Arun and Shobha returned back from Thailand safely and were able to meet with people they needed to, so thank you for all who prayed for them!! Melissa is doing well in Thailand with her ministry, but still adjusting to some different aspects of being there, so keep her in your prayers!
The weather has been consistently warmer now, finally staying in the 75-85 degree range...hey India, welcome to hot weather :)! I’ve definitely been enjoying it...except for one part: less rain means less water available in the tanks...which means less water to shower with and use at the house...which means that I didn’t shower for several days haha. This warm weather has also given me the gift of crazy allergies (or a cold...i’m not sure which). That kinda just makes me mad, especially with one week left. If you’ve ever suffered from allergies, you know that they can leave you in a fog and feeling like your head is going to explode. In addition, a lot of kids here are also sick :/
As we were playing outside the other day, I saw several snails (not abnormal here). Well, I happen to think that snails are pretty cute, and the fact that they don’t bite, sting or move quickly makes me like them even more! The funny thing is, most of the kids here are really afraid of them. But do you want to know what they have NO problem picking up and holding in their hands???? Massive centipedes. What.the.heck?!?! Naturally, I FREAKED out and ran away like a little girl. In terms of teaching, I’ve taken Melissa’s classes too, so I now get to teach 5-10th grade, which I LOVE!!!! Plus, it’s nice to have a change too! I’ve also been working with a couple girls my age on bingo cards that have numbers and several different categories of words on them. The challenge has been: trying to explain making bingo cards to people who have never played bingo haha...and let me just tell you, they’re actually harder and much more time consuming to make than you’d think! You have to have about double the amount of words in the word bank than on the paper and you have to make sure there is decent variation between the cards. Needless to say, it’s taken a bit of time, but I love being able to leave them with this learning tool that can be super fun and competitive for the kids too!
And holy cow, I cannot believe that a week from today I’ll be back at home in the States. That seriously just blows my mind! I’ve been gone for 8 ½ weeks now. In some ways it seems like I’ve been a part of this ministry and known some of these wonderful people forever!! In other ways, it seems like I just got here last week. Either way, I can’t hide from the fact that my time here is coming to a close...which leads to lots more processing, savoring precious moments and relying on the Lord :). It’s tough trying to imagine what home will be like, and honestly, I can’t dwell on it too long in one sitting. On one hand, I can’t wait to see my family and friends. On the other hand, it’s sooooo hard to even think about leaving and not seeing these kids anymore. In some ways I wish that things could be different for them and they could be the ones who change some injustices here in India...and honestly, I think many of them can and will be a part of those changes. Because let me tell you again: there are some POWER HOUSE leaders among these children. Girls with hearts of gold. Boys with protective hearts of a father. Girls with boldness that rivals that of men. It’s incredible. So I guess that in more ways than not, I leave here with sooo much hope and anticipation to see what this group of circuit rider leaders will accomplish through the Lord. And the fact that my mom is coming to visit with the Mission Board in January is also a comfort to me...even though I’m not coming, it feels like a huge part of me is :).
Please pray:
-Well, I’d like to have no mo allergies! I would like to be 100% in every way this last week, with nothing holding me back!
-For the Lord to make me super focused and present HERE
-For continued CRAZY JOY, hope, patience and love to pour out
-For the Lord to continue giving me words of encouragement and identity for the people here
-For the Lord to already be preparing me for what I will experience when I get home
-For the right people to process things with when I get home
-For a good job when I get home
Much love,
Bethany
The weather has been consistently warmer now, finally staying in the 75-85 degree range...hey India, welcome to hot weather :)! I’ve definitely been enjoying it...except for one part: less rain means less water available in the tanks...which means less water to shower with and use at the house...which means that I didn’t shower for several days haha. This warm weather has also given me the gift of crazy allergies (or a cold...i’m not sure which). That kinda just makes me mad, especially with one week left. If you’ve ever suffered from allergies, you know that they can leave you in a fog and feeling like your head is going to explode. In addition, a lot of kids here are also sick :/
As we were playing outside the other day, I saw several snails (not abnormal here). Well, I happen to think that snails are pretty cute, and the fact that they don’t bite, sting or move quickly makes me like them even more! The funny thing is, most of the kids here are really afraid of them. But do you want to know what they have NO problem picking up and holding in their hands???? Massive centipedes. What.the.heck?!?! Naturally, I FREAKED out and ran away like a little girl. In terms of teaching, I’ve taken Melissa’s classes too, so I now get to teach 5-10th grade, which I LOVE!!!! Plus, it’s nice to have a change too! I’ve also been working with a couple girls my age on bingo cards that have numbers and several different categories of words on them. The challenge has been: trying to explain making bingo cards to people who have never played bingo haha...and let me just tell you, they’re actually harder and much more time consuming to make than you’d think! You have to have about double the amount of words in the word bank than on the paper and you have to make sure there is decent variation between the cards. Needless to say, it’s taken a bit of time, but I love being able to leave them with this learning tool that can be super fun and competitive for the kids too!
And holy cow, I cannot believe that a week from today I’ll be back at home in the States. That seriously just blows my mind! I’ve been gone for 8 ½ weeks now. In some ways it seems like I’ve been a part of this ministry and known some of these wonderful people forever!! In other ways, it seems like I just got here last week. Either way, I can’t hide from the fact that my time here is coming to a close...which leads to lots more processing, savoring precious moments and relying on the Lord :). It’s tough trying to imagine what home will be like, and honestly, I can’t dwell on it too long in one sitting. On one hand, I can’t wait to see my family and friends. On the other hand, it’s sooooo hard to even think about leaving and not seeing these kids anymore. In some ways I wish that things could be different for them and they could be the ones who change some injustices here in India...and honestly, I think many of them can and will be a part of those changes. Because let me tell you again: there are some POWER HOUSE leaders among these children. Girls with hearts of gold. Boys with protective hearts of a father. Girls with boldness that rivals that of men. It’s incredible. So I guess that in more ways than not, I leave here with sooo much hope and anticipation to see what this group of circuit rider leaders will accomplish through the Lord. And the fact that my mom is coming to visit with the Mission Board in January is also a comfort to me...even though I’m not coming, it feels like a huge part of me is :).
Please pray:
-Well, I’d like to have no mo allergies! I would like to be 100% in every way this last week, with nothing holding me back!
-For the Lord to make me super focused and present HERE
-For continued CRAZY JOY, hope, patience and love to pour out
-For the Lord to continue giving me words of encouragement and identity for the people here
-For the Lord to already be preparing me for what I will experience when I get home
-For the right people to process things with when I get home
-For a good job when I get home
Much love,
Bethany
(sometimes the rain makes the ceiling and walls leak....and you have to use lots of buckets)
(anddddddd i facetimed my sister at 3:30am her time hahahahhaha)
(peeling garlic till my fingers burn)
(painting nails party)
(the girls praying listening to the "Shekinah" song...asking the Holy Spirit to fall and fill us.....BEAUTIFUL)
(hanging out with my girls :) )
(REPPING OSU!!!!!)
(yes, this is the centipede....gross)
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