**Mustard Seed Distributed**

Well, two days into my reentry into the culture of NYC. A lot going on right now in the world of T$, certainly. Actually more than a lot if that is possible. God continues to stir in my learnings from our trip to India. Let me first say that I couldn't be more proud of my daughter Allison. She is a beautiful young lady - frightening that I am saying that about my baby that was just saying things like "look at my fafe daddy, my fafe" - which is how she used to pronounce face. Now, she is becoming more and more of an adult in her modality. And I couldn't be more proud of who God has created her to be. I so much enjoyed every moment with her from the time we arrived at JFK (TAM airlines) to the moment we walked in the door with the entire KKFT. We have many laughs that we continue to share in. But the moments there in India were sweet. She is wise beyond her years, and many of the team members commented to me about her maturity level, how they were impressed w...

For some reason, God has been drilling the word serve into me for several months. Go. Serve. That's what I keep hearing him tell me. I haven't quite figured out what is the key point He is trying to make to me that I know of. I haven't always led my life to serve others. Just ask superstar. But I would say that I have continued to grow in this area personally, professionally, etc. But thinking back to what I have been writing in my journal, serve is a word that I continue to write down. I knew that a big part of this trip to India was about serving 'the least of these'. That is what Jesus commanded us to do - widows and orphans. Here at CEM, I am having opportunities to serve both of these groups of people. Orphans live here - and we are able to spend time with them, play, walk them to school, share in chapel, and whatever else comes our way. There is also an elderly home here, and there are 12 people that live ther. I have to tell you, I have spent mu...

So my days are beginning to run together, and the timelines in my brain are blurry after being on the ground at CEM for three days or has it been four? Either way, let's just say that one day in India is like ten years. That is a pretty good description of what reality is like here. Pastor said that sandrews said that on a trip here many years ago, and I was shocked by just how accurate of a statement that was. A day here can bring life events that you might be exposed to once in ten years living the way we live in the US of A. Here, life is hard. No matter what. As we drove to a 'village church' yesterday, we were what one team member describes as 'in the boonies.' (What does that mean exactly?) We saw things that I don't even know if I would have seen in 10 years living in the US. Men harvesting sugar cane and loading it on trucks. That sounds like a very simple sentence, and a very simple thing to do. But when it is in the upper 90's, and ther...

Oh the joy of being here. I have laughed much in the last few days, some of it being sleep deprivation psychoses, some of it sheer joy, some of it situational comedy. Anyway that you look at it, I have laughed much. Between doing the chicken dance with Indian children, to sharing suckers with the elderly and watching their faces light up, sharing my sunglasses with the MTS students, or just laughing with Alli over silly things that happen. Joy. But this post is following up on your homework. Did you do it? I told you you had pre-reading from the last post. Ephesians 2 - pastor used it at the opening of the church here on campus at CEM. And it appeared that God was talking to me directly. If you read my post about my life token, you have an idea about what I was trying to leave behind - the old way of living my life the way I wanted. As the message version says in Ephesians 2: "You let the world, which doesn't know the firs thing about living, tell you how to live....

Here I sit on the rooftop in Dowlaiswaram, India. Approximately 7800 miles from home. So many things that I could share about this trip, and I am only a bit over 24 hours into my stay here at CEM. I didn't even mind any of the travel at all, save the 7 hour layover in Mumbai. That sucked butt. Just sayin. But part of that travel was one of my favorite bits so far. Sitting on a bus, open windows, travelling the streets of India. Many memories flashed before me of my time in Ecuador. Horns honking. Crazy driving. People walking on tbe streets, bikes, motorcylcles, water buffalo, pigs, dogs, whatever. And the people. It is a hard life here in India for the people. And it is dirty. Beyond what you would imagine as the norm. The open sewers aren't immediately what you see, but you certainly do smell it. And when you walk around, you might see somewhat of a 'back up' in different places. Piles of garbage and other things. And you think to yourself - how can...

I am truly amazed at something that God has changed in my life. I have been preparing to leave for India with Alli on our trip (t minus 28.5 hours) and one of the tasks we are asked to do is bring a life token with us that we will leave in India and give to God. I have known many of the people that have participated in this trip in the past, and have enjoyed learning about their life tokens and their experiences in going through this task. Attached is what I am taking as a life token (see photo). I could not come up with an object that helps to communicate where I am and what I would like to express to God as thanks. But I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months reflecting on what God has really done in my heart and in my life. I have been meeting my new year's resolution of reading my bible and journaling every day - and that has really allowed me an opportunity to think about what God is trying to teach me and where I am today. But if I take the time now...

In 7 days, Alli and I will be boarding a plane on our way to India. It hit me yesterday pretty hard. The trip has seemed so far off for a long time now. Off in the future. Way off in the future. Now it is next week that we leave. I am excited to share in this journey with pastors both and alli. I know this has the potential to change our lives. To change the course of others' lives. I know that I need to expect extreme poverty, overwhelming things that I may not necessarily see here in the states. I know that God will be with us in serving the underserved. But the thing that blows me away is the amount of support = financial and prayer = that we have already experienced. As of yesterday, Alli and I have raised enough support to meet our goal for the trip. That overwhelmed me yesterday. To see God's provision for us to be able to do this. I am thankful to each of you that are partnering with us in this mission trip. It is not just for us to be faithful, but for e...