Because He loved me first

101 Things that I learned in India

2007-08-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

1. How to relax – to not multi-task & enjoy being done work (e.g. just travel in a car ride)
2. How to cross busy streets – follow a bold crowd
3. Propriety… - and shame in the right context
4. How to take blatant physical criticism (e.g. One of the first comment of the morning from a Youth friend – “You’ve got a pim-ple! :) )
5. How to make a good cup of chai tea
6. How to cut mango
7. What goes in curry
8. That I do not like the taste of red wine
9. That children of any culture love being loved
10. How to push forward my palm to say ‘No’, to curl my hand upwards to say ‘In conclusion’, and to bobble my head to say ‘Ok’
11. How the game of cricket works
12. How to make origami camels (self taught – which means that you too can learn how to make origami camels!)
13. How to avoid meeting the stares of 30 male merchants – put on sunglasses
14. How to use a squatty potty
15. To not eat old curry
16. To not gorge on Indian wedding food
17. That Indians do not get sunburns – they just get darker, which is undesirable
18. That roses can be appreciated for up to 10 days if they are left on their thin Indian vine
19. That garlands and cake are two staple Indian celebration items.
20. Hindi and Telugu Numbers 1-10
21. That the Swahili, Spanish and Croatian languages are much easier to learn because their orthographies correspond very closely with their pronunciations – you can say what you spell (Unlike English, Telugu, Hindi and Urdu) (Thanks Merriam-Wester’s Collegiate Dictionary – 10th Edition)
22. That details matter when it comes to public proceedings
23. How to be a true hostess and restaurant waiter
24. How to appropriately honour professors and other persons of due respect
25. To never leave milk unattended on a gas stove OR …
26. To not smile at young Indian men or they might follow upstairs to your 3rd floor apartment when you are all by yourself!
27. That Fish eggs sometimes contain toxins in them that can be very harmful if consumed
28. That Indian sunsets are a very distinct light purple
29. That rose plants may grow to be smaller then Western ones as they are often unbothered by science.
30. To never mess with Indian mothers
31. That buffalo milk is much creamier than cow milk
32. That goats move their head in a very funny way
33. That you can get a nice hot shower in Hyderabad by waiting until noon when the sun has heated the water for you!
34. That canned or frozen guava, mango, and papaya can never be compared their fresh versions
35. How to cook rice
36. That supportas will probably be in heaven, judging by their taste
37. How to make good chapattis
38. That hair dries out in intense heat and sunlight (AKA Indian summer)
39. Never to hire the Indian working class as hygienic inspectors
40. To make JayRao laugh – it almost always makes me smile
41. That Indian protests are much louder and dangerous than the Canadian ones
42. That white or black people stand out in a city of brown ones
43. The art of the hymn singing competition
44. The art of Sunday drives (Note: not a super eco-friendly point)
45. The taste for charcoal-roasted corn on the cob (makkabutta)
46. That Full House, He-man and Home Alone are broadcasted on international TV
47. A few Indian dance moves
48. The value of watching the news
49. That you can learn cool and useful things the discovery channel
50. That water snakes have crazy hidden teeth..
51. That Indian rain does not linger but dumps and goes away
52. How to ride a motorcycle as a passenger
53. How to play drums Indian-style (with more finger tip action)
54. A hand full of Indian hymns & worship songs
55. That it can be very awkward to sleep parallel to an Indian man in a sleeper train
56. How to wear a sari
57. When to stop talking, and when to wait for further, light-shedding information on a matter.
58. That I don’t stomach the sight of real-life, uncovered, human abdominal fat very well (at least for my first experience)
59. That everyone needs a grandma to hold his/her arm and make them feel that everything will be better soon.
60. That every girl needs a father to protect her from dangers and tell her what to do.
61. That to believably compliment an Indian cook you must either ask for her recipe or eat a second helping of her food
62. That Indian restaurant servers are almost always male, and that Indian housekeepers are almost always female.
63. How an Indian parent goes about finding their child a husband or wife (and what they are looking for :))
64. How handy SUPER-blenders can be
65. How to make home-made peanut butter (*handy SUPER-blender required)
66. How to open coconut (wet along center and whack with a dull machete blade until it falls in two perfect halves
67. To appreciate star-sightings… you don’t see them much in a city of 6 million people.
68. That you actually SHOULD bring malaria medication to Southern India (Missed that one somehow, but did not experience the malady :S :))
69. That the buffalo is the King of the Hyderabadi jungle
70. That half-Paulmeranian half-Auscuasian(?) dogs can be very vicious
71. That there is a lot of inequity in the world.
72. That education IS an outstanding opportunity to improve a country’s well-being.
73. That what you know and how you put that knowledge into practice directly relates to the type, amount and depth of observations that you can pull from the world.
74. Not to touch bare electric wires.
75. Not to go anywhere unattended or unaccounted for.
76. That you might want to be prepared to develop diabetes if you develop an over-indulgent soft-spot for Indian sweets.
77. That you can’t really find fun/crazy stickers in Hyderabad, other than the scholastic gold star-type.
78. That they still use the strap in some schools around the world.
79. That violence against women is sometimes accepted as the norm when you aren’t in Canada
80. What the role of an Indian wife is like
81. To love biriyani
82. How much fun flaming/sparkling lotus birthday candles can be.
83. To listen closely whenever an Indian says a word that ends in ‘ear’ – super fun accent… (eg. Happy Birthday de-AH Jennifer)
84. That peoples’ noses can be an interesting study.
85. That Indian babies (and people in general) are 2-3 years smaller in size whem compared to their Western counterparts.
86. That Hyderabad (and India) now has money
(This is evidenced by their growing number of shopping malls and increasing obesity rates)
87. Tricks for dedicated study periods
(remember that some college students rise at 4 AM to go to tutoring before class)
88. That jetlag really can be beat by living according to the new time zone, although it still can take time
(at least, according to my experience)
89. How to conserve electricity.
90. That a power outage can happen even at the grandest of Wedding Ceremonies.
91. That to dress in a sari without bangles is an incomplete action
92. That it isn’t just what you wear though, but how you wear it that makes an outfit.
93. That humility is still one of the most attractive qualities a person can hold.
94. That if you go to a country to learn about and appreciate its culture, do your best to avoid the ‘In MY country we do…”’s, and sincerely love, you might get taken advantage of. Thus I recommend doing Steps 1-3 in the safe environment of native family friends. Then you really can do all 3.
95. That the more that you know, the more you become aware of what you don’t know.
96. Obedience to authority is more important than independent efficiency (although suggestions can sometimes be made to authority).
97. Initiative is best used in the context of knowing one’s surroundings.
98. That India is absolutely rich in culture.
99. That people, not money or accommodations, are the most valuable things that one can become familiar with when traveling abroad
(and actually, living at home)
100. That the world isn’t just what I think it is. That my opinions and values can be wrong. That there must be solid Truth and Moral Codes, even with cultural variations.
101. That I am blessed, to have been able to live in a very different world for the past 2 months, which in turn has given me a deeper perspective on how we do (and how I will do) everyday Canadian life for years to come.

