Praise God for intercessors and answered prayers

This is an email I recieved from Lois, a beautiful sister in Christ, that is also a member of our church. If anyone else has similar stories please share! It is wonderful to come home and see how God not only used this trip to affect those of us who went, those who live in India but also those who journeyed with us right here in Texas! I can't wait to see Him use this to reach others!

Hi! Your blog was such a blessing to me! I enjoyed my occasional "trip" to India with all of you!

When Pastor Greg sent out the email about signing up if you were interested in receiving updates and asking our church family to pray for the mission team, God really laid on my heart that I was to be a part of the prayer ministry for this trip. So I committed myself that day to praying, which is something that was totally huge for me. I have been very resistant to the Lord in the past when He has asked for that kind of commitment from me :-( But what a blessing this turned out to be!!! Consistently during the night, always sometime between midnight and 4 am (Texas time), God would wake me up to pray for the team with my heart heavy for your safety and your ministry. And as I spent those (sometimes long) hours in the night pouring out my intercessions for all of you, what a sweet, sweet time of closeness God I was blessed with!!! The Lord really used that time to show me that all He requires of me is my willingness, not strength or capability, He will supply everything I need for whatever task He is asking of me.

So thanks again for giving me the chance to "see" my prayers at work :-)

Lois

Life through scripture

I thought I would post the scripture God showed me while in India. I already shared that He taught me much in Ecclesiastes about my life and how people are living daily in India. He also shared with me many other verses.

Regarding my fear and struggles before leaving he showed me Matt 10:37....."anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who will not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." That was a big test from God on both of those issues. I had to put God first and then follow Him on this mission! Wow! Talk about taking it all on. I passed the test and have been blessed and rewarded. I know God will give me more because I have done well with what He has given me.

For the Christians and non Christians in India God showed me Ecc 2: 26..." to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

God showed me Psalm 115 for the people in India who will not follow Him but instead follow their useless idols.

I really related to Ecc 1:18 after being in India a few days......" For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;the more knowledge, the more grief" However by listening and waiting on God He will bring peace for my aching heart that cries for India.

The reason I know the above to be true is that God, upon telling my heart to help Him bring others to India, he pointed me to Matt 9:37....."The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field" I hope you will join me in this prayer and let the Lord use me by directing interested people to this blog and to us so we can share God's work with them. To that point God gave me Matt 5:15....."You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven."

I haven't had God give me that much scripture from all over the bible in a while. It was always so relevant and what was cool was that I just went there by God's direction....not devotionals, etc. I wold just come across it and God would reveal some thing to me.

Since God has placed India in my heart I will continue this blog.....not as entertaining as squatties and crazy bus rides up mountains....but the journey for me didn't end when we came home but a new mission began. For today I feel jet lagged :) but I feel like God is really smiling on me. I feel like He is happy with my service. I took on so much with this trip....I went way beyond what I thought I was capable of and what I have been capable of in the past. I just pray that God will help keep it all fresh in my heart and my mind. I pray it won't "wear off" and that I will be able to continue a lot of the service I did in India right here at home. Believe it or not we need it as bad or worse than India does. I pray we will start to cry for God to heal OUR land!

In service,
Krendi

Today we shall rest in The Lord......

