Great to hear from you! Hey Ben and Tim, way to go on the messages on Sunday. We got to speak to Nate, Ryan and Alex earlier today - sounds like every day is still really booked. It is very different without you all around... too quiet. Come home safe! Love, Allan / Dad
1 week left! we can't believe you only have one week left in india! you are all missed so much. thank you, holland, for challenging our hearts on gratitude- i know i sure need to be reminded.(often!!) we just want to sit at your feet and learn from all of you when you get back! happy birthday to christy! (and alex, soon?) sam, savor these last days of your trip and continue to have a wonderful time serving god!
love ,
denise and family (mom~ xoxo)
Whats uuuupppp!!! Hi everyone,
Solomon! It's so great to know ur still out there:) You don't have to blog everyday, but just let us know ur still there every once in a while. Thanks Holland for what u said about being grateful -- guess if I were in India, I wouldn't struggle with it so much. Anyways, church service here got out at 11am because Dondero was locked (the custodian didn't come to open the bldg) so we had church service in the bleachers behind the bldg. And the great thing about it was my four- yr old niece came to church service!!! I almost wanted to cry because I haven't seen her for a while. But anyways, the church is definitely repenting and we are more focused on God, so I pray that we encourage you all upon your return to the states.
Take Care,
Stacey
Have and awesome Sunday Sounds like another long and busy day have fun at church this morning I guess that is going on right now so I am praying it is going well! hope that this is the start to an awesome week!
Hello to Kevin and Christy It sounds like you all are having a great and spiritual time there. We pray that your journey will continue to be fulfilling and rewarding and that you have a safe return. Keep up the great work you are doing. Everyone here sends their love and we can't wait to hear about your trip firsthand.
Love, Your Family
Stay Safe!!
Inspiring Im a disciple of Indian Church of Christ, Kolkata. I m really inspired by this mission trip of urs to Kerala. Last year I made a trip to the south indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu but, missed out on Kerala. The South Indian disciples r really great: warm , friendly and really giving. I almost wish I was there in Kerala with u people- right now.
bye, ur brother-in-christ,swarup.
dutta39@hotmail.com
Thanks I just want to say thank you for sharing a small part of your trip with us. It is very encoraging to know what is going on and how it is influencing all of you! Thans for takin the time to blog I know it is not easy!
PS happy 4th of July
Hurry Back I am glad you guys are becoming more like Christ and are all more giving. You will be ack just in time to recover and bring me a Birthday present (July 13th) ;)
Seriously, I am truly inspired by your life and am grateful that all your planning and hardwork is bearing fruit.
Please keep your passion ans perspective! I believe you are so fired up because you are not invloved in 'civilian affairs' but are you are seeing the battle in its rawest form.
-follower of the Ancient Paths.
Wow, Derin! Hey, Derin...
That was such a newsy, heartfelt posting you wrote. You should be the trip historian! It's so inspirational to hear about the people who are going to plant new churches there and the fact that they're from all levels of society, in all age categories. They don't have to be young or "super sharp" or financially solid...they just have to have a heart for the lost and God's mission. Cool!
I hope everybody is staying healthy and is taking Malarone, wearing bug spray, etc. Did we ever hear from Soloman? Hey, Soloman, we need to get your point of view on what's happening.
Holland, we're renting out your room while you're gone, but don't worry, you can have it back around July 10th. Just kidding! We miss you and love you tons!
Luanne S.
Stop Apologizing You guys don't have to post this for everyone to read, but stop apologizing for not blogging enough. You are not over there to blog, you're over there to serve, to see God at work, to change your lives, and to come back and inspire the churches. Don't listen to the parents when they whine about not hearing from their kids - they can live for three weeks without hearing from them. Instead of trying to make time to blog, blog if you get a chance to but don't feel bad if you don't - the other stuff you are doing is FAR more important, and people back here can hear about it when you return. It's totally encouraging to see your blog, but we can live back here if you guys don't blog one day or two days. Keep serving God as I know that you all are.
