SAFE TRAVELS

(this is brandon sneaking into the blog to let you know that the team arrived safely in their travels.)

A call from Kirsten confirmed that the time in Mumbai was AMAZING and hard to leave behind.

Keep everyone in your prayers as a few feel less than stellar after an ALL DAY and complicated train journey.

After a much needed night of rest...another profound day awaits them as they'll be working with a ministry located in the heart of a slum community. As you may have read...
"Their compassionate outreach now includes a school for children in the slum, health clinic for the community, and programs to train and empower women of the slum in various craft making skills. They are a beacon of light to a community that is caught in the cycle of poverty."

The team will spend the first day with the training school to learn how our Indian brothers and sisters are making a difference through their compassionate response to the poor. The next day will be spent at the school for children.

YOUR PRAYERS COULD NOT BE MORE APPRECIATED BY ALL!!!

I'd expect an "official" entry after a few days.

Namaste-
brandon

Fellow Blogs

Bob, one of our team members, is also processing our time in India on a blog for Sojourners. Please check it out! Sojourner India Blog

HOLY GROUND

An hour away from Mumbai, we are sitting in a safe house among 23 young girls who are victims of sex slavery and child prostitution. Most of them have been rescued by the IJM team and brought here as part of their After Care Program. These are children from ages 13 to 17. These are children and someone decided that they could profit off their young bodies. It is unthinkable, sitting here with them, hearing their favorite colors: purple, blue, yellow, to imagine anyone would subject them to such horror. They are small and shy-- but they burst out laughing when David introduces himself as "David who likes to dance like a Bollywood dancer." The girls then dance Bollywood style for us as we clap along. David then dances for them, Bollywood style, and it's so horrendous we have to laugh. Soon we are all dancing. Juliette shows them the electric slide. Erin is taught some elaborate moves. Monika is grabbed into a tango. Our host shows the girls how to 1,2,3 HOP! and they all follow her around the room 1,2,3 hopping following her feet and repeating after her-- the picture of simple innocence, the way it should be. I wish we could post pictures of their faces and beaming eyes, but we can't post pictures of them, for their protection.

Look around the room: When Christ speaks of the Harvest, this is it. When he speaks of Treasures in Heaven, this is it. Seeing these faces, these smiling saved girls, one can feel God's presence like never before. Remove your sandals, for you are standing on Holy Ground. A year ago, they were being used for sex, raped, and living in horror, and now they are hopping around the room with us--that is truly God at work. We gather in circles and make puffy arts and crafts things that turn out looking like silly Muppets--we create small joy from popsicle sticks and googly eyes. We break into small circles and answer questions about where we come from, if we are married. Aside from a few, most of the girls tell us that they do not want to be married when they grow up. It is easy to understand why.

Our prayers are translated for them. And they give us hankerchiefs which they have hand sewn flowery designs into. Hugs, tears, and goodbyes are exchanged. Kirsten buys an abudance of necklaces and baby dresses that the girls have made for us to sell at home. Chai is drank and they give us crackers (don't take it with your left hand!) and soon it's time to go. We walk to the bus, waving singing goodbye. It was only three hours, but we vow to make this a lifetime relationship with this house and these girls-- not just a passing hello. In Kirsten's hotel room, we processed our heavy day and responded with tears for witnessing God at work, joy at having been able to spend time with such survivors, expressed emotions of confusion and disdain for their predators, but above all, some hope was there. For their future. For our work. For His Work. Please pray for them. It's not easy for three women to care for a house full of teenage girls, no matter where you are.

-Joe

We've arrived!

It’s been less than 24 hours since we’ve deplaned, but already we’ve experienced so much we’ll only be able to share the very briefest of highlights. Last night after dropping off baggage at the hotel a few wandered out to find themselves “bustin’ a move” with the locals… apparently we’ve arrived at the end of an Indian festival, and my understanding is David, Joe, and Bob showed our Indian neighbors how we groove in Hollywood as they helped with the celebration!

