Impact India Ministries

More than Enough...

2012-01-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

This past week we ministered in one of the slums in our city and handed out clothes to the kids. This is much easier to plan than to actually do. We knew we would be bombared but that didn't stop us. We went with a plan of action to keep it civil, but that didn't work for long. Before long we had a crowd of about 50 mothers and children reaching into our car grabbing whatever they could reach. At times we saw children that looked to be 10 or so grab infant clothing and run off. What broke my heart is that we had more than enough for everyone to get some, but in their rush to get something they didn't get the right one that would fit them.

Life is hard for them. They live just to get by everyday...so naturally when someone comes to give them something they feel like they have to push others aside and grab whatever they can. It's basically survival mode. Even the littlest ones have already learned this.

In the midst of all that chaos of children pushing and grabbing and our car being mobbed basically, I heard God say, "I have more than enough for all of them." And it was true, we had boxes and boxes ready to distribute, we even tried to yell it out and tell them so they could calm down..but they didn't believe us. I thought about God and how He wants them to know that He died so that there is enough for them...the curse of sickness and poverty is broken by his blood.

Driving home, a litte frazzled and shaken, I thought about how desperate they must be to go that crazy over one pair of clothes. When was the last time you were that desperate for clothes?? I thought about how much more the kids could have gotten had they listened to what we were telling them and followed our instructions...I thought about how God said He has more than enough...and I thought about me and about how I am sometimes afraid to trust Him even though He tells me that He is more than enough to carry me and to provide for me. I dont know how many time I tried to grab at something and make it happen, or reach for something that didn't fit me but I wanted it anyways...all the while God was saying, be patient..wait on me...I have something coming for you that is going be perfect.

God's supply is infinite...I dont know how many times we have felt like it is going to run out, not gonna be enough. As ministers, when we see someone else being blessed it easy to feel like the supply is diminishing if it goes somewhere else, or to someone else, but time and time again, He says, "I have more than enough for you."

Trying to tell them, "one at a time..."..(it didn't work)

I pray that those kids in the slum will experience His love for them one day. I pray that they will see Christ in us and know that He is near to them even when we leave.

(This is where they live, under a bridge near the railroad station in makeshift tents.)

Praise God...Our Container has arrived!

2012-01-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

We have some great news...Our shipping container was released to us this past week. We are super excited about this and want to thank all of you who have been praying for this. We spent the last three days unpacking and getting the upstairs part ( where we live) of the house settled. Opening these boxes has been like Christmas all over again. Unpacking has never been this much fun:)

Today we had a chance to dig in to the downstairs boxes for the first time. These are the boxes that are full of the donated items that many of you have given. It was so much fun seeing all the items that will soon belong to orphaned and needy children.

Six years ago we received a Word from the Lord through a prophecy that "We would be God's distribution center and that He would place supplies into our hands so that we could release it to others in need". Then, we had no idea what that would look like but today we are seeing that come to fulfillment.

I want to share a little something with you that you may not see as such a big deal, but to me it was very special. There is a lady that sells milk at a roadside stall just a few feet from our house. Today she asked us if we could help her daughter to get some jeans since they are very poor and cannot afford to buy her any. Well, we knew that alot of teen girl's jeans had come in the container so we were happy to say yes. She said that she would send her daughter tommorow to get them. Knowing that she was coming tommorow I wanted to find the box that had girl's clothing and get the jeans ready. After opening around 4 boxes and still not finding them I looked at the huge stack of boxes in front of me and whispered a prayer to God to please lead me to the exact box so that I dont have to go through all of them to find them. Well, can you believe that the very next box that I opened was exactly what I was looking for....it was the box with teen girl's jeans. At that very moment I was so aware of God's loving kindness and so humbled that He was looking out for every detail and heard every prayer...no matter how little or silly it sounded to me.

Here are a few pictures of the delivery and unpacking of the donated items...

Below: Our driveway was demolished by the road constrution crew so that they could expand the road and make a new drain...so this door is how we are getting across for now.

One of the rooms with all the boxes lined up.

Having fun with all the toys:)

Having a little too much fun now....

Raj in another room with more toys and other donated clothes..etc.

We Praise God for his provision and supply and we thank YOU for being a part of this...we know that these are going to bless to so many little lives.

My Recent Encounter

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

I recently finished reading a book that was recommended to me by an elderly woman who was standing behind me at a buffet line a few months ago. The book was “ Experiencing the Father’s Heart” by Jack Frost. She told me that this book had changed her life and that I HAD to read. She quoted it saying, “There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you less.” That caught my attention so I went ahead and bought it on Amazon just before leaving America and started reading it after arriving in India. I now wish I had gotten her name and information so I can thank her for recommending it to me. Reading it has really opened by life and my spirit to just how much our Father God loves us, I mean He’s really really, head over heels, crazy in love with us!

I always knew that He loves us….From childhood I have sang it, throughout my teen years I had even had experiences where His love overtook me swept me away into His amazing presence for hours. But what I experienced the other night was unlike anything I had ever known. I don’t even know what to call it, a dream…a visitation….an encounter maybe, all I know is that in it His LOVE was so real and so tangible. I am going to try to explain it as best as I can in hopes that if you haven’t experienced his overwhelming love or you don’t fully understand how great that love is then I pray this will whet your appetite for a LOVE encounter.

In the early morning hours I begin having a dream where a missionary named Heidi Baker was praying over me. I don’t know her personally but have read a couple for her books and have attended a conference that she was ministering at in Dallas. She completely embodies Christ’s love to those around her. In my dream she was holding me close like a mother and whispering a message from God into my ear. She said, “The Father loves you soooo much, He created you as a vessel of His love, but for so long you have felt like you are not worthy. He loves you so much, that is why He brought such a loving husband into your life, to experience His love on a greater level, He loves you sooo much, so so much.” And as she just kept repeating that sentence to me I began to sob like a baby. She patted my back and calmed and hushed me just like you would a baby.” Then I looked up at her eyes and they had diamonds in them. They were beautiful and shining. As I looked at those dazzling diamond eyes I knew that she was a vessel, a jewel that was reflecting the Father love upon me.

She walked away and then I looked up and saw a blindingly bright golden light in the sky. My hands lifted up toward it in praise automatically like I couldn’t control them. At the bottom of the light I saw feet crossed and at the sides and I saw hands extended….it was Jesus. I couldn’t see His face because the light was too bright. I wanted so baldy to See. His. Face. As I kept staring up the light started to descend closer and closer to me. I couldn’t take it. I thought I would surely die if it came any closer. It was too much love! My entire body began to shake and felt so weak and powerless yet so full of Him.

Out of the center of the light came a huge dove. It was the Holy Spirit. It began to flap it’s wings so gracefully yet so powerfully. The dove and the light were one. It then flew down right into my body and I couldn’t keep myself up. It overpowered me and I fell trembling. Then I woke up.

When I woke up I felt cleansed, like you feel after having a good cry. I felt such love filling my room and a Holy presence over me. My physical body was trembling and my legs felt heavy. I laid there for another five minutes just waiting till I felt like I could lift my legs and get up. I had just had a love encounter with the God of the universe. It overwhelmed me in the most wonderful way and for days I literally couldn’t stop smiling. His love was so heavy, so thick, so full, so joyous,….it was everything.

I love…I love….I love His presence.

Walls...

2011-12-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

(Wrote this a few weeks ago when we were renovating the rented house.)

As we paint these walls of this old musky building I think of all the walls that God is bringing down in my own life. A beautiful new coat of paint covers the dirt stains, hand marks, and water damage that makes this building what it is. I think of my own life and how many times I thought I had taken an emotional wall down only to later find out that I had just covered it up with a fresh new color.

It has been three weeks since we arrived in India and already I can see the hand of God working on my life. During this past year God has repeatedly told me what it will mean to fully follow him. Again and again he whispers to me, “It’s going to COST. YOU. EVERYTHING.” I ask Him to tell me more and what that will look like… and I believe that slowly He is already revealing that in part.

Walls are something that we are told we need. Walls keep us safe from the outside world, they protect us from the elements and from strangers getting OUR stuff and into OUR space. They are good in certain contexts….but they can also become a hiding place when there is no need to hide, a comfortable place to linger in.

Coming to India has revealed parts of my life where walls have existed even without my knowledge. Physical walls have a way of actually keeping others out when we don’t want them in, emotional walls are a little more trickier. When you come into a nation where people don’t understand ‘your boundaries’ and therefore don’t honor them you find out real quick how many walls you have actually built up in your life. The other day a waiter at the restaurant that we were in walked up to our table and picked up my son. My immediate thought was, “ that is MY child, I dont know you! How can you just pick him up like that???” After a few seconds of realizing that it was harmless and that he just wanted to play with him my mommy defenses went off and I smiled at the waiter and slowly stood up to get my son back. I know that as a mother that is a perfectly normal reaction, but inside I began to question myself as to ‘What else is OFF limits to others?” Do I get annoyed if someone is talking too long to my husband in a language that I can’t understand, or am I patiently waiting thinking maybe this man needs someone to encourage him or comfort him, or hasn’t had anyone listen to him in a long time. Do I feel emotionally tresspassed if someone asks me about how our 'marriage is' being from two different cultures ( people here feel free to ask any all questions including weight, age, economic status...etc.) or do I take it as an opportunity to tell them about how Christ's love overcomes all barriers including cultural ones.

The walls are coming down…

I have always been a person that valued my personal space and privacy. Since moving to and living as a white woman that concept is kind of out the window. I have generally liked to blend in the crowd…its safe there, but when you’re a little different you get stares…constantly. This wall of hiding out in the crowd…., it’s coming down! God is taking me to a place where I’m not afraid to shine…it can get real dark here in this nation (spiritually speaking) and God’s piercing light always overcomes the darkness. Walls keep that light hidden.

I come to realize that many times we allow certain people into our sacred walls. Our immediate family, our close friends, our pastors, maybe some members of our extended family…but what happens when someone that doesn’t fit into that description tries to come up and make themselves at home??? When I look at Jesus I find that he lets us all come in and sit with him and dine at a table that HE prepared. I didn’t bring anything to it yet He not only allows, but rejoices over me when I come and fellowship. It doesn’t matter if it is a poor disheveled beggar or a nicely dressed businessman…all are welcomed…all are invited in to that sacred place of his heart.

