so Kirstin and I prayed over her. I left her. The emotions that rose up were anger. Anger that I left her. Sadness that she was dying. Afraid that I would never see her again, but hopeful in the end that I would! Well, she died that day. It’s sad that I didn’t even know her name. But, I still remember her sweet face and her kind eyes. I know that God called me to bring life to Kolkata. Yeah, people could think that I brought death, I mean she died. But, that’s not the way I look at it. I brought life. Life is JESUS! I brought Him. And Life and Death go hand in hand. For, everyone has to go through death to have life. I look back and I have to say that I am impressed with how God planned this. How He used me, taught me, and how great it was to be a part of His great plan! Death has really shown me this: Without Death there would be no life. If God didn’t allow death we would live in this horrible, painful world forever! As hard as death is, I am thankful for it. Don’t get me wrong it is still heart-breaking, painful, and horrible. I guess now I understand just a little bit about death. Death: a word that had skulls, cross bones, and blood. Now death is a word that has a tree of life. A tree of life with flowers blooming. Death: a way to have life.

-hayley senger

a bit of kolkata

wow, what a change from southern india!  compared to the south, which we have been told is the ‘real’ india, this city is very modern, and a little more liberal.  no more cows, a LOT more people (and traffic… if you think the traffic is bad where you live, please come to india and you will appreciate your city.  also, it has been noted that if you are an environmentalist and think that america is doing a terrible job about the environment, you also have not been to india and should come soon.)  all that to say, its a dirty city, where the tissue turns black when we blow our noses.

did we mention that in the city of kolkata there are 400,00 people who eat, sleep, work, live, give birth and die in the streets of kolkata?  there are homeless men women and children on nearly every street corner.  i have never seen so much poverty.

we started our work with the sisters of charity-which is the ministry of mother teresa.  it has been a very new and eye openeing experience for all of us.  we work in four different houses:  kalighat and prem dan- the houses for elderly, dying, and ill patients from the streets.  and also shishu bavhan and dayadan-the houses for mentally and physically handicapped children.  our jobs include washing dishes, feeding the patients, bathing them, washing laundry, doing excercise with them, and of course simply being with them and showing them love in whatever way we can.  one of our greatest opportunities for ministry here is with the other volunteers.  we have met people from literally all over the world who come to kolkata just to volunteer for the homes.  we have met people from places like albania, germany, the netherlands, australia, sweden, argentina, chile, spain, china, thailand and MANY other countries.  many of whom are searching for something meaningful in life.  so you can imagine how much fun we are having telling them about OUR reason for doing this, which is jesus and the hope we have in him.

it is becoming more and more real to all of us in a city ruled by the goddess of death that our God is truly unique and wonderful.  the God of life, hope, beauty, love, justice… the list goes on.  at least i myself am more in love with him in the face of other gods than i remember feeling any other time.  surrounded by muslims, hindus, and the endless list of volunteers who don’t know what they believe, i can honestly say that i appreciate and love jesus so much more and i cry out for them to know him as we do.  i know of no other place where hope is so real and life has as much meaning as it does with jesus as the lord of it. 

please continue to pray for us to have opportunities to share about this hope and to be able to continue strong as this is a spiritually, emotionally and physically challenging part of our trip in india.  thanks to God we are still healthy and safe!!

-lisa and the india team.

Kolkata!!

Just so everybody knows we arrive Kolkata yesterday (Wednesday) at 4:00 am!  The train ride was amazing and we had a really good time to have fellowship with one another and rest

Thank you so much for your prayers and word of encouragement! Each one of you have been and important part to get to this half  point of this trip! Please continue this journey with us during this last 3 weeks and a half in India!

With love and gratitude,

-India Team

Train Itinerary

We’re leaving for Kolkata in about 5 hours. We depart tonight (monday) at 11:40 PM and arrive at 4:00 AM wednesday morning.  at the train station in kolkata, we are being picked up by a staff member of the baptist mission guest house where we will be staying for the rest of our time in india.

on friday we will begin our work with the sisters of charity (mother teresa homes) and will keep you all posted as much as possible.

for a little background on where we will be:  the city of kolkata is dedicated to the goddess kali.  kali is the goddess of death and war, the ‘mother’ goddess of hinduism.  (for a fascinating glimpse of hindu gods, go look up a picture of her on google images.)  one of the mother teresa homes which takes care of the dying is located right next to her temple, the kaligat.  kolkata is on the northeastern side of india.

please pray for us to be ambassadors of life, and the God of life.  and to speak life to one another on our team continually.  also for continued protection and health for us.  all has been well so far and we are so thankful!

will post again in kolkata!!!!!! 

closing ministry time in Chennai

Over the last few weeks we have had the priviledge of being part of an incredible ministry in Chennai India.  Each week we rotate between three different ministries:

1. packaging and rolling medical equipment here at the base,

2. Participating in medical treatment in the leper colonies,

3. And working at Little Lights Childrens’ Home.

The connection between these three ministries makes each one uniquely important.  If we were not preparing medical bandages, they would not be able to help in the leper colonies.  If they did not help in the leper colonies, the lepers would not trust them to take care of the children.  And if the children were not coming to the center, the cycle of poverty could not be broken.

