Running to the Darkness

Remembering September and Adam

Did you know that your body has memory? Did you know that smells and seasons can trigger memories? They can and do! I love these beautiful brilliantly blue skies of September in Kansas City! However, September always brings memories of Oklahoma City as for nearly 20 years Gary and I traveled with our family and many friends and their families from Indian Creek to participate in a competitive but fun Labor Day Church of God Softball Tournament! It was a great time to renew friendships, meet new people and enjoy sitting in the sun together, cheering the church teams on! We always loved checking on the recent Indian Creek students who were attending Mid-America University while there. Finally the day came when Jeremy and Luke came of age to participate! They begged Gary to come out of retirement so that he could play with them! They said they had dreamed of that day since they were kids! That year Indian Creek won FIRST place in the tournament!

September leads to October and it was a mid-October morning, I remember Gary had left for the offices of Indian Creek Community Church just a few minutes earlier but was back frantically throwing clothes in a suitcase saying that he was leaving as soon as possible for Oklahoma City!

Good friends, Dan and Debbie Ettinger had called. Their oldest, Adam who was a senior at Mid-America Christian University and had just gotten married in June of the same year, had been struck by a truck and was in the hospital in critical condition!

How could that be? We had just had dinner with Adam and his young bride, Sarah. It was surreal to those of us left in Olathe to wait for news from the hospital and the family! Dan and Debbie Ettinger and their three children: Adam, Heidi and Kelly had been one of the first families to attend Indian Creek Community Church. Pastor Gary had personally knocked on every door in the Santa Barbara Estates where the Ettingers lived at the time.Our families became fast friends! Debbie even volunteered to keep all three of the Kendall kids: Kristen (5 yrs), Jeremy (3 yrs) and Luke(1 yr.) while I went to the hospital to deliver our fourth child, Megan in 1987.

Heidi was a frequent babysiter for the Kendall Klan. Kelly and Luke were toddlers together while Adam was a mentor to Kristen and Jeremy as Adam was a few years older than them and served as a summer Student Ministry Intern. Adam was preparing to become a pastor when he graduated and was so very excited about giving his life to help people find their way back to the God he loved and to whom he owed his redeemed life! He had dedicated most of his summers as a youth to travel to Mexico to spread that love and he was preparing to go wherever God would SEND him! He met his beloved wife, Sarah, at Mid-America Christian University and was thrilled that God allowed them to be married before Jesus returned! The absolutely giddy love struck pair were the VERY first couple to be married in Indian Creek's brand-new facility on Black Bob Road! What a sweet ceremony it was! Both the bride and the groom were teary-eyed with gratitude and happiness that God had allowed them to be connected in love and marriage! No one would have believed that Adam's would be the first funeral in the new facility as well.

That fatal mid-October morning Adam had left his new bride at home with her encouragement (we even heard that she kicked him out of bed to help him get up) to workout at Mid-America Christian University not far from their apartment. While on the way home just a few hundred feet from the entrance to the school Adam, who had a soft heart, stopped his truck on the far lane of the four lane road to assist an injured dog. Unfortunately, a man who was also driving a truck did not realize Adam's truck was stopped. He was probably traveling almost 40 mph when he struck Adam's truck from behind causing Adam's truck to run over Adam as he was bent over in front of it examining the dog he had stopped to help.

Gary had received the call soon after arriving at his office that morning. Adam had sustained head injuries and was in a local hospital in Oklahoma City in critical condition. How could that be? We had just had dinner with Adam and his young bride, Sarah, hadn't we? It was surreal to those of us left in Olathe to wait for news from the hospital and the family!

How? Why? Please God won't You heal him? Questions swarmed our heads and hearts! It was only a couple of days later that we be grudgingly accepted the news that Adam's healing would not be for this earth! God had already prepared a place for him in heaven and he was beating us all there to see his Savior face-to-face first! Devastated his wife of only a few months and family grieved their loss of his presence here. Our entire community grieved because when one weeps, we all weep. Adam is missed by many of us at Indian Creek Community Church. Certainly, we rejoice that he has his reward! But we selfishly miss the fun of his presence here among us now. He made a difference in many of our lives and we long for the day when we will see his face again, along with His Savior and ours, Jesus.

