The end is near...

Wow! It's already April 6th. So much has happened in the past three months, but our adventure is nearly over! We leave here on Monday afternoon. Only two more days in this beautiful place. I have learned SO SO much since coming here. I feel like I have grown spiritually and matured so much more than I was expecting. This has been an incredible experience! Jenny and I have had some really difficult days here, but the Lord has been faithful to turn it all to good and I have no regrets. He has been teaching me two main things during this time: that he is GOOD and he is WITH ME. It is so true! Even during the hard times --no, ESPECIALLY during the hard times -- I could feel him with me constantly. When I was having hard days, although the situation I was in was miserable, I could feel that God was still good. It was incredible! I am so so thankful for all the adventures I have had here, but I am definitely ready to be home. God had the best plan all along when we found out we were coming home early. Two days left then I'll be on a flight home! Thank you, Lord for this incredible trip, and thank YOU for supporting and loving us! ♥

Encouragment

Long time, no blog! It's been a while since I've been on here, so I'm going to try and update you on what has been going on. Jenny and I have been busy hanging out with the girls and getting to know them more and more. I'm amazed at how we're able to be such good friends with them despite the language and cultural barriers and the limited time we've had, but God is good and we have really established a friendship with all of them!

As we've mentioned before, the girls have been having several tests in each subject during the past few weeks. They will actually have more and more through April, so be praying for them! The 10th and 12th graders need your prayers especially, because their grades determine if they will be able to go on to higher studies and get good jobs!

About a week ago, I was feeling pretty depressed about this trip. I felt like I wasn't able to love and serve everyone here very well, and I was feeling pretty much without purpose and wondering why I had come here in the first place. The sisters have things running pretty smoothly, and are usually able to accomplish everything without our help. Jenny and I would offer to help out more with washing dishes, preparing meals, and general chores, and they would decline and send us back to the front porch to relax. Honestly, it was a little bit frustrating because I came here to serve and they didn't want me to. A few days ago I was having a devotional time and reading in the book of Romans. A phrase from Romans 13:8 caught my eye. It said "the one who loves another has fulfilled." It goes on after that, but the Lord highlighted that part to me, and I felt him telling me that this was my theme verse for this trip. If I love another, even if it's just one single person, then I will have fulfilled my purpose for coming here. Wow! This was so so encouraging for me! Since that day I have been keeping this verse in mind and really listening to the Lord about how I can love on the people around me, and he has been so faithful to show me ways to bless them. I am amazed at the difference in my attitude and heart and how it has changed so much this past week. I have felt so encouraged and empowered because of this verse, and I know that the Lord is going to sustain me and guide me to love more during the rest of this trip. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us! So many people have sent me encouraging messages and emails and they have been such a blessing to me :)

Today is day sixty out of the ninety days we will be here! I can't believe it has passed so quickly! Pray that Jenny and I would draw our strength from the Lord and be able to finish this adventure well :)

Exams, exams and more exams!

The girls have been studying for their finals a ton recently! It's such a bummer because normally, we would sit with them and help them with English or draw pictures for them. But now that they have tons of finals and exams, they are studying really hard, and we are more of a distraction than anything. We still sit with the preschoolers though and help them with their ABC's and 123's :) That's always fun. But as the test dates are drawing nearer, you can almost feel the tension in the air as the girls study. Maybe it's just me... I really hope they do well! I don't know if I've ever been this concerned over someone else's test results before. This must be part of how it feels to be a mother! Please keep the girls in your prayers! :)

