The Last time I saw Emma.

I’m one of the privileged ones to have seen, heard, and touched Emma in person.  Just a little over two weeks ago I was sitting right beside her looking into her eyes.  Just sitting beside her I could tell she knew she wasn’t alone.  During my last week in India I realized in my entire four months their I had been running about capturing photos and video of over 100 children in their daily lives, but had never just sat down and watched over this particular little girl.  It doesn’t take long to figure at that Emma was no ordinary baby.  Her condition left her to the security of her crib.  Even a slight touch to the cheek gave her a sense of fear from the multiple surgeries she had received in her short life. 

But that last day I spent some time just sitting with her next to her crib.  At first I wasn’t even sure if she knew I was there, but when I got up to leave, she began to whimper.  I knew then that she wanted me to sit with her.  She didn’t want to be alone.

And alone she was not.  This one little girl had been rescued from what many doctors pronounced better off dead.  But God, Sarah, and many others refused to believe her life was beyond all hope.  Four months and several surgeries later she was in a stable condition, gaining wait, and able to muster a small smile at the sight of a loving caretaker or volunteer to wrap her up in physical and spiritual warmth.  To read more click this link:  Emma's Story

I took this picture of Emma on my last day with her because at the time I thought I never want to forget this moment with her.  Little did I know it would be the last time I saw her.  

photo taken of Emma on 4.28.12

But her story is far from over.  She has been wrapped up in the arms of an unfathomable loving God, who I fear because of my own inadequacies.  Fear in the sense that He is far greater than the limits of my imagination yet he has acted in my life in way I will never be the same. 

Emma lives on in the hearts of many. Some who meet her face to face, others who labored in prayer far away yet closer than we can comprehend.  From Blogs, pictures, to film Emma’s story will be told.  For she is a Child of God and my Papa loves to talk about his children.  

Emma passed away on 5/16/12 in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.  The shunt from her brain which drained fluid had failed.  She is now home with her heavenly Father.

India Day 105

With the tumoult of facebook posting, instagraming, tweeting, and vimeo posts, I have neglected to write a blog recently.

I can hardly believe I have been in India for 105 days, at times it has stretched on and feels like I have been here for years, at other times I am reminded that "I am a pilgrim in an unholy land" - Dr. Jones "The Last Crusade" I'm not sure why that quote just came to mind but it did.  So now its out and posted on the web.  India is not more unholy than any other land in the world, one might argue that India is one of the most "holy lands" in the world.  India is known as the birth place for four major world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism), but my religion for the first time in my life was part of a minority.

This has stretched and challenged me.  This has changed my perspective.

But one thing always remains the same.

Psalm 62:2
He alone is my rock & my salvation;
     he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Being a voice

“Be willing to be only a voice, heard but not seen” – George Matheson (Streams in the Desert 2/24)

The past two years of my life have been defined by an all-out, no holding back, reckless abandon to seek who God truly is, who he made me to be, and the plan he has for my life.  On this road there have been many turns.  Some turns I expected, other turns I had to depend on Christ who led me through the dark.  I have lost friends and gained others.  I put to death the “old man” in me so that I might take on an identity in Christ.  I paralleled my life with the story of Isaiah “The Willing”.  Just as Isaiah began to listen for God, two years ago I began to learn how to truly listen to God; to cast aside all the other noise in my life and pray humbly in my closet.  One of the first instructions Jesus gave his disciple’s was how to pray ,”But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” (Matt 6:6).  I did this for the first time in my life and God began to chip away the story I wanted for my life and replace it with His story for my life.  My eagerness to take the first step into an unordinary life was encompassed in the momentous statement from Isaiah 6:8,”Here I am God, Send me to the world.”

Two years later I have found myself literally sent to the world.  I have not only been sent half way around the world to India, but I experienced many places of growth and servant hood in my own backyard around the states.  I feel my story shifting.  What I once thought would be a life of complete separation from the “secular world” has become a life of being a voice to the world for those who the world hates.  The women and children the world wants to ignore.  The ones for many years I neither acknowledged or cared about.  Sure I lived a good life, I was kind and helped others, but at the end of the day who was I living for?  Did the love God has for his children burn inside me to the point of sacrificing my own plans and goals? 

If your closest friend was suffering from HIV, AIDS, disease, hunger, abandonment or persecution; would you be able to go on living a normal life?

