5/27/10

• Christianna and I were on our own until about one o clock today with the girls! We were more than "didi's" today; we were teachers! :) Opened the day with reading some of Matthew aloud. The sang in Hindi. Krishma* prayed intensely and so unselfishly for so many people; she is really not as self-centered as she comes across at times. Lord, I pray this rough/external shell she projects would continue to be softened and transformed more and more into your likeness!
• Girl watched the epic "Planet Earth" dvd as Esther and I braved making a fire outside for the chai (because the power went out and the girls insist on having their "tea break"). I never realized how difficult it is to keep a fire going (esp. long enough to get milk and water boiling on separate occasions)! I went through almost an entire box of matches before realizing there was a candle in the school room I could use to re-light the fire... It was long and tedious work for sure, but I was so impressed with Esther's positive attitude throughout it all. She never gave up, because she knew it was her responsibility and wanted to do something kind for the girls.
• I was SO happy and encouraged with Shashikalla began to understand more of the alphabet, and it is evident she is LEARNING the material! Thank you God for small improvements!
• Christianna also thought of playing "hangman" which was a genius idea! I'm convinced any creative outlet we can combine with an educational challenge/lesson is MUCH more likely to stick in their memories than copying down something on a blackboard repeatedly! We even played a little hop-scotch to help them learn to count better (at least until her rained)!
• Ate lunch at the Malstead Resort... I mean house!
• Ate dinner w/ the Palms! Christianna and I ate well today! :) I look forward to Thursdays, because there is always such fun as we cut up and laugh together over a huge meal!
• This was the night we also found out Mala (little Mala) had a change of heart! Thank you, Jesus!

Mala's graduation day.

5/26/10 - Wednesday

Today was a special day for one of the girls. She completed her 18 months in the Freedom Firm program, and today was a commemoration/graduation service for her. Her name is Mala (as to not be confused with Mala Malstead, one of the founder's of FF). For this reason I call her "Smala"on occasion. :)

We had school with the girls this morning, but the focus of the day was really about Mala. Everything else seemed to fade in comparison. I found it funny that they celebrate such events with purchasing a meat instead of a cake. We all sat in a circle and she had the "hot seat" and we each went around and had a time of encouragement for her. She also shared what a blessing FF had been to her. The girls gave her their handmade cards they had created earlier that day (thanks to Katherine for her homemade cards and idea!) and it was beautiful to see what they told her (in Hindi and was then translated into English). I think she felt more honored and recognized than possibly she ever has. Many were moved to tears. Mala was.

Now, you have to know, however, that none of us wanted Mala to go. Just because she had finished the program did not mean she was ready to be "on her own". She is not a fast learner and either has some learning disabilities or trauma blocks, and so FF made it abundantly clear she could stay longer if she wanted to. (The girls have the freedom to come and go as they wish; no one is going to be "held" at FF against their wishes.) However, where Mala was going home to is no "home" to her. The conditions of her village are the worst the staff has encountered yet. Her very brother forced her into prostitution, and although she said she wanted to go home to "continue her education," girls in her village are not allowed to go to school. If she wanted to make money, she would have to either dig mud ditches or be thrown into the vicious cycle of prostitution again. . . Even some of the ladies (upon visiting last year) told her to go back to Ooty, and that this village had nothing for her. Obviously, there is NO future for her here, and yet she is foolishly strong-willed and insisted on going home.

Yet, I felt like there was such a balance of truth and love. The situation was fragile, and yet we had to lovingly encourage her while also pointing out the "holes" in her thought process, while altogether praying we would not push her away. I have seriously never witnessed such an equal balance, so Holy Spirit, thank you for being in our midst. Jesus, Mala is out of our hands, but she is in Yours. May we fully entrust her to You, and I pray she would be willing to hear your voice and follow it.

Thursday:

Even more so today, after so many toilsome and grueling conversations and prayers, Mala now says that she wants/is willing to back to Ooty and live at another government home! (I found out another reason why she wanted to leave is because she is often the girls who gets picked on/bossed around by the other girls and has a strong victim mentality because of it. She has yet to learn to stand up for herself and is thus easily controlled. . . Anyway, the girl who picks on her the most lives at the same govn't home she would be moving to. . . )

However, this is TRULY MIRACULOUS! The situation has gone from her being totally obstinate to her being willing and wanting to come back!! Prayer changes things!!!!! This is one phrase that I will say and I don't care how overused it is, because it's true! Jesus, you are understatedly good. . . Mala is leaving tomorrow to go see her family (though they travel for "business" so she doesn't actually know where they are) but wants to return. If you pray for me for anything, please pray she comes home sooner than later and that she is protected while she is there and while she is traveling. She is so gullible and vulnerable, and if her own family is willing to sell her into prostitution, then she has no home there.

