lessons

First things first, I was vague in some of my blogs about places and names of people. This is because India's government is one that offers "freedom of religion" but not freedom of conversion. Names and places were withheld to keep people safe.

Things I learned while in India:

1. Prayer is powerful. So often I forget that.

2. God is mighty. I have seen him heal his people.

3. There is a difference in being a nice person and being a Christian. A friend once said "if we aren't bringing people life, we may as well be bringing them death." Think about that. Let it marinade a little.

4. Don't put yourself in a box because you are indirectly putting God in a box. He wants to use you, so you must believe and not question that.

5. God's plans might be different than my plans. I went over to India to work with former prostitutes but ended up working with preschoolers and young women . It's not what I expected, but I loved every minute of it.

6. Leave nothing behind. I learned more about urgency and how important it is to "give it all you got."

7. I am not bound by my insecurities. This summer I realized how much my insecurities affect me and how often I buy into different lies I have believed before. God loves me and created me in His image. I am defined by that and not by how I have been hurt in the past or anything else.

8. I have known true love

9. Don't prostitute your heart out to other people or things. God wants all of your heart, and He wants you to turn to him for love.

10. If you want to love God more, you must seek to know Him more.

oh, india

The things I love, hate, or have observed about India:

(in no particular order)

1. Bus rides to Birla--super packed. I especially enjoyed when people would make comments about how much room the foreigners were taking up, or when the "bus boys" (men in charge of getting everyone on and off the bus) would yell "get outside" or "most welcome next time" as we got off.

2. Bus names-- Madonna and Infant Jesus, to name a few

3. The bus boys yelling the destination of the bus-- they yelled it super fast and a lot. An example would be yelling "Bogmallo, Bogmallo, Bogmallo, Dabolim, Airport, Bogmallo" in under 5 seconds.

4. The cows, pigs, goats, dogs and other animals that were everywhere.

5. People peeing or squatting on the side of the road

6. squatty potties-- best position for bowel movements

7. The head bobble-- a slight bobble of the head back and forth several times. It's meaning is, well, whatever you want it to mean. Yes, no, maybe, I don't know, I don't care, it doesn't matter...

8. Driving-- honking to tell people to move, to tell people you are approaching, or to tell people not to come into your lane (though lanes don't really matter)

9. Indian hospitality-- it's not uncommon to be invited into an Indian home, served chai or coffee, and given special treatment.

10. Eating with your hands-- yes, they have utensils, but eating with your hands is a rather fun task.

11. Temptation milkshakes. Enough said.

12. Indian TV/music/music videos/dances/Bollywood movies

13. Chai and coffee every morning

14. The smell-- a mixture of several different smells. It is not uncommon to get a "whiff of India" at a moment's notice.

15. No toilet paper-- yes, they have some for sale, but more bathrooms are equipped with a spigot and a bucket so you can use water to wipe (with your left hand, of course).

16. Having to get 2nd and 3rd opinions on directions. If a person head bobbles when you ask if they know where such-and-such a place is, you should ask someone else.

17. Men showing affection with each other-- men often hold hands with each other or put their arms around each other while walking down the street. Bromance is everywhere.

18. The humidity in Goa that causes everything to mold and smell of mildew. Washing clothes actually made them smell worse. True story.

19. The mosquitoes.

20. Cars play songs when they are reversing.

21. Auto rickshaw rides through the city.

22. Mixed fruit jam, blueberries, antioxidants, and the man that talked about it on the bus.

23. The Messi Pepsi ads that were everywhere.

24. The sign language the preschoolers used to tell us they had to go to the bathroom: one finger means number one, and the upside down claw means number 2...

25. Calendar time at the Birla preschool-- "Today is Wednesday, 18th of August 2010."

"Brush your teeth after eating" is my favorite tidbit of info the preschoolers were taught.

26. Listening to the preschoolers respond with "I'm fine, thank you" after you ask how they are. On the occasion, this was also the response to "I love you." They were a little confused sometimes.

27. Sometimes people on the bus would play American music out loud on their phones just to hear us foreigners sing along.

28. Listening to Hindi music on the buses, while lights in the front of the bus flashed.

India is great. What I love most about it is the people.

overdue

I wrote this post after returning from India on August 1. However, I forgot to post it. So here is is, along with 2 other posts I wrote around the same time.

