Touch of Faith

Sometimes faith is really hard.

When life doesn't look like what we planned, when the present circumstances require stepping into unknown territory in what seems like the dark, when all control is out of your hands....it's hard.

Victoria and I read a part of Scripture every morning before school. This morning I read the story of Jairus' daughter and the bleeding woman (Luke 8) from the Jesus Story Book Bible. I almost started crying because it was exactly what I needed...

"Daughter, your faith has made you well." All she did was touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Jesus stopped because he felt power go out from him. That's odd...so many people were bumping up against him and yet one particular touch made him stop in the midst of the crowd (on their way to Jairus' house). Because Jesus knew this wasn't just any touch or brush against him.

It was a touch of faith.

Oh Jesus, I need your power. I need your healing. Give me faith, and give me the courage to act on that faith. See, this woman didn't just believe in her heart. She took action because she was so sure.

I need and want that kind of action-filled faith. Not just a silent faith but one that trusts so much that I will do what seems ridiculous to the world. God, give me this faith every step of the way.

You can definitely pray for me in this regard about the upcoming youth concert we are putting together on November 19th or 26th. Please pray that God would move you to faith, asking if He wants you to help financially with this seemingly God-size event (it will cost about 350,000 rupees, or $7500). If you want to know more, please email me at moogsmullet@gmail.com.

Also, here's a link to my October Update if you didn't receive it:

http://www.goingforgod.com/webalizer/OctoberUpdate.pdf

"Most Jolly Meal" Award Goes To...

Surprisingly, I don't crave many things from America so far. Maybe turkey and salad occasionally. But that's about it. I really didn't eat a lot of beef in the US anyway, so I don't really crave it here in India (although, also to my surprise at first, we do have it...we get it from the Muslims!).

HOWEVER, tonight I had a cheeseburger for the 1st time in 3 months, and well...it was so JOLLY!!! Not only b/c we had homemade buns, but also because we had star fruit from Nagaland (state in East India). It was like a jolly solar system on my plate and in my mouth! haha!

ps - I know I have been MIA in the last month as far as blogging goes...I apologize. A LOT has been going on...so I will update very soon. I'm also working on posting a link to my monthly update here, too (PDF file). So look for it soon!

Fun Facts

Indian or...?

Surprisingly, many Indians look Chinese or Korean - there are a billion kinds of Indians (Naga, Bengali, Nepali, Manipori, Assamese, South Indian just to name a few). This is Chotu; he's a wee Naga Indian. He's the cutest!

22 completed, 23 running

Indians count birthdays a little different...Pawal turned "23" this week (even though he was born in 1987) b/c he completed 22 years and is "running" 23 years. It's actually pretty logical. So I guess I'm 23. Cool.

Indian Mail

Receiving letters and packages are jolly - I got my 1st letter and package this week...over a month after they were sent. ha! The package had been opened on one side, but my iPod was actually still tucked inside...amongst Alabama memorabilia. You can probably guess who that was from...brotha! Roll Tide!

P.E. 101, Indian Style

I taught Freeze Tag and Badminton to almost 300 Indian kids on Wednesday at Havillah School. It was so jolly to see them having so much fun. And God continues to open doors for relationships with teachers there.

Pandels for Puja

Pray that God would provide opportunity to talk to people about Jesus, who does not dwell in earthly temples and is not made by human hands. Many Hindus do not even understand why they worship or do the things they do. It is tradition and maybe even just cultural tradition that is void of true life (maybe not unlike cultural Christianity in America).

These are made out of bamboo and cloth and are all over the city

What's jolly about this picture is that Sujay, boy who I met playing soccer, is waving. He's like my little brother!...who I can't understand b/c he doesn't speak English. ha! So I practice my Hindi with him.

Update on Jaazaniah

Trish got back from Delhi today, where she was helping Kikon (guy who works with Jeff) and his wife get medical care for their baby, Jaazaniah. He's been diagnosed with West Syndrome and is undergoing a 10-14 day course of steroids as treatment. Kikon and Lireni are staying in a private room with him during this time. The doctor said "his prognosis is guarded." Please pray for his healing.

Indian English

Many Indians don't know past or future tense verbs, so they speak in present tense all the time. And they repeat the verbs many times for some reason. For example, Menuka (our househelper) says, "Morning time, so much is paining, paining, paining..." So you find yourself talking like that so they can understand...and even when you're not talking to them. Bad habits! This is Menuka and me:

Week in Pictures

Sunday Market with Menuka. This one's for my sister Becca...she loves the Farmer's Market in Nashville and this reminded me of it. However, most Indian markets aren't like this...they're just on the sides of the road. This was a jolly reminder of home.

Well, it's official...geckos love my room. I think there are about 5 regulars (2 big and 3 small). I think this is Rufus. Victoria accidentally beheaded one the other day by smashing the window...half a gecko sticking out of the window. Yeah, gross.

There were municipal elections last week, so I guess they determined the winner. And a lot of people were really happy about it!

