The Sent Ones

The past few weeks have been great - connecting with friends and saying, "good-bye."

On the East Coast we shared at my home church and a friend's church and they prayed for us. Back in Colorado we were prayed out at our Church, and the Y-office, and some friends at the Jericho Center (kind of like IHOP).

I feel very sent...so now we shall go!!

Tomorrow morning we fly out of Denver to NJ and from there, a 14 hour flight to Delhi. We'll spend a few days in Delhi and meet up with J (from Idaho) and meet his wife B. Then we'll take a train to Varanasi. The group of back-packers from Idaho will arrive shortly after us, so it will be fun to see them.

We've been blessed with a lot of special gifts towards our trip - covering the cost of the "School of Hindu Studies" which is 3 months of language/culture training. We've got it all set up to stay at a Guest House (like a cheap hotel) for $100 a month, so we'll have a bedroom and bathroom, with A/C and there's a generator...sounds pretty luxurious to me :)

The Death of a Vision...

A year and half ago, I was in Costa Rica, learning about working with Children at Risk. One day, one of our speakers talked about vision and the process God takes us through to refine our vision and then make the vision a reality.

All I remember now is that step 6 or 7 in the process, is "the death of a vision," the part where we give up and realize it's not going to happen, unless He makes it happen. And that's where I was at. I had planned a whole trip to India to do my internship, and now it wasn't going to happen. So frustrating, but yet hopeful, as I knew God would bring it about in His time.

The year and a half since then have been long, but good. I've learned and grown, and re-evaluated my vision, and got married, and combined our visions together.

I'm pretty excited to finally be going back to India!! And I'm not going alone!! When we get there, we going to find a place to live, and get a Hindi tutor, and start learning language and culture with a group of people. We'll get to see some of our friends from Idaho, and meet new people, Hopefully in 6 months we'll come up with a long-term plan for visa's as well as where we'll be living.

I can't wait!!!! 5 weeks till we get on that plane to India :)

Remembering Romaina

Once upon a time, in a land called Romania, there was a girl named Becky (aka me). She was on her very first overseas trip, and did not want to go home.

For the last 2 weeks her team of 12 girls had been visiting the children’s home, playing with kids who were starved for attention, and sharing with them about the love of Jesus. They had also gone to gypsy villages and ministered to the low-caste people from India.

Becky had felt called to do this since she was 9 years old. At the time she thought she would one day live in India or China, like Amy Carmichael or Gladys Aylward.

But by the time she was 15, she had decided that she could fulfill this call by living in Lima and being a youth leader, or working at the Bible college or Church office. Those where the people who had made the biggest impact on her life...until that day in Romania.

As she spent time with people who were serving God on the field, God clarified that when He called her to this, He meant full-time over-seas. So on July 29, 2001, after staying up late talking to her host, Betsy, and crying on her couch, Becky surrendered her plans to live "the American dream", and chose to follow God's call on her life.

It's been 10 years of preparation, but it's been worth it. India, here I come

The Rock

Through a friend, of a friend, of a friend, we were told of Mark Anderson, who works in Agra, India. He happened to be in Denver a few weeks ago, so we drove up there and met him and his wife. He put us in contact with a guy in Kansas city, who serves in Lucknow, India. This guy also did the D-school in Colorado Springs, making him just a friend of a friend.

Anyway, last Sunday, we visited The Rock of KC. What a great Church! Then we had lunch with our new friend, his Indian wife, and the church's Mssion's Pastor - who has been to several countries...

That was really fun - sharing stories from China and India. We also got lots of helpful advice about living in India and learning Hindi. I can't wait to go back to India!!

Road Trip!!!

What We Do...

At this point, Duane's & my role in pioneering the North India Initiative is mostly networking. We meet with churches, ministries, and individuals in order to find out what ministry is already going on in India, and to mobilize more people to get involved. Later this year, we plan to go to India to meet with long-term workers and see how we can best serve their ministries.

In the future we will be taking church groups and outreach teams to India. The type of outreaches we do will be determined by the gifts and interests of the outreach team, but also by what is most beneficial and strategic for the long-term ministries in India.

Road Trip...

Duane & I are using this next month grow our financial support team, so we have a good financial foundation on which we can start our marriage and pioneer the ministry God is calling us to do.

