New Blog

I've been debating how to blog yet still be private without requiring people to "apply" to view my blog. I want to be open, yet, still somewhat in control of who reads the content of my blog. I've come to the conclusion that I must (at least at this time) discontinue writing this blog and start a new one. If you know me, you can contact me and ask about it and I will direct you. In any case I will be letting most of you know about it soon anyway. rebecca

Back In NJ

My daughters and I arrived in New Jersey early on Thursday morning after a 17 hours flight from Bombay to Newark. The girls were superb. I can only claim prayer, they're not generally that good. :)

A question I get a lot: How long are you in the USA? Answer: No idea. Really. Probably a while. At present - no plans to go back to India unless something drastic and miraculous happens.

Another common question: What's going on? Answer: Message or email me. I'll give you the lowdown.

These have been really hard months and I've learned to just cling to Jesus and I've really learned what it means to fix my eyes on Jesus. He hasn't let me down yet and I don't believe it's ever going to happen.

Worship Breaks Down The Walls Of Hostility

I was eating breakfast with my 2 & 4 year old this morning and as I flipped through the English channels I came upon "hillsongtv" and a pastor was giving a message that caught my attention. A few minutes later the worship team started some slow worship songs.

I noticed my girls weren't making any of their usual noise, i.e. stop touching my poha, she's drinking my chai, ayiiiiiii, Mummeeeeeeeee!

So I glanced over and there were both girls, eyes glued to the TV, hands raised in the air and gently swaying to the music.

Well, I burst right in to tears.

How P. Puts Herself To Sleep

These are heavy days I am living in so it's always nice to have a little levity.

P. puts herself to sleep like this every time. She just picks her nose til she conks out. I am not kidding.

C.'s Republic Day Dance

Hiatus

Hiatus

I know haven't been around for a while. I may not be. Just letting you know. I'll be back when I can. Miss you too.

Fasting For My Girls

I'm not really sure how to start this testimony of God's goodness to me. I've typed a beginning twice and deleted it twice.

For the last two days my four daughters were on my heart especially regarding their spiritual and mental health. I had been laying my prayers before the Lord and I am here to testify He heard them!

At the start of this 2011 several of us are fasting and praying - individually - but with one spirit. It was not planned but one by one God has been bringing us together to fast and pray before him. We're not public about it, yet, somehow people come to know and almost daily people are added to our numbers.

This evening I was walking through our school and a C.'s class teacher, who is a Christian, stopped me and we talked for a few minutes and she asked how I was. I started to walk away and she called me back.

She said, "I'm fasting too. I started three days ago. I am fasting and praying only for your four daughters." She then asked me not to tell anyone, altho I don't think you count. :)

I have not ceased to be amazed at my God who would love me so much that he heard my concern for my daughters and a day before I even started to pray about it he chose his servant to start fasting and praying specifically and only for them.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

Ignore The Adults

My beloved son in the faith, Joshi, is leaving our ministry and going to a new life ministering among orphans and lepers in Delhi. I was putting together some pictures for him today and came across these two from last month. I had forgotten how we laughed when they were taken. Ignore the three adults in the picture and focus on E. and P.

In the first picture P. just jumped in at the last second. What a ham! I guess she learned it from older sis E.

Nothing Is Sacred

Hmmm. Favorite pastime: Taking the books out of mommy's bookshelves and making roads.

Obviously, these children should be taking a bath...

A Little Love - Without Crying

I am always amazed at the ways God answers our small prayers, even the ones we forget praying.

While I was away last week I was feeling low and I prayed, "Lord, please just send some people to show me your love, but I don't want to cry." (I'm one of those weird people who cries when people are nice to them...)

I went about my day, checking on breakfast being made and was happy when someone brought out wheat chapatis to eat (as opposed to the corn chapatis and rice which we had been eating for 3 days.) I grabbed a chapati and sat outside before getting in line (we were a team over 30) to get some breakfast. The sister-in-law of the man at whose house we were staying came up behind me and gestured, come here. She said: In a little while come over to my house and I'll feed you some desi* eggs. Oh, just come over now.

So, I and my chapati went over to her kitchen and sat down while she made eggs for me. Her husband's cousin came in, who is a nurse and she made special eggs for me since I was sick with a cough (desi medicine). As the cousin cooked she shared that she was struggling with marriage problems - an arranged marriage where the husband was still in a relationship with his girlfriend from before marriage. The girl's face who made the egg was swollen and the blood vessels in her eye were burst from where her husband beat her. They'd only been married a year.