Thank you Lord for bringing me out of my comfort zone and into a place where things and people cause me to remove these barriers and walls. Love knows no boundaries…

We Got a House!

2011-11-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

Since our arrival in India 9 days ago we have had the same routine....the same goal. Wake up, eat breakfast, call a taxi, and drive...drive..and drive. We were driving all day, everyday, all around the city looking for a house to rent only stopping to eat. It was intense...we were people on a mission. It didnt help that we had two small kids in the car who didn't quite understand why we had to drive around sooo much, not to mention-no carseats. I found myself constantly guarding doors and playing referee between two cranky kids.

After being refused a few houses that we liked, due to our faith (there are discrimination laws but they are never really enforced) we were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to find something. The problem we had in one house was that the owners wanted us to allow someone to come over and do idol worship everyday to bless the house. We quickly moved on from that one.

Another owner agreed to rent his house to us but after meeting us asked if 'we were missionaries'. In all honesty we said 'yes'. He changed his mind at that point. All the other houses were just portions of a house, like a floor, that were for rent. We knew that wouldn't work for us since most owners don't allow you to bring in orphans and poor kids, because there is such a stigma placed upon them.

In all honesty we were getting discouraged. God met us one morning right there in our discouragment. He showed us a verse from Hebrews 10:35, "Do not throw away your confindence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere...vs. 37- for in just a little while he who is coming will come and will not delay, and my righteous one will live by faith." It brought so much peace to read that and to know that God is working on our behalf, even if we couldn't see it, and He was going to work it out in his perfect time. And...He did.

Two days ago we were driving in the outskirts to go see a house. As we were leaving that house we decided to cut through a road to take the scenic route by the beach to get back to the hotel. It was on our way to get to that road that we finally spotted a big two story house that was for rent. As we were there we saw that more people, who were interested in the house, were stopping to inquire about the house as well. We quickly called the number listed on the board. We told the owner about what we want to use the house for, and not only was he ok with it, but it turned that the last renters were also running an orphanage in it. We jumped on it and signed the lease yesterday.

Inside the house-first floor

First floor living room

It is a spacious four bedroom house that is 14 years old but looks closer to 30. It is in need of some major painting and cleaning but overall it will work for us. It's in need of screens (there are alot of mosquitos esp in the evening since it has an open sewer in front) and the well and water tank need to be cleaned out thoroughly. I cant wait to get into it and make this house a home not only for us but for the many kids that God is going to bring into our lives.

Thank you to all of you who were praying for this. I know there were many prayers being lifted up on our behalf and we appreciate it immensley.

We are in India...

2011-11-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up to the many sounds of India,..horns honking, shops opening, people going somewhere..life happening. We are in India...we are in the center of His will...what could be better than this?

After a year of packing, planning and preparing here we are. It is surreal and at times I feel like we are just here on a mission trip for just a few weeks and then we will be returning back, expect this time it's to stay. I think we won't fully comprehend that until we are out of this hotel and in a permanent house.

I love this nation. It's not because of anything else except because of God and His love for this nation. He has deposited a little bit of that love in me and continues to teach me more about his heart for this land. In saying that, it doesn't negate the fact that following Him here was soooo hard. Leaving my family this time was like having my heart torn in two and it still hurts to think about the ones I love. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, YET his perfect peace follows us and we KNOW we are right where we are supposed to be. He is worth EVERYTHING. There is nothing and no part of my life and my family that He cannot have.

For all our prayer partners...I want to ask you to pray that we can find a house to rent that is suitable and large enough for us and for the kids that we will be taking in to care for. This has been the biggest challenge yet. Please believe with us and pray for the perfect one to come into our view. We know that God already sees it and we are believing that as He guides us He will show us.

A Hidden Treasure...

2011-11-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

We only have seven days left before we leave as missionaries to India. All this past week I have been going through the closets to sort out/throw away any last and loose items. Last night I went through the last few remaining items in the office closet and found a stack of old pictures that I had forgotten about. They were pictures from my childhood, from my year in Mexico with the kids, and of my first few years living in India, many with friends and children. These pictures brought back so many memories and emotions. I was reminded by seeing them of just how blessed my life has been just because I said yes to God's plan. He has sent me to places that I never thought a little girl from a South Texas town with a population of just 5000 could ever go. He has brought such rich relationships out of these adventures and it has made my life and any sacrifices I may have made oh so worth it!

This morning as I was going through the front coat closet there was a Bible sitting on the top shelf that was given to us from a friend. This Bible is in Marathi, a northern Indian language. When we got this Bible we knew it was old, but until this morning we hadnt really taken an in depth look at it. It's printing date goes as far back as 1893. It had an inscription on the first page which said, " To the Rev. J.M. Goheen from the member of the Kolhapur Church as a humble token of our sincere love", dated- 1896. When I first read this I didnt think much about it...it's a Bible that must have belonged to a pastor in India...I thought. But as I continued flipping through the pages I saw notes on the side and an obituary in it of a Bible Woman that must have been a member in the church. But something about it kept stirring in me to find out more about the owner...so I did.

After much research online and several peoples searches I found out that the initials J.M. stood for Joseph Millikin Goheen. I found his biography on a geneology site and was so impressed by his life. He moved to India as a young missionary in 1878 and within that first year he had a child that was stillborn, and a few months later his wife passed away as well. Shorlty after that his 20 months old daughter also died from typhoid fever. He remarried a woman named Amanda who now, after getting to know about her life, has began to inspire me.

Here is an excerpt form what I found on her life....

"India needed' her. Her home was a model for Indian women to copy. She was a woman of compassion and love. When she saw the lamentable condition of young widows in India, she longed to gather them where they could be protected while earning their support, and also be taught, to be living stones in the temple of the Lord. Together with gifts from friends at home she was able to build a small hostel, where childless widows and motherless orphans found love and cheer and food and clothing.

The little orphans ran with open arms to the gentle "Mother," who played games with them, sang with them, and took them, when naughty, into the " little room " to Help them to be good.

This friend of all was never too busy to receive calls from the ladies of the Maharaja's family, or to call upon them. Her presence was solicited in times .of joy or sorrow. When the son of the late Maharaja was dying, it was she who held the hand of the Queen Mother, and gave her sympathy in full measure to her.

As for Mr. Goheen, he had the charge of a large and needy village district. Those villagers as they came to him for advice, and for spiritual and material help, were all as children to Mother Goheen. She knew the name and age of each child and the needs of each mother. They were blessed, indeed, who shared the largeness of her love.

Mr. Goheen literally gave his life for India. Worn and jaded, in looks older than his own father, he returned to the States after the stress of the famine that lead sapped his strength, and he died in 1907. Mrs. Goheen lived in India another ten years and later returned to the States where she died and was laid to rest with her husband."

There is alot more in the biography that I found about this family. But I was inspried to hear about their 40 years of service as missionaries in India. I believe God has brought this Bible into our hands at this time as an encouragment to read about these pillars in the faith just before we leave. I feel like I am holding a little bit of history in my hands and a treasure of some of God's servants that have gone on before us...

Container Update

2011-10-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

If you read my last blog post you know that God did a miracle and had our container arrive last week on Tuesday, instead of Thursday. It was supposed to arrive on Thursday at 10am and we were only going to have 2 hours to fill it up and then it was to be taken. Instead it arrived on Tuesday and we had THREE days to fill it! This was the mistake of the trucking company but was a miracle to us.

God knows best because we definently needed THREE days to fill it. We spent almost all day the first two days packing it up and a few hours on the third day getting the last minute stuff stuffed in...all with no extra charge to us since the mistake was on their side. I still can't get over how good our God is!

Trying to utilize ever last space...

Getting the doors closed..

Committing it to the Lord...

I'm kinda liking this minimalist look..less to clean!

Thank you once again to all of you who helped us in this endevour by donating items and to those who helped us load it.

Oh How He Loves Us...

2011-09-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

RIGHT NOW I just want to shout for joy, cuz RIGHT NOW there is a 20 ft container sitting in my front yard. I guess for you to understand why this is an amazing thing I need to explain...

We are taking a container with us to India when we move. This container is going to be filled with donations that we have collected over the past few months for the kids in India as well as some of our furniture and household items.

So...we had the container sheduled to arrive on Thursday...we were to have 2 hrs to fill it. If we didnt finish loading it in 2 hrs it was going to be a 100 charge for every hour after that....We were a little concerned with that and were secretly wishing that we had more time to fill it.

Well, guess what?? The driver of our container got the days mixed up and arrived from Houston TODAY at our house instead of Thursday. After realizing that his days were wrong he said "I'm not gonna drive back with this on my truck only to have to come back. Can I leave it here for 3 days and come back to collect it on Thursday?" Obviously we were ecstatic! Now we can load it without the rush and still have time to fill any space left.

Whats funny is that the driver kept apologizing....if he only knew how our hearts were leaping!

Oh, How He Loves Us...to give us these extra days to do this. He DOES care even about the details.

And we are so THANKFUL.

Container Arriving

Parking

Driver Leaving...Container STAYING!

Donation Drive Update..

2011-09-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

For the past few months we have been not only preparing for our return to India, but have also been busy collecting items for the container that we will be shipping with us to India.

I just want to say a HUGE Thank You to all of you who helped us make this possible. Thank you for all the clothes, toys, baby and children's items...etc that were donated...and also to those who have helped contribute financially towards this.

All these items will be shipped off next week...and I have to say, it will be a big relief to have that behind us. It was quite an undertaking getting all of this together...but oh so worth it!

Here is a glimpse into some of the items that have been donated...

Baby shower for India...it was amazing.

Thanks to all the ladies who 'showered' us with these donations.

Crocs for the Kids..

Even a Minnie Mouse..:)

and last but not least...lots of cloth diapers!!! yay!

There are so many more thing that many of you have donated. Thank You! These past few months we have been overwhelmed by all of your love, participation in all this and by all the donations towards this container project.

Thank you for standing along side us in getting this accomplished!

Glory to God!

-Colleen

Moving is Hard,...But God is Good.

