Email Update - "Are you a foreigner or Indian?"

December 19, 2005

Short Version:
1) “How can I not do this for Him!” (Village Visit Thoughts)
2) “Are you a foreigner or an Indian?” (My friend’s wedding went very well!!!)
3) “How did we get here?” – and other things we’ve said/experienced over the past five months!
4) P & P (including trips for the end of Dec)
5) “Is my response half as excited as the Shepherds?” (Advent stories…)

Longer Version
1) “How can I not do this for Him!” (Village Visit Thoughts)
Robin and I took a day trip (hike!) to the village this past Friday. It was good to make additional contacts with the family we hope to live with as well as another family who may be able to help us with language learning. Although I didn’t particularly like the certain kind of daal and rice that was given to us for lunch, I sat there and thought: “I can learn to like this…and if this small thing is something else that will help us connect with these people so that in the long run they might hear stories and eventually know Him, how can I not learn to like it?”

We plan to move to the village the first week in January for more concentrated language and culture learning.

2) “Are you a foreigner or an Indian?”
I was asked this question by one of Trisha’s family members the wedding last week. I replied, “I’m a foreigner, but thank you for the compliment!” :) It was great to be able to see my friends, Rahul and Trisha again and celebrate their marriage with them. Being able to actually spend 24 hours with the bride over the course of the wedding week gave me additional insight into Indian weddings that I’m still processing. As one of her only friends to be able to attend the wedding, I’m glad that I was able to be there for Trisha.

3) “How did we get here?”
As we're getting ready for Christmas on the opposite side of the world from our families, we often laugh at the differences between this year and past Christmas seasons. Here are some things we've said/experienced in the last month:
· “I’m not sure if I can drink this water, there is more dirt in it than normal”
· Wearing 3, 4, 5, layers of clothing, and it’s only December!
· “Do we have water?”
· “Why would we have water?”
· Sleeping with hot water bottles
· Sitting outside to get warm (i.e. the sunshine verses the cold cement rooms).
· “Where are we?” “How did we get here?”
· Learning (from our supervisor) to say the phrase “If we live through this it’ll make a great story, if not, heaven’s better.”
· “It’s the weather” (the weather takes the blame the electricity going out, the phone not working, Aunty feeling sick, the shops being closed, kids staying home from school, etc, etc).
· Here are some things we’ve gotten excited about:
putting on clean PJs on a day that you’re actually clean.
having electricity on bath day (that comes about once every 4 days or so.
Not having grass for a meal.
Being able to see the reaction on people’s faces when we try to speak to them in their mother tongue.
Having a rug on the floor.
Getting a new plastic cup to use to pour water over yourself during a bath.

4) P & P
Praises:
* Health- minus a cold here and there (because of the cold weather!), we have been fairly healthy
* Language learning has been going well.
* We received Gas this week for our burner! I initially typed this update with this as a prayer request, but God answered it before I even sent it out!!!)

Prayer:
* Safety while traveling.
* Good time and conversations with Gajju, Asmita, Keyur and Neeta!
* Pray for all of us as we miss home, especially over Christmas!
* Trips for the end of December: Please pray as I take took two trips at the end of December. One for my birthday (Dec. 21), to visit Gajju and Asmita (two more Indian friends that many of you know!). The other trip (over New Years) is to attend another friend’s wedding (Keyur). Neeta, another Indian friend, will be in that same city at the same time, so I’m hoping to stay with her.

5) “Is my response half as excited as the Shepherds?” (Advent stories…)
We’ve been taking turns crafting and telling stories each week related to Advent…Last week I told the story of the Shepherds and was challenged by this verse…Reflect on these thoughts with me…
Luke 2:15: The shepherds went as fast as they could to see for themselves what the angels had told them.
Luke 2:17: After seeing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, the shepherds went and told everyone what they had heard and seen. All who heard the shepherds story were amazed.
Luke 2:20: The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for what they had seen.
I was challenged by their response and wondered if my response to our Lord is half as excited as the Shepherds was!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

"Pour Out All" by Amy Charmichael

“Pour Out All” by Amy Charmichael’s book: “Candles in the Dark”

A word in Deuteronomy that brought you to me when I read it some days ago is this: ‘The Lord is their Inheritance as He hath said unto them’ (Deut. 18:2). I thought then, as I think now, of the lovely inheritance you might have had. But He is your Inheritance instead of that lovely earthly joy. Throughout all eternity that word will be opening up its treasures. You will never regret your choice. It is wonderful to be free to pour out all, every drop of one’s life; and that is what you have done and are doing. No, you will never regret it, never.”

Thank you Lord, for this confirmation this morning. Thank you for leading me here- I suppose it was “my choice” in a way- but really, ‘how could I not come?’ While I may not always be thrilled about being here, I came because you led me here. No other direction even compared to the glory this would bring you as well as the blessing that I might receive! Did I do it just for the blessing I would receive, thus did I do it selfishly? I think part of me desires adventure, and yes, for that part of me, I selfishly came. Yet, there are many other ways to have adventure, “comfortably.” :)

How could I forget? God WAS/IS Faithful! (Journal Entry)

I just read part of my journal and an email to Mommy and Daddy that was during a time of homesickness after about 2 months of being here. I had forgotten that I had even gone through that!!! How could I? God brought me through that- how quick I am to forget his faithfulness and care for me! Wow!

Right now, I pray for the K. people. I pray for the contacts we’ll make in the village and the city here. I pray for good communication even tomorrow as we go to the village. I pray that they would be receptive to the idea of stories and would not only like the stories, but believe the Truth in the stories. And that Truth would change their lives.

Email resonse to Janna

Janna,

Thank you for your email. Reading it makes me re-evaluate what I signed up for!! Haha…But then also makes me realize how short our life really is and for me to desire to have a comfortable life and friends and family and ignore the nations around me is indeed a sin! We are serving our Lord, and what could be more fulfilling and satisfying than that!? Yet, those homesick and missing friends feelings are still there…hmm…

I’m doing better the past few days- the devotions I’ve been reading seem to be pinpointing my homesick issues…don’t you hate it/love it when God knows exactly what you need and gives it to you? Part of me is thanking Him for comforting me and showing me that He does care for me and is in control- the other part of me says, “Let me pity myself a little longer!!!” Haha…

Anyway, thank you for your friendship...Thank you for being there, for listening and sharing your insight and wisdom with me.

Have a wonderful Christmas and time back “home.”

~ Elizabeth

Missing family - thoughts (Journal Entry)

“Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” ~ Gal. 5:24

Thoughts from Oswald Chambers:
“…It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence and self-assertiveness, and this is where the battle has to be fought. It is the things that are right and noble and good from the natural standpoint that keep us back from God’s best."

“…Very few of us debate with the sordid and evil and wrong, but we do debate with the good. It is the good that hates the best, and the higher up you get in the scale of the natural virtues, the more intense is the opposition to Jesus Christ…”

“… ‘Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the sinful nature’ – it is going to cost the natural in you everything, not something. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself,” i.e. his right to himself, and a man has to realize Who Jesus Christ is before he will do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence."

I think about missing my friends and home, and while I’m not sure it’s a sin, I do realize that these “good” things can keep me back from God’s best. Right now, I’m somehow allowing those feelings to distract me from what God has planned for me. Not that He didn’t know I would miss my friends and family, not that He didn’t plan for that or isn’t in control now, but just that He has a goal and purpose in mind for me...

Below is an email reply from Janna- another Epic member in response to an email I sent to her about missing home/family.

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Hi friend,
....I do believe Gd has called you here. I don't know what experiences He needs you to have for your future and what you'll be doing. Maybe he needs you away from the states for two years to cement things in your life. Maybe you need the quietness. Maybe it's to pull you away from where you're so independent and to teach you to rely on him. Maybe it's to take you out of your comfort zone and break some things in your life.

Regardless, these two years have a purpose for your heart, even though you might look at it as though there is no point. Maybe it's to teach you to work with others who are so different from you.

I know the heartache of missing friends. Missing people you really connect with, you know? We have had plenty of friends overseas but none whom i have connected with like my friends from college. And maybe i'll never have that again. That was a hard realization for me. It took me about a year to work through. I am not Thai or Chinese or Bangladeshi. Therefore, i will never know how they think the way I do with Americans. I will never be able to speak their language as well (that's frustrating!). What did i do to get over it? I'm not so sure. I guess it took time and some good talks over skype (which i can't do from here and i know you can't from where you live). But it just took time and a grieving process to go through and realize it all.

Ok, i need to go to the airport. Miss you too and i promise more later!!!

Email to Herd, my Indian friends.

Hello Herdies!!!!!

I realized it’s been a while since I sent out an update and a lot has happened!!!!