We live in a world virtually connected from small villages to major cities.  Anyone who reads this blog has connection to the internet and therefor has a way to be informed about people around the world who need help.  People who God knows, people who God loves, people God commanded us to love as ourselves.

The words of Jeremiah are speaking to me in a new light. 

Jeremiah 1:6

Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.”

I do not claim to be a prophet.  I do not claim to have any power or superior knowledge.  If I have learned anything in the last two years it is that I myself am “like all other men.” – Bonhoeffer.

I am a sinner saved by grace.

God is using me to be a voice for those who have none…

Blocks

Just happened to be present when the boys were playing with blocks and learning creative thinking skills.  Shot entirely on iphone 4s.   Watch closely and you may see my cameo in the reflection on the window. 

Piano Prodigies

Piano Prodigies from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.

There are several seeing impaired children at SCH who are starving to be challenged creatively. Through some simple prayers of faith God provided an electric keyboard to be used at the Girls Home to provide a creative outlet and entertainment for our school aged girls.

Love Gives Movement

Love Gives Movement from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.

My personal favorite so far. Simply a life in action moment. I saw the teenagers and their teachers going out to the field with a bucket of balls, grabbed my camera and went. Just a beautiful glimpse of life here in India.

Republic Day

Republic Day from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.

Love is simple

Love is Simple from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.

Chelsea, Aloe, and Max of Sarah's Covenant Homes, India are three sweethearts who need very special care. They live in a foster home environment with volunteer house mothers, nurses, and caregivers. In this video, they're spending time playing with volunteers. SCH cares for over 100 children with special needs. Come volunteer your time or help us financially to continue putting smiles on little faces like these!

Featured Kiddos: Chelsea, Aloe, and Max

schindia.com
facebook.com/schindia

Song: Jesus, let me see your eyes
Artist: Cory Ashbury

Beach Day

Sarah’s Covenant Homes is only 10 km away from the Indian Ocean, but it’s not every day that the kids get to visit the big blue ocean.  A simple trip can bring laughter and joy to the lives of the children at SCH.  This day marked a first trip to the Ocean for Naomi and Jackie.  Naomi conquered the sand while Jackie took a liking to the water and seashells. 

Beach Day from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.

schindia.com
facebook.com/schindia

Featured Kiddos:  Naomi and Jackie

Credits:

Visionary: Maddie M.

Videographer and editor:  Anson W. 

Paint Day

This short visual piece is a window into the children and their creative abilities that are possible when they are simply given a chance to live in the joy God created them to be in.

Watch as the kids from Sarah’s Covenant Homes create a unique expression of art.


Paint Day from SCH INDIA on Vimeo.


Featured Kiddos (listed from first appearance): Naomi, Jackie, Prakash, Lily, Nolan, Ruthie, Jeanette, Judah, Christopher, Christine

Credits:
Music: "Beautiful Things" by Gungor
Visionary: Maddie McCaleb serenamadeleine.tumblr.com/

Maddie McCaleb is simply a servant following her heart for God. She came to Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH) for the first time in July of 2011 and instantly fell in love with the children here at SCH. Following in the footstep of her second greatest hero Mother Theresa, who she has affectionately nick named “Mother T”, Maddie has begun a life long journey to living for her first greatest hero Jesus Christ.

Boys Home

Upon stepping into India I had no idea what to expect.  I knew I would face brokenness on a whole new level but I knew I had to see and experience it first hand to gain a better picture.  I could try to describe what I have seen the past two weeks, but it will never compare to actually being here.  For now God has given me the ability to be a voice for Sarah’s Covenant Homes sharing the stories of these children with the supporters and body of Christ around the world.

A brief history.

Sarah Rebbavarapu traveled to India when she was a college student.  God spoke to her heart, and she was never the same. 

Sarah was given dreams and visions of providing “family style” homes for abandoned special needs children.  She originally planned on taking only twenty children, but how could she leave behind so many more children who would soon die if they were not given proper medical treatment.  Sarah knew she had to trust in God as he would perform miracles.  Thus in 2008 Sarah’s Covenant Homes was born.

The reality is these children are better off than living in their previous government founded orphanages, but the work is not over.  Sarah was used as the visionary for this part of God’s story, but now the many members of the body of Christ spanned across borders, cultures and denominations must be the servants. 

109 children are currently apart of SCH

77 children now live in 5 rooms at the Victory Home

Three months ago 12 school age girls were moved into the first “family style” apartment which has given them a nurturing environment to engage in school and life together. 

