E-pray: September 2011
Hello epray friends!
We are excited for our SERVE India Appreciation Dinner, which is this Sunday (11th), and you are all still invited! 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. 
We are happy to say that our main cook came back from India just today!
John is back here, again, but just for a short while because the paperwork for the vocational training program is going well and there is another deadline for part of it at the end of this month. The program is a 2-year course for training elementary school teachers. The government will provide the professors and 30 students. We can add 20 more students, which will be a great opportunity for our Pastors’ children or church members who have an interest in this but no means. The program provides scholarships for these 50 students. When they have finished their course then the government will place the teachers in villages where there are no schools yet. We are so excited about the great opportunity to love so many new students and hopefully equip them well to spread that love to the villages where they are placed. There are so many more ways that the Lord can use this so we are so excited to see what He does! Please pray for all of the process to go smoothly and for just the right people to help John get everything accomplished in the right time. Thank you for praying!
We are excited to share about another new opportunity that is happening at the end of this month. Our oldest son, Josh (20), is taking this year off from college in America and is heading back to India to go to a university there for a 6-month Telugu language program. We are very excited about this! We will let him tell you more about it in our next epray. Please pray for Josh as he prepares for his time away and for all that the Lord has in mind for him! It’s going to be a great year for him, but also full of challenges, so thank you for praying!! And, thanks for praying for his mom and dad, too… especially his mom!
We are always happy to have you hear about what the Lord is doing in India from others’ perspectives, so we included a few thoughts from one of our summer team members, who made her 2nd trip with us. Jean shares…
I always look forward to going to the Widows Home. I love these women and think about them every day. This year was my second visit to this home. Last year the atmosphere was very dark. While the women were happy to see us and full of what I call ‘spunk’, there was very little joy. This year I was so excited as I ran up the steps to see these wonderful women who are so dear to my heart. As I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, my steps slowed. I was struck by how much had changed. The women were still full of ’spunk’ and very excited to see us, and there was a dramatic change in them. The atmosphere was lighter. The smiles on their faces were brighter and they seemed more content with their circumstances. They did not seem as broken.
One of the widows was very vocal about her love for Jesus. She was full of fire and pointed to the other widows in the room that were not Christ followers and showed how she was boldly sharing with them. As I spoke to them about how much I loved them and that I pray for them every day, one of the women said they remembered me and they also prayed for me. This was the most memorable moment of the trip this year for me. To know that they also love me and pray for me brought tears to my eyes. I am so grateful that God gave me this moment of pure joy. I will treasure it always.
We would love to share more stories (and pictures) with you so please join us for our SERVE India Appreciation Dinner!
SERVE India Appreciation Dinner
Sunday, September 11, 2011, at noon
FCC, 777 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI
We really do appreciate every one of you!
Much love,
His joy, The Nanda’s