Trisha’s aur Rahul ki Shaddi:
I took two trains and a rickshaw to their town this past week and had a wonderful time with Trisha and Rahul at their wedding! A few memories:
* Dancing at the sangeet (“koi ee ka hai”- what does that mean?)
* The entire Kesar family coming in to wake Trisha, her sister and me up, the morning of the wedding
* Eating wonderful paneer dishes at each event
* Dancing at the bajhun (spelling?)
* Watching Trisha and Rahul eat ludoo after ludoo
* Dancing with Trish and Rahul
* Sitting with Trisha while she got her makeup and hair done
* Wearing a sari one night, and a lengha the next- dancing in both!
* Watching Rahul ride a horse!
* Dancing at the wedding with Rahul’s family
* Staying up ALL night for the shadi ceremony
* Crying as they left- tears of joy because they are now married, tears of sorrow realizing I won’t see them again for a while….
* Talking in my broken Hindi with Trisha’s family as they tried to get me to stay another day
*Oh yeah, did I mention dancing yet?

Life Here
My life here is going well- we’ve started learning the language that we’ll be working in- Kahani. We are going to move to a village in January most likely. Where we are right now isn’t much different from the village in that last week we didn’t have water for 5 days, today our gas cylinder ran out and apparently there isn’t much gas in the city- or something…we may be building a fire soon! Bucket baths- which are few and far between because it’s so cold and our bathroom is outside our house. I will say that I’ve been using the sleeping bag you all gave me- it’s been keeping me quite warm, and I’m so thankful for it!!!- And of course think of you every night when I crawl in it!! For the next two months we are language learning and studying the culture in preparation for telling Bible stories later on.

I hope you are all doing well. I would love to hear from you…and appreciate those who have kept in touch!!! You are my best friends, and I do miss you lots. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Years.

Aapka dost, (your friend)
~ Liz

Packages (Email to Parents)

Guess what- I think that one of your packages you sent is in Kahan somewhere!!! YEAH!

I went to the post office today and said, “Do you have my package?”
They talked a little bit to themselves and told me to go around to another area where I’ve looked for my packages before…
I went back there and asked again- they talked to themselves again and weren’t sure and then I heard: “blah blah, Elizabeth, blah, blah…”
I said, “Wait- Elizabeth? That’s MY name!”
“Your name?”
“Yes, I’m Elizabeth”
“Oh”
Then, they showed me my name written down in some book and also showed me the slip from the package that you wrote on the address and the contents of the package…I don’t know why it was separated from the package. They had the paper, but not the package. They said, “Oh, the package is with the postman- it should arrive today.” I wasn’t about to believe them- what a coincidence that the day I come to the post office, the postman would deliver it. Hmm….I said, “if not, then what?” They said, “Come back tomorrow at 9 or 10am.

So, I’ll do that….and ‘hum dekaingai” (we’ll see). :) I figure they just said that so they’d have time to repackage it, whatever’s left of it!

How can I not go? How can I stay? (Journal Entry)

Some thoughts today….

I would be fine with going home. Right now would be good.
How can you think that?
Why not, I don’t need to be here, I don’t want to be here…I’m allowed to go home if I want to.
So many people think that India is a dream come true for you, how can you let them down?
True…but all well. I’ve let people down before…they’ll get over it.
So many people are praying for you…how can you ignore that?
True…they’ll just have to start praying for someone else, I guess.
Just like many years ago when reflecting on the unreached peoples, you said, “How can I not go?” Now, you need to think and say to yourself, “How can I leave?”
More than anything else, this has to be the reason I stay…not for the people back home, not for myself; but for the people here, and ultimately to bring glory to God.

Water Issues (Email to Parents)

Good morning/evening,

So, I might have to break out the “no water needed” shampoo today. And even the soap.

It’s been a week since I bathed, and three days since I’ve washed my hair- and today, our landlord came up and said, “We have little water, don’t use much…I don’t know when we’ll get it again.”

Ugh. UGH, UGH, UGH. What to do? Kya karoon? (that means, "what to do"- in Hindi).

And last night, while pouring boiling water into my water bottle (it's so cold here, we use hot water bottles to sleep with), the boiling water came bubbled back up over the water bottle and all over my hand. I put cold water on it for a while and Vivian had some burn cream and while it was throbbing last night, it seems okay now- sore, but okay.

Anyway, you must know my life isn’t all joys and happiness!!!! I know you know that. And yet….would I want to be anywhere else right now? No, honestly, no. Would it be nice to take a trip to somewhere and have a warm shower for as long as I want, and not be freezing cold at night, and be able to speak the language perfectly, and etc, etc, etc….? Sure, that’d be nice.

But, at least now, that won’t happen. I might as well accept that, and realize that…and adjust my expectations.

Pray for patience, strength and “humor” in the midst of it all!!!

~ Elizabeth

Weddings! (Email Update)

Update: December 1st, 2005

Short Version:
* Wedding update:
* “She’s speaking MY language!” (Highlight from this week of language learning)
* Next week- Wedding of one of my best friends!!!

Longer Version:
Wedding update:
The wedding I attended in the village over American Thanksgiving weekend went very well. Thank you for your prayers!

We arrived after three hours in a crowded jeep (a jeep made for about 10 people, but we had 17 fitting inside and three more on top!!!). Once we got there, we had to cross a little river and climb up part of a mountain to get to the wedding. The ladys' “sangeet’ was taking place, which is when the women do dances and prayers for the bride. They asked me to dance
too- and I did.

After this, it was already evening and Aunty and I climbed up the mountain some more- about a half hour to her mother’s home. We spent the night there- which including eating dinner in a mud kitchen around a fire, brushing my teeth while watching the goat eat leaves from the tree next to me, and watching Aunty say prayers to the sun when I woke up in the morning…

After the ladies painted typical designs on my hands, we hiked back down and spent the day at the wedding. The groom arrived, with the band. Yes, “band”- including two drums, a trumpet, a clarinet, and some maracas. They played and many of the men danced.

The rest of the day included the bride’s “pastor” called a “pundit” performing rituals and chants from an old beat up book, and the groom’s pundit making exchanges for gifts from the bride’s side and the groom’s side. Near the end, the groom and the bride were tied together with a long strip of cloth and walked seven times around a fire while the pundits said prayers. The people stood around and watched.

I’m actually still trying to process it all- but I hope that gave you a little bit of an idea what took place! Here is a picture of some of the women and girls and me at the wedding…

Highlight from this week of language learning:
Since we have started learning Kahani, we have had positive responses from the people when we tell them we are learning their language. One encouraging moment I had was when I was sitting on the porch with my language helper and a lady named Panna, who comes to our home every day to cook for us. Panna is from a nearby village and her mother tongue is Kahani. I was trying to speak the few words I’ve learned so far with her, and after a minute she turned to my language helper and exclaimed: “She’s speaking MY language!”

It was so encouraging to hear that and to see her face and the faces of others when they find out we’re learning their mother tongue or when they hear us speak it! I’m motivated to study more and excited about how learning their mother tongue may help us connect even more with the people.

Next week- Wedding of one of my best friends!!!
I leave tomorrow (Saturday) and take two trains to get to another city where my friend Trisha (who many of you know) and her fiancé (Rahul) will get married. I am thrilled not only to be able to see my good friends, but also able to celebrate this special day with them. My prayer is that during the celebrations, including religious rituals, that I would be able to be an ancouragement to Trisha and her family, and support for Trisha and Rahul.

Thank you for your prayers!

Till All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

Thanksgiving Note

(To be read at Thanksgiving Dinner)

A few verses from Psalm 16 -
Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is filled with joy and my mouth shouts his praises!
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I’m thankful for the verse that talks about the Lord being our inheritance. Wow, that's something I’m thankful for. Thinking about how much more there is waiting for us in Heaven is overwhelming. Especially since we have very little here right now, it's too much to even think about!

But, even so, a few verses down gives an idea of my attitude about it (At least right now).
The other verse that says, “…I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is filled with joy…” It just seems to be a verse that is very fitting to my life right now. My heart truly is filled with joy. Just being here, among these people is really like a dream come true for me, and it’s so exciting to think of eventually being able to share stories with them that I pray will really impact them and even change their lives. I’m thankful for the joy that I have- only because the Lord is with me, He has given joy to me and because He has planned this for me for this part of my life right now.

Lastly, I’m thankful for all of you back home and your encouragement to me and my family! I could not be here without all of you supporting me from back home! It’s been a blessing to hear from you and to pray for you from over here.

I hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving!!! I love you and miss you!

Psalm 16:5-6

I’ve decided to memorize Psalm 16- in the New Living Translation. I put verses 5-6 in my newsletter, but it wasn’t until now that I actually read through and mediated on the entire psalm- it seems to be very fitting to my life and attitude right now.

Keep me safe, O God,
For I have come to you for refuge.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you.”
The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them.
Those who chase after other gods will be filled with sorrow.
I will not take part in their sacrifices or even speak the names of their gods.
Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is filled with joy and my mouth shouts his praises!
My body rests in safely.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your godly one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Back in "Kahan"

We’re back in "Kahan"- I’m so happy!

