I made it to Lucknow!

So i am on my last leg of my journey of North India!  I arrived yesterday morning in Lucknow.  It has already had some great conversations and some great adventures. Like getting our jeep stuck in knee high mud, but that is a story for my longer post about Lucknow.  Thanks all for following my blog!  I am sure some of them have to be pretty boring so thanks for reading them!!!!

Jaipur Baby!!!!

Hello All,
   Sorry for the late post!  I lost my internet stick so have not been able to update much, but by the grace of the Father it has returned!!!!!  I am currently in the city of Jaipur!  It is known as the Pink City because the walls of the old city are made of a red/orange stone and at certain times of the day the city looks pink.  I have also gotten to do some pretty cool things here in the city.  I will not bore you with them now because I would need more time to type it all, and I need sleep. My plan is to write a blog for each of the cities I am visiting complete with photos after I get back to school.  I just do not have the time or energy now. I have been running like crazy since my holidays began.  I hope all of you are wonderful and I can not wait to tell you all about what the Father is doing in the North of India.

I'm in Delhi!!!!!

Well for those that did not know I am now on Christmas holiday!!!!  I am spending my Christmas Break in the North of India.  I am currently in the wonderful city of Delhi...aka the #1 most polluted city.  I have loved the hustle and bustle of life here, but the smog is killing me.  While I am here I am getting to see what some different people are doing in the city.  In the past few days I have gotten to see just small glimpses in what is happening in the city of Delhi.  As this week goes on I will be getting more and more opportunities.  I will be in Delhi until the 26th of December then I will be going to Jaipur and then to Lucknow.  The whole time in each of these cities I will be getting to see what is happening in those cities!

I know that this is a short blog, but I do not have tons to share today.  I just wanted to make sure that you guys know what is happening in my life, and that I am not dead yet.  I hope that soon I will have even more news for you!

LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melissa  

Such a great week!

So this week was great!!! It was stressful, but also wonderful!!!

So to start this week I had a dinner to say goodbye to all the IGs that the school put on and tons of rehearsals for the Staff Pantomime.  I have been working on directing this show since I got back from the 10 day break in October.  Well this Saturday was our dooms day.  So when Saturday finally arrived we had one last rehearsal and then we just had to wait for the show to begin.  While we waited the school was also having their Christmas Dinner.  There was so much food!  I had to eat fast so I did not really get to enjoy it, but what I did get to taste was amazing. Hopefully there will be pictures soon of me in my sari!  I do not have any because my camera broke, but I got it working this morning.

Once the dinner was over we had to run to the assembly hall get our costumes and make-up on before all the kids arrived from the dinner.  Before the show even started you could tell there was just a great energy in the crowd.  The teacher who was announcing the show could not even get a word out before the kids were screaming!  Now before I go much further I need to explain that a Pantomime here is not like the ones at home that no one talk...NO these are all farces and most of the time has jokes based on local things.  Once the show started the kids would not quit cheer and booing and hissing(all normal in a Panto).  Once the show was over all the kids could say was WOW!  They said that it was one of the best Pantos in all the years they had been at the school.  The some of the staff and myself ended the night with a (as my Welsh friend say) A cheeky dance party and then a bonfire by the pool

Cast of Snow White!

Then tonight was just great!  We had a Carol Service under the stars and by candle light!  Different groups of students got up and performed different things, and then we also had a message about the Father.  I loved just getting to sit with one of my dorm girls in my lap the whole time, and singing of the Fathers love and glory.

For things to ask the Father for....1)All the IGs leave on Thursday!!!! One of the IGs is suppose to be back, but his visa extension was denied(He is trying to decide if this is the work of the Father or the Evil One).  2) I leave for my holiday work on Friday so for safety.  3) The Seminary said that I should hear something in the next few weeks (ask that if this is not the path for me that the Father will shut that door, and show me the right way. But if it is his plan that it will all work out)

My Provider

So these last few days the Father has been my provider!  After some really busy weeks this week has slowed down, but I have had a few things that stressed me out.

Right now I am directing a staff play, and 39 staff member that are all older than me are who I am directing.  I know that it may not seem like much, but when you are a little 25 yr old telling a 40-50 yr old what to do it is kind of intimidating for me!  We are now less than a week away from the show going on, and there is still so much to do.  I am hoping it all comes together.  The one thing is that the father has provided many people to come and tell me I am doing such a great job!  It has been encouraging.

