Greetings From India! :)

My dear dear family and friends,

First...I'd like to say hello to my mamaw and papaw and tell them I love them dearly. Thank you for taking the time and effort to use a computer! I feel honored and loved! I think about each of you all of the time and miss you. You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Basically...a ton has happened since the last time I wrote, imagine that! :) Sorry I haven't had internet access really until now. It is 1 in the morning here, but I want to fill you all in! Saturday we had the medical camp and it was disappointing initially for Aubrey and I. We say with the doctor at his table as he did assessments but he never asked us to help with anything. So...basically we did nothing. Meret and Tamra did weight and height but we were placed with the doctor to use our skills. Oh well, I'm thankful that the kids and their families were able to see a doctor. During that time though, I had the chance to spend more time with the kids outside of a classroom setting and i LOVED it. My love for them grows more and more each day. They have begun teaching us songs, games, and words from their culture and in their language, Tamil. Today I spent a while studying their language so I could show them my improvement when I taught in class today. I could tell it means a lot to them that we are trying to learn. Who knows, maybe I'll be speaking and dreaming in Tamil when I return!

Sunday was an incredible day. We drove 3 hours to a nazarene church and had service there. They were so welcoming and thankful that we were there. I felt so loved. The presented us with gifts and showered us with priceless love. The pastor had a camera and he wanted us to take SO many pictures, it was fun...imagine prom in India at a church. haha...After spending the afternoon with the pastor and his family we went on to a church about 1 1/2 hours from there for an evening service. I don't even know how to explain it...this service and really entire day in general, I can't find words adequate. But i'll try...The worship service was on a rooftop, at sunset, in a tropical looking area. It reminded me of some of Kauai's views...farmland and coconut trees. It was a service where the Spirit really moved, I don't know how to explain but we were all so touched. I have rarely felt like I've worshipped the Lord with such joy and enthusiasm WITHOUT words like I did then...I only had clapping to relate with them! My teammates and I all shared our testimonies during the service and they prayed for each of us individually...it was such a blessing. They presented us with gifts as well when they welcomed us, we have been blessed tremendously by all of the people here! Sometimes I feel like royalty, I just pray that we are a blessing as well. The church had spent all day preparing a dinner for all of us to share togehter so we enjoying that and then had chai together and prayed for them.

This week we are continuing in our ministry in Musiri...working at the CDC with the children and doing house visits. Today I taught my entire class english. We are reading an excerpt from Little Women. I loved being the teacher and being able to be patient and loving but still helping them learn. They don't have that kind of a education here...it seems like it is very strict, hard, and the teachers don't edify a lot...maybe I'm wrong...but I enjoyed working with them. Tonight we had a house visit with a family whose daughter is in my class and I loved being with them. I'm continued to be amazed at how much I feel loved by others even when we can't communicate a ton verbally. The grandmother of the family is a helper to nurses and Kingsley might let Aubrey and I go with her to work someday, I'd love that. I was so blessed by the grandmother because she told me that ever since I shared my testimony Sunday she has been praying for me and my medical health--what a blessing!

We will be going to Mumbai next Monday by train, I'm excited for this adventure...it will be neat seeing a different part of the country...but I'm also sad to be gone frmo mininstry here. We will travel from Mumbai to a mountain area where my site coordinator has a church he is a minister at and be tehre for a week. We are actually staying at his parents house with him for the summer in Musiri...it is not his normal location. So it will be nice to see where he usually lives and ministers.

Please be in prayer for my stomach problems. Basically my stomach hurts most of the time, especially after i eat. I'm just trying to find the line of being respectful and eating what they serve and also taking care of myself so I can minister. Please pray that I know when to speak up and when to deal with it. I feel like there is so much more I could and want to share but I better get some sleep tonight. I love each and every one of you. Please pray for the children, people at the churches we meet, and those during the house visits...they all request prayer.

The Lord has been showing and helping me to live in each and every moment. To fully be present where I'm at and I'm loving this new lifestyle. I enjoy life so much more. Try it out! :)

Phil, I don't get skype...sorry. I wish I did.
Char, the banana leaf served as a plate for the food!
Rory, are you at camp now? I'm so excited to hear that you are coming in the fall! :)

Thank you everyone else for your encouraging comments, I wish I could respond to all but know that I love each of you.

Sending my love,
Jen

One more thought...The "theme" verse for this trip that I've picked out and used as a prayer is 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 and the Lord has really used it to reveal things to me and encourage me in hard times. I wanted to share with you the most recent thing. I've been thinking a lot about their faith here and how they worship God and rejoice in the midst of troubles and so little. I feel like I'm often always asking for things and I've really been convicted that I want to live a selfless faith--one that is all about God and bringing him glory and not myself. Well, check out verse 2...it reminds me that I want to live in rememberance of Jesus Chirst and him crucified and when I live immersed in that I think there is no way my life wouldn't overflow in gratitude. Pray that I will live constantly in communication with God and remembering all he has done for me and allowing that to be why I serve here.