My apologies for thinking that “crazy” = “normal”. I will (like I’ve said many times before) try harder to keep you all posted on what’s new and the progress we’re making in India…sprinkled with a few anecdotes about my backward sense of normalcy, of course :)
Here is the Cliff Notes version of the last few months:
New Roommate: Leah. She’s awesome. She grew up on a farm in Kansas and later became an attorney practicing in Dallas. We get along great. She doesn’t like coffee. Initially, I thought that might be a deal breaker, but then I realized that it meant more for me! Yay! Here is a cute picture of us with our friends Shane and Yuming at the Taj during High Tea on Valentine's Day:
Women of Worth Conference: In March I had the privilege of traveling to Hyderabad with my colleague, and friend, Tina, to speak on the anti-trafficking movement at a women’s conference at Pearl City Church. It was a wonderful and uplifting experience – I love traveling in India and meeting other pockets of the Kingdom whose hearts are impressed with God’s call to seek justice. So awesome.
---Miracle Alert: While in Hyderabad, Tina and I stayed at the home of an influential pastor who works with an international ministry organization. We were sharing a little more about our work with him and mentioned that we had been trying to get one of our awareness DVDs dubbed into Hindi for the last year. Without hesitation, he graciously offered the production services of his ministry to us to get the DVD dubbed for FREE. Three words: Jesus. is. Lord. AMEN!
Cricket World Cup CHAMPS: If you were to hear the words: wicket, bowler, batsmen and overs…what would come to mind? Confusion? What do those things have in common, you ask? I’ll tell you – THE BEST GAME EVER. That’s right. I’ve been converted. I am now a cricket fan. I can’t help it! For the past few months India has come down with a severe case of “Cricket Fever”! I used to think it would be impossible for me to ever like cricket. Every time I watched it, I would shamelessly try to understand the game by watching through the lens of a longtime baseball fan, which only resulted in frustration and hints of xenophobia.
Newsflash: Cricket and baseball are nothing alike.
It wasn’t until this revelation that I began to finally view cricket for what it was: unique and amazing in its own rite. Thanks to the Cricket World Cup, I was able to partake in 16+ hours of my new favorite sport in a span of a few weeks. Oh, and India won the world championship. So proud.
Marathi: So, last year – one of the big projects I worked on at my NGO was writing a small group Bible curriculum on God’s heart for justice. It is a joy for me to tell you that it has now been translated into Hindi AND Marathi (the state-language of Maharashtra)!
---Miracle Alert: Thanks to the generosity of a few special donors, the study is also in the process of being translated into Telugu and Kannada (the state-languages of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka)!
A replacement has arrived: Well, It’s April now and my time with the NGO has come to a close. My good friend, Shannon, who is also from Crossroads in Cincinnati, arrived in Mumbai last Friday to relieve me from my post so I could move forward into a new adventure in India. We spent the last week in the office together so the pass-off would be smoother. She is sharp as a tack and I have no doubt that she’ll be able to carry the department forward in an effort to raise up the local church community to fight injustice in this city. I am so grateful for her and for her sacrifice. She’ll be in Mumbai for the next year :) Glad to have a friend in this city from home that I can talk “Cincy” with!
Three Weeks: Friday, April 8th was my last day with the NGO. It’s hard to believe it’s over! About 2 years ago if you had asked me what some of my life goals were, one of them would have been to work for this particular NGO…well…CHECK! God is so good and lavish in his blessings. I feel blessed and humbled to have been able to serve in this capacity for the past 15 months. Here is a little snippet of what I said about my experience in my final evaluation:
“My experience with the NGO has been incredible. I have gained invaluable experience professionally and spiritually. I have been challenged by the work, by the spiritual warfare that surrounds this city and by the separation from my comfort zone. I am an abolitionist. I will continue to fight for the freedom of young girls trapped in forced prostitution. Although I am ill-equipped in a human sense, like my friend Moses, God is with me and I have been able to see just how powerful that realization is over the course of my time in Mumbai.”
Now, I have about three weeks OFF work before I start my new venture with Crossroads! If you want to learn more about what that means read my previous post. I am REALLY looking forward to being able to update you more on what my role will look like and how God is positioning us for success! Please be praying for me in the next few weeks as I spend time reflecting on the last few years and listening to Him for what he has next for me.
Thank you thank you thank you for the ways in which you support me, whether it is through prayer, financial support, care packages, e-mails – all of it. Your encouragement, in whatever form, is part of the fuel that keeps me moving forward. I press on with the faith that God will continue to lead me into places where His light can shine through me best and with the assurance that you, my friends, family and amazing community, make up the battalion of angels that surround me, the work and the places where darkness is fleeing.
Here we go.
Awww, Jgirl, I'm so proud of you and your wonderful experiences there!! I love, love, love all the great heart achievements you've had - for yourself and for others. Thanks for being such a blessing to everyone who reads this and those that know you! much love, your bunn (mrs. kloesz)
ReplyDelete