Then yesterday the Father blessed me with one of the best gifts I have ever gotten...I got to talk to my family on Skype.  This is the first time that both of our computers were behaving enough to Skype since I left.  I have not seen my family since August 2!  The father knew that I needed to see them, and he provided it so lovingly.  I was so happy the rest of the day. I was walking on cloud 9.

Then today started so bad!  I dropped my internet USB stick in my make-up today, a nail polish bottle shattered on my floor(ruining a new sweater), and my show snapped in half on the way to church.  I was just so frustrated and mad.  Then the great provider gave me even more....We had pot roast for lunch!!!!  I know that back home that would not be a big deal, but here meat is very hard to get sometimes.  When we get pot roast it is such a treat because we have lots, so you can eat lots and get your months fill of iron.  Then I have been craving pineapple, but I do not have a way to store it if I bought it.  So it is one of those things you just kind of forget about.  Well dessert today was fresh pineapple!  I was so happy.

Now I am sitting in my room just relaxing.  I am speaking tonight at one of the Word Clubs we have here.  I am talking about our roots in the Father from Col 2:6-7.  I am very excited because the kids have all told me how excited they are that I am speaking to them.  Then early in the morning aka 4:30 am I get to Skype with my faith family back home.  I can not wait to get to talk to them, and let them see me!  I hope that my internet stays working strong enough to run the call!

Reality Sets In

So it is really starting to hit that almost half my time here is gone.  Which makes me happy and a little sad.  Since it is almost half over this means that most of the IGs that I have been working with this whole time will be leaving, and a whole new set will be arriving in January.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  On all my past trips I have almost always been the one leaving, and the majority of the people I work with staying.  This trip is totally different.  I will be the one staying, and it kinda makes me sad.  I know that if this is the life that the Father has for me then I will have to learn to deal with people leaving.  It hit the hardest today when tonight I was laying my girls down to bed.  They all said "Goodnight Miss Mel. I love you" and they all kissed me on the cheek.  It hit me how much I have been doing with these girl, and how much they look up to me (even when I am not perfect).  I will have a really hard time leaving them in June.

Speaking of leaving....I have decided what I think the Father has for me for next year....are you ready....ok here I go....I am going to go to seminary.  I have sent in my application to Fuller in Pasadena, Ca (I know that is not Oklahoma).  If I am accepted then I will have to be in Cali by mid-September.  I am very excited and nervous, because I do not know how I am going to afford everything that I will need to go back to school.  I know that if this is the Father's plan then he will provide what I need.  I was really hoping to stay here at Hebron, but I realized that if I did it would just me being selfish and not the Father.  I am hoping to hear back from the seminary soon, but I do not know when.

I ask that through this time that you would be talking to the Father for me about this, and I will be think about you to the Father as well. 

YF!

This weekend was YF camp.  YF stand for youth fellowship.  We took around 130 Std 11-13(Sophmores-Seniors) students down to Quiet Corner to have a weekend away to talk about the Father.  The trip down was pretty normal.  The younger girls on my bus singing at the top of their lungs while the older girls shouted at them the be quiet.  Once we arrived that activities start right away.  The first night our speaker brought the word, and then we played some games to get the kids even more excited about the weekend.  The next day we had two session on the word, and then as always fun games and activities.  I got to lead a workshop on how to use drama to please the Father.  It was so much fun seeing the kids act.  We also had a bonfire, and we did s'mores.  For some of the kids it was their first time to ever roast a marshmallow.  Then some of the kids got out their iPods and started playing DJ for the bonfire.  We "dance" in our respective male or female circles, and then headed to bed.  The next day we heard from the word one last time, and then started to pack up.  The last thing we did was listen to how the students had been impacted.  I at first felt like not many students had heard from the Father with how they reacted to the speaking, but then they started to open up about what the Father had been say.  It was such a blessing to hear some of them share.  Some of the students asked if I could come to the next YF camp next semester, and that is encouraging as well.   The bus ride back was cray because the bus we were taking was not rated to take the steep grades of the local mountains.  So they kept kicking girls off the bus to other buses(where they had to stand because there were no free seats)  Once we finally made it back we were so happy to be off that bus.

Today I just spent in my room preparing for an assembly that I am speaking at on Wednesday.  I am talking about the Father's plans for our lives.  I am hoping that it goes well.  I hope that all of you are doing good, and that you all have a great Thanksgiving.

In India some place that are considered churches you have to take your shoes off...these are just some of the kids shoes at YF.