2011-06-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

When your getting ready to move overseas as a missionary, there are alot of things that go through your mind. One of the biggest is the things that you are going to miss...the things and people that you will very soon say goodbye to, for me, that is family. Don't get me wrong, I love all the other little comforts that this country has to offer. I love being able to turn on the faucet and know that I will have water come out EVERY time. I love being able to crave a milkshake and just drive down the street and get it...I love getting to sleep in a perfectly controlled tempurature...but MOST of all, I love seeing my boys with their grandparents. I love how Jaden, my four year old, shreeks with joy at the sight of seeing his grandpa. I love how Josh, my one year old is just now beginning to say, 'mom' aka, 'grandma' (I am 'mommy' by the way). When seeing them together it's easy to see that these kids are a joy and crown to them. Knowing that you are CHOOSING to seperate them is heartbreaking...I have lost several nights of sleep thinking about this. God is so good and encourages me when I am in that place. He lifts my head up to see what He has set before us...and reminds me that the cost is worth it all...He is worth it, His lost bride in India is worth it ALL. In saying that, it doesn't negate the fact that there is real pain in saying goodbye.

There is real pain in saying goodbye,..but though the sorrow may last for the night, JOY comes in the morning.

When you are getting ready to say goodbye to so many good things, it can be hard. God in his great love constantly reminds us of why we are going.....

Here are some of the things that we have to look forward to....

Surrounded by Love

Change is Coming

2011-06-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

When we made the decision to obey God and follow him to India we knew that it meant that EVERYTHING was going to change.

I am not afraid of change, a new environemnt, new food, new climate, new people...that doesn't faze me much.

Many people around us have told us how brave we are, how daring we are, ...and how much faith we must have to do this huge move. The truth is,...if you know us personally you would know that neither me or Raj are daring or brave people, we are actually both very much meloncholies. Stepping out into new things is not something that thrills us. We are quite content with the norm...however, we serve a God who is always doing something new. If we don't get on board with that we will be left behind. It is amazing what you can do with the help and mighty hand of God to lead you. This decision to move has not come out of our own desire...it is one that has come out of a desire that stems from the heart of God. If you spend time in His beautiful presence you will feel his heart. When you feel his heart you will begin to see that it beats for people who are lost and unsaved. It beats for the orphans who are alone and unloved. We are not brave people, it scares me sometimes if I really think about what we're doing, but our God deserves complete obedience. Jesus came down to this earth in obedience to His Father...because He loved the Father. We love the Father...and that is why we are going.

While I'm not afraid of change, it does hurt to say goodbye to people here. The past few months have been hard telling those that we love about our decision to move to India. We have an amazing family who we see almost every other day. My parents are in absolute love with the grandkids...it doesnt get much harder than telling them.

We have friends that we never imagined could be so awesome.

At times we felt like we've had to justify our move with everyone....explain why we have to move...so they wouldn't feel as hurt or abandoned. I don't know how to explain any further but to simply say that "God told us." That's a hard statement for some people to swallow. But it is true.

To all of our friends and family...we love you all so much. Nothing can change that...no matter where we live or how many miles apart we are. Please always know that.

Goodnight. It's late. Going to bed.

God Led Me to the Garbage...

2011-04-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

For the past month we have been packing some of the items that we plan on taking with us when we move to India...We plan on taking a 20ft shipping container. We have our basic furniture items such as beds, couches, and some boxes of household items that are all going. You may ask, why do you need to take them all the way from America to India..well, good question...the reason for this is because if we try to sell them here we will get almost nothing for them, and also because it is almost triple the cost to buy those same items in India...even the most basic kind...so it actually evens out.

On top of that there's a bonus...we get to fill over half the remaining amount of the container with donated items for the kids. I am working towards collecting boxes full of toys, clothes, all of those basic needs as well as the extra fun stuff that all kids love. Granted, we dont have all those items YET per say, but were working towards it.
Some people may think it's shallow, some might think its a waste of time and resources. But to me, gathering up toys for the orphanage in India is a high priority on my to-do list right now. I know that there are so many other major pressing needs that the children of India are facing, but I feel this is also a basic childhood need...to just be a child and play. Maybe in that they will even forget some of the pain and abuse that they have experienced...if even for a moment.

God Led me to the Garbage:
One thing about following God is that it can be quite humbling at times. For instance, in search of items for the orphange I have been stalking garage sales for the past month..yup, looking on craigslist, ads, driving through streets...all in effort to find garage sales that are closing up and asking them if they would be willing to donate their remaining children's items to us...let me tell you...VERY HUMBLING EXPERIENCE. It is especially humbling when you ask and people say NO. I have generally been a shy person all my life, except when it comes to the things of the Lord, so you can imagine just how much this has stretched me.

So one Sunday evening my husband and I and the kids were all relaxing on the floor watching a movie when I got this crazy idea to go driving down the streets looking for toys or clothes or just something that someone may be throwing away that could be useful to our kids in India. In the first place, it's crazy that I even thought about doing this, and secondly, it's crazier that my husband agreed to it!

So there we were driving down the suburbs of Ft. Worth looking at people's trash! There was alot of trash out because Monday morning is trash day here. In all honesty I didnt know where we were headed, I just felt like we should do this. With every turn I felt something building within me...I told my husband.."turn right" and with that turn we came upon a house that had a large amount of garbage bags sitting out on the curb. This one was different though, I saw a little pink toddler car off to one side, and what looked like the railings of a crib in the back. We stopped and began to look through the trash, and thankfully my sons had fallen asleep in their carseats during our little Sudnay drive, cuz we were there for a while. I opened the first trash bag and...JACKPOT! It was full of baby girls clothes...many brand new with the tags still on them. The owners of the home came outside to hang out in their garage...I have to admit that suddenly the embarrassment level went way up, but then I felt a sense of reassurance within me and I proceeded in the fact that I knew that I was digging through the trash for God's children! We returned home that night with a trunk FULL of brand new baby clothes, and tons of barely used toys that are going to be thoroughly enjoyed by some needy children in India. I'm not afraid to be a trash picker for God...lol!

I can bodly say now that I know that God led me to that garbage pile that Sunday evening. You might laugh about it but I have come to realize that His ways are higher than my own. I never expected that to be one of the ways that He would provide for these kids, yet He did. He's also breaking me down to where pride and composure don't mean as much anymore when it's all about Him.

So here's my petition, if you have any baby/toddler/children's items that you are no longer using and would like to give them to someone in need, please donate them to us....that will save me from having to dig through anymore trash piles...lol.

Why We Are Moving to India...

2011-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

And that is exactly where we are right now in our lives. As a couple, we've had our share of late night conversations where we talked about our lives, our family, and where we wanted to be in five years. We talked about our dreams, goals, and having that mortgage paid off in X amount of years. As pastors,we discussed the direction of the church and the events that we will host in the future. As a mother, I walked by the school many times that would have been the one my kids would have attended.We dreamed about Christmas with the grandparents, soccer games, swimming in the summers, BBQ's on that new grill....but then GOD.

To say that our plans are interrupted wouldn't be accurate. They are CHANGED...but only to something much BIGGER and much BETTER. God himself has changed our plans.

About four months ago the voice of the Lord began speaking to us, redirecting our steps, reforming our dreams to His dreams. He has told us to return to India to care for the orphans and love the unloved. After recieving confirmation after confirmation we are convinced that NOW is the time for us to return to India. It has been six years since my husband and I left India and came to live in America. We always knew that one day God would be sending us back...we just thought that it would be sometime in the far future. We had dreams, we had goals, but God also has a dream...and that dream is that NO child go hungry, no child go unloved, no child go uncared for. God's dream is for you and I to rise up and say yes to His dream.

A few months ago we said YES. Yes to the call of a nation, yes to the joy of caring for God's children, yes to the pain of saying goodbye to those we love here, yes to a walk of faith, yes to the call, YES, YES, YES LORD.

This walk with God has been a journey where he has led us every step. Raj having to grow up in an orphanage without a family to surround him is so that today he gets those kids. When I see him interact with them I can see that he loves them deeply because he knows what they are going through...and I see how much they adore him. God speaking India over my heart as a 16 year old girl, sending me there to get educated culturally, and how he orchestrated bringing me and Raj together...it's all been leading up to now. We know without a doubt that everything that we have been through, every preparation that we have recieved, is all to bring us to the exact point of where we are right now. To return to India and serve Him for the rest of our lives.

So here we are..at the beggining of an amazing journey with God. We have alot to do before we leave. We have to sell a house that we just bought one year ago..we both thought it was our dream house...it's funny how God's dreams are bigger than our own.

As of now, we plan on leaving in the month of October of this year 2011. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this major step. Please pray for our finances and support that we are currently trying to raise.

Video Clip from Our Mission Trip

2011-03-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

There are NO Untouchables to Jesus!

2011-02-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

India is divided into several castes. If are poor you are labeled in the Dalit caste. Christians are also known as Dalits here in India. Below the Dalits caste is the Untouchables caste. This caste is made up of the sick, the destitute, and those cast out of society for whatever reason.

Those who have contracted leprosy are in this category...yes, I said Leprosy...like in the Bible leprosy live lives ostracized by the rest of the community. It was with this group of people that we spent yesterday with.

There are many lepers colonies all throughout India. These colonies are specially designated areas for those afflicted with leprosy, also known as "Untouchables", to live. We ministered in one of these colonies to about 50 leprosy afflicted people. Men, women,..old and young....all suffering from a hideous disease that can be prevented and treated given the proper access.

These are the Untouchables...what does that even mean??? Untouchable....not worthy of touching....not capable of human contact. Sick people need a loving hand too...even more so. These people are inwardly crying out for someone to love on them, tell them that their life IS worth something even if they are sick. That even though their outward man is fading away that there IS hope in Jesus. I was thinking about Jesus today and how he loved everyone..especially the poor and the hurting, the dying and the destitute. It is His love for people that we should model our lives after. It is his passion to see people restored that should drive us to compassion. There are NO Untouchables to Jesus!