Except to say that there was a HUGE spider in our room last night….Ugh….We dealt with it- took us about a half hour….my goodness…It was HUGE too…It was welcoming us back to "Kahan" I guess….man o man….

NEWSLETTER (Nov to Dec 2005)

November to December 2005 Newsletter: Click on link below.
http://elizabethasia.googlepages.com/ElizabethNewsletterNovember2005forbl.pdf

Note: You may need adobe acrobat to view the file. A free reader can be downloaded from Abobe. (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html ).

Village Kids in Thailand...

Here is a quick pic from our hiking/bamboo rafting trip in Thailand-- During our lunch break, I went back to this little village and hung out with the kids- had a great time. It reminded me of my time in India with the boys coming down that mountain. I really do enjoy the kids…hmm. This is the best pic I have, but think it’s really cute. Oh yeah, and I ate some of whatever it was that they were eating….hope I don’t get sick!!!!

Thailand Adventures (Email Update)

Update November 1, 05

Thailand Update:
* Training
* Meeting Others
* Thailand Adventures (Motorbike!!!)

Training
“Our level/amount of understanding of God is what we have to share with others. We need to know God more to be able to share Him with others. We have to start with God in all that we do. Our goal cannot be to ‘seek and save the lost’ or we will be greatly disappointed. The first and greatest commandment is to love and worship God- that is our first priority.”
This is just one of the challenging quotes that have struck me during our training the past two weeks. I’m challenged to read my Bible more and learn as much as I can not only so I can be better equipped to share with others, but also to deepen my relationship with Jesus!

Meeting Others
Being able to meet others who are just starting out in the work, like we are, as well as others who have been out on the field for a year or two, has been a huge blessing. It’s so encouraging to hear their stories about the people they have been crafting stories with! Although we’ve only spent a few weeks together, we’re already close friends because of the common bond we have in storying work.

Thailand Adventures
Renting a motorbike while we’re at training has been a huge blessing for me! Driving around the city during the day and night as well as driving up to 100kpm (kilometers per hour, not miles!!!) on the “superhighway,” makes me feel “free.”

Prayer:
* Language situation- when we get back to our location, we will begin learning Kahani (a pseudonym for our target language- the one in which we’ll be storying). [“Kahani” means ‘story’ in our regional language).
* Pray that we would be able to find someone who knows both Kahani and English.
* My back- My lower back has been giving me issues for a while now, and I’m not sure what to do to help it. It’s constant, but minimal pain 24/7, but bothers me most when I sleep.
* Now that we’ve had the modern conveniences of running water, electricity, etc- pray for adjusting to life when we go back in 2 weeks.

Praise:
* Time of spiritual refreshment
* Encouragement from other Epic teams
* Learning a lot about storying

Thank you for your support- and for your e-mails.

Till All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

News Report

USA TODAY - India, Pakistan agree to open Kashmir border
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — India and Pakistan agreed early Sunday to open the heavily militarized frontier in the disputed Kashmir region to speed help for victims of the devastating South Asia earthquake, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. Opening the border in predominantly Muslim Kashmir is particularly sensitive for India's government, which has been fighting a 16-year insurgency by Islamic militants who want Indian Kashmir to be independent or united with Pakistan.

....But the devastation from South Asia's worst-ever earthquake has helped override long-standing suspicions between the two countries.

The unprecedented agreement came in response to the Oct. 8 quake that killed more than 78,000 people in northern Pakistan and more than 1,300 in Indian Kashmir. Some 3.3 million people were left homeless and fears for their lives are growing as winter closes in.

An estimated 800,000 people, many living in remote mountain valleys, still lack basic shelter. Relief officials say 600,000 more tents are needed.

Spiritually Drained (Journal Entry)

I feel like sitting at your feet all day, Jesus. I feel more refreshed today physically, but spiritually I feel drained and empty. Fill me with your love and your strength and your joy.

On thing on my mind is my relationships with people. The are two things that have been told to me recently.

Janet said, “There are some things you’ll never change.”
Mommy said, “Sometimes it’s better to change yourself than try to change the other person, but changing yourself is harder because you have to humble yourself.”

Yeah, that’s probably it. I have to humble myself…and I have so much pride it’s quite difficult.

Psalm 15 is a good reminder that not one of us is worthy of you, Lord. Help me to understand what you want to teach me through these verses.
Verse 1: “Who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.”

Psalm 15 in The Message says:“God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?
Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.
Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable.
Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe.
You’ll never get blacklisted if you live like this.”

Thank you for the encouragement of Psalm 16:
Psalm 16:5-6- “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (NIV)
“My choice is you, God, first and only, and now I find I’m YOUR choice! You set me up with a house and a yard. And then you made me your heir!” (Message)

Psalm 16:9-10 – “Therefore, my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” (NIV)
“I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell – that’s not my destination!” (Message)

Bike to Falls (Email to parents)

We’ve been really busy lately…but I’m doing well, things are going well- training is good…I’m learning a lot.

I rented my OWN motorcycle/motorbike thing yesterday and drove all around the city. I was with other people, but still I was the one driving! It was wonderful, perhaps the best part of my time here- so freeing, and lots of fun! Yesterday we had a free afternoon so Tina, Karen and I took the bikes and went to a really cool waterfall park place…see above pic..

Falling on my knees (Journal Entry)

“I’m falling on my knees, offering all of me.
You’re all this heart is longing for.”

May this be my prayer…may I fall on my knees daily, hourly, moment by moment. May I offer myself to you- not even in my own strength, but by your strength. May you be all that my heart is really longing for. Lord, how can that be when my heart is filled with myself? How can I get myself out of the way and truly long for you? My heart is so selfish and filled with my own personal desires and dreams. May I be so enthralled by you that your dreams and desires for me become my desires and dreams.

Thank you Jesus.

Believe, Trust, Faith (Journal Entry)

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith is it impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

If I don’t believe or trust, I’m not pleasing God?

What is the difference between believing and having faith? I have faith, but sometimes I don’t believe…or don’t trust…what does that mean in light of this verse?

Christmas Presents!! (Picture!

My aunts, cousins and family sent me Christmas presents!!!

Girls at Training! (Picture!)

Fun in Thailand (Pictures)

Pictures of us hanging off of trucks in Thailand... :)

One more Language Represented in Heaven (Journal Entry)

Borner Christian Church – Cheng Mai
“Sin is not breaking God’s law, it’s breaking God’s heart.”

Today we went to a Thai church. Actually, it was actually a tribal language- wow! How cool! Another tribe reached for the Lord. It was a long service and most people got bored or fell asleep I think- those who couldn’t understand the tribal languages, and I must admit I too felt very tired. However, at the end, I thought “this is just another langauge that will be represented in Heaven!!!"

Thoughts from John Mark (Journal Entry)

Notes from Training/Devotions...

* Our level/amount of understanding of God is what we have to share with others. “To know God and make Him known.” We have to start with God. Our goal cannot be to ‘seek and save the lost’ or we will be greatly disappointed. The fist and greatest commandment is to love and worship God- that is our first priority.

* We often think how our actions affect other people, but we should think ‘how do our actions affect God.’ Instead of dealing with hurt with your partner, think about how you’ve hurt the heart of God.

* When we first become a Christian, we are like a pin. God puts just enough of Him on the top of the pin (like a drop of water) because that’s all we can handle. Then, he breaks us in some ways and we become like a thimble- holding a little more of Him. This process repeats itself over and over, each time God breaks/crack one pot/vessel to create a new/bigger one to allow us to see/know/experiences more of Himself.

* Sin isn’t a problem for a sinner. If there is no reason to get out of sin, then there’s a no problem with it. It’s only when we become saved that we start to see this ultimate example of perfection and strive to attain it realizing our sin is what keeps us from that peace with God.

* Will you start and end everything with God? When will what’s inside of you start affecting you on the outside instead of the other way around? Of course, that is, if God is working inside of you and if you’re letting that happen- then you want what’s inside of you to come out.

*You are called to love everyone. You are not called to unconditionally trust everyone. Love is unconditional, trust develops and grows. You will be trusted with more depending on what you do with what you’ve been given right now. Do you want God to find you trustworthy?

* God is trusting us with people groups!!! If God can’t trust me with my family, why would He give me more people to hurt?

* If you can’t figure out what God’s calling you to next, go back to the last thing God told you- were you faithful to it?
2 Timothy 2:20-21
Is 59:2
Gen 12:1-3
Ps. 67
Matt. 28:18-20
Ps. 22:27-31
Gal. 3:8- people on the field will challenge you saying that you’re not getting to Jesus fast enough. But really, each story has Jesus in it!

* Take one step at a time. However far you get will be the farthest you’ve ever gone. Wherever you get to, will be the farther than where you were before.