There truly is no place like home. I'm really not sure what to say in this post.......we finally arrived in Austin yesterday at 3:15. Thirty-six long, dirty, grueling hours in the air, changing planes, sitting on airport floors. For my Lord I would do it again..... I hope happily but I am a bit of a whiny-baby ......and He knows this!
What an adventurous journey! I learned so much about me, those around me,God and His nations. I came home to this palace He has provided me as a resting place in between my workings for Him. How blessed I am to be able to enjoy this after all my work. Here today and gone tomorrow but for now I will praise Him for the abundance.
What can I say that I learned? I have posted small bits here and there because it is hard to pour out the changing of my soul and not take up enough pages for a novel. I learned to trust Him. I learned that He will not lead me into darkness. I have learned that there are always two sets of footprints. When I climbed up that mountain into the communist village to share Christ with the people there the Lion was by my side. When we arrived soldiers guarded that tent in mighty glowing armour and the Lion was above that tent carefully guarding His pride. What a miraculous and beautiful vision that was after my fearful prayers.
Watching how the people of India live brought Ecclesiastes to life. I have so much more understanding of that book after being there. It all became so clear to me. God really gave me amazing understanding into daily life. We have so much to overcome here as a nation in our prayer lives. I'm not removing a spec here, but revealing my own plank. I think of our prayers and how selfish they can be. I think it is to be expected but I know God wants it to change and that is part of the task He has returned me with. Hearing the people of India crying out for.......well, India was such an awakening. They never cried out for promotions, scoring a winning goal, or a newer, safer car to drive around in. Now, I believe, in God's work no prayer is too small. I learned this from Pastor Yesupadam. In his book he speaks of praying for their motor scooter to make it to the village they are going into when they have no gas to get there. Even the fumes were gone before they drove into that area. Only by Gods hand did they arrive but it was for God's hand that they did. Even when prayers are small there they are still for the people of India. As they prayed for Gas they did so only so they could spread the message of Christ. So, I say, when we pray for God to let us keep our job during layoffs........what will we be doing for Him if He does? Can we carry the cross to that job everyday for Him? For whose benefit is our prayers....us....those around us......or the will of God towards the returning of Christ.
I can say that God is building a mighty army in India. God has an amazing plan for that nation. Many times a day the women, men, widows, orphans, lame, blind and sick pray " ye se ya, ye se ya.....Jesus, Jesus" for Him to fill their land with believers. They ask that He change lives and that everyone around them come to know Him and for Him to heal their country. He is doing so but needs us to help them help Him. I have been given this burden of wisdom and the task of sharing it as often as possible. I trust that God will provide the audience and the means to do so.
I have so much to share and just not enough words to do so right now. Some things about my life have changed dramatically. I no longer have any shyness or fear of praying daily, for believers and non believers alike, that will willingly accept my offers to do so. I have never laid on hands so much in my life......or been so spiritually drained. I have new faith in all the gifts God offers and that they are for everyone in various seasons. When someone needs healing, God will provide. When visions are necessary, God will provide. When it is necessary to understand tounges of a nation, God will provide. When there is an enemy awaiting, God will provide.
My poor children will endure daily life changes involving studies and television. This is probably the hardest task I return with....ha ha. I want to sing more, share the stories of the bible more, play more and throw out the tv. Those who know us well, know that plays half the part in our lives as compared to most Americans but it is still too much. I thought Beck would be happy if I replaced the tv with an aquarium! I also want to teach them to be servants. This is something I have not given them and learned in India that it is never too young or too late to start teaching that.

I will end for now. I cannot wait to answer questions and share more with you. Please feel free to pass this blog site along. I will add more pictures soon and more details about India as a country. Thank you for following my journey and for supporting me. This was so hard for me but God has returned me stronger and closer to Him than I ever thought possible. Praise God, Praise God, Halleluiah!

Saturday February 24th

Today was a scorcher. We took a walk this morning to a little market down the street. We bought all kinds of foreign snacks and goodies. After our walk we had breakfast and then gathered in the chapel to have a quick discussion about how we have been changed/affected or had God speak to us thus far. Colleen said she is learning to be more comfortable praying out loud for people. Morgan has learned to cope with the sadness of the kids who are on the streets. She also loves the all in one bathrooms here. She said "My favorite part about India is that you can poop and shower at the same time!" Rachel said she feels God is telling her to look into her heart to find the stregnth to be able to really step out of her comfort zone and give everything up for a life in Christ through missionary work. She feels it is a different thing to say you can do something and actually be able to do it. HAiley spent some time with some girls preparing food for the mission. They were asking her about America and how many hours she spent praying and how many times a day. She said it was hard to answer honestly and not be embarassed. I have to say I agree with her. The kids at this mission are so dedicated to Christ. They pray 1 hour at 5 am and 1 hour at 7 pm, they have two hours of bible study plus school in between. Richard spoke about the trials the people here face....communism, sustaining every day life but we face just as many trials but of a different nature at home.....love of self, stuff, etc. June said she had been humbeled and didn't even know she needed to be. Max really was moved by how passionate the worship is by the people here. Ben and Gregg found the Indians to be so caring to one another. Jason really has been inspired to take back the one on one approach of evangelism. Greg really wants to publicize the good PRF is doing for the community and marketing the uniqueness of our church but struggles with the advertising not coming off as self serving. Zack really didn't feel as uncomfortable as he thought he would here. The comforts of home really weren't missed as much as he thought they would be. Leigh Anne said she feels like to really accomplish something in ministry she has to be doing something all the time and resting makes her feel selfish.But now she sees that resting is valuable and needed. She really noticed how Indian people rejoice in service even when it seems trivial. However in the US it is hard to get someone to do something simple like making copies and see it as a priveledge to serve in that way.

