Christmas Wish

Presents wrapped beneath the tree,
Christmas dinner, and family to see.

One more wish Lord for Christmas Day
One more Christmas prayer to say.

Around the world, not everyone knows
Of the birth of Christ that the angels foretold.

Dear Lord, may your holiday gift from above
Penetrate the hearts of all with love.

May war be stilled and violence cease
Just for a moment, a prayer for peace

Joy to the world, good will to all
He’s King of Kings, yet a child so small.

As we celebrate our Savior’s birth,
We pray for peace across the earth.

Dear Lord, please hear this prayer I pray.
Please bless everyone on Christmas Day.


Merry Christmas and so much Love,
Love,
Lauren

Christmas Grace

Christmas Grace
House of mud, lowest caste
Dirty jobs and difficult past.

Heart of pride and sinner still,
Struggling God to know your will.

Sex addiction, drugs stronghold
Has the future been foretold?

Fallen world, gap of sin
Need a Savior to enter in.

Every religion: a ruler, a king
Perfection required the gift we’re to bring.

But what’s required we cannot do
We have nothing of value to offer you

This Christmas babe, was he meant for me?
We’re not worth this gift but could it be?

The son of God should rest in a place of gold
Not in a stable out in the cold.

Who is this baby, this tiny King…
What message is he trying to bring?

Lowly shepherd, lowly place,
Life of poverty and disgrace.

In the fields, that silent night
Lowly place, met heavenly light.

The greatest and best weren’t the first to hear
Twas the humble and weak to whom the angel did appear.

Good tidings to you, go follow the star
You are chosen by God just as you are



This gift to the shepherds that came from above
Was not about honor but all about love.

God knew the shepherds, he knows us too,
He knows there is nothing of merit we can do.

This old story from years long past
Carries a message meant to last.

Lowly people, lowly place,
Changed with love by heavenly grace.

This Christmas may you really sense the difference and uniqueness of our Savior. He doesn’t come for the “perfect” but for the imperfect. That is the beauty of Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2009

Today was the first Sunday I didn't feel anything.. usually Sunday more than any other day I long to be in India. My heart usually just aches. All day today I missed the ache.. I wanted it. It made no sense why I didn't ache. I missed getting to talk to friends I usually talk with but was so happy to hear from friends I seldom get to talk to. I even got to talk by phone to one friend. Her story is so hard right now...so many trials. It hurt my heart to hear it but still no ache.. but finally...tonight there it is. Watching the end of a movie that I had seen before without tears - stirred my heart and again...I long for India.

Unresting heart

Faith

The children....a smile...peeking in the room every time the door opens. Yelling, "Hi, Aunty," out the widow each time I pass by. Such joy. Where does such joy come from? I know what their answer is, the same as everyone's... "God said there would be trials. He suffered. If we must, we will do the same for God."
What amazing faith!

We had talked briefly, just a few times...mostly about her children and their curiosity with my white skin, but that was all. Then on Saturday as I was leaving, she came in my room to show me pictures of her town and her home. Every picture was of broken, burned piles of brick and dirt.. In November, the Christians in her northern town were the focus of the attacks. She explained that her home had been destroyed.

I remember hearing about this… and thinking, "Wow, how terrible." I am sure I prayed quickly but forgot. It was in my head as a tragic news story, a terrible event but not something personal or in my heart. Again and again on this trip my heart has ached for this state. It is no longer a news story, it is about my friends.

I wish my words could paint a better picture of this family. They are not crying; they are hopeful. They are praising God, knowin that God will provide.

I am home now and I am planning to return next year. I had such an amazing time. The classes went well and visiting the schools was great. I love the children....but...the greatest joy in my heart was the wonderful women with whom I became friends. I had prayed for one good friend but was wonderfully blessed with friends in abundance. These women have incredible lives and unbelievable stories. I am so lucky to know all of them. They are all serving God in amazing ways with such faith and passion. Please pray that I will see them again. I believe that God would not have drawn us as close as he did and then not allow the contact to continue. Please keep them and India in your prayers. Pray also for guidance about what my return trip should look like.

PS.. I will keep this site open and continue to post more of my writing about India. I will also post updates regarding my desire to return to India.

....Praying for some fluke that will cause me to have to go back and be able to see all the girls and friends I've had to leave.....

Broken heart

Yesterday was sooo hard. In the weeks that I have been here my heart has grown to love people. In the beginning we only talked of hot food, hot weather and what America was like. But...in the weeks that have followed we have shared stories and lives. We have joked, made fun of each other, and spent time in prayer. I feel like I have family here. Many, I will see again if I am lucky enough to return next year but several I may never see. They will return to parts of India that I most likely will be unable to visit. My heart misses them so much.

Snake

One small touch would kill a person in 20 minutes. Not the type of thing you want to have in your kindergarten classroom, yet the school we visited today has had its fourth snake this week. Some have been huge cobras but this one was small and deadly, a Krate snake. Snake season and rainy season seem to go hand in hand. The rain brings forth frogs and the snakes come for the frogs, causing a huge problem for the school.