Matt. 11:12
2 Cor. 10:3-5
Ex. 17 – “If they drop their arms, they’ll die.” (Moses’ thoughts)- Epic leaders
“Get off their high stool and come down here” (soldier’s thoughts) Us!
“You don’t understand!!!” – a sure sign that you’re in the spiritual battle

* God can and will use ready and available people. If you don’t listen and obey, God will move on to the next person, He’s not out of options- it’s just that you were His 1st choice.
Is. 30:20
Deut. 28:47-48
1 Sam. 8, 10 vs. 20, 16

Email from Thailand (Email to Parents)

Mommy and Daddy,

We made it! One 3 hour bus trip scrunched with all men, an overnight train trip- arriving in Old Delhi train station at 5am, which can be a scary enough place in the middle of the day, let alone in the dark, getting a rickshaw- the driver having no clue where we were going, though we finally made it to our hotel, the hotel not having our reservation, but had a room available, so no problem, going to the bathroom for the first time in a month having to actually sit on a toilet!(!), spending the day in Delhi, getting our plane tickets, visiting the Shaw family to drop off things to be mailed, (since there is a big festival right now, the post office is closed for 3 days (ugh!)), eating at Pizza Hut (yum!), talking to Trisha’s sister on the phone (I think a total of 5 times!), finding a MOVIE theater and watching an English film (Cinderella Man- it’s good if you want to see it, probably came out a few months ago in the states?), eating brownie and ice cream at TGI Friday’s!!! Finding our way back in the dark with the rickshaw walla, sleeping for an hour, taking our first hot shower (wow!), having A/C in the room, resting for a short period of time and then heading to the airport at 10pm, arriving, getting checked in, eating at SUBWAY(!!!), calling you(!- it was only about 65 cents this time, I made sure before I called!!!), then getting on the plane around 1:30am. Trying to sleep, but the man sitting next to the window kept getting up (ugh!), arriving at 5:30am with very little sleep, getting through customs, immigration in Thailand, getting our bags, going to the domestic terminal to get our next flight to Cheng Mai, getting our flight (all we had was a confirmation number written down on a pad of paper- no actual tickets- it worked!), having eggs, toast and hot dog (?) for breakfast, getting onto our flight (1 hour), sleeping the whole way, arriving, finding a taxi- our driving only speaking in Thai- but we made it to an big building that ended up being the right place.

We’re here, in A/C, with AWESOME accommodations!!! Granted, they may not be awesome for everyone, but for us they are BY FAR better than anything we’ve had in the past three months. We’re so excited!!!

At the same time, I’m not sure how to process everything I’ve felt along the way, I need to journal a lot about it….

It started before we left "Kahan." I started to feel really sad about leaving, leaving our family, leaving the town, the people…just not wanting to leave at all. And then started to think about in two years how will it be…and couldn’t even entertain that thought. Then the thought was, “I’m coming back, so all is well.” That got me through our bus and train trip and in Delhi- things were fine. They were fine because we were still in India. We got on the flight and arrived in Thailand and sat down the breakfast, and I shared with Robin. “I don’t want to be here right now.” She asked, “By that do you mean, ‘here at training?’ or ‘here in Thailand?’ or ‘’here in this situation?’ or what? I said, “I just want to go back to India.”

I think I’m realizing it’s not that I don’t WANT to be at training or in Thailand, it’s just that I’d rather be/want to be in India! Hmm.

Not sure what all to think about all that. It’s very nice here, and I am excited to meet people and once training starts know that these thoughts will go quickly. Who knows, I may not want to go back after living here for a month!!!!

Both Robin and I are overwhelmed by how great it is and that we have a fridge, and a pillow that doesn’t feel like rocks, and running water…things like that. I’d still take all our inconviences to be back with our family in Kahan…..but know, soon enough we will be….

Pray that I’ll “BE ALL HERE” as Jim Elliot says!

I love you- and will work on getting a phone at some point…Oh yeah - we have WIRELESS internet here- did you hear me? Can you believe that? :)

I better go---going to have my first Thai meal!

Love,

~ Elizabeth

1st Trip to Village (Journal Entry)

We went to the village today. Robin was feeling sick and was not able to come, but Vivian, Becca and I went with Anju to her aunt and uncle’s home who live in a village. We walked a little while, then took a jeep about an hour and a half- Anju and Vivian got sick (sticking their head out the jeep window to throw up). Both Becca and I felt sick, but didn’t get sick. I felt sick for about an hour after we arrived, but never got sick.

Anyway, we arrived and walked down about 45 minutes to the village. We arrived in the “village” that in many ways seemed like a village, but then in other ways did not. I’m still trying to process everything. We had to walk by a bullock- ox-cow type thing that tried to knock us over with it’s head! We were able to get by without too much trouble, just a little scared! We got to her aunt and uncle’s home and had water and then had lunch after a while. The family speaks some Hindi and mainly Kahani. It was interesting to listen to them, but somewhat overwhelming also to think how much more there is to learn! The Aunty is very nice, though she doesn’t speak Hindi. The father is actually a Hindi teacher.

The room that we would probably stay in is pretty nice- about the same size we have now which is great. Our living conditions would be about the same- getting our water outside and heating it, only one electrical outlet- but at least there is one, a few other things like that that are similar to what we have now. Oh, a great thing- my cell phone works out there- what a blessing! It may not always work (depending on the weather!), but it worked when I called Robin today, so that’s a good sign!

The home is situated kind-of in the middle of the village, but again, I’m not sure what other people’s pictures is of a village, but this is not exactly what I had envisioned. I think partly is because it’s a mountain area. Basically, there is one house- and then a field, and another house after that and another field. Some houses are closer than others, but not really close. Now, there is a front porch/patio type thing in front of the house and while we were there, several village people just came and walked through as if it was the main highway- for them it is. Real stones and everything- rather than a dirt path! Thus, there are other people around- it’s just that houses aren’t necessarily close. Let me rephrase that- they are close- in that it would take you 5 minutes to walk to one. I think also that there are so many trees and bushes that it hides them more!

There are 14 homes- approx. 50 people in the village. There are other villages somewhat nearby, but not belonging to the same village. Anyway, it was quite the experience. It was odd to be there and think this might be my “home” or as close to it as possible for the next 2 years. I’m not quite sure I was able to process it all- or ever will be able to. I felt quite comfortable there and as if stories would be much better there than in the “big city” of "Kahan." Thus, language is going to be tricky. Kahani is a different language, and it’s related to Hindi, but certainly different. I have not yet even begun to master Hindi, let alone begin another language. I am hoping that our Epic training will teach us about languages some and helps us know what language to focus on- and how to learn it!!!!

Our trip back was also quite interesting. We walked about an hour- going a different way than on the way there. We walked along a wall, on a wall, went through a river (about a foot deep), through grass paths, dirt paths, up and down stairs and finally to the little town nearby. We then took a jeep that was much better than the one on the way there. However, the driver stopped about halfway back and said, “That’s it, I don’t go any further, get out.”

He wasn’t saying it unkindly, it was just that that town where we were was his stop- he was going to turn around and go back. We were still about an hour away from home and at that time of day, it would be quite unlikely that we would get another jeep or even a public bus. Hmm, what to do. There was a lady with us who lives close to us and she said, “We’ll take a truck.” The best thing I can think to describe this would be standing along side a road and waving down a tractor trailer and asking for a ride. That’s what we did- we climbed in- (about 4 feet up to get in the door!!!) and rode on home. Vivian, Becca and I actually preferred the truck to the jeep- since it was nice and high up and also such a big vehicle it didn’t jolt you around quite as much.

It was a good trip all in all- and I’m glad I was able to go prior to our Epic training so I have an idea of what it’s like there.

Lord, I pray now for the Kahani people- I pray for the people we will live and work among and for their impact on us and our impact on them. I pray that you would give them vision to see the stories we hope to share are true stories and can change their lives. I pray that we would be able to learn the language quickly. I pray that the storying work would go well- that we would find ways to connect with the people and craft the stories in a way that they would understand and relate to. I pray that you would guide our storying strategies as well as our time with possible storytellers. May what we say and do be glorifying to you and a blessing to these people. Give us wisdom in how to live with them and share You with them.

My dream is coming true! (Email Update)

October 1, 2005

Hello Friends and Family! :)

Short Version:
1) My dream is coming true!
2) Your Prayers are Important!

1) I’ve recently realized that my dream has/is coming true. Living with an Indian family for the past few weeks has been a blessing, and also an adjustment. No running water. No hot water, eating rice and daal (a soup-like mixture of beans and 'subzee' random vegetables) for every meal except once in a while we eat what I would consider grass (we have the thick blade type and the thin), electricity once in a while, stinking from not bathing daily or not bathing like I am used to (figuring out the best way to wash using a bucket and a cup-- and again-- with cold water), washing my clothes on the porch with a bar of soap and a brush, walking an hour up and down a mountain to the bazaar, communication obstacles, learning to ‘co-exist’ with LARGE spiders, etc, etc. None of these things I mean in a negative way- it's just how life is done here, and I love being here, thus I embrace these things too! (still working on the spiders part!)
(Picture: Left to right: Aunty, me, Uncle, Robin. Getting beans out of the pods for dinner!)

