The white people are melting and the indian people are freezing...

***This blog was originally written last Thursday, the 21st...due to blogger craziness, it didnt get uploaded until now...in order to get the full effect of this email think back to the weather we had the middle of last week - such as frosty nights, seeing your breath, goosebumps and shivering...***



Have any of you seen the movie "Fools Rush In"? There is one line in the movie that perfectly describes part of what we experienced in India...The white people are melting! Last night the reverse happened...

Four amazing men that we got to know while we were in India are here! They all work for The Bible League and came into town for some meetings (in Chicago I believe) and are hanging out here for a short time. Everyone who has visited India was invited to a cookout last night to eat and welcome them. If you happen to live in the Michiana area, or at least keep up with the weather on the news, it was cold yesterday. Abnormally cold. Not cool, cold. And since this outting was planned before even my trip to India in August, the plans were already made to hold this get together at St. Pat's park in a covered picnic area.

Are the pieces fitting together yet?

The Indian guys were definitely outside of their comfort zone last night, in more than one way! But despite the weather, we all had a great time chatting with them and with each other. Members from my team exchanged stories with people who have gone before us, and we all shared stories and advice for the newcomers heading out in October. It was a fabulous night and the weather couldn't burst our happy bubbles.

This is Raj. He's pretty important, people know him.
He is actually one of the big-wigs of the Bible League in India.
He's in charge of the Bible League in Tamil Nadu.
And he's flippin awesome! Great sense of humor!

This is Immanuel and Francis.
Immanuel watched out for us alot during our time in India.
He is in charge of the Bible League office in Chennai.
He's pretty important too. People know him!
Francis is just a hoot! He was with us on our
shopping day at Spencer Plaza. He took
videos of us on his camera at Pizza Hut.
He has the greatest sense of humor and
the best smile. Even the cold couldn't bring him
down - no that's not a turbin on his head, its a scarf!

Here is Francis, Immanuel, Zephaniah and Raj.
They picked to stand in front of the fire to stay warm.
Smart men.

You have to meet Sheela!

This is Sheela. She actually works for the Bible League and came along with us as a translator. I absolutely LOVE Sheela! I have to say I think she was the most fun of anyone I met in India. While she is very much a lady, she had no problem telling us that she wants to marry a man that can cook and clean because she does not do those things ---not very common in India! We all decided we were going to find her a man who is domesticated because she is very much a city girl!

During our time in India the heat was often stifling, and many times it ran through my head that I just needed time for my body to adjust to India. The phrase from the movie "Fools Rush In" is perfect to describe how we felt - "The white people are melting!" Then, come to find out, Sheela was miserably hot too! One of my favorite Sheela phrases is "It is not this hot in Bangalore" (where she is from) She kept telling us that we needed to visit her because it was much more comfortable and their Bangalore had A.C. It was nice to know it was not just us that the heat was effecting.

Lanette, Jennifer and I were blessed to get to spend some time at the beach along the Bay of Bengal. Esther, her children and her church family took us to the beach one of our last days in India and it was Sheela's first time ever to put her feet in ocean water! She was so excited and giggly that it made the rest of us excited also! It was such a blessing to get to be there with our new friend and she got to experience the fun and excitement of something so simple yet so amazing! I love the nature - especially the beach and water - so as I stood there laughing, smiling and taking pictures, I could feel God. He was right there with us playing in the sand and the water. It was awesome!



I miss Sheela. She is an amazing woman and I can't wait to get to India again to see her!

More Sheela stories to come...

I would like to introduce you to Esther...

This is Esther. While I only got to spend 24 hours with her, she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Esther is, in essence, a working mother. Although in this case it is not as it seems...Esther and her husband are church planters and they have two beautiful sons, Jose and Joel (pronounced Jos and Joelle). While we were visiting Esther's husband was in Sri Lanka for a few weeks, but that did not stop her from continuing her ministry. One of her friends, affectionately referred to as "Teacher", travels to the different villages with her to care for Joelle, age 2, and keep an eye on Jose, a 2nd grader. During our short visit, we headed to many people's homes from cell groups Esther runs nearby villages, as well as visiting some members of her church family. One of the things that I admired about Esther is that even though her ministry and these people are extremely important to her, her priorities are straight. God, family, ministry. While we were heading from home to home Joelle became extremely tired (he was getting over being ill) and Esther told us we were going to speed up the process of our visits in order to get Joelle home as quickly as she could. People were counting on us visiting them, and no one was left out, yet she altered her plans to care for her son.

Esther is also a very humble woman. Sometimes in America people try to act humble, who really don't have a humble spirit. Esther has the humble spirit. Everything she has - her gifts, her home, her family, her words - she constantly reminds us are all because of God's grace. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving through her and through her love. Her love for God, her love for her family, her love for her church, her love for the village people, and her love for us.

I never realized before I went to India that I could love someone so deeply in such a short amount of time. She truly encourages me to be a better woman of God, just by being her. She is an example of who I want to become. Esther is a woman I view as a mentor, which is ironic since she is just a few years older than me. I will never forget Esther, or her amazing smile - I see God in her smile, and I hope someday people can say the same about me.