Nashville Happenings

This is the front of Lipscomb Academy, where I go a few times a week to hang out with kids at lunch (or I'm at soccer or football games other nights)

Part of our YL team - Brooke and Taylor!  They're students at Belmont and Lipscomb Universities and are both from Lexington (2 not pictured - Noni and Nathan)

Andrew Peterson CD release concert - epic

Oh yeah, my brother got married!  It was very picturesque and sweet.  Only unenjoyable part - 50 degree weather :(

Of COURSE I went to the circus!  Elephants and human canonball, HELLO!

I just love this picture :)

Meg Goes West

I was in Colorado Springs for a week for a "debriefing and renewal" program for missionaries coming off the field.  Wow, I didn't even know how much I needed it.  It provided much needed closure that I needed and really helped me see that God wanted me to lay down the burden of India from my shoulders (I think I'd been trying to foolishly carry that weight here in the states when I wasn't asked to by Asia YL or God.  I needed to let go and surrender to God's plan for myself and the Indians I left behind.  Lots of letting go of guilt and feelings of failure, accepting what God says about me instead).

Steve and Dyan Larmey work for YL Africa and I am so blessed that they were at the program the same week...THAT is insane!  Such divine intervention, I believe.  I was so blessed and encouraged by them and their stories/experience with Young Life.  And their 4 kids are pretty cool too!  We played lots of volleyball and frisbee that week.  #jollyfest

This is my new friend David.  He's the one with glasses :)  The other guys are part of his 2000-acre ranch in CO.  He is the father of one of my financial supporters.  It was so cool to see his cattle ranch and also get to tell him and his wife about YL in India. 

Then I went to San Francisco for a few days to meet with some YL folks.  However, I had no idea that Aug/Sept are the worst months for FOG!  So sad not to see the entire Golden Gate bridge :(  Oh, and it's FREEZING there!  Well...on one side of the "tunnel"...on the other side is hot.  Don't ask.  I do not understand the climate dynamic there, SO confusing!  Anyway, it's a beautiful city with lots of neat places fo sho!  Thanks to Steve, a trainer for Asia YL, for driving me around!

For anyone who knows me even a little bit, you know that I LOVE local coffee shops.  This is a cool one in Danville, CA called Sideboard.  As you can imagine, I was a huge fan of my breakfast choice and the mug they gave me :)  ps - that was the most amazing yogurt/granola/fruit bowl i've ever had!

This is Michele.  She basically runs YL Expeditions, which sends out teams of YL leaders/kids/etc to America and across the world to help with other YL areas in need...from providing the work crew for a camp to building cabins to teaching English.  Hopefully Nashville YL can partner with India YL by sending teams there every year!  You can pray for that partnership and a potential trip in March!

Ok, so I HAD to.  It's the "Full House" house :)

Rekindled to Live

I thought it would be easier.  I thought I would have more support from people higher up.  I thought they would now do the vision-casting and leading.

So I gave in to a slow death.  Death of a vision.  Because it's easier to swim downstream with everyone else and ignore a difficult calling (not that we all don't have difficult calling, I don't mean to belittle anyone else's).

This separation from the people and the place that I have come to love is so difficult.  Leaving is so hard.  Even though I have a complete peace about where I am, my heart longs to be there sharing life with them and encouraging them to love Jesus and let Him love them.

So, as we humans often do, I took a black and white approach...to just stop thinking about YL India and my friends there.  I figured now someone would take care of Siliguri YL.  There's nothing wrong with coming home and transitioning to life here.  But it's been tough to figure out what my role is now.

I'm grateful that the writer of a chunk of the New Testament was a missionary...Paul.  The guy started tons of churches but knew that for them to grow and for others to be started, he had to leave.  But he didn't just cut off all ties with them.  He prayed for them often.  He wrote to them.  And even visited them when he was able.  He expresses my heart for Indians in Colossians 2...

"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."

In this season, I'm learning to cast my anxiety on Jesus and receive His care for me.  To know that the longing I have for Indians to know Christ is ok...I don't have to feel guilty for being in the US and not with them.  But at the same time, I do believe God is re-kindling my calling...or maybe re-shaping/refining it.  I have invested so much, and to come back to the US and get back into the grind has made me forget about my calling and where true Life is found.  It's just easier here because comfort is easily accessible.  So as I've forgotten the vision of YL, it seems I've also set aside the Greatest Vision - God Himself.