The Detour Worth Taking

2011-02-18T01:29:00.000-08:00

We are now in the city where the Children's Home is located. Everytime we've traveled here in the past we have gone by train. This time we traveled by car. Along the route to the Children's Home is a town called Tuni. This town was very significant to Raj when he was growing up. After his father left him, he along with his mother and grandmother moved to this town in search of a new beginning. Raj was five at the time. They settled in the corner of a small village located off the river bank and built a 5 X 5 thatch roof hut and started life over again. He began working here in this village selling firewood and cleaning floors in reastraunt. It was in this village that he accompanied his grandmother for miles on foot sharing the Gospel and evangelizing the villages. A few years later a major flood came and wiped away the entire village along with their hut. Once again they they were left without anything and had to start all over again. It was at that point that his grandmother decided to send him to live at the orphanage.
As we neared this town Raj decided to take a detour off the main road and go see the village that he remembered as a child. It had been twenty five years since he had left this place yet he recognized everything as if it was yesterday. When we arrived at the village he showed us the exact site where their hut had been before it was washed away. The village looks exactly like it did 25 years ago. We parked our car on the road in front of the village and as soon as he got out a man started waving to him, as if he knew him. The man stood at a distance and when Raj waved to him he ran up to us all. The man told Raj that he looked familiar but that he couldn't place him. All of a sudden the entire village came up to our car. We were surrounded by people curious of who he was. One older woman then said, "aren't you the grandson of Nirmalama?" (That was his grandmothers name). He told them yes and that he used to live here in this village as a boy. They ALL REMEMBERED him! They then began to tell stories about his mom and grandmother. They remembered how she had witnessed to them 25 years ago and how they had rejected her message. Today they are ALL Born Again Christians! The entire village!

I have heard my husband talk about this time in his life, but actually see it made it all the more real. Also, to see his grandmothers legacy is special. To many people her life may seem insignificant. She is one of those whom the verse "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" was written about. She was just a simple woman, poor and uneducated, but she had a message....the message of salvation in Christ. She traveled barefoot for miles to proclaim that message. The world may have never heard her name, she may have never had a big platform to preach from, but to this village she is remembered.... even after all these years.

Raj talking to his former neighbors

The Villagers remembering who he is....

This woman remembered him as a young boy.

The villagers were so excited to see that one among them is now living in America and is living a great life. The woman in the picture above recalled all the hardships that he and his family had gone through. It was a testimony to Jesus of His reedeeming power.

Under the Bridge...

2011-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

There's a community of about 350 people that all live under the bridge leading to the railway station. It is a group made up of people from all over this nation who had come to this city in search of a better life. In this area you will see locals from this state and city, families from North Indian states, Tribals, Lepers children and oh SO MANY BABIES!

It was with these people that we spent our evening with yesterday. The last time Raj came here it was to distribute shoes. To say that it turned out chaotic then would be an understatement. In fact it became dangerous after fights broke out among the women over their place in line. This time we were more prepared and had a system.

When we drove in to the slum our van quickly became swarmed by people. Some were rushing in asking for prayer, some were peeking into our van to see what we brought them, and some were just curious of 'the American women'.

We started this monthly feeding program about four months ago. These children are beautiful and there smiles are radiant. Underneath their unkempt appearance they are just like my own children. Looking into the eyes of some of those babies I could see my own son. These people are the forgotten ones. Most people do not go out to this area beacause of how dirty and disease plauged this area is. But God loves these people, they are so special to Him..He remembers them... and we should too.

These children are now singing songs to Jesus, learning about his love, and at the same time recieving physical food and care.

A Few Pictures...

2011-02-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

beautiful faces

HOLY Cow!

A Mango Paradise

2011-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Raj went to pay off the land that we are purchasing for the future of this ministry. By God’s divine provision we had all the funds needed to pay off the half acre which we were in agreement to pay. He is a Mighty provider! Thank you to all of you who prayed with us believing for provision and helped financially in purchasing this property.

The Dirt Road that Leads to the Property

This land is a beautiful acre and a half full of mango trees. It is a huge contrast away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's a very remote area even without some of the basic amenities like paved roads, schools, medical access, and even electricity. We had to travel into interior dirt roads having to avoid bumps and potholes just to get there. It took us about 45 minutes from the nearest city to reach this location. This is the place where God has positioned us. God loves these villagers who till this point haven't had much exposure to a Christian witness. This is one of the reasons why we believe He has placed us here.

For us, this is not just LAND. It is a promise spoken over us years ago coming to pass, it is a vision becoming tangible.

Ever since I was 16 years old all I ever wanted to do in life was take care of orphans in India. I remember the day that God called me to this nation and to the mission field. I was sixteen, had been laying out in the presence of God at Calvary Cathedral on a Thursday night service, just soaking in His goodness. I remember telling the Lord that I will go wherever he wanted me to go, do whatever He wanted from me. My heart was like butter, melted in the presence of a loving Father. I whispered, “where God, where do you want me to go?”, and like a punch to the stomach I felt the name of a nation hit me, deep within. “INDIA.” It was spoken powerfully and strong, yet so lovingly… and it was all I needed to obey. I layed there on the floor for what seemed like hours just taking it all in, listening to the secret things He shared with me that day. From that encounter on I could never be the same.That’s the great thing about our God. He never wants to hide His will for us, He WANTS us to know so we can confidently move forward in the direction He leads us.

So back to the land. It is beautiful and spacious and full of potential. God is already giving us favor with the village leaders nearby to us. The God given vision for this land is to build an Abandoned Babies Home, a School for all the children from 7 villages who do not have any local school, and a Women’s Refuge Center where women can find safety and love. Looking at the land today I could almost see children running around those mango trees and destitute women being loved on and receiving hope of a better life. These are the things that make my heart beat. These are the dreams that keep us going.

Our Neighboring Village (a 5 minute walk)

There are about 8 villages around this location who do not have an established church or Christian witness.

God has placed us here to be a light in this darkness.

Some Sights from Today

Hair extensions anyone???

Why not just ride a tractor to work...lol

MISSION TRIP UPDATE: What We WERN'T Prepared For

2011-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

We have arrived safely and all in one piece here in India!

So…we had been planning this mission trip to India for many months now, I actually started packing stuff for this trip a month ago. What can I say,…I like to be prepared…this week I was almost at the point where I felt comfortable with how our preparation was going when suddenly something unexpected happened…our two kids BOTH got sick ONE day before the trip! We rushed them to the doctor hoping that it wasn’t strep or the flu,….it ended up being an upper repertory infection, which wasn’t that serious according to his doctor but definitely serious enough for him to be quite uncomfortable and cranky, and serious enough that it caught the attention of many other passengers on the flight . So, yes, we ended up being THAT family that has the coughing child in the isle who everyone turns to look at every time they cough with looks that say…”How dare you travel with a sick child!” Believe me, wasn’t my idea of fun either nor something that we were prepared for.

The night before we left, my husband and I just sat there on the bed just looking at each other with a face that said,…”What do we do now?” I even threw out the idea of me and the kids cancelling and just Raj proceeding on. We prayed for them that night, felt the peace of God and went ahead as planned. So here we are 4 flight connections and 36 hours later…in India. I praise God because His grace was felt greatly by us all as we traveled and for the most part of the journey the kids just slept. Only once did we have any kind of real situation where Josh got so worked up crying from ear pain in the landing that he ended up throwing up on me. But I feel like that is also a blessing in disguise because in his vomiting he also ended up clearing out all that congestion that he had. Travel is hard…traveling with kids is harder, but traveling with two sick kids is, well definitely a challenge… But We Did it By Gods Grace Alone!

What I’ve learned in all this is that no matter how much planning and preparations you do there can always be unexpected thigns that come up and its best to just trust that God IS. IN. CONTROL., and that he is worthy to be praised in ALL things and ALL situations.
Now our sons are resting and have been getting better and better every hour. Neither has had fever in over 15 hours so that is a big Praise the Lord! Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
Update: It is now the next morning and the kids seem to be doing really well, just some runny noses and light coughing. Please continue to lift them up in prayer.

Thank you all for all of your love, prayers, and support for this trip and for our family.

We are so grateful to God for you all!

Just Remembering...

2011-01-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

In two more weeks I get to go on a mission trip to visit our kids in India!!!! Can you tell I am excited??? This will be my 6th trip to India. I took my first trip when I was 18 years old. That was the trip. that. changed. EVERYTHING! From the very first moment I landed in India, God got a hold of my heart for this nation and I was never the same. I just wanted to absorb it all...the smell, the colors, the honking, the red dirt...the villages, the villagers, the children,...all of it. My heart would leap at the mention of its name. From that day on I have carried India as a part of me...it is now a part of my marriage and a part of my children's identity.

I will never forget the excitement of my first mission trip to India. It was part overwhelming joy and part disbelief...like...am I actually here!!!! I remember how long I had yearned to go to the nations for God and how as a young girl He had spoken a nation over my life. I remember alot of well meaning people telling me that it wasn't possible as if it was an unattainable dream....I remember the feeling of believing and clinging to a promise so hard that it hurt sometimes...It was just me and God...against at what times felt like the impossible.

It been almost ten years since then and I am just as passionate about this nation...and even more in love with its Creator....God has taken me through an amazing adventure with him...of being his hands and feet to the hurting, orphaned, and poor. Greater things are yet to come....and greater things are still to be done.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from the Kids at Impact Home!!!

Something New is Just around the Corner...

2010-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

It's the last day of 2010.

At the beginning of the year I heard a Pastor say that 2010 was going to be a year of fullfillment and of God doing new things/'different things' in your life. We took it as a word for us. I don't know what kind of year that you had, but for us it was just that. This year was so different than all the previous years. In 2010 we felt things began to change and obsticles begin to be removed, and the ministry to orphans grow.

This year, by God's divine grace, we grew both in our family and in our ministry. We were given a beautiful son who brings life and love to his parents and big brother.

We grew in the number of kids that we were able to take in in India. We are now up to 11.

In 2010 we were also able to buy land in India for the future site of the ministry...this is a big miracle and something that we never imagined we would be able to do. 2010 was unique in our lives. Even now, in the last moments of this year God has began revealing new things to us about our future steps for 2011. I can't mention too much right now...but I will tell you that it's excting and terrifying all at the same time.

