The Kingdom and a Ring

So last month (woah is it really March already?) I was able to take two short trips, one to New Delhi, and one to Nepal.

Beautiful Kalimpong

It was so nice to get away from Kalimpong for a little while. Kalimpong has really everything one could want or need, but it is still a little hill town, where everyone knows everyone, so it was great to get to eat some KFC, McDonalds, and Costa Coffee, do a little shopping, and just get a change of pace.

Sweet Babies

I was also able to spend a few short days at Asha House. I would have loved to spend more time there, but I spent as much time as I could fit into the schedule. Things are a little different at Asha House when you come as an old friend just popping in and not as part of a long anticipated team. I think you get a better picture of the real everyday Asha House. Even at a place as special as Asha House there are still days of drudgery: the days at the end of the school term when the kids are ready for a break but instead need to study for exams, when the diapers and laundry pile high, when there is another 70+ servings of rice and dhal to prepare, when life just moves slowly on. It was a good reminder to me that life is still life even when you are living the "dream" and fulfilling your vision. God has been showing me a lot about that these months. This just confirmed that there is something beautiful in doing what you were made to do, but there are still those days and seasons where everything doesn't sparkle and shimmer with meaning, where the days get dull and need a little elbow grease and trust to shine again.

Ready for Lunch

The couple who started and run Asha House are expecting a baby this summer. They have been trying to get pregnant unsuccessfully since they were married 8 years ago. We are all so excited but holding our breath. She has doctor's orders to be on bed-rest until delivery partly because of the delicate nature of this pregnancy and also because she has been having really bad morning-sickness (actually all-day-sickness). When I was there it got so bad that she spent the night in the hospital. She is doing much better now after getting on new nausea medicine. Her days are especially dull because she is pretty much confined to bed, and doesn't even find enjoyment in eating because of the nausea. Please keep both her and the baby in your prayers.

Rachel in 2009

I try my hardest not to have favorites and to spend the same amount attention on each child, but I definitely have a special connection to a little girl I will call Rachel. In 2009 when I first met her she was a tiny shy three year old, who had never known the love and attention of a functional family. Before she came to Asha House she and her siblings lived with their mother who worked in a brothel. In 2009 I helped teach her and four other little ones their "ABC's" and "123's." She was reserved and had a sadness in her eyes. During "school" she really had a hard time focusing and barely could hold a pencil. By the time I left she could write her name. I look back and see this as one of the most precious things in my life. Another one of these moments was in 2011 when I was back at Asha House. This little girl who I taught to write her name and who didn't know how to give or even receive love when she first arrived at Asha House came up behind me surprising me with a hug and the words "Aunty, you are my Aunty. I am loving you so much!" I was blown away by this outward sign of affection from a little girl who had been so reserved just 2 years back.

Leaving Asha House in 2011

During this most recent visit to Asha House I had another one of those moments  I was just hanging out in the girls room while they were getting ready for bed. I was leaving back to Kalimpong the next morning so I was trying to make sure that I spent quality time with as many of the girls as possible. I was sitting on the cement floor discussing the movie "Titanic" with the older girls who had just seen it, and over comes Rachel, who I affectionately call "miro chuha" (my mouse). She brought with her a little plastic blue ring, and showed it to me explaining that it was one of her Christmas presents. Rachel put it on my pinkie finger, the only one of my fingers it would fit on. I admired it and oohed and aahed that she should receive such a wonderful Christmas gift. I am not sure if you have even been to a children's home or an orphanage, but typically the children who live there don't have very many possessions of their own. Especially in India where community is the way that society functions, all possessions are shared among the group. When a little girl gets something pretty of her own it is quite a special thing.

The Best Gift

When I got up to say "good-night" I gave Rachel her ring back, thanked her for showing it to me, and told her that it was such a nice gift. Again she surprised me and said that I should keep it. What?!?! How could I take this token from this precious girl who has so little? Why would she want me to have it? Once she was tucked into her bed I tried to give it back to her again; her response was "take it Aunty, I want to love you." I don't think that there has ever been a moment to top this one. To be loved like this, to be presented with a gift such as this, from a little girl who has such a hard life at six years old, what a treasure! So much love in this tiny plastic ring. Every time I think about it it brings me to tears. Next to salvation and the love of God, the love that "miro chuha" keeps surprising me with is the best gift I have ever received.