Hats off to you for reading all that and thank you for all of your support as I interned for 2 months at the New Life Associates Mission in Hyderabad, India.
In Christ, The pretty pink girl,
Leona

Giving my chocolate to the blind man

2007-08-04T13:45:00.000-04:00

The Lord did bring me through Sunday, fabulously. The video presentation that I had spent so much time on worked. The children paid attention during Sunday School, and several stayed behind after class to discuss salvation. So many children asked me for my e-mail address, which is a cool way to keep in touch with them. When I had begun a quick repack job once the kids had gone, I took out 1 chocolate from the jar of candy. Marie (my host-mom and the pastor's wife) send a sweet treat for everyone to enjoy every Sunday. According to the Sunday School teacher's instructions, each of the children get two candies.

So, I pulled out one for myself today. It was a Cadbury chocolate éclair – a namebrand that I recognize and a caramel candy that I have enjoyed from Marie's gracious hand before. This would be a good one! Inside me, though I heard the Holy Spirit say no to eating the candy. Still, I took hold of both ends of the golden-wrapper and began to twist, knowing what a treat laid at the other end.

But my spirit was disgruntled, and by the power of the Holy Spirit I decided that it was better to obey 'late than never'. I thoughtfully re-twisted the wrapper back onto the chocolate, tossed it on top of the pile of Sunday School supplies in my bag and hurried up with the minor cleaning. Jairo (one of the older paid staff) helped arrange the laptop, zoom-lens camera, bag and Bible onto ourselves, and began locking the door and shutting the gate to the double-duty New Life Associate Recording Studio/ Sunday School Classroom. Shifting the heavy bar gate doors can be difficult for me sometimes, so I stepped back to allow Jairo to do it. A curious and shocking event happened next.

A blind young man began walking towards Jairo and the closed gate. Thinking that he was one of the beggars that gathers around the entrance to the Church on Sunday, I became especially cautious. Beggars can be extremely bold and aggressive. After a while I realized that this man was neither asking for money or out to harm. He fumbled around, walking into the actual gate and into Jairo. When Jairo became aware of his presence he took his arms and directed him towards the stairs to the Church. 'He is here to attend Church' I realized. Holding onto the rail he began the trek up. The older woman already on the stair did not look down upon the man, even though he climbed in relative closeness behind her. The man's face contained a mouth of few yellow, crooked teeth and dark, sunken eye sockets. Perhaps it is the commonplace occurrence of debilitated persons in India that has toughened Indians to be visibly undisturbed at such a site. Indeed, when traveling on the streets, lame people will sit by on small, square, ground-level, wooden scoters just inches from where cars whiz by.

Anyways, the Holy Spirit brought everything together for me. I grabbed at the top of my bag, hoping that the candy wouldn't be too difficult to find. Praise the Lord, it was still there, not melted as it might have been if I had tucked it in my skirt. I bounded up the first flight of stairs to where the man had just turned the corner. With a light touch to his wrist, I placed the chocolate in the man's turned palm. Then I thought to give him a greater help – "God bless you" I said, and headed back down to find my Jairo waiting for the crazy white girl like usual. Oh, what good times I have with Jairo… I love it when he laughs at me, stretching his eyebrows wide to reveal his normally squinty eyes, giving me an 'aha!' and sticking his pink tongue out! Lots of high 5s to Jairo have gone!

In the small and appropriate ways, the Lord is answering my prayer as to how to help the poor as Jesus would have me. I was struck with the line from 'The Jesus film' where Jesus says to His audience, "Give to everyone who begs from you". The Lord will show me the Way, and I will obey.

Just like today, when I got to give my chocolate to a blind man.

What is your chocolate? What is that small thing that the Lord is prompting you to put back, to wait for, to give up for His will and work? Is it a relationship that the Lord has not ordained, or the dream of a relationship that you subscribe to above the call and commands of the Lord? Is it the pursuit of money, or the fear to give it up. I implore you – that this peace that comes through obedience to the Holy Spirit and the power by that same Spirit which enables the obedience is so much more worth living for. Come to Jesus. He is waiting on the stair to take your chocolate. But He won't wait forever.

Sunday School Update

2007-07-31T05:25:00.000-04:00

Thank you to those of you who prayed for the New Life Associate Sunday school class this past week! The Holy Spirit DID move, and there were many children who took significant steps to follow Jesus.

On Sunday, instead of the video presentation that I was planning, I ended up giving a verbal review to the class, walking them through the Bible Lessons I have taught them so far, showing them how Jesus is the Son of God and emphasizing why and how we need to accept Jesus's gift in order to both go to Heaven and to have a relationship with God in this world. Our Sunday School Superintendent translated a fair portion of the message as well, adding in and complimenting the lesson. I remember a point in the message that seemed to connect especially with the children. I looked at Sweetie, one of our junior girls – and spoke out the love that motivated Jesus' death for her. At another point I told the children how greatly I desire to see each one of them in Heaven… how I want to call my Canadian friends over to meet my Indian children when I am walking down a street of gold … how I want to spend forever with them and Jesus. At that point the Sunday School Superintendent asked me, "But how can the children get to Heaven?" "Excellent question!" I responded, and we continued on, tag-teaming the presentation of the gospel that burns so brightly in our hearts for our kids.

When we had finished speaking, we led the children in prayer – the Sunday School Superintendent requesting that each child to ask Jesus for forgiveness from their sins. She led the class in a prayer of repentance, line by line, and then gave the students time to pray out of their hearts to Jesus, out loud, and all at once. I was extremely touched to hear the voice of the second and eldest Sunday School teacher joining in to the chorus of children, giving them courage to speak to the Saviour - "Jesus, forgive our sins. Make us new. Forgive our sins." I ended the prayer time by praying for the group, that each child would some day soon make the meaningful commitment to receive God's gift. We finished with the song 'Thank you, Jesus' which regularly concludes any meeting with the children. About 6 children and a few of their younger siblings stayed back to discuss salvation (in Telugu) with the older Sunday School teacher. Please pray for these children, that their commitment to Christ might have been genuine and deep, and that they may all grow into all knowledge and Truth through their newfound Savior. I could see in the eyes of a few of my older boys that they had understood the gospel and had experienced some sort of freeing change.

I found myself answering the spiritual questions of a couple girls who did not feel that they were ready to receive Jesus. Bhavani asked me if becoming a Christian means that one can no longer watch TV. Anusha felt that she should make herself a better person before coming to Jesus. Both the girls could not reconcile in their mind how Christians can really be Christians, because everyone makes continual failures and sin. I was so astounded and pleased to see these dear ones so obviously grappling with the Truth and happily worked through the Answers with them. Please pray as the Lord leads for Anusha and for Bhavani.

Please pray also for the Sunday School Superintendent's oldest son Nelson Samuel, a fairly removed and sad-looking boy. I have been praying for him since my first week, that he would open up and that Jesus would do a transformational work in his life. I have seen the Lord move immensely in him at Sunday School – he brightens up when we speak with him, and he seems to have responded well to the games and activities that we play. For this I praise the Lord. However, Samuel really seems to be struggling with anxiety or some sort of other burden when school time pulls around, and I have not seen him respond to Jesus yet either. Please pray for the Lord's outstanding work in all these areas of Nelson Samuel's life, for the glory of God. Please pray that such a work might be a great example to Samuel's younger brother Isaac.