This journey with God is one that has taken us through great joys and continues to challenge our faith. But walking with him has shown us that He is faithful...that He never changes....and that He DOES have a plan and a purpose for us...and it's a great one, and that inspires me to trust Him even more.

We love all you guys and pray that 2011 will be a year of fullfillment and immense blessing!

-Colleen

Christmas in India

2010-12-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

As I sit here another night, wrapped up in my warmest blanket, sitting in front of my computer, I can't help but think about how Christmas is being celebrated thousands of miles away with our kids in the orphanage in India. I know that they are warm, I know that they are full, I know that they are happy. I know that they are probably dancing to some Christmas songs and performing the manger scene even as I write this. My thoughts are with them on this special day...but oh... how I wish I could be there in person to see their smiles as they open their gifts, to compliment their Christmas clothes, and to give them each big a Christmas hug. Here I go... sending a BIG Christmas HUG from Texas!

Buy a Dress, Help a Woman in India

2010-12-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, we have been selling tunic style dresses to help raise funds to support women in India. They are all hand made in India and all proceeds go to help women in abusive situations. Please take a minute and check out the website where you can purchase one.

These are great to pair with a set of leggings for the winter and would make a great Christmas gift.

Here is the link....
www.etsy.com/shop/IndianDreams

Villages Under Water....Please Pray!

2010-11-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

I know it doesn't seem like much to us,..a few pieces of sticks, some dried palm trees, a mud floor... but when it's your home it's EVERYTHING, and when its washed away it's DEVASTATING. That's what recently happened a few days ago in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh India, in the town where our Children's Home is located. We were happy to hear that all of our kids are safe and dry,...but saddened to hear that many more are not.
It's easy to read about these kinds of things and not be the slightest bit drawn to emotion. It seems like more and more natural disasters continue to happen all over the world and we feel helpless...and if were honest,...even numb sometimes.

In 2009 we personally visited this village that you see above flooded with water. We sat on those same mud floors, prayed with the women who were there, and laughed with the children as they ate the lollipops that we had given them. Tonight, none of these children have a place to lay there heads, none of the mothers have a mud stove to cook for their families, all has been washed away. Yes, maybe it was just one change of clothes that they owned, maybe it was just one or two pots that they possessed, one straw mat in which they slept on, but it was all that they had every owned, it was everything that they had worked their entire lives to have.
This village is not a Christian village. In fact, it has been known to run out and persecute Christians in the past who had come to minister. NOW is the time to show them the love of Jesus. Our local Pastor in that region recently went and distributed bannanas, water, and other needed items to these villagers...but they need so much more! If you can, and I know that we ALL can do something,...I ask that you please pray about what you can do to help these flood victims. Any and every amount can help!

Pics Above: Taken in March 2009 in the same village that is now underwater.

Reflections of India-By Kathy

2010-10-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

How happy can a few children be with a visit to a beach? The kids at Impact India Children's Home were very happy. To toss new frizbees around, to see fish come out of a fishing net, to have your toes dig into the wet sand AND get the OK to take off your one pair of new leather school shoes and wade-in up to your knees. Well, that was pure joy, for the orphans. The girls got to go into the water before the boys, but the boys finally convinced Pastor Raj and Joseph they should not be denied. How grateful they all were and happy just to have a treat like the beach. It made me face some of my own selfishness and ungratefulness, as a blessed American.
Pastor Joseph and his wife, are acting as wonderful parents to these lost children. They are now healthy with "bright shiny faces". The first day we visited the Home the girls all had on beautiful new blue/gold dresses, which the Pastor's wife had sewed for them. They all sang us the English songs they had learned and rehearsed. The boys as proud as the girls. Pastor Joseph's brothers and sister all have a servant's heart. They tutor the children each day after school and conduct daily devotions and prayers. Many of the children have never been in school, so what a challange it must be for them to start to school and to start learning English as well. But thanks to Raj for choosing Pastor Joseph and Madhu, who provide caring guidance for these, who have nothing and noone to take care of them. The kids are blessed to see the demonstration of our Christian values.
We were very impressed by the dedicated local Indian Pastors. A retired one, in poor health, who still has the burning desire to disciple others, with weekly fasts and prayer meetings, the one whose heart goes out to the slum kids and does a great job mentoring the teenagers in his church, the Pastor who has no church building, but depends on the Lord and his 15-20 member congregation to supply his family's needs, and then the pastor who refused to leave a hostile neighborhood, even though his church roof was burned away. God has called and appointed strong-hearted men and women in India, which are a testimony for us to raise our faith to higher levels.
My husband and I thank Pastor Raj for all his un-ending hours of patience on our 18 day trip. How many train changes and taxi-calls he had to make over 18 days would fill a notebook. It requires a very special person to provide constant attention to "older" pampered American friends, and that was Raj for us.
Of course we did see the a young boy taking a morning bath on the street sidewalks; his worldly possessions tied up in two small bedrolls by his mother, or the women begging for food for their babies in arms, and then the young man who tried to roll along the broken concret sidewalk on this hand-made rollers under his hands, while he drug his useless legs behind him. We all have seen these tragic pictures on TV or the web. But seeing them eyeball to eyeball is a sharp contrast to seeing them on a 48 inch flatscreen TV.
The Indians I met were gracious to my husband and I. In America we have little concept of servanthood. But rural Indian culture still practices being a servant to strangers. We went to India with all the typical security precautions for our safety. In the rural areas, the people won't let you carry anything for yourself; like a purse, backpack, cameras, or tote bags. After Sunday church services, I was looking all around for my purse and tote bag. They were just not there. I wondered over to the pane-less window and looked out over the marsh where water buffalo were grazing on algee. Down a small dirt path came two boys, from the church, one had my orange tote bag, and the other had my purse swinging it in the air. They were laughing and carefree on their Sunday afternoon. So much for all our planned security !!!! I loved the rural community people here.
Our daily taxi drivers were very helpful, unlike what we generally experience in the US. In the slums of a larger city, we planned on distributing shoes to the women. But the need got out of hand, so we retreated a half mile down the road. The local pastor lead some of the children and teens to us on his motocycle. Away from the major crowds, living under the bridge overpass, we started handing out the shoes from Fort Worth. Some children took one pair, some two. After one teenage girl selected a pair for her mother and herself, she started crying. It was very sad, but it was a happy time for her too. We drove off with 4 pair left. Our taxi driver quickly spotted a young mother approaching us on foot, with no shoes on. She was so worn out, with a 2 year old trapsing behind, and a baby on her hip. We stopped her and offered her shoes. She was confused. She was too tired to thank us, which was OK. Three pair left.

We see a group of 3 women sitting on the sidewalk under a tarp. We stop and offer them the shoes. They were separating clothes, picked up from the country-side and given away in the city slums. An Indian Ministry in action. They were thankful for the shoes, but didn't want to shake my hand, because they felt their hands were too dirty. God gave to those who couldn't give and to those He wants to bless for their giving hearts and actions.
May God bless Pastor Raj and Colleen for their giving hearts and their daily actions to serve those in India. Many in our church, in Missouri, saw and heard about our trip, and want to go. One young 12 year old, saw my husband's presentation in our Youth servce, went home and said "Hey, I'm going to India."

Christ is your Hope for a peaceful and joyful life -
Don & Kathy

Prayer for the City

2010-08-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Raj and the team spent yesterday going up to Kailash Giri (which is basically a HUGE hill) from where you can see the entire city of Vishakhapatnam. As well as being able to see the city, you also get a georgeous view of the Bay of Bengal. It was there that they had a prayer session where they prayed and interceeded for the city and all of its inhabitance, of whom many do not know Jesus. They were all moved by the splendor and beauty of this city as well as of all of India. Please keep this city in your prayers. I hope that as you read this that God give you a burden for this city, this state, this nation and all the people groups that make up its population.

"The Boy who Never Smiles"-Mission Trip Update

2010-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

(Pic:Kathy in the Hotel Lobby in India)

A few months ago my friend Kathy asked me about sponsoring a child. Of course we were thrilled to get her all set up. When I asked her which child she wanted to sponsor she told me she wanted "the boy who never smiles." Apparently, in all the pictures of the children on our website there was a boy that stood out to her, especially due to the fact that he never had a smile in any of his pictures. This boy was John. John had a very good reason for not smiling. See, John had never had anyone to treat him like he was special, he never got to hear the sound of his mothers voice, and never had a bed to call his own. When he came to live at Impact Children's Home he seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on those little shoulders of his. He appeared to have been from a very rough background. John had never had a reason to smile really. Until now. Now he is living with a family and is experiencing the love of Jesus daily in the home.

Kathy and her husband Don are in India right now on a mission trip with Raj. They had the privilege of meeting little John for the first time this past week. I spoke with her tonight and she was overjoyed at his progress. Now tell me, doesn't he look happy? Guess we can't call him the boy who never smiles anymore:)

Sunday: Sunday morning was spent ministering in 2 different village churches. By the way, India is in thier monsoon season right now, so it had rained quite a bit this past month. So much so, that the church (Which is basically a dirt floor area with tarps surrounding it) was flooded. They had to move thier meeting into one of the church members front porch. In both of these meetings Don and Kathy shared the word and many were prayed for.

Monday: Fun Day at the Beach -Even though the orphanage is located in a town where the beach is only 20 minutes away, it is not very often that the kids get to go. This is primarily due to transportation reasons, or lack thereof. Today Raj, Don and Kathy rented a big 15 seater vehicle and got all 12 of the kids to the beach along with all the staff. Everyone had a blast! The kids were so eager to get into the water that they ran in WITH THEIR SHOES ON! Yikes. Even though it made for a little messy situation, they were all having too much fun to care. Later on in the day they took the kids to a 5 Star restraunt and treated them to all you can eat buffet. And apparently..they ate ALL THEY COULD EAT. lol. That is the updates for now. Everyone is being blessed on this trip and I hope to have more pictures to show you soon. Raj has very limited internet connection so let see!

Christ is the Source...