2) Your Prayers are IMPORTANT!!!
This week, I read about an “M” in a book called “Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God” by Noel Piper. I read this:

“…She [Lilias Trotter] realized that prayer is not necessarily strengthened by being physically present in the place one is praying about. On the contrary, perhaps one prays more intently far away.” Lilias herself wrote: “The powerless to go gives an intensity to the joy of it. One can stand in spirit among the [South Asian people] and pray for them perhaps more effectively than if one were bodily there. One can shut the door, as it were, and stand alone with God as one cannot on the spot, with the thronging outward distractions of the visible.”

This is just one reminder to me that all of you are there- most on the other side of the world yet close to me and the South Asian people through prayer! I am so thankful that we can pray for each other even though far apart! Once again, thank you for your prayers and support! You are a blessing to me!

Praying for you and the least-reached,

~ Elizabeth
“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.” (Exodus 3:19) [I’m glad that that same mighty hand is watching over us!]

SPIDER!! (Journal Entry)

“Uncle Ji! Bada spider hai!” (Uncle, there is a big spider!). So, every night this week I’ve encountered a LARGE spider (room, bathroom, etc). One night last week, I prepared myself as I went to the bathroom (located outside the house) to find a spider awaiting me as usual. Since the door was closed, I somehow figured that maybe there wouldn’t be one inside- I was wrong. I turned on the light and there were two, HUGE spiders on the wall! I wasn’t sure exactly what to do- I jumped back, nearly falling off the little step next to the bathroom and cried, “Uncle Ji, do bade spider bathroom men hain!”

He came out, I went into my room, and started laughing and crying at the same time. Robin asked if I was okay, and I basically had a moment of, “I can’t handle this!!!” About 10 minutes later dinner was ready and the family we’re living with was asking me questions about the spiders, etc. Before I knew it, I was crying at the dinner table- with the Indian family all standing there watching me and asking if I was okay. Few times in my life I’ve not been able to control my emotions, this was one of those times! I felt like screaming “Ahhh! What’s wrong with me- I can’t take it anymore!”

We’re not sure why God is allowing us the privilege of meeting this special creation of his so many times (three in one night too!). If you ask me, once is more than enough.

I called me mom a little later to tell her about the spiders, she calmly told me: “Next time you go to the bazaar, buy a fly swatter. You do just need to learn to co-exist with them.” I tried to explain how big they are and how quick they move, yet the more I tried to explain, the more I realized she has no idea of what my life is like here, which led me to a whole different set of emotions!

Exodus (Journal Entry)

Exodus 4:1-2
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘the Lord did not appear to you?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is in your hand?”
“A staff,” Moses replied.

Notice how God does not directly answer his question? He rather poses another question which will in turn provide the answer Moses is looking for. God does not argue or provide explanations, He simply helps Moses to realize the answer is in His hands! God knows what He is doing!

What is in my hand? How have you, Lord, already equipped me for Thy service? What excuses am I giving you where you have already provided the answer- in my hands!? Help me not to miss the answer and provision when I offer up my excuses and complaints!

Exodus 4:3-4
“…Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snack, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into the staff in his hand.”

Moses was initially afraid of the thing that would help him. Yet, in verse 4, he does listen and obey God by taking it by the tail. Also, God again here does not address Moses fear directly. When Moses runs away, it’s not that God says, “Wait, come back.” He simply gives him the next command. He doesn’t fool around or allow foolishness of not trusting in Him! He is patient, but firm and gives Moses the task he can handle.

Exodus 4:10-17
Moses continues to give God excuse after excuse and finally God does become angry with him for not believing, not trusting (“Who gave man his mouth?”). And after God tells Moses he will allow Aaron to go with him, God reminds Moses, “But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.” It’s almost like Moses has forgotten the three miracles that God has just shown Him already! God has to remind him about it!

Am I any different? I wonder why my prayers aren’t answered, not taking time to reflect on how many prayers have been answers and how many times I’ve neglected to pray, but still God has answered prayers that I should have prayed! Sometimes I wonder what God is doing and forget to think about the times He has worked in the past- thinking something is impossible for me, thus impossible for God too. How forgetful I am of His faithfulness and goodness to His people- including me!

Missing family (Journal Entry)

I miss my family. I’m really tired and don’t feel like writing much tonight, but I want to write these thoughts.

Tonight I just laid in my bed for about 20 minutes and about 100 memories of family, and friends flooded through my mind. Eating dinner whether inside around the table or outside with the picnic table, driving with Daddy down to Hatteras and remember thinking about how we’d be apart for 2 years and crying at points, but trying not to let him see, playing Frisbee, the farewell celebration, watching Natalie and Mark in the pool, laying out in the sun with Natalie, trip to Dorney park, conversations about Rahul with Trisha, listening to country music with Daddy, taking walks with Mommy, packing for India- stuff all over my room, saying goodbyes, walks on the beach at Hatteras, the aunts/cousins brunch at Hatteras, visiting all those churches- reviewing talks with Mommy…

Then I began to think, how did I get here again? Today we had a worship service. Irene, from Holland, Vivian from Guatamala, Becca, Robin and I from different U.S. states- all sitting here, in India worshipping our Lord. How did I get in the middle of this? I don’t know any of these people and yet I’m all of the sudden working very closely with them and living with them- in strange circumstances. How did this happen?

Then I thought back on all the circumstances that brought me to this point. I can’t even remember all the ways that the Lord led me to serve Him here. From the conversation with Stephanie about Jimmy and what he was doing to the phone conversation with various Workers and then Steve Rowan…Then applications and interviews. Then newsletters, envelopes, stamps, addresses…visiting churches, writing e-mails, trying to keep up with teaching at the same time. Beginning to realize it was really going to happen! Slowly slowly, things did happen and…

Now I’m here. It should not be strange or odd how I got here, yet somehow, sometimes I can’t believe I’m here. I then also think, and I’m here for 2 years- am I really ready for this?

Mainly today, I just missed my family and friends. I felt very alone. There was nothing that caused it- I’ve had a great day, good communication with Robin, great conversation with the family- I even started learning to knit today and must say I’m doing a terrible job at it! There was nothing, absolutely nothing that I was upset with or frustrated by. There have been other times when I could have expected to miss home and family, but didn’t. I’ve realized it’s not so much that I miss “home”- it’s that I miss family and friends- I miss people. I wish more than anything my family could be here- just for a day…okay, perhaps a little longer.

I got on my computer to write about these thoughts and scrolled down to the entry above and the picture of the “Kumouni Story Group” and then the friends I made in the Hindi study group and again wanted to cry- just thinking about why I’m here and what my purpose is here. I realized that yes I can and do miss my family, but I miss them for a very important purpose and reason- and what an awesome opportunity to be able to miss my family because I’m here telling people about HIM. I’m not sure if my thoughts come out right when I write them, but they are basically something like that. Because of the great work that I am here for, I miss my family. If I was home with my family, thus not missing them, I would not be here doing the Lord’s work- and missing the blessings that go along with that. Although hard, and perhaps will get harder, I feel it worth it.

Anyway, those are my thoughts this evening.

Storying Workshop (Journal Entry)

I am awake early today- ready for the day! I am mainly thinking about the storying presentations and exercises we did with Pastor Moses’ students yesterday. Wow- what an opportunity for them, but I feel, mainly for us!

It was a small room and we all sat on the floor- leaving our shoes at the door. The students had notebooks and Bibles and listened attentively to what we said. Robin and I opened the day with a story and discussion questions. We had prepared basically the day before- since we haven’t had our storying training yet, we didn’t know exactly what to do- but Karsten said later that we did a good job, so I guess that’s good! We then spent the morning discussing what storying is and what type of stories are important.

The afternoon was my favorite part of the day! First, we hung out with the students- helping them make food for dinner, and listening to them talk with each other and just ‘hung out’ with them. I really enjoyed that, as it reminded me of my Indian friends at home. These were Christian students, though- my age. From various backgrounds – some only having been following Him for a few months.

The second part of the afternoon was also amazing and one of the most encouraging things that have happened since I’ve been here. We had the students pick one of the stories from the list they made earlier and begin to work on it. They were divided into their specific language groups (Hindi, Kahani, and two other lang. groups I can’t remember). They had to read the story from the Bible three times, then one person retell it to the group, while they listened. Then another person would retell it. After they finished retelling it, then they would go back and check the story with the Bible and then go around and retell it once again. It was amazing to watch them and listen to them tell stories. They were very animated and into telling the stories. One guy went around to anyone he could find to tell his story to- even if they didn’t speak his language! He just wanted to share his story!

Watching the students tell stories, I wanted to cry. It was as if we were doing exactly what we came to do- and had trained others to do it. Our two year mission was complete in a day! Here are natural story-tellers ready to go out in the villages and share Jesus! Okay, maybe not quite yet. But they all learned the stories easily and really enjoyed telling the them. I asked them afterwards if they enjoyed it and found it easy or difficult. They said they liked the stories very much and found them easy to learn.

