Ben talked to Todd this morning and had an update on how the team is doing. He said that everyone is healthy, but they are tired.
One of their biggest ministries has been with the street boys. This is a really intense group of boys because they are right off of the street. Their goal has been to teach them to love the Lord first, but it is really hard for the boys to see. Ben had an opportunity to share his testimony with the boys in which he was able to be really serious with them and share his heart. 20 boys prayed a prayer of salvation and they could tell that 5 were really serious about the decision. The boys are starting to realize that the team will be leaving soon and they have become really attached to the team. They want to make sure that they are leaving Jesus behind and that the boys truly see that what they need is not the team, but Jesus.
Also, the girls have been working at the girls home. The girls in the home are a lot like the street boys but they are now in a home which is a really good environment for them. Pray for the girls too, as it will be hard for them to have the team leave as well.
Prayer Requests:
1. The team would finish the next two days in Kitwe strong. Pray for the team as they will be leaving the people they have been ministering to and it will be tough emotionally.
2. The team will be leaving Saturday to go to Livingston and then on Sunday/Monday they will be going on a Safari.
Continued prayers for safety and health are always appreciated and needed by the team.
Thank you for continuing to look at the blog. Again, the team is sorry that they are not able to post more frequently, but we will continue to keep you up to date as we hear from them.
God Bless,
Solid Rock Staff
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Day 9
Greetings from Zambia!
Sorry that we haven't been able to update you guys on the mission trip. We don't have access to computers and when we do the internet is super duper slow. But God has definetely been working in the most amazing ways here. Thank you for all the prayers! We have been very busy as well, we don't have very much down time but when we do (our morning devotions are amazing!) we're either spending it in the word or fellowshiping.
During the 'work days' the team has been split up between the Girls Ranch, with the street boys, the for Hearts and Souls orphanage and the Chipata Compound. The Girls Ranch is a home for street girls that are ages 14-19ish. Some of the girls are pregnant or have had children. They spend time in bible studies (our girls have actually leds some amazing ones!), cooking and different crafts. The boys on our team have been spending their time with the street boys ... playing soccer games, feeding them food, physically and spiritually. The kids at the orphanage are all growing up and when part of the team visits for the day they spend time playing with the kids but also helping the mothers with chores and ministering to them through conversation. The conditions are definitely better this year and the children are all becoming more fluent in English because of the teacher that came after Shannon, Mary. Today Shannon, Nicole, and Abbie got to deliver the school supplies, Mary was so ecstatic about it and so immensely blessed by what was given by the church. The Chipata Compound is a ministery that just started up a few weeks ago, it is an extension from the orphanage. A few mothers cook breakfast and lunch for the children of the Chipata Compound and do home visits as well.
We've also done many other random services for the Lord, like construction for the Girls Ranch, visit tuberculosis patients and we also joined them at Church on the Rock. As our days come to an end in Kitwe (only 3 more!), please continue to pray for the ministeries that we have been involved with here.
Love Annie.
Sorry that we haven't been able to update you guys on the mission trip. We don't have access to computers and when we do the internet is super duper slow. But God has definetely been working in the most amazing ways here. Thank you for all the prayers! We have been very busy as well, we don't have very much down time but when we do (our morning devotions are amazing!) we're either spending it in the word or fellowshiping.
During the 'work days' the team has been split up between the Girls Ranch, with the street boys, the for Hearts and Souls orphanage and the Chipata Compound. The Girls Ranch is a home for street girls that are ages 14-19ish. Some of the girls are pregnant or have had children. They spend time in bible studies (our girls have actually leds some amazing ones!), cooking and different crafts. The boys on our team have been spending their time with the street boys ... playing soccer games, feeding them food, physically and spiritually. The kids at the orphanage are all growing up and when part of the team visits for the day they spend time playing with the kids but also helping the mothers with chores and ministering to them through conversation. The conditions are definitely better this year and the children are all becoming more fluent in English because of the teacher that came after Shannon, Mary. Today Shannon, Nicole, and Abbie got to deliver the school supplies, Mary was so ecstatic about it and so immensely blessed by what was given by the church. The Chipata Compound is a ministery that just started up a few weeks ago, it is an extension from the orphanage. A few mothers cook breakfast and lunch for the children of the Chipata Compound and do home visits as well.