I was unable to access internet during our last two weeks in India. I did, however, want to update about them.

Our last week of ministry (July 19-23) was great. I was able to see and say goodbye to the preschool kids, Peace and Kitty, and the women.

Sunday was the best day ever. Three other teammates and I went to teach Sunday school for the last time. It was so sad. I see so much hope in those kids and have been so blessed by them. One of the Sunday school girls invited me to her house the previous Wednesday, and I learned that while she believes in Jesus, her mother believes in the Hindu gods. It blows my mind how dedicated some of these kids are, without support from their families. Anyway, Sunday school was great. It was hard to say goodbye to those kids, though.

After Sunday school, the four of us had lunch with an Indian woman. She invited us to her shop because she wanted to prepare lunch for us. It was such an honor that she wanted to do that for us. She is someone I grew very close to over our time there, and I was blessed by the love she showed us that day.

All right, so there is a game in India called Classic Carroms. It's great. Jess and I had been talking the cook at the guest house we stayed at, we'll call him Trey, and a worker at the guest house we stayed in, we'll call him Ray, about playing Carroms together. Ray and I were on a team, and Jess and Trey were on a team. With both claiming "I am the best," Jess and I thought the teams were evenly matched. However, Jess and Trey blew Ray and me out of the water. But we all had a blast. Cameron, another teammate, joined in on the second game.

Shortly after, Jess, Cameron, and I went to Hindi church. I love going to Hindi church. God is great and it's awesome to see him be worshiped by brothers and sisters around the world.

Too many other things happened that last week, but all in all, I had an awesome time.

India is amazing. It's people are my favorite, and I will never forget them.

blueberries are high in antioxidants

"If and but can't count to zero." An Indian man told me that Shakespeare once said that. I'm not so sure...

Anyway, this next week is our last week of ministry here, so a lot of conversations need to be tied up. I plan on seeing Kitty and Peace this week, along with Mrs. Clause and the preschool children that I have grown attached to. I will also have to say goodbye to the women we work with, which will be sad.

Yesterday was a really good day with the women. Jess, one of the girls on our team, taught self defense yesterday. It was fun to do something different than stitching or teaching English. We all joked around, pretended to attack each other, and just had a good time. And it was really helpful, too. So if anyone ever tries to attack me, I could try to fight them off. Just saying.

Something I was thinking about on Sunday was how much I love going to church in other countries/cultures. On Sunday nights, there is Hindi church, which, if you can't tell, is a church service in Hindi. People translate so we can understand, too, but it's just really awesome to watch these people worshiping the same God I worship in another language. Hindi songs are great. I've learned a few lines of some songs. I plan on getting the rest of the words before heading home, though.

So, while I'll be home soon, it's still significant to say that we still have one week left. Not only one week, but still one week. Please pray for focus, unity, and perseverance.

"So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "...Let my people go, so that they may worship me." ' "
Exodus 10:3
God wanted the Israelites to be free from slavery so they could worship him. So, we can either be a slave or worship God. Though we are not actual slaves, we can become slaves to our sin, to other idols in our lives, to other people. God wants to set us free from that. Jesus died to set us free from all of that so we can live to glorify him. Because at any moment, we are worshiping something. Look at your priorities, what you spend the most time doing, what your motives are...and that is what you're worshiping. So remember that Jesus wants all of us, especially our hearts, because everything we do stems from out hearts.
So be a slave or worship God.

I will be home in 2 weeks. See you all soon.

hello kitty

This week has been amazing.
On Monday, all of India was on a bus strike. Thus, we were unable to get to the 2 different sites our team goes to during the week to help at the preschools. Instead, we took the day and worshiped *Dad--through song, journaling, prayer, and reading. I started reading Revelation, which I hadn't read in a few years. It's really good. You should all read it sometime.
"They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
Revelation 17:14
So Monday was a good day.

Working at the preschool this week was really good. The kids remembered us and were really excited to see everyone again. Like I said before, I absolutely love those kids with all of my heart and would do anything for them. There is one boy in KG1 (I teach in KG 2), we will call him Steve, and he is a little mischievous. He likes to "make musty." Anyway, I have had to discipline him before, because I saw him hit another kid "right in the schnauz!" Even though I do not see him in class, I love him so much. I just want so much for him in life. And I want him to know love and share it.