The reality is--none of us know when our time here is up! So Until then let's live as though today we might get hit by a truck! Let's live as though today is our last day to love one another and to make a difference with the unconditional love of Jesus Christ! Adam certainly did!

SENT - Luke and Rachel

 
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son...This is real love--not that we loved God, but that He loved us and SENT His Son as a sacrifice...

 

  In Psalm 127 it says that children are a gift from God and blessed is the man whose quiver is full! However aroows are not meant to "stay in" the quivers! Arrows are meant to be "shot out" or SENT out! Though bittersweet, Gary and I rejoiced with Luke and Rachel even as we helped them to pack! Kristen and Jeremy did some heavy lifting (that's what brothers and sisters and friends are for) too! On July 29th, we helped Luke finish packing up their Lenexa apartment so he could join his sweet wife, Rachel , who already had secured a job in Roselle, a suburb of Chicago. Luke and Rachel felt compelled by God to be a part of a small body of believers Mission Church who want to help people find God! So far they have had three preview services and are  up to about 150 people! God is building His Church!

When we think of our own relationship with God and the sacrifice of His ONE and ONLY SON for us, what else can we do but send them out for Him!

Wherever We Go There We Are!

 What fun to be back in Oklahoma City for Spiritual Life Emphasize Week at Mid-America Christian University! I arrived home on Sunday evening from India and Gary had already arrived in Oklahoma City for the Spiritual Life Emphasis Week because he was the main speaker for their daily chapel services. I took Monday to recoup, do laundry and catch up on Landon time and then on Tuesday, Kristen and I headed south on I-35 bound for Oklahoma City ourselves. She, though a Taylor University grad was scheduled to speak in chapel at the Alma Mater of her father, grandfather, grandmother and brothers, on Thursday morning! What an honor!

We felt it almost immediately! A sweet, sweet presence of Christ on the campus and in the services! The faculty and students seemed to be the fragrance of Jesus! And what a pleasant aroma it is!

Gary challenged the students to fulfill the Great Commision and "Go unto the world until the whole world knows." On Thursday, Kristen shared her personal call to be on mission in China through Project Partner and talked about Seeking God and His Will, Surrendering to His plan and Following HIs directions. She didn't pull any punches and shared very frankly with the students about the cost of the call! She also encouraged them that God's plan was much MORE than they could dream or imagine and WAS the abundant life of Christianity!

Today Gary shared the final message of the week and challenged the students to look inside and let God do a work IN them before He does a work THROUGH them! He talked about the STUFF that we accumulate and carry around that gets in the way of who we are! Wherever we go, there we are! He assured them that our stuff follows us around and can prevent us from being all that God has for us to become and from going where God wants us to go!

He talked about Moses and the "stuff" of his life. Moses was raised a foreigner in a foreign land. He probably felt like a misfit and that he didn't belong. Eventually, his stuff boiled to the surface and came out in rage against an Egyptian and he had to flee, finding himself an outcast, he ran away. He encountered some daughters watering their animals who were being bullied and again his stuff boiled up and this time he rescued those being treated unjustly and was invited to be a part of their family. Now Moses was a part of a third culture, not his own. Moses believed the bad press from those around him and the lie of the enemy that he wasn't enough. But God saw Moses as the rescuer of his people--the man who stood up to the most powerful man in the world-Pharoah--the man who saw the face of God, who was a friend of God--the courageous man who held up his staff to part the Red Sea!

Gary concluded by reminding the students of Moses' encounter with the burning bush-a holy moment. Moses took time to take off his shoes and respond to God's call in the burning bush and it made all the difference. Gary challenged the students to take off their shoes and embrace the moment as theirs for a divine appointment with their Creator for their healing--a chance to lay down, surrender, their stuff to Him. The student band came forward: the keyboardist and female drummer were among the first to take off their shoes and pile them beside of the alter. Soon half of the student body had discarded their shoes at the alters and knelt to surrender their stuff and their plans to God!