We've also done many other random services for the Lord, like construction for the Girls Ranch, visit tuberculosis patients and we also joined them at Church on the Rock. As our days come to an end in Kitwe (only 3 more!), please continue to pray for the ministeries that we have been involved with here.
Love Annie.
Monday, August 13, 2007
As of Saturday, August 11th, we received a call from Shannon with an update as to how their trip is going so far. They have been incredibly busy and the internet connection is still not available to them, so we will be posting the reports until they are able to. (Ben also called this morning and said they are sorry that they haven't been able to update the blog, but the internet has been really slow there.)
The team continues to be in good health and very busy. Along with the other projects they have been working on, they worked on building a place at the Boys Ranch which will eventually allow for 24 boys to live there. The guys ended up laying bricks and the girls cleared the brush.
Prayer Requests:
Continued prayer for their health and safety. Also, that they would be allowing the Lord to use them and change hearts as they are over there, that God would be preparing the hearts of those who they will be ministering to.
As we get phone calls, we will continue to update on how the team is doing. Keep praying for them as we know your prayers are being heard and answered.
--Solid Rock Staff
The team continues to be in good health and very busy. Along with the other projects they have been working on, they worked on building a place at the Boys Ranch which will eventually allow for 24 boys to live there. The guys ended up laying bricks and the girls cleared the brush.
Prayer Requests:
Continued prayer for their health and safety. Also, that they would be allowing the Lord to use them and change hearts as they are over there, that God would be preparing the hearts of those who they will be ministering to.
As we get phone calls, we will continue to update on how the team is doing. Keep praying for them as we know your prayers are being heard and answered.
--Solid Rock Staff
Thursday, August 9, 2007
We received a phone call from Ben Newell today in which he said that they are having trouble connecting to the internet and they have been incredibly busy lately, so we are going to post for them today and hopefully they will have internet connection sometime soon.
Ben reports that the team is doing well. They all are in good health and their time there has been awesome so far. Today the team went to the Boys Ranch which in the future will be a home for 24 boys. These boys have been taken off the streets where many of them are involved in drugs and frequent fighting. Through this ministry they are being taught the Word of God and being given a safe place to be, away from the dangers of the streets. While the team was there they played soccer with them, cooked a meal, washed their clothes, taught a bible lesson and broke up into small groups. This was an amazing time for them to get to know the boys, love them and share the gospel with them.
Prayer requests: They would love continued prayer for their health and protection. Also, tomorrow they will be splitting up and part of them will be going to do a soccer camp for the Street Boys, some will be visiting with the girls at the Girls Home and some will be leading a Chipota feeding project in which they will be feeding orphans on the streets.
Ben reports that the team is doing well. They all are in good health and their time there has been awesome so far. Today the team went to the Boys Ranch which in the future will be a home for 24 boys. These boys have been taken off the streets where many of them are involved in drugs and frequent fighting. Through this ministry they are being taught the Word of God and being given a safe place to be, away from the dangers of the streets. While the team was there they played soccer with them, cooked a meal, washed their clothes, taught a bible lesson and broke up into small groups. This was an amazing time for them to get to know the boys, love them and share the gospel with them.
Prayer requests: They would love continued prayer for their health and protection. Also, tomorrow they will be splitting up and part of them will be going to do a soccer camp for the Street Boys, some will be visiting with the girls at the Girls Home and some will be leading a Chipota feeding project in which they will be feeding orphans on the streets.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
We Have Arrived!
YAY! After our 49-hour journey, we are all happy, healthy and in Kitwe,Zambia. We arrived in the Ndola airport around noon and after collecting our bags, drove into Kitwe. Upon arriving Pastor Edward and his wife, Barbara had prepared a delicious meal of fried chicken, vegatables, and nshima (the staple starch of Africa...much like thick cream of wheat). The rest of our day will be spent resting up and preparing for tomorrow's tour of all the ministries supported by Church on the Rock, our sister church here in Zambia.
They are all so glad to have us all here. They send Solid Rock and all its pastors their warmest love and thanks for sending all of us.