This Sunday morning I also came to realize how much love the Sunday School teachers have for the children at NLA. I knew before that they were excellent and thorough teachers of the Word of God, even with the limited teaching materials that they have. More than once I have brought up a Biblical topic to which the older children already know the background of. But today I was assured of the very caring and decidedly loving hands that I am leaving 'my kids' in. Actually, I am more 'returning' them than handing them over J. Please pray for complete wisdom and strength for the Sunday School teachers. The Lord is doing a great work through them.

I would request you finally to please pray for the dear children who did not make a commitment to follow Jesus this past week. There were actually several at class last week that are not regular Sunday School attendees – and for them this may have been the first time hearing the Gospel. Please pray that the seeds of the gospel may take root and come to full fruition by the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray the Lord's fullest blessing upon each of the 44 children (and perhaps a few unrecorded visitors) who have come to Sunday School at any point this past Summer.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being involved in this work of the Lord. Marie was sharing with me yesterday afternoon of how many Christian men in India start ministries, or do some sort of time-consuming activity for the gospel. She commented that "they give their Youth to success in their field, and then give their old age to the Lord". I was reminded of Jesus' teaching of the one son who obeyed his Father in a better late than never sort of scenario. NOW I have no idea of the details and the attitudes behind each man's work, and it would be hypocrisy and heresy for me say that pursuing excellence in one's chosen field is not of God. However, I am certain that you will be blessed when you live out your full life for the Gospel of Christ and for the exaltation of His Name and Truth. Whatever field you are in, whatever persons and ministry the Lord has enabled you to come in contact with, we are called by Jesus to live each day in the perspective of His cross. The implications of it cast a distinct and life-giving shadow upon the use of our time, money and energy.

God's recent protection - can I get a 'Thank You Jesus!"

2007-07-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

Dear family,

Tonight I saw the Lord's protection in an outstanding way!

I had just come upstairs into our empty 3rd floor apartment this evening, as Choir practice with the Youth had ended. I sat down at my computer to finish off a music presentation that I was making for Church. It was about 9:15, and Marie had not yet come upstairs from her clinic. Kishore was out on an errand. Suddenly, the telephone bell rang. (Note: there is a telephone system set up between the downstairs hospital and our apartment so that the nurses do not have to run up the stairs every time we need something or vice versa. Normally, we (the upstairs) ring a sort of doorbell and then pick up the receiver.) This evening, the reverse happened. The bell rang a few times, paused and then rang again. I got up and stepped towards the phone, but decided not to pick it up. 'If the nurses’ need something that badly, they would call again' I thought to myself, and went back to my work.

Another minute later the bell rang again, and again. Then it dawned on me - it wasn't the phone bell ringing, it was the doorbell! Wondering who would visit at such a time of night, and curious as to why they would ring the doorbell (Note: any visitors to the house so far, being family, have just walked right in), I headed towards the drawing room. There I found a thin, young-looking man, whom I estimate to be about 4 or 5 years older than me, standing in the doorway. The man asked- 'Could I have some water?' To this I gave a distracted 'What?’ Again he said, 'I would like some water.' "I don't think that we have guests coming" changed in my mind to "The back door is locked which means I am trapped in here should this man intend to harm me" in a split second. I was all alone, 2 floors up from help, and in an enclosed space made of cement walls which could muffle cries for help.

As these thoughts passed through my head, my attention was drawn quickly to a movement outside the drawing room window. It was Marie, followed by one of our most imposing-figured paid staff, Rajama. Marie had finished her work downstairs - a patient had collapsed just as she was about to pass through the locked gate, which guards the stairwell. After all hands had gone on deck to attend to the patient, Marie was probably exhausted from a 14-hour day of work. She was probably thinking about the next task ahead of her in the day when she encountered the man in the doorway (curiously, he had hardly moved from his post near the doorbell). Over the next 10 minutes a puzzled (yet extremely frightful) Marie interrogated the young man, who was held in the tight grip of Sergeant Rajama. During the whole kafluffle, I must say that the fellow appeared quite innocent, although few details of his reason for being on the 3rd floor of Suma Hospital seemed plausible to Maire. Geepers, the guy stood outside the OPEN door of the apartment ringing the doorbell for 5 or 6 mintues, and he actually apologized to Marie. To this this Rajama responded in Telugu - "I could smack you on the backside of your head and then say I am sorry, but would that make the situation better?" :) Marie too threatened to release the man to the police, but in the end let him go. I have the feeling that he was sufficiently frightened by these two dear women. Note: Do not aggravate an Indian Mother, unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences. It’s like messing with a mother bear’s cubs – You just don’t do it J.

The conclusion that Kishore came up with, upon his return to the apartment, was that I somehow gave the boy my usual, friendly Leona smile during my short, 15 foot walk from the Church building to the apartment stairwell. Thinking that I was supportive of getting to know him a bit more, the man slipped through the open gate while the collapsed patient was being cared for, and made his way upstairs to me.

In all their years in this apartment, Marie and Kishore have never had a 'surprise visitor' like this one. In their sincere concern, they have set up even more guidelines for my safety. I am to keep even the front door locked, when I am alone. I imagine as well that they will be even more conscious of visitors in the hospital area, a veritable feat for a maternity clinic which services a culture where everyone and their in-laws (actully, probably especially their in-laws :) ) come to visit the new baby the day after its birth. I should mention that about 50% of the citizens of the city of Hyderabad are Muslim - a fact that has kept Kishore and Marie on edge about my safety since the day I arrived.

I don't think that it would be a mission trip for me as a Morris daughter, if I had not encountered some sort of significant danger here in India :). Please refer to my sister Alicia's tale of the 'soap bottle that saved her life' while doing construction work in Mexico, or to the brief encounter Alaina and her female DTS teammates had with some sort of African tribesman, late one night when inspired to pray. It would seem, as you well know, that our Lord is in the business of protecting His children from disaster. Even from my naïve point of view I know that God has kept me in the palm of His Hand, partly due to your vigilant prayers. As Marie says when provoked to praise by the everyday workings of the Lord, "THANK YOU JESUS!"

Amen. Thank You Jesus.

And thank YOU for praying, friends and family! With 11 days left to go, you have been an active part of this mission internship. I would hesitate to do anything drastic for the Lord without your prayer backing.

With love,
Leona

Sunday School

2007-07-26T14:15:00.000-04:00

Dear family in Christ,

I would put forward one more prayer request for the week. This Sunday (my 2nd to last in India), I will be gearing the entire hour and a half of Sunday School around giving your life to Christ. To this point, I have cafefully worked through with the children the idea of who Jesus is, and the transformation that takes place when we ask Him to forgive our sin. I was so thankful to find out that the Jesus film has been translated into Telugu (the heart language of most of these children). I will be showing the first half of the movie this week, then in what should be a clear summary of the lessons we have learned.

