~ Friends & Followers INDIA ~

2010-04-09T05:27:00.002+05:30

I don't have much time to write at the present, but I just wanted to let you all know that we got home safe and sound! Our trip went very smoothly and without incident (all our luggage came through!). Thank you so much for all your prayers!!
I know all of us are looking forward to spending some time with our families and friends back home.
Please keep us in your prayers as we transition back into Canadian life and start getting ready for our spring tour here in North America.
Blessings,
Cara

Bible Studies, Prayer Times, Sarees, Training, and Last But Not Least.... a Youth Program!

2010-03-31T21:43:00.005+05:30

Greetings to all our faithful readers! :)

I'll just give you a brief overview of this last week from my perspective (which I should have done for you on Sunday... oops). Most of the days were pretty open, with people working on individual assignments and personal evangelism. Here goes...

Monday - We have been having daily team Bible Studies on the book of Ephesians, which have been very interesting and enlightening. However, Bible study was canceled on Monday, and so we as girls got together and listened to a sermon on living graciously - with thankfulness. It was a very good reminder, as sometimes it's easy to complain when things around you aren't quite as comfortable or convenient as they are back home. A thankful heart is definitely a more joyful heart, and much more focused on the Lord and His goodness. :)

Tuesday - The girls had a very needed prayer time together, just praying for the last two weeks in India, the team, the illnesses people have been enduring, etc. We've been feeling some spiritual warfare lately, and we decided to dedicate it up to the Lord. He knows what to do, and He has the power to do it!!

Wednesday - Day off! We all did what we needed in order to refresh ourselves and just relax a little.

Thursday - I had the blessed opportunity to share the gospel with one of my Indian friend's friend! The Lord gave me the words to speak and the boldness to share, so I praise Him for that! It's my prayer that His Spirit continues to speak to her throughout her life so that she can come to truly know all that Christ has done for her.

Friday - The girls got to go saree shopping with A.J. (RJ's wife). It was quite the experience trying to find some colourful fabric to fit all of our different personalities, but we did it! God definitely blesses us in large and small ways. He is such a great God.

Saturday - We invited and taught seven local Indian youths about many different things in order to prepare them to take over the ministries we are doing here. We taught them about assurance of salvation, evangelism, testimonies, walking in the Spirit, balloon animals, drama, etc. It was a great time of laughter and learning, and we're praying that God uses the youth that were present for His purpose here in India

Sunday - At 4:00pm we performed our last program in India. It was a youth program at a local church, and we invited all our local friends to come and see what we've been trained to do. For my part, it was one of the best youth programs we have ever done! Technically it was average to good, but spiritually it was heartfelt and enthusiastic. I think we were all excited to finally show our friends what we came here to do, and to share with them creatively presented truths. It was definitely a good end to our programs here.

Though it's been difficult, India has been a blessing. I'm already thinking about what I'll miss when I leave, as are many others. It's hard to focus on India when we can smell home just around the corner, but thinking about all the wonderful things about India has helped me to keep my focus here. There are so many people and so many aspects of the local culture that I'll miss terribly, but God knows what He's doing. We are leaving when we are supposed to leave - to pass on the baton of ministry to the locals, and to move on in His plans for our team.

God has been so faithful as we've been here in India. He's provided for all our needs, grown our love for the local people, worked through us in mighty ways, and basically just rocked this joint. If there's one thing I've learned out here, it's that God does not require talented people to do great things - He requires weak people who are just willing to be used by Him so that He can move His power through them. And that is what we are.

Signing out from India for the last time, in Christ,
Cayla Renae :)

Praise the Lord!

2010-03-21T22:19:00.006+05:30

Over the past few days God has been doing amazing things!!

We had the chance to practice, plan, party and Praise the Lord!

Thursday and Friday were full of Personal Evangelism, Perspectives and Music Practice and Drama Practice.

Saturday, the bible study crew, Jake, Ryan, Kimmie, Alena and Gillian, went out again while the rest of us prepared for Cara's birthday party and worked on our project for our perspectives course! Cayla and I had the chance to meet with a local friend and Believer and interview her about how she came to know Christ and how God used different things in her life to lead her closer to Him. Her and her husband have a beautiful little girl who is their pride and joy and is she ever joyful! She is now 4 and was not supposed to live more than a few hours after birth. She was the main reason why they became so close to God and why they are not afraid to share their faith in their work places and in their communities. It was a really encouraging experience and by the end of the interview Cayla and I were both in tears! (girls and their crying.. :] )

Today, we had church in the morning praising God through music, fellowship and prayer, followed by Youth Group in the evening. Tonight we talked about how we can encourage others around us to keep growing and following Christ with all we are. The main points covered were, going to church, praying, reading God's word, telling others about Him and spending time with other Believers. Amazing things for myself to keep in mind as well!