We are all so thankful for your prayers thus far and for the covering that they have been for us. Please continue to pray for us as we settle in and arrange our living situations as well as organize our schedule for the upcoming couple of weeks. Also, as we are all a bit weary from the travels, prayers for a quick recovery so we are able to start our time of serving refreshed and ready. God Bless!
They are all so glad to have us all here. They send Solid Rock and all its pastors their warmest love and thanks for sending all of us.
We are all so thankful for your prayers thus far and for the covering that they have been for us. Please continue to pray for us as we settle in and arrange our living situations as well as organize our schedule for the upcoming couple of weeks. Also, as we are all a bit weary from the travels, prayers for a quick recovery so we are able to start our time of serving refreshed and ready. God Bless!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Still in Transit
Hello All!
Just wanted to update you all on where we are and what we are doing. Currently we are in the Joburg International Airport waiting for our last flight to take us to Zambia. The last few days have been filled with mass quanities of waiting, sitting and attempts at sleeping.
We left PDX @ 6am and after a 5 hour flight arrived in Atlanta. After a short layover we boarded our flight to Johannesburg. The first leg of the flight took 8 and a half hours where we finally landed in Senegal. In Senegal we stayed seated on the tarmak while they cleaned our plane and boarded more passengers. After an hour we took off again for another 8 and half hours in the same seat. It was nice to get a huge chunck of flying over and done with all together, but 18 + hours in the same seat got old much too fast.
We arrvied in Joburg @ 5 pm and were not allowed to enter the International Terminal until this morning. So we staked out a nice slab of contrete and set up a temporary shelter. We spent the next 13 hours sleeping, reading, praying, worshiping, witnessing and playing games. By morning we were happy to make it to the other side of the airport and finally got a nice cup of coffee.
Thank you for all of your prayers. God has definately been working in all of us on this trip. Please continue to pray for a safe flight to Zambia and that God would be using us as we are going.
-Zambia Team
Just wanted to update you all on where we are and what we are doing. Currently we are in the Joburg International Airport waiting for our last flight to take us to Zambia. The last few days have been filled with mass quanities of waiting, sitting and attempts at sleeping.
We left PDX @ 6am and after a 5 hour flight arrived in Atlanta. After a short layover we boarded our flight to Johannesburg. The first leg of the flight took 8 and a half hours where we finally landed in Senegal. In Senegal we stayed seated on the tarmak while they cleaned our plane and boarded more passengers. After an hour we took off again for another 8 and half hours in the same seat. It was nice to get a huge chunck of flying over and done with all together, but 18 + hours in the same seat got old much too fast.
We arrvied in Joburg @ 5 pm and were not allowed to enter the International Terminal until this morning. So we staked out a nice slab of contrete and set up a temporary shelter. We spent the next 13 hours sleeping, reading, praying, worshiping, witnessing and playing games. By morning we were happy to make it to the other side of the airport and finally got a nice cup of coffee.
Thank you for all of your prayers. God has definately been working in all of us on this trip. Please continue to pray for a safe flight to Zambia and that God would be using us as we are going.
-Zambia Team
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Team Zambia
Update from Nicole Scholz:
Back row: Dan Coli, Katy Myers, Ben Newell, Shannon Bozarth, Ryan Darrah, Mark Pyatt; Front Row: Abbie Kirkpatrick, Anna Mitchell, Annie Phou, Nicole Scholz, Kelsey Gillespie, Sharaya McDonald
The day has arrived! Our last day before leaving for Zambia!! Tomorrow morning, August 5th at 3:30am we will arrive at PDX for our 6am flight. We are scheduled to arrive in Ndola, Zambia on August 7th at 11:20am. From there a short bus ride of 40 minutes or so will bring us to the town of Kitwe.