This is what I can recount from the meeting this morning. I did my best to try and convey their thoughts and feeling correctly but I'm sure I didn't get everything exactly right. The point, however, is that everyone in some capacity has changed and grown in the Lord on this trip.

After the meeting we went into a village just outside of the city for a clinic again. The area was quite poor. MAny of the kids didn't go to school. We gave out some balloons and used the face crayons on thier hands again. There were less people than the other clinics but just as much need. The doctors that do this really do care about the people and making their lives better.

Tonight we went to a thank you reception for Richard. It was fantastic. I loved seeing Richard in his element (speaking about about coaching/swimming) while out of his element....here in India, after a week of serving and growth. It was touching. The mayor of Vizag, Indian national swim coach and a variety of YMCA officials and Indian top athletes (in swimming) all attended. They were so greatful for Richards help and service to the YMCA and thier athletes. THe athletes were so thrilled to meet him and speak to him.

Tonight is our final night. We have church in the morning and then we leave for the airport for a long 36 hour flight home. This has been such a journey. God has shown me that I shouldn't feel bad about having more than the people here. A need or desire for more wealth here is "chasing after the wind". They don't need our money, they need our God! India is desperate for Christ and it is up to us to assis them in spreading His message throughout this great nation. The number one prayer request I heard while here was to pray for India. It gives me a whole new perspective on prayer at home. Why don't I ask people to pray for the US!? In many ways the US needs Jesus just as badly as India.....just for other reasons.

Pray for a comfortable, restful and uneventful trip home. Pray for our safe return. I can't wait to share in greater detail with everyone!
Love from India,
Krendi

Friday Feb 23

Yesterday we met at 7:30 Am for a long three hour trek into the mountains/jungle. The outer areas are called the tribal areas here but it isn't the images that might go through your head. It is just remote. I saw no bones in noses or witch doctors. We did get to see a Hindu wedding.
We took a very large bus up into the mountains of India. It was beautiful. The ride was treacherous in that monster up those tiny roads around the mountains-especially when we met other buses along the way. Once we were so close to another bus that there was only about 1 inch of space between my window and that bus. The driving here is a story all in it's own.
We finally got to the church and started the eye clinic. Many came for glasses. We sang to them, prayed over them and used some face crayons on their hands. We met several children who also sang to us. We played some games with them and prayed for them and their families. The children go to school from 8 am to 5 pm. School and learning are so important to them. All they care about is God/Jesus and school. They want to go to college and get good jobs. They wanted to be pilots and doctors. Many of their fathers were teachers.
A family that lived just by the church invited me up to their home for tea. They thought I was so funny. I met the whole family, extended family and neighbors. Then I took Jason, Rachel, Greg, Zac and Regan up to meet them also. We all took photos together and I got their address to write to them. They are so happy that I promised to write and send the pictures. They gave us all tea, coffee and grapes. They were so sweet. Through Christ you can bond with people so quickly.
After the eye clinic, at about 7:30 we headed further up the mountain into the communist area for a revival. It was near one of the 80 churches that the pastor of that church has started(through Love N Care)! After more scary driving we go there and the revival had started. We had to stay together because of the area. Apparently communist Hindus don't like the idea of Jesus being the ONE true God! Rachel sang and Pastor Greg said hello and prayed. yesupadam prayed for quite a while and then zealous prayer began from the crowd.
What struck me about their prayers(in telegu not english) was the desperation. The cries for India and their area. I didn't need to understand to know what they were asking for and to go through out the crowd and lay hands on them. After the prayer was much rejoicing and we were whisked away (at about midnight) to come back to the site. We got here at about 3 am.
Today we did some shopping, went to a beautiful beach and had a lovely poolside dinner at a very nice hotel in the city.
Thus far it has been amazing. God has shown me so much. I have had visions, felt healings, seen prayers answered and had God tell me much about this nation. India has so much more in store! God is building a mighty army here and I am so honored to be a part of that.
Tomorrow(SAturday) we have one more eye clinic and a small celebration with the president of New Delhi and the mayor of vizag.
I am very tired and truly ready to return but not ready for 36 hours in the air. I am changed and renewed and coming home just to meet more missions. I cannot wait to begin my new calling of reaching out to the world to help God in the work He is doing here. I know that through us God will bring many here to help build this nation and change this place.
As I read Ecclesiastes a few nights ago it has never rung so true that there is a season for everything and in this season I have seen weeping and laughter, mourning and dance, planting and uprooting but mostly I have been "standing in awe of God". Much has been given to me and much is expected but I know that in following God's will for me I am never chasing after the wind! Please continue your prayers of intercession and protection. I will try to write again, please pray for a comfortable and safe return home.
~Krendi

