ohhhhh Fall. Sigh.

So, I know that Tucson doesn't have thee BEST fall season, but it's more than ya get in India. And, just reading everyones posts of Facebook about the sweater weather and their pumpkin spice lattes and football games has been making me verrrry homesick. We have five more days here in Chennia and then it's back to Oz and I am MORE than ready to get outta here. But....I still have five more days here. And I really want to make the most and be fully here, body and spirit, as God has placed me here for a reason. Please pray for me to continue to focus, put myself aside and choose joy even when NOTHING in me wants to!

One song that has been my saving grace, not just while I've been here, but this whole past year is the Desert Song, by Hillsong. I even preached about it and it's message a couple of weeks ago! I have listened to it over and over...and OVER again! It talks about the different seasons we go through in life and that regardless of which one we are in, we still have every reason to praise God. I sang it so many times at church but now I am really being challenge to DO what I sing. Totally different and NOT very easy! Maybe the next time I sing it, it will mean even more as I know understand even better just how difficult a thing it is to do. I thought I knew before, but I feel like I know even more now, as I've been walking through a desert, a fire, a battle, a raging river, you name it, all at the same time through various situations.

Check out the words below and if you would like to listen, you can find it at the bottom in my music player. And then...enjoy my pics of the Indiana fall season I enjoyed last year. Great memories and great displays of God's beauty in creation!

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement, they are like water to my soul!

Blessings, Britt :)

This is my prayer in the desert, when all that's within me feels dry,

This is my prayer in my hunger and need, My God is a God who provides,

And this is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain,

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold,

So refine me Lord through the flames

I will bring praise, I will bring praise,

No weapon formed against me shall remain,

I will rejoice, I will declare,

God is my victory and He is here.

This is my prayer in the battle, when triumph is still on it's way,

I am a conqueror and coheir with Christ,

So firm on His promise I'll stand.

I will bring praise, I will bring praise,

No weapon formed against me shall remain,

I will rejoice, I will declare,

God is my victory and He is here.

All of my life, in every season,

You are still God and I have a reason to sing,

I have a reason to worship

And this is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow,

I know I'm filled to be emptied again,

the seed I've received I will sow.

Hm. Where to Start....

>
Ok....I have a lot of updates so Im gonna do it in list form. I'm sure you, my readers, have noticed my ability to write quite a bit so...for your sake, I'm attempting to paraphrase. Lord, let my words be few.... ;-)

1. We have three weeks left and are currently on a little three day break: Its been really, REALLY great and much-needed. We went to a coffee shop, ate at an American-themed restaurant, went to the shopping mall and India's version of Knott's Berry Farms...except even MORE lame!! :)

2. Last week we painted in a day care to spruce it up...we even mixed our own paint and it ended up looking AWESOME!!

3. I preached this week at church and was fairly nervous, not to be in front of people, but just to bring the word. I used the Desert song as my motivation, because I've found myself experiencing deserts and fires and battles in my own time here and know that those will never cease to come into our lives so....It was good encouragement for myself.

"All of my life, In every Season, You are STILL God,

and I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship!"

4. I have tackled the challenge of eating forkless and only using fingers and have been pretty successful. I did however accidentally eat two chilies on separate occasions and each time, thought I might throw up my food from the week prior...NOT GOOD! I'm still dreaming of dairy!

5. We have been struggling as a team a little bit. Some of us have been experiencing discouragement because of situations going on at home and I know its just the enemy trying to distract us from being fully here, and fully dedicated to this ministry time. There has also been a lot of hurts experienced in just daily interactions leading to lack of unity, lack of respect, lack of excitement so.....pray for us to draw near to one another, look out for one another's interest, look to God above all and press on!!

6. I got my nose pierced. They do it with guns here so it hardly hurt at all....and it only cost three bucks....niiiice. Plus, it's been on my Do-Sometime-In-My-Life list so, it's cool I got to get it done in India!