New School

More than a Mustard Seed

Things I LOVE about India
A friend cries when she prays.. not out of sadness but out of passion
Riding a motorcycle
Flowers in hair
Mango juice
Taare Zareem Par
Talking with my Indian mom
Learning
Knowing people
Stories
Singing
Smiling
Watching people do things that are not their job in order to help me
Train trips
Seeing monkeys
Riding elephants
Riding camels
Fitting in
Knowing I glow
Helpfulness of everyone
The man who ran the home where many grew up
Friends coming to my room on their own...not waiting to be asked
Laughing over mistakes and slip-ups like "feeese" (fish)
World Youth Sunday
Children saying “Gooooood morning mama.”
Wearing saris
Having girls over to my room
The way my friend answers the phone
Chai
The way a friend always answers “No problem.”
The way a friend’s daughter shakes her head in her little Indian way
Holding babies
Children bundled in hats and coats (85 degrees is cold in India)
Eating with my hands
TTC
Laughing
Rainstorms
Vision


Things I don’t like about India
Mosquitoes
Mosquito bites
Seeing my dinner alive .... before it is my dinner
That there are no words to say thank you enough...and no way to repay anyone for their kindness and love
When I return home and talk about why I love India.. no one will understand
Leaving without exact assurance of returning
Pickled mangoes
Stiff, line-dried clothing
Not enough days left
Not enough time to just sit and be friends

In case some of you are wondering why I don't write sometimes... please notice the new picture... We are holding our computers in the air trying to pick up a signal... :)

Jesus in her eyes

Impact

Slices of Life

I wonder if this city ever sleeps.. it seems to bustle in the morning and streets are filled each night. People, cars, cattle, dogs, rickshaws, and buses swarm the streets. Each road narrows greatly from its intended size due to the people spilling off the sidewalks and into the road. People never seem to look, and everyone is squished, so squished that the man on the motor bike in front of us is able to reach over and touch our car.
I wonder about people’s lives. I would love to hear their stories.. and I wonder where they all sleep. I would so much like to meet everyone...but instead... I just watch.
In the morning I notice girls lined up at the well pumping water and filling large, green, orange, red, blue, and white plastic pots. At one home a small, soapy head bends forward as mom scrubs while a smaller, naked sibling plays nearby waiting for a turn........every person who notices me stops to stare at the white face in the car window........
Night time fills the streets with new scenes. The road darkens because there are no street lights yet the street glows from the lights within each shop. Inside each window, door, and storefront life is bustling. In one widow a man tips his white, shaving cream covered chin upward while another shaves his beard. A bit further down the street I notice purple and blue sparks flying as a man welds pipes that twist into an unidentifiable figure. Fruit stands on carts, on blankets, in baskets and in shops are always perfectly arranged. In one window a man reaches to restack limes - forming each into a pyramid. Horns honking, cars swerving, people talking, and beautiful women in beautiful saris. I see women whose eyes sparkle behind black burkas and children in uniform with perfectly braided hair. Men are driving rickshaws, driving cars, driving cattle, and driving goats. People, people everywhere.
Small glimpse of life.
I just love India!

Intermittent Electricity

Hello all.. sorry it has taken me so long to write. I am in a different state now and will be here until Sunday. Now that I have been teaching it has been VERY busy...plus it is much harder to get on-line. I will write more soon. ( I can get on-line now but am almost out of power.)

No words

Thinking…
Still not sleeping…I am tired but awake and thinking, always thinking. I seem to do my best thinking at these hours when I really wish to be asleep. I also have not written. Really and truly, I feel it is because there are no words. On the plane from Cleveland to Newark I was discussing with my seat mates our travel plans. One was taking a group of students to tour Europe, the other staying in Newark for a season opener.. upon hearing that my destination was India the man asked if I had lost a bet… because in his mind who would really PICK to go to India. I am sure many others have asked the same question. Knowing that, it really is my heart’s desire to convey what I see here in an attempt to answer that question. Even my own head can’t put it into words for me to understand, it is only my heart that seems to get it. The first nights I lay awake in my room just smiling. But still, the words to express the reason for the smile seem like words, just words.

Sick..

I had two wishes for health….
1. To not be sick
2. If in the event that I was sick.. may it always be in a convenient location.
The good news.. is the second of those two prayers has been answered.. the bad news is I have been sick every day. .

I also am covered in red dots. I am guessing it is just mosquito bites.. I hope?!?!

How wonderful to be back!! It really is amazing how small a BIG world can feel. I traveled over 32 hours to be welcomed on the other side of the world like family. How wonderful! I have spent the day visiting with old friends, and surprising some who didn't know I was coming. I really feel so blessed to be here. It feels natural(except for the heat). Everything went fine. I will write more later but it sounds like it is about to rain and to get on line I have to sit outside in a grassy area so, I should probably go in.. Blessings friends!!

Here we go..

Well, I leave tomorrow. I am excited but anxious also... I am excited to see what the next few weeks has in store. I will let you know when I get there. Ready or not.. here we go!!

Not so easy

I learned how to put on a Sari today... not so easy. I need to keep practicing. That is certainly something you need to be good at doing.. not doing it right could have very negative consequences.

Davey Students

Only 9 days until I leave... Friday was the last day of school. Many of the kids from Davey helped me get ready for this trip. Our Music teacher and Kindergarten and Pre-school classes made a terrific alphabet CD from songs they have learned this year. I am hopeful many Davey students will follow this blog too. If you are a Davey student and are checking on this trip please let me know. I would love to hear from you. ...Thanks for all your help!

How do I do this?!?!

I leave for India in two weeks from today... but so far no one will be able to read this blog. I am having no luck finding it. so.. this is a test.

Getting ready for India