Rachel at the beginning of 2012, picture courtesy of Andres Valenzuela

I want to love with this kind of selfless love, a love that gives generously even when it has nothing in the world's eyes. To be challenged to love by an orphan is such a humbling picture of the Kingdom coming.

"behold, the kingdom of god is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21b) 

Reminiscing

Thinking over the past year there have been so many wonderful things that the Lord has done!

First of all the Lord has been so faithful to provide for all of my needs through so many different ways. It has been so amazing to see his faithfulness over and over again.

A little over a year ago I came back from spending two months at Asha House and jumped into working with Back To The Roots. I got to see Asha House move to a new location last December, which I got to see with my own eyes when I came to visit in September. They have SO much more room inside and a huge yard to play in!

New Asha House

Over the past year three babies (Leah, Ashish, and Akash) were born, and three new children (Harsh, Milent, and Rekha) joined the Asha Family. Also just a few months ago we found out that Simini, who has not been able to get pregnant for the past eight years, is now expecting!!!!

Baby Ashish - his name means "blessing"

New sewing machines and a generator were purchased because of the generosity of amazing people. The sewing machines enable the older girls to learn tailoring, which is a trade they can work in after the finish school. The generator ensures that Asha House can get power when there are power outages. This is particularly important during the summer to keep the fans working to keep the babies from overheating.

New Sewing Machine

This year Jyoti was able to go to school for the first time. Her medical condition has gotten much better, but there is still scarring in her brain. Keep praying for her healing.

Jyoti is going to school and loosing teeth 

During the spring and summer I got to nanny for Christy and her son Gui-Gui. Christy brought Gui-Gui home from China after adopting him when he was 18mths old. Now he is a precocious 5 year old who is still learning Chinese, likes to ride his bike, and hunt for dragons and insects. My days with this little guy were filled with so much light and fun.

I also got to visit with my friend Jessica Paulraj, her husband Raja, and their sweet son Adam this summer. They were in NC from India to facilitate surgeries for baby Adam who was born with many birth defects. Jessica and Adam adopted Adam soon after he was born and abandoned. His precocious life is such a testimony of grace, hope, and love. Visit Jessica's Blog to learn more about Adam's story.

In September I got to bring five ladies (Tiffany, Chrissy, Phadrea, Julia, and Lauren) with me to see my Asha Family. We also got to go up to Uttarkashi and work at a school there with Jules and Arpan Mani. This was quite an experience to be able to facilitate all of us six ladies getting around India. Each one of these ladies had such a precious heart to serve the people of India. It was such an honor to travel and serve with them.

The ladies and I at the HIM head office in Mussorie

Fun Time at Asha House

Little Mathematicians in the Making 

Now since October I have been in Kalimpong. I am teaching Manju and Jeewan Loy in the mornings (btw Jeewan Loy is now reading!) and taking Nepali lessons in the afternoons. I have been so blessed with so many friends and good people around me. There are quite a number of foreign families living near by with whom we share life with and who enrich the everyday. 

Learning Nepali Alphabet
 "ka" "kah" "ga" "gah" "unga"

Manju at her desk

Jeewan Loy telling me about the picture he drew of baby Jesus

Reminiscing on the good things the Lord has brought to my life this year I have noticed the theme of adoption. So many children who have been adopted, chosen into their families, have touched my life over this past year. It gets me thinking about how God has chosen and adopted me. It is so humbling and wonderful to remember that I was just a hopeless mess before God chose me. God picked me up out of my mess and choose to make me something beautiful. He know exactly who He made me to be and is teaching me like a father to listen to Him, trust Him, and believe that He truly is working things together for my good. I am excited to see what God has for this year ahead, and how God might continue to weave this thread of adoption through my journey here on earth. 

Mountains and Sunlight

Jyoti-Tiger

The first day we visited Asha House we met all the kids. We played games with them and sang songs until we worn our selves out. My first memory of Jyoti is from that day. We both were sitting on the floor against the wall in the church room. I motioned for her to come to me, but she looked at me shyly. I scooped her up and plopped her on my lap.  She acted very timidly but began to warm up to me. She counted her toes and fingers in English and told me the English name for the colors on the clothes she was wearing. "ret, grean, bloo...won, do, tree..."  We sat there together for a long enough time that she fell asleep in my lap. Once she did I began to pray for her. I didn't know anything about her except her name, but I prayed for her to grow up to love God, for her to find a godly husband one day... and for healing.