Guess this old hymn expresses what I feel God is calling me to do right now...

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face...and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

Reverse Culture Shock

For those of you who don't know, I moved "home" to Nashville, TN from my "home" in Siliguri, India on June 13 (hence the blog's name change...India to Nashville).  Haven't been in Nashville much because of traveling but enjoying seeing my family on a regular basis and even some sweet friends.  Here are some reflections from the past few weeks...

*105 degrees feels awesome in a dress or shorts/tank top.  So I'm the only one sitting outside of Frothy Monkey.  But that's ok because sweating reminds me of India.  And I'm thankful I don't have to wear jeans and a sleeved shirt :)

*I've found myself bobbling my head when I really agree with someone...the Indian head bobble, oh my, it's in my blood.  Hilarious.  Especially when I'm with someone I don't know and can't just say "India."  see an informative video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ0SuD_ulVk

*I miss eating rice with my hands

*I've almost spoken Hindi to random people at the gas station...who are not Indian

*It's not fun living out of a suitcase.  I want to jump right into life here and make it my own, but it's not really possible right now because I'll be traveling til the end of August and living with my parents til I find a place.  I know God wants me to live in these moments of uncertainty but I just want them to be done.  I want to get an apartment or house and put all my mugs in a cabinet and drink from them on my jolly, garage-sale leather couch.  God is teaching me a lot about waiting.  It's good but hard.

*Learning about long-distance relationships...no, unfortunately not that kind.  Friendships.  I have felt a lot of guilt for not "maintaining" the intensity level of friendships I had with Indians when I lived there. But it's just not possible.  Even just thinking about it is exhausting.  So I'm trying to figure out where the balance is.  Facebook is great for dropping lines every once in awhile.  An Indian calling card is good, too, when Young Life Sila has YL club and I need to talk to them about it.



*Conclusion - I need grace.  I need to receive it wholeheartedly.  Recognize I am insufficient to figure all this out but God's grace is absolutely sufficient.  I must surrender to this overwhelming, unfailing love daily.  Because my sin nature says to do the opposite and work, work, work.

Pray for me to welcome His grace as I transition to life here.

Letting Go

I am saying goodbye this week to people I love and have invested in for 3 years.  Yes, I'll see them again, Lord-willing.  But it's not the same as living in the same city day in and day out.  India is not my favorite place on earth and I'm honestly not too sad to be leaving the place...but it's people here that my heart has been forever attached to.

This week I've been reminded of the importance of handing over leadership.  As much as I don't want to believe it, staying here longer would create more dependence on me instead of reliance on God.  My good friend, and YL Sila leader, Munnu (actually my first close Indian friend) encouraged me yesterday by telling me that God has been leading her and other leaders to have more faith instead of being scared that I'm leaving.  "Unless you leave, we won't ever figure it out on our own."  We'll always depend on you and say, "Well, Megan's here so she can do it."

Me and Munnu in Nepal last September when we visited a Nepal YL camp

How true that has been.  Even me being gone for 3 weeks touring India with YL showed me how much leaders will step into roles when there is no one else to do it.  And it makes all the difference!  It is uniquely different and "Indian," the way it should be.  The way the leaders came together and pulled off the YL Sila Concert on May 26th called "BEATS" was unbelievable!  And 95% of it was without me!  I trust that God will inspire them and motivate them much more in the coming days, weeks, and years.


Another cool story: Munnu's cousin, Ernest, is a college student in Darjeeling but has decided to move to Siliguri to go to college...partly motivated by wanting to be involved with YL Sila.  He even came to our English class yesterday and jumped right into leading a group.  How grateful I am that God continues to show His faithfulness by sending the workers.

Will you take a few minutes to pray for these "workers" in Siliguri - to have faith and not fear - and that God would continue to send more workers to the harvest of teenagers?

Delhi

little sightseeing the second day we arrived

abhishek was telling people he's a famous rockstar from hollywood.  they all flocked for pics :)

yeah, india is HOT right now.  we're absolutely exhausted by 3pm.

all 4 of us on a rickshaw!

on sunday, eric played for a church's 8th anniversary.  this is the pastor and his wife.

i used all of my hindi (and they loved using their english) talking to these guys for almost an hour...yes i bought lots of shoes :)  if you want a pair, just let me know!

one of the best handicraft places in delhi

eric played for about 300 kids

saying goodbye to our sweet friends in the "band" :)

the guys in the band LOVED eric, they were such a jolly bunch!

