A Little Goes a Long Ways

It was an ordinary day at work, but precious moments usually come in simple packages...

If you haven't heard, I am going to Italy and Greece at the very beginning of August with Word Outreach Center. I haven't been out of the US for more than a year and I am really excited just to leave again. It is also thrilling to me to be able to experience a different continent and culture than South Asia. I am looking forward to seeing the differences and similarities in those who believe and follow Christ Jesus in Italy compared to those in India. There is also an anticipation of God radically changing my perspective once again, aligning it closer to him and his heart with this new experience. 

God's heart from before the beginning of time has been for family and for relationship. Over the past two years the Lord has been growing my heart for Godly family. This desire to help families has definitely been furthered by my experience helping Lindy last year in India, and is currently being fostered as I am providing child-care for another single mom here in the US who has two precious boys adopted from China.

In Naples, Italy we will be assisting with a family camp that is being run by an organization called Christ is the Answer. Then we will be going to a little town called Quaglietta in Italy to help with a youth camp. After that we will going to Athens, Greece to visit a ministry that is focused on loving refugees from Iran and Iraq, both Muslim countries closed to the gospel. Many of these refugees are coming to know and follow Jesus! This is the location that I am most excited to visit. I am thrilled to meet former Muslims who are now devoted to Jesus Christ. Getting to reach out and love on Muslim refugees is also something I am really looking forward to. 

This trip to Europe, though it is not something that I have done before, is developing into something just up my alley, as we will be pouring into families, teens, and people displaced from their birth countries. I am filled with more and more anticipation for what God is going to do with our short time there.

A few weeks ago I was staring to get a little stressed about this trip. If I was going to India, the trip would be cheaper and people would be more willing to give (at least that is what I feel). I am sure there are people who are thinking "why Italy?" and "is she just going on vacation?" Don't worry, I have been assured that there will be plenty of insects in Quaglietta and there might even be "squatty-potties." So if a missions trip has to include these two things to actually be legit, then this one is covered.

I have been saving some funds on my own for this trip, but I still need quite a bit to be donated. When I started stressing about this I was reminded of a precious moment of provision:

It was a normal morning at work: arrive at 8, help get boys breakfast, keep them busy, take them to the pool, and keep them from killing each other until their mom is finished working (these boys are really good, but that doesn't stop the "brother-dynamic"). I think this morning I was trying to get the little one to clean up his toys or put his shoes on. I felt the seven-year-old come behind me a shove something in my pocket. I was distracted with helping the two-year-old follow through with obedience, and didn't immediately check out what had been stuffed in my pocket. Later I pulled out a $5 bill, and asked the seven-year-old "what is this for?" He told me it is for my trip to California. :) I asked him if he meant Italy, and he said "oh yeah, Italy." Same thing, right?

This sweet gesture of generosity blew me away on multiple levels. First of all this seven-year-old had been getting a little obsessed with his money; dumping out his piggie-bank and counting it all the time, then bragging when he got more. Both his mother and I talked to him about different people who have been ruined by their greed. Apparently he took what we had to say and took an active step to change his tune from greed to generosity. It is always a precious thing when kids really get what you are trying to teach them... magical moments. Secondly this quiet generosity reminded me and continues to remind me that the Lord provides, especially through tiny gifts from unexpected places.

I have been really challenged to trust that the Lord knows my needs (even better than I do) and that he is actively moving to provide for them. Listening to a podcast from Bethel Church I was blown away by something Bill Johnson said, "once we have experienced supernatural provision, we have lost the right to begin any thought process with what we don't have." I have seen the Lord provide in so so SO many ways, for myself and tons of other people. If I begin my thoughts with "I don't have enough of..." then I am not trusting the Lord and that he has all my needs covered. I am going to choose to change my tune from worry and whining to gratefulness and joy, then watch the Lord do what he does best...come through in miraculous ways.




If you want to donate to this trip, follow this link: http://worldoutreachcommunity.org/short-term-missionaries.html 

Good Things

The Lord has been highlighting his goodness... underlining and emboldening it. 

Everyone goes through hard seasons and seasons of fullness. In those hard times it can be so hard to see the goodness of The Lord hidden among all the thorns and rocks. It is present, but we can't feel it. In those full seasons of relative ease, it is so common to forget that the goodness around us exists and is from The Lord. It is present, but we take it for-granted and don't value it. 

I have been reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. (I know. I was pretty late to jump on that band wagon.) If you haven't read the book Ann talks about being given the challenge to list one thousand things she is thankful for. Through the process of this challenge she discovered how thankfulness can infuse our lives with fresh breath and vibrence. She stumbled on the fact that we are made to be close to God and as we acknowledge his presence through gratefulness for the goodness that he has already placed in our lives the simple goodness refracted and magnified to glorious abundance. It is our duty (not obligation) and our joy to live in thankfulness. 

Here is a quote that really struck me:

"I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for the early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives."

Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

I want to see the wounds of the world and the wounds in my heart be healed. Thankfulness is a key to that. I have seen and felt healing in my own heart as I have begun to follow Ann down this path of gratefulness. Thankfulness is like the rock that God told Moses to strike in the dessert. Though it might not seem logical in our human understanding, thanksgiving is where the living waters of joy and healing come flowing from. 