There was a huge parade of cars, motorcycles, walkers who put colored powder on their bodies. Strange, but funny. Gopal and I got a kick out of it!

Drums and powdered faces...it was like a dance party in the street!

Gopal and his wife, Sermula (who is pregnant and due in November...so exciting!)

Me and Pawal, the Sports & Games teacher. He was fascinated by my Mac and the video camera. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I basically became a P.E. teacher at Havillah School this week. ha! The principal came in and told Pawal that I would be in charge for the next 3 months and that I was to "train him." I was thinking, "Um...when were you going to tell me that?" Ha! That's the Indian way! But I'm excited about it, and it's only 1 day a week (Wednesdays for 3 hours). I feel like God has opened a lot of doors at this school, and I'm excited to walk through them this year.

Ministering out of Brokenness

As many of you know, Trish has been pretty sick lately - in bed, fever, sore throat, shaky muscles, headaches, neck pain, etc. So we have been praying for her, that God would heal her and in a sense bring her back to life! This morning she said she woke up and felt that God had laid on her heart to help Kikon (a guy who works with Jeff) and his wife as they take their 4-month-old son to Delhi for tests, care, etc. Their son has been having seizures for a few months and is just not getting any better. So they felt it best to go to Delhi to receive better care. Jeff would have gone with them, but he has to teach all weekend. So he asked Trish if she would consider it, and I think it's so awesome how God confirms things by speaking to many people about it. I don't think Trish would have been willing to go if she had not heard God's voice this morning.

So why would God call someone who is feeling sick and weak to serve a family who is also struggling with the emotional and physical pain of their son? Because when we are weak, HE IS STRONG. His grace is enough for us. I am so humbled to see Trish willing to serve out of her own brokenness and pain. Please pray that God's power would shine through her weakness, that His grace would be so real to her during this time (she doesn't know how long she'll be there). And for Kikon's son, that they would find some answers in this frustrating season of life.

Walls

Remember my post about playing "football?" Well, I went about 5 times but was not able to go for the past couple of weeks because I have been experiencing constant shortness of breath (trouble taking deep breaths but no wheezing). So a few days ago, Victoria and I were going to walk to the field just to watch and maybe talk to some people.

But, low and behold, there was a wall.

I guess some people got tired of people walking through their "yards" (dirt area around their house) to get to the field...understandable. So they built a brick wall. Now you have to walk about a mile to the main road and back around in order to get to the field. And as a result, I think the guys have stopped playing...at least the past 3 days when we walked to the field, no one was there. And they used to play every day!

I really feel like it is not only a physical wall, but a spiritual wall. As soon as I started building relationships and seeing God open doors to share Jesus, a wall was built. Pray that God would show up in a mighty way, despite this obstacle.

"My grace is all that you need. For my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 cor. 12:9

Worship

This morning I went to a Nepali church with Menuka, our househelper. As is custom for any church in India, the visitor is asked to share a word with the church. Since I knew I would be coming, I had been praying about what to share. Because Puja (Hindu festival starting late Sept. and into October) is about to start, I really felt led to talk about worship.

God led me to tell the story about Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 and 19. King Ahab was a really evil king b/c he worshipped the false god Baal instead of the LORD, leading the Israelites to do the same. So God sent Elijah to show everyone He was the one true and living God, and that the gods they were worshipping were dead. But more than that, God wanted to bring his people's hearts back to himself. So he gathered the people and said,

How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it's Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!

So 2 altars were built: 1 to Baal and 1 to the YAHWEH. Whichever god answered by fire would be proved to be God. So the prophets of Baal and Asherah spent the entire day shouting, cutting themselves, and dancing in order to summon Baal. NOTHING HAPPENED.

All the odds are stacked against the God of Israel...his prophet (Elijah) was outnumbered by 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (850:1 ratio. Wow). Elijah ordered that 12 huge vats of water be poured on top of the altar and sacrifice to the LORD. Imagine all these prophets who have just been humiliated and hundreds of thousands of Israelites watching this altar. And Elijah walked up to this drenched sacrifice, pleading that the LORD, the God of Israel, would make himself known to these people, that they would know he is leading their hearts back to him, and so they wouldn't think Elijah was a lunatic. God answered immediately. With fire that burned up

EVERYTHING...THE BULL, ALTAR, STONES...EVEN THE WATER.

So who do you think the people worshipped? The gods who never showed up? The gods who never heard their cries? The gods who could never love them or have mercy? NO WAY! They chose YAHWEH. Who hears the cries of his people. Who loves with an unfathomable love. Who is merciful. Who is ALIVE.

*Pray for the believers of India (who are outnumbered, just like the prophet Elijah that day) during this season of Puja, that they would remain committed to worship of the one true and living God, not swayed by their old way of living (that even we, non-Indians, would have boldness in sharing during this time).

*Pray that God would specifically lead men in that village to Himself (there were 2 men in a congregation of nearly 30). If the man of the house becomes a Christians, it is likely that the whole family will then follow Jesus as well.

WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE TO WORSHIP?