St. John of the Cross

How gently and lovingly you wake in my heart, where
in secret you dwell alone; and in your sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory, how tenderly you swell
my heart with love.

Thailand

A week from Tuesday we will be leaving to go to Thailand and China for a few weeks. We have a meeting in Thailand that we have been looking forward to for many months. There we will be able to meet up with many friends who are from Northeast India that are living and 'working' in China. So we will be in Thailand for about a week before going to China. We have several friends that we are meeting in China and others that we will travel with who are moving there to start learning Mandarin. We hope to visit a few cities and then will return to Thailand in the beginning of March where we will meet Beverley, who is coming to work with us here in Shillong. We'll fly back together to India, hooray. Please remember us as we will be travelling quite a bit. We are very excited for this opportunity and looking forward to build realtionships with those in China and strengthen existing friendships.

forget your own people

There was something incredibly different about this wedding than any other I've been to before. In Mizoram, once the bride price has been paid and the vows have been taken, the Bride belongs to the Groom and his family. She's encouraged to not go home and is now required to do a lot of the housework in taking care of the husband's family.
Mami is very well educated and works for the UN. Her family is quite well off and they have always had servants that do a lot of the work in their house. In a lot of Mizo families, the new bride is required to do a lot of the cooking and if she has a job, the majority of what she makes must be given to her new family. She will now stay in his family's home with his parents and extended family. She is required to give up a lot of her rights and freedom to go where she wants, when she wants.
After the reception, there is a procession where a group of her friends and family take her to his home and now her place is with them. Her parents are not allowed to go. As she was leaving the reception, her mom came up to me weeping, and held me tightly. She started talking to me about how Mami had lived with them for 34 years and how it's hard to picture their lives without her and the weight of the separation hit me deeply.
I've heard many songs about Psalm 45 and somehow being a part of this family and this wedding celebration, it hit me in a different way. "Listen O daughter, consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people, and your father's house; So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him." (vs. 10-11)
She is really supposed to forget her father's home, a place where she has known great love and comfort and trust that her new husband and family will love her and take care of her. The weight of it hit me because Mami has so much to give up. In Mizo culture, she has had relative freedom in how she lives her life. She has had servants taking care of her, a lucrative career, a family that loves her deeply and now for love, she is laying all of that down, for an unsure, perhaps less comfortable life. As we watched her on that day though, there was no regret on her face, for she is deeply loved by Robert.
Again, the weight of the event pierced my heart. She had counted all the costs and burned the bridges and all other choices; she has chosen life with him whatever that may hold. Marriage is truly a picture of our walk with God. He desires our love and affection with jealousy and zeal. Over and over again we come to a place in this life where we have to choose between Him and lesser loves. His love is worth so much more than security and comfort, than money and influence. A life with Him is of much greater value than anything this age has to offer. There is nothing to compare with the freedom of a heart that is soaring in love, walking in whole-hearted obedience to Him and His ways. Nothing. To abandon your rights to everything, time, money, hopes, dreams, health, comfort, personal rights- to lay all of these things down for the sake of love, trusting His heart, committing our souls into HIs hands. I am never more alive than when I am wholly His, holding nothing back.
"And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."
Heb.11:15-16

the wedding

Yesterday was an important day. It was Ruthie's (Houser's kind mother) birthday, the first day of our DTS here, and the day when Robert and Mami got married in Aizawl. It was so beautiful. Both Mami and Robert work for the UN, especially to help prevent AIDS, and to work with those already infected. One of the things that they had at their wedding was a group of ex-drug addicts that they have helped, sing a song. It was so incredible and brought tears to my eyes. They have both touched so many lives.

We are once again, safely in Shillong after 14 hours in a Sumo today. I have so much more I want to share about the wedding and our trip. More will come in the days to follow.

Bride Price Ceremony

We have been in Aizawl for a few days and are greatly enjoying the warmer weather. Our friend is getting married tomorrow and it has been so fascinating to be a part of the wedding traditions here. Last night was the bride price ceremony and it's a very serious and interesting gathering of family. There is a tradition here that every Mizo bride's family must be given 420 rupees for the bride, and it must be paid in 5 rupee coins. So for the bride price ceremony, all of the girl's family is invited and only 3 representatives come from the Groom's side to distribute the money and to make different negotiations.

Many years ago this 420 rupees was a significant amount, but these days it is mostly just to preserve tradition. The Sailos (which our friend is) are the chieftain clan and their brides are worth 520 rupees. Also all the extended family must each be given 20-50 rupees as well. So last night we gathered and had a huge feast and then the money was handed out. Now she officially belongs to that family and after her wedding tomorrow she will go and live with his family. She's not supposed to even visit her family that often, especially in the first year.
In the event of a divorce, the bride's family just gives the bride price back and the divorce is considered final.
Last night Houser also taught at a church in Bawn Kawn and it was a really neat night.