Inspiring to see students respond to their call from God, Gary, Kristen and I headed home at noon. Encouraged to know the future is the hands of students surrendered to His hands!

Nana Is So Blessed!

 
I have more posts from India to update as soon as I can figure out how to post my pictures on Typepad, that is! However, I couldn't wait to give this update! We returned from India on Sunday, September 18! After traveling many, many hours, more than two days AND a wheelchair episode that will be detailed later and an 8 hour layover in Newark which was needed and utilized! So I spent all day on Monday, unpacking, doing laundry AND catching up on my Landon time! What fun we had at the Deanna Rose! The day was too beautiful to resist! (Besides I have learned that nothing resets your internal time clock like getting out in the sunshine!)Landon loved all of the animals but it was the Pumpkin Patch display on the way  out that he didn't want to leave! They had some type of masks that looked like monkeys to him so he was inspired to do the monkey dance! Hilarious! What a joy!

Thursday Sept 15-Full Conference Day-Everybody Speaks

By the time you read this we will be well on our way back from visiting the Taj! Due to aggravation of internet service I wasn't able to keep up on a daily basis but wanted to post these entries saved from my ipad for your reading.

What a great day! We started the day with Prati sharing, supposedly the devotional, but she cannot help but preach! She is gifted that way and her passion for these women is over-the-top! She longs to transmit everything that she has learned as a leader to them each time she sees them! She also longs to encourage and inspire them and has an incredible way of encouraging, inspiring and challenging without shaming or shoulds! Fabulous leader, she is! And oh how they love her and respond! They thrive under her coaching, mentoring and nurturing! And so do we! Dana, RaeAnn, Vicki and Paula have certainly delievered each time that they have stood to share! God has used their experiences, personalities, abilities and weaknesses to encourage these women as well as to honor Him that they would DARE to believe that the Almighty God of the Universe who hung the stars in the sky, could or would even desire to use them, their stories and their lives! Having been handed a new suggested assignment and challenged to "leave their notes" the girls rose to the opportunity! They know that God is growing them up because He is stretching them out of their comfort zones to new places! God is in control! It is beautiful to witness the new found freedom and joy with which Prati shares as she steps through the fear of being rejected by her own people and dares to preach in her native tongue, Maharati, in her home state! God has taken her to a new level of empowerment because of her obedience! Expecting great things to come!

Paula shared a powerful teaching on the Holy Spirit! RaeAnn finally got to share again since she had been ill. She was more relaxed in His Spirit this time around. She was passionate about her experience of what God had to do IN her before He could work THROUGH her! She was a little nervous about losing her notes and armed only with her Bible and note cards she went for it! God came through for her and she fell into the joy of obedience and letting Him do the work through her! Beautiful to see!

Prati cahllenged us at dinner at 9:00 to please speak from the topics on the outlines Rev. Samuel Stephens had compiled. And though it threw the women at first and they spun out at first, they had retired to their rooms and dug deep into God's Word for themselves and poured over it! They prayed and God gave them a new teaching and revelation! What a victory! Praise the Lord! Now we all have a new story about His work in us!

Vicki shared the teahcing session just before lunch and she called us to be ambassadors for Christ! She reminded us that we need to know who we are and whose we are! She told the story of God suing ther trip to Walmart where she encoutnered a woman with two huge carts of noodles who was purchasing food for her high school students who were so hungry they coulnt' learn. God broke Vicki's heart right there in Walmart for His children and called her to be an ambassador for Him, meeting the needs of His people for His glory! Vicki told the women that they \are critical to changing the face of India! She said that God told her that these women WILL change the face of India!She called them to fearlessly pray for two of the women on their list!

