warning to anyone who actually reads my blog, hehe

sooo...on january 8th around 4am we're flying out! leaving india. goodbye. we're headed for sudan for 3 months, yippee. the thing is that i might not have alot of access to the internet there. i will update as much as i possibly can, but it might not be much. certainly not as regularly as i have here. please pray for us, we will be visiting 3 different cities in southern sudan helping out in hospitals and communities with mother and child health care. pray for us. email me anyways, i love to hear from people....i'll talk to you when i talk to you.

Oh come let us adore Him...

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7

Thursday we went to a Christmas party at the hospital. Sister Elizabeth, our lovely nurse friend, planned it all out. She said, "We will lure them with the food, and then we will preach them the Gospel!" She is one of the most passionate people I've met, there is a fire that burns in her heart for the message of Jesus Christ. She got all the christians at the hospital (very small minority of staff and students) to come together to make this program really great.

Everyone showed up from the "chief madam" to the "dimas" that do the cleaning. There were songs, prayers, and scripture readings. The "chief madam" even called us forward one at a time to thank us for our help. She awarded us with a small statue of the Hindu dancing god. (We're all still trying to figure out what to do with those.) My favorite part was when some of the christian student nurses acted out the nativity. It was all in Telegu, so I couldn't understand the words spoken, but I know the story by heart. Their costumes were brilliant. Gabriel had tin foil wings. Joseph had a marker drawn beard and mustache, as did most of the shepherds and wise men (you have to be creative with an all female cast.) Baby Jesus was played by a precious baby that was abandoned in the nursery, we call her Daniella. I was lost in the story, smiling and watching along with everyone else. As the wise men bowed themselves, bearing their gifts, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. What, what?? "Where is this coming from?" i asked myself. From somewhere deep within came the simple words, "This is the story of MY JESUS." My precious, Jesus. My Friend. My Love. My Provider. My Comforter and Counselor. My Guide. My King. My Prince. My Everything. They were telling the story of my Jesus, and it touched my heart so deeply.

Isaiah prophesied that there would be "no end to the increase" over his kingdom, His government. I see with my own eyes that the zeal of the Lord is accomplishing His purposes all over the world! In some places the gospel spreads like wildfire, and in other places it's more like roots growing underground slowly but deeply. He is active, not slow to fulfill His promises, but patient with His creation. Praise Him.

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. Isaiah 61:11

goodbye to the Government Maternity Hospital

We finished our time at the Hosptital. It seems like yesterday that i walked onto the compound like a schoolgirl--nervousness, excitement, and expectancy all churning in my belly. Now we commit the babies born, the mothers loved, and the seeds of hope planted into the hands of the Almighty...

A view from the roof intoone of the courtyards full of waiting families.

Our prayer corner on the roof.

3 Generations...

Where thousands of screaming babies have been weighed and welcomed.

GHM is a place where God taught me that grace could be found in unusual places.

Hundreds of stories of the King were shared, i think the babies will pass them on...

Noel spelled H-E-N-R-Y

This Saturday morning I went strolling down Abids. Abids is a busy street where life happens. My nostrils took in the polluted air, but it didn't bother me like it did when we first moved here. Buses, cars, and rickshaws zoomed past us and occasionally a rickshaw would stop to see if we wanted a ride. I dropped a rupee into the hand of a sweet elderly woman, her severely deformed legs peeked out from under her skirt. A group of school children clothed in uniform stared, giggled, and then shyly waved. The school children, especially the girls, always wave. I was not alone, in fact I was in great company. My friends Hollie and Noel walked alongside me chatting and taking in the sights, smells and sounds. Although it all sounds quite glorious, one actually grows used to it. All the specifics fade into the sum of the city... Back to my company, we have all grown quite fond of Noel. Maybe it's his gentleness or his secret intellect or his genuine care for one's well-being. He is famous for saying, "My name is H-E-N-R-Y but you can call me Noel." I can still hear him spelling it out, never actually saying "Henry." Noel lives somewhere close by, although I'm not sure quite where. Maybe he sleeps on a street corner that he calls his own or in a makeshift shack. I wouldn't call Noel a begger, he's never asked for anything. You see Noel used to work in a bank and was even in the peace corp for a while. You wouldn't guess that about him unless you talked to him for a while. He has long grey locks that are always slicked back, a wiry frame, a kind face, and an unabashed smile revealing several missing teeth. He has one shirt, one pair of pants, and a pair of sandals that have holes worn all the way through. Noel wanders the streets in our neighborhood, and when he sees us he always politely asks how we've been and if we have "taken breakfast." This morning Hollie and I took Noel christmas shopping. A whopping $8 bought him a plaid button down, long-sleeved shirt and a new pair of trousers. He picked the cheapest. Once a bright little school girl told us not to talk to Noel because he was a begger. Hollie smiled and responded, "He's my friend."
Why do I introduce you to Noel? Because he's precious and he teaches me about life. I'm not sure how to put it all into words, how can an individual be put accurately into words? words no matter how extravagant cannot perfectly describe something living, breathing, changing, moving, feeling...although somehow i try.
One night i was walking home past the small chapel near where we stay. there were people inside and the priest was leading them in prayer over a loud-speaker in a deep, mono-tone voice. there were people looking around and teenagers talking. and then i saw him. i stopped and a tear built up in my eye. in the pew closest to the exit sat Noel with his hands in his face. i think Jesus would have been friends with Noel had they ever crossed paths....
but maybe they have, and maybe they are...
maybe i just want people to love people more...especially the outcasts, the poor, the lonely, the mistreated, the misunderstood. i think Jesus was that way. He loved people. Free of charge. No strings attached. Without thinking about how He might be blessed. He loved people.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand than to be understood; to love than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds; it is by forgiving that one is forgiven; it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. --Mother Theresa