It has been my irrational fear that somehow I will reach the end of God, or at least use up my allotted portion of him. I fear that I will run out of things to discover about him, that I will reach the end of his love, the end of his patience, the end of his grace. I have caught myself worrying about if I will be able to find a thousand things to thank him for. 

In the same journal that acts as my log of gratitude, the other day I penned this question the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear "Where does my goodness end? When will it run dry? Where am I not? Which place lacks my presence, my sacredness?" I was blown to pieces and held tightly to Jesus' chest. I cannot escape God and his goodness even if I tried. 

If you are running from God, you cannot out run him. If you are needing his grace, you cannot use it up. If you are surviving only because of his love, it is everlasting and unending. He is good. If we see it, he is good. If we can only see tragedy, he is good. If we can't see anything, he is good. He is good, and that is never going to change. 

Join me in a pattern of thanksgiving and discover the vast beauty he weaves into our lives. Glory in his goodness. Revel in him revealed. Whack that boulder in the dessert and watch as his living waters flow freely. 

Cups of Joy

It is so much easier to identify the negative things. How many of us look at our reflections in the mirror only to see the blemishes, the wrinkles, and the lack? I always see pimples on my own face when no one else can spot them. We can so easily be critical and disparaging of our own lives especially in this world of social media, photoshop, and pintrest perfection. I want to see this change in my life. Joy and thankfulness should always be on my lips. 

Recently I was thinking about habits. I don't see myself as a person of habit. I like trying new things, going new places, and I actively and subconsciously resist being predictable. I never drink quite the same drink at Starbucks every time, and rarely order the same thing at a restaurant twice.  

I was thinking about my habits or lack there of because I want to endeavor to make thankfulness active and habitual in my life. One thing that I cannot seem to get through a day without, especially these cold dark winter days, is a hot beverage... actually multiple hot beverages throughout the day. The precious thing about a cup of coffee or tea is the time it takes to make and then drink it. It is a beautiful thing to boil water and then watch as it magically turns into a warming nurturing elixir. It soothes the soul to sit even for a moment and just enjoy the heat of porcelain on your hand and liquid on your tongue. The steam rising to raise your spirits. 

Confession time: I admit I have a habit... hot beverages. 

My gratefulness should be as constant at these mugs of magic. So I am to connect my current habit to the creation of a grateful habit. Join me if you would like, as I take a moment at each cup during the day and let some joy and thankfulness spill over. Essentially this will look like: every time I have a hot beverage I will remember something new to be grateful over. Cups of joy. 

I am looking forward to finding fullness in a life of thankfulness. Though darkness sometimes seems to stifle my soul, it cannot last, will not last. These cups of joy are my little way of piercing the clouds around me with rays of light as I remember His love, grace, and goodness daily. 

P.S. You can follow me on Instagram @sarahcatherinenoel and #cupsofjoy 

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

Christmas in Kalimpong

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Our internet has been not working properly since before Christmas. It will come on for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Sometimes it will come back in a few minutes and other times it will be gone for the rest of the day. So frustrating, but this is just one of those things you have to deal with when living in India. Because of the internet issues I haven't been able to update in quite a while. So I am going to start back in December...

Christmas was a wonderful time of celebration. The typical India Christian family celebrates Christmas by going to church on Christmas day, where you will probably watch some skits and songs from the children, hear a message, and share a meal with the church family. Most families' decorations don't go beyond some colored lights and a paper star. Christmas is basically one day of celebration. Up here in the hills all the schools are on a two month winter break, but in most of the rest of the country school is still in session having holiday only on Christmas day.

We (Manju, Jeewan Loy, and I) took about a week off of school, beginning with a surprise interruption in our school day. December 20^th is my birthday, and we planned to have school as usual and begin the holiday on the following day with a day of Christmas cookie baking and gingerbread house making. But surprise! In the middle of a math test I was giving to Manju, I hear footsteps on the stairs. I thought maybe some of the girls from downstairs were sneaking up to spy on us. Instead it was everyone from downstairs, the whole German family who lives up the street, and Lindy carrying a birthday cake complete with candles. After I blew out the candles we all went out on the terrace and shared tea and cake. Well that made quite a happy end to our school day and beginning to our holiday.

Gingerbread House (from a kit brought from America)

Here in Kalimpong the week before Christmas youth groups, choirs, and Sunday-schools roam around caroling in the evenings. They do this usually do this as a fundraiser for their group. When a group of carolers arrives at your house you are expected to welcome them in for tea and biscuits(cookies) and send them away with a small donation. Sometimes they send a card a few days before to warn you of their coming, but some just arrive unannounced. They usually begin caroling just after the sun goes down (which is around 4:30pm) and can keep going until 1 or 2am. One night we had three different groups come one of them came at 1am but we were asleep in our warm beds so we just cracked a window waved and went back to bed. Even when carolers don't come to your house you can still here them in the neighborhood as the houses are close together and the windows not very well insulated. It is such a magical thing to fall asleep to the echos of people singing and worshiping Jesus all over the hills.