One thing that the India Gospel League is exceptional about, well many things but one thing I want to mention her, are reports! They are diligent about collecting data and following up on reporting what resources and donations produce directly in the lives of people in the areas they serve! We heard some of those reports in the form of stories from real people about the way the ministry impacted their lives directly and those in their community! Praise the Lord! Women testified that they are being built up in faith by the Women With a Mission conferences and the small care groups that are meeting. One region had seen 45 women saved recently directly related to the ministry of Women with a Mission! One woman pastor and her sister reach out to 30 women every day!

India as a country has been greatly influenced and impacted by Great Brittain and one thing that is constant no matter what the day holds is that there will be TWO Tea breaks! One break around 10 in the morning and another around 2-3 in the afternoon! And India is home of the original Chia Tea!

It was my turn in the evening to share the inspirational service and I could hardly wait! I love sitting at the feet of Jesus' feet with my sisters! I love passing on what God is teaching and telling me! It is so encouraging to encourage one another in this way! God has been impressing the Scripture in John 3:16 upon me in an new way since about December of last year! I have been compelled with His command to be SENT into the world as God sent His very own Son and now Jesus SENDS us out with the same message of grace, redemption and reconcilliation! The Holy Spirit moved upon us and we were honored to be encouraged and impressed with His presence! How power that is! What a joy to share with sisters!

Tues. Sept. 13- Rewind! Looking forward to Maharastra State Conferences

And the adventure continues! Today we were up and packed for an early flight to Mumbai. Actually the flight wasn’t so early but Prati was concerned for the traffic in Chennai so to make certain e reached the airport in a timely manner. The traffic proved to be not as difficult to manage as getting the driver there on time. We just enjoyed the moments waiting in the Gift Shop and in front of the hotel fully engaged in the traffic of the streets of Chennai. Truly, India must be experienced, not just seen and heard. It is an entire body encounter where all of the senses are fully engaged! To see the bustling “toot toots” is not enough, you must hear their staccato beep of their horns and the buzz of their lawnmower engines. The men and women walk briskly carrying their loads on their heads. The men on bicycles. Entire families of five or six on one motorscooter is a common sight. Today we saw a city bus packed full, way beyond capacity and on the side of the bus with tight grips on the windows, hanging on for dear life, seriously, were half a dozen men! And of course the animals have free reign: goats, cows, dogs, cats, and pigs even. Freight trucks like the buses filled to the max and beyond! Their horns brazenly declare, “I am coming through and I am bigger than you so make way!”

Fascinating, it is to observe, the dance of the traffic so mesmerizing we were still watching when the driver came to transport us and our entire car full of luggage to the airport. Today we were to fly to Mumbai and then drive 6 hours to Nasik for Maharachtra State Conference!

The Chennai airport is an experience that as most common in all of the airports across India until a few years ago. First you are met at the entrance of the airport by a guard, this time the sentinel stationed beside of him is fully armed with a rifle of some kind swung over his shoulder. You still must have a ticket to get into the airport. As soon as you are inside you must send all of your luggage that you plan to pack, Show them to the attendant and we are loading the suitcases onto the little conveyer belt that takes it through the scanner and shoots it out the opposite side where it is automatically bound with a temporary strap as it should not be opened again until after arrival in Mumbai. And then we still hold our carry-on luggage which we learn is too large for what is permitted in the cabin so we check yet more luggage! The attendant must have waved weight and number of pieces because there was no charge for excessive pieces or weight.

American women come with a lot of baggage! Sometimes more than they can carry on their own! With everything safely checked in, we made our way to wait at the gates for our departure. But first we must proceed single file through the security check point which in India has always included a FRISKING. The friskers are always gender specific and are now most often armed with a large paddle wand which has replaced merely the gloved hand of the frisker. My carryon bag scooted through with no issues, except the tag that is required to be attached so that the checker has something to stamp must have gotten caught in the belts because there wasn’t one on my computer bag. I have seen the consequences of this before. It means that the owner must make a trip back through the security to the airline check-counters to retrieve another handbag tag and back through the scanner to bring the tag to attach to the bag. I was surprised that the tag wasn’t there and then a bit flustered to think of scurrying back through the check point. The guard was kind and must have seemed my distress because he found a lone tag somewhere and fastened onto my bag so that the attendant could stamp it. I rewarded him with a huge relieved smile and big thank you! He seemed to feel appropriately thanked, most often it is not as easy as that, but I was grateful that this time this was the case.