7. I have gotten to spend some really good quality time with Matt and am so excited for what lies ahead for us. There have been really difficult times and really precious times and I'm so thankful to God for orchestrating this time for us to be together, to learn together, to serve together! It always helps to have your best friend around to vent to and laugh with because you do a lot of both in third world countries! :)

8. Did I mention I'm dreaming about dairy food??? ;-)

9. I've realized that life takes place more often down in the valleys, than on the mountains of comfort and with the glory of God. Not that His glory isn't down in the valleys too, but it's definitely harder to recognize as we're distracted by the trials and despair surrounding us. But, its how we live in the valleys that defines us. Thats where we are tested and strengthened, trained so-to-speak, to be able to climb back up to the mountain to rejoice in the Lord.

10. For the rest of the week, we will be working at an adoption center, mostly with baby girls who have been thrown out. Girls bring families a big financial burden with the institution of paying dowries still around and many are unwanted and throw out from the very beginning of their small lives. I'm praying for strength of heart as I hold these so deserving but unloved babies.

I appreciate your prayers so much. This has been such a challenging journey with many, many tears but I know that I'm being molded with eternal outcomes!

Love and miss you all!

Blessings,

Britt :)

Lice for the sake of LOVE ♥

Lice.

Makes your skin crawl doesn't it? You're probly even scratching your head now as you're reading. Don't lie!! I know you are!! ;-) Well, last week we began a new ministry and met with the pastor that oversees it on Monday morning. It was kinda like our kick-off for our week working with his ministry and he explained how it worked and his heart for it and the vision behind it. Unfortunately, he started it off by telling us that we might get lice in the course of the week due to the nature of the people we would be working with. Kick-off?? More like kicking us while we're down!! Who the hecks gets excited about a place and people that will give us lice??

He went on to explain we would be working with gypsy children. They live in camps on the outskirts of villages. They catch their food: lizards, squirrels, snakes, cats, birds...Yeah, you get the idea. They live in tents, never bathe, are scantily clothed and their teeth look like those fake sets you buy for your halloween costume. They make and sell jewelry for a living (which happens to be beautiful!) and on top of that, send out their children in the evening to beg for food and money at the nearby bus and train stations. They don't even speak Tamil, the language most commonly used in the part of India where we are staying; they have their own gypsy language. You've heard about the unjust and horrible caste system of India, where the lowest are treated like scum of the earth? Well, gypsies are considered so low, they aren't even included in that system. The lowest caste here, even in their own shame and poverty, would turn and look down and reject the gypsies.

So, when we arrived at the Hope Centre, we were not to excited. The Hope Centre is a ministry where the gypsy kids come and are bathed and fed, given lessons on English, Tamil, the Bible, hygiene and manners. They get their clothes washed, their teeth brushed, their nails clipped and ultimately they are loved on and accepted in a culture and country where no one else will give them the time of day. As we met these kids for the first time, I sat hesitantly. They were so dirty and I was just imagining the germs!! I was thinking, " I need to go over and say hi, give that boy a high five, sit with that girl..." but then couldn't make myself move because of this irrational fear. But slowly it happened.....I remembered Jesus and got over myself. And then I fell in love with beautiful and sweet and full of life children who just need attention and affection and the light of Jesus shining on them.

I thought about the people Jesus hung out with in his days. The rejects, the outcasts, the lepers, the sick and broken, the poor and needy. He might have even been just as dirty as these children and he probly had lice a time or two in his day. Those things would never even cross his mind because and saw and understood their true need. And so, I opened myself up to give all of me and love these kids as much as I could in a week, praying God could help them to remember the people that came and played with them, held them, bathed them, played with them, prayed for them and that they would somehow understand that it was Jesus in us.

That week with the gypsy kids has now become my favorite week and ministry since being in India and I don't see how its gonna get topped. I miss them, especially my precious beautiful little Nandalah. I wonder how many times in my life, I miss out on joy because I miss that heart of Jesus. I want to keep learning this lesson over and over, even if it means I get lice.