In the afternoons after preschool, we go out into the slums and do community outreach. It's really fun. On Tuesday afternoon, a teammate Jess and I went out to the slums together. We met a woman and her daughter (who is 19). Let's call the mom Peace and the daughter Kitty. We were only able to talk with them for about 10 minutes until they had to leave. They both speak English very well, so we were able to find out some things about them. Before we left, we asked if there was anything we could pray for them about and that we pray only to Jesus. Immediately, Peace took us to their neighbor's house, and we prayed healing over a woman who had a limp left arm and left leg.
On Wednesday, Jess and I went back to the same place, hoping that we'd be able to speak with Peace and Kitty again. They were not home, but the kids from their neighbor's house told their moms that we were there. The woman we prayed for came out and invited us into her home. We don't know Hindi, and they don't know English, so there was no conversation really. Except I said "pratna laykeen Yeshu?" (which is something along the lines of "pray only to Jesus?") and they said yes. They ended up making chai for us, and it was the best chai I'd ever had. After chai, we were going to pray for the woman, her 3 daughters, and 5 grand children. Then Kitty came in. She was able to translate for us, so we found out more about the family. Two of the woman's daughters are mute. So we prayed healing over her, her 2 mue daughters, and they rest of the family. We then left, and as we walked out, I asked Kitty if she believed in Jesus only as well. She said no but that she believes in the Hindu gods. We weren't able to continue that conversation with her because we had to leave, but we told her we would come back the next day.
Thursday afternoon, we went back to see Kitty and Peace. They were both home and welcomed us inside. Though we hadn't had much previous conversation, they absolutely loved us. They told all of their friends about their new American friends. We took some pictures with them, and then Peace made us coffee and some really good dough with onions and spinach. Best. Snack. Ever. We kept saying thank you and how delicious everything was, and Peace said "Do not say thank you. I am like your mom and you are like my daughters." It was so great to be accepted and welcomed like that. While we were there, we found out more about their family and were able to bond with them more. They are amazing people.
We are planning on going back next week to share stories with them about *Dad and His Son.

Prayer for Peace and Kitty would be great. Also, please pray for continued focus on *Dad as we wrap up our last 2 weeks of work.

Sorry if this seems a little rushed...I'm running out of time here at the internet cafe.

Love and miss you all.

the north pole

On Thursday, two of my teammates and I worked at a preschool. We were waiting for the bus to go into town when a woman came up to us, we'll call her Mrs. Clause. She didn't speak much English, and we don't speak much Hindi. A man at the bus stop translated for us and told us that she wanted us to go to her house with her. On the way, she stopped at a store and bought 3 sodas for us. As we continued walking, she asked if we p-ed to *J. We said yes and asked if she did. She replied that she p-s to *J and not Mary. In India, many people who follow *J also follow and p to the other saints. We were all excited that she follows *J and only *J.
The walk to Mrs. Clause's house was fun. I enjoyed waving at all of the kids as we made our way through the slum. Anyway, as we got to her house, she apologized that it was so small. None of us cared about the size, and we told her that. We were just so grateful that she wanted us to come inside and speak with us. So that is what we did. We drank our sodas (lime soda is awesome, by the way) and exhausted all of the Hindi we knew. Something really cool is that the previous day we asked the women in the RR stitching program a lot of Hindi words and phrases, and we used all of them on Thursday. It's amazing how *Dad works. We talked about family a lot. Her husband used to hurt her and did not provide food or clothes for their kids. We were so happy that she is out of that situation and doesn't have to deal with him anymore.
A little while later, she took us to the beach, which is about 10 steps from her house. The view was absolutely gorgeous. The coast of India is very pretty, minus the trash that lines the shore. We only spent a few minutes looking at the water and nearby island until we headed back. This time, a group of people followed us. We went inside to p for Mrs. Clause, and afterward we found ourselves with 7 other kids inside the one room house and saw more crowded around the doorway to hear us. One of the girls, Roxy, was 17 and was able to translate some things that Mrs. Clause was trying to say to us. A teammate suggest we tell stories (Indians love to hear stories), and Roxy said she could translate for us. They were all very excited to hear what we had to say. Each of us told a *B story and part of our story. They clapped after each of us spoke. Then both Mrs. Clause and Roxy shared their stories with us. It was really awesome to have them open up to us.
After some time, we decided to head back. Mrs. Clause, Roxy, and about 6 kids walked us back to the bus stop. Pretty much the whole way back a little girl named Chyenne held my hand. She was precious. Every time I looked at her, she smiled up at me. It was just such an awesome day to be received, respected, and loved by these people. *Dad definitely blessed all of us in that experience.