LybiC,
Robert Segovia
Hi guys, I know that you guys are learning and experiencing a lot. I am so proud of you for denying yourself. I am equally proud of the teen men for leading the way in being compassionate and nice. I didn't know you guys had it in you. I want to see some of that niceness when you come home. Missing you very much. Continue to allow God to change your lives.
Hello to Kevin from Michigan, USA Hi Kevin,
I just wanted to send you a quick note to say hi! I've been keeping up with the journal entries. How exciting and what an experience of a lifetime. Have a safe and joyous trip. Keeping you and the rest of the travelers in our prayers, Pat.
Thanks Ben, Tim, and Wendy for your work Hey, Ben, just wanted to thank you for all your digital manuevering, in addition to all the other stuff you guys are doing there. It sounds like it is a challenge to keep up with all the photo uploads, the blogs, etc. You may never know how much it means to all of us, esp. the parents of those teens! And, the stories are unbelievable! The story about the widows being abandoned was heart-wrenching! It makes me want to come over there and do something myself! And, Alex and Ryan studying the Bible with people--AWESOME! And, that NAAN sounds like some good stuff. Last night, we were getting out plates for dinner, and Michael accidentally got 5 instead of 4, then he realized that Alex still wasn't here! Then Daniel got a contorted look on his face, and screamed "I miss Alex" (honest, TRUE story!) I know, hard to believe! I think that is how your dad and I feel, too, but we skip the contorted face thing :) and the scream! BY the way, I read a magazine article titled, "You are What You Give" the other day. I tacked it onto my bulletin board over my desk (it inspired me), and, of course, I thought of all of you, and how this experience has changed you, and will continue to change your perspective on the world! The passion you have shared about your experiences has been contagious here! Everyone is talking about you all--your impact reaches far from where you are! Keep up the amazing work, and give our love to the disciples there! I am sure you are tempted to become weary, but continue to persevere! Tim and Wendy, I don't know how you can keep up with all those "young folks", but thank you for taking such good care of them! We can ever really thank you enough--you have a big job! Hugs to all, EXTRAS to Alex! :)
Love,
Luanne (mom) and the clan!
Widows Ben, thanks for sharing the story about the widows and divorces, that is heartbreaking! It truly brings new light to the scripture where Jesus commands us to take care of orphans and widows...we are so far removed from that reality here. I am so glad that HOPE is able to help some. Oh, by the way...we miss you and Jen and Kevin and Christy alot! Love you guys!
Thank you for your inspiration! Hello missionaries! As I sit here and read your entries my heart is so heavy (for the people) and so overjoyed that you are there to serve them :) I cry almost every time...wussy american :) Anyways, you are all constantly in our prayers. I am glad that there is enough Naan for all of you (nate,...for some reason that cracked me up!) I appreciate you sharing your experiences and inspiring the church here. I can't wait to hear all of your stories when you get home! Mom, Dad, and Kylie...we miss you tons! We hung out a little with grams and gramps and L.J and Romika today. Do you know that those kids have cell phones (speaking of spoiled americans...jk). They are all doing well! Kylie, I reminded Collin about the paint today...we'll see :) We look forward to seeing you all soon. Mom and Dad, we hope that you are feeling better.... you are in our prayers. Good night to you all, we love you here in Detroit!
amazing Hi to all of you serving in India, I don't know most of you but after reading your incredable stories I feel like I do now. What you are doing is really beyond words, reaching out and touching so many lives, and sharing your wonderful stories. It's almost like we are there with you. I am so proud of all of you and really appreciate all that you are doing. I think of you every day and keep you in my prayers as well. Keep up the great work, and I hope everyone is feeling better now. Thanks for sharing and God Bless to all. Love Viv
WOW! It is obvious from your letters how you all have changed to become even more like Christ. We are overwhelmed to tears of joy when we picture you all giving yourselves so selflessly with the people there, as well as each other. We ache to share the stories with you face to face! A huge thank you again to all the chaperones- how can we ever repay you? We miss you terribly and continue to pray for your health and safety. I hope you received our last email about how incredibly proud we are of all of you!!!!! Sam, we can't imagine how you must have grown in being "out of yourself" ~just like Jesus! Ooooh, I want to hug you!! (Solomon- we miss your goofy self! haha) Thanks so much for all the wonderful and hearfelt journals.