Which, by the way...I never did! :)

Also...Sorry that I went picture crazy below but...I wanted you to understand just how beautiful and wonderful these children actually were!!! Annnnd, you can probly figure out who my favorite, little Nandalah is..... Enjoy! :)

A Comfortable Kind of Worship

I'm sitting in church on a plastic lawn chair. My feet our bare. I have a shawl covering my hair as I sit with only women. My feet are resting on a hard, uneven and rough cement floor, with large rocks sticking up here and there, tripping my feet in discomfort. I'm sitting in a small brick building with large open windows, created as an attempt to provide air flow. There are now seats, only thin straw mats that might pad the prodding of the sharp protruding rocks...maybe.

The weather is a brisk high-nineties temperature. If not already at a hundred, it makes it there when you add in the 90% morning humidity. In other words, I'm dripping in sweat, everywhere & always! This church I'm sitting in is in the middle of no where, only accessible my a very primitive dirt road, as it is very much 'off the beaten path' of the city. In spite of all these conditions, I'm also sitting in the midst of close to sixty Indian people, fervently worshipping God in pure abandonment.

They sing for almost an hour, with no great church band setting the worshipful atmosphere. There is no great sound system producing their ultimate worship experience for the morning, just the percussion of their own hands and their voices lifted loud in praise. In the quieter moments (which a few and far between!), you can hear the clear, high-pitched sound of children's voices, worshipping right along. As you can imagine, there is no luxury of children's church available for these kids. But you know what? They don't seem to mind and they're certainly not bored. They're actually praising and singing right along. They're dancing and jumping, not caring who might be watching. In fact if you broaden the lens of your telescopic view on these children and pan around, they are actually ALL worshipping in this child-like abandonment, without a care. They don't let all the factors previously described distract tem, discourage them of prevent them from woshipping with their everything. Who knows how many miles they have walked, many of them barefoot, to attend church? That is, to attend a church with no A/C, no seats, no sound system, no worship band, no welcome committee, no ABF snacks...no comfort. But, they walk to attend chuch, where they can worship corporately, where they receive the word of God, where they receive encouragement for their upcoming week, a week most likely to be filled with trials and tribulations. See, I forgot to mention that this is also a persecuted church, persecuted in the sense that their church building was burned down as an act of hatred against them. So, they come for encouragement: to stand strong in their Christian faith when they live in a country of Hindus; to not fear the rejection that comes when you try to be a light in a land where living in the dark is the more desirable norm.

Talk about a heart check, an attitude adjustment. Don't get me wrong! I LOVE my church just as it is! I love its A/C in the summer and heat in the winter, its padded seats, the nearly professional and passionate worship team that leads me before the throne of God and the superb sound system that transforms my listening experience, to as if I was listening to a fully mastered CD. I love and appreciate all those things and I'm thankful that the Lord has blessed my church in these ways. But, it does make me wonder.

I wonder if I would still be as apt to show up to church and participate and worship passionately if there was no A/C...and I knew that ahead of time. And I wonder, if I knew ahead of time (OK, for the purpose of my illustration, just go with this next made-up scenario!) that the church was reupholstering all the chairs and there had been a scheduling conflict and they weren't going to back in time for the Sunday morning experience AND that, that same week all the bleachers broke...but church was still on...Would I still come? (If I wasn't already scheduled to sing!) OR, would I wave my 'Get out of Sunday Free- You deserve it, you go alot!' card? OR, would I still go, but with a bad attitude consuming my heart and mind the whole way to church, during church and on the way home from church?

Would I sing just as loudly if I was sitting Indian-style ( I now understand that term...they sit, in India...Indian-style? Get it?! WahWAAAH!), on a hard and bare floor with my backside going numb? How about if I had to ride to church, traveling five miles on a Tucson-summer-Sunday, adding in the humidity of Chennai?! If I was a true worshipper then, yes, but knowing me, I'd be peeved and moody and, oh yeah...dripping in sweat.

Before I came to this realization, as I was sitting in the middle of a service, visiting this persecuted Indian church...I was not demonstrating that heart of true worship. Actually, I was that peeved, moody and sweaty worshipper ( which is how I knew that, knowing me, I would be that from my last illustration! :>)

So, now I have four more Sundays here. That's four more opportunities to transform my worshipping heart, to be tested till its true.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Ps. 139: 23-24

The beautiful faces of a persecuted church...