Overall this week has just flew by, but God has been so at work everywhere we go and it has been so awesome to see the changes in the close friends we have here. God is drawing all of them closer to himself and they are getting to the point that when we leave they will have no problem carrying on what we started!

Some Praise Items:

-First we planned a big party for Cara which happened last night, we invited all of our friends and got together to celebrate the amazing young woman she is! Cara was able to share her testimony and the rest of the team was able to have great conversations in little groups around RJ's flat, and some of us had the opportunity to share God's love with those who attended the party!

-Secondly, this coming Saturday, we were able to set up a time to take the friends we have met to a beach that is very close to where we are staying. We will be able to either disciple those who we have led to Christ or have the opportunity to share God's love with those who have yet to hear.

-Thirdly, God opened doors here in the area and we will be able to do a full Youth Program at one of the nearby churches next Sunday! Until this time we have done mainly school and college programs and the friends that we have made in and around our area have not had the opportunity to see what we do on team.

So what if we only have 2 1/2 weeks left in India.. God is bigger than any time factor and all we can do is put all we've got into these next few weeks. God is our provider, our strength, our refuge and He will be all we need these last few days here in India!!

Some Prayer Requests:

-Well for one just that we will be sensitive to the spirit while going to the beach on Saturday and doing our Youth Program for our friends, that we will have the boldness to share what God has put on our hearts with the friends He has provided for us.

-For more opportunities this week to show God's love to the people in our area!

-Also for the entire team as a whole. Lots of us are still feeling a bit under the weather, and here in the heat it is so true! Everyday it is getting hotter and hotter, and as much as we love the heat sometimes we get really over heated. So prayer for health and energy, as the heat can be a bit draining at times. (Sorry to all you who still have Snow.. you may call me crazy but I truly did miss snow this year myself!!)

-Lastly, to be completely honest with you, we are all very excited to go home but we are not done here in India. As much as we can't wait to give you all hugs, wrestle with siblings, eat something other than rice everyday and share with you in person what God has done in our lives these past 4 months, we still have work to do. So prayer mainly for focus and that our hearts will stay here in India until the time our plane leaves for North America.

Thank you once again for your prayers! We deeply appreciate you becoming prayer warriors for F&F 66!

We love you all and can't wait to hear what God has been doing in and through you this time we have spent in India!

May God continue to give you boldness as you step out and share your faith with others as well!

Take Care and God Bless!!

Carmen :]

Oh how time flies!

2010-03-16T12:21:00.009+05:30

It is amazing to think that our team has been here in India for over 3 months! Time is a crazy thing...at the beginning of our stay here in India we all could not stop talking about going back to North America and seeing family and friends again, but now that we have 3 weeks left we are all thinking about how much we still want to do in India! There is so much to learn about the culture, the languages and the food but most importantly the people we have began to know and love, teaching them as much as we can in what seems to be a very small amount of time but in God's eyes time is not an issue at all!

God has granted us with numerous opportunities to share our faith with a number of teenagers in the area. We have told them about how much God truly loves them and that just being a good person is not good enough. We have to believe in him with all our heart and accept him to be the Lord of our lives. Some of the youth that have accepted Christ are just so anxious to learn more. A handful of people on the team have started Bible Studies with many of the youth we have led to the Lord. They love hearing stories from His word and learning about how much Christ has worked in our lives and how much they can do for Him even after we leave. A major factor in keeping them connected has been a youth group that we started at the beginning of our stay here in India. Every Sunday night we have new teens coming in and hearing about Christ's love for them. It has been really encouraging! We play games, play music, sing, laugh and learn, all things I am a huge fan of myself! This makes it really easy for us to interact with the teens and get them connected with RJ as well! RJ and his family have so graciously opened their home to a bunch of loud crazy teens for one reason and that is to bring Glory to Christ's name by leading the youth in our area to the Lord! They have put so much time and effort into our lives here on team that once we leave we all know they will be a huge encouragement to the youth in the area as well!

We have met a lot of amazing people during our stay here in in India, so many people that have amazing passion for God! Our host family, Alex, Kyle, Cara, Cayla, Tanya and I had the privilege of going to a young ladies birthday party on Saturday night. We met her and her family back at the beginning of our stay in India and it was exciting to meet up with them and have a great time connecting with her friends and just having a fun time eating food and being big kids! Meanwhile the other half of the team, Jake, Ryan, Gillian, Alena and Kimmie were back at home leading a bible study, meeting new people and sharing the gospel along with leading a fellow friend to the Lord. It was amazing how God had everything planned out! We were all in the right place at the right time!

The past few days have been filled with personal evangelism along with time to get assignments done, and also equipping ourselves for ministry in North America with preparing music, drama and having time to work on P/T/CA (or the long version; Preaching/ Teaching and Chalk Art).

Yesterday was Cara's 20th birthday so a big Happy Birthday goes out to her! We are planning on having a big get together with all our our friends in a few days but in the meantime to celebrate we had cake, told Cara how much we all love her and watched a movie! Never a dull moment on F&F66!