All our love, Steve, Denise, Josh, Louie and baby John xoxox
Hey Tim, Wendy, Jen and others Hi, guys! I can't believe you guys are there now, made it through 2 cities already! I hope you get a chance to see my parents. It's been fun, reading through all your experiences. Love from Chicago too, you have encouraged a lot of disciples here too...We are praying for you all.
Group Sounds Mature Everyone sounds impacted from what you have experienced. Your story about the woman who was abandoned because she couldn't have children was heart breaking. My heart is touched about how hard hearted people can be - even with family members. Keep cranking! The Teens and adults sound very mature in their sharing... I can tell they are changing. - Allan / Dad
Where's Solomon? I just passed on the Blog address to Cliff... so he should be able to get Solomon's family tied in to the Blog. Solomon, please write!! Hey - what kind of a place are you staying at in Cochin? Hey Nate and Ryan - even Jeremy said "It's too quiet around here!". I think he actually misses you! Tim and Ben, thanks so much for making the extra effort to keep writing. The blog address has travelled around the country and many from our churches are reading.. your efforts are encouraging many! It made front page in DisciplesToday.org. - Allan / Dad
Nathan and Ryan It sounds like you are getting a great experience in India. As long as you are in the "neighborhood" you should stop by Kuala Lumpur to visit us - We have Dominoes and cheap video games. I hope you are getting a diverse experience - Kerala has the second largest number of christians of any Indian state. Many of them are members of an ancient sect supposedly started by the missionary work in India of the apostle Thomas where they still conduct services in Aramaic. Of course India is the home of people of many faiths, all of which we can learn from. Keep yourselves open to that important part of your experience.
See I told you that teens rock Hey guys, I just read this blog and I'm so ecited to hear about Ryan and Alex studying the Bible. You guys are so awesome. Nate, I can totally understand what you mean about hearing peoples voices when they write, especially you and Ryan : )
Ben and Jen, I'm so proud of you guys and all the work you put in to make this happen. You are big time heros to me. God is using you all over the world.
in him
Chad
I'm so encouraged I think one of the most encouraging things is to read about the teens who aren't disciples yet giving their hearts. I'm sure that Holland, Sam, Derin and Alex will come back and teach the rest of us what it means to serve like Jesus. GO TEENS!
big love
Chad
I love it!!! If your trip has been as good for you as it has been for me then I am very happy for all of you. I am sitting hear with a bunch of my team mates on the U of M gymnastics team they are so raped up in such worldly worries and when I sit hear in this luxury and hear them complain about the fact that we do not AC in our house or what they are going to do tonight or how hard it is to deal with little kids all day long (we are working a gymnastics camp this week as coaches) Well the highlight of my last week or so has been getting to hear about how amazing the disciples are half was across the world and how much they are influencing all of you. I have such a desire to be working over in India with all of you but most of all to just get so absorbed in working non stop for the Lord with out the distractions of School, Gymnastics or all the things that come along with the USA getting a job making a career paying for a car a house ect. ect. ect. Well basically I would love to serve and serve and serve and push myself every day in the crazy conditions that exist in India. I know that the rewards from serving over there must be amazing and I envy all of you. Keep it up I am so proud of all of you and want nothing more than to hear about the great things God can, will and has done in India! Well I hope I will get to know what it is like to drive threw that crazy traffic very soon (I want to do work over there so bad)
LOVE you all,
Paul Woodward
Mission:India 2007 is the group of Christians from the Detroit Church of Christ along with Lansing, Grand Rapids and Toledo going to serve the local Indian churches in Southern India.
Pictured (L to R): Ben Weatherston, Cynthia Garcia, Doureen Morse, Autumn Cussen, Ericka Sailor, and Damon Banks.... full info
Allan
non-member comment
Great to hear from you!
Hey Ben and Tim, way to go on the messages on Sunday. We got to speak to Nate, Ryan and Alex earlier today - sounds like every day is still really booked. It is very different without you all around... too quiet. Come home safe! Love, Allan / Dad