YL Sila English Class!

This jolly group are some of the kids and leaders at our English class on Tuesday.  We started last week and had 21.  This past class we had almost 80 high school kids!  WOW!  Praise Him for this awesome group of teenagers!  And Praise Him for the leaders that sacrifice their time to teach them!

By the way, some of them are throwin' up the "YL" sign :)  So fun!

Pondering the story of Luke 5:1-11 as we "fish for teenagers."  <><

Motivation

Today I had lunch with one of our key Young Life leaders.  Her name is Javeen Rai, she's 28, and started her own school for poor children 4 years ago.  She's a CHAMP.  Because she takes risks for others and for the Jesus.  Her school has about 40 kids who pay very little, so she has very little income and pays her teachers a minimal salary.  She has also been helping us start Young Life in her part of town by spending time with high school kids...playing badminton, teaching English every Saturday, and tutoring.

As we ate at Subway, we started talking about her father.  He was the first Christian in their village.  He was 24 and was extremely sick.  One day a Christian man from a nearby town came to his house and told him about Jesus.  Her father told the man that if, after praying to Jesus, He healed him, then her father would follow Jesus.  At that point, he had been to so many doctors and no medicine or remedy had helped at all.  The next day he felt better for the first time and was completely healed.  So he committed his life to Jesus and decided he would give up everything for Him and for telling others about Him.  Before Jesus, he was as good as dead.  But this God was actually alive and had given Him life (physical and spiritual!) so he decided there was nothing he wouldn't give up for this Jesus.

So he went anywhere and everywhere to tell people who would listen about Jesus...and the transformation He brought.  Her father was an alcoholic before he met Christ but along with everything else, he left alcohol and never touched it again.  Javeen said that there was no place he wouldn't go to share Jesus.  Not only did he spread the gospel but he helped in the development of their village - roads, schools, water.  My conversation with Javeen today started because she told me that today her village is 80% Christian.  But when her father started following Jesus, he was the 1st one!  WOW!  What a legacy of faith and love he left!

Tears filled her eyes as she said that none of his children (herself included) was doing anything even close to what he did.  Oh how wrong she is!  She is sacrificing her life for the same Love that her father lived for.  And, like him, she asks for nothing in return.  She has never asked me for money.  She lives on a very small amount because she does not make much in teaching these children.  So why does she keep going?

LOVE.

Not from herself.  But from Jesus and HIS sacrificial love.  There is NO way I would be in India or Javeen doing what she does (running a school and loving teenagers through Young Life) if we were motivated by something like money or fame or man's praise.

NO.

It is Christ's love.  That deep, wide, high, and long love compels us to live for Him.  He desires that all would know Him and would experience all that He is.  So we, as followers of Jesus, seek out opportunities to be a blessing to the world in any/every way and to share Him.

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

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

The Hand of the LORD

Ya know those times you just feel God's hand upon you?  It is strong, yet gentle and kind.  It is powerful and moving.  Yet tender and compassionate.

When I left India in December, I was a little frustrated that I would be in the US for 6 weeks, despite that it was for so many good reasons (vacation, meeting with supporters, and a YL Conference).  But I hate uncertainty.  And feeling out of control.  And waiting.

But a mentor reminded me that we can be certain in the uncertainty as Christians, because Jesus is our Rock and the only constant in an ever-changing world.  So I chose faith over fear and worry.  Again.  (Cuz let's be honest, we have to choose faith over fear DAILY; it's a constant battle)  And God has shown up in crazy ways.

He provided for my "lak" (Indian currency: 1 lak = 100,000 rupees = about $2000) that I needed to go to this YL conference, given me peace about what is going on in Siliguri without me, helping me dream more big dreams for YL in India and a possible way to generate income for YL leaders there, led me to be ok with exploring what I could possibly do in American when I come home (possibly in June), opened my eyes to new and big possibilities for my life wherever I am (in India OR Nashville), and confirming these things with the people I have been meeting with over the past 3 weeks.


May the favor of the LORD our God rest upon us;
Establish the work of our hands for us,
Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:17

I am truly resting in God and marveling at the way He is leading me.  It is the best place to be in.  I am content, being confident in His plan for me.  What a blessing to be content in uncertainty!  To know my Daddy has a plan.  A good plan.