Back row: Dan Coli, Katy Myers, Ben Newell, Shannon Bozarth, Ryan Darrah, Mark Pyatt; Front Row: Abbie Kirkpatrick, Anna Mitchell, Annie Phou, Nicole Scholz, Kelsey Gillespie, Sharaya McDonaldThe Lord has so faithfully hand chosen His team of twelve for this trip and we are all truly blessed at this privilege. I ask for your prayers even today as we all are individually preparing, that the Lord would in this time unify His team and begin working in our hearts. We all realize that the trip doesn’t begin once we’ve stepped foot on the beautiful red African soil but it begins now-it’s already begun. And as we are going we want to radiate light and truth that forces darkness to flee in every form. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells us the requirement for greatness in the kingdom of heaven, and that is to become like children. Please pray for just that in each and every one of us. Not that the Lord would show us how to be like children for He’s already given us plenty of examples, no that we would let go of everything except Him allowing Him to change us and make us childlike. That we would truly be transparent vessels in everything we speak and everything we do. That in meeting us people would meet Jesus.
Please pray for trust, openness and eagerness to learn, as these are the characteristics of a child. Please pray for hands and feet that glorify the name of our Father and are beautiful in His sight.
With love to all! (Please pray for the safe arrival of not only us but for our luggage as well!)
More to come,
Nicole
Side Note: We are going to do our best to maintain the blog and give you all regular updates from the various ministries we will be helping with while in Zambia. We realized the expectations are high, so please bare with us as internet access in Kitwe will be irregular at best. We'll be doing our best to keep you all as up to date as possible. So until Africa ... :)
Please pray for trust, openness and eagerness to learn, as these are the characteristics of a child. Please pray for hands and feet that glorify the name of our Father and are beautiful in His sight.
With love to all! (Please pray for the safe arrival of not only us but for our luggage as well!)
More to come,
Nicole
Side Note: We are going to do our best to maintain the blog and give you all regular updates from the various ministries we will be helping with while in Zambia. We realized the expectations are high, so please bare with us as internet access in Kitwe will be irregular at best. We'll be doing our best to keep you all as up to date as possible. So until Africa ... :)
Friday, July 20, 2007
Hey everyone! I am sad to say that this will be the last post that is made from India. :( We are at a hotel in Bangalore, just resting a bit before we hop on to our 2 am flight, which is the first leg of our long trip home. We stop over in Frankfurt, Germany again, and then fly into Portland at 1130am PST Saturday morning
A quick photo recap of the last week:
Our tearful goodbye at Happy Home, last Friday morning....
Train travel pics....
Roshan is crazy!
While we sat in the Bangalore train station, before we hopped our train to Kolkata, the boys went on a mission to find Mcdonalds (Roshan said he thought that maybe there was a rumour one time that their might be a McD's in Bangalore....somewhere. Needless to say, that was enough for them, and 4 hours later they returned triumphant)
Our cockroach friend enjoys french frys and ketchup...
More train travel pics.....
Kolkata! This is sugercane juice....and it is AMAZING! Melis and Ryan take the first sip...
Rickshaws are everywhere. Men like this poor guy carry people around in their rickshaw, oftentimes barefoot, for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make a living. It's a hard life....and very evident of the poverty we saw absolutely everywhere in Kolkata. It was sobering to all of us.
This cross was a welcome sight to see for us all! Crosses, or Christian symbols of any kind are extremely rare in this country. It makes seeing one a memorable event. This church is where one of the Faith Comes By Hearing meetings we went to was held. The tape player is their "pastor"
Kaitlynn prays for a Hindu woman and her child...
I had to include a photo of the Kolkata Police. I just think they are AWESOME looking :)
The day we went to visit Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute happened to coincide with a Hindu holiday of some kind, so we had to fight out way through a crowd of people selling idols, worshipping them, and making and selling religious articles. It was intense! But then we stepped up to the door of the Home and a peace just washed over us. It truly is a beacon of light and a haven of peace in a dark place. We were asked not take pictures, so I can show you none....but we will not soon forget that place.
Mother Theresa's...
John and Reema and Theresa, in front of Victoria Palace, the old capital building of Kolkata, when the Brits ruled here.
Tiff making friends with a begger kid in the market near our hotel.
More train travel !! Are you getting the idea that we spent a LOT of time on these things? Ha ha ha....we love them :)
When we arrived in Ongole, we went to visit the school and Mt Beulah Orphanage, both of which Simpson (our guide for this portion of the trip) manages. Our reception there was warm and friendly, but our time much too brief. We could have spent weeks playing with the children and learning about the students. God is doing a great work in Ongole. We can share more when we get home...