As for the rest of this week, I worked in a preschool in the morning twice and with the women in the afternoon 3 times. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the women better. And a few of their daughters did mehendi (henna) for us on Friday. All in all, this week has been great. India is awesome, and I love it a lot.

Please continue p-ing for us all here. For me, to listen to *Dad better and distinguish his thoughts from my own.

Half way there. See you all soon.

brush your teeth after eating

This week, my team has been doing something we did not think we'd be doing this summer.Instead of working with women, we have been working at a preschool in a surrounding area, and I absolutely love kids. They are so important for the future because they are the generation that will rise up and lead in the years to come. That is why education is so vital. And it is even more important for them to be taught about the one true *Dad at such a young age. With that being said, I will say that I was not exactly thrilled to find out that my week was going to be with preschoolers. I know the importance of it, but I was a little disappointed to find out that we weren't going to be with the women as much. However, I was reminded that *Dad might have used that to get all of us here and has something better planned for us.Which is true.

Well, Monday morning came, and those kids quickly captured my heart. We played with them, taught B stories and songs, and helped the teachers teach them academic subjects. I was in the oldest class (KG-2, which is 5 year-olds). They are awesome. I have such love for those kids, such a desire for them to know *Dad as well as their ABC's and numbers. A little boy named Chet (one of my favorites) always smiles and asks me and the other "teachers" for approval on his work. I think he tried to speak to me the most out of anyone else in the class in their language, and I wished so bad that I could communicate with him. Another boy named Al was having a lot of trouble writing his cursive a's. He kept making the circle the wrong way and could not get it right. I took him up to the blackboard with me and spent 20 minutes doing whatever I thought would be beneficial in helping him. By the end of it, he had written a few good ones but was still struggling. I thought he might be annoyed with me for trying for so long, but he kept smiling at me whenever I looked at him, for the rest of the day and the rest of the week.

All in all, it was an awesome week, and I truly love each of the kids in my class with all of my heart. I cannot put into words how much I love them, and I know that it is only because of *Dad's love for me that I can love them that much.

The rest of the week was great, too. I and a few others went into the community where we are staying and spoke with a woman. We ended up sharing some B stories, our stories, and p-ing for her. She is not bound to any religion, so be p-ing for that, too. I feel like this is the perfect time for her to see what *Dad is all about. She needs his love, acceptance, and joy. I plan on visiting her every week or so and speaking with her.

If you could also be p-ing for me, that would be awesome. I do make sure to have alone time with *Dad every day, but I know that I have a heart issue and have been getting frustrated about little things.

I hope all is well in the States. Until next time...

TII

The past week and a half that we've been in India has been awesome. A lot has gone on mentally, and I have been trying to focus on love through actions and words. Poverty is very evident in India, and children know how to beg so well, and it truly breaks your heart. When we went shopping for the first time, many kids were asking us for money, but we could not give any to them. I found myself ignoring the kids so that they would leave us alone sooner and not continue begging. I realized how not giving them money doesn't mean I can't look at them. A few days later, we went shopping again. As we were waiting on a crowded street corner, a little boy approached me and another girl on my team and asked us for money. He was holding a baby in his hands and was covered in dirt. I wanted to personalize it, to know him, and to see how he was, because my heart broke for him. I asked him his name, and after a few times he finally said "Jamal." I knew that he would leave once he realized that we weren't going to give him anything, but I wanted to show that I cared in any way I could. After I asked how old he was, he left and continued walking the crowded streets.

Stories like these are not uncommon. I have seen more cripples, more beggars, and more widows than I have in my entire life. *Dad is the only way for them to have hope and to live freely.

While there is so much darkness in India, there is light here, and that brings me great joy. While wandering around in the surrounding community with a teammate, we started speaking with a woman, I'll call her Charlotte. Charlotte is a believer, and we were able to speak with her for about 2 hours. She welcomed us into her home, and Aunti kept bringing us dish after dish of food. I had no idea what some of the food was. Charlotte was the only one in her family who spoke English, but the rest of her family would communicate through her to us at times. We shared our stories and *Dad's stories with her, because she doesn't have the book to read about Him. It was really awesome, and such a joy and inspiration to know a national believer who is speaking with her friends and family about what is so important. As we were leaving, Aunti brought us bangles, jasmine for our hair, and put bindis (dots) on our foreheads. It was her way of showing us love and appreciating us. It was a great experience to spend so much time with an Indian family and to see a young woman who knows the one true *Dad and depends on Him for everything.

