week 2!!

ok, so maybe the honey moon stage is over, but there is still work to be done. if you could keep our team in your prayers that would be amazing! it is a very hard city kolkatta is the "city of death" and we can for sure feel it. it is hard to reach people here in the city because they only see our money, so it has been a challenge to have a simple conversation, we have been overwhelmed most days by the things we see and knowing that we only have Jesus to offer because our money and our love is simply not enough. we see so much poverty and are never sure if the people we see lying on the streets are dead or alive, at times it can be overwhelming. today we started in the mother theresa house and we didn't know how to function, there is so much death in this place and we are in a huge spiritual battle. in our personal lives we are trying to overcome the small things, no cold beverages, being dirty all the time, and not having any of the comforts we are used to, last night haha over half of kolkatta lost power and water, just because they shut it off sometimes lol.... what do you do? we have been fighting like crazy and praying a lot and have hope that we can impact and change lives here, but your prayers are important. i love you all!

loving india!

we are on our 5th day in india and we are starting to get the hang of it, it definately took some getting used to, it is so busy here! i am loving it, we have been meeting with the people we will be working with and learning about the different ministries that are available to us, so far we will be doing a lot of mercy ministries mostly working with children. my favorite so far is the mother theresa house where people come to die with dignity, there are so many who just die on the side of the street here, she wanted a place where they could be taken care of and loved in their last days on earth, i am so excited, i know it will be hard, but i feel peace. we will also be working with homeless children who live in trains, working with kinds kids which is just teaching kids and hanging out with them, we are also walking around and talking to people and hanging out with the kids on the street, they are so precious! i am in my zone here i love it! i am fitting in well with the culture here, we went and bought our indian garb, we are fully decked out! they love americans! it's so funny, but really easy to make friends. living here is a lot differnt, we only have water at certain times of the day(we havent really figured out the exact hours) the electricity someitmes randomly goes off, and even after you shower you are still not clean, but i love it! the poverty here is intense, i cannot describe the things that we have seen, it is heartbreaking, but our team is perfect for the job, we have learned so much about the Lord's heart and what He would want for these people. i am eating some interesting things, today i ordered chicken, and im pretty sure it wasnt...i just stuck with the naan bread and curry! the people here are so beautiful! i cant stand it! i hav hugged so many older women because they are so stinkin cute, and the best part is that they dont care that i dont know them!!!! i love you all! hope you are doing well!

I made it!

It took us 43hrs, but we made it! i absolutely love it here! i feel so blessed to be here in india! it is so busy, more people than i could have ever imagined, they are so friendly here, we are all having a blast! the ywamers here found a beautiful place for us to stay with running water and toilets, we each have our own bed and they serve us breakfast and dinner! we live in the same building as a christian boarding school for girls and get to hang out with them at night time, they dont really speak english, but we teach eachother songs and dances. My heart gets overwhelmed at times because the poverty here is intense, but i love them the best i know, it is so fun to turn someone who is begging into a friend! its fun to show them that they are worth knowing! fun fact: they dont have speed limits,lanes, or traffic lights and ive almost been hit by a car\train about 4 times! gotta love it! i wish i could say more, but i only have ten min. i love you all so much! i will try and write soon!

Our india/thailand team!

india/thailand here i come!!!

we leave tomarrow at 4 a.m.!! we are almost all packed up and dreading saying goodbye. i cant beleive lecture phase is over! it has gone by so fast, i definately had the time of my life! i wont be able to talk on the phone for the next two months, but i love you all and will see you soon!

deeper friendship with claire!

Our lives, and the lives of others are better off for it!

We made it!

We are sooo funny!

I wanted to let her in on the joys of a onesie!


Hugs!!!

my buddies!

I'm on a mission
claire at her finest...

oh how i love ywam!

As DTS comes to a close i look back and realize how blessed i am to have had this experience. My time here has exceeded every expectation i had, and has changed me in ways I wasn't expecting. We have been through two months of lecture phase, each speaker bringing a fresh revelation of who God is and how we relate to Him. I have learned a lot about who i am in the Lord and on the flip side who i thought i was, but am not....if that makes sense. I have come to love the people here so much, it is amazing what the Lord can do in two months! I am so encouraged by the fact that we all came here so broken, not knowing who we were or where we were headed in life, and i feel like the Lord has been so faithful to give us direction and reveal to us our passions. It is so cool that we get to seek the Lord together as peers, knowing that we are all in the same spot, and just wanting to know God more. I don't have all the answers, and still not quite sure what life looks like after YWAM, but I am learning to continually lay down my own ideas and be open to what the Lord wills for my life. I am so thankful for all of you back home, you have been such and encouragement and have loved me more than I could have asked for! Thank you so much for you obedience to the Lord and your willingness to fight for me, it has truly changed my life and will not end with me. I love and miss you all and can't wait to see you in june! XoxOx

one week left!!!

we take off at 4 a.m. next tuesday!!! we are all freaking out a bit! God is good and we are also soooo excited!

the Lord is faithful!

last night the last bit of my tuition was paid by an unknown doner!! $750.00!!! i can go on out-reach!!!

glacier national park!

me in a hole!

international night!

alicia was a gypsy!
michele and sarah as the italians(mario and luigui)!
we had international night, so a few of us decided to dress up! claire representing the french, me the native americans, and crystal the omish!

claires birthday dinner!
randall let me put a face mask on him!

this is rob!

dts is coming to an end....

We only have two more weeks before we are off to india and thailand! Our dance is looking amazing, we are working on drama's, getting our immunizations, and trying to grasp what it is we are doing. The Lord has been working on all of our hearts intensly the past couple of weeks, asking us to continue to lay down our rights and love eachother in ways that stretch us and sometimes make us grumpy. I have decided to stay home for the summer, but am still planning on the school of dance in september! I am so gratefull that I was able to experience being here and doing a dts, it has changed me in so many ways and the best is the friends that I have made! It will be so hard to say goodbye as we each depart for out-reach, we have become a family, so we try not to think about it and just live for today and make the most out of it. I love you all and cant wait to spend time with you when I get home!