Ongole is only 8km from the sea, so we spent a few hours of the afternoon playing around in the Bay of Bengal. Wow! It was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity of the last few weeks.
It's been a life-changing trip for each and every one of us. We will come home different people...but with a renewed vision of the need this world has for a God who loves them, and with a passion for how we can be His hands and feet to bring love, help, and truth to those around us...whether that be our next door neighbor, or a villager in the middle of India.
Thank you again and again for your prayers and encouraging messages and comments. It has been so amazing to have that kind of love and support while we are here.
We can't wait to see you all, and share our individual stories and pictures....
Until then, love to you all...
.rebekah
A quick photo recap of the last week:
Our tearful goodbye at Happy Home, last Friday morning....
Train travel pics....
Roshan is crazy!
While we sat in the Bangalore train station, before we hopped our train to Kolkata, the boys went on a mission to find Mcdonalds (Roshan said he thought that maybe there was a rumour one time that their might be a McD's in Bangalore....somewhere. Needless to say, that was enough for them, and 4 hours later they returned triumphant)
Our cockroach friend enjoys french frys and ketchup...
More train travel pics.....
Kolkata! This is sugercane juice....and it is AMAZING! Melis and Ryan take the first sip...
Rickshaws are everywhere. Men like this poor guy carry people around in their rickshaw, oftentimes barefoot, for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make a living. It's a hard life....and very evident of the poverty we saw absolutely everywhere in Kolkata. It was sobering to all of us.
This cross was a welcome sight to see for us all! Crosses, or Christian symbols of any kind are extremely rare in this country. It makes seeing one a memorable event. This church is where one of the Faith Comes By Hearing meetings we went to was held. The tape player is their "pastor"
Kaitlynn prays for a Hindu woman and her child...
I had to include a photo of the Kolkata Police. I just think they are AWESOME looking :)
The day we went to visit Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute happened to coincide with a Hindu holiday of some kind, so we had to fight out way through a crowd of people selling idols, worshipping them, and making and selling religious articles. It was intense! But then we stepped up to the door of the Home and a peace just washed over us. It truly is a beacon of light and a haven of peace in a dark place. We were asked not take pictures, so I can show you none....but we will not soon forget that place.
Mother Theresa's...
John and Reema and Theresa, in front of Victoria Palace, the old capital building of Kolkata, when the Brits ruled here.
Tiff making friends with a begger kid in the market near our hotel.
More train travel !! Are you getting the idea that we spent a LOT of time on these things? Ha ha ha....we love them :)
When we arrived in Ongole, we went to visit the school and Mt Beulah Orphanage, both of which Simpson (our guide for this portion of the trip) manages. Our reception there was warm and friendly, but our time much too brief. We could have spent weeks playing with the children and learning about the students. God is doing a great work in Ongole. We can share more when we get home...
Ongole is only 8km from the sea, so we spent a few hours of the afternoon playing around in the Bay of Bengal. Wow! It was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity of the last few weeks.
It's been a life-changing trip for each and every one of us. We will come home different people...but with a renewed vision of the need this world has for a God who loves them, and with a passion for how we can be His hands and feet to bring love, help, and truth to those around us...whether that be our next door neighbor, or a villager in the middle of India.
Thank you again and again for your prayers and encouraging messages and comments. It has been so amazing to have that kind of love and support while we are here.
We can't wait to see you all, and share our individual stories and pictures....
Until then, love to you all...
.rebekah
Monday, July 16, 2007
We are alive!!!
hey guys!! Wow...I know it's been FOREVER since I have posted last, and I am so sorry if you have been worried at all. I have been unable to connect my computer to internet of any kind since we got here. Even now, I can't upload my photos because I am having to use the hotel manager's computer. ha ha ha, gotta roll with it! Anyway, I just want to sum up our last 5 days for you and share a bit about what is next for us.