Rain

In the state in which we are staying here in India, it hardly ever rains. Apparently, it only rains about 3 times a year! The other day, we were sitting on the porch. It had been cloudy for the past couple days. The clouds were grey and it felt like it was going to rain: breezy, humid, cool. You could almost feel nature around you, holding it's breath, begging for the clouds to release water. The sisters were talking about how it rarely rains where we are, and one of them said, "Please Lord! Let it rain!" Allie and I agreed enthusiastically. Then she said, "When I ask of the Lord, He never disappoints me. Please Lord! Let it rain!" And I thought to myself, "Oh that's nice, that she has so much faith in the Lord. It's probably not going to rain today though. Too bad, because I don't want her to be disappointed... Maybe it will rain tomorrow." Literally 3 seconds later, it starts raining. I almost started crying. We were all overjoyed and laughing. We were so happy and blessed that it was raining! The Lord answered our prayer! It was an amazing experience! But it really made me think of how little faith I have in the Lord. I know that I can trust Him and that everything will be ok in the end. But when I ask Him to answer prayers, I rarely expect Him to answer them because of all the times that my prayers haven't been answered. Or at least not the way I wanted them to be answered. I never even realized how little faith I have in Him answering prayers until today. And it really blessed and encouraged me to see someone whose faith is so strong in the Lord, and when she prays, her prayer is answered. And it wasn't even a long prayer! Five words long! But her faith was the size of a mustard seed. It amazed me. And I want that for myself. Don't get my wrong, I've had plenty of prayers answered. But many of them I still pray and ask the Lord about. I don't know how one even gets more faith in the Lord. But I know I want faith like that. I would really appreciate prayer! Thank you so much! This trip has been incredible, and I have learned so much so far. And it's not even half over! :) Praise the Lord :)

Flight home update

Everything is going well here! The girls are busy studying for some tests they have coming up... prayers for them would be appreciated!

I want to give you all an update about our flight home. Originally, we were planning on leaving sometime in mid-May, but that plan has changed. After coming here and talking to the Sisters and everyone involved, we realized it would be much better for everyone if we left earlier. School lets out much earlier here (March 31st!), and when summer vacation starts many of the girls who have family members still alive leave for a while to spend time with them. This leaves the Sisters free to get some much needed rest and spend time with their own families also. April and May are also the hottest times of the year where we are, so everyone likes to go on holiday in another part of India with cooler temperatures. We realized that if we were to stay until May 13th like we had originally planned, we would be a burden to the Sisters during the time when they're supposed to be resting, because they would have to either take us along with them on their trips or make some other kinds of arrangements for us. So we decided to come home earlier. We will be leaving here about a week after school lets out, which will give us some time to rest up and get ready for the journey home. The plan is to leave the children's home on April 8th, to arrive in Kansas City on the evening of the 9th. Leaving will be so bittersweet for us! I am having so much fun making friends here and getting to know all of the beautiful girls who live here, and it's going to be so hard to leave them. On the other hand, I'm extremely excited to see all my friends and family back home and get ready for what other adventures the Lord has for me! I know that this change is a part of his plan, so, although at first I was disappointed we were leaving earlier, now I'm accepting and even excited about it. And the great thing is, we still have lots of time to spend with the girls here! We haven't even reached the halfway point of our time, so I'm looking forward to having more fun and getting closer to everyone here!
You can be praying that we would face this second half of the adventure with as much energy, enthusiasm, and excitement as we did the first half! We want to finish strong! ♥

Dive In

When we went to Kerela, we got to go to the beach. It was so wonderful! Allie and I both ran to the ocean and played in the water. We were in skirts and t-shirts, so we couldn't get TOO wet, even though we really wanted to. We both wished we were wearing swimsuits, however, what is modest in America, is not modest here. Swimsuits aren't modest, so all the women at the beach were in their punjabis: a t-shirt dress and loose pants) and most of the men weren't getting in the water either. There were a few guys who were taking off their shirts and getting in the water. Almost everyone was just standing at the shoreline, but not getting in the water. And that's how it is a lot of times with Christians and their relationship with the Lord. They are Christians but don't know Jesus personally. They go to church but have never experienced Jesus. They talk about God and say they follow Him. But they don't love Him like the Father and friend He is. They don't dive in. They stand on the shore and say, "Wow isn't the Lord powerful. God is good. He is beautiful." But they don't know him. They don't know what it feels like to be washed in His love, to be knocked over by His power, to be refreshed by His grace. They don't dive in. And that makes me very sad. I have been reading "Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldredge, and I am reading the chapter that talks about "clearing away the religious fog." He says, "Members [of the church] can explain to you theories of the atonement, or seven steps to success, but can't name one intimate encounter they've had with Jesus. Not once in their lives have they heard him speak to them. I've met with heads of Christian education departments, chaplains, and seminary faculty who by their own admission don't know Jesus personally. You can talk about sunshine and live your life underground; you can even go to the sea, but never dive in." I've never liked religiosity, and have striven for a relationship with the Lord. I have stories of His grace and have experienced His love. I hope you have too. There are so many people who are  so busy reading a certain number of verses in the Bible, listening to this many sermons, volunteering at their church, but miss relationship with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my good to feed  the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."