2010-08-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Without Christ I am nothing...even WITH Him I tend to fail at times. Christ is the whole reason behind anything and and everything that we do. He is the sole force behind our actions and our reason for being. Last week I was speaking with an Indian man who is not a believer but he was totally supportive of what we are doing in India with the orphanage and all. He kind of applauded the fact that we are caring for those who society has forgotten. We definently appreciated his appreciation, but quickly redirected that glory to Christ as the source of our strength and vision. We explained to him that we do this because Christ loves these children and desires that they live and not die, that we are just extentions of that love. That's where our differences came to the surface. He explained that his view on charity revolved around doing good deeds and that if you do more good deeds than bad, then the bad deeds can be canceled and you will go to heaven. It was a little challenging to explain the difference to him concerning our beliefs and WHY we do WHAT we do. We care because Jesus cares, we love because his love was poured out, we do it all because it streams from Him. Anything we do is done out of a heart of compassion and love and not an obligation to meet a good deed quota so we can feel better about ourselves or get good Karma...Christ is the source of that compassion and love, it is not in and of ourselves but he drives us and fans the flame to pursue these children as he pursued me and you. Caring for orphans is NOT an option. He said in James 1:27 that "True Religion is to look after orphans and widows in their time of need." It's ALL of our responsibility in one capacity or another.

Fake Birthdays!

2010-08-09T22:34:00.001-07:00

It's always a joy to get new children into in the home, but along with that there is also a time of adjustment. The picture here on the left is the most recent children that have come to live at the Children's Home in the past few months
(Left: Ganesh,Sri Ram, John, and Gayatri).

It can be somewhat of a challenge to enroll these children in school when they are 9, 10, 11 years old and have never been to school before. Many times we don't even have any birth certificates stating their birthdates or even their official names. In many cases we have to make up a birthdate for them inorder to be allowed into schools. I thought that was such a crazy thing to do but then I found out that it is more common than I expected. My husband for example, has a 'made-up' birthday! Let me clarify... He DOES know his actually birthday, BUT when he was born, there wasn't any kind record keeping or birth-certificates as we have here, so in order to get into school he was given a 'fake birthday" at the time of enrolling by a school staff personel in school. A few of our other friends that I talk to from India also have a "fake birthday" that was made for school record purposes...I just thought that was funny and something you definently needed to know!

Beauty for Ashes...

2010-07-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Meet Gayatri. Gayatri is eight years old and the newest child to enter in to Impact Children's Home. She arrived this past week. Gayatri's story is almost too hard to tell...in fact..I am having to summon up all the courage within me to face the reality of this little girl's past. But to move forward we must face it. Gayatri became an orphan three years ago. She used to have a mother that loved her and cared for her, but her father was an alcohalic. He made life so miserable for her mother that her mother couldn't take it anymore...she felt trapped and alone...and she did the unthinkable. She commited suicide by setting herself on fire. Little Gayatri, only five years old at the time, SAW THE WHOLE THING. She ran up to her mother while she was on fire in hopes to save her, but Gayatri then caught on fire as well. Her mother died that day, and a piece of Gayatri died that day too. She was left with severe burns both physically and emotionally, which are still seen on her face today.
I can't begin to imagine what this little girl has gone through since that day. She was tossed to and fro from different relatives homes but none of them could afford to keep her. She was left without anyone in the world to love her or care for her. Until now. Today she is living at our Children's Home and is surrounded by brothers and sisters, and a mother and a father who are commited to love her as part of their family.

Please pray for Gayatri, whose name in sanskrit means 'song'. Pray that God puts a NEW SONG in her spirit as she comes to learn about Jesus and settles in to a new season in her life. We pray that God will turn her Ashes into Beauty.

RADICAL !!!

2010-06-14T20:53:00.001-07:00

Today I ordered my copy of this book called, 'Radical', by author David Platt. It's been getting alot of buzz in many of the Missions Blogs and internet,... and after seeing the promo video, I decided to get it. Check it out...

Like the video said, I too feel like we have put our own twist on this Christian life that we lead. We believe that if God loves us then He wants us to have ALL. THIS. STUFF. in reality, He just wants us to have ALL. OF. HIM. We have made the word 'blessing' to look like something only financial. The word blessing took on a whole new meaning to me after visiting a village church that had quite a few lepers in the congregation. Despite their deteriorating condition they were raising up their withered hands and praising God. They are blessed! To us, they may not look like the blessed ones, but they are blessed because they know what it's really all about. They will be the ones to see Jesus and be welcomed with all God's Holy angels. God save us from this Gospel that we have twisted and made about ourselves, and our comfort and our prosperity.

After living in India for almost four years, I returned to America as a completly changed person. I was hard to enjoy all the splendor that America had to offer, it almost made me uncomfortable to walk into a store and have so many options. After seeing and knowing the condition of impoverished people around the world, I could never be the same again. Going to any social events made me realize even more how much I had changed...somehow I couldn't 'get-into' the coversations. All the things that once seemed so natural to me, suddenly seemed so shallow. Later I realized that I was going through what the missions world calls 're-entry shock'. But here I am, five years later, not as socially awkward as when I first returned from the missions field, but just as in love with a God who DOES call us to abandon everything and serve the poor, and just as passionate about a nation with over 1 billion souls just waiting to hear.
But heres the thing, no matter how hard you try to keep yourself from it, it creeps in...materialism, consumerism, the ideoligy that 'I DESERVE THIS'. We as a family find that the more THINGS that we get, the harder it feels to serve God. I can almost feel my soul suffocating when I let myself get wrapped up in this American Dream, because the truth of the matter is that it does not line up with the heart of God to get more and more. His heart is for people, his heart is to see people come to Him and to see the orphaned cared for, the hungry fed, the naked..clothed. God is a God of justice, He desires balanced scales (Proverbs 16:11). Why would He desire us to be sooo blessed and little Johnny to have nothing. He doesn't desire that...he has blessed us so we can turn around and be a blessing. He has has given us much, not to enjoy in excess, but to help supply those in need. The rich man in Matthew 19 wanted to follow Jesus, but he was unwilling to sell all his stuff and follow Him. Just a thought...

RADICAL from David Platt on Vimeo.

Upcoming Mission Trip-August

2010-06-04T22:50:00.001-07:00

There's still time left if you are interested in joining this years mission trip to India. The dates have been set, August 17th-28th. If you want to have a life-changing experience then I invite you to join this trip. A mission trip to India will challenge you, inspire you, and change you forever.
Dates: August 17th-28th
Cost of the trip: $2,300 per person, includes airfare, hotel, food, etc.
For more information please check out our website and click on the 'mission trips' page.

All Smiles!!!

2010-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

It's summer in India, and no matter where in the world you are from, the one thing about summer that all kids love is...NO SCHOOL! Our Impact Home kids are no exception. Besides having to put up with the scorching heat of Indian summers (which can get up to 115-120 by the way), they are all smiles these days:)

Pastor Joseph, their caretaker, decided to take all the kids out of town for a one week vacation...yes, that's right, a ONE. WEEK. VACATION with eight kids! Talk about brave! I have a hard time gathering together my two children for a ONE DAY vacation. They visited a nearby city and spent the week sightseeing, going to local parks, and swimming at the beach.

School will start up again for them in 2 more weeks, but until then..it's all Ice Cream and summery fun!

Remember Those Without Mothers Today...

2010-05-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

This Mothers Day my mind keepa wandering back to our orphan kids in India. Today I am thankful that I have a mother to celebrate this day with,.. I know that so many don't. I am thankful that growing up I never had to wonder if my mom was going to be there when I got home from school, and that right before my races when I'de look up into the stands at high school track meets I always knew that she would be cheering from the front row ever time, and that even if the whole world forgot my birthday, she never would. I've never known what it's like to not have a loving parent always there, so it's hard for me to imagine what these kids go through. Yes,... we have staff caring for them and a family-like atmosphere surrounding them, but I know that it can never replace the bilogical family that they have lost. Many of our kids have lost their parents either through death or abandonment,...no matter the cause, it doesn't take away the fact that they have to go through their lives without their own families. Some of our kids here are siblings, I think that's important for them to be able to stay together as much as possible.

This mothers day, remember all the kids around the world who don't have mothers or fathers to celebrate with. Say a prayer for our Impact Kids. We want them to experience the love and affection of their 'houseparents' and develop family bonds as they grow up in the children's home.

Kids Singing for Jesus!

2010-04-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

It warms my heart to see all of our children from Impact Children's Home serving the Lord even at a young age. The picture above was taken at a recent gospel convention where the kids sang worship songs and lead the congreagation in singing. Priyanaka, who is in the far left of the picture is very talented vocally. On our last trip tp India she sang for us and for being so young, she did very well. Just thought I'de share this picture with you because it really blessed me and I thought you would be blessed as well.

A Bed to Call Their Own...

2010-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

Above: The Delivery Truck Delivering the Beds.
After about two months of having 10 beds hand crafted and made by a local carpenter, they are finally done! Our kiddos all come from village settings and had never had a bed to call their own so you can imagine that they are all extremly happy. We are grateful for this donation given from a local church that made this possible. Along with the beds, we bought pillows, bedsheets, and ceiling fans. Thank you for loving our kids as Jesus loves them!

Christmas Outreach and Shoe Drive Update

2010-02-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Alot has happenned over the past few months with the ministry of Impact India. Unfortunatley, we have been so busy that we hadn't had time to put alot of the recent updates on here. Raj and I had been busy for a really good reason,..we had our second child. His name is Joshua Sujith and he was born in December. He is a blessing to our family...He is now 2 months.

Christmas Outreach: Impact India had the opportunity to partner with Pastor Prem from Andhra Pradesh and help to donate saris to widows in a local village church as part of their Christmas Outreach. They were so thankful for the saris and lunch boxes.

Reef Swap Update: Impact India is grateful to all those who took part in the shoe donation drive for India. It was organized by Lynn Schoondergang, buisness owner of RUBY, a store located in Fort Worth TX. Three different businesses came together to take up donations of gently used shoes and clothing. Ruby, Energy Fitness, and Reef Footware all came together and took up over 350 pairs of shoes, mostly brand new, that will all be shipped to India soon.

These shoes will be distributed among the kids at Impact Children's Home as well as to the children of neighboring slum areas. As I was sorting through the shoes I couldn't help but think of the precious little feet that will fill each pair and what a blessing they will be to them. We believe that this gift of a pair of shoes will open the door to share the love of Jesus with the people to whom they will be given. Thank you to all who took part in this donation drive. Thank you for loving our children enough to do this!