...On a lighter note, I jazzercized with the girls last night and ate a delicious grilled cheese sandwich number two (christianna made it because my attempts were...sad at best) with a hot bowl of soup. I spent the rest of the evening chatting with her and her dad who is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (insert drool here)!

5/25/10

• Kyle left for Kenya today for 2 weeks. May You lead both Kyle and his team and help them "to find a need and fill it"! I pray they would see SO many lives get touched by you, Jesus!
• Rode the bust in to town with the girls today for our first "real" day at Smyrna! [I even spotted 10 rupees on the ground amidst the trash when waiting for the bus on the ride home!)
• I was so impressed with how fervently their prayers are-- and it occurred to me; they understand urgency and certainly pray with a sincere earnestness.
• Helped check a few math problems; the girls are actually quite good with mat so far; I think the objectivity of it all is why they like it (as opposed to the contradictions and complexities of English).
• Because we studied different animals this week, I had two of the girls, Sussi and Sangita read to me, and they learned the the word "rhino" (among some other words I hope) by the end of it! The really lit up by the end and I think they felt more confident afterwards because they wanted to read me a third book (even though I think we were just supposed to do one)! This made my day! Amol (Sangita's 5 year old son) even stepped into help and learn; he is such a bright little boy!
• Christianna and I later took Amol and Joanna (Sussi's one-year old girl) to the park and met some other great kids to play with! I was glad they had some playmates.
• Loved rocking Joanna and having her fall asleep in my arms.
• Loved helping the girls learn the alphabet, its sounds and began some light reading with them! I even braved the world of electronics/computers and we did some educational/interactive cd's on the computer today, which they really enjoyed! (Lord, now we just need consistent power in the building, so we can use the computer!)
• Christianna and I ate dinner with the girls at Rojaand didn't get back until after 8:30! Gone from 8 to 8! But now we have Saturday off and may even get to go to an animal wildlife reserve!
• I was SO touched tonight when Krishma* showed us her photo albums--oh what stories these pictures tell! My head was in my hands when we finally to the picture of her younger sister, who is 14 years old and was just given into a child-marriage. (The marriage was forced upon the girl by her grandmother who is the same woman who coerced Krishma into prostitution, so she could live off her wages.) The husband is twice her age, and she is already pregnant. . .There is speculation that this man will also force her into prostitution. Just a couple weeks ago Krishma went home to her grandmother's funeral of all things, and she pleaded with her sister to come back with her to Ooty, yet the Enemy's stronghold is prevalent over this poor girl that she doesn't want to disobey her dead grandmother's wishes in exchange for freedom and to be with her only family (Krishma). Naturally, this broke Krishma's heart. . . Oh Jesus, make sense of this all. I pray justice would come to fruition for her sister's behalf.
• *name has been changed

5/24/10

• Helped Christianna (the latest FF volunteer) and her dad (who is visiting India for 2 wks) move into Farley! Felt SO much better today--basically 100% with only slight dizziness.
• Helped orient Christianna as best as I knew how. I'm so thankful for our friendship already and I only met her this past Sunday morning when I went to church (and then went home right away because I felt more sick) I think we are going to make a great team!
• Played a couple games with Kevin (her dad) and Christianna. One was called "blink" and the other was a simpler version of scattergories--so fun!
• Ate my first "Indian/American" grilled cheese which ended up being slightly burnt but good nonetheless!

MIA--Sunday

5/24/10

. . . So I was sick all day, with enough pain in my head and body that I could not really move or stand up without feeling faint. I rarely get headaches (thankfully) and yet there was even pain behind my eyes, so I did not even to to read and my computer has its own set of problems, so I couldn't even watch a dvd (which is also a rarity). There I sat in bed feeling nearly/almost totally immobilized and unproductive. Yes, even bored! It occurred to me as I tried to think of the last time I had eve been so confined or had so little to do (or that I could do) and I honestly could not ever remember having a day like this. (Even when I had my wisdom teeth out the medicine knocked me out for a full 24 hours!) I sat stunned for a moment, and yet as I was thinking back just recently to my 4 yrs of college, I never got terribly ill (though I have had a few scares). When others had flaring allergies and others were catching the "swine flu" I have not dealt with a major illness or bone break since middle school! And we all know how difficult it can be to miss and make-up college classes! My self-pity was replaced with a gratefulness and although i was bored, I felt like God was asking me to still offer this day up to Him and he could still teach me things as I simply laid in bed!