But once again thank you all for keeping up with us here online and for all you prayers and support! A few prayer requests for our remaining time here; health, right now we have a few sickos that are toughing it out for the team, so prayer for them and just that we will not hold anything back our last 3 weeks, that we will live each day as if it was our last day here and not leave India regretting anything. That we follow the Holy Spirits guiding and just stay on fire for His sake!!

Thanks :) Until the next time!

Carmen

2010-03-12T17:57:00.006+05:30

Greetings to all!!

It is hard to believe that there is only 1 more month left of our stay here in India. I must admit that it is both exciting and sad at the same time. As excited as I am to see my family and friends, we have come to know many of the locals and have build good friendships with many of the youth, which will make leaving difficult. But that sadness, just reminds us how much God has accomplished in our time here.

Like Alex was mentioning, it was wonderful to see a familiar face from home. Mark was here for a couple of weeks, and it was both encouraging and challenging to meet with him.
With our time quickly slipping by, it is vital for us to keep our focus on our heavenly father and what He is doing here in India. He has done so much already... First of all He has provided us with a wonderful host family with a passion for the Lord and His ministry, provided us with accommodations nearby, given us opportunities to do programs and to openly share the gospel in many different schools, opened homes for us to fellowship and share with people, who are from other religious and cultural beliefs, allowed us to build friendships with the locals, and shown us how He works in people’s hearts! Please continue to pray for the people, who have heard and accepted, the free gift of salvation that Christ offers. Pray that this new faith would not die after we leave, but that RJ would be able to continue to encourage and challenge them, and that there would be a spiritual awakening here in Mumbai!

With board exams going on for most students and especially for both 10th and 12th standards, we haven’t had as many opportunities to get together with our friends lately. But at the same time it has provided us with more time to work on our studies and homework, as well as prepare and practice some of our programs. Students’ exams will be ending around the middle to end of March, and then we will most likely have no shortage of things to do or people to meet! So for now we will do our best to get as much done ahead of time as we can. Pray that we will have the energy and endurance to get through the craziness to come, especially as the weather is continually getting hotter. Also pray that each of us would continually seek to grow in our personal walks with the Lord.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement! We deeply appreciate it!!
Blessings!
Cara

Hey there everyone!!!

2010-03-07T15:24:00.003+05:30

Hey there everyone!!!

Well I suppose its about time I wrote on this blog, the last one of the group. India has been an amazing experience. The last couple weeks have been really good. Last week we were in Goa which is a city about 12 hours south of Mumbai by train. Its known to be the kind of vacation spot of India. Right on the coast of the Indian ocean. We spent the week on the beach and it was a great time of rest and refocus as we prepare for our final month of ministry in India. Mark met us down there and it has been very nice seeing him again. Hearing some of his wisdom as he has been leading the team in devotions has been really refreshing. We spent a lot of time in good fellowship around the dinner table. This last week has been great, full of a lot of personal evangelism. We have kind of switched focus from program ministry to one on one ministry. Yesterday Jake and I went for a walk and ended up playing Cricket with a bunch of kids. It was so much fun trying to combine our baseball skills with how they play cricket. It was almost like a “sandlot” type experience seeing all these kids come from every direction to play cricket together. It was really cool seeing how they all had there local rules and everything. Its been amazing seeing how God provides ways for all the team members to meet new people. Its easy to see how God is working in India and in the lives of the young people here. Today we had a very good team church with Mark giving a message from Isaiah 41. He talked about how we have nothing to fear because of how big our God is that we serve. He holds us up with his righteous right hand and walks beside us and helps us. It was good for everyone on team to hear those words as we work on making new disciples in this last month. God has been stretching everyone on team and it has been easy to see everyone growing in boldness and confidence in sharing their faith. Some Prayer Requests: Pray that everyone would stay focus as we start to think about what God has planned for all of us next year. Pray that we would be strengthened with God power as we share with people in this last month. Pray that we would be Unified as a team and join together with God’s joy as we see God work through one another.

This is Alex Lundberg signing off.
May God go before you as you serve him where you are!

P.S. A funny story to add regarding the picture of Jake and the huge Dosa!!...He had no idea what he was ordering, so when it arrived at the table it made for quite an exciting and comical seen! I'll leave the rest to your imagination! lol :P

From Birthday Parties to Late Night Worship, God Uses Them All

2010-02-24T09:31:00.004+05:30

1 Timothy 1:12 says, "I Thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service."

This verse has been the backbone for me this last week, and what a week it was! Sunday was a more laid back day for me. I spent a lot of time in prayer, getting ready for the week ahead of me. As usual, we had our youth group at 5 pm. It was a huge blessing to see the faces of those we are pouring our lives into. There are a few youth in particular who have been coming every week, and it's amazing to see how God is working in their lives. He has been teaching them many things and revealing Himself to these youth in such amazing ways, but I have been learning almost as much as them. The biggest thing that God has shown me through these youth is pure joy. I see how joyful and thankful they are now that they have found Christ, and it's contagious! There always seems to be laughter and a reason for praising God when we are with them.