Life in India :)

Although we still have a lot of time on our hands, we now have more of a schedule and are able to help out around the place more.

About a week ago, Jessy left for Kerela to stay at the house they are founding there. Two of the sisters went with her and are staying there. She got back a few days later. Now we only have three sisters here, so Allie and I try to help out as best we can wherever we can. It's hard a lot of the time because the sisters are doing things that we can't necessarily help with: a one-person job, or just something we don't know how to do or that only they can do. Slowly but surely however, we have been helping out with more things around the house. We wash dishes a lot and help make food when we can. We help clean and sometimes even help with laundry. They always seems to appreciate our help. It hurts me to see the sisters so tired all the time and us not able to do anything about it. Please pray that the sisters stay healthy and full of energy!

I would always help the fourth grader or the 6th graders with their English, but recently I've been helping the 8th, 9th, and 10th graders with their English too. It's been so fun! :) Some of them have trouble pronouncing words like "sharply" or "world." But even in the past week or so since I've been helping them, they've been getting a lot better :) Every day when it's time to study or eat, I have at least 5 different girls wanting me to sit with them. It makes me feel so loved! :)


I finally feel like I'm of some use to the sisters and the girls! I know a lot of why we came is just to love on the girls and spend time with them, but it's nice to know that I am helping them too :)

The adventures continue...

 Hello again! It's been a while since I was last on here, so I figured I needed to get on and post something! Overall everything has been going really well. I feel like I really have a place here and am able to love and serve on both the girls and the Sisters working here. Jenny and I finally have a bit of a routine, although time isn't very important here so we don't keep track of it perfectly. We have been having so much fun with the girls! The more we get to know them, the more their personalities come out and the more we get to encourage and call out the sweet things we see in them. They inspire me with the ways they work hard and go above and beyond what's expected of them. Most of them are trying so hard to do well in school and get good grades so they can change their futures! Getting an education is so important for them and it will make all the difference if they're able to graduate well and get good jobs so they can support themselves. Tests are coming up so prayers for them would be so appreciated!

Jenny and I have been having so much fun getting to be a part of life here! One of my favorite parts of the day is the evening watering of the garden. The girls get home from school at around 5pm, have a snack, and then head to this huge tank thing full of water. Each girl has a kind of plastic jug thing to carry water in called a kudam. They balance it on their hip and wrap their arm around the skinny part at the top and carry it just with the one arm. It's actually pretty cool. They'll draw water out of the big tank and then water the specific trees or bushes or plants that they've been assigned. The garden is beautiful here, with lots of banana trees, papaya trees, vegetables, bushes and flowers that need lots of water every day. We live in the hottest part of southern India, which means the plants will wither unless they're watered often. I love this part of the day because Jenny and I get to jump right in and help. Often one of the girls will be carrying two kudams or one kudam and a bucket. Jenny or I will swoop in and take one, despite their protests, and help them with their assigned plants. The first few days we were terrible at it! We would slosh water all over ourselves and pour the water the wrong way and the girls would correct us. Now, we're much better and are actually helpful. I'm starting to know which tree is assigned to which girl, so sometimes they'll just tell me "Allie akka, [which means 'older sister' in Tamil] water my tree!" and I'm able to go take care of it. This part of the day is so fun because we're able to laugh and talk with the girls while still working.