In the hours that I laid on my cot, the Lord reiterated the same message(s) to me THREE different times by THREE different sources! (Yeah, just try to tell me that's coincidence; I dare you. :) ) . . . Because it hurt to keep my eyes open, I placed a cool wash cloth over my eyes and head to help temporarily relieve some of the discomfort, and I "randomly" decided to listen to a Bethel podcast I had uploaded by accident a long time ago. Now again, I rarely again almost ever have the patience or desire to sit through yet another "lecture" after sitting through a week's worth of listening to them. However, there was so much overlap in what He taught me today about divine order. how we are purposeful creation as opposed to the philosophy of naturalism and contrary to what is taught in schools and popular by evolutionists. The podcast touched on the Biblical side to this. When my eyes began to feel better, I picked up Charles Colson's book, which did the same thing but brought to light the logical arguments for why there is an order; it's so simple and makes so much sense! Then Desiree was so kind to bring me up some hot chamomile tea and we began casually talking. The next thing I knew that came out of her mouth in direct alignment with what I had been listening to and reading! Desiree even quoted someone who said it actually takes more faith to believe in the Big Bang/evolution, because there is no rhyme or reason to it. Poof. It happened. And the statistics and age of the earth/fossils etc is consistently changing. . .

It makes so much more sense to think (at least to me) that there is an order. There is a natural order. We have hierarchal order(s). We have establishments, governments, natural laws and moral ethics. There are both written and unwritten rules. Chaos does not produce harmony; order does.

Jesus offers us a unique freedom because of the law.

5/23/10 - Saturday

• Day of relaxation; yes I had the day off.
• Began with a 200 rupee pedicure which is the equivalent of 4 dollars! This was a nice luxury, because I almost never go to get my nails done!
• Desiree and I spent about 6 hours dabbling around Ooty, pricing different souvenirs, and haggling over different deals. (Reminded me of the days I used to go to yard sales with my mom!)
• Bought some groceries including some fresh apples!
• We ate lunch at a place called Willy's that serves western foods and is owned by one of the ladies who attends the "jazzercize" class (which is the ever popular exercise class in town). We scarfed down the ever healthy choices of a tomato, cheese and garlic pizza which naturally had hints of curry flavoring instead of the typical tomato paste used on "American pizza". The French fries tasted quite "American,"however, and we even topped off the meal with a brownie fudge sunday. . . And our total bill was under 4 dollars I believe!
• On my way home, however, I experienced the "kiss of India" and began to feel sick. For the remainder of the day and all day Sunday I was feeling quite queasy and my body "ached" all over. . . Not exactly the ideal way to end the day, but God is so faithful. . .

5/21/10

Woke up to my phone ringing--Mala wanted me to come in to the office and finish photographing the jewelry for Ruhamah. With only a third of the line shot, I was nervous I wasn't going to finish it by the time they needed it done, but by the grace of God (seriously) I got it done! Even amidst charging the camera battery (quite a few times) and working with limited fabrics/backdrops/lighting I think/hope they look good! Thank you, Lord for multiplying my time/ability and giving me the ability to focus and get it done!

Ate leftover spaghetti for lunch (Yes, Tarrah was concerned I was eating pb sandwiches and instant soup every night) so she sent me home with a tub of it! Spent the rest of the day at Smyrna talking about my responsibilities as a volunteer with Mala and Jaya (the girls' teacher) and my role as a tutor/second teacher. Then I met with some more of the staff to go over the how I could help with launching the jewelry as a separate entity/mirco-enterprise, so the girls can hopefully sustain themselves eventually! (Right now the jewelry is under Freedom Firm but will soon break off to be its own business called Ruhama.)

Lord, you have brought me this far; I pray I would not become overwhelmed, but I pray you would give me an endless bout of creativity and prepare me to be the best/most effective teacher I can be. I want these girls to grow, succeed, and I know You desire this for them even more so! Thank you for this opportunity, Lord!