On March 27 the leader of NSI will be speaking at a church in Denver. Duane & I, along with a few of our co-workers, will be there to connect with people who want to get more involved in missions. From there Duane & I will join another couple in Austin, TX and then road trip with them to Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Kansas City, MO; Denver, CO and finally back to Colorado Springs on April 13th. In all these places Duane & I will be meeting with current supporters and potential supporters, as well as networking with ministries and people who focus on reaching India. Please be praying that this will be a fruitful season.

Road Trip Calendar:

March 27 - Denver, CO

March 28 - Austin, TX

March 29-April 1 - Birmingham, AL

April 2-7 - Nashville, TN

April 8-10 - Kansas City, MO

April 10 - Lawrence, KS

April 11-13 - Denver, CO

Youth With Another Meeting

That pretty much sums up the past couple weeks.

Every week we have 2 staff prayer meetings, and a regular staff meeting.

Duane & I meet with 2 different premarital counselor couples - one with Y and one with church. Although that seems a bit unnecessary considering we've had a week lecture on "relationships" every DTS we staffed, and regardless of what topic of conversation they come up with, it's usually something Duane & I hae already discussed...I guess we spend too much time together, or just talk too much, but it is good to talk to people who have actually been married. The reason we meet with both couples, is because we wanted to get to know our co-workers since they do "member care," and we also want to be more grounded in our local church.

Last week we meet with our Mission's pastor from Church, as well as some of Duane's friends. We shared with them about what we are doing and our plans to pioneering the North India Initative.

Saturday we went up to Denver to meet a couple who have been doing work in Agra, India and have a children's home there. It was great to hear about what they're doing and network with them. Not to mention, it feels amazing to actually start doing stuff to pioneer the Initiative!

Tomorrow we are having dinner with one of Duane's supporters.

Our plan for the next couple months is to work on support raising, as well as networking with local ministries that focus on India. So, more meetings! That means Duane making phone calls to set stuff up, and I need to find a great database program to keep track of all our India contacts. The great part is, we enjoy doing that type of stuff, but not as much as we like to actually go to India.

A Brand New Life

In India I have seen lots of people which teach girls in Red Light districts how to be a tailor, in order to give them a job other than prostitution. That's great, but it seems like there could be a little bit of variety in the skills these girls are taught. While being a tailor is better than prostitution, do all of them really want to be tailors?

I just discovered an Indian news article about how Action against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (ATSEC), takes young women who were slaves and trains them to be security guards. It not only does this give the women a job, but it also enables them to protect themselves from the risk of future violence and abuse.

"All these girls have similar stories: a troubled childhood, poor families, livelihood pressure and desperate for employment...Trusted acquaintances used the opportunity to exploit them. In most cases, the promised salary was never paid and the girls were shuttled from one house to other. Their troubles, however, remained unchanged even after the change of address till they ran away or were rescued by police and sent home where the welcome was hardly a warm one. In fact, returning home often marked the beginning of a new crisis, as the girls-hundreds in number-had returned with nothing but scars of physical abuse or were victims of sexual exploitation."

Language & Culture

Almost every day one of my classmates has a story of someone cool they met at the store or talked to on the bus. I feel so inspired to go meet people…until I realize they speak Spanish. It makes me so frustrated.

At first I was thinking that more people speak English in India than speak English in Costa Rica. I don’t know if that’s true. I think the real difference is that in India, none of my teammates spoke Hindi either, so we were all equally dependent on a translator.

I don’t think people here in Costa Rica even understand the concept of “I don’t speak Spanish." The same way we Americans expect everyone in the USA to speak English. They give me a funny look, and just keep talking. Where-as in India, every state has its own language and there are a bunch of different dialects too. Being that we are white Americans, people don’t expect us to understand their language, because we’re obviously not from their neighborhood.

India Now, or Later?

Yesterday, Rick talked about Vision and how the Father leads us in steps of faith in the process. As I’ve been preparing to go to India, I’ve been all over the place in the processes.

1) He puts a dream in our heart. – live/serve in India

2) Take action to carry out the dream. – move to Idaho, go with a group to India, take another team to India.

3) Experiencing delay in the vision tests our commitment. – I didn't staff India group this time, but instead take a detour to Costa Rica for the CRS, even though they focus on reaching Central America.