Monday was the highlight of my week by far. Monday night we had a joined birthday party for Tanya, Cayla and Alena. We were planning on playing games, having some snacks and sharing testimonies, but I felt that we should have more of a hangout night with the youth, so I mentioned it to the team, and they agreed. We had music, some snacks and refreshments, and some of the team members (specifically the birthday girls) shared their testimonies. I was on the turntables for the majority of the night, so I had the opportunity to talk to some of the youth while showing them how to use the turntables. I was talking with one boy when Gillian approached me to tell me to pray, because there were four people sharing the gospel in different parts of the apartment, all at once! When I asked who was all sharing, I was blown away. Three of the people were from team, but the fourth was a young man, whom I will call DJ, that has recently accepted Christ. He was leading one of his friends to Christ! This was by far the biggest highlight for me so far this entire time here in India.

The rest of the week was spent doing personal evangelism, and two programs. Unfortunately, I haven't been feeling very well for a few days, so I missed the programs, but I was eager to go out and disciple people, so I saved all my energy for that. Most of my time was spent with Jake discipling DJ. We have been sharing stories from the bible with him, doing small bible studies with him (which are lead by Jake, I'm mostly moral support), and just encouraging him to keep his desire to serve God.

Saturday evening was also another highlight of the week for me. A few people from team (Kimmie, Alena, Gillian, Jake and myself) have started a youth group in a friend's house nearby. We get youth from a church in the area and play games, sing songs, laugh, joke, and praise God. Then we split boys and girls, and we talk about God, what we have been learning, and what we would like God to teach us. It's a huge blessing to see all these youth serving God in the ways that they know how.

Praise Items: For DJ and how God is already using him; the youth groups that are being started; that God is using our team in amazing ways.

Prayer Requests: For health on our team. A few people are feeling a bit under the weather; for more contacts for our team; for boldness in our faith and readiness to serve our God with our lives

"..Grace, mercy and peace to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord."

1 Timothy 1:2

-Posted by Ryan Martin

2010-02-15T11:27:00.011+05:30

Well another week has come and gone, and we come closer to the end.
We had quite a interesting weekend with finding out on Friday the 5th that the uncle who lives in the flat that us ladies had been living in was coming home on Tuesday. The rush was on, we needed to find the guys a place to live, pack, clean, and move in only a few short days. Well, God is so good to us. here in Mumbai it is moving time, no one wanted to rent to us for two short months and lose the security of having a year long renter. On Sunday in the morning we ladies had a fellowship time and prayed about it. Everyone was praying about it because we were running out of time. By 2pm the guys were moving into a flat a few buildings away. The land lord relented. So we continued on with moving, being finally settled on Monday the 8th.

That same day we did a character development program at a school for tenth grade students.
We had an interesting set up, instead of all their classes joining together, we had four individual classes. We were all split into different groups and went to teach the classes in small teams of four people. It went well and we were able to develop some contacts in those groups.

Some of us girls have had the opportunity to start a bible study with some girls from a local church. We had a great time on just this past Friday as we met for the first time. We thought that it was going to be a girls bible study, but were quite surprised when several guys showed up. All was well, a couple of our guys came and did it with them.

This weekend there was the Hindu festival Mahashivaralhri. Maha means great, shiva is a god of the hindus, and ralhri means night. The last one may be wrong, sorry. So there was a festival for shiva, so on Saturday a parade came through our street. We had noticed earlier in the day there was an elephant on our street, which was the first time any of us saw an elephant in our little area. It was funny to watch the parade, because unlike our parades where traffic is shut down it was still running. Rickshaws and motor bikes were trying to get on there way, but it was very slow going.

Well that is really all that I have for this week. It was a good week. So I would like to ask if you all could pray for our continued health, and for our contacts and relationships with them, we'd all be very grateful.

- Gillian

2010-01-30T22:07:00.005+05:30

Earlier this week, we had a break in. I was washing my hands, when all of a sudden I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked at the intruder, slightly startled. Bravely, I returned his menacing stare. Finally, he ran away along the wall and crawled into his hole. Yes, the culprit was a gecko, but it was fairly decent sized at about 6 inches long. I told Carmen about it, who later couldn't sleep because she was dreaming about geckos crawling all over her.

On Tuesday, our team was able to contribute to a Republic Day celebration service. We did music for about 25 minutes and it was so much fun! The crowd got right into it and it seemed that they enjoyed it even more than we did. Jake and Cayla were able to use their puppets for the service, as well. The kids hadn't been responding to the puppet scripts that we had written previously, so we altered the one that they did at the service. The kids loved it! As soon as Jake and Cayla started, the rest of us watched as kids ran so they could see what was happening on the stage. It was great :)

On Wednesday night we had the opportunity to do one of our dramas at the youth service near where we are staying. It was awesome to spend some time with the youth, singing, playing games, and just hanging out. That youth group definitely has the capability of making an impact for Christ in this area. They put so much work and effort into the youth night. It is awesome to see how on fire for God they are and how willing they are for God to use them in spreading the Gospel.