I will be letting the children know that if any would like to talk more about recieving salvation that they can stay afterward and talk with me and the Sunday School teachers. This is by recommendation of the Sunday School Superintendent, who feels that many children (especially the older girls) have been closely impacted by the past 8 weeks of lessons, and that several might respond.

This then is the prayer request: that the Holy Spirit would move with such freedom and power this Sunday that many souls would be won to Him, and thus lives committed to exalting Him for all eternity. My heart cries for this for these dear children. 40 different little ones have attended Sunday School at one point or another since I have been here. They are so precious - each with different personalities and needs. Some are outstandingly thoughtful, bringing me gifts... and I really feel closely tied to 'my older girls' who have positively blossomed under a mentor closer to their age and enthusiasm.

Would you not only pray that God would save these children, but that He would raise them up as leaders for the country of India? Pray that they might make change for the Lord in the Indian government system, medical system, families, churches and NLA ministry for years to come? I have a vision to see these children go on to do great things for the Lord. Such vison might find a beginning on Sunday.

May I reassure you, that you have been and are being used by God for His marvelous work. There is no greater pleasure, no higher calling then to follow the Lord. His service is the lifeblood of the Christian walk. Sharing His Truth is like tilting a mirror so that a caveman might see the light of day for the first time. It is refreshing to be in the presence of the LORD. However, refreshing does not begin to describe the glorious peace of being used as the hand of God in the work that He has specifically laid out for each one of us.

If I have learned something from my trip to India, it is this: The Lord is good. In Him our sins, our failures, our dreams and our deepest inner longings find their end. Our life is raised through His perfect Son to heights which we have never known, and never could know through this old world alone. And God is real - The application of HIs Truth in our lives is anything but boring and everything which fits together in perfect detail, should we be conscious to recognize it.

May God's blessing be upon you, even as you pray.
With love and thanks,
Leona

Note: I have included a few pictures of a MEHENDHI hand painting party which a few girls from church invited me to. It was held in epectation of one of the girl's public engagement to another wonderful young adult from the church. It was quite fun.

Prayer Requests

2007-07-24T16:00:00.000-04:00

Marie and Kishore purposefully give me prayer requests, through confidence in the answers to prayer that we have seen since my arrival here.

Here is praise:
1. Those 4 pits had their bases laid in great timing.
2. Rain was not a problem, and fell at just the right times - for both the land and the New Life Associates Organization. You farmers might be happy to hear that! :)
3. The Lord's clear and continued presence with us.
4. Protection from all animals, with water snakes and cobras in particular.

Here is prayer requests:
1. The healing and full recovery of Mrs. Kristie Deo Presad - a Church member who has been hospitalized with a pelvic infection. Last week she was unable to retain any food or drink - 1 drop in would lead to 4 drops coming out, said the concerned Marie who rushed to her side.
2. Recovery of all removable metal, cement-laying forms from the pits at the site. We discovered that 12 of them were partially buried in mud, and at 1000 rupees a borrowed piece, they are a fair laibility. 8 of the 12 have yet to be removed. Please pray that when the time comes to return the forms to their owner, that each would be in excellent condition... a challenge for the workers who step on them, drop them and yank on them as the need arises.
3. Quick and good completion of the 2 outer pits to be drained and laid.
4. Quick and steady laying of pedestals upon the bases in currently completed pits.
5. Faithful and hard-working attitudes among all staff. A new crew arrived yesterday to speed up the inner electrical and bricklaying inside the 3-storey hospital building which is already erected paralell to the Church. The 4 workers brought with them about 20 family members and a tv. That's the requirement of hiring casual Indian work, I suppose. Please pray that none of these new additions to the construction site would be detrimental to the work there, but that it would multipy its efficiency X2.
6. Kishore's recovery from hia 3 week cold. (A cold in India... isn't that silly! :))

There is a lot of work to be done, but the Lord is SO gracious and SO able to accomplish it all. My prayer is still that the Lord would enable me to see the laying of the Church foundation before I go on Aungust 8th.

With a heart prompted to trust by our Lord's great works,
Leona

Under Authority

2007-07-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

Today at the construction site I learned a valuable lesson through my own self-will. I was helping out at the pits - turning the electricity current to the water pumps on and off via a switchboard. This is quite the process when I help - Men will be shoveling mud out of the pit. A mechanic will be in the pit moving the pump's nozzle around and cleaning it of weeds etc. every so often. Marie will stand at the edge of the pit, supervising the workers and managing the different activities going on in the pit. Then I sit 15 feet or so away with the switchboard and in view of where the pumps empty their water.

To me the process seems like an opportunity for independent and success of the job - I try to watch closely the end of the pump's disposal end, and quickly shut of the current when the water stops flowing... otherwise air gets into the hose and disrupts the machine. I think that this is normal... a way to excel at the small tasks. However that doesn't always work in this Indian situation.

I am supposed to respond only to Marie's call to turn the current on or off, as she knows when the men inside the pit have lifted the pump nozzle out of the water for cleaning. She also keeps an eye on whether water is flowing out of the disposing hose. This means that if you came to the New Life Ministry Centre Construction Site when this is occurring, you would hear - "Yellow On"... "Right Red"... "Bankle (Stop in Telegu)"... "Yellow Off" all within a few minutes time. At these times I am also looking directly at the water's flow, so I quickly shut off the water right before Marie's call. This disturbs things. Marie repeats herself, worried that the water has stopped running, when really I have purposely stopped its flow. This happened enough times today that the aggravated Marie called Thomas over to be the second caller who would give Marie's messages to me. Imagine the inefficiency! I continued my pattern of promptly/prematurely turning off the water. Thomas said, "Off, OFF:” And I sell-willingly replied, "I already did". Once I said that, the awareness of my rebelliousness struck home. I sat, facing away from Thomas, looking toward the job I was doing on my own. Then, a few minutes later I turned, by the Holy Spirit, so that my shoulder was down toward this second supervisor. Words of apology flooded to my mind, and when He was free I began - "Thomas I am sorry for not listening to you the first time..." Here he cut me off, with an understanding hand wave. I was free.

It doesn't matter what the problem - rebellion out from under authority is not an option. Petitioning - yes at times is appropriate. Prayer is recommended at all times. But PRIDE must go. Always.

It so happens that later on after Marie overheard this humble request for forgiveness, that she ended up giving me the chance to direct the water's flow independently. And so I see, as that 'Are-you-with-me?' Preacher Biblically prompts re. Authority, you cannot be blessed until you are under it.

I intend to stay here under authority. It is pretty safe and secure. Not to mentioned I surrendered to my Savior unto being here.

Here is the latest picture of Kishore, Marie and I at a family engagement. It was quite humid that day. :) With love, Leona

Lessons from Sheep

2007-07-23T12:37:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I went with Kishore to the Construction Site. I avoided being down by the pits because of the bugs that are now
plentiful with all that stagnant water. Water is in the pits all the time - either being drained out of pits or refilling through ground supply the pits that have bases already laid in them. It is a funny picture, the huge cement blocks submerged in water like a sunken ship. However extra water once the bases are laid is not a problem, they just add less water to the cement mix when laying the pillar upon the base, So I guess the prayer request for the pits is that the water will not be such a significant slowdown for the middle Church pillar laying, whenever that time comes around.