Need: We have had some money donated towards shipping costs, but we still need more. If there's anyone out there who wants to help towards shipping costs you can by going to our webpage and clicking on the DONATE NOW link on the main page. http://www.impactindiamin.org/

Reef Swap!

2010-01-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

We would like to announce to everyone that Jan 13th-23rd the store 'Ruby' located in Fort Worth off of University Drive is partnering with Impact India Ministries in taking up donations of SHOES and GENTLY USED CLOTHINGwhich will all be going towards the children at Impact Children's Home as well as to street orphans in India. Just bring in a used pair of Reef flip flops and you will recieve 20% off of a new pair. Other donations are also greatly appreciated.

Let's Make this a Success!

A Typical Morning...

2010-01-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

At around five o clock in the morning the lights come on at Impact Children's Home. Pastor Joseph has the challenge of getting eight children fed, dressed, and off to school every morning. For many of us here in America the idea of dragging your child out of bed and getting them off to school can be a daunting task. I remember looking for any opportunnity to get out of going to school when I was little. Oh how I used to love those "sick days" when I would get to stay home and play all day. For the kids of India, the opportunity to get an education is such a privelege that they are excited to wake up every morning and go to school.
After waking up and getting washed up they head off for morning devotions. This is a very important part of their day. Pastor Joseph leads the kids in prayer and a brief sharing of the word. They pray for their daily needs and for all their sponsors. They get their spiritual food first and then they are ready for their physical food.
At around 6:30/7:00am the kids have breakfast. It is usually a typical Indian breakfast such as Chapatti ( kind of like a tortilla) with a side of curry, or Idly or Dosa. Many of the children before coming into the home had previously recieved only one meal a day. Now they are all healthy and well fed.
After breakfast is finished, it is about time to head to school. The taxi driver that we have hired drives up in his auto-rickshaw (Pictured above) and squeezes all the kids in. Then it's off to school.
Prayer Need: We are praying for a van to transport the children to school. The cost to purchase one is 10,000K

Timothy is in the USA!

2009-10-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Timothy, Raj's brother, arrived in the USA from India last month. He is now living here and studying at the Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas. After a year of prayer and preparation, God has opened the door for him to come to America for the first time. For the past year, he has been a big part of the work that Impact India Ministries is doing in India. During his time here he will be involved with Impact India in helping raise awareness of the ministry and work alongside Raj in whatever ways needed. We are blessed to have him here for this season and we believe that God has a great plan and purpose for his life.

For those of you who do not know, Raj and Tim were reunited after being seperated for 15 years. Their father, who was physically abusive, tore their family apart by taking Timothy from his mother when he was just two years old and hiding out in another city. He was raised by his dad. Raj, meanwhile, was placed in a Christian orphanage at the age of five and grew up there. They were finally reunited 15 years later. Timothy later moved closer to Raj and started attending Bible College. He now holds a Bachelor of Theology and a Master of Divinity and is now studying at Christ for the Nations.

Raj and Timothy are very close now and God is giving them back the years that the enemy tried to steal from them. Please keep him in your prayers as he lives and studies here for the next year.

Meet Joseph...

2009-09-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

This is Joseph. He is five years old and came to us as of May 2009. When he came to our home he had a list of health issues including a constant ear infection and scabies all over his skin. He was also severely malnourished. Joseph is from the state of Orissa, north of Andhra Pradesh. His mother died a year ago. She was killed by her husband when he was in a drunken state. She was three months pregnant at the time. His father left him after his mother died. Another woman in his village took care of him for a while but was not able to do this on a long term basis. He has now been staying at the Children's home for four months and has improved so much in his health. He now sees a doctor regularly and his ear infections have cleared up completely. He started his first day in kindergarden this past July 2009.

Below: Joseph's picture when joining the home (May 09)

Above: Jospeh Today

It is such an encouragment to see the progress that the kids are makin

g. They are happy and healthy and are working so hard in school to catch up to the level of the other kids in their grades. We praise God for all of your prayers and support towards these children.

The Kids Started School!

2009-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

We are so excited this month because all of our kids in Impact Children's Home are now enrolled in school! Yaaaaay! Since none of them had ever been in school before they were monitered for about two weeks to see which grade they should be placed in. Most of them are pretty little and were able to be placed in first grade. The oldest was Raju at eight years old. He ended up getting placed in the first grade. We have purchased all their backpacks and uniforms and they are good to go! Below: We recently purchased a grinding machine for making breakfast items such as idly, dosa, etc. The kithen staff are excited about that!Prayer Request:

One thing that I want to ask prayer for is for place to house these kiddos. The owner of the house we are renting now has asked us to move out because she has decided to sell the house. In India it can be hard to find willing tenents who will rent their homes to Christians, much less to Christian Orphanages. So we need all the prayer that we can get. We really want to create a stable environment for these kids and its hard if we have to move them constantly.
Above: Recent picture of the home.

Kids....Meetings...and the Village

2009-04-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our final week in India was spent in a town named Kakinada. This blog is late..we are actually back in the USA now, we arrived late last night...but we didnt have any access to the internet in that particular area. So keep in mind when reading this blog...

.................................................

This week we are in a town of Kakinada. This is is the place where Impact India Ministries orphanage is located. This town is unlike any of the other places that we have been staying at. For one thing, it is not really a city, it is more of a town setting with a lot of villages. People here are very poor and make less than $2 a day. Many of the roads are still dirt roads so you have to cover your face and mouth with a handkerchief when driving otherwise you get a mouth full of dust. We learned that the hard way…

Upon our arrival at the train station, we were surprised to see that there were six people waiting for us to receive us and greet us from our train. They had flower bouquets in hand ready to give us. It was unexpected and I was a little taken back by it. Receiving us was Pastor Joseph, coordinator for our Children’s Home, Brother Paul, who is assisting Pastor Joseph, and the rest were Joseph’s siblings who are all very active in their church.

Visit to Impact Children’s Home
That evening we went to the IIM’s Children’s Home to see the kids. We had originally planned to visit them the next day since we were a little tired from our train journey, but we just couldn’t wait! We decided to take an auto to the home and met all the kids as well as the staff caring for them. It was such an amazing moment when we saw them for the first time. We had been seeing pictures of them for the past 7 months and hearing about them and their lives, but to actually see them made it all the more real. They call us Big Daddy and Big Mommy ( they call their caretakers Mommy and Daddy) They were all lined up, arms crossed out of respect and somewhat nervous to see us….(I have to say that I was a little nervous too. ) Seeing them was the main reason for our trip to India. All the opportunities that we have had in the past 2 weeks have been wonderful, but meeting them was undoubtedly the highlight of this trip. In the beginning they were quiet and shy, but after a while they started talking more and playing around with our son. I was happy to see that they are all healthy and happy and are being taken good care of. Tuesday we will be taking them out shopping and to a nice restaurant to eat. They are quickly stealing our hearts away which will make it even harder for us to leave.

Picture: Us with Pastor Josephs family..coordinators for IIM Childrens Home.

Sunday in the Village Church
Today, by God’s grace, we were able to attend and share the word at two churches back to back. The first one is a small village church with about 30-40 people who are all laborers in the fields and fishermen. The church walls were constructed out of various tarp pieces tied together and hung over sticks in the ground, and the roof was made out of palm tree leaves stacked on top of each other, the ground was basically dirt with mats over it for the congregation to sit upon.

Picture Above: In front of the Village Church ..The church is where the gray tarp is..

The second service was in another church and this one is a constructed brick building with electricity and all! The weather here is about 98 or so with about 80% humidity (since we are in a costal town) so to sum it up….ITS HOT! Both services were amazing. For the first one we both preached and I sang a Telegu song. We prayed for about 20 people after the service as well as for a plot of land that the church is believing God for finances to build a stronger more permanent structure. For the second service, Raj preached and I had to stay back in the hotel with Jaden since he was exhausted from the heat and to be honest…I too was quite exhausted from the heat. God bless those people who are faithfully enduring that every Sunday.

Above: Kids outside of the Church

Above: Second Service on Sunday...

Day Out with the Kids...
On Monday we spent the day taking the kids from the Home out for a day of fun. We first visited the beach which was only 15 minutes away from the home. We all had a blast! The beach was beautiful and the kids played ball and and ran around.

After the beach we took them shopping. Each child got a few new sets of outfits as well as pajamas and other needed items. They were all well behaved and were so grateful for the clothes. We then headed out for dinner. Many of the kids had never been to a restraunt before so for them it was a big treat. We all ordered Chicken Briyani. ....yum. Then they all tried ice cream for the first time. It was a great day! The kids were so exhausted by the end of the day.

Mid-Week Womens Meeting

On Tuesday Evening we conducted a women's meeting with one of the churches that we had visited on Sunday. There was a pretty good turn out considering that it was a Tuesday night. Raj translasted and I shared the word. It was an amazing feeling to be able to commuicate the word to the women. The women of India go through many hardships and even abuse at times. They were encouraged and some recieved emotional healing.

Visit to the Village
Our final day was spent visiting a village in Kakinada. Many of the parents were gone for the days work but the village was full of kids. They all ran up to us when we got there. I handed out lolipops to them and somehow the word got out and all the kids ended up coming ofr lolipops. Below are some of the pictures from this day....we got the opportunity to share the gospel message to the kids and some of the elderly people that were there. Typical Village Home

Raj in front of a village stove.

The rest of our time was spent spent just hanging out with the kids from the home. They sang for us and played with our son Jaden. Jaden got really attached to one of the boys there, Ajay, and stuck with him everywhere we went.... They are all amazing kiddos and each one has an incredible story. It was so hard to say goodbye to them.Thank you all for keeping up with our blog. Please keep Impact India Ministries in our prayers as well as the kids under our care. http://www.impactindiamin.org/

Last Day in Visag

2009-03-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day in Vishakhapatnam. We leave to Kakinada today by train at 3:00pm. We have had a wonderful time here with ministry and family and now we are going to visit the orphanage that we started. We are so excited to finally see the kids and talk to them personally. We will be there in Kakinada for the next week and then we will be heading back to the USA.

