Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday!!!

I teach a little girl named Hannah.  She's 4.  She makes up wild, fun, imaginative stories and asks about 397 questions a day.  She has a little brother, Sammy, who always wants to wrestle and roar in her face.  She also has a baby sister named Phoebe, who we affectionately call "Pheebes" and who has one giant curl on the top of her head like a "who" from a Dr. Suess book.

Anyway, Hannah didn't really want to have school today.  So I quickly tried to motivate her by saying that in honor of Friday we were going to review the letter "D" and have a little dance party.  What did we dance to?  None other than the Rebecca Black friday song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0

Granted, I only showed her the beginning of the video, stopping at the part where she sings about "partyin'!"  haha!  Tonight when I overheard her teaching Sammy the song before they went to sleep, I couldn't help but crack up...especially when Kari (her mom) said she'd been singing it all day!  Kari loves all the things I teach Hannah because she repeats everything over and over :)  Ok, maybe it's me who loves torturing Kari with all those things...

Anyway, she gave me permission to teach Hannah more of the song so she wouldn't just keep repeating "Friday, Friday, Gotta get down on Friday"  over and over and over :)  Get ready, Hannah, next Friday you're gonna be "partyin', partyin', YEAH!"  I can't wait!  I'll have to get a video of it fo sho!

Here's some pics from this week with the kids before bedtime...I've spent the night all week with them while their dad was out of town.  I learn so much from Kari and the way she loves her kids, from singing and talking about Jesus during bath time to being consistent in disciplining them to taking the time to just be with them (reading, tickling, playing).  What a gem she is!  I hope I am half the mom someday to my kids that she is to those sweet "birds," as she calls them :)

this is what sammy does when you tell him to smile!  love it!

this perfectly captures little phoebe!

bedtime stories with hannah and mama kari!

jolly :)

Shanti

Yesterday I went with one of our YL leaders to her college.  I got to hang out with all of her awesome friends and endure a long college program...but SO worth it for the jolly time I spent with her and her friends.  One of the girls was so sweet.  I sat next to her on the way back...an hour bus ride on the most horrendous roads known to modern man.  These should not be called roads, but mountains and valleys made of rocks and dust.  It is like an unnecessary and obnoxious rollercoaster for which you need a chiropractic adjustment afterwards. But what to do!  This is India.  You just have to laugh to keep from crying :)


Anyway, I digress.


3 things she said that day stood out to me:


"I love going to church.  It feels so peaceful, not like Hindu worship at temples which is just loud and annoying."
So many Indians have expressed this to me.  I think it's such a reflection of the longing for meaning, rest, forgiveness, true worship, joy, and longing to be a part of a good thing bigger than themselves.  I shared with her Matthew 11:28 (Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest) and said I thought the reason she felt peace was because Jesus invites us to find rest in Him by being what we cannot be.

"Jesus said while he was dying, 'Forgive them, for they don't know what they do.'  Why did Jesus willingly suffer and why did God allow him to suffer on the cross?"

I had a random, half torn, wee Bible in my purse.  So I pulled it out and turned to John 3:16 to let her read it.  Unfortunately we were just getting off the bus so we couldn't really talk about it.  But I just said the easiest way to answer that question is love.

"I need some shanti (means peace or rest in Hindi)"
We went to the mall and just sat for awhile because we'd been traveling all day.  I couldn't help but think how all of us need, desire, and even long for spiritual peace/rest.  Made me think again of that verse, Matthew 11:28.  Just silently prayed my new friend would find peace in the One who can carry her burdens.

What a privilege to share some things about Jesus with this new friend.  It is good news.  I'm hoping to have more conversations with her, but so thankful for the opportunity yesterday.  I hope you'll pray for her with me, that she and her family will know Jesus one day as loving Savior.

Foolishness for His Sake

These past few weeks I've been learning a lot about foolishness and weakness.  It is what the world despises.  It is not praised...it is avoided.  It is disgusting to us.  It embarrasses us.

Yet it is what Christ calls us to be.  So that Christ's power might rest on us.  That His grace and glory would be on display for a dying world to see.

I hate to be weak.  I hate not knowing everything.  Having little to no control.

But it's in the weak moments of our lives that we realize the sufficiency and satisfaction of His grace.  Of His unfailing love.  Over our circumstances.  Over our own screw-ups.

At our house church on Sunday we sang the song "Here I am to Worship."  The bridge repeats the phrase "we'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross!"  And that's the beauty of the gospel.  It doesn't bring us guilt but it's an exclamation and a shout of praise that by His grace we will never have to know what we have been spared from...eternal separation from God.  Oh what love!  That doesn't ask for penance or anything in exchange for our salvation except our whole heart.

Oh how He loves us, friends!  Because of this profound and sacrificial love, we are able to say, like Paul...

"That is why, for Christ's sake (so His power may rest on us), I DELIGHT IN WEAKNESES, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:10

Abraham looked foolish to probably everyone around him when he told them what God had promised...that His offspring would outnumber all the grains of sand.  Because the guy was 99 years old!  He looked utterly foolish and weak to be able to bring about the promise of God.  He couldn't even have one child, let alone more than the number of stars in the sky!