A second update about the pits is that significant progress has been made in laying the forms! 4 of them were laid yesterday. The 1st floor of the Pastoral centre was also laid… a job that
went late into the evening. So Marie and I bundled up so that only our faces showed… me in my camping gear (so that I now feel so validated in bringing running shoes with me on my trip J) and Marie in this super-cute red scarf thing. She is already one of the cutest people I know… so to see her swaddled up in the late-night Indian air was pure fun! Kishore bought us biriyani (chicken and rice, cooked into a fabulous and famous dish) and we ate inside the car – picnic style… it was pretty sweet. I especially enjoyed seeing the stars…There is the same Maker and Sustainer of the Heavens in India as in Canada!

1. Please pray that the remaining 4 pits are dug out and completed with ease and speed.

2. Please pray that the 6 pillars which now have forms in them wil be filled before water floods them again and the walls collapse – which would bring work back to stage 3. Please also pray for safety - 6 water snakes and a male cobra were spotted this week in the very area where we work and/or supervise. The water snakes were all killed (and I actually got to play around with one… looking at its teeth and such – they are not poisonous), and it was actually quite bonding to be one of the shrieking women to scatter when the men in the pits motioned to throw one of the slithering creatures at us. However, cobras are deadly I believe, and more of these 7-8 foot reptiles have been found and killed on the premises of the construction site – one near where I have played Hide N' Go seek with the workers children before. So I appreciate the protection that you send all of through Jesus J.

On to a personal lesson from today. As I stood by the front gate to the compound, the Lord taught me many a thing through a passing herd of sheep that a man and his son were directing.

1. One of the best qualities about humans is our dumb-ness.

To get back to the road from the field where they were grazing, the sheep had to cross a small raised strip of land and then a ditch. The first few sheep of the herd caught on that it was time to move to different pastures and bee lined through the brush and over the difficulties to get back to the road. Other sheep unwisely started to follow each other along the strip of land until they congregated at the tip of the incline, where they began to mill around, bleating, with no where to go. Even as this happened, more sheep followed the line of other sheep right into this sorry mess. I watched this happening and shook my head in amazement. "Sheep really do follow their unwise leaders into trouble" and, "sheep really are dumb" was the comments going through my head!

As the Lord is our Shepherd, why would He ever want sheep? Why wouldn't he choose the graceful cranes that descended upon the brush beside the sheep. Perhaps the cranes are cocky. In any case, dumb sheep do make for good followers. A crane doesn't need a master: it flies to wherever it would like, eats what it would like, but is also on its own to be protected from danger (and may I also add, mates with whom it would like to mate with). All of these things, for a sheep, are instead chosen and provided for by the shepherd (this is also shown by the speckled-sheep policy that Jacob used).

2. Being a shepherd is definitely a dirty job.

As the early Jewish occupation was shepherding, I can now see why the Egyptians ate at a separate table from Joseph's family, prior to the Israel family reunion. I can see now how clear the heart of God is for the humble, as the angels first appeared to lowly shepherds with news of the virgin birth (not the educated, wealthy, or prestigious Isrealites). The gospel is 'for all people'. May we be quick to wish to share it with people of all states of society. As a fire might quickly spread from one revived heart to another worn out soul, may we be ready to recognize the Spirit's work in any sinner who is tired from carrying the load of sin, thereby that penitence and faith might lead these beloved persons into relationship with the Saviour who would hold them securely.

3. Jesus is shhhing us, waving His hands at us, and throwing rocks at us... in that order.

In order to direct the sheep according to his will the shepherd mad a sort of shhtttttt-shhhhhtttttt noise with his mouth. It sounded a bit like a rattlesnake, actually. He also raised his hands straight above his head, waving them, and made the noise again. The shepherd wanted his sheep to move on from the soft yet hilly bush land, to the well-defined yet bumpy road. Several sheep took notice of the master's gentle voice. His raised hands were also difficult to miss for those sheep that had their eyes on the mster. Those who noticed his directions, the master lead on to the next stage.

I thought to myself "That's it? That doesn't sound right? Doesn't the Shepherd go after His one little lost sheep, and He is leaving a good handful of distracted sheep in this bush land!" You see, one particular group of sheep had been munching among some fairly tall weeds. When the master called with his gentle whisper, they were more interested in their stomachs than taking care to follow him. When he raised his hands, it is possible that the sheep did not even see the Shepherd's shadow because they had their heads bowed down in their food. Now they were left behind. In fact, I thought that this was the lesson... "The disobedient sheep did not choose salvation"

However, I was wrong. After a few minutes, the shepherd returned. He had given them time to live in their stubbornness, although I would not say that the Shepherd seemed happy with their initial reply of 'no thank you, the grass is just fine'. The master picked up a few stones from the ground - pebbles, really - and tossed in the direction of the stubborn sheep. According to his aim the shepherd's directive pebble fell just short of actually hitting the sheep. It put the sheep on edge, and they soon found their way through the bush, over the strip of land and over the ditch as well.

I also notice that pattern by which the sheep jumped over the ditch: the first few boldly going on before with much time in the first and second critters. When the pathway became clear, sheep began crossing the raised incline in pairs, with a single sheep crossing every so often. The stubborn sheep, when they crossed had to figure out the way across the ditch again, as they waited too long to follow in the steps of the first sheep.

It amazes me how the Holy Spirit can show such truths to me in such an understandable way. As I pondered beyond these revelations I concluded:

It is certain that on the road, the sheep would be under more direct sunlight, have less respite from the heat, and would have to struggle more to get food and water. However, it was time for a new segment of their journey - and among all the different surroundings and obstacles there would be the same Master and the same Master's son with them. The role and character of the master is as leader, director and provider. Thus the Master planned where the sheep would rest when the day is over. He knew how to get them to their destination. And it is was Master who would keep His sheep until their journey's end.

That is a pretty deep lesson from a flock of sheep. It certainly is a gracious Master that we are following, who is here with us.

Beautiful weather. Please keep praying.

2007-07-11T15:18:00.000-04:00

Hello beloved blog-readers!

I apologize for my delayed posting. I bring you the fabulous update that the Lord is still beyond comprehension AND still working in Hyderabad.

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful for the Rainy Season (also called 'Winter' here. :) . We have about 5 minutes of downpouring rain every 4 days or so, which has been great for draining the pits and laying the bases for the pillars. Here is of the picture of the Church site as of last week. Since then 3 more bases have been laid (count 1 to the left and 2 to the right of the wire form sticking out of the 1st pit in this picture), and all but one of the pits that are dug so far are scheduled to have bases laid in them as of 4 days from now.

Then will come the task of laying the actual pillars. After that a machine will come and move the 15 foot mounds of dirt pack into the pits that it came from. Then a machine will dig the other half of the pillar pits. You see, the Church pillars are also being laid in stages according to location. The outer pits are being completed first.