After fitful rest for more than a few of us, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at our hotel with lots of the coffee with warm milk that put Starbucks to shame. We then piled onto the “Destiny Bus”. No joke that is the name of our bus! Can you believe it?! We love it… Juliette likened us to the Partridge Family with Kirsten playing the role of the mom and David leading the charge as we all break out into a round of “Come on, get happy!”
So Destiny took us to church where a number of our friends are regulars and we enjoyed incredible worship with them. We then were very blessed to enjoy lunch at our friends’ home, and after went out to a home for boys. This beautiful couple has opened their home to raise ten boys they’ve rescued from the streets of Mumbai. In addition they have their own little girl. Their hearts are full of love for these boys and the boys have flourished in their home. All of this was very moving and we’d love to share more of the stories when we return. Here are a few pics until then… Namaste!

-Heidi

PS-We've had a little problem with technology so this post is a little late; hopefully we've worked it out so we can connect easier in the future.

A Few Hours and Counting

Our "India-Here-We-Come" countdown is now hours away instead of weeks or months, and the surreal blurry dream-like nature of our journey is coming into a focused reality. I'm sure there are many bags that still need to be packed, but come 8am tomorrow morning we will all be assembled at LAX as we wait to endure the riggers of our 22-hour journey to Mumbai.

Our week began with a great connection on Sunday when our home church of Ecclesia hosted a "Not For Sale" event. David Batstone, the author of the book and movement, "Not For Sale" joined us as we explored through songs and multimedia presentations the issues of injustice and human trafficking around the world. For those of us on the India team, it seemed like we had come full circle, since part of our preparation processing for our trip included reading David Batstone's book. Please check out the links on the right to learn more about the book and the movement. After exploring the challenges to live Isaiah 1:17, our church family surrounded our team with prayer, and we felt a solidarity and desire to see God's heart for justice. Although it was hard to see each story unfold making the numbers and statistics a reality, there was also a sense of hope for a new purpose to see slavery end in our lifetime.

Our church is crying out for God to plant a vision in us to see ways we can impact injustice. Visit our Justice League blog to see how we are exploring these opportunities locally and in other parts of the world.

And stay tuned, next time you hear from us we'll be in Mumbai… Bollywood here we come!

Lights... Camera... Action!

Only a couple of weeks to go before we see our name in lights in the land of Bollywood! We're joking of course. Since we're leaving Hollywood for Bollywood, we thought it would be fun to show our team in a Bollywood movie poster.

Seriously though, we are making our final preparations for our sojourn to India, and despite the many challenges many of us have experienced in preparing for the trip, we really feel God's presence working in and through us. Please continue to pray for us and the connections we make in India. We feel blessed by your support... thank you.

Global Trip Overview

We'll begin our journey in Mumbai (aka Bollywood), where we will be hosted by our friends working with a human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression. Due to the sensitive nature of their work we will not be naming them here. As we listen, learn, and pray, we will be exploring ways to further our partnership with this agency and their passionate dedication to seek justice for the oppressed. We will also be researching various after-care programs that minister to those who have been rescued. Such programs help to bring healing and hope so the victims aren't re-trafficked into slavery, but can experience the life and value God intended for them. Several folks in our group are involved in the film industry in Hollywood, so we have been invited to spend time with believers in the Bollywood film industry. We look forward to learning more about Bollywood and ways to develop our connections there through prayer and relationships.

Our group will then travel north to visit the wonderful work of a ministry located in the heart of a slum community. Their compassionate outreach now includes a school for children in the slum, health clinic for the community, and programs to train and empower women of the slum in various craft making skills. They are a beacon of light to a community that is caught in the cycle of poverty, and we look forward to learning about how our Indian brothers and sisters are making a difference through their compassionate response to the poor.

The last portion of our trip takes us to the foothills of the beautiful Himalayan Mountains. We will be spending time with our wonderful India friends who faithfully encourage and train pastors of small house churches in various villages throughout the mountainous region. There is often persecution for these believers, but their dedication to the Lord is great. We will be learning about what its like to be a believer in a spiritually and physically challenging part of the world, and we will seek to explore ways we might partner with our friends and their ministry.

Prayer points:

• Please pray for our team as we prepare for our trip (physically, spiritually, financially, etc)
• Please pray for our safety, unity, cultural sensitivity, and health while in India.
• Please pray that we would remain close to God and His heart and that we would be humble and teachable.
• Please also pray that we would bring encouragement and refreshment to our friends in India.
• Pray for the oppressed, the slaves, the poor, and the persecuted...that the Lord would hear their cries and bring them rescue, hope, and healing.
• Finally, pray that the Lord would guide us as we seek to identify ways to develop long-term partnerships with our friends in India who are faithfully serving the poor and oppressed.