We will be here until Thursday morning, then we will return to Shillong. So many travels these days, but we have really had such a great time here amongst our friends.

Where in the world is Shillong?

Many people wonder where we are and so I wanted to post a map of India. Up to the right you will see a section that is a deeper purple, this is the "Northeast," also known as the seven sisters. One of the states is Mizoram, where we will be travelling this week. Also, you can see Nagaland, Assam, and West Bengal, where we often have to go for various reasons. We are near China, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. A lot of the people in the Northeast are ethnically related to Tibetans and Mongolians and their languages belong to a language grouping called Tibeto Burman. It is very different from the rest of India.

Mizoram

This is a picture of a traditional Mizo dance that staff at our base performed at a culture night some time ago. The next picture is of Houser's parents, Jim and Ruthie, and friends, Ike and Thelma, who came out to visit him in 2004. Everyone here was so happy to meet them and they were given various shawls, puans, and mecclas from different tribes in the Northeast to show honor and respect. When most people think of India, sarees, salwars, and lungees come to mind as the traditional dress. Where we live there are a lot more tribal people and their traditional dress is much different. Day to day, they wear much more 'westernized' clothing, but I so love the richness of the different cultures here.

Tonight we are going to Mizoram, which is about 12 hours away, for our friends wedding and a ministry opportunity. In December we had a group of Mizo's come from Aizawl to do Mission Adventures and they invited Houser to come back to their church to speak and challenge their youth group. So Monday night he will be speaking at their church and Wednesday we will be attending the wedding. We will come back to Shillong on Thursday.

Korean Fan Dance

While we were in Siliguri, we crossed paths with the Korean team on their ministry outreach trip. They have already gone to several states here in the Northeast and will continue to minister here for a couple more weeks. Part of their outreach includes traditional Korean dances and Taekwondo, including breaking several pieces of wood together (really!). Some of their traditional dances are similar to some of the dances of Tibetans and people from the Northeast. It was so beautiful to watch them dance and share their hearts, they have been a true blessing to so many of us.

Sunny, from our Shillong base, has been helping to lead the team and organize where they stay and do ministry. She is originally from South Korea and is very happy to speak Korean and eat Korean food.

Beverley Joy is Coming!

Beverley is coming to Shillong, hooray! Beverley and I have been good friends for a long time and she has an incredible heart for God. She is originally from Australia and we met for the first time in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer (IHOP). We were there for quite some time together and then moved back to California to work at EHOP, a house of prayer in Redlands. We lived together and worked together for a little over 6 months before she returned to Australia. We have had many adventures together including a road trip across America.

We didn't see each other for a long time but then she flew back to America for our wedding on June 17th last year and we got to hang out a lot and laugh a bunch.

We have been talking and praying and she is probably coming out here early March to work with us here for some time. She is like a sister to me and I'm so excited for her to come. We are probably going to start a prayer team to increase prayer here in Shillong for this city and the surrounding nations. This is such an answer to prayer. Hooray, hooray.

there and back again

We have arrived safely back in Shillong after a long journey. Our train was delayed by six hours and so we hung out for a good chunk of time in the train station. We had a really good time in Siliguri, and yet somehow I'm thankful to be home.

We have come home to a much fuller base as most of our staff have returned from their holidays. We are starting a new Discipleship Training School (DTS) on Jan. 25th which is only a week away. This week there is a lot of staff training going on and everyone is just getting ready for the students to come.

Houser and I have been invited to a very good friends wedding in Aizawl, Mizoram on the 25th. Houser had been asked previously to speak at a church there as well, so we will be leaving Shillong again very soon. The journey is about 12 hours by Sumo (a big jeep sort of thing) and we may be leaving as soon as this Saturday. We have so many different things planned in these next three months and so much travelling to do. Anyway, right now it feels so good to be home. Home, sweet home.