We arrived in Calcutta (known by the locals as Kolkota) safely and on time at 630am Sunday morning after a 40 hour travel experience (7hrs from Shimoga to Bangalore, 5hrs wait at the train station there, then a 29hr train ride from Bangalore to Calcutta). The train was.....welll......lets just saya few things: 1.Close quarters! 64 people per car, which meant 8 people per "compartment" (no actual curtains or doors, just bunks on the side of the car,in tiers of three). 2.I don't think our neighbors liked some of us very much....but we tried to just love on them and not compare to the wonderful reception that we had in Shimoga. 3. "Bathrooms"...on a moving train...with no actual toilet....it took a LOT of skill. Those of you who have ridden a train in Asia know what I am talking about :)
But all in all, we got to catch up on some reading, make some friends, learned abit more about the country, and sleep as much as we wanted. It was a good trip.
When we arrived we then cruised to our hotel and showered for the first time since Friday. It was SO GOOD to be clean :)
Sunday afternoon we visited a little girl that Ben knows who is handicapped, but has been tought a trade (making sarees) so that she can support herself. Then we went to our first Faith Comes By Hearing listening session. It was rad! There was a woman who asked for prayer from Kaitlynn afterwards, and when we started praying for her, we all felt a demonic presence of some kind. It shook us up, but we continued praying and the woman said she felt she had been freed. She glowed with happiness :)
Monday we spent visiting two different ministries to the women of the Red Light District here. I have been asked not to write about them here, so you will have to wait for our own stories when we get back. Let me just say that I was inspired, encouraged, and sobered. One of the leaders said to us "We all spend our lives on something. We cannot save it up. What are you spending yours on?"
Monday evening we went to another listening session at a church on the other side of Calcutta. It was rad! The people there were happy, filled with joy, and just loved us all and made us feel so welcome. Ben was asked by the pastor to give an impromptu sermon (gulp!), and he just jumped right up there and spoke for about 20 min through an interpreter. He did great! Then we all got up and sang a few Solid Rock worship songs for them, which they just loved. .....and laughed at our funny Western songs too :)
All in all, its been a very full and interesting two days in Calcutta. Today we leave the hotel in a few minutes to visit Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute. Then we will view Victoria's Palace and a few other sights. Then at 1130tonight we hope a train for Ongole to see a different children's orphanage that is run by our friend here in Calcutta, Simpson.
Hopefully I will be able to hope into an internet cafe tonight or on thursday when we arrive in Ongole. And hopefully I can use my computer so I can upload some pictures for you guys.
But no promises (as I have learned) ha ha hha
We all love and miss you guys back home. And we are ready to eat some American food and sleep in our own beds. And to tell you all our stories about this beautiful, tragic, inspiring, and sobering place.
Please please please continue to pray for spiritual protection for us. We all agree that when we arrived in Calcutta we saw the bold face of Evil in a new and shocking way. It is not disguised here....it stares you in the face and laughs. We must remember that the battle is already won, and that this is not the world we were made for, and it is not where we will end. And we must, with ever greater fervency, draw others to the Truth that will set them free from their chains.
Pray for us, pray for India.
Love to you all,
.Rebekah
We arrived in Calcutta (known by the locals as Kolkota) safely and on time at 630am Sunday morning after a 40 hour travel experience (7hrs from Shimoga to Bangalore, 5hrs wait at the train station there, then a 29hr train ride from Bangalore to Calcutta). The train was.....welll......lets just saya few things: 1.Close quarters! 64 people per car, which meant 8 people per "compartment" (no actual curtains or doors, just bunks on the side of the car,in tiers of three). 2.I don't think our neighbors liked some of us very much....but we tried to just love on them and not compare to the wonderful reception that we had in Shimoga. 3. "Bathrooms"...on a moving train...with no actual toilet....it took a LOT of skill. Those of you who have ridden a train in Asia know what I am talking about :)
But all in all, we got to catch up on some reading, make some friends, learned abit more about the country, and sleep as much as we wanted. It was a good trip.
When we arrived we then cruised to our hotel and showered for the first time since Friday. It was SO GOOD to be clean :)
Sunday afternoon we visited a little girl that Ben knows who is handicapped, but has been tought a trade (making sarees) so that she can support herself. Then we went to our first Faith Comes By Hearing listening session. It was rad! There was a woman who asked for prayer from Kaitlynn afterwards, and when we started praying for her, we all felt a demonic presence of some kind. It shook us up, but we continued praying and the woman said she felt she had been freed. She glowed with happiness :)
Monday we spent visiting two different ministries to the women of the Red Light District here. I have been asked not to write about them here, so you will have to wait for our own stories when we get back. Let me just say that I was inspired, encouraged, and sobered. One of the leaders said to us "We all spend our lives on something. We cannot save it up. What are you spending yours on?"