Welcome to Chennai! Let me show you Around!!

Hey All!!

There is SO much going on...some hard, some easy, some discouraging, and some heart-warming...I guess that could pretty much sum up life in general though, huh?! :) I will try and crank out some more stories soon but Matt and I got to take a long walk together (which was a nice and refreshing break from the constant group environment and doing ministry) and I took some pics along the way so....hope you can imagine what we are experiencing here...just add a really foul stench hitting your nostrils every other five feet that you walk, a high percentage of humidity resulting in sweat rolling down your, well, EVERYTHING, and you will be all set!! :)

Love you all! Thanks for your prayers!

Blessings,

Britt :)

Hot, Humid, Stubbly (Matt, obviously!), and with No make-up (Me!) but happy to be enjoying this unique opportunity of serving God together!

Our favorite neighborhood dog Spike (he's actually the local temple dog) followed us all the way to the corner market and sat out on the steps waiting for us, until he was shoo-ed away by the owner. He is getting lots of love and attention from our entire outreach team. He's even clever enough to sit and wait on the steps up to our host home so that he gets petted by every single person on their way up!

Beauty saloon, hey?! I'll take a strawberry margarita then while I wait to get my hair did! ;-)

All of the cars have been decorated for a Hindu festival that just started on Sunday. They are worshipping everything that man has created that brings them money.

Some sort of Hindu religious symbol. These are drawn all over the place and are a constant reminder of how lost the people of India are.

There is such immense poverty everywhere. I feel like I am living on a different planet.

Beautiful colors are everywhere! The ladies wear such colorful and vibrant clothing.

They LOVE all of us white people! We are like celebrities, being waved at all the time as we drive and many of them can communicate with at least a lit bit of English.

Typical scene on the sides of the road...dogs, cows and goats roam free and feed in the many sources of trash.

Definitely NOT my favorites!! There are birds everywhere and they were so kind to poop all over our freshly laundered clothes that were hanging on the roof to dry!

These ladies have mad carrying skills! I dont think I will be attempting!

These girls saw the camera I was swinging around and walked up to ask if we would take their picture. It got a little awkward when I tried to join them...that's the closest they would get! :)

Boats...on beach...Duh! ;)

These precious kids wanted our empty bottles and then noticed our camera and of course wanted some pics too! They are SO beautiful!

They called for this other girl to come and get her picture taken too. Matt gave the little boy some sorta rupee and they ran off. We left too and then a few minutes later, we turned around to see probly 8 more kids following after us!! Word gets around when it comes to free rupees!!

Don't wave @ strange ladies....they WILL find you!

Okay...first pretty funny story I have to tell. I'm not sure though how successful my audience laughing factor will be because, it might be one of those you-had-to-be-there kinda ones...but I'm gonna try my best!

So, we have spent two days now in Chennai, mostly resting, catching up on the time difference, adjusting to the humidity and spicy Indian food (way weird, but I've actually started craving yogurt and cheese...ooooh and cottage cheese..mmm).

Monday we spent a lot of time in our room with the A/C and watched a movie but after it was done some of us went out on the front porch that overlooks the street, from a couple stories up. We were just observing the people: how they were dressed, their different modes of transportation. They all drive so close to each other and there is a ton of honking to signify that someone would be passing and it just looks like a big pile-up waiting to happen. A lot of them drive on these motor bikes that are called 'scooty's' and the person on the back is riding sideways and barely holding on and every now and then, one will come by with a little kid up in the front, no helmet, nothing strapping them in and I feel the anxiety building up in me! Its stressful just to watch! We were up so high that no one was really seeing us or making eye contact. A few girls spotted us and then proceeded to stare at us the entire time they were in walking distance of us. And then a little later, this little old lady who was slighty hobbling stopped right beneath us, just staring up at us. The poor thing looked like one of her eyes no longer worked, from the coloring of it and she was very, very old. Kinda scary looking if I can just be honest. So we waved at her, and this is where it all went down hill