As you can see, even with all the fabulous weather, work is incredibly slow-going here. For example, to drain the pits 7 or 8 people form a line to move one container of mud at a time. Take a look at the picture here. The line will start with a few men shovelling within the pit, snake up along the bamboo ladder and end with three or four women place along the mound of dirt (like the woman in the picture). It is almost painful to watch. However, as Marie said to me today: "I believe that the Lord who gave this vision will bring it to fulfillment". That statement came in the context of her sharing her stuggles with international support raising. On a very real and honest level, when Kishore and Marie come to the U.S. and Canada to request financial gifts from people for their minsitry, Marie feels a great amount of stress in being a burden to the people who house her, along with the jet lag, continuous drives, etc... After my own experience with jet lag and the extremely hospitable hostess that Marie has been to me I am beginning to understand what she means.

New Life Associates as a mission is similar to the mission that Kirk and Deborah Baker and their family serve with in that apart from personal connections, you wouldn't find their name on commercials. Without 'championing their cause' too much, I do think that is is important to say that I have found the current extent as well as the potential reach of New Life Associates to be wide and significant in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Kishore's training and heart to apply the Word of God in the Christian life has led him to a television ministry that reaches 3 million people internationally, and I also know that he has had an impact on the changed mindsets of many Indian Chirstians in our area when it comes to promoting social responsiblity (who's previous lack thereof 'cheapened' salvation to a raise-your-hand-if-you-want-a-healing-from-Jesus gospel). I should say that such preaching still exists, and there are those who incorrectly promote the gift of God's eternal life among the blessing-hungry Indians without explaining the life change that should follow one's conversion. I guess that this also happens in Canada on a much smaller scale (both population-wise and publicity-wise). For both countries I would request prayer.

On a personal level I have come to know God's gracious love as my righteousness and strength in some fun ways this week.

Oooh, and I musn't forget, Marie let me roll out and fry the chapates tonight for dinner... just as long as I didn't prepare hers :). I will come home skilled in at least three Indian Kitchen activities: chai tea making, mango cutting and chapate frying! You are more than welcome to invite me over to do any of those three things, provided you bring the milk, mango or wheat flour respectively.

Signing off for now!
With love and thanks to you,
Leona

Happy Canada Day friends and family!

2007-07-03T07:11:00.000-04:00

It’s Leona here...as thankful for you and for the opportunity to be in India as ever. There was actually a procession and fireworks on the road in front of the Church this evening. Although it was for a Hindu marriage ceremony, I think that the Lord was so thoughtful to have sent me such a lovely Canada Day treat. Even as I leaned against the edge of the balcony watching the lights, a family of three exited their apartment, each one dressed fully in RED! Whoo hoo! I hope that you were able to gather together & enjoy the festivities & fellowship.

This afternoon as I sat, feeling the waves of (only) my second major episode of Indian stomach upset so far, my mind drifted back to the Telegu Church service that I attended today. A family of four (with a son and daughter both in high school) approached me. After introductions the mother implored me saying, “Please pray for my children… daily.” Then again she said, “Daily, pray for my children.” My response was “Yes, while I am here."

To me, this request epitomizes a major view that Christian Indians hold, or at least Christians in the New Life Community Church - We MUST HAVE God’s blessing. We WANT God’s blessing. In Sunday School my first week I was slightly astonished to hear the Indian Sunday School teacher tell the children directly: ‘You should ALL bring your offering next week, We Need blessings from God. So, we should not come to God empty-handed’. During the regular Church service adults and children are reminded of this as well. There is a special offering each week where giving congregation members will go stand at the front, present their gifts, and have read aloud the reason that they are giving thanks to the Lord. I have seen students bring special monetary offerings to the front in response to the academic success the Lord has granted them. I have also seen parents give special donations as a thank you for the healing that the Lord bestowed upon them.

My first reaction to this was… {Aren’t we supposed to keep our gifts to the Lord secret?} Over time however, the Lord has reminded me that early Christians brought their gifts to the Lord in a public way (although some unsuccessfully). It also seems very logical to me to so clearly link in our minds the blessing of the Lord with giving all that we have to Him. The New Life Community Church sure is teaching their children the dual pleasure & responsibility of giving to the Lord. Perhaps modern-day Western children could do with having this concept emphasized. (Note: This is me with a day-old baby in the maternity clinic. I haven't figured out how to hold them so that they don't cry yet. :))

Here is a clipping of Warren W. Wiersbe in his commentary Be Determined:
“When God’s people start to decline spiritually, one of the first places it shows up is in their giving. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). The believer who is happy in the Lord and walking in His will has a generous heart and wants to share with others. Giving is both the “thermostat” and the “thermometer” of the Christian life: It measures our spiritual “temperature” and also helps set it at the right level.”

My Mom has said for years: “You can’t out-give God”.

Wiersbe goes on to say that giving is a secret of staying fresh as a Christian. Those who only recieve can be like reservoirs - with sort of stale and polluted water. However, those who both recieve AND give are like can be channels! Doesn't that make so much sense :)! I can't help but think of the pits at the Ministry Centre, curiously dark and some which have been full of ground water for so long that large weeds have grown in them.

The current problem at the site is having enough workers to empty the pits and set up the pillar forms before they refill with water. But please also pray for hard-working, committed workers... they are a little difficult to find around here, it seems.

Overall, I am thankful today for the clear reminder of our need for God’s everyday supply (aka. Blessings). May I encourage the wonderful Christian parents in my churches back home, to continue on teaching their children (and showing them) what it means to give to the Lord. May we all clearly meet with the Faithful One this week – to both give and be blessed.

Praise, yet A Longer Prayer Request than I first Expected

2007-06-25T08:23:00.000-04:00

Hi team!

Thanks be to God! 8 of the 9 pits that were scheduled to have their bases filled this past week were filled, despite rain the night before. What a moment of learning that was for me. I stood at the entracne to the Constriuction site, hands held together in prayer for God to keep the dark, menacing rain clouds which were ahead of me away from our plot of land. I said, "The Lord can make it rain everywhere else but our little spot... kind of like Elijah (or was it Elisha... I often mix up the two names & stories :E), whose soaked sacrifice testified to the Lord power against the false god of the day.

There certainly is false god's around Hyderabad. The colourful, obscene and selfish religion of Hinduism is set against the harsh, rigid pride of Islam. All flesh testifies to our Fallen state, to our incapacity to live the holy lives in relationship with God that we were meant to.

And so I thought (indeed I prayed) that the Lord would show his power in this way at hte Construction site. But, surely minutes after I stood and faced the rainclouds the rain began to descend. "What is this?" my heart pondered. "Wasn't I praying for God's glory to be shown? So wouldn't that be according to His will. He said we would be mountain-movers... didn't he mean us... the modern-day Church? Maybe he only meant the disciples..." You can see now that my knowledge of the mysteries and truths of God is SO small in comparision to all there is to search out from God's Word. So my first lesson from this event: I am the humble servant with so very far to go. And my response: I am going to follow.

My second lesson: The Lord does not operate as man does. Even towards one who thinks she is 'performing' the will of GOd, He reminds:"I will do it, for my glory". I... not you. How refreshing, how resplendent, how radical that thought is. In the pattern of both the works which God has prepared for us to do and the power through which He would supply our every need; in the balence of the faith we are to hold and the great actions we are to undertake with that faith; in the knowledge of His unsearchable wisdom and unwavering love - we are simply to do the obeying. Not "we are to do the miracles." Woah.