On Friday, we were involved in another character building seminar, this time at a highschool for tenth grade students. But because the whole seminar was being taught in Hindi, we could not teach any of the sessions. Instead, we were asked to do dramas and songs. We were only planning on doing one song, but once we had finished the students asked us to do another one. RJ was able to share his testimony and preach the Gospel, which was awesome. Overall, the seminar went well, although it would have been nice to be able to connect with the students. The fact that most of them didn't speak English complicated this ever so slightly.

God has been blessing us so much here. He is continuing to provide us with safety wherever we go and He was been giving us many opportunities to show His love to the Indian people. I am definitely looking forward to how God will continue to work in us and in the lives of the Indian people.

- Tanya

2010-01-25T12:02:00.004+05:30

India has been great this last week, there have been so many cool and exciting things happening. Let me give you an idea of what's happening with the guys on our team. We have been going out and playing soccer almost every day for an hour or so, just trying to relate and pour into the lives of the youth in this area. We have been building good relationships with them. We decided to step it up a little bit by asking the guys that we play soccer with, to spend a day with us at a nearby beach. On Saturday we hung out with a bunch of the guys, played some soccer and volleyball on the beach, as well as sat down for a snack. It was during this break that we were able to preach the gospel to these guys, who come from Hindu and Catholic backgrounds. I myself got to share my life story with these guys, and tell them how Jesus changed my life. The Holy Spirit was at work that day. These guys ended up saying the prayer and coming to the youth group on Sunday, that we just recently started. God is good! This one ways we have been doing ministry in the area other than just programs.

We had youth last night at 5pm, and it was really exciting to see so many of our Indian friends come. We sang some songs and shared with them what it means to be a follower of Christ, as well as what the Bible says about becoming a child of God.

God is at work within the Indian people of Mumbia and we are just the tools God is using to tell them about Jesus Christ.

-Kyle

January 14-17

2010-01-18T16:58:00.005+05:30

These last few days we have had no programs; we are focusing on relationships and getting to know the youth in our community. The guys have met lots of people through soccer, and now have an abundance of friends. They see people they know every time they walk out the door, which is such a great opportunity for them. The girls have had to be a bit more creative as girls here don't play sports, but God is faithful, and we now are getting to know more people. Yesturday we had our second weekly youth worship/get together time. It's a time of games, singing and sharing the gospel. There are still less than a dozen of locals who come, but both times it's been mainly different people. It was really encouraging. Our host was able to share the gospel. Praise God!
Praise Items:
-For how God is working; even in the little things
-For God's provision and protection thus far
Prayer Requests:
-starting today a few team members are giving free music lessons. Pray for wisdom and opportunities to share Christ.
-health; a number of people having been feeling under the weather lately
-continued unity among our team

~Kimmie

2010-01-12T17:38:00.006+05:30

This weekend we had the chance to go to a Church that we had visited once before. We were there for Saturday and Sunday, doing a seminar type thing with our host about being Christlike. It was pretty challenging, as this was a pretty new thing for our team, but God provided for all our needs. They were long days, but totally worth it! Most of us were able to share our testimonies, and how God has grown us and taught us. We met a lot of wonderful people who love God and love others. We felt very welcome and fairly comfortable there. We also celebrated Alena's 19th birthday on Saturday. We had cake and played birthday games like musical chairs and pin the sombraro on E.T.
Yesturday and today have been filled with working on things so we can start performing new programs. It's been a lot of researching and thinking of new ideas, and practicing drama and music. It has been wonderful to have a couple of days to be able to focus on getting more programs up and running.
Lately God has been teaching me about love and passion. I realized that I didn't really feel a passion to serve and love people, but that's what I wanted, so I studied it. I learned that I first need to love God and have a passion for Him. Okay, so what is love? I read 1 Corinthians 13 about all the attributes of love: what love is and what it's not. I've started breaking it down and looking at each attribute separately. I planned to study each attribute 1 week each, but it's been two weeks and I'm still working and looking at patience. When I saw patience, I thought, "God please give me opportunities to practice my patience." He definitely did, but not in the way I'd expect. I've learned that I'm not patient with myself at all. I expect myself to fit in culturally, to not make mistakes, so when I do, I get down on myself. But how can I be patient with others if I don't work on it myself. Through this, God is totally growing me, and slowly, I'm finding that I love it here more and more. I'm getting super excited about how God is working and will continue to work here. When we love God with all that we are, that love will overflow to those around us. That is what I want while we're here, and my whole life: to have such a passion and love for God that I can't help but love those I come in contact with.
~Kimmie

Early Mornings, Late Nights, and Camel Rides!

