Whole Hearts

Lately, I've been reading this really great book called "Waking the Dead" written by John Eldredge. It's a great book and I encourage all to read it for yourself. I stumbled across a paragraph that I felt was very relevant and just thought I'd share. It goes something like this:

"How would you live differently if you believed your heart was the treasure of the kingdom? Because we are at war, the business of guarding the heart is a most serious business indeed. It is precisely because we do not know what the next turn of the page will bring that we nourish our hearts now, knowing at least this much: we will need out whole hearts for whatever is coming next. Above all else, you must care for your heart. For without your heart....well, have a look around"

Something else I would like to bring your attention to is a great opportunity for anyone who is a Francine Rivers fan to win some really great prizes. just go to this link: http://tyndale.com/blog/?p=1042. Although I'd be really happy if you didn't enter because I would like to win. =)

Krista, Aidan, and Nora left today. It's different with them gone. It's quiet, very quiet. I'm going to miss them, but I'm so glad they got to come and visit for awhile.

A Little Too Rested

While in Durgapur, we got a lot of rest and relaxation, but by the end of our stay I felt a little too rested and was ready to get back into doing full day ministry. In the afternoons in Durgapur we played with the children at the compound. We had a lot of fun times with them.

A Few of My Favorite Things

The next location we went to was Durgapur. We stayed in a very lovely and comfortable compound. It was quite opposite from what we had just experienced in Calcutta. One of my favorite things about staying in the compound was the abundance of flower gardens. There were flowers blooming everywhere and they were so beautiful. Here are a few I found especially captivating:

We didn't do a whole lot of ministry in Durgapur, but one of the days we were there we got to hang out with a group of children while they waited to be seen at a medical clinic. It was such a fun day and I loved playing with the kids. They were all so sweet. 

One Happy Family

So, my sister and her children are in town and it's really wonderful to see them all after such a long time. It's amazing how much they have changed in just 6 months. Aidan is so grown up and has an enormous vocabulary. Nora smiles all the time and she is the most delightful baby.

No Place to Call Home

These beautiful children call the streets home. They have no where to lay at night expect under a little tiny tarp on the the side of the road. I know. I visited. They took me to their "home". I got the wonderful opportunity to hang out with these street kids of Calcutta. One of the ministries we worked with in Calcutta takes in these street kids every morning. It's a safe place for them to go where they can brush their teeth, shower, and eat food. We got to play with them and it was one of the best days I had on outreach. Just holding these precious children and laughing with them filled me with so much joy. They probably touched my life more than I did theirs. 

Polo Pillow

While being away for 5 1/2 months I desperately missed my sewing machine and making crafts. I'm pleased to say I've started up again in full swing. I found an old polo in my closet that was getting small and I thought would look much better as a pillow. However the pillow needed something else so I used a t-shirt to make flowers to spiff it up. Here it is:

A pretty good use of the polo I think

A close-up

How it looks on my bed. I love it!

This was so much fun and easy to make. I'm so glad I did. 

A Broken Heart

While I was in Calcutta, India I got the opportunity to minister to women in the red light district. This is an incredible ministry that is definitely not for the faint-hearted. The things I saw in the district broke my heart and I was so moved with compassion for these lost people. When I walked into the area, I was surrounded by tiny rooms that the women live in. In the rooms there is a bed, a few of their belongings, and basically no room to stand. It's dark. As soon as I walked into the district, I felt an immediate heaviness and oppression of darkness. I looked into the faces of these broken women and saw fear, hopelessness, and pain. Everything in me cried out to do something right away for them. Everything in me wanted to take them all away and give them a new life, but all I could do in that moment is pray. The stories of these women are sad. I met a very sweet lady who after just a short time I felt such a connection to. We seemed like best of friends, and we couldn't even speak the same language. When she was a young girl her family sold her into prostitution and she has been living this life of sorrow ever since. This is not an uncommon story in India. She is just one of the many that experience this very same tragedy. I'm going to end this post with a poem that God gave me a couple years ago. It changed my heart.

Slaves in Our Midst

Sad eyes

The lies

The pain

The stain

Anguish so deep 

A hurt so steep

The darkness surrounding 

A heart that's pounding

Into slavery she's sold

Without any hope to hold

Groping for escape

And only finding rape

No where to turn

Except to hands so stern

The fears

The tears

Used 

Abused

No one to trust

Destroyed by man's lust

Searching for a way

So she won't have to stay

Bound in her chains

Where love never reigns

Filled with such shame

Wanting to forget her name

And who's going to fight

For her to be exposed to the light

For her heart to be set free

So she can finally see

What's it going to take to stop,

To find a way to the top

To end the trade

So it won't be a raid

Of an innocent heart

What's going to be your part?

Are you going to ignore

The life that is torn?

Or are you going to stand

And cry for all in the land?

Are you going to choose

Not to let her lose

The battle she fights

Where she has no rights?

Revolutionize

So others will rise

To help break the ties

So true love will be spread

Out of her bondage she'll be led

So please don't pretend

That there aren't hearts to mend

She's crying

She's trying

Her tears are streaming

While her voice is screaming

For someone to help

It's Just the Beginning

I'll start this post with stating the facts: I've been a terrible blogger thus far. However, in my defense, I have been in India for the past two months. It was a life-changing trip and I have so many stories, both heartbreaking and happy. I'm going to share these stories over time on this blog.

My friend Amanda and I are all ready to start our adventure in India.

The first location we arrived to was Chennai, where we rested  and adjusted to the time difference and pick out our punjabis that we would be wearing for the next 2 months. We went to a huge mall that had thousands of different punjabis for us to choose from. It was all a bit overwhelming.

Amanda and I at the mall with our bags of punjabis

It was so exciting to get new punjabis and I even thought wearing them would be fun, but after about a week I realized I had fooled myself.

After getting past jet-lag, we took a flight to Calcutta. We arrived late at night and took taxis to our hotel, which was our home for the next 2 weeks. We were all in shock when we arrived and saw where we would be living. It was a very dirty hotel with rock hard beds, and it was not uncommon the see a family of rats run by.There were more girls than beds in the room, so I volunteered to share and spent  very uncomfortable nights on a smaller than twin size bed with Amanda. Despite the conditions and circumstances, Calcutta was my very favorite city we stayed in. The ministry we had the opportunity of being a part of was amazing. Among our team we were split into different groups working with different ministries in Calcutta. Some worked with kids with addictions, street kids, HIV/AIDS hospice patients, and I got the opportunity to minister to women in the red light district and also street kids. It was such a wonderful opportunity and my heart was broken for these beautiful people of India. Within the next few days and weeks I will begin to share the stories of the people I met and how they changed my life. 

A Thompson Photography