There are 10 school aged boys ready to move into an apartment but there are no basic living furnishings. 

Stove, refrigerator, cots, mattresses, air-conditioner, water purifier… etc

I am here, and God is telling me to share this with my supporters.

The Goal is $4,121

I feel that God has provided me with the means to travel and live in India, now I must step out on faith in asking for support for these 10 boys in need of a livable home. 

If you share in the vision and being a sacrificial part of God’s kingdom then search your heart for what you can give.

Pay at: 

Or for US-tax-deductible donations: send checks payable to “Sarah’s Covenant Homes” (a501c3) can be sent to:

Sarah’s Covenant Homes

PO Box 368

Chinook, MT 59523 USA

Luke 1:37

For nothing is impossible with God. 

10 Days in India

“God spoke when there was no inward storm”

-          George Matheson (excerpt from Stream in the Desert)

I have had difficulty finding peace and quiet.  Something I value greatly.  But I must not idolize my quiet devotion.  I think God is planning on revealing himself slowly to me during my current stretch of the journey.  Even when I get alone with him I have inward thoughts racing every which way. 

My documentary mind takes over throughout the day as well.  Everything here is interesting and new to my eyes.  The irony is all the new things I am seeing are actually old. 

For example:

Ironing shirts with coal heated cast iron

Cooking over open fire

Telephones

Bicycles

I feel like I am in some post apocalyptic film. Where a remnant of British culture has survived.

Right now on this Sabbath morning I feel peace.  I am thankful for it.  I am vowing to rest more than the other days of the week.  A hard task in this new world that is bustling below me.

Three days in the Land of much Honking

How does one begin to describe the last three days of my life?  My world has been turned upside down.  I have gone from being a self-sustaining adult, to an infant.
I cannot speak the language, I cannot navigate the town.  I must rely on the help of others.
I am being changed once again.  I can feel it deep within my core.  C.S. Lewis once wrote, ”Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before.”

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we waste away inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Yes, I am responsible for making choices that influence who I become.  I chose to come to India. I chose to finish school.  I chose to step out in faith.  I chose to accept God’s call to follow Him daily.  But ultimately it is God who changes us.  It is He who molds us into something new.

John 15:16
You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go bear fruit- fruit that will last.

Worst moment.
Feeling overwhelmed with everything. Being a complete stranger in to this new place, fighting feelings of being alone. I felt like I didn’t belong, felt tired.

Best moment.
This moment I had on the roof; looking at the sunset, the fields, the mountains, but most importantly Naomi, my new friend.  She is a shy little girl, maybe that is why I can relate.  At my very core I am a quiet reserved person, as a child I was also very shy.  It is who God created me to be.  I have times of speaking out but at my core I love nothing more than to be quiet, and just take everything in.  Back to Naomi, she has a disorder, well I’m not really sure what she has, and I do not believe it matters.  All the children I have meat so far are Children of God, they all have names, and are all beautiful.

  It was in this moment I thought, “there is nowhere else on earth I would rather be than right here and right now.  Time seemed to stand still.

Names

In 5 hours and 26 minutes God and I will be sitting on a plane heading for JFK international airport, from there we will sit in the airport for a few hours until 10:50pm when God and I will jump on 14 hour plane ride to Doha, then finally God and I will take our last flight of only 5 hours to arrive in Chennai, India at 3:30am Friday morning.  We will look for Mr. Brown who works for the Orphanage who will pick us up at the airport and drive God and me to Ongole, India! Where I will be meeting my new family for the next six months!

I feel a little childish stating that God and I will be doing all this traveling together.  It feels a little cliche and well down right silly. But I know it to be true, because it has been promised be God in his scripture.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; Do not be discouraged.

This is just one promise, there are many more.

Now back to my title of this blog: Names
Dan and Katie, Josh, Aaron, Luke, Seth, Tyler, Ben, Miguel & Vanessa, David & Brenda, Johnathan & Amie, Harrison & Erin, Kenny, Alesha, Chelsea, Angie, Dan and Miriam, Carol, Billy, Matt, Mark, Laura, Brad & Cindi, Joel & Debbie, Eric & Anna, Peter, Glenda, Delores, Rosanne, Jason, Aaron & Jill, Amanda, and Austin.

These are just a few names of the people who are praying for me.  They are giving me something that is far more valuable than money or material possessions.
Thank you.