2010-01-08T09:47:00.003+05:30

Well, the title basically says it all, but I figured that I would elaborate a little =)
When we have an early morning, usually I have a nap, and then I can't sleep through the night and others do that as well, we find out that the next day is an early morning so it's a vicious cycle really, anyway back to my point, when we have early mornings and things of that nature it's really neat to see the team run on God's strength and energy. It so cool when we get to a program, our lack of energy totally disappears and we're jumping and having a blast and half, it's so awesome how He is willing to provide us with that. This week we had a program in the early morning and in the afternoon so in the time between we had some relax time. Since we were quite a long distance away from our flat and a short distance from the beach, we had lunch on the sand. While we were waiting for our transportation, there was a man with a camel walking along this deserted beach and we discovered that he has giving rides! So the entire team except for myself and Alex (because he was sick) got to ride on a camel! It was everyone's first time. I had ridden one before so I didn't want to waste time. Everyone was startled upon getting on and off the camel, it was quite hilarious to watch I will post some pictures =) When we got back to the school, we did our thing and then at the end, the school wanted to show us their action songs! So they had a group of girls come up on stage and start singing and dancing! They dragged the team members up with them and I was videotaping the whole thing! The one song I remember is "Just to please you Lord I am jumping on the rock, jumping jumping jumping jumping on the rock:" It was really incredible to see and how all of it is for His glory!

~Alena

New Year, Same God

2010-01-03T13:27:00.006+05:30

Its awesome to see what God has done in the lives of each individual teammate. The 31st was a day of reflection and thanksgiving. We sat down as a team and shared the blessings that God has given us in the year of 2009. Our God is a living God and He is at work in each of our lives.
I had a fun filled night celebrating the coming of the New Year. We were able to enjoy a firework show over the city of Mumbai, from the roof of our apartment.
The very first day of the New Year God provided another opportunity to share our faith. Our team traveled across the city and had the pleasure of sharing through our performances. There were just over 50 college student that we were able to talk to and fellowship with.
I can't wait to see how God is going to work through the team and what he is going to bless us with during this New Year.

December 24th - 26th

2009-12-26T16:58:00.009+05:30

Christmas is over already, and I can't believe it!

I would like to, at this time, let you know what our team was up to over our Christmas holidays. Let us begin...

We left our apartments Thursday afternoon and headed off to the beach. Some of us got there by rickshaw and boat, and others of us drove there with RJ. It's not too long of a trip, compared to how long we've traveled to get to some schools before...

Once we arrived at the beach, we all took it easy and just relaxed, enjoying God's marvelous nature and calming our hearts from the hustle and bustle of school ministry. After a wonderful football (AKA soccer) game on the beach where the guys narrowly beat out the girls by one point (3-2), we enjoyed a very enlightening Christmas Eve devotional/reflection time. Alex read both renditions of the Christmas story, RJ shared a very wise devotional with us, we all shared what we were thankful for, and we prayed. God's Spirit was with us that evening so strongly, and I sincerely believe we all were very challenged and encouraged as a result that evening. A part of the devotional referred to how Jesus had given up His divine attributes to come to earth; He left His comfortable place in Heaven in order to come to a very uncomfortable earth. Our team can relate in a VERY small way, seeing as we've all left family, friends, and country in order to come to India. I do believe that we all experienced Christmas in a very new, very real way this year.

We had a surprise guest arrive that evening after we got to our hotel. Any guesses? If you can tell from the picture, it was Santa Clause himself! He delivered "Canadian" gifts to all of us (generously provided by Mark and Cheryl before they left us... THANK-YOU!!!), threw some candy around the room, then left us very gracefully through the window (he broke the door knob). We all enjoyed his performance and our gifts thoroughly.

Christmas morning was a time to sleep in and relax. We ventured to the beach after opening our Christmas box gifts, and we all enjoyed swimming in the ocean. A few of us cut our feet on the rocks, but it was nothing too serious. That evening we enjoyed another epic soccer game and then a devotional in the evening once again. God has definitely been good to us this Christmas season!

We relaxed on the beach for the last time this morning. Sadly our Christmas break is over, but it does mean that ministry can once again begin. After all, God called us here for each of us to know Him better personally through different trials and struggles, but even more so to make Him known in India! It is our prayer that we plant the seed of the truth of His salvation in many, many hearts in this beautiful country! Amen.

Prayer Requests:
~That God would restore the health of some of the team members who have been feeling unwell for a while
~That our team would enthusiastically jump back into ministry after a relaxing and refreshing break
~That God would open doors in regards to the ministries HE wishes for us to pursue
~For the hearts of those who hear the gospel proclaimed through our team

Praise Items:
~For the ministries we have had the privilege of being a part of
~For all the souls who have come to know Christ as a result of our ministries
~For the amazing Christmas break we just experienced!