Happy Birthday Jesus! Yummy Chocolate!

Christmas Eve we spent with Harry and Vroni, the German family, their four kids and Vroni's friend who was visiting from Germany. We had a bonfire with popcorn, apple cider, cookies, and pigs-in-a-blanket, and sang songs in both English and German. That night Lindy, the kids and I slept by the Christmas tree. Jeewan Loy had been counting down the days until Christmas so he was incredibly excited to open his presents and stocking in the morning. I made biscuits(southern style) and gravy, and we had a “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake for breakfast. Then we all got dressed and walked to church. We had a yummy Indian lunch there and had a wonderful time with all of our friends.

Silent Night 

That evening was spent with Mari and Juha, the Finnish family downstairs. They had visitors come for Christmas, two Finnish girls who have been staying in Siliguri working at a rescue home for girls from the redlight district. It was so wonderful to get to know these girls and share our stories. The bonds of the Kingdom are so amazing, it was like meeting sisters. Manju and her friend Siiri had written a Christmas song together and performed it as we shared American and Finnish holiday goodies by candle light. Such a perfect end to a glorious day!

Christmas Eve Dinner

Zoo-Time in Darjeeling

"We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too.
Cause we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!"
-Raffi 

That was my favorite song to sing at the top of my lungs, driving my brothers crazy, on our home-school trips to the zoo. We had a really great zoo only an hour or so drive from our house. There were quite a few years where we had season passes, and to take full advantage of those passes we would frequently make the trek down to Columbia, SC to hang out with some animals.

The whole group (minus Juhaa who was taking the photo) and a statue of Tenzing Norgay, the Shepa guide to Sir Edmund Hilary (the first men to reach the top of Mount Everest). 

Last week Lindy, Manju, Jeewan Loy, and I took a trip to Darjeeling to visit the zoo there. It is suppose to be the best zoo in India, but my expectations were pretty low. We were joined by the Finnish family  who live downstairs as well as another Finnish family who was visiting them. So we all got up before dawn, bundled up with tons of layers, and piled into two jeeps. There were 11 of us in our jeep, including 4 month old Joseh (pronounced yho-say)! Little Joseh was a champ and didn't cry or fuss all day long. On our way the road wound through the foggy hills, and through tea plantations. We stopped at a place about half way for momos. Momos are a staple here in north east India. They are like the dumplings you can get at Chinese  food places in the states but the ones here are SO much better. So we had momos and tea for breakfast in a little hole-in-the-wall roadside restaurant overlooking the tea plantations. It was so cold that we could see the steam from our mouths and rising of our food. BRRRR!

Heidi and I 

 The city of Darjeeling feels lot like Kalimpong but is much larger. It is situated on the rise of a hill and is at a higher elevation than K'pong so it was MUCH colder than K'pong is. It was really foggy the day we were there, but apparently there are so really beautiful views all over town when it is clear. There are many quaint old buildings on small inter-tangled roads and alleyways. We didn't get a chance to explore very much because our group was so large and there were so many kiddos. Heidi (the girl who is helping out the family downstairs) and I are thinking about coming back, just the two of us, to explore for a weekend. There is also a YWAM base somewhere too.

The Animals we brought with us:
Nelika, Sara, Lyydia, Manju, Jeewan Loy, Siiri, and Lyymila

So the zoo was a nice surprise (though they charge foreigners double just because they can). They had a nice selection of animals. I was sad they didn't have an elephant or camel, but I guess the climate here is too cold for them. There was also a mountaineering museum at the back of the zoo. It was a lot larger and better done than the one I visited in Uttarkashi. There was a whole bunch of exhibits about all of the people who have climbed (or attempted to climb) Mount Everest. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the museum but here are some pictures of the animals they had in the zoo:

Jeewan Loy checking out the tortoise with the girls.

Hey there bear!

Mountain Goats (this one is for you Chrissy) 

"Y" for yak

Pacing Panthers

but what if I just want to feed them?

The most colorful bird I have ever seen

Pretty Pheasant

Tiger or "Sher" in Hindi

Red Panda- such a cute face

Momma Monkeys and their Babies

Fishy Fish

Hungry for Honey

After the zoo we walked up to the center of town, which was quite a long walk. I was able to pick up a warm hat at the Hayden Hall shop which sells items handmade by local women to support their families. Before leaving we bought some Darjeeling oranges and stopped for coffee at CCD. At the coffee shop they played a song from a Bollywood movie that I have recently seen called Barffi, which takes place in Darjeeling. How wonderfully coincidental!

Cafe Coffee Day

The drive home was nice a cozy will all 11 of us packed in the jeep again. We shared oranges. Throwing the peels freely out the window "Indian-style." Mari (the mom from downstairs) shared stories in Finnish from her childhood with the kids. Even though I couldn't understand, it was precious to be a part of such a wonderful family moment. Winding through the dark hills with lights sparkling all over them was quite magical. It actually made me think of driving home from Grandma and Grandpa Swartz's in the Santa Cruz, CA hills. It was a day abundant in good things of which I am deeply thankful!

Siiri and Manju - silly best friends