But cycles can be broken.  There is a way out.  Tables can be turned.

And the tables here are turning as they always do in the kingdom of God.

In a leper colony where fathers do not know how to treat their sons, the children are becoming “parents” and the parents are the ones who need discipline.

In a society where the leper girl is not accepted at school because of her social stigma-yet she gains better marks than all her classmates-the students are becoming teachers and the teachers are the ones who need to learn.

I’m beginning to believe all the more in a different world for India.  One in which the children grow up and become doctors, not beggars.

Where leprosy is healed and done away with BY those doctors.

Where temples are turned to hospitals not places of sacrifice,

And the doorposts will be washed of their idolatrous pictures by the blood of Jesus.

Where the children will rise up and say no more.

And the caste system will only be memories in history books.

Well that is the India I believe is possible.

All the more because I scrubbed its future (the children) in the shower this morning, fed it breakfast and know the workers who invest in it.

Nothing in the world could stop a group of people who believe something is possible and serve a God who can actually make it happen.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has been praying for us.  We could not do all this without your help.  Our time in Chennai is coming to a close.  But there is more waiting for us in Kolkata….

India in 30 words or less.

honking. temples. passion. beauty. cows. lepers. challenge. caste-astrophy. confusing. chaos. “okay no problem.” what is that smell? new experiences. heart-wrenching. “maximum dirty.” colorful. life. worth it. India needs Jesus.

-compiled by the 9 India team members reflecting on the experience in India so far.

A word About the Little Lights Childrens’ home

Little lights childrens’ home is one of our ministries here in Chennai.  The children are all the children of lepers from nearby colonies.  The school would not let the children come at first in fear of the stigma associated with leprosy.  We help them get ready for school, assist the workers in their daily tasks of keeping the facility clean and the childrens’ clothes washed, we feed them, bathe them, play with them, and teach them about Jesus through our kids’ programs.  To us and the YWAMERs here; these children are the future.

Here is a note from Kirstin Millers’ perspective at LLCH:

“How great is our God, sing with me how great, how great is our God.”  Those are the beautiful words I heard at Little Lights Childrens’ home.  While Jono, Kelsie, and I were ironing the school uniforms, the little voices raised that praise to the Lord.  It was about 10:30 in the morning and the children were not at school.  That is because the festival of harvest was happening (Pongal).  It is a Hindu festival that is celebrated all over the world.  Instead of participating in it, the future ywamers were upstairs praying, praising, and learning.  After singing praise songs, both common English ones but also Tamil worship, the children and some of the female staff: Daisy, Sathya, Kathra, and Gladia, laid hands on each other and started praying fervently over each other in Jesus’ name.  It was such an amazing sight to see and it lifted my heart and brought such joy to my soul.  5 to 12 year olds laying their hands on foreheads and shoulders to seek Christ with and for their peers.  To lift requests up to the one true God.  My how their little hearts just blew me away!  I can see why the home is called ‘Little Lights Childrens’ home.”  These children are so different from the rest of their peers outside the home.  They are taught how to follow Jesus by the amazingly gifted staff at the home, and they really take it to heart.  When they go home to their parents, their parents may be partaking in worldy things, but the children start telling their parents to stop doing those worldy things and why.  They are hearing what LLCH is teaching them-to actually be little lights.

Now how do they get to LLCH?  It first starts with the Chennai YWAM base we are staying at and building a friendship with.  Volunteers, ywamers like us, come to package medical kits at the base.  We fold squares of gauze or roll long pieces of gauze.  Then it is packaged and taken to over 30 leper colonies in just Chennai alone.  Because of the help that the lepers are getting at the colonies, they wonder if these same people can take care of their children as well, seeing that they are not able to with the disease.  The children then go to little lights where they get good meals, education, and fellowship about and with Jesus.  If they were not at LLCH, they would probably be out on the streets begging with their parents and not living the life that Jesus has for them.  But because of people like us out on the field and those working in 9-5 jobs that support missions, LLCH exists because we are helping to support streams of mercy, which is an organization that starts childrens’ homes and orphanages like it all over the world.  My prayer is that these 34 children in LLCH will be future ywamers and missionaries in their own country of India. To have Christ use them to change the course of history for India-A Jesus desperate nation.