Blessings on you all as you pray,
Cayla

December 21st - 23rd

2009-12-23T15:26:00.008+05:30

Greetings from the hot and humid India!

Over the past few days we have been doing multiple Christmas programs at a few of the schools here in Mumbai. On Monday, December 21st, we did three programs in one day. We had to be completely ready to leave the apartments by 6:30am, so that made for quite a short sleep seeing as we got home late Sunday night (the church we went to was very hospitable and fed us very well… it took a while to eat all the food they so graciously prepared for us).

The first program we did was for jr. high students, and I had the privilege of giving the invitation for them to accept Jesus Christ into their lives. At least a few of them responded to the invitation, so we just pray that they continue to seek Christ in their daily lives. The second program we did was for preschool students, so we kept it basic and fun. An interesting thing about programs here in India is that we are sometimes surrounded on three or even ALL sides by students while we share our programs! The third program we did was for middle school students. The students here really enjoy the action songs and the dramas, so it’s a joy to see their smiling faces from the stage.

On Tuesday, we had another three programs scheduled. This time we had to leave the apartments by 5:30am. We did two programs with middle school and jr. high students combined, and one program for 4th grade (or 4th standard, as they say here) students. During our last program of the day our last fuse for the transformer blew, so we were left to pray that God would provide us with a fuse or else the show would not go on! One of the very helpful people at the school offered to go search for one, so the the team members were just praying that he would find one before the program needed to begin. I'm happy to say that God provided a fuse at exactly the right time. We've been learning here in India that God provides according to His will in every circumstance, whether it be the energy to last another long day, the patience to deal with difficulties, or a fuse for a program.

Today we were fortunate enough to watch a program (as honored guests) at one of the schools we had performed at twice before. We then did our own program at the same school for students of a different school system. This is another interesting fact: some schools here have two school organizations in the same building, and they each teach according to their own curriculums. Huh.

Tomorrow morning we plan on heading to the beach for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our team is doing “Secret Santa” or “Christmas Box” (whatever you wish to call it), so the spirit of giving will be in full force. If I may speak on behalf of the whole team now, I would like to say (I hope the following statement is true): We all do miss our families this Christmas, but God has been providing strength and encouragement during this time. For me personally, my team and the various Christmas programs we’ve been performing and watching have helped to bring me into the spirit of Christmas, which is focused on the hope and grace that God so richly extended to all of us by sending Jesus Christ to the earth.

“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! Good tidings to you, wherever you are. Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

Till after the Christmas break, in Christ,
Cayla Renae

Dec 13th to Dec 19th

2009-12-22T20:53:00.005+05:30

Christmas is just around the corner! No the team has not gone MIA the internet has just been a little hard to come by this week..so finally, here are last weeks events!

Time has been going by so quickly but you can just feel God’s presence here in India. It is so incredible! Sunday started off with an early morning and we headed down to southern Mumbai on the train to a Methodist church where we got to do bits and pieces of our Grace Like Rain GA Program. It was the first time us ladies had been on the train, but according to the guys we still haven’t really experienced the train, someday I guess. But the service was great, It started out with the pastor saying a few words then they led us in worship. It is so amazing how even though you really have no clue what some of the songs mean you can still just feel their passion for God, you get the occasional tune you know and you feel so out of place singing English when they are singing Hindi because it sounds so much more beautiful in a different language than just plain old English. The message that day was translated by the pastor and after the service was over we were invited for tea and biscuits, everyone here in India is very hospitable and it is the hardest thing to say no to their beautiful faces serving you over and over again! Later that day we went to a nice tourist restaurant and some of us had the chance to share our testimony with some of the local people in the area. This time we a real eye opener for me and it was hard seeing some of the poverty but I think it gave all of us a realization of why God would want us here in India.

Monday was a day spent with Mark and Cheryl doing team interviews and working on some Preaching/Teaching and Chalk Art. We all appreciate every bit of encouragement and advice Mark and Cheryl have put into our lives and God was so good to our team sending them with us and helping us get settled!

Tuesday was another early morning with lots of coffee and chai! We headed to another local school for a program at 7am. This program was the first one we were able to set up full equipment, but being here time is not a huge factor. We have a large team so not all of us could make it on the first trip so 7 of us were setting up while about 800 students were staring us down, sitting waiting patiently and 7am was long gone by 7:15 the remaining 4 team members arrived and we still were not done a sound check. Finally by the grace of God our sound started to work and we were all raring to go guitars on, microphones in hand, and ready at the sound board when one of the teachers comes up to us and says go sit down and have some tea. We all looked at each other and gave each other a few smiles, put down the sound equipment and headed over to a seating area where tea was about to be served. Meanwhile, these 800 students are still sitting waiting patiently. We came to the conclusion that Indian people really know how to take the stress off of a person! So we drank our tea while the kids did their morning songs and away we went with our Children’s program. We had two programs at that school one in the morning and one in the heat of the day. It was a great day and we learnt a lot about how much God is in control of everything and how he can take the stress off you anytime! How great is that!

