India to Nashville: Christmas Break

Although I missed my family a lot during the Christmas season, it was neat to spend my first Christmas in Siliguri (last year I was in Hyderabad, India) with my "family" here. I am truly blessed to have some stinkin' awesome people to live life with here - people who I could see myself being friends with back in the states. That's pretty rare to find here.

Some things we did in December:

*We celebrated Advent in our house church. It was neat to teach the kids (even Victoria) the meaning of Advent and how cool it is to anticipate and celebrate the coming of Christ. Here's an example:

*We had lots of snowball fights...ok, I'm obviously kidding. But it feels like it could snow here...it's been the coldest winter in India in 5 years. So we decided to make snow flakes (many of which Victoria taped around my room) and even hung them from the trees outside for our Christmas party.

*We went to a craft fair and I got some jolly, cheap earrings and woven tea cups.

*On December 23, we had a Christmas party for our neighbors. Me and emily decorated the backyard and people brought Indian snacks (salty) and American desserts (sweet!).

There, we shared a lot of laughs and conversations and were able to share with our friends the reason why we celebrate Christmas. And ultimately what God did for us that we couldn't do for ourselves...forgive us and save us. We had a scavenger hunt of clues that hinted at the Christmas Story. Then, inside, Nathan (the missionary who lives below us) told the Story.

And then we gave fruit cakes and Bibles. haha! What a hilarious and awesome combination! To end the night, Emily and I made CHAI!

How else are you supposed to end an Indian party? DUH! haha! Anyway, as a result, one high school guys - Sheriff (yes, that is his name. awesome) - has been coming to our house church and hanging out with Adam, another missionary here. He is learning more about what the church is and is getting to see us live out our faith daily. Please pray that God will show him more of who He is. It is obvious that God is pursuing him. Below is a pic of some good friends - Nick, Emily, Anu, Munnu, Mary, and Nimesh

*For New Year's Eve, we had a fire on the basketball court and made smores! This was such a treat because you can't get marshmallows here and a couple in our church gave us some of theirs from America to eat. It was a jolly time of laughing and being together. That day we also found out that foreigners no longer need permits to get into some eastern Indian states, which has been a long-time prayer for many missionaries who feel called to those places. This will free them up to travel there often. Kari and Emily also shared that at their medical camp that day, a prostitute named Diya became a sister in Christ! The first prostitute to come to Christ in that area, Manju, had shared with her and invited her to come to this camp. Kari's Bengali partner was able to share with Diya and it was obvious she wanted this forgiveness and freedom! Please pray for Diya, that God would provide her a job (just as He did for Manju, who now works as a teacher) so that she won't have to work as a prostitute to survive. This is a huge step of faith for her to trust God to provide for her. But He is faithful and calls us not to worry/fret over these things but to seek His kingdom first and all of them will be given to us. Pray for faith. more at Kari's blog: http://www.nateandkari.blogspot.com/

Also, Kari said that the daughter (11 yrs old) of the Indian man (not a Christian) - who is in charge of an NGO to help these prostitutes and who is partnering with Kari and their group - could not walk because of a bone disease and was going to go to Chennai to have surgery. They have been praying for her to be healed for months. Her father carried her everywhere. And we also prayed for her when they came to the Christmas party. And at the medical camp, Kari saw her RUNNING! Praise God! And her mother told Kari that it was because they had prayed for her that she was healed! Yes! We truly have a God who listens and answers our prayers! Pray that the whole family will decide to follow Jesus, the powerful and yet loving God who created them.

*Among other things, we had Nepali Christmas carolers/dancers, made over 100 sugar cookies, opened presents (2 packages from the States! what a treat! thanks mom, dad, and aunt beckie!), and had a birthday cake for Jesus