It was such an encouragement to me to be a part of that experience with them and to help them- even though I didn’t know much myself! I truly hope that they will learn more stories and use them to share with others. Lord, may one or more of them even become our storytellers in the villages.

"Easiest Train Ride so far...well, maybe not" (Email Update)

Email Update September 21, 2005

Short Version
* “Easiest Train Ride so far…Well…maybe not”
* “The best place for stories is in a village”
* Picture of our backyard

Medium Version (I have a longer version of this story- ask me if you’re interested)
“Easiest Train Ride so far…Well…maybe not”
Our trip to our new town included the following "bonding opportunities"
- Settling happily on our train with the other two girls who will be working in the same people group
- Discovering that our train did not go to the city we wanted to go to.
***(Excerpt from longer version of this part of the story:)
“The ticket wala (man) came along and checked our tickets. We asked him what time our train would arrive in the city we were going to. It took him a few minutes to understand when we said the name of the city…Finally, his response was, “This train doesn’t go there.” And he walked away.”
- Getting off the train at 2 AM in a town none of us had ever been to
- Swerving around dogs while moving our mounds of luggage from the platform to a waiting room
- Doing most of this in the dark when the power went out
***(Excerpt from longer version of this part of the story:)
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, about half way through moving the luggage, the electricity went out. Let me say that it was darker than dark- and of course South Asian faces are dark naturally, but when the lights are out- you really can’t see them! And it didn’t help that there were random dogs laying in the middle of the platform- in the middle of our luggage path. I was amazed at how quickly we found flashlights- we were the only people at the station who had light!
- Trying to rest curled up in two chairs while listening to the frequent announcements over the loud speaker
- Waiting for morning light
- Hiking in the rain to track down a taxi
- Getting coolies to take our stuff from the waiting room to the taxi
***(Excerpt from longer version of this part of the story:)
One interjection here- when you’re the only foreigner, or one of a few, word spreads fast about what you’re doing. The coolies were waiting near the door to our room, knowing we needed help with our luggage. They started to gather it up and walked away- no worries, they knew where our taxi was and where the luggage needed to go. Our stuff got wet, but it all got packed – we too felt like luggage packed into the jeep!
- Proving to the taxi driver that we could get all of our luggage in his taxi
- Sitting packed together for 5 hours on winding mountain roads
- Arriving safely

“The best place for stories is a village”
We had a meeting with Karsten (the director of the country we’re in and with whose family we are currently living with) about possible living situations and best place for stories. It turns out that while many of you could consider where we are currently living a village, we will most probably be going to a more “real” village- (2 hour jeep ride from here, then an hour walk to the village). 'Village' means that there is minimal or no electricity, no phone or internet connection, as opposed to towns, which usually have at least one phone and electricity for part of the day.

We will spend the month here in this town learning the national language and possibly start on the village language, living with an Indian family where we can practice our language and maybe even learn to cook! After our training in Thailand we’ll be spending 2-3 weeks at a time in the village working on stories. That is the tentative plan for right now. Both Robin and I are excited about this plan, although there are many unknowns that await us- such has been our life the past several months. Please continue to pray for transition- as it looks like transition might be the only stable thing in our life here!

Our Backyard
Below is a picture of our backyard- a beautiful view of the foothills of a mountain range. Think of this picture as 180 degrees around you- that’s our home! The view makes the inconveniences of life here durable and inspiring! (Notice the bird flying in the upper left corner!)

Praises:
* Safety arriving here- in spite of our dilemmas…good bonding time with each other!
* Health- so far, so good!
* Beautiful weather!!! The first two days were very cold and gloomy- although that has been the case for Robin and I the past month- but yesterday and today have been the most beautiful days one can imagine!!!

Prayers:
* Continued language learning- and possibly start to learn the village language…
* Good relationships with our new landlord and family
* Friday- we will go with our leader here to a Bib. college to do a brief presentation on storying – it should be interesting since we haven’t received our formal storying training yet, we’re not sure exactly what to do! Pray for wisdom and clarity in explaining how stories can be used in this culture.

I can’t express to you my excitement about being here and beginning to really experience South Asia. My dream is coming true, and it’s all because of God’s grace and your support- what a blessing.

I look forward to writing again!

~ Elizabeth
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2

Moved in with Family (Journal Entry)

September 20, 2005

So we moved in with our new family yesterday. We have a little room to ourselves with a separate entry. It is quite nice. We bought beds the day before and it’s so nice to have a bed that’s our own and will be our own for about a month! We have about half our stuff or not even that under our beds and honestly, I could live off of that for the rest of my life. It’s amazing how little you really need here. I’m not sure how in the world I accumulated so much stuff not only at home, but then brought half of it with me! I would be content to get rid of one suitcase worth of stuff!!! It’s more of a hassle than it’s worth. I suppose I may get tired of wearing the same things, but you can buy a new outfit for a few dollars, and give the other away or maybe even sell it to the tailor for him to make something else out of!

Anyway, our new family is really wonderful- so far! We had lunch and dinner with them yesterday- so nice to have freshly made chapattis and rice with vegetables. We have one new sister, Priyanka (age 13) and a new brother, Arun, (age 16) and one new cousin, Prakash- not sure how old he is. I think he’s a relative of this family, but not 100% certain. Anyway, he’s staying with them also. The father speaks Hindi, the mother speaks Kahani- but can also speak and understand most Hindi. They are very sweet people and we’ve had a very good time with them thus far. I’m excited about learning more language and being able to practice a lot with them. Oh, and the daughter likes to dance too- so of course, I’m looking forward to dancing too! The whole family watched my dances on my laptop the other night and were quite impressed that so many Indians were in America! Interesting.

Today, the sun is shining- there is a little haze, but it will probably clear up soon. The temperature is about 75 degrees- probably more about 85 in the direct sunlight. I took a shower last night- with cold water and washed my face this morning with cold water. I’m not sure how clean I can get with cold water- I can get soap on me, but have a difficult time getting it off! Needless to say, I decided to skip a shower today and get one tomorrow. I think there is hot water in the early morning- at least that’s what our Aunty said (The mother of the family- we call them Uncle and Aunty- for now, til they tell us otherwise). We’re not sure where it comes from, or how to get it…

I’m quite happy here- I made a comment to Robin about seeing the things that have been decided for us as a blessing and one less thing for us to figure out. That’s honestly how I see it. Although I think I could do it, it would be much more difficult for us to come here on our own, find a family to live with and jump right into language and culture learning. Karsten and the other leaders who have chosen this area/people for us have a lot of wisdom and expertise and I think made a perfect decision for us.

It’s true, sometimes I think: What am I doing here? Going to the bathroom in a hole, trying to figure out what to do with my toilet paper since no one else here uses it, washing myself with cold water, having one duffle bag worth of stuff to last a month or more, eating with my fingers, avoiding eye contact with men and boys, making many mistakes in speaking the language, checking e-mail once or twice a week, no friends [yet!], no family, pictures of strange gods hanging in my room, etc, etc, etc. There is an endless list of inconveniences that I could get hung up on.

But then there are the people. They are living here in this region trusting in false gods and will spend eternity apart from God- how can I live knowing that I can help them but didn’t or won’t because I can’t deal with the toilet situation? Yes, there comes a point of ‘this is too much’- even for the most adventurous person. And I may get to that point some time down the road. I don’t expect to always just have this wonderful view of the people and am able to push aside all the other things. I certianly do enjoy a comfortable life too.

Below is an excerpt from Amy Carmichael’s “Candles in the dark”- what a provision from the Lord this morning!

"Training for Service"

“The best training is to learn to accept everything as it comes, as from Him whom our soul loves. The tests are always unexpected things, not great things that can be written up, but the common little rubs of life, silly little nothings, things you are ashamed of minding one scrap. Yet they can knock a strong man over and lay him very low. It’s a very good thing to learn to take things by the right handle. An inward grouse is a devastating thing. I expect you know this, we all do; but it is the extraordinary how the devil tries to ‘get’ us on the ordinary road of life. But all is well if only we are in Him, deep in Him, and He in us our daily strength and joy and song….”

Hello From "Kahan" (Email to Parents)

Hey Mommy and Daddy,

We arrived in A.

Not without a lot of hassle- more than you can imagine- including staying from 2am to 6am in a train station which was totally unplanned. Oh goodness, I can’t even begin to write the story. We’ve not had power since 5am, so I’m using my computer sparingly- plus Robin needs to use it. I’m not sure when power will come back on.

The family we were supposed to live with isn’t ready for us- long story- anyway, Monday we hope to move in with them. We did go to see the room- it’s great, better than where we had been staying in Mussoorie- but keep in mind, by now our expectations are REALLY LOW.