Wednesday February 21

Today we went to the Bethany Public School, run by Love N care. We painted kids faces and had an eyeglass clinic there to hand out prescription glasses from yesterday. We held a 1 mo baby for a mom while she got her eyes checked and got her glasses. She just handed him over and asked us to watch him with complete trust. Can you imagine someone doing that at, say, the mall while they shop?

We prayed for the healing of some of the people. It was amazing. We broke for lunch...a very nice lunch with meat and pepsi in the chapel. We bought a few things from the little stand/store by the ministry. The guys are going to play cricket with some of the school boys after school. Rachel, regan and I are going to practice with the young kids for their Saturday performance. This evening we're going into the city to shop for Sarees.

We're going into the tribal village tomorrow. I can only imagine what that might bring. I'll post some new photos later tonight when Jason can download them. Jason is working on the computers at the computer school today getting them working for word processing, mostly, they are 486's!!!

The cataract surgeries yesterday were unbelievable. The doctor performed them so quickly. As you can see in the pictures the men recover on a sheet on the floor. The women get cots. There is no ac and this is the winter here at 86. Imagine having summer surgery and recovering in 110 heat! The bathrooms are outside "squatties" (that's a whole other post). There is no after surgery pain treatment. They use hot steam to sterilize gowns and equipment so the surgery rooms are unbearably hot.

I am going to teach the kids now so I will post more later.

~love from India~

After a few days in Vizag...

Well it's been a wild few days since the last update. We finished the last leg of our journey from Bombay to Vizag on Saturday. Bombay was so huge, and such a mess. We saw masses of people living under bridges in absolute squallor. There were children begging everywhere, sometimes 2 & 3 years old...truly heartbreaking to see. Trash cans overflow everywhere, with dogs & people digging through them, and there's almost as much trash just laying in the street.

We got our first taste of how the roads work in India...it's non-stop chicken in the road, except everyone goes left just before the head-on...of course only after lots of honking and getting death-defyingly close. Rear view mirrors are optional, as most trucks even have printed on the back "Please honk horn please". They use some sort of honk radar to navigate, usually as fast as possible, right in the middle of two way traffic roads, and as close as possible to other 'vehicles' (this could be a car, big truck, three-wheeled minicab, motorcycle, bicycle, or a herd of livestock if you're rural). People live right next to the roads often...we've seen fights, weddings, and even people threshing crops on the highway (yes the cars drove over the crop to thresh it). The funny thing is, we've all had our chance to sleep in the cars now, which seems impossible...but somehow you get used to it.