life is precious

We have reached safely and are doing well. Siliguri is usually a crazy hot sort of place and somehow when we got here we were surprised at how very cold it is this time of year. We packed entirely wrong and have had to borrow some shawls and things to keep warm. We have been meeting with everyone who is involved with FM and church planting here in NE India. It has been a good time to get together and pray and seek the heart of God for what we are doing. It has been good to see some friends that we haven't seen for along time.
One of the first days that we were meeting together, someone got a phone call and we found out that Sudhakar, a major YWAM leader in South India had been killed on a motorcycle riding home. The ironic thing was that someone who came here to speak and share had just been with him the day before in Hyderabad for a meeting and they hd stayed up until 1am laughing and joking around. I had known him and his wife when I had worked in Tamil Nadu and so this news really shook our hearts. There is something that happens to my heart when I find out that someone I knew and respected has passed away. It makes me reevaluate my life and realign my heart with what I want to matter in eternity. Over and over it strikes me again, this world is not our home. I was just reading in Revelation about how God will wipe away every tear from our eye and there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain... there is such a comfort to the fact that we are of a kingdom that will never end, that His kingdom will never pass away. I have such a desire and longing that in this life I will love God, that I will spend my life on things that have eternal value. This life is a vapor, it is here today and gone tomorrow. God never changes. There has been an urgency in my heart these past couple of days to say like the psalmist," Teach me to number my days aright that I may gain a heart of wisdom."
It's so crazy, this guy woke up in the morning after being at a meeting for a week. Got on his scooter, which he had done thousands of other times, and somewhere along the way a truck hit him. He has a wife and a daughter. He never made it home. No one knew that that would happen. Just in a moment of time, everything changed.

Sunday Morning

We just returned from a large meeting of youth and youth workers from all over different places in Meghalaya. Houser was asked to speak on the subject, "Come let us rise and build" from Nehemiah. I'm not exactly sure the exact number of people there, but there were quite a few from many different age groups. There was a main room and then a couple other side rooms where the message was being translated into Nepali and Garo. It was honestly a really neat opportunity and he communicated his heart very well.
One thing we have really been praying for is more Khasi and Garo workers and so it was a good time to share with them and challenge them to follow God's plan and destiny for their lives. Right after, we went and had tea and snacks with some pastors and leaders.

I just wanted to send a quick update before we left for West Bengal. In about an hour, we'll be leaving and won't return for another week. Again I'm not very sure if I'll have time and access to a computer in this next week, so I may not be writing much.

God is so good and kind and answers the desires of our heart. His ways are not always 'safe', but always worth it. For every season there is a reason, for sure.

Nikki

Nikki is the daughter of Poonam and Guha and she is almost five years old. During our Hindi lessons every day, she is a source of great entertainment and joy. She is an incredibly gifted dancer and knows all of the latest hindi songs. She is really adorable and is incredibly hospitable. Nearly every day she will ask her mom if she is going to give us tea or not. Even when we are not there, she always tells her mom to save food for us and pieces of cake.

One of the phrases that Houser says over and over again is "Meera patni bahout sunder hai," meaning, my wife is very beautiful. Houser will tell it to Nikki every day and she'll always groan and roll her eyes. She thought this was so funny that she told her dad about it at night. She's started a dance now called, "Meera patni bahout sunder hai," and we all laugh hysterically every time she does it.

Needless to say, we are having so much fun with Nikki and look forward to hanging out with her and her family. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to a park nearby with Poonam and Nikki and learn Hindi there. This park has a little petting zoo sort of place so we can learn the name of different animals, flowers and all sorts of park vocabulary.

On the Road Again

This last week has been restful and yet somehow we have stayed quite busy. An outreach team from America has come and so we have spent some time with them giving an orientation of Shillong and hanging out.
Finally, here at our base, some people are coming back from their holiday at home and it doesn't feel so much like a ghost town around here. It is good to have some of our friends back with us and the rest of the staff should be returning this week. Houser really loves smoked pork and a couple of people have kindly brought some back for him. Now, I just need to learn how to cook it. :)

Houser has been asked to share with a group of about 2,000 youth this Sunday. So this week he is also preparing for that and we are looking forward to such a neat opportunity. Right after that we will be leaving to catch a train. We have a meeting in West Bengal and so we'll be gone for about a week. I'll try to write a couple of updates there but it just depends on how much free time we have. So overall, we are doing well these days, and just trying to stay warm as the weather continues to get colder.

devotion

More than 1.1 million Muslims are expected in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Pilgrims pray at Mecca's Holy Mosque, and walk around the Kaaba seven times in an anti-clockwise direction to perform the tawaf.

Poonam, the lady who has been so graciously teaching us Hindi, is a hindu and I'm blown away by her devotion to her gods. She wakes up every morning and does puja, which is a a time of prayer and worship. She fasts one day every week and also once a month on the full moon. The fast for the full moon is for the long life of her husband. One day, during our lessons, she mentioned something about Lord Shiva, a god, and she spoke of him with such love and respect in her voice. I was talking to Houser and saying, she speaks of him, the way I speak of Jesus. Her husband is a Christian. If she were ever to give her life to Jesus, her family would never talk to her again.

Houser was talking to another guy the other day and this man said that his favorite god is Kali, the god of death, because she is dangerous.

Here we are surrounded by so many different tribes and peoples and religions. I'm often challenged and moved by what people do for their various gods and how they think they will find favor in their sight. So many people sacrifice so much and live in so much fear, devoted to so many things that will never bring their hearts the peace or love they are searching for. Sometimes it's all really disheartening and overwhelming.