But He trusted God for it.  Even when God wanted him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.  His faith did not waver.  BECAUSE HE KNEW THE PROMISE WOULD COME FROM THE PROMISER NOT THE PROMISEE.  Only the Promiser can bring about the promise.  We are not called to bring it about, only to be obedient to whatever He calls us to do.

So I take courage in being weak and foolish because I know that His power will be made perfect in my weakness.  Praise Him!  May He get so much glory for what He has done and will do through this weak vessel!

Romans 4:18-21...LOOK IT UP!

Things I will Miss about India...#1

Afternoon Tea...

Boys are so STINGY!

Yesterday, I participated in a plethora of Valentine's Day activities, which included making these cookies that looked like poo but tasted like heaven, meeting the principal of one of the high schools where we're doing YL, giving away chocolates to 11th grade girls with one of our YL leaders Munnu, hanging out with the seminary students I teach, eating baked spaghetti with Shay and the Roberts (the American family upstairs), and watching a sappy teenage movie with Victoria and Trish (lesson from that movie...don't kiss in the stacks, it never turns out well...).  OH, and my sweet Valentine gave me a rose :)  Glad we have each other, Shay!

The comment of the day was from a girl named Alivi, who was very outspoken about how none of the boys at the seminary bought the girls anything.  We were sitting in a circle of about 10 students, and she went on and on about them being lazy and stingy :)  haha!  One of the guys said, "Ok...next year then."  Another, more wise, fellow said, "Ok, guys, well maybe we should prove them wrong!"  However, none of the guys took his side so I think he will go down as being stingy, too.  Sorry, guys, intentions don't really count for much...us girls can't read your minds.  Anyway, that was a fun, light-hearted convo to be a part of and hear Indians' thoughts about love :)

Oh yeah!  Rebecca rocked those sunglasses!  Me and Shay...not so much :)

Supposed to be Heath Bar Cookies but just made em Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chunk instead b/c Siliguri doesn't have such luxurious things as Heath Bars

Thanks Shay!

Sweet girls!

Maplewood High School

No, Maplewood is not in India :)  It's in Nashville, TN.  It's a primarily African-American public school that, like most Nashville public schools, has not been a school with high graduation rates or good reports.  It's in a part of town that is not frequented by many white people and is stereotyped as "ghetto" and "dangerous."

On Friday night my mom and dad, white suburbanites, went to a high school girls' basketball game there.  My mom is a 9th and 10th grade girls' Sunday School teacher at their church in Nashville.  One of her girls is on the team and had a game so she went to cheer her on.  That Sunday they had a special time where the youth group invited their friends to church.  Her class had 26 girls packed into a small room, 11 of which were visitors.  And a few of those were from that girls' basketball team.

I honestly don't know why those girls came to church, whether it was b/c of their friend or meeting my mom or what.  But I'm sure it stood out to them that a white, 54-year-old lady would come and cheer for their friend in a crowd where they was only 4 white people.  It showed them that love and true friendship crosses all kinds of barriers.

I'm so inspired by my mom.  I know that took courage for her.  But she did it because she loves that girl. And would do anything for her, the least of which is going to a basketball game to let her know she cares.  I guarantee you that people notice that kind of supportive, selfless love.

I want to see that kind of love shown to teenagers here in Siliguri.  Crossing racial, religious, and relational taboo's.  Because of the transforming love of Jesus.  Nothing else can change you like Him.  Nothing else can move you out of your comfort zone to love others like Him.

Megan, what have you been doing for the past 10 weeks?

Great question.  Sorry I stink at blogging.  Here goes:

*Flying 8,000 miles from one home to another home
*Hangin' out with my 91-year-old Grandmother in the hospital and nursing home (she broke her hip the day before I got to Nashville in December)
*Sitting with my mom in the mornings watching Good Morning America

(Christmas breakfast at my sweet Aunt B's!)

*Playing Scrabble with my cheater sista (she uses dictionary.com...NOT fair)

*Taking my 28-year-old brother to work because his car is a piece of junk
*Watching Alabama sporting events with my dad...we haven't bonded unless it involves Alabama, according to him.  haha!  Thank goodness Bama won the national title :)

*Drinking tea at all the jolly coffeeshops in Nashville with some jolly people: Sarah, JuJu, Zaloba, Merry/Matt, Eric, Emily/Nick, Alecia, Maria/Erin/Megan, Janey, Connie, Karen, Allison and more

Other than that I enjoyed spending a lot of time at home with my family and dog, Zippy.  This time I was home, more than all the others, I felt that I was able to rest, physically and emotionally and spiritually.


God answered some big prayers...providing all the money (and more!) I needed for the YL conference!  Taught me a lot about His generous heart for His children.

YL Asia at the conference

I had the privilege of carrying in the India flag @ the beginning and end of the conference

As I returned to India, my spirit was heavy with mystery about things I feel He is preparing me for.  So I've spent a lot of alone time with Him.  As a result, I feel God is leading me back to the US this summer.  This has been tough to process but leads me closer to Jesus as I cling to Him and His love for me.

Pray for YL Siliguri in the next 5 months, that God will accomplish all He wants in and through us...that we'll meet high school kids where they are, believing they have meaning and purpose, loving them with and sharing His love.

YL Conference