Now we could proceed to the gate, only to learn that our flight had been delayed and we were told only to ‘’sit awhile” and so we did. We passed the time refreshing ourselves with 7UP and trips to the TIOLET and talking. Boarding and the flight were uneventful enough. Surprisingly we did not sleep nor eat. It seems that Indian flights have adopted American Airlines’ idea of selling snacks and meals instead of serving them complimentary. Even as recently as last year they were still serving a meal even on the hour brief flights.

The two hours went quickly as I spent the time catching up on my journaling and reading the new book I acquired out of curiosity, Live Sent. I sat by RaeAnn and took the opportunity to tell her how glad that I was that she was along and how much I was enjoying getting to know her. It is especially delightful as she is beginning to feel better and better by the day!

Landing in the new Mumbai airport is so much more pleasant than the old one! We retrieved our luggage on the free carts and rolled it out the doors to the van and driver IGL had arranged for us. The van will be easy to locate and distinguish as it is bright yellow! I have never seen one like it in all of my travels all over India! And it was large enough for all of our baggage to fit inside the van with us! I was particularly grateful after spending the entire night before hanging and rotating my clothes so they will dry.

Since it was near 2:00 and we were getting ready to hit the road for several hours we trekked over to a familiar hotel, The Legends. The Legends has been the point of entry for many of the teams. Many times being their first glimpse and introduction to India. I remember so vividly, Cassandra standing in the corner windows and gazing outward, crying compassionately for the city that had captivated her heart in brief seconds! I remember young Kasey Booker opening the window wide to extend her satellite phone as far as possible so that she could acquire a signal to call home and report. I remember the very first time we sped through the streets in the wee hours of the morning and sped into the alley onto the tiny carport entry. (I was certain that it was all over!)

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Somehow I am on! Connected! My, how I miss it! I tried every night and even went down to the hotel lobby to try their internet desk, only to be told that it was out of service! So while I was packing and waiting for my Hanna to dry (picture tomorrow) I sat down and just thought I would give it a try! And viola! I'm on!!! So I am going to "Make hay while the sun is shining as my dear grandmother used to say!" (She used to say lots of things, this phrase I can print!)

Anyway I am working a couple of days behind! I hope that you have been keeping up with Paula's blog, www.paulajfrench.blogspot.com. She is doing an incredible job through her phone and her daughter's help! Gotta love that assistant!I Today we finished our last full conference day, with half a day left tomorrow. The girls are doing wonderfully! They are finishing well and strong! What a delight to see RaeAnn back to better than ever as she shared freely today for the first time since she got sick. Prati challenged us last night to get away from our notes and speak from the heart making more eye contact with the women! Scary, especially when you remember that these ladies don't speak in front of people regularly and have not had any or much opportunity to ever share their stories! Prati also threw us a curve by giving a new assignment about 9:00 last night! All rose to the occasion and dove desperately into their Bibles for fresh new insight directly from the Holy Spirit for themselves! What a joy and relief to them when they found He came through for them! He could be trusted indeed to work through us if we are just available! II Corinthians 4:5-7, He risks His reputation on us, weak clay pots, knowing full well that His light will shine brilliantly through our broken places and He will be the one who gets the glory! Indeed He did a work IN us before He did a work THROUGH us! Each one of us shared today. The evening concluded with Prati sharing the inspirational message with the women making confessions and commitments to be sent out by Him to anyone anywhere He called! We are convinced that the women of India play a critical part in changing the face of India! You go, Girls! Shucks! Still can't post pictures on blog! I think the connection is not strong enough but who knows! Anyway, glad to get this one up! And although I will be posting in the rears, I am going to post what I wrote for a couple of days ago but couldn't get on.