After lunch that day all 11 of our team squeezed on to the 5x5 floor of the boys room at Asha House. Victor, the director of Asha House, was out of town but we were introduced to Simini, his wife. She told us the story about how Asha House came into existence (which I will tell you all another day). She also told us the stories of some of the kids. The one that stuck out to me that days was Joyti's: She has a older brother and a twin brother, neither of which live at Asha House. When she was a baby her father ran away with another woman and left her mother and to take care of the kids. This is an every day occurrence in the US, but in India there are very few options for single women and no good options for women who have been left my their husbands. Joyti's mother probably sold herself to make money to feed her children, until a man came to live with her. We are not sure about the sort of relationship they had, but it wasn't a good one. Jyoti ended up watching this man murder her mother. Her father came and took the twin brother away, leaving Jyoti and her older brother to beg on the streets.

A pastor in the slums found Jyoti and brought her to Asha House. She was very shy and reserved, especially towards white people (this is pretty common in new kids, because most of them have never seen white people).  Jyoti began to get very ill and Victor and Simini took her to the hospital. They found out that she has worms in her brain, that developed because when she live on the streets she had to eat dirt and whatever else she and her brother could find to stay alive.  She is being treated with a medicine and regular visits to the doctor. The worms should be gone in a few months from now. You can still be praying that she will be fully healed. I had no idea about this when I prayed healing over her sweet little sleeping body.

Victor, Simini and the rest of us were very concerned that Jyoti's condition would affect her ability to learn.  It hasn't! She is one of the brightest children at Asha House. During the time we were there she mastered writing her name, the upper and lower-case English alphabet, colors, numbers 1-20, months of the year, days of the week, and the names of fruits and animals. All of the younger kids got "animal names" to help them learn the English and Hindi names for animals. Jyoti is the tiger.  We would tell her "tiger bolo" (bolo means "say"), and she would make the cutest little raspy growling noise.  The only thing she has a hard time remembering is she life before Asha House...and for her, that is a huge  blessing.

Jyoti's name means "light." She truly embodies light coming out of darkness. This really stuck out to me one Sunday during church. We were worshiping and the Hindi speakers were singing a song in Hindi. We can't all fit in the church-room, so the younger kids sit on mats just outside the door. You can't see them, but as we were singing I was listening and could pick out Jyoti's sweet little voice. She was singing with all her might. It brings me to tears when I think about she singing because it is such an example of how God works all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), and how He turns darkness into light (Isaiah 42:16).              
(the last four pictures were taken by various teammates, only the first one is mine)


                 

Asha House

Asha House is where we spent most of our ministry time. We would end up working here twice a week and then come back for church on Sunday. Asha House is a children's home that takes care of 35 children in ages ranging from two to sixteen. Some of the children there are what they call "true orphans" and have no parents at all, other children have parents but their parents cannot provide for them.

All of these kids are fed three meals and bathed daily. They are loved, prayed for, and taught about Jesus and how to serve him. The older half of the kids are sent to school during the day. Education is a huge thing in India. It can be expensive to send kids to school but education is the only way to better yourself. Without Asha House these kids would not get access to school.

When we were there we worked with the younger kids when the older ones were at school, helping to prepare them to take their exams to get into school. We taught them English, math, and things like the days of the week and months of the year. They loved to play this hand-game where you get in a circle and go around, saying either the months or the alphabet, touch the hand of the person to your left. The object is to not get your hand touched when we get to "December" or "z" (like the British they say "zed"), if you do then you are out and the game starts all over again.

Around 1pm is lunch time. Before lunch is served the kids all have to wash their dishes and hands at the hand pump. We would help pump water for them. This was one of my favorite things to do because they would all say "good afternoon Auntie" and when they were done they would say "tank you Auntie." They eat in the "Church Room", which is also where we had school. It is really the "Everything Room." Like good Indians all of the kids eat with their hands. At first you might think it is easier to eat rice with a fork or spoon but hands are really the way to go. These kids can consume a huge amount of rice. After lunch the kids all have bloated bellies because they are filled to the top with rice. They sometimes look like they might pop. They are so cute.

After we have lunch there is some play time and then the older kids work on homework and the younger ones take naps. We could either help the older kids or nap with the little ones. I loved to nap. It was a sweet time to snuggle with and pray over them.

We would leave around 3pm to make the hour long trek back to our house in Pochenpur.