4) The Father gives us some release in the vision. – I find out I can do outreach in India anyway :)

5) Than we face challenges. Through that the Father teaches us how to do His will His way.

Right now I alternate between 4 and 5. This up-coming trip to India looks impossible, then I get good contacts and things seem like it’s going to work. Then I find out that “team India” is going to be “team Becky.” The leaders decide that’s not ideal,but since I plan to live in India anyway, they release me to go. Then I question if I should go on my own, but everything is falling into place. Then they tell me how much it will cost, and I doubt again, and think I should just give up on this for now, but I want to go. So maybe I should just move on to stage 6…

6) The death of the vision. the Father teaches us to trust totally in Him. Unless He resurrects the dream, it’s not going to happen. That's how I feel right now...am I going to India now? or later...

7) Deliverance phase – the Father raises the vision from the dead and delivers us into walking in the vision He has given us.

Pune Bombing

Last week there was a bomb blast at a German Bakery in Pune, India. 9 people were killed, 4 of those were not Indian, as the bakery is a popular place for tourists. The USA is concerned about the effect this will have on talks between India and Pakistan which are to take place on Feb 25. There is also the question of if this is linked to the 11/26/08 bombing in Mumbai.


As I am preparing to go to India, hearing about a bombing is concerning. It seems to happen at least once a year, although this is the first one I have heard about since November 2008. I know I am called to go to India, so another bomb is not going to change that.

Kits 4 Kids

I didn't write this at all, I just stole it from Carrie...

Small Change Can Save Lives!
We are excited to share about an opportunity for YOU to get involved in saving the lives of children in India. Dehydration and diarrhea are the leading causes of death among the children of India. We can significantly reduce the number of deaths simply by teaching kids how to wash their hands. Our D-School will be teaching basic hygiene classes to children who live in the slums of India. Along with the education, we want to give impoverished children basic hygiene kits to help them apply what they learn. The kits will include soap, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and fingernail clippers – small things that will make a big difference in the lives of kids who have nothing!

Why hygiene classes? When in India last winter, they asked us to teach basic hygiene classes to children. They said it was something that they had a heart to be teaching children themselves, but the information would have more of an impact if it came from Westerners. As our group teaches these classes the Indian m-workers will be able to build relationships with communities of people that might not normally be open to the Word. It is also a way for us to share the love and compassion of the Father with people who have never met Him before!

Kits for Kids is a simple change drive to raise money for the hygiene kits we want to give to the children who attend our classes. We want to provide the kids with the information and the tools to apply it! A Kits for Kids change drive is an easy way to get children in America connected with the lives of children across the world. Small change can make a big difference in the lives of hundreds of kids in India!

Funny Signs

There are some amusing things about India, so I took pictures to share with you...

wel come...but if you're not well, then don't come...
The cost for today will be: Indians 5rs, foreigners (that means you) 100rs...I give you good price, because you are my friend...this good price, very good price.Enjoy your trip to the Delhi Zoo...
Don't get too close, Sam got scratched by a tiger or leopard or some sort of large cat.

If you're looking for the bathroom, just spell it the way it sounds when someone says it with a funny accent...

Some local shops:
That means pharmacy and toiletries store...the swastika looking symbol is an Indian good luck sign that Hitler stole...


India now has "fridge packs" soda and they are the same size as regular, this is probably because someone saw a commercial and thought this label was a great idea...especially since a fridge is rather rare...

Would you take your computer to Twinkle?
The pay phone...for sweet talk obviously...

Yes, gasoline is "in flammable"

but oil is edible...
Hope you enjoyed your tour of India...

Trains and Planes

Friday afternoon Joe + I arrived in Delhi. I was tired and irritated after the excessively long over-night train ride, and the fact that we arrived at the Delhi Junction rather than the New Delhi Train Station, so we had to take a Taxi to the Pahargange.

Oh the joys of the crowded market streets. "Madam, come see my shop", "nice sawari kamis" (I'd been dressed like this for 3 and half months, so it's really not that exciting) "Where you from?" Their guesses were Texas or Germany. Then there was the stalker guy who started walking beside me after I made the mistake of responding to his greeting. I tried to ignore him, as I squinted in the bright sunlight. He kept talking, "you look scared, why you scared?" I glared at him, wishing I could say in Hindi "you are obnoxious and annoying, go away." It's good I can't say that, because that wouldn't be very nice...