So, in that light and observation I give you the update: The rain that fell merely delayed the planned pillar construction work by a few hours (which I think actually would have given enough time for you to be mobilized for prayed, accounting for the tiem change). Almost all the pits (8/9) to be filled with the metal forms and then their bases filled with cement were filled. Praise the Lord! Marie, who is the most involved supervisor for this project, was pleased.

Now to put things into perspective for you for those who would continue to pray for the new Church building: There are actually 52 pillars to be laid for the Church, and thier pits and bases are being laid in stages. Here's a picture of what the Church will look like. New troubles are that as all pits have water in them (even those which had bases successfully laid in them), some walls between the pits are falling completely. Also, some pits have up to 6 metres of water in them. I joke that that is enough water to drown almost any Indian :).

MY CURRENT PRAYER IS THAT THE LORD WOULD ALLOW THE FOUNDATION TO BE LAID (meaning that all pit-digging, base-laying and pillar-laying must happen as well) BEFORE I LEAVE INDIA, ON AUGUST 8th. Like the rain, I thnk that this would glorify the Lord, and I am confident in the ability of the Lord to do it. Whatever way He wants to is super-great in my opinion. But I don't want to miss this opportunity to both learn and be involved in God's glory while I'm here.

Thank you to all who have prayed so far. I belive that includes my parents and Forest Baptist Church in Forest, my Miles' and Calvary Baptist Church in Guelph, and of course the Kishore's and New Life Community Church here in Hyderabad.) Yay for international prayer teams! And yay for you, my loving support. I am finding out a lot what it means to be quiet. (Some of you closest to me might give a hearty Amen to that! :)). And I have been particularely aware this past few days of how very much I appreciate and miss those whom I hold dear. I am looking forward to distributing big hugs upon my return.

Praying God's blessing upon each of you ths July, in the work, and rest, and quiet time that you have with both the Lord, friends and family.

In Christ, and with increasingly open eyes,
Leona

Prayer Needed at the Construction Site

2007-06-19T14:39:00.001-04:00

Dear friends and family,

I would like to enlist yor help in the construction of the new Ministry Centre of New Life Associates. Since my first few days in India the pits that are to hold the foundational pedestals and pillars of the church building have been a major
diffictulty. The pits have been, and still are filled with water, due primarily to the high water level of the ground-soil. A few days ago the wet walls of the pits began to cave in, compunding the problem. The very dar kto picture to the left shows the seven or eight football sized frogs that have taen up residence in the several feet of water in some pits. A few pits are now joined together, with a strip of land along the top of them. Until the pillars go in, the Church cannot be built - that is clear.

So I request that you would pray for this situation. We are on the brink of the
rainy season, which should last at least two months. Somehow, the cement pillars must be put into the reservoirs or what used to be pits. Here is a picture of a machine that workers have been using to drain water out of the pits, but it seems as though that method will not do it. Today I heard something about wood frames being used, but as life in India seems to go: you don't get a flowery card with a lifetime guarentee on it for any activity.

God, our Sovereign, used a dry pit in Joseph's life, and I trust that He has a plan
for these wet ones in the life of this organization. You can be a part of His plan. I have told both Marie and a friend at the construction site that I would enlist you in this little prayer battle for ground. I will get a song of thansgiving prepared.
Thank you, and I send my love!

Why I am no longer squeamish during Dad's extended sermons

2007-06-09T17:21:00.000-04:00

I can best describe India by its warm breezes and warm hospitality.

From the Churches I have been to with Kishore over the past week, I can also add ‘warm heart toward the Word of God’ to that list.

What shocked me this past week, with a fresh view of what ‘Life in the Word’ could look like, is the length of the sermons people will listen to here. Kishore and I have been discussing this. Many of his audiences would listen for hours if he continued preaching the Word of God beyond his normal 1 hr 20 min. Kishore also shared with me, in a troubled voice, his concern for the Western Church, that 20 minute sermons based on one or two Bible verses is cutting the Holy Spirit short of an actual movement in our lives. I share his concern. Many of us Churchgoers are Christian babies, unable to sit through a good hour of the Word expounded. The day that we can't stop soaking in the Truth because we are so hungry for it is the day that our country starts changing radically for God. I can’t see any other way to spread the gospel; anything else upon which to found our lives.

I have followed Christ all the way to India to find out that being a Christian means I am fully committed to the WORD OF GOD- not snippets of it pieced together in a somewhat close representation of the God I serve. From this Eastern vantage point I now see more clearly the position I am in beneath God’s omnipotence, and gentle patience of the Saviour, who really does lead us into all Truth. Praise God for His WORD, revealed to us.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17

Trophies and Ice Cream

2007-06-09T16:29:00.000-04:00

Dear FBC and other supporting friends!
Time for another weekly update!
God is doing big things here I India. This past week I have attended both a Revival Meeting and Youth Retreat where Kishore was asked to speak (Note: Kishore is asked to speak may places, including internationally for both his PhD, ministry and most of all easy-to-understand Biblical message.). At those Gatherings I gave greetings, sang or led group discussion. Those Churches (both Baptist, actually) treated me like royalty... giving me flowers or a trophy, or a special seat. India is like that... very dramatic yet simple all at the same time. However, it really made me rethink the way I treat Newcomers, and especially immigrants, in Church at home. I USED to think that I was a hospitable person…
This week I also helped out at the Office, at the construction site of the new Ministry Centre, and in the Choir teaching English songs. I am writing out Praise and Worship Lyrics onto PowerPoint, and them teaching them to Winny (a very gifted girl who sings for the English Church service). The LORD has provided an excellent student in her, and I am sure that she will pick up the songs quickly. My goal is to leave 100 English songs here, ready to go, by the time I leave in August. The Church currently has about 16. In my research into the Worship Industry for this project (and I use the word Industry on purpose) I found several videos and software that would be excellent additions to the New Life Ministry – if we wanted to spend the money to get them. In any case, the LORD is our sufficiency.
Tomorrow I begin Lesson #1 of 9 weeks of Sunday School. The theme I believe the Lord has given me is: Know and follow the Light (based on the first 3 chapters of John – Thanks Dad!). I am SO excited to meet the children... my little group to inspire to change the world by living for Jesus.

I am doing a lot of living here - making notes of the culture and considering the value & deficits of both Canadian & Indian life. I have also been eating MUCH Indian food... my host-parents seem to want to make me fat while I’m here! I tried to make a deal with Kishore that if I gain weight in July and take pictures as proof of their excellent care of me, then I can lose the weight by the time I go back to Canada. However, Kishore also discovered my soft spot for ice cream, and brought some home special for us tonight. How thoughtful! : P

Safe in Hyderabad

2007-06-03T13:01:00.000-04:00

Greetings friends & family!
Today is my 3rd day in India. I arrived safely Friday morning after two flights via Luftansa - one sitting in the very last seat beside a very talkative Turkish man, and the second bumped up to Business Class. From rags to riches - praise the LORD. Thank you to those who prayed for my travelling arrangements.