Praise Report: We Praise God that as of this week, Impact India Ministries is now a registered charitable organization with the government of India. The registration proccess went smoothly ...thank you all for the prayers. Now we are a recognized non-profit within the USA and India.

I dont have alot of time to write a blog right now but I will be updating more within the next few days along with pics of the children that you Impact India is caring for. For now,...here are a few pics...enjoy!Uncle Timothy with Jaden in front of some slum pigs. Jaden wanted to play with them!

Ministry in the City of Destiny...

2009-03-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Below: Photos of me and Jaden in the house we've been staying in.

Almost every city’s name in India has a meaning behind it. The city that we were in…Hyderabad means, “City of Pearls” The city we are in now is Visakhapatnam means “City of Destiny”. Vishakhapatnam, or as the locals call it, ‘Vizag, is one of our favorite cities in India. I have to say that we are a little biased considering that this is where Raj grew up and where I attended college. I guess you can say that we have a lot of roots planted here.
We arrived in Vizag this past Monday by train. Jaden met his paternal grandmother for the first time and it has been a wonderful experience spending time with the family and meeting up with old friends. He is quickly stealing all their hearts.
On Thursday we visited the seminary campus that we studied at. This campus is located on the outskirts of the city of Visag, it is more of village surroundings. As we walked through the campus streets so many memories came rushing back to us. We met Mrs Titus, who runs the campus now. She is also the person who took Raj in to the Children’s Orphanage as a seven year old boy and helped him to come up in life. We went to the Children’s Home section of the campus to visit the orphan kids living there. As we approached the gate they were just wrapping up their evening devotions. The moment they saw us coming they quickly grew into an excited frenzy and started running up to us as if we were rock stars. It was a little overwhelming to be honest but definitely one of the best experiences of my life. For a moment we were able to relate to the celebrities that get bombarded by fans and photographers. I would say that there had to have been about 100-150 kids surrounding us. They all wanted to touch Jaden’s cheeks, but he got scared and clung tightly to us. Even though I used to live on this campus and see these kids on a daily basis I had never seen them respond like this. One of the reason for their excitement is because Raj came out that same orphanage. The kids warden told us later that he tells the kids about Raj at least twice a week in order to encourage them to work hard at their studies and pray hard in order for God to lift them up and out of their circumstances.
We spent a few hours there meeting individually with some of the kids and encouraging them in the Lord and praying for them. There was one girl that came up to me…I remembered her right away. Her name is Sravani. I remembered her very clearly because her story was unforgettable. I met her six years ago when she was 12 years old. Her and her brother had just joined the children’s home and a month later her mother had passed away. Her father had already passed away a few years ago. They were complete orphans and they were very broken for a long time after that. I used to visit her when she was a young girl and pray with her. It was amazing to see her now and how far she has come in life. She is now wanting to study to be a nurse but is praying for the finances to study. Please continue to pray for her.
The next day, Friday, we went to see some of our good friends, Prem and Mable. It was great catching up them. They are both good friends of ours and they are expecting their first child in two weeks. They are pastoring a church in the city as well as doing outreaches to the displaced Christian families in Orissa that lost everything after the wave of persecution that recently occurred. We spent a lot of time sharing ministry stories and praying with each other. It was interesting to see that even though we are living in distant continents, our lives are very much in the same place.

Raj has been busy getting paperwork and other things together for the registration process for Impact India Ministries. We have formed the board and will be going to the registry office on Monday to get it registered with the Indian government. Please pray that it will all go smoothly.
Tonight is Saturday and we have an open air rooftop meeting scheduled. We will both be sharing the word tonight. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will be ministering at Vizag City Church for their morning service. This trip has been a very fruitful one and we look forward to even greater things in the next few days.

Update: Below are the Photos From Saturday nights rooftop meeting and Sunday's Church service.

First Week in Hyderabad

2009-03-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

Our first week in Hyderabad was wonderful. We spent Sunday at a church in the outskirts of the city. The pastor there was one of our Bible College classmates. It was great to see how God is using him today. Raj shared the word that morning to about 200 people and many came down afterwards to recieve prayer. It feels so good to be back in India. The weather is not too bad and our 22 month old son is adjusting very well. Its like we've come back home:) As I walk through the streets here and see the multitudes, the crowded streets and markets... all I can think is how the harvest is so plentiful...

Before leaving Hyderabad we also had a chance to see some of the sites such as Charminar, Golconda Fort and Salarjin Museum.

We left Hyderabad on Sunday night and took a train to a small town named Warangal. This is where Raj's grandmother lives along with his Uncle. This was the uncle that he spent many of his summers with when he was a boy at the orphanage. It was a blessing to be able to meet the person who invested so much into my husbands life as a child. Raj's grandmother is in her last days and Raj wanted to see her before she passes on. She played such an instrumental role in his life and was a prayer warrior for her family. She planted and pastored over 10 village churches in her lifetime and Raj still remembers walking miles with her to share to the gospel. Even in her weak age she placed her hand over Jaden and blessed him before we left.
After spending a day with them we went on to take another train journey to Vishakhapatnam and that is where we are now. It has been alot of traveling but we have felt Gods journey mercies upon us the whole way.

This week we will be visiting some churches and orphanages here in Visag. On Sunday we will be ministering in the city church which is an English congregation. Please keep us in your prayers.

It has been hard getting internet access since the places we have been staying are somewhat outskirts but we will try our best. Pls keep checking the blog.

Thats all for now from the Maamidi family here in India....

God is Good!

Colleen, Raj and Jaden

We Are in India...

2009-03-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

We Are Here!
After a 20 hour flight we have finally arrived in India! We actually arrived have succeeded! Our 22 month old son did wonderfully on the flight, beyond what we could have ever expected actually. ( Thank you all for the prayers prayed over him.) He playedyesterday but spent a day doing nothing but resting and trying to break the cycle of jet lag….I think we and slept and didn’t cry once on that long and tiring journey. So here we are in Hyderabad India. We will be here for another 2 days and then off to Visag city.
Colleen: This is my first trip back to India in four years. Strangely enough, I feel like I never left. Last night after catching up on our sleep, we went to visit an orphanage here in Hyderabad that my brother in law ministers at from time to time. It is a small orphanage made up of 25 kids. It was an amazing experience. They sang to us and we handed out lollipops and American soaps. Seeing those kids and hearing their sweet voices I am reminded once again of why I love this nation. God loves this nation. Jesus loves India…

We will be updating more in a few days …Please keep checking our blog.
Raj & Colleen & Jaden

Three Weeks Till India !!!!

2009-02-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

So... my son and I got our Indian visas in the mail yesterday. Raj doesnt need one since he is still an Indian citizen. This is the first time that we will be traveling as a family to India. We are so excited but also a little more cautious than previous trips since we are taking our son.

Almost everyone I talk to says that they hate packing and wait till the last minute to do it. I am weird I guess because for some reason I LOVE to pack. Maybe it's because it gets me more excited about the trip..I dunno. This time I started my packing about a month ago. I had decided that we were going to try to pack and travel light. After packing just the basics...for my almost two year old son...reality hit me. You CANT pack light when your going away for a month with a toddler. Especially to a country like India where you dont have a laundromat to wash your clothes. (People usually wash their clothes by hand.) Here is a picture of my suitcase. (This is just my sons clothes!)

We fly out on March 9th. Please keep our travels in your prayers.

Upcoming Mission Trip

2009-01-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

March 9-April 2 will be the next I.I.M. mission trip. We will be traveling to Hyderabad, Kakinada and Vishakhapatnam all located in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh. This trip will be focusing on ministry to the children of the home as well as those in the villages. We will also be putting on a few one-day conferences in Vishakhapatnam and will be teaching on Worship. Colleen will be joining together with some of the local womens leaders to conduct women's conferences.

We are extremely excited about this upcoming trip. One reason is because this will be our son, Jaden's, first trip to India. None of the family members in India have ever seen him so we are looking forward to that.

We recieved an update from Jospeh, director of I.I.M. Children's Home, this week. He sent this picture of the newest boys that entered the home this week. They are brothers, age 7 and 6, Raju and Ajay. Their father passed away last year and their widowed mother ran away with another man. They were living with their uncle but he is also very poor and unable to provide all of their needs. They have never been to school before and will enroll this next school year. The picture below was taken in front of their uncles home right before leaving to Impact Children's Home.

Please keep our upcoming mission trip in your prayers...and please pray for the children at Impact Children's Home as well.

Trip update!

2008-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, Thank you for lifting up my trip in your prayers. I had a very blessed time traveling to India. It was great meeting my family and friends. We had several opportunities to minister to people. I really praise God for taking me and bringing me safely.

I met with Pastor. Joseph(pictured above) the director of IIM children's home in India. It was good to know of the progress happening there. We have 3 kids that are under our care receiving complete care which includes food, shelter, education and spiritual nurture.

Appreciate all your prayers and support.

Thank you,

Raj

Raj is in India till Nov 11th!

2008-11-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Update: Raj is currently in India on a mission trip. Please keep him and the team in your prayers. He sent me a few pictures this morning which I posted above. He is in Delhi today ( the country's capital) and will be flying to Visag tommorow.

Pray for protection upon him and the others.

Pray for health.

Pray for God's annointing to fall in a mighty way as they minister in various churches.

Blessings!

Colleen Maamidi

Why do We Go?

2008-10-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Why is missions so close to the heart of God? God sent his son Jesus into this lost and hurting world, so in a way Jesus was the first "sent one", or missionary.

I was reading recently , "The Missions Addiction" by Dr David Shibley and I read something that stuck with me. It said, " God is bringing together all those who carry the missions addiction so that we can produce a global gospel epidemic."

I got the missions addiction when I was 16 years old. I couldn't explain it nor could I make it go away even if I tried. If your going to get addicted to something, I highly recommend this. It was then that I was able to look out of my little box of a world and get exposed to the growing epidemic of the spread of the Gospel.

So why do we go? Jesus went. He commissioned us to go as well in Matt. 28:19, "Go ye into all the word and preach the Gospel.."

If you haven't gotten the missions addiction yet,...take a mission trip and you will get it!

-Colleen Maamidi