One of the things I have been struggling with recently is feeling like I'm not "doing enough", whatever that means. Like there is a list of things I should have accomplished by now, but haven't. It's not even something I can define, just a general feeling of being less than satisfactory.  Sometimes I feel like being here should be more dramatic, like I should be seeing miracles and healings every five minutes, or something like that. The thing is, that's not really how God works. His plans are not my plans and his thoughts are high above mine. And the exciting thing is, his plan is ALWAYS better than mine. I'm learning that having a big dramatic ministry isn't always the best way, and that's why he hasn't made that happen yet here. I can always hope and dream of seeing the lame walk and the blind see, but maybe that's not what the girls need right now. Maybe they just need someone who will sit with them and listen. Someone who will draw them a thousand pictures of giraffes and elephants and camels. Someone who will tickle them and chase them and "accidentally" splash water on them. Someone who will pray for them every night. Someone who will hug them when they're crying. Someone who really wants to know them and know how they feel. Someone who will just love them and love them in every way they can think of in every moment throughout the day. I think that's what God is asking me to do here. God IS love, so the best thing I can do for these girls is imitate him and just LOVE. So that's what I'm going to do.

Thank you so much for supporting us! I fell so encouraged just knowing that you are praying for us and supporting us. We appreciate it so much :)

Guess what!! :)

I got to pray for one of the girls today!! :) I was on my way up to our room to read my Bible and journal, when I saw one of the 10th grade girls sitting there alone studying. "Studying?" I asked her. She said, "Yes. Studying for exam." She told me that she needed to get 450 out of 500. Her father had come and had been talking to her, scolding and pressuring her to get 450 instead of 400, and she ended up crying. Then, she asked me to pray for her! I was so excited! I sat next to her and prayed a short prayer I hoped she would understand. But when I finished she said, "Your prayer very nice!" So I think, whether she understood everything or not, it still blessed her. And it blessed me SO much! I was so excited she shared that story with me and that I got to pray with her! She is a very sweet, outgoing girl. Many girls try hard in school, but when they don't meet their parents' expectations, the parents get angry with them. It breaks my heart to see any failing in their subjects, but overjoyed to see them succeeding. All the sisters care for the girls and desire for them to do well in their subjects too. If you could pray for the girls, that would be wonderful! Some of them don't understand the test questions, or simply don't understand what they are learning. But I have noticed that the girls' English has improved since we've been here, so that is very exciting :) My day was made being able to pray for that sweet girl. I hope I have many more opportunities to pray and share Jesus' love with the girls while I'm here. :)

Adventures in Kerala

Jenny and I just got back from a three day trip to Alleppey in Kerala, the state just to the west of where the children's home is located. We experienced our first ever train ride, went boating in the backwaters, and got to see the Arabian sea! It was definitely a fun and learning experience.
We left Monday evening and took a train from Trichy Station. Our first train ride was ten hours long! Jenny and I both got the upper berth in our compartment which we were very excited about. They provided pillows and blankets which we were a little suspicious about, but ended up using anyway. It was freezing! We both slept really well on the train, which was good because we switched trains at around 6am and didn't get to rest much after that. We finally arrived at Alleppey Station around 9:00am and took a three-wheeled little taxi called an auto to our hotel. The staff there was WONDERFUL. Apparently Jessy travels there often and always stays with them, because the staff greeted her and gave us a special discount.
By 11:30 we were out the door again with a friend of Jessy's who had a car and was kind enough to drive us around. We stopped for lunch at another hotel and all had some incredible seafood. We heard that Kerala was famous for their fish and we both love seafood, so we weren't about to miss out. I had some coconut shrimp that was unbelievably good. Jenny had "garlic fish", which turned out to be halibut cooked in a creamy garlic sauce. It was all delicious.
After lunch we rented a boat and driver and took off on the backwaters! Apparently Alleppey is known as "the Venice of the east" because of the backwaters that replace streets in the west side of the city. We were on a boat touring them for about three hours. It was beautiful and so relaxing to just be sitting there with a fresh breeze blowing and the sound of the water all around.

Relaxing on the backwaters

After resting up on the boat, Jenny and I were ready to see the ocean! Jessy's friend dropped us off at near the beach and we walked the rest of the way. Jessy sat down in the sand far from the water and shooed us off to the water. We ran right into the waves and Jenny immediately was knocked off her feet and underwater. I was a little nervous about the appropriateness of getting all wet (every other girl on the beach was staying faaaaaar from the water), but no one seemed to care so I got wet all over too. We arrived at the water about an hour before sunset. It was so so beautiful.