i'm dreaming of a white christmas...

This Christmas morning i awoke to the sound of a crackling fire and the smell of freshly made coffee. i layed for another moment in my cozy bed indulging myself in a few more minutes of dreaminess. oh it is Christmas morning, what a merry day! i arose and stretched, oh the bliss of a quiet, still dawn. presents, friends, laughter, tasty treats...i glanced towards the window and what did my eyes behold?? could it really be?? was i dreaming? i jumped up and almost stumbled over my slippers as i raced towards the window. my eyes focused in on the flittering snowflakes, carelessly floating down from the early morning sky. as i gazed into the courtyard i saw the cook's 2 precious girls placing the final touches on a perfectly jolly snowman. a sweet carol began to fall from my lips, and then to my pleasant surprise all my room-mates joined in. we sang in perfect harmony and then began to dance around the room with perfect grace and balance....yeah right. and then frosty came alive and joined us for morning tea and cookies.
well Christmas in india has been good, but not exactly as i explained above. not even close, really. we spent a quarter buying each person stocking stuffers. yes, a quarter on each person which is 10 rupees. we received bracelets and earrings and chocolate and pens and gum! we don't have a tree, so we gathered around a nativity scene that we each contributed to. i made mary. my friend hollie made baby Jesus, she even crocheted Him a little hat...the whole gang was tacked to the wall from the angel to the shepherds. they were a motley crew, but hey we made do. after we had opened all our little treats, we sat around and laughed and chatted and played silly games. some of us went to a midnight mass at the catholic church on the compound on which we are staying. we sang songs and stared at all the brightly dressed indian women and the children in new outfits. we gladly went inside when they announced that although they were glad that visitors had come to their service, holy communion was only for catholics. i was nodding off at that point, it was almost 2am. today we slept in and awoke for breakfast and the exchanging of "secret santa" gifts. and no there are no fire places, crackling fires, or snowmen. it was so stinkin' hot today we thought about going swimming. we ate a buffet lunch and stuffed ourselves. swimming, yeah right. we went home with our full bellies for an afternoon nap.
this is my first Christmas away from home. i guess it's not too bad because it still doesn't seem like it's really Christmas. no lights. no people ringing bells on storefronts collecting change for the poor. no sitting in my living room decked out in my pajamas with my dear family to open gifts. no driving around and admiring the christmas lights and decor. no children's christmas pageant. it's just another day. no that's not true, it is a special day to remember one of the most historic moments of all time. God came to earth. and He came as a baby. innocent. dependent. perfect. He came down to us and lived a life of suffering, humiliation, compassion, and servant hood. He died a criminal's death. what does it all mean? what does it mean for human kind? what does it mean for me? for you? this is a time for pondering. for searching. for finding. for loving. for giving.
merry Christmas

*me and my 2 german team mates, renate and aline. aren't they precious?

for christmas day

Did Mary say to Joseph tenderly,
'Such little hands, such little feet!
They be like little shells we've found beside the sea,
the sea of Galilee'?

And did wise Joseph answer,
'For love's sake our love shall shelter Him, inclose, and hold,
As the low hills about that silver lake shelter it, fold on fold'?

Across the stable, like a wind-a breath-
'The wicked have inclosed Me,' it saith.
'Thou hast brought Me into dust of death.'
Into the dust of death.

And then did Joseph's father-like surprise,
As round his finger little fingers curled,
Call smiles and tears to Mary's mother-eyes?
He clings who'll save the world.

And as the Child in His soft manger lay,
Did gentle oxen in their language say,
'A mangerful of our sweet-smelling hay --
Our gift this Christmas day'?

Again that breath -- An unregarded tree
is growing somewhere, making wood to be,
One awful day, the Cross of Calvary.
The Cross of Calvary.

O Lord, we adore Thee!
The wicked did inclose Thee;
Pierced were Thy hands and feet for us -for me-
O Child of Bethlehem,
Christ our dear Redeemer,
We come and we adore Thee,
We come and we adore Thee,
We come and we adore Thee,
Christ our Lord.

Merry Christmas everyone!

*Poem by Amy Carmichael

life in pictures