Monday evening we went to another listening session at a church on the other side of Calcutta. It was rad! The people there were happy, filled with joy, and just loved us all and made us feel so welcome. Ben was asked by the pastor to give an impromptu sermon (gulp!), and he just jumped right up there and spoke for about 20 min through an interpreter. He did great! Then we all got up and sang a few Solid Rock worship songs for them, which they just loved. .....and laughed at our funny Western songs too :)
All in all, its been a very full and interesting two days in Calcutta. Today we leave the hotel in a few minutes to visit Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute. Then we will view Victoria's Palace and a few other sights. Then at 1130tonight we hope a train for Ongole to see a different children's orphanage that is run by our friend here in Calcutta, Simpson.
Hopefully I will be able to hope into an internet cafe tonight or on thursday when we arrive in Ongole. And hopefully I can use my computer so I can upload some pictures for you guys.
But no promises (as I have learned) ha ha hha
We all love and miss you guys back home. And we are ready to eat some American food and sleep in our own beds. And to tell you all our stories about this beautiful, tragic, inspiring, and sobering place.
Please please please continue to pray for spiritual protection for us. We all agree that when we arrived in Calcutta we saw the bold face of Evil in a new and shocking way. It is not disguised here....it stares you in the face and laughs. We must remember that the battle is already won, and that this is not the world we were made for, and it is not where we will end. And we must, with ever greater fervency, draw others to the Truth that will set them free from their chains.
Pray for us, pray for India.
Love to you all,
.Rebekah
Thursday, July 12, 2007
our time here is almost up...
Hey guys! Welll....we spent our second-to-last day here in Shimoga doing some more shopping for the kids, and for Reema, Esther, and Stella (Irene's sister who works here at Happy Home). Then we spend the afternoon and evening with the kids.
Melis in the rickshaw that we took to Ghandi Bazaar (the shopping area). These things are absolutely crazy! They are all two-stroke engines, with a hand lever starter on the floor and 2 gears. Awesome :)
Danielle and Tiff
Shopping....
I just have to share this: this guy's singular dreadlock was just blowing our minds :) ha ha ha. He was RAD!
Here are a few pictures of the streets, just to give you all an idea of the amazing colors we saw, and also of the juxtoposition between seeing such beaty amidst the trash heaps and poverty.
Yes, yes...that is indeed an animal trap of some kind. I've got admit, I was a bit taken aback seeing that for sale right next kitchen supplies, like bowls, spoons, rolling pins, etc.
Jeanne, checking her email. I just thought she was so cute, so I had to share it with you all :)
Irene, bargaining with the salesperson (who we all think looks kinda like Prince) over underwear prices. Some of these kids get dropped off here at the orphanage with no underwear! And as you can guess, it is expensive to keep more than 70 children supplied with underclothes. Especially when many of them are not capable of being potty trained, due to their handicaps. So thank you to all who financially supported us on this trip because we were able to buy more than 400 pairs of underthings!! Through this experience especially I learned how wealthy we really are in the western world. These reminders are helping me to grow in my appreciation of how God cares for me so well, and blesses me so much.
And now some more pics of the kids :) We are so heartbroken to be leaving these beautiful children on Friday! Tears are already being shed, and hearts hurting in anticipation of the pain of not seeing them every day.
Ok, cool story of the day: This woman and child below...
They live next door to Irene, and asked a few of us to come and pray for them yesterday afternoon. So John, Theresa, Danielle, Reema, Allison and I all went over. She shared a bit of her story (Reema translated for us). She and her husband have a daughter (the child's mother) who was married to a man for a few years, got pregnant with this beautiful little girl and then ran away from her husband because she was being mistreated. So she lives with her parents now, and works nearby. They specifically wanted prayer for the husband to reconcile with the daughter, and care for them, and be a part of his daughter's life. They also asked for prayer for some health problems that they are each having. They cannot afford a doctor, so they said that we should ask God to heal them. It was such a beautiful time of worship and prayer! John played "Sanctuary" on the guitar and we sang, and then a few of us got on our knees, put our hands on them and prayed. Seeing their simple faith brought tears to my eyes! I so desire to be that way! They see their need, know that they cannot meet it themselves, and so bring it to their Lord. I must say it again, this experience in India is teaching me so much......we all feel like we are growing and learning in new ways every day.