She starts motioning us to come down and were just trying to politely wave and nod our heads to say no. And she just keeps doing it. So slowly, our four girls turns to two as the other ones got nervous and went inside. My fellow student Dena, from Switzerland tries to call down in her pretty little voice," Um, do you sveak Englesh??" That would be a no. By now, she looks like she is starting to cry and rub her eyes and we didn't know how to respond to her so we just waved and went back inside. Alisson, who is probly one of my best friends on this DTS was really freaked out and we were joking about it. I asked her, "What would you do if we turned around and she was standing right in the doorway?" "I would freak out and run back to the bedroom and probly hide in the bathroom." And we were just lauging away.

Not THIRTY SECONDS later, I turn around........and there she is!!! Duh-Duhh-DUHHH! I couldnt even say anything, I was so nervous! I thought that maybe she was mad that we were waving at her and wouldnt come down so she came up to get us, to see us herself. And then, she just walks right in and just rambling to us in whatever Indian language she speaks, and stops right in front of us staring at us. Of course all of the homeowners and residents who would actually know what she was saying and how to handle the situation were M.I.A. Finally, I found someone and she started talking to her.

Turns out, she was actually the nanny of this family that we are staying with for many, many years and she still stops in whenever she pleases. Jokes on us! Im not sure if I can accurately describe the fear that we had, not legitimate 'were gonna die' fear...but just the silly kind where you are so scared that you can't stop laughing......Uhhhh...last time I wave at someone from the front porch. At least not in a culture where the front door is always open, and where anyone can just show up and pop in! YIKES!! :)

Punjabis, Here I Come!

So.

My countdown to Outreach is over! I have survived DTS, I have packed up my belongings, selected six t-shirts (along with a few other clothing items, obviously! But not that many more!!) and will be heading to Chennai, India at five am tomorrow! My life will drastically change in t-minus five hours and I have no idea what to expect...ACCEPT...that God is gonna rock my world and I will probly never be the same! I've already learned that when you sing sincerely with all your heart things like, "Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you have loved me. Break my heart for what breaks yours..." He WILL do it! So......sing with caution! :)

Ok, even though I don't really know what to expect about these upcoming months, I do know one thing: the Indian Pujabi will become my daily clothing choice. Check it out:


Mine probly will not even be that nice or colorful but, one can always hope! I will be sure to post some real pics once I start sportin' mine!

Anyway! I just wanted to give you a little idea of how we have already been sooo blessed and our trip hasn't even begun. We will be staying with a local pastor and his family and compared many others in this area, will be living luxury! We will have: filtered water! laundry facilities! internet! AIR CONDITIONING (home & transpo)! regular shower opportunities & with HOT water! :)
All of these blessing will really allow us to go out each day, hopefully refreshed and filled up so face some of the heart-breaking conditions of the rest of this city.

Here are things we would love prayer for:
1. Safe travels!! We fly to Singapore first and then on to Chennai.

2. Quick adjustment to the time
3. Avoidance of Traveler's sickness (some of us especially have already been fighting bad allergies and head colds so praying these dont progress into something worse after traveling)

4. UNITY!!! We had a difficult time in the beginning connecting and coming together, but had a few 'family talks' and were able to work out some big issues. Please pray the Lord continues to draw our hearts together in EXCITEMENT & ANTICIPATION for the things He's gonna do!

5. Patience! Although were blessed with more extravagant-than-usual living arrangements, we will be rather cramped...So, perhaps then I should include respect for others since a lack of that5 is what usually tests our patience ;-)

6. COMPLETE DEPENDENCE ON GOD (no explanation needed!)

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement up to this point. This is where the rubber meets the road though, and all those things Ive been working through in the past three months, all the stretching God has been doing, start to become worth it!

I will continue to keep you updated on this portion of the journey as up until now has been a lot of personal growth and inner adjustments. Starting now begins the part of me going and living for the Kingdom, shining His light to the darkness and extending myself on behalf of Jesus and you who have sent me here, through your financial support, your prayer support and your love and encouragement. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and please keep it coming!

I love and miss you all!
Almost done in Australia,
-Britt :)