SERVE India

Hello friends!

We have been back in the States for a little more than a week now and already feel back into the busy-ness of life here! 

We really had a wonderful time in India in so many ways, with our family, with the team that came, in ministry, and we want to tell you thank you so much for praying!  We know that anything that happens that is meaningful in any way is because of the work of the Lord.  We feel so grateful that we belong to Him and that we have all of you in our lives!

We have so many stories to tell!  We always feel happy to share thoughts from the team members so you can hear from their perspective, too.  There are two men who have traveled there with us many times, who we asked specifically to come with this team of young people.  Their past experiences help them to help us explain things and guide the team.  Also, they model so well how to love and interact with the Indian people and they are fun! We were so grateful to have them along!  Here are a few of their thoughts…

 Brad – There is an experience that I had this year and other years that is really a highlight for me on these trips. I have been to Jeeva Jalem Leprosy Community seven years in a row now. The first year I will admit I was afraid to get too close to the people there. After a couple of years I have grown to love these people very much and being close to them is not a problem for me. I have witnessed such great things in their community. They have crops and farm animals now. They have new homes that are sturdy and are not falling down around them. They now exude confidence in who they are and know that they are loved by Jesus.

It is quite remarkable to me that those who in the Hindu culture are shunned and thought of as subhuman are now very much alive and happy. It is a testament to what God does and is still doing in the lives of the people that He loves. One of the greatest highlights of this trip was walking up to the meeting tent at Jeeva Jalem from our vehicle to an undeserved hero’s welcome and being greeted to the biggest smiles and hugs from two of the most precious little ladies that I know in India. If God is willing I will travel that trip every year just to selfishly get those hugs even if that is all the trip has to offer. Of course there is way way more! I am very humbled and honored to have been able to take this journey so many times and can’t wait to do it again.

Rick – Just a few quick thoughts of the trip for me…  I always want the trip to not become routine for me as I don’t want to be stagnant in my expectations of the trip. So I always pray for God’s prompting or signs of showing me what He wants. I don’t want this to be my trip, but God’s trip. And I eventually figure it out just to give it to Him. 

The experiences with all the team members and their unique qualities made for a great trip. My favorite is getting back to India for the 7th time and seeing, smelling and just taking in the culture, the simple life of not having all the stuff. The waiting around for hours and then all the sudden its “let’s go”. The people, the smiles, the curiosity, the hospitality, the leper colony and the excitement of a relationship built over these years is unexplainable. I thank God that I am called to be used by Him there, and hopefully by His Grace will continue to do so.Another cool thing is in coming back to the USA, in my job I have been talking about the trip everyday to hundreds of customers I have who knew I was in India, and are interested in hearing about the trip. It has slowed down now, but it was good to relive it throughout each day and talk about life in India. 

 We would love to share more stories with you and want to invite you to our SERVE India Appreciation Dinner coming up very soon!  We will need to know that you are coming so please RSVP by going to our website at www.serve-india.com or signing up at FCC if you are in town. 

 SERVE India Appreciation Dinner
Sunday, September 11, 2011, at noon
FCC, 777 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI

One more request for prayer, we have a surprise change of plans for John… just after we got home they called from India to say that our training center was approved for a government accreditation program for an area of vocational training, which is SO exciting, but all of the paperwork has to be finished by August 30th, or we lose the whole opportunity.  John made a lot of calls to see if others could do the work and it seems that HE has to be there because it is his name on all the paperwork… so, yesterday he started his journey back…  whew!    He will be returning for our India dinner though (because he is the cook!), so we hope to see you there!   

Thanks, again, for your prayer and partnership with us in all that the Lord is doing!

                                                                    His peace and blessings, Love, The Nanda’s