Anyway, we’re all here at the Worker's home- it’s also meeting our LOW EXPCTATIONS quite nicely.

We’re all healthy- though I had chocolate and biscuits (meaning- cracker-cookie type things) for the three meals while traveling, but we’ve had substation food and are all feeling 99% or better I’d say. It’s cold and rainy here, pray health wise that we don’t get colds. Irene has a pretty bad cold, pray for her health.

We talked this morning about our living options which basically kind-of decided that having a base in A. but traveling to the villages to stay for 2-3 weeks at a time would be best for storying and the K. language. Of course, although rustic, I’m sure even Karsten’s and Irene’s home will be a palace compared to village life. Village means no phone, no internet- though they do have electricity…when India has electricity- and as I said, we haven’t had it here for the past 7 or 8 hours.

This is so much more the real India than I’ve ever been in before. I love it!!!!!

I will write more later- when we have more “stable” electricity! :)

Thanks for your prayers- though our journey was incredible, we did make it and are doing well….

Love you!

~ Elizabeth
P.S. I SHOULD be able to get a phone number on Monday- we started the process today….we’ll see how long it takes. Honestly, if I get it on Monday, that would be a record….

Housing Options and EXCITEMENT! (Journal Entry)

See part of Irene’s e-mail below…
Now the options.
1. there is a family living one minute away from us where both Liza and Angela have stayed. We checked and the room is empty. They are most likely willing to let two girls stay there. We gave them time to think, and maybe they want to see the people first. But we don’t expect them to say no. Staying there means your own (shared) room, with a private entrance, but taking your meals with the family. You will share the bathroom with the family. Angela had a good experience there. The family speaks both Hindi and Kumauni. They have two school age children. The parents are at home most of the time. They will enjoy talking to you and it will be a good language learning situation as well as cultural. The room is not furnished though they may be able to provide a bed, and we could lend you a mattress and bedding. We think previously we paid 500 rs per week, including food.
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So this is where we’ll be staying, at least that’s what where we said we would stay. We’ll be staying here until we find something else. I’m thrilled. I was hoping this would work out! I’m thinking, ‘let’s stay here for 2 years!’ Haha. I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, that’s for sure. But either way, I’m so psyched about it! I can’t write in words how I feel right now. Tomorrow we’ll be on a train heading for our “final destination.” There is a family waiting for us where we can live, eat and SPEAK THE LANGUAGE! The excitement is too much to handle. I’m not sure Robin feels the same, and I wish somehow I could share the excitement with her. There are still many unknowns, but we’ve come this far with a lot of unknowns and are still alive! Anyway, it’s so exciting to think about just getting there, beginning to live and work and meet people. Wow!!! I’m so excited! This is why I’m here after all, isn’t it?

I’m trying not to have too many expectations. We had a prayer time at Evy’s house and I prayed that instead of having expectations we would just expect God to do whatever He was going to do and to lead and guide us. Like the quote, “Expect great things from God.” I think that’s the attitude I’m going to pray for. Rather than expect things from the culture, the people, I’ll try my best to expect things from God- whatever that manes. In a way, since He always has my best in mind, I’ll never be disappointed! Of course, sinful nature will set in and I may not “agree’ with something He does or how he works, but trusting in Him and expecting Him to work I think will prove more satisfying that expecting certain things from the culture.

Hmm. I would like to find some verses about expecting God to work, and trusting in Him to work and not relying on the world. Perhaps the whole Bible is about that…

During prayer time, it was encouraging to hear Robin pray for the Kahani people and about the first story that may be told by the first story-teller and though we don’t know when that will be, how exciting it is to think about and how the stories could influence the people there. She prayed about how we ourselves may or may not be instrumental in achieving this, but that's okay becuase God is still working. That word, “Achieving” somehow attributes success to something we’ve done. That isn’t what she meant when she prayed and not what we hope. We are so blessed to be a part of this work, and just to see what’s going on in this part of the world. If God would so choose to use us in some way to further his kingdom here, I think that at that moment, I could say my life would be overflowing with joy. Of course, it is already overflowing- can it overflow more? Am I ready for the excitement and joy ahead of me? In the same breath, am I ready for the frustrations and disappointments?

I don’t want to go in blindly, Lord. Help me to use my excitement in a positive way and to not ignore the issues or problems around me- be they with the people, or food, or whatever. Thank you for guiding me thus far and giving me a passion for these people that only increases day by day. It could only come from you. Please use it for your glory.

Monkey in our room! (Robin's story)

Robin wrote up this story to send to some of her friends...

A few days ago I was in my room getting ready to go to class. I kept hearing a weird noise, but just figured it was in the next room or outside. As I stoop up to grab my stuff to go class I realized the sound I was hearing was cloth ripping & it was coming from inside our room. “Great, I’m going to have to stay here & figure out what kind of small animal got into our room & I’m going to be late for class.” I turn around & look up and there is a monkey on top of the shelf tearing up the blanket that’s up there. He had figured out how to open the window in our room (he’s pretty smart, we haven’t figured out how to do that yet).

I didn’t know what to do, so I stood there staring at it and it stares back. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a monkey looking you in the eye, but its really really freaky!! Then I tried to remember where my camera was so I could take a picture (what else would you do if you had a monkey in your room?). I think it was in my suitcase, but I didn’t want to turn my back on the monkey to find it & I also remembered a story about a guy who tried to take a picture of a monkey close up one time & it freaked the monkey out, so all the monkeys started attacking the guy. Then I remember one of my friends telling me a monkey came into his house last week & all he did was say “Get out of here” and it left. So I tried it. It didn’t work.

I kind of waved my hand toward it to get it to leave. Instead of leaving he came towards me. This monkey is about 8 feet away from me. Monkeys are very fast animals so I knew that it would only take like half a second for him to jump on me. I told it to leave a few more times & it didn’t work. Then I decided I would try to go find someone who might know what to do. I found one girl who lives here & told her. So she & I came back to my room & stood in the hallway looking at it telling it to leave. It just sat there taunting us. Then another woman came upstairs, we told her about the monkey, so she joined us in the hallway and we tried to figure out what to do. Then her husband came upstairs & took care of the situation (not that he really knew what to do). Another girl came up & said we should throw rocks at it.

Ok, so I don’t know about you, but here in this house we don’t really just keep rocks randomly laying around. So the guy finds some magazines and throws that at the monkey. The monkey starts for the window, but at the last second turns around & comes towards us again. So the guy throws another one. This time the monkey leaves & then turns around to close the window. Great! It’s over. Now we just have to figure out how to secure the window to keep the monkeys from coming in again. But wait, the monkey opens the window up & comes in again. So what do we do, throw another magazine at it! So he keeps going in & out and taunting us for a while. Then eventually he does go out long enough for us to properly close the window. As of right now we think/hope that it’s closed good enough to keep the monkeys out. Maybe we should keep rocks in our room just in case, or a gun—that would come in handy when the dog is barking at 4 am as well.

Forced Break (Journal Entry)

So, Lord- you forced me to take a break after all. I spent this entire weekend in bed- except the last few hours. I was sick- really sick. Every two hours I was in the bathroom with double trouble. I kept thinking, how can this much stuff come out of both ends of my body- nearly at the same time! Ugh! And then the sweat would start- I could see the drops of sweat on my hands- something I’ve never seen on my own body before! Phew. It was a little scary as I wasn’t sure what it was.

However, today- 24 hours later, I’m feeling nearly 100% better! Lord, you are so gracious to me. You gave me a needed break- although I wasn’t feeling great, I had to rest. You healed my body as well. Thank you for both the break and for the healing.

May I remember this weekend and take breaks!!! And not only take breaks, but also focus on you. I love you Jesus.

Update Sept 10 05 (Email Update)

Short Version:

* 7 modes of transportation in one day!
* Visiting my friend!
* Visiting my students!
* Visiting other M’s- a good encouragement!
* “Back in the saddle (or train!) again!- 5 days til we reach our people!
* P&P

Longer Version:

How Many Modes of Transportation Can I take in One Day?
By foot, by jeep, by public bus, by car, by vikrum, by rickshaw, by bus again, by taxi! This past weekend, I went down to the town where I was two years ago completing my student teaching. By the end of the day, I had traveled by 7 different modes of transportation! I’ll briefly explain the bus ride.

First, I started out walking down (a good 45 minute walk) to the bus station). A friend stopped in his jeep and asked if I wanted a ride, so I clambered in the back. I reached the bus station, purchased my ticket and got on the bus. I sat near the front, but after I sat down realized that there were holes in the bottom of the bus! Right through the metal- it was sort-of like a bottomless rollercoaster- you could watch the road passing beneath you while you rode along! Cool! I reached the town and had learned from a previous bus ride that when you want to get off, you get out of your seat and move to the door. I did just that, however, the driver still did not stop- and there was a man behind me also wanting to get off. He kind-of motioned for me to go ahead and get off- but the bus was still moving! Finally, I kind-of jumped off and somewhat lost my balance while at the same time looked to my left and there was a motor scooter and a bike approaching me from about 2 feet away! I think my lack of balance kind-of caused me to fall forward (not to the ground), just a few steps forward and just barely missing them as they passed behind me! Phew! I learn something new every time I’m on the bus- next time, I’ll look before leaping off!