Thank you again for your prayers! They are felt and appreciated...
I will try to post again tomorrow, but might not be able to. We hop a train to Bangalore in the morning, spend the afternoon there, and then board a sleeper train for Kolkata (Calcutta) at 8pm (that's 8am Friday for you Oregon people). We will be on the train until sometime Sunday morning.
We will get to catch up on reading and sleeping while on the train, which will be nice....but we would give anything to be spending more time with the kids. The time has flown by so quickly....
Oh man, I am tearing up again.
So.....this might be the last post for a few days. But you will hear from me again soon!
Love to you all!
.Rebekah
Melis in the rickshaw that we took to Ghandi Bazaar (the shopping area). These things are absolutely crazy! They are all two-stroke engines, with a hand lever starter on the floor and 2 gears. Awesome :)
Danielle and Tiff
Shopping....
I just have to share this: this guy's singular dreadlock was just blowing our minds :) ha ha ha. He was RAD!
Here are a few pictures of the streets, just to give you all an idea of the amazing colors we saw, and also of the juxtoposition between seeing such beaty amidst the trash heaps and poverty.
Yes, yes...that is indeed an animal trap of some kind. I've got admit, I was a bit taken aback seeing that for sale right next kitchen supplies, like bowls, spoons, rolling pins, etc.
Jeanne, checking her email. I just thought she was so cute, so I had to share it with you all :)
Irene, bargaining with the salesperson (who we all think looks kinda like Prince) over underwear prices. Some of these kids get dropped off here at the orphanage with no underwear! And as you can guess, it is expensive to keep more than 70 children supplied with underclothes. Especially when many of them are not capable of being potty trained, due to their handicaps. So thank you to all who financially supported us on this trip because we were able to buy more than 400 pairs of underthings!! Through this experience especially I learned how wealthy we really are in the western world. These reminders are helping me to grow in my appreciation of how God cares for me so well, and blesses me so much.
And now some more pics of the kids :) We are so heartbroken to be leaving these beautiful children on Friday! Tears are already being shed, and hearts hurting in anticipation of the pain of not seeing them every day.
Ok, cool story of the day: This woman and child below...
They live next door to Irene, and asked a few of us to come and pray for them yesterday afternoon. So John, Theresa, Danielle, Reema, Allison and I all went over. She shared a bit of her story (Reema translated for us). She and her husband have a daughter (the child's mother) who was married to a man for a few years, got pregnant with this beautiful little girl and then ran away from her husband because she was being mistreated. So she lives with her parents now, and works nearby. They specifically wanted prayer for the husband to reconcile with the daughter, and care for them, and be a part of his daughter's life. They also asked for prayer for some health problems that they are each having. They cannot afford a doctor, so they said that we should ask God to heal them. It was such a beautiful time of worship and prayer! John played "Sanctuary" on the guitar and we sang, and then a few of us got on our knees, put our hands on them and prayed. Seeing their simple faith brought tears to my eyes! I so desire to be that way! They see their need, know that they cannot meet it themselves, and so bring it to their Lord. I must say it again, this experience in India is teaching me so much......we all feel like we are growing and learning in new ways every day.
Thank you again for your prayers! They are felt and appreciated...
I will try to post again tomorrow, but might not be able to. We hop a train to Bangalore in the morning, spend the afternoon there, and then board a sleeper train for Kolkata (Calcutta) at 8pm (that's 8am Friday for you Oregon people). We will be on the train until sometime Sunday morning.
We will get to catch up on reading and sleeping while on the train, which will be nice....but we would give anything to be spending more time with the kids. The time has flown by so quickly....
Oh man, I am tearing up again.
So.....this might be the last post for a few days. But you will hear from me again soon!
Love to you all!
.Rebekah
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