The beach in Alleppey

Seeing the ocean was probably my favorite part of the trip. The waves were huge and we had so much fun getting wet and watching the sun go down. The only downside is the fact that wherever we go, we are watched by a whole crowd of Indians. Indian men were just standing there, not too far away, watching us splash and run around on the beach. It's definitely a weird experience and one I don't think I'll ever get used to. Even so, we had lots of fun at the beach and didn't leave until sunset. We were sopping wet, sandy, and loving it. Jessy, who loved feeding us all day long, bought us ice cream, and then we took an auto back to the hotel. It was an incredibly fun day! I am so thankful that we got to go :)

Praise Report :)

Guess what. We ate with the girls yesterday!! :) This is a really big deal for Allie and I, because so far, the sisters have felt that it is better that we eat in the dining room because we can sit on the chairs instead of the ground and eat with utensils instead of our hands, and basically it's just nicer. I think they have felt the need to keep us as comfortable as possible. But Allie and I have really wanted to eat with the girls, not only because eating with your hands is fun ;) but also because it is one of the few times we get to relax with the kids. They pretty much study and do chores in whatever time they aren't at school, and even though we are with them during that, there isn't a lot of down time for us to hang out with them. The only times we've eaten with the kids was twice over Pongol, and that's it. But yesterday, the sisters let us eat with the kids :) So that was very exciting for the both of us. We were honestly pretty bad at it at first, but the girls showed us the tricks of eating with your hands. I'm getting the hang of it! :) I'm am so excited that I am getting to know the girls better and they are improving in their English and are much more comfortable around us. I'm so excited to have all these beautiful girls as my sisters :)

Prayer Request

Recently... I've been feeling like I'm not the right person for this. Like I don't love the girls well enough or spend enough time with them or say the right things to them or communicate with them well enough. I feel like I shouldn't have come and that someone else should have come with Allie. Not me. I feel helpless and useless and I don't know what to do. I know that the girls have a specific schedule and there isn't a whole lot of time to spend with them, and I know that we aren't familiar with the way Jessy runs things, etc, but it's still really hard on me. Right now I'm just kind of confused and feeling a little lost... I guess I'm just struggling to find my place here... And still trying to figure out how to love the girls well. I don't know if that makes any sense... I know that our trip isn't measured by how much we do, but I still struggle with it because I'm not used to the slower pace here... So if I could have prayer for that it would be great. Thanks :)

Lessons Learned

It's hard to believe we've only been here 11 days! Time passes so slowly here. We have had many eventful days, but we also have a lot of down time, to which I am not accustomed. Before I came to India, I had two jobs, so I am used to being really busy. The woman who runs the orphanage treats us more like guests than helpers.  I wish I was given more things to do here! Oh well. I love being here. I love helping out where I can, and I love spending time and loving on the girls, but... being still, as painful as it is, is good for me, I think. Since I am used to constantly running around, it is nice to sit and relax, at least for a time. Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." Not the easiest verse for me.

Being here makes me realize how much I love America. I never thought I would say those words, but it's true. I used to hate living in America. Mostly in Kansas City. KC has no mountains, no beach, no oceans, nothing. Not even big waterfalls. I love nature and I love adventure, so living in Kansas City is really hard for me. I get too restless! But I do miss my home. I miss all the things I took for granted. Even things like coffee shops, fried chicken, bookstores, pizza, and how clean everything is. I miss the people too. I am SO thankful for the time I get to spend here, but being here has also made me appreciate my life in the US. Although, I think, no matter where I go, I will always be a bit restless. As C.S. Lewis says, "Not all who wander are lost." :)

Overflowing

Luke 6:38 "Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”