Anyway, on Tuesday we took a 16 hour train ride to the place we are staying now. India trains are pretty exciting, and I'd say it was a good experience and a fun time. I really enjoyed looking out at India from the train and observing the people, the villages, and the landscape.

We started working with RR on Thursday. Yesterday (Friday) was a really great day. First, I'll mention that our team of 18 girls is split up into 3 teams, 2 teams of 5 and 1 team of 6. My team helped out with a preschool in the morning. I picked up a new talent--making balloon animals! I'm pretty excited about that. I made a few and then 3 of us gave the ones we made to a few girls we saw outside of the school. It was neat.
Later we were able to make bracelets with the 8 women that are doing the stitching/bracelet making program with RR. It was awesome to talk with the women and work alongside them. I learned how to count to 10 in Hindi, too! But being with them was definitely my favorite part of the day. I'm really excited about the next 6 weeks that we have to work in the different areas RR focuses on.

Keep praying for the team. Spiritual warfare has been active, and p-s would be greatly appreciated for us.

go big or go home

So today we are finally leaving for India. We are all super excited and can't wait to be there. Anyway, it's been a crazy ride already. Even on the first night, God began revealing lies that I have been believing for a while. When we were walking around downtown Atlanta and talking with the homeless, I realized that I have felt inadequate for this trip and have felt like God cannot use me. I was putting God in a box about how he was going to be working in and through me. Whatever happens this summer, I just want to believe that I am empowered by Christ and believe that he will use me to influence the lives of the women in India.

I love and miss you all at home :) Continue praying for unity and strength amongst our team.

-lindsey

anticipation.

I am leaving for training camp with Adventures in Missions in the morning. The time is finally here. So much has been leading up to this trip, and I can't believe it is time to leave already.

As I was packing, I was getting really excited for my time in India. Well, first of all, there isn't too much to pack, because I'll be buying the majority of my clothes in India, which is really cool. But packing is also the onset of the "it's time" mentality, when it really hits you that you're leaving. These next two months are, at some point, going to be exciting, awesome, crazy, lonely, draining, and more. It's going to be a wild ride, but I'm stoked for it. I'm excited to see how God's going to work through my team, but how He will also work on us.

If you'd like to send me an email while I'm in India, please email me at lindsey.a.marks@gmail.com

If you'd like to see what the rest of my team blogs about, the team blog can be accessed at http://india.adventures.org. I will be posting to the team blog and to this blog (the same posts), but you are more than welcome to check out what everyone else has to say.

In the Links section (to the left), there are links to the AIM website, the team blog, and Rahab Rope's website.

farewell.

things to come.

I will be on my way to training camp in roughly 4 weeks. Then a few days later, I'll be heading to India. I'm really excited for it, but I'm also really nervous. It hasn't really hit me yet that I'll be: A- out of the country for 2 months and B- spending time with women who were in the sex trafficking industry in India. I've gone on mission trips before, but none quite like this.

Just a little recap...

I will be in Bangalore, India, for 2 months (June 4-July 31) with Adventures in Missions. I will be going with a team of college age women, and we will be partnering with Rahab's Rope. The mission of Rahab's Rope is to give hope and opportunity to women and girls that have been forced into the commercial sex trade of India by providing a safe and loving environment that will enable them to grow and develop both physically and spiritually. My team and I will be teaching the women and building relationships with them.

I am afriad that I won't have the right words to say to the women--I mean, what can you really say to someone who has faced such a huge injustice? But people constantly remind me that God will provide me with the right words to say. Plus, I'm sure sometimes listening will be all I can do. And I know that whatever happens, with any conversations I have, God is in control. It doesn't always make sense, but it is true. In the midst of an uncertain world, God is still certain.

And remember...God uses us wherever we are. He doesn't need us, but he chooses us. You don't have to be in India, Sierra Leone, or Costa Rica to be used by God. Do your part where you are. Do what you can do, and let God do the rest.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."

John 20:21