Thanks again for joining us on this journey of being SENT into the World! Thanks for praying us hone!

The Children of Sharon Gardens do the Hockie Pockie

Testimonies, Scripture memory, dance, songs, stories, entire books recited, leis of welcome...rows of patient obedient lovely children!

This is a random post that I didn't get to include on our time at Sharon Gardens so I just thought I would insert it into the blog between days! Enjoy!

One of our first nights @Sharon Gardens we were treated to a Children's Program! It is a special presentation that happens nearly every time I am here! I have come to anticipate it eagerly! It is a time when the entire population of children, nearly 300 gather in Donna Thomas Chapel to give God praise, to celebrate Him and to share His goodness to them by the testimonies of His work in their lives! A few of the children shared that God truly transformed their lives with the help tat they have received from Sharon Gardens and the India Gospel League! What a joy to hear the generation of poverty, addiction and sin is rooted!

Sonething I keep dreaming about is our team bringing some type of prestentation to encourage and inspire them! (I have a year now to think of something else if someone would be interested in going!) We always bring them treats (candy, pencils, note pads, markers, stickers, erasers, etc.) and we would love to treat them to something in a personal presentation. We have sang somgs before. This time Vicki Orcutt had been tasked with coming up with something, so she had brought a couple of songs she wanted to teach the children. However when the time came (and YES, she had tested it before) He would not play anything. Anyway, Vicki had selected two action songs: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes; and Hockey Pockey! How I wished that Landon were here and that they could see him on the big screen! What fun playing with them

Sorry, I didn't get a picture! I was too busy doing the Hockie Pockie myself!

Going and Coming! Together Again!

What a ride! This starts our mad week of coming and going in order to accomplish the schedule of conferences we have been assigned! It is a love-hate relationship-as we absolutely love the new and old friends we encounter! And we adhore leaving the new and good friends we have acquired on the way!

What a blessing that we were detained an hour this morning from leaving for the conference because of the rainstorms that came through it would make the local women late to arrive at the conference so the Pastor wanted to start the conference an hour late. So while we waited: Dana, Prati and I went to her room to spend some time together in prayer! What a refreshing encouraging and blessed time it was! I love to pray with Prati! She is such a dynamic prayer warrior! She continues to mentor me in my parenting! I love to hear her pray to her Master! Such a sweet and devoted relationship she has with Jesus! Love sitting at His feet together just pouring out our hearts to Him!

What a delightful treat today to walk into the Tindivanam Conference convened in a Life Center Church and see a friend from previous Indian misadventures--Lillian! She had been visiting a newly married daugther in the area and took time to spend the day translating for us! We really didn't get to catch up in any kind of real time fashion but we did get to lay eyes on each other, hug and share ministry, lunch and hearts just a bit! What a joy to be able to pick up where we left off even though a couple of years ago and connect heart to heart! Love that about friends!

Prati shared a challenging and inspiring message encouraging the women that we all have a purpose! And God that we are not here by accident! She reminded us that we came to hear from God and God alone! We are tired of listening and believing what others say about us and tired of talking to ourselves! We want to hear from God today. So we consecrated and committed ourselves to listen with open ears to what He would say to each of us! I love the way Prati has of lovingly encouraging and inspiring the women while challenging them to their core! What an incredible mentor and communicator! But most of all I love her heart for her Master, Jesus! God has given each of His belivers a mission and we were made for it! He sends us out to our worlds to be on mission for Him to restore His people to Himself! It is the most important thing we will do today! She said that we were given the ministy of restoration! What a lead in to my time to share, "We Really Do Need to Get Along" which is all about restoring broken relationships but I wish we were through. It is painful! However, it is encouraging to know and I reminded the women that sometimes what God wants to do IN us, He can do no other way! What a joy to sit at Jesus' feet with about 120 girlfriends who are thirsty to know more and more about Him, His mission and theirs!