Yesterday, around 3:00, some men in a truck drove into our yard. They had just come from a wedding, and the back of the truck was full of HUGE pots of food, and they were giving it away to us. :) So we ran and got as many large pots as we had and they filled them with spicy rice, plain rice, a yam dish (apparently only rich people can afford yams here), and some sauce/dressing stuff. It looks like a thick sort of soup, but you pour it onto your plain rice to give it flavor :) Also, we filled two large pots of some sort of dessert: rice cooked in sugar and milk. It's liquid so you drink it, but it is very sweet. In the end, we had 14 or 15 pots full of food. Clearly we had too much for just the 45 of us! We kept three pots of rice, some yams, and a pot of the soupy sauce; but called the neighbors to come and partake in our abundance. We sat on the porch with the large pots around us, as many kids came bearing empty pots and containers. Once the containers were filled, the kids would run home, empty them, and bring them back. :) I was always so excited when we would empty one of the large pots! :) We were out there giving food away until the girls came home from school and the sun had set. We ended giving over half of it away! But since everyone wanted rice and yams, we had a pot of the sweet milk, and a pot of the soupy dressing stuff left over. Finally, we washed off the food stained porch and sat back and relaxed :) I love that I was able to be a part of something so beautiful and simple as giving to the needy from our abundance. You don't need to go to a different country to be a missionary. Even in the business of life, we are called to love and serve those around us. It can be hard at times, but giving should be an expression of love. Not a chore. Not because it's on your "to do list." But because the Lord's love overflows from within you and pours out to those around you.

Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

An Outing with the Girls :)

Yesterday we had the privilege of going out for the day with all of the girls and Sisters here. We packed sandwiches, fruit, and cookies and loaded everyone onto two buses to go tour a church and a temple. On the hour long trip we sang songs, watched a movie, ate snacks, and talked and laughed together. The church we stopped at was a huge Catholic thing filled with statues and relics and Indians. We ate a picnic breakfast in the courtyard and then joined about three hundred other people inside for mass. I haven't ever attended a mass before and it was definitely a different experience. At the end the priest started sprinkling water all over us and I was pretty shocked. My expression must have been hilarious because all the girls we were with started laughing at me.
When we left the church there was the usual scramble for shoes and bags and counting children before we trouped back to the bus and drove another hour to the temple. When we arrived we all grabbed a buddy and then got in a line together. I'm sure we looked pretty adorable wandering through the temple courtyards holding hands like that. The best part of the temple was the cutest elephant they had in an enclosure off to the side. He was standing and swaying back and forth and swinging his head like a dance.
The temple was crazy huge and fun to walk around, even though we didn't stay for too long. On the way home my mom treated us all to ice cream! The girls were thrilled and sang a thank you song for her that was probably the equivalent to "Three cheers for Brenda!", though I'm not sure because it was in Tamil. Either way it was very sweet :)
We left home at around 7:30am and finally returned at about 6:00pm. It was a long day but really fun and I'm so glad we got to have this fun experience with the girls.

The temple. The elephant. :)

Happy Pongal!

Today is Pongal, the Indian new year and celebration of good harvest and plenty! We were up at 6am singing songs of thanksgiving and cooking rice over a fire outside. The girls had already been up for a while and had decorated the ground in front of the childrens' home.

After the rice was finished cooking, a few of the girls decorated the pots and set them up inside, where we had a special Pongal mass a few minutes later.

For breakfast we ate the Pongal rice and the sweet rice that had been cooking over the fire outside. After the rice we had a special treat: bananas and sugar cane!

After breakfast we played games and then had a lesson in doing laundry the Indian way. I thought we were pretty good at it, but the girls kept taking the clothes and doing it for us, so I think we weren't as good as I thought. ;)

I'm starting to have a ton of fun with the girls! They are growing more open towards us everyday and I've had fun playing and joking around with them. They've even given us a few lessons in Tamil! I can now name my ears, eyes, nose, mouth, lips, and stomach, and wish everyone "Good morning!" and "Happy Pongal!" For some reason the girls thought those were the most important things to learn. ;)
Everything is going well so far! Thank you so much for praying for us! Happy Pongal!! :)

Monday the 14th :)