Arriving at Love n Care ministries was definitely a relief. The grounds are very clean & nice compared to everything else around. Our quarters are quite decent...running water, lights, A/C, ceiling fans, and we were surprised to have rooms for the married couples, and shared rooms for the singles, by sex of course. Our hosts are amazingly gracious. Everytime you enter a room, the children run to get you chairs, and if allowed to them, drinks or treats. Meals are always served to us, and have been delicious. So far only a big meal for a nursing school commencement was the only super spicy thing. The cooks keep the 'zest' under control.
You cannot walk down a hall with a greeting from the children...the girls will give you {hands in prayer}"Praise God", and the boys a handshake along with their name, asking yours in return. Once you shake one hand, you get about 50 more right behind it, "Raj, Ravi, Sunil", etc.

The ministry work has been cool. We've had two day trips to do eye clinics. The eye clinic & some of the villages are ~70km away, which takes ~2hrs by car, and is very exhausting, in part because of all the pollution. The first day was using the autorefractor to provide the prescriptions for villagers & give out glasses. The next day was a visit to the eye hospital where they do up to 50 cataract surgeries in one day. It was amazing to give people sight, when they would never have had the option before. They were very grateful in most cases, and it's easy to see how the quality of life and productivity will improve from this.
The villagers are generally very sweet, it's neat to see how different the Christians are, and how excited they are to meet us. Most of use have graciously turned down invites to eat with them, but we have visited some of their homes. They typically live in ~10x20' concrete block houses, or some are in thatched huts. We sang songs, painted faces, laid on hands & gave prayer to those who asked (typically the women will veil & bow their heads in front of you), and we shared the gospel & testimonies with the help of some of the Telugu speaking pastors who went along. Getting photos taken was a popular thing, with lots of smiles and giggles after stoically posing for their photo.
Some of us also visited the local hospital. Conditions are pretty spartan...the labor & delivery was just a table, for instance. The surgery room is sparsely equipped. Apparently keeping doctors in the facility is tough, as well. It's hard to imagine that this was an improvement at some point...many people here have no access at all to any medical treatment.
Some of the ladies (Rachel, Krendi, and Reagan) have been spending time at the Love n Car facility teaching the kids to sing, dance, and act. They have been super excited, and there are plans for them to do a performance before we leave. It's so moving to see all the orphans they have here so happy...singing at the top of their lungs, praying with deep affection, and just generally having a great time. The contrast to the kids we saw on the streets was such a joy. The work the staff gruels through here is so worth it, there is no labor in this chore when you see the results..

Updates may be rare while here...the power & water is spotty, and the internet is completely unreliable & unpredictable. The sad thing is, they've gone to great trouble and quite a bit of expense to get "hi-speed" with a fiber feed from the street. Even with that, 7KB downloads are the best you can get, and the upload seems much worse. We managed on VOIP phone call, and it was surprisingly good. Hopefully we'll be blessed and get lots of uptime during our stay.


The few photos I could get uploaded for now:
http://www.wheelspecs.com/gallery/2007-02-20-Vizag

We're in India!

So we got in at about 1:30am Mumbai time, pretty tired after plenty of delays and a non-stop 14hr flight from JFK. After some more delays waiting for bags & getting through customs, we finally got hooked up with the guys from the hotel. You'll see in the pics that things got pretty slaphappy after being immobile that long.
We got our first taste of street kids begging while loading up the buses...it really breaks your heart, you can tell they are varitable professionals they do it so much.
The hotel is really nice, which we're appreciating...unfortunately, we didn't really get up to the rooms etc until about 3:30am, and we have to hit the road again by 9am after some breakfast. Looks like more tiredeness for everyone tomorrow...but we'll finally be in Vizag, and can get some downtime.
Well here's the latest batch of pics from the last day or so. I'm sure we'll have lots more together once we get settled in Vizag.

http://www.wheelspecs.com/gallery/2007-02-17-Travel

India trip dinner meeting

We all met at one of our favorite spots for dinner last night, Bombay Grill. This was our last meeting before we leave this Friday.

Everyone liked the food, Ben said the bread (naan) tasted like a quesadilla and that the chicken tasted like chinese. Beck stole peoples' food and made a new "buddy", Max. We all crashed a closing Gelato shop for a treat after dinner. Keep checking back for blog updates and more photo links.

Click on the link to see photos from the dinner:
http://www.wheelspecs.com/gallery/2007-02-13-Dinner