A Sweet Farewell

Sugarcane Juice Stop (pure glucose!)

First Full Conference Day

Today was a long day that began early. We left Sharon Gardens for a 3 hr van ride to Tirupper, but about an hour into the trip our van broke down. After several attempts to revive it, we all got out on the "highway" and boarded a small bus that just happened to be sitting on the road acrosee the street. Not sure how these things work here but it was rather amusing. I'm sure there was discussion about what to do in all the chatter we couldn't understand, but we weren't privy to any of it. It seemed like we broke down, and "Hey, there's a bus, let's get on that one! And, hey, let's have that guy drive us 2-1/2 hours away!" And we did, and he did, and off we went! Hilarious. After the conference there was yet another van to take us back. Some things we will never understand.

(From left, Belinda, Vicki, Dana, RaeAnn, me in back, and Alfie, Pratti's Great Dane puppy to our right!)

I told you I would introduce you to the team I am with. I have always come to India with my friend from Kansas City (Olathe), Belinda Kendall, whom I mentioned yesterday. She is the Compassion and Care pastor at Indian Creek church, where her husband, Gary, is senior pastor. I love these 2 people. They have built their ministry around the important truth that ministry happens outside the church walls. And i know they live that personally as well. Belinda is one of the most compassionate, selfless people I know. I love traveling with her. It's so fun to watch how God uses (and takes care of), her carefree ways. She's like a wind-up doll that goes here and there and back and forth spreading kindness until she crashes, then God winds her up again and off she goes!

I just met the other three girls on the trip, but already our hearts are aligned. Dana is a mom of three from Belinda's church. She works in a bank managing their IT department. She is adorable, lovable, agreeable, and a down-to-earth modern-day Christian. One wise woman!

RaeAnn is our spunky hair-stylist, and is also from Olathe. I share a kinship with RaeAnn, as she also has three daughters and is a BreakThrough alumni. Yay, BT! Everywhere we go people want to get their picture made with her, because she is so blonde and fair. We decided they like how she stands out in pictures, because after they see the picture they always say, "You are so bright!" ha. We've had some good laughs over that. Vicki is my regal friend from Wyoming. She is my roomie on this trip, except we have our rooms at Sharon). That was totally a God thing (we typically share rooms here too), since she became quite ill with a sore throat, congestion and fever night before last and missed yesterday altogether. Thanks for praying for this amazing lady. She was completely better today and gave a powerhouse story today at the conference. I'm looking forward to getting to know these women better and sharing these very cool two weeks with them. Hannah translates for Dana

Miss Pratibha takes a break from the platform

The all-day conference today was a small regional conference with about 125 women. They were all waiting for our late arrival, and were singing as if it were all planned that way. Prati opened with a charge to the women to not be satisfied with merely being a Christian, but to respond to God's Grace in their lives by getting out and influencing others for good and sharing God with others. She used the scripture about Peter and Cornelius and how Cornelius was a good man who prayed often but sent for Peter to explain more to him. Peter initially resisted, and what if he had not gone? She is always a powerful speaker!

RaeAnn and Stella

RaeAnn's Story

In the rest of the conference, RaeAnn, Dana, and Vicki all shared their stories of the difference God's grace made in their lives and helped them overcome the shame of the past and gave them guidance, healing and freedom for today. They each did a great job sharing, and it was evident many women related to different parts of their stories.

There was an especially moving part of the day when Prati invited all of us who were mothers to pray for each other's children. That promting was pertinent to one of the sessions, and I would love to tell you all about it, but those are their stories and I don't feel I should share THEIR stories on MY blog. Hope you can respect that. Suffice it to say it was an incredible day full of courageous and vulnerable sharing.

Our lunch was Indian takey-outey. So fun! We never know exactly everything we're eating, but we did recognize fried rice and butter chicken (a sauce, really), and our team favorite so far, Naan, this yummy bread that looks like a brown tortilla. The challenge is always no silverware... or napkins for that matter. (Just read all that again and let it soak in.) When in Rome, right?

Tomorrow we actually get to stay at Sharon for church. My back is happy for that. Between the roads and the shock-less vans, I swear staying on a bull couldn't be that much harder!

Good morning to you all, good night to me.