Counting Down

"Are you excited yet?"

This is the question of the day/week/month.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm the kind of person who gets excited waaaaay in advance. In the 1-2 weeks directly leading up to the start of an adventure, I'm usually stuck in list-mode -- what still needs to get done, and how can I get it done in time? Once I'm on the (plane, train, automobile), what's done is done and since the rest is out of my hands, I can get excited again (and/or take a nap).

So that's where I'm at these days. Sarah and I both appreciate your prayers for us as we tie up the last of the loose ends -- mostly, we just need to make sure we remember to take all of our immunization meds at the appropriate times and to make sure that things on the homefront will be taken care of in our absence.


At any rate, it's been a month since our last update and God has been SO active!

In case you haven't heard yet, one of us recently got engaged! I'll give you a hint... It's Sarah. We're both pretty excited (her a bit more than me) about this new development. Praise God for Sarah and Pete and please pray with us that God will have his hand of blessing and protection over their relationship, and that he would be with them as they look ahead to several months of planning both for a wedding and for their eventual move to L.A.!

Our dinner fundraiser went WAY better than we could have hoped for, and we left feeling totally overwhelmed both by God's provision and by the love and support of our friends and COTR family.

Since then, we've continued to be blessed with prayer and financial support and are super excited (and maybe a little relieved too) that we've not only met, but exceeded our fundraising goals! We were excited to be able to put a little bit of the extra funds (with the blessing of the rest of the team) towards purchasing a polaroid printer (+ paper) that will be used to bless the women we will be spending with at Harvest India's Ashraya home and Freedom Centre (these are both ministries which provide support and training to women who have been rescued from prostitution). Please pray with us that the printer would arrive on time (i.e. before our departure date!). If you are still interested in giving financially, you can still give to either of us, or you can give directly to Harvest India here: https://harvestindia.webconnex.com/general. Either way, any additional funds that are raised at this point will be transferred to Harvest India.


In addition to praying for Sarah and I, please also continue to lift up the rest of the team. We are a pretty eclectic group of women (+ one man) and are looking forward to see how God will make us into an effective community who will live, love and serve well together.

There are so many opportunities that await us in India, but both Sarah and I feel our hearts being drawn toward the women of Ashraya and the Freedom Centre. Please lift up these women and ask that God will reveal himself to them in very tangible ways in the days and weeks to come. We are believing that God is going ahead of us (just like Pastor Dave's been speaking about in the last few messages on courage!), and are asking that he will give us ears to hear and eyes to see these women as he does. Please pray that we will be open and obedient to God's shouts, nudges, and taps in India so that we can be his hands and feet.


On a personal note, I've been feeling challenged by God lately to remember that I have nothing to offer these women other than the hope that comes from Christ. I need to remember that while many of them have probably lived through situations more horrible than I am capable of comprehending, it is not my pity that they want or need, but the hope that comes from knowing that they are deeply loved by God. What good is pity, when these women have so much still to live for? Through Christ they are loved, redeemed, and healed. May they experience the peace, joy and purpose that comes with knowing God. Please pray that each one will understand that nothing has or can separate her from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus:

"neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation"  (Romans 8:38-39)

My prayer for these women is the same as Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus:

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen [them] with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith. And I pray that [they], being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that [they] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21)

We're IN!

I have been riding what seems to be a rollercoaster of emotions these days. I can't speak for Sarah, but I'm fairly confident that she's in a similar place. It seems that both of our lives lately are consistently filled with lots of small but significant stresses as well as some pretty sweet blessings.

Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we both strive to:

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for [us] in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

and to:

"not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present [our] requests to God. [So that] the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7-8)

Today, however, I'm confident that I speak for both of us when I say that we are feeling very, very blessed.

In the midst of the planning and prep for Saturday's dinner, we were finding ourselves increasingly anxious given our lack of experience cooking ethnic foods, or for that matter, cooking any foods for large groups of people. Some of our help had also fallen through and so while we felt confident that everything would get done (we weren't totally on our own, and we had still managed to borrow enough crock pots and/or rice cookers!), we were both continuing to ask God to provide even just one person to help us. We were praying specifically for someone to step up who a) knows something about cooking Indian food, b) knows something about cooking for large groups of people and/or c) would be available to help prepare at least one of the dishes that we are hoping to serve.

I received a phone call from Sarah around 9pm this evening (yesterday evening, I suppose, given that it's technically Friday morning now...) informing me that God had totally come through for us in the form of one AMAZING woman who a) knows a LOT about cooking Indian food, b) knows a LOT about cooking food for large groups of people, and c) is willing to help us with the preparation of the main dishes--and even the grocery shopping-- tomorrow (er, today). Oh, and she's offered to help with some of the setup and prep that we'll be doing on Saturday too.

