These last few weeks have been so filled it is hard to keep up on it all. We had a week off school for Durga Puja which is a Hindu holiday. During that week we left the city for a week in Malumghat. Which is 50 miles away but takes about 4 hours to get there. It sits right outside of a village and has a hospital where part of our team treats patients 24/7. It was a great week of rest and enjoyment with the rest of our team. It was a g
reat time of encouragement and fellowship all being together. It was also so informative to see all the extra tasks and jobs that our team has taken on. Praise the Lord for such dedicated people! Most of these people are doing the work of 4-5 people. They work hard and all to the Glory of God!
The week ended with the greatest experience since I have been in South Asia. I slept over an orphanage with a few other girls. There are 12 kids in the home and they are so deeply cherished and loved by their house mom and dad. They don't have much but they are clean, smiling, and joyous. Most importantly, they are developing a true relationship with God and learning the Truth. We all had dinner with many smiles and laughter even
though our language was quite the barrier. We sang songs to our hearts content, songs in our language and theirs, with and without hand motions, and we sang with all of our souls. Oh the joy of worshiping our God together! We played a few games and just enjoyed our evening. I went to sleep after tucking the kids into bed thinking that my heart c
ould not hold much more joy and the love I already had for these precious children couldn't possibly grow deeper but I was so wrong!
possess. Their dedication to Christ and their ways are an incredible challenge to my life. The last 24 hours was a true example of having the faith of a child. We woke up at 6am to the c
hildren singing praises and lifting prayers to the
Lord. They had already been up for a 1/2 hour reading their bibles and were now worshiping their father. These are children who wake up at 5:30am so that they can enjoy pure worship of their father before they go to school 6 days a week. How often do I not cherish the worship of my father enough to arise early and sit before his throne.
We surprised them at breakfast with the announcement that we were going to go the local water park! Some of the kids had never been to a pool before and others just didn't know how to swim. Fully clothed (because that's how we do swimming here) we headed off to the water park. We had a blast! We went down water slides, went in a wave pool, a playground pool, and tube slides. Every motherly instinct I have ever had was in me as I wa
tched "my kids" come down the slide into a pool of water they didn't know how to swim in but the joy and smile on their face was absolutely priceless. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. After several hours at the park we trekked our way back home to a delicious lunch. I didn't want to leave- I am so thankful for such a sweet day. The children ar
e so loved, cherished, and taken care of at the home but when I l
ooked in their eyes or felt their clinging hugs I just wanted to sit there and hold them tightly back; reminding them of the love of their Father. Though their were traces of pain, their faces weren't those of the forgotten or of the pain stricken but sweet faces of the Redeemed trusting their Redeemer.
Through all the fun here is what my heart exploded with:
Faith and joy is not dependent on circumstances or people. It does not depend on what you have or who you know it is purely in the knowledge of God our father. Joy comes from obedience and knowing you are loved and chosen by the Father. As all that is around you changes nothing matters with your eyes fixed on Jesus. He will restore your broken heart and bring joy to your face. Children truly are an example to of faith. Oh to have the faith of a child as all around them crumbles and falls they fix their eyes and desire soly on Jesus trusting Him and His ways. Knowing that He loves them. Knowing that He has chosen them and He will not forsake his chosen.
In His Grip,
Jen