Tuesday evening came soon after and we said goodbye to Mark and Cheryl who had an early flight back to crisp cold Canada on Wednesday morning. We wish them a very Merry Christmas and an amazing new year! May God bless you as you spend time with your families this Christmas season, your presence here will be missed!

Wednesday was our scheduled day off this week and we were able to re energize ourselves by just relaxing, since being here transportation has been a little confusing but a few of the boys headed south to do some shopping and made it back home safely, slowly but surely we are becoming familiar with the area and our host RJ is letting us do more and more normal Indian things, Riding in Richetes and taking the train, etc. It was a great day of re-energizing.

The day off was followed by another early morning. Thursday, we were blessed to be able to do 4 programs in the morning at another local school. One was a full band on a stage and the other three we used acoustic and some mics. We were not able to get a sound check in before starting the program because the school was presenting RJ and Alex with different gifts of thanks, but praise God the equipment and sound was working perfect when the band started playing. This was yet another reminder that God is in control all the time and we can’t do it on our own strength or power at all. Only the God of the Universe can make everything sound perfect without a sound check! We were able to preach the Gospel during all four of our programs that day and many children heard that Jesus loves them and he wants to be with us forever. God is so good and I know I am so excited to see what else God has up his sleeve for us these next 4 months!

Friday we went to another local school and had a blast doing another children’s program. The kids are so energetic and they loved the singing and the dramas we were able to do for them.

Saturday was a day full of practicing and getting our Christmas Program ready to go for this week. We had a lot of fun spicing up Christmas songs, and reviewing our Christmas dramas. We also had time for Teaching/Preaching and Chalk Art.

This past week was action packed but it is great to be here in India serving God. His provision has been incredible and everyday he is just blowing us away!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May God Bless you all this Holiday season!

-Carmen

Namasté ~ Greetings

2009-12-09T14:26:00.011+05:30

Well we left Calgary on a very snowy, Monday evening (Nov. 30th), and after spending 2 long days in travel we arrived safely to a very hot/humid Mumbai, India. It was definitely an answer to prayer that our flights went smoothly and all our luggage arrived safely. We were even able to spend a bit of time in London during our 9hr layover, seeing some sights, such as Big Ben, Westminster Abby, the London eye, and numerous double decker buses, which was quite exciting!
Anyway back to Mumbai, after a warm welcome from our host RJ, we all piled into vehicles for the very squishy/sticky, eye opening drive to our apartments. Our first glimpse of India...and our first experience with the Indian way of driving...all I can call it is organized kaos! :p

We were quickly caught up in the sights, sounds, and mass of people. Mumbai is home to approximately 25 million people so there is always something happening.

The couple days were spent resting up, learning about the culture, and exploring nearby. Us girls were able to by Indian clothing. Women's clothing here is beautiful and very colourful!

Saturday(Dec. 5), we helped RJ with a program he does promoting character development at a college here in Mumbai (school goes from gr. 1-10 and college = gr. 11-12+). Although we weren't able to preach God's word from the stage, we were able to share a bit about our faith during the discussion time as well as get to know the youth, who welcomed us warmly. Following the program we smiled for many a camera aka cell phone. We are hoping to stay in contact with as many of the youth via. facebook.

Sunday we did a small children's program at a nearby church. The children loved learning the songs we sang and even sang a couple songs for us in their own language. During the program a number of the children responded to our invitation. The afternoon was spent in fellowship with friends of RJ's, who graciously took us out for an authentic Indian meal. The food was delicious and plentiful! In the evening we hosted a bible study at our apartment. Good fellowship.

Monday, the guys were able to do a program at a nearby orphanage. The guys have a great opportunity to play soccer with a number of neighborhood guys on a regular basis. It is an awesome way for them to connect with the youth here.

We got a brief chance to spend some time at the beach playing soccer and dipping our feet into the water.

Prayer Requests:
For the guys as they build relationships with the neighborhood guys.
Also that God would give us gals good connections with neighborhood ladies, who tend to be withdrawn (building relationships...etc)
That each of us would handle the culture shock in Godly ways
Continued health and for good night sleep
Internet connections with the youth we have met (wisdom in talking/counseling them)
Praise:
We have got the Ok to do programs in numerous schools across Mumbai, even being able to share our faith
For God's provision of very generous hosts as well as for good accommodations.
That none of us have been seriously ill and have been adjusting to the food fairly well
For safe travels both to India and around Mumbai

Thank you!

2009-12-09T13:51:00.000+05:30

Well this is our first post on our F & F Blog... :)

The plan for this site is to keep in touch with you and to share with you our day-to-day experiences, ministry opportunities, photos, praises, and prayer requests. It is so encouraging to know that we have family and friends, as well as fellow believer lifting us up in prayer.
Your prayers and support are critical to our ministry!!!

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Phil 1:3