It's so wonderful being here in India :)  I can't believe we haven't even been here a week!
All the girls are so sweet and I have finally memorized their names! Some of the girls are sisters and look similar, so it took me a while! I always felt really bad when they would ask, "Jenny aka! My name?" And I would forget or get their name wrong. But when I would get their name right, their face would light up and they would exclaim, "Yes!" They are all so beautiful and sweet.
The food here is delicious. Most of it is very spicy, but since I love spicy food it looks as though I came to the right place! We always have more than enough to eat, because Jessy is always insisting that we eat more. She is very sweet and hospitable; always making sure our needs are met.
We have been celebrating Pongol, which is an Indian holiday that extends four days before the new year.
 Playing with the kids is always so much fun :) I love seeing their faces light up with laughter and smiles. They are all so sweet, and their English is actually very good! They have been trying to teach us Tamal. I forget half the words as soon as I say them though. Allie is much better at it than I am. In our free time with the girls, we play games outside or sing songs together. Once, we passed out markers and paper and drew with them. They really enjoyed that. They would show us their artwork, and when we complimented them, they would blush and smile really big :) I love being an older sister to 35 Indian girls :)

Today is our fifth day at the orphanage! Honestly, it feels like much longer. The kids are really warming up to us and we have been having so much fun! Yesterday we spent the afternoon coloring together. The girls were so proud of each drawing they made. It was so fun to be a part of it! :)

The children here are all so wonderful and sweet. I have already had some moments when I've gotten to encourage and affirm them. I'm looking forward to getting even closer to them in the days and weeks to come! :)

Thank you so much for supporting us! I have been feeling pretty exhausted and a little out of it the past few days. I'm hoping that it's due to jet lag and that I'll be back to 100% soon. Please be praying for me! I love you all! :)

We Made It! :)

We're at the orphanage! :) The flight went well. It was very long, but there were no delays and we got to all our flights swiftly and safely :) It is very beautiful here and the food is very good :) I am still trying to learn all the girls' names. It is not easy! But I have some of the memorized. They are all very sweet and I am excited to get to know them better :) Most of them speak a little English, so I can still talk to them. The past couple of days have been very restful, which is good. But I am looking forward to learning how to help them with chores and cooking. Indian people are very hospitable, so Jessy (the woman who runs the orphanage) thinks of us more almost as guests than helpers. But that will change soon I hope :) Internet here is not very stable, but I hope we can send emails and write blog posts a few times a week. If you wish to receive email updates from us, email dpcacy@gmail.com . If you want to send or receive personal emails from me, my email address here is: jenny@wecareofindia.org :)

We're in India!

We made it safely to the orphanage! This is our second day here and we just got the internet working :) We are so happy and thankful to be here! The girls are still warming up to us so I'm excited to be spending four months with them. Pray that we would be able to develop good relationships with them! So far we have been spending our time resting up from the trip here. It took thirty hours of flying and layovers plus a five hour car ride to get here so we were pretty exhausted, but now we're well rested and ready to go!

Jenny and I are sharing a cute little room above where the girls are sleeping. It has two cots on bed frames, two chairs, and its own bathroom. We are so thankful for such a nice room to live in! This morning I spent time in our room reading my Bible and praying for each one of the girls and for the Sisters here. There are three of them right now and they are all very kind and wonderful women of God. They have made me feel so welcome and loved and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them!

Thank you so much for your loving support of us! We are so excited to be here and we couldn't have made it without you! :)

Two more days!!

God is so good! Two days away from leaving, and people are still giving money! I am so blessed :) Thank you to everyone who has donated financially, and fought for us spiritually. I truly have been blown away by God's grace and provision these past few months :) I am so excited to leave, but am really going to miss everyone here. I am praying that on this trip, we will have a big impact on the girls. Some of them have just a couple years of high school left before they go off to college, and I feel like this is an important transition time for them (if that makes sense). I just want to be able to show these girls are loved and have hope for a future. I want to inspire these girls. But not out of my own strength of course. I need God's help :) So if you ever think of us, I would love prayer for that :) I want to really love and impact these girls, but at the same time I don't want to get caught up in trying to do things, but just be who the Lord has called me to be. I pray that He will open my eyes and ears, and He will use me to further His Kingdom. I want Him to break my heart for what breaks His. Those are just a few things for which I would love prayer :) Thank you again for all your support! God bless you! :)

-Jenny

P.S. If you see my mom while I'm away, give her an extra big hug for me :)