Visiting a Friend…
I was able to fist meet my friend’s family- a friend who goes to my University in Delaware and whose sister went to the school here in South Asia that I taught at two years ago! When I was here before, I had meals with her family weekly and so it was nice to be back “home” again- as close as home as I can get!

Visiting my Students!
I was also able to visit my 45 third graders (who are now fifth graders!). They were so cute and had gifts (their own pens and pencils!) and cards for me! They wrote a little note on the board and took a picture- see below! I do miss them and am thankful that I was able to see them again. It was good to be in another place that felt very close to home.

Visiting Other M’s
In addition to my students, I was able to spend time with other M’s that I worked with when I was here before- discussing my project and listening to them give advice for language learning and the area in which I’ll be working. One of them even told me where to get an amazing story book created for the South Asian people- in English and in their main language. I was able to buy it at the xtian book store and look forward to using it.

Back on the Train Again
This coming Thursday, September 15th, we leave this town and go by taxi, then overnight train, then taxi again to our “final destination.” I’m so excited about it, yet realize that it is going to an interesting travel experience since we have more luggage now than before and will have less space on the train since we are taking one class lower than we have before. It is a huge pryr request that we get to the train on time, get our luggage on board and that none of it gets stolen during the night, and that we reach safely, get our stuff to a taxi and that the taxi can take us safely to our new home. We will actually be staying in a guesthouse or with a family until we find a more permanent place to live. Two other girls will be traveling with us- both of whom will be working in the same area.

I’ll write again once I get to our people group and once we figure out internet options. They will be limited and I’m not sure how soon we’ll be able to set things up. If I don’t respond to your e-mails, it’s because I didn’t get them or can’t get them…but please don’t stop sending them! It’s a blessing to hear from home and what God is doing in your life.

Praises:
* 6 weeks of language classes have gone very well.
* Health- Except for being a little sick when we first got to language school, Robin and I have both been 100% healthy.
* Internet- a friend of ours let us use her phone to connect and we’ve been able to have a much faster connection- still slower than U.S.A, but fast for here! Believe me, it’s a big praise!
* Receiving e-mails from you! Thank you for writing and for your encouragement!
* Language Helper- A girl has been meeting with me nearly every other day for language practice and since she’s close to my age, I think of her as my friend also- I told her I enjoy Indian dancing, and she has invited us to her home tomorrow to do just that! I’m so excited! It’s a praise not only because I enjoy that aspect of the culture, but also because she has been a good friend for me while we’re here.

Prayer:
* Safety for traveling to our people group.
* Last week of classes- my teachers want me to finish the book which is normally done in 3 months- pray that I don’t get overloaded and forget everything!
* Getting settled in our new place (including internet/phone and mainly finding a place to live!)

Thank you for your support and prayrs!

~ Elizabeth
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21

Discouraged (Journal Entry)

So, I’m pretty discouraged about my language learning. I’m not sure what happened, but yesterday and today I just feel incompetent about what I’ve learned and feel so behind. Part of it is because I’m trying to finish the book and have 10 chapters to complete in 7 days. It’s so much to learn- basically, I know I won’t learn it, but mainly have it written down so I can go back and learn it later. However, in most of my classes today, I just couldn’t even translate one sentence correctly. Everything is so jumbled up in my mind!

Tasleem Jee said to take a break and Robin said to take a break. But I feel a break is a waste of time. Of course if it will help me learn more and produce more, than a break is what I need- but I still feel funny taking a break when there is so much to do!

Psalm 46:10

"Be silent, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world."
Psalm 46:10

Little Update (Email to Parents)

This is just from my journal- don’t get excited, I’ve hardly journaled anything, but am trying to do a little every day starting…Today! :) This will probably be sent tomorrow- Monday, and I may talk to you before then, but all well.

September 3, 2005
I went down to Dehradun yesterday. It was a wonderful day. After I got to the town, I had to walk a little way back to the road I wanted, and was looking for a rickshaw to take me to Grace, but there weren’t any, surprisingly. I started down the road and a vikrum came by. I had no idea where it was going, but for the time being, it was going in the direction I wanted to go, so I jumped on! Somehow, I feel like this would be a little scary for some people, getting into a vehicle, not knowing where it is going or when to get off…but I thought it was great!

I recognized a stop near to school and got off and walked the rest of the way- keep in mind it’s about 90 degrees with 110% humidity so I’m dripping wet. I walked down the lane to Grace…wow, so many memories cam flooding back. I walked in the gate- and the gatekeeper was there, the same guy as two years ago- I think he recognized me, but perhaps couldn’t remember me exactly. I told him Newton Sir was expecting me. I walked into the office and it was so wonderful to see the people I knew from two years ago- they looked at me for a second and then a big smile came over their faces as they came to greet me.

I wasn’t sure if people would remember, somehow I just figured they would forget. No, not at all. I too did not forget them- even their names, I remembered! I talked with some of the teachers in the corridor and then went to see my kids.

Wow, they were just the same as when I had left, except a little taller, a little more mature too I think! They waited patiently while I gave them candy and stickers. Aditya- one little boy is still the same little man as always- so mature and trying to keep everyone in line. So cute! I was able to be in the class with them all by myself and truly enjoyed it. They weren’t sure what to do at first- trying to remember how to behave, since last time I was their teacher and they had to stay in line for me. However, they warmed up right away and soon there was a chaos in the room! Once I had to walk out of the room to get them to settle down a little! They were such a blessing to be with and to remember all the days of instruction with them.

They wrote a little message on the board- I actually didn’t see it until I looked at this picture later. It said: “We will miss you- We love you Liz Ma’am”

Anyway, I had about 40 minutes of time with them, and them I went to the staff room to see the rest of the staff- it was tea time, so perfect timing. Newton Sir introduced me to the new staff and said some very nice things about me- even about my sari wearing and how he really appreciate me. He said, “From day one, Liz was basically an Indian and fit in so well here.”

I told them how I was so appreciative and thankful to be back at Grace and how it was like home for me- it truly is—even if there were frustrating times when I was there- I did spent approx. 6 days a week, from 7am to 2pm every day for 3 months- it’s as close to home as anything here! It was great to see the staff and talk with them as well. The best part, of course, was seeing my kids. I wanted to cry when I left, but didn’t. It was strange to have spent so much time there before and then to only have a half hour with them, it seemed too quick. And to think I might not see them again ever, or at least not for a long time. I almost want to go down again one day this week just to see them! I didn’t realize that I would feel this way at all- I figured, I’d see them, but they’d be different and forget me and that I too would have forgotten their names…However, it was completely opposite. Their smiles and laughter was such a joy to be a part of.

Perhaps I will go back…not necessarily to Grace, but to teaching Indian children in some way. Hmm. Lord, thank you for allowing me to visit Grace and to spend time with the staff and especially the children. Please continue to guide me on the path you have for me and show me your plan for my life. I thank you for the time I spent teaching at Grace and for the things you showed me during that time- such as, “I want you back in India.” Thank you for giving me a passion for teaching and children also and I pray that I will be able to use that over the next two years for your glory. Please continue to specifically direct me in the way you want me to go.

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I also went to some Worker's homes for lunch. I was excited about seeing them as they had been encouraging and supportive from the beginning about the Epic program and even hinted at wanting to do something like that, but not at this time. They were much more hesitant and even discouraging as to how a program like that could even work.

I appreciate their wisdom and don’t take for granted that they have been in the work for many years and certainly have learned something from that, however, always felt discouraged about any kind of work after talking with them. Anyway, it was really nice to see everyone and although I feared having to answer many questions about what I’m doing- to which I don’t know the answer, it was not the case. Phil prayed a very nice prayer before lunch…and even prayed that people would trust in Him because of the work I’m doing! Anyway, lunch conversation was also pleasant. It was interesting to listen to them talk about the place I’m going as if they knew everything about it- of course I don’t know anything, so I let them talk. We’ll see how true things are and what might be different soon enough! They offered their home for me to come anytime I wanted a break or needed to get away- it was very kind of them.

Another Worker family also offered their home- they had come up to Mussoorie the day before and we had tea and walked around the mountain together. They had some good advice about language learning and working here, however they too were somewhat critical of how a program like this could work. In the end, they were encouraging, said they would pray and offered their home to both Robin and I whenever we wanted. It’s great to have friends here and to know that I/we can come here anytime and have a place to stay.

Anyway, I need to get ready for church. I’ll go to the language school church that has services in Hindi and English- hopefully I’ll get something out of it!

I hope to study most of the rest of the day- since I did not yesterday. We’ll see how that goes. I hope I can get a lot accomplished.