Can I get a "Hallelujah!" or a "Praise the Lord!"? Amen.


(Also, you better believe that this is going to be one fabulous Indian dinner. You should totally come.)



But wait! There's more. A few updates re: official stuff.

We have BOTH been officially approved for our VISAs to get into India! My passport + VISA arrived via Canada Post yesterday and Sarah's will be delivered via her parents in the very near future.

We are both almost entirely immunized! I say "almost" because, as it turns out, we both need Typhoid and, while Sarah had hers a couple of weeks ago, when I went to get mine this afternoon, I was informed that a) it is currently on back order and b) there was a recall on it very recently.

Please pray that Sarah's Typhoid shot was not one of the lot numbers which was recalled or that if it was, it will be a relatively smooth process should she need to get a second immunization. For me, please pray that the immunization will be made available again prior to our departure in November. Let's be honest, I'm totally praying that it will be available WELL before our departure.

Of course, we're also praying that God would continue to provide the funding that we need to get to India!

We're about 3/4 of the way there, and feeling pretty excited about how God has been affirming this trip for both of us through the encouragement and support of our families and friends, especially over the last week or so.

Want to hear more? Come out for dinner on Saturday!

Crossing our T's and Dotting our I's...

We had a great meeting with the rest of the team about a week ago and are excited to be receiving something of an itinerary very soon! The purpose of the itinerary is for us to be able to share with you how we might be serving on any given day so that you can pray along with us for the duration of our trip.

That said, please keep in mind that whatever plans are in place prior to our arrival in India will be VERY flexible and are subject to lots of changes!

"You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail." - Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

We are currently in the process of applying for our VISAs and getting our immunizations, etc. and we would SO appreciate your prayers that both Sarah and I (as well as the rest of our team) will be approved and that our passports (with VISAs!) will be returned to us quickly.

I (Shannon) dropped off my application at the Indian consulate in Brampton this afternoon in a process that was both quick and relatively easy! Sarah, on the other hand, has to apply through the U.S. (given that she's a citizen of the U.S. and not of Canada) and has, as a result, come up against a number of small (but still frustrating) hiccups along the way. Please join us in asking God to overwhelm her with His peace as she waits for the safe return of her passport (sooner rather than later!) along with the approval of her VISA application.


Finally, we have raised just over half of the funds that we need to raise and are looking forward to hosting a delicious dinner (Indian food!) on Saturday, Sept 29 at 6pm, at the Church on the Rock building in Hamilton (2149 Upper James). Please pray that God would be with us in the planning and preparation for that night and that He will help us to effectively share our hearts and our vision for this trip with those who attend.

If you are interested in attending the dinner, please contact us at GoingToIndia2012@gmail.com!

Thank you so much for your continued  prayers and support!

Booked!

Flights are booked! We are thanking God for some decent prices and good scheduling to boot!

Sarah and I will be flying out of Toronto on the 5th of November (around 6:30pm) and arriving in Chennai just after midnight on the 7th -- a mere 2 hours before the rest of our team will arrive!

Our next team get together is in a couple of weeks. We're looking forward to re-connecting especially now that pretty much everyone else has also booked their flights so our team is more or less finalized!


On a personal note, please continue to pray for me as I have just under a week left to wrap up my MRP and am feeling pretty overwhelmed by the process. Specifically, I'd appreciate your prayers for motivation and for self-discipline and/or focus!

On a happier note, I've been blessed with THREE unsolicited part-time-flexible-hours-work-from-home job offers in the last couple of weeks. I was a bit anxious about finding work in the fall given the uncertainty of where I'll be in January (Ontario or British Columbia) as well as the time that I'll be needing to book off for this trip in November but I'm feeling pretty confident that God's got my back on this one!

Booking flights!

It's funny how something as simple as booking flights can be both exciting and nerve-wracking!

We're booking our flights this week and the process of finalizing the dates changes things -- it makes things more real. We really are going to India in November!

We are thanking God as he continues to provide financially! We are also grateful for the abundance of personal and prayer support from close friends and family.

I'm still wrapping up my MRP, so in addition to the excitement of finalizing flight details, I'm also feeling both anxious and relived about the final few days of writing. Please pray for continued motivation, clarity of mind as I read and write, and for general sanity as I move closer to the light at the end of this tunnel!

With regard to India, please be praying this week for the children in the orphanage that is run by Harvest India. We are asking that God would reveal himself to these kids in some very tangible ways and that as a result, they would know that they are deeply loved and cared for.