Already India has become my 3rd home, and the Kishore couple my 3rd set of parents (that is of course to the exclusion of all my parents at FBC). I have been downtown shopping, to Kishore's friend's grandchild's thanksgiving ceremony, to the Church at both English & Telehu services where I gave greetigs from FBC & Canada, and to the Recorsig Studio to observe Kishore record a TV Program. On Friday I also was given the tour of the New Life Miistry Centre, the huge, 4-building facility which is currently under construction. Please pray for the suuccessful completion of the pedestal & pillar construction for the Church building. To clarify: each of the 4 buildigs of the new centre (Medical, Administrative, Pastoral Training & Church buildings are all beig built at various stages, and all at the same time - and I have listed them by order of most completed.

Many people do speak Eglish here. However I will be trying very hard to learn the language so as to communicate better with the workers here (Samata, Rama, Jairo, Rajama et al.) PLease pray for success in this language learig for me, especailly as the Telegu lagague has a very different alphabet (over 50 consonants, and ofer 25 vowels).

I praise God for the many friends He has blessed me with already. Several youth at the Church invited me out to the Youth meetings on Saturday nights (:) Similar to UNASHAMED, eh?), and I am quite clse with Samata (a girl who works here in the house). Thank you for your prayers. Please contiue to pray for the humility, & reliance upon the LORD which I most desperately need in order to be of help to Kishore, Marie & the dear people of Hyderabad whom I will be serving.

In Christ,
Leona

Onward to India

2007-05-03T19:38:00.000-04:00

On May 30th I will be going to Hyderabad, India. Located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad is a city of 6 to 7 million people. While in India I will be living with Dr. Joseph Kishore (referred to as Kishore) and his wife Dr. Marie Kishore. This couple runs an organization called New Life Associates.. Click on the Organization name to find their web page. There you can see the ministries of NLA, most of which I may be somehow involved in. I will be leaving India on August 8th... making this adventure 2 months and 8 days in length.
This is where prayer updates & reflections from my adventure will be posted. If you would like to contact me or see more pictures of Hyderabad (through my eyes) please use Facebook.
Sincerely,
Leona

North Lambton Secondary Graduation

2006-10-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, October 6th, I graduated from my dear high school of 4 years, North Lambton Secondary School. My parents, sister & brother-in-law were all there. It was also special to see so many school friends, who are back from university & college (Windsor, Western, Laurier, Lambton etc.)
It was pretty wierd to be walking down my old NLSS hallways, and definitely bittersweet to realize that now, when I poke my head inside the Music Room door, I will simply be one of those random, awkward visitors who oooh & ahhh over how much they miss the music program in their grown-up lives. One of my faviurite moments of the night, was seeing Laura Gordon for the first time in a month, exclaiming her name & running at her to give her a hug. It was also so special to see a few principals & teachers - especially Mr. Perry, who inspired me to think critically, and trained me to study well independently. As he once told my Engish Class, it is his goal to make university professors say, "WHO TAUGHT YOU ENGLISH!" It's also pretty fun throwing your cap once you've graduated! Altogether, it was a beautiful night. Thank you to my family & friends who made it so special!

My Awful Mistake

2006-05-01T20:43:00.000-04:00

Today, one of my tasks as high school fashion show coordinator was to try to get a hold of the person who is responsible for alterabl-message sign in front of our town Fire Hall. I first called what was supposed to be Forest Tower and Radio (which seemed like a media name to me), but turned out to be Circuit City. I spoke to a busy-sounding man, (which is not uncommon to me, as I am a busy-seeming woman) and concluded by myself that I should try to call an emergency line and see if they would transfer me to the sign changer. Herein lies my grand mistake.
When I called 911, (yes-I now know that this is a possible felony) it was confirmed to my inconsiderate blondeness that 911 exists solely for those in dire circumstances (eg. Those whose house is on fire). By the time I was transferred to the police (a required action), my horribleness was more than a feeling… it was an all-encompassing apology. When I was told that it is mandatory to either send a person out to check that was no actual emergency or call back to the school - You see I was on a school phone line as this is my co-op -, I could just imagine the sirens whiiiiii-eerrrrrrr – iiiiii-errrring up to my schoolyard, or a policeman calling the Office Ladies!
After letting my supervisor know of the awful mistake I had made, I went down to the office to explain my action and soon-to-incur result to the Front Secretary and, later on, my principle. I’m fairly certain that if a smidgeon of meanness had been relayed to me by these authorities I would have burst into tears on the spot. Thankfully, my principle’s major response was probably one that you would have yourself: “You called 911??!!!”! I will not calling 911 again, unless it is an actual emergency.
(Picture from the Irving, TX Website)

My University of Choice: Guelph

2006-04-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

http://www.uoguelph.ca/ Stacey Ramsay, a dear friend and summer roommate of mine, once told me that "God can't move a parked car", so I decided to pick a post-secondary intitution and make that my short-term educational goal, without being wishy-washy. I have decided to go to the Unviersity of Guelph with plans to work in Activation or Administration at a sort of rest home. I was accepted into their Bachelor of Applied Science Program in their Early Offers of Admission, and replied to the U of G's offer in mid April. I have been applying for scholarships for what seemed to be left-right-and center for a time. I have applied for 1st year Residence, and would like to stay in the only all-girls dorm on campus. I am also in the midst of registering for my courses now. Please pray that I will get into this dorm, MacDonald Hall.
If you want to check out the building that I hope to be my new room, scroll down to MacDonald Hall on this page, and click on the image link. http://www.housing.uoguelph.ca/page.cfm?group=nav&id=1 #

Week End Wedding Planning Fun

2006-04-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

This past Easter weekend I was with my sister Larissa and her fiance Darren, doing some planning for their upcoming Wedding. Chuck, Darryn and Larissa's photographer friend and to-be groomsman in their wedding, took us on a photo shoot in dowtown Hamilton - an area withsome lovely architecture! On Saturday the very patient Darren took Larissa and I on a very profitable wedding shopping trip, and to an almost-digustingly-messy-yet-incredibly- delicious homeburger experience at Licks! I got to have Birthday/Holy Saturday dinner with Darryn's family: Doug and Sandra, Lorraine, Chris and Christy, and Cheryl and Paul. As it was Easter, my sister and future brother also took me to various churches: 'Philpott Memorial Chuch', "The Meeting House' (which congregates in a movie theatre!) and 'Church on the Rock'. I got to see the 'Narnia' movie, of which I had been looking forward to for some time, as well.

Out of all the exciting and enjoyable activities of the week-end, what I enjoyed most of all was spending time with Darren and Larissa - a very caring couple who complement each other incredibly. Thank you, Big Almost-Brother and Sister for expanding my horizons and including me on such a special weekend. Below are a few of the pictures from the Photoshoot with Chuck.

Welcome to my Blog!

2006-03-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks for visiting my blog! The purpose of this online journal is to keep my family and friends updated on my busy life as I head to university; to share my joys and prayer requests with the ones who so graciously support me. I hope to post a new blog every 2 weeks. So, I'll be 'sharing' with you soon!