I listened to her story and ate food from her hand and realized later that God had answered my request for someone to show me his love - without making me cry. I think I am most comfortable in a kitchen and it was nice to just sit and cut the vegetables and watch the eggs fry, listen to women-talk and feel compassion for someone else.

Desi Chickens in a tree.

*desi - anything truly Indian. In this case - village chickens give village eggs (more expensive and, apparently, more healthful than city chickens. Nah, just kidding, not city chickens - chicken farm grown chickens.)

Christmas Night Pictures

And yet there was another program on Christmas night...
E. & C.'s dance (again)

Ladies garba - again... Me in a different outfit - not so mango-ish this time.

All in all, one of the best Christmas days I have had in a long time. Even though 2010 was difficult for me in many ways, it did have its highlights: i.e. my Birthday and Christmas Day.

Random Shots Of Christmas 2010 (I)

C. in her gorgeous Christmas dress from Grammy and Grandpop. Superstar! E.

C. & E. in their group dance on Christmas day.

Ladies Nativity Skit (I was the Holy Spirit)

Carol Singing group

Holy Spirit and Mary

Ladies Gujarati Garba Dance. You can't see me here, but I look like a ripe Mango.

Dance Troop

Christmas Stockings for the 1st Time ever! And they are stuffed! (Thanks Aunt Jenny & Uncle Jim)

G. opening her Christmas gift on Christmas Eve.

More pictures to come, but I have lost loading capabilities. Ahhh, India. More comprehensive photos on Facebook.

Karuna Kid Khristmas

For those of you who didn't catch this on Facebook, here are some pictures from the Karuna kids getting their Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve.
Ohhh, what did you get?

Pushpa reading a letter from a friend in the US.

Kusha

Rahul

A Great Big THANK YOU from all of us!

Strange Ways Of Faith or Happy 2011

I shared at our testimony time in church on New year's Eve that the thing I am most thankful for is that 2010 is OVER. It was a hard year for me. I have great hopes for 2011, however. One thing I can say for 2010 is that God taught me more in one year of my life than he had in all the previous years put together. Wow, that's a lot of teaching.

As in the strange ways of faith, He has brought me to a most childlike place. In my mind's eye I see myself, as a child, clinging on to Christ's hand and Him leading me somewhere. My eyes are squeezed shut, I don't know where I am going. When I open my eyes, where will I be?

But I trust Him, and believe it is going to be a place of joy.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I have not forgotten you.

Here is my to-do list for today, December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Get up at 5AM – pray
Make breakfast
Wash clothes (washing machine on the fritz – don’t ask)
Make lunch
10AM – have 30 children from our children’s home over to distribute their gifts.
Feed them snacks.
Staple some net onto a costume (faster than sewing)
Go to school for dance practice and skit practice
Come home, teach 3 friends how to make zucchini bread
(possibly get a pedicure???)
Pick up 2 dresses from tailor – wrap them
Get one last gift for a guest – wrap it (pos give this resp. to O.)
6PM be at church for gift exchange program – FUN.

Come home eat something (pos. make something to eat…)
Clean house for 9 guests arriving at the crack of dawn Christmas morning.

This is all I can remember – but my days generally look like this.

Throw in 4 small children and well… Talk to you in the new year…

Nat's Going Home

My dear niece Natalie will be heading back to the US tomorrow night and we are down to our last day with her in our home.
It has been such a huge blessing to have her here and part of our (Indian) family for the last several months. It is going to be sad and strange around here without her.

I am thankful for the months God gave me with her and the connection she is for me to my Arizona family. I am privileged to see the beautiful work that God has been doing in her life over the last months. And I am excited to see what He is going to do in her future. It is going to be wonderful.

Goodbye sweet Nat, (Map Didi), we're going to miss you so much.

I am so proud of you.

Groundbreaking At The Karuna Children's Home Land

(I am most definitely suited for indoors work...)

The cleared off section is the land that we officially purchased on Saturday Dec. 4th for the Karuna Children's Home project. We held church there on Sunday.

Nat's Birthday With Everyone

At church on Sunday Natalie shared a small testimony and we had a cake for her.

Putting the cake together
Feeding the cake

Map Didi's Birthday (#1)

My niece Natalie's first birthday celebration on Saturday. Hosted by her good friends. I didn't even bother decorating my house after this extravaganza...
B Happy

The cousins

Birthday Showers

P.

HB Pictures from E.'s 10th (Late!)

The Happy Birthday girl (November 18th) . Face Painting courtesy of Natalie...
Tiger.

C. with her best friend, Angel.

P.'s face was painted by her sister. Sitting on the flower pot eating candy.

We had a "Fair" -like theme. Lots of various games. Even the adults partook.