Spending the night here I was looking forward to some down time to read or write but then I opened my suitcase and to my surprise, my clothes were soaked! We did travel through a rainstorm and our luggage is always loaded on top of our vehicle. It was covered with a tarp and didn't get wet yesterday. Howver not so, today. So I have been unpacking wet things and draping them over every lamp in this suite (last rooms available as the others were full)! Passing drying time creating this blog, hoping that clothes will be dry enough in a couple of hours when it is time to repack for the plane trip to Mumbai today. Then a van ride to Nasik where they are hosting a three day conference in Prati's home state of Maharaska! She is always anxious to speak here (though there really is that old, " a prophet has no honor in their own hometown.") Pray for God to annoint her with His message for His beloved daughters, our sisters there! And pray for His anointing on the rest of us as well as we share His heart for His little girls! By the way-RaeAnn did not speak today but is getting better and better gradually with every hour! We are delighted and grateful that you are praying her through! She is quite the trooper! What a doll! Don't forget to check out Paula's pictures at www.paulajfrench.blogspot.com.

 

Until Next Time @Sharon Gardens

Sunday, September 11, 2011 was a beautiful morning in Salem, India! The brilliant blue sky reminisent of the fatal morning when planes became missiles in the USA and the first time since Pearl Harbor the USA was caught by surprise by enemy attack!

Unfortunately, terrorism in India is more common. Dana had wondered how India would treat the anniversary of 9-11, much as I expected, they didn't. I had been invited to share the message on the Sharon Garden campus so instead of going out to a nearby church we stayed home and shared. (Prati wanted the workers, house parents, students, teachers and children who serve us so faithfully while we are there to have an opportunity to share worship with us. The music was very inspiring! The language doesn't have to be common, the Holy Spirit interprets the praise of The Creator! In the beautiful open air Donna Thomas Chapel everyone is seated on large straw mats on the floor except for the American guests and the family of Rev. Samuel Stephens who sit in plastic chairs in the back of the chapel. The chapel is named in honor of Donna Thomas who with her husband, Chuck founded Project Partner and introduced Rev. Samuel Stephens and the India Gospel League to partnership with the USA.

With such an inspiring and encouraging environment who wouldn't thrive! Prati proudly introduced us to a young couple who presented their first child. The three month old infant is the first "grandchild" of Prati's as the young woman grew up at Sharon and now had returned to work on the campus. How exciting for Prati to see the fruit of her labor! And she is a proud grandma!

What an honor to serve these who serve us so beautifully while we are in their home! The service was beautiful with the music and words of testimony by some of the residents of what God has done in their lives this week. I thought it interesting that they passed the offering plate twice! Once for "missions" and once for the church! Honored to share the Word of God and the word God gave me, I shared the message, God Sent Jesus and Jesus Sends Us that God gave me to present in Kentucky at Christmas time. I trust that God's Word does not return void and He will do the work in the hearts of His people. Rev. Sam, Danny, Taragon and the Campus Pastor served communion. Touching. Sam asked the Women With a Mission team to come forward and they prayed for us! Very powerful and moving!

Always reluctant to leave our friends who are now more like family even to the girls who have visited Sharon for the very first time, we ate lunch and packed the van. We are grateful RaeAnn felt strong enough to travel! Sam was kind to pray for her at breakfast. She is a trooper! He supplied some medicine from the hospital that he says works better on the bacteria local to the area. It seemed to sustain her as she slept most of the nearly 6 hour drive to Pondicherry.

The hotel we were in for the one night before heading to the Regional Conference this morning and then to Chennai after our sharing is very nice! We are trusting God to speak through us this morning and throughout the day and so apprecaite your partnership in prayer! What a joy to have you as a part of the journey!

I regret that I have not been able to navigate how to send pictures from my phone to the laptop so that I can post them here! It is very frustrating! However Paula seems to have it figured out as she sends herself and her daughter her pictures from her phone and Jocelynn, her self appointed assistant drops the picture and the text Paula emails into Paula's blog and viola! You have beautiful posts! I hope that you will visit her site at www.paulajfrench.blogspot.com.