A little bit later I heard a sweet voice say softly "I am here. You do not need to search for me." That one made me laughed...I wonder what movie that line is from...

Joe and I met the Idaho group at the guest house. I gave them their train tickets, the group cell-phone and some money left from the group I had been leading. After chilling with them, we helped carry their bags to the train station. Then we had some yummy coffee goodness at "Open Hand" to kill time before going to the airport at 11pm.

Gradually India faded away. My flight to Amsterdam had more Europeans than Indians. Once I got off the plane and walked to the next terminal India was replaced with west-coasters ready for the flight to Portland. I couldn't sleep on that flight...but I did watch 3 movies, which I've heard is pretty much the same as sleeping...

I arrived in Portland just after noon. In India it was already my birthday, but I have to wait another 12 hours for the day to catch up with me.

In Boise I stepped off the plane, smiled at the sight of the snow-capped mountains and breathed in the fresh, clean air, thick with the smell of a spring rain. I'm almost home :)

I'm not as tired as I expected I would be after traveling for 3 days and being awake for the last 20 hours straight.

They Ask...

From Which Country?
America, USA. A state called Idaho, near California.

How long you in India?
Since December 6th - 3 and half months

Where you been visted?
Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), K-Town, Vnsi, Kolkota, Mumbai, A-bad, C-Town, B-Town, the Agenta Caves.

How long you stay?
I go home today...I go home today...I go home today.

Home to Idaho...where I am still homeless. For the past 4 and half months I've been moving every couple weeks. The 15 weeks spent in India included 11 train rides reaching a total of 175 hours spent on trains. It is hard to grasp the idea that this time I will travel by plane, and in less than 30 hours I will arrive on the other side of the world. Tomorrow I will enjoy my 23rd birthday safely back in America. Tired, jet-lagged, cold, dirty, smelly, but home. 

Just thinking about leaving, I miss India already. In the past year I spent more time in India than I have in Idaho. The 90+ degree "spring" in India has made me home-sick for summer in Idaho...I am not looking forward to snow...

Manmad Junction

"May I have your attention please," the announcement invaded my sleepy-dream world, "train #---- something-or-other mail train is arriving shortly on platform 2." I groaned...did it have to be platform 2? Why not one that was farther away?

I drifted off to deeper sleep, only to be jarred awake by the blaring horn and thunder of the wheels. I poked my head out from under my sheet and felt the dusty gust of wind on my face.

I checked my watch - 3am. 1 hour done, 2 to go. I glanced around the platform. It was speckled with people neaty tucked away under their dirty, faded blankets. Joe, Josiah and I must have looked oddly out of place hiding under our bright, clean blue sheets. Amazingly they did well in protecting us from mosquito bites.

The "Mumbai - Vnsi Express" arrived on time and carried us to our destination. Josiah and I took the toasty-warm top bunks (no a/c) and slept till 1pm. Drenched in sweat, we read, talked, and snacked on sandwiches (thanks Tiff + Carrie for teaching M to make peanut butter).

Around 4 I mentioned the need for dinner. Joe asked, "can't we just go out to eat tonight?" That's when he received the devastating information that we would be on the train till 5am the following morning, not 5pm. Yep, we were only half way to Vnsi...

After another sleep-deprived night, we arrived safely and got a taxi to our guest house. Back in October, when we planed the trip, I was supposed to take a group to Vnsi for 6 weeks, but plans changed and we combined with the group going to A-bad. If we hadn't combined, it would have been me and 4 guys here. Oddly enough I'm staying at the guest house where we would have stayed, and it's me and 2 guys. 


Sunday afternoon, in our search for a book store, Josiah and I gave Joe a tour of Vnsi and the Ghats... which apparently I never blogged about, when we were here in January...

Vnsi is the first place in India that I've been to 3 times (except for Delhi since we fly in and out of there). So Vnsi is starting to feel rather homey, returning again to a familiar place with people I know. I pick the most convenient times to come visit - crashing an Indian wedding, and then yesterday at the staff meeting they celebrated March birthdays, so I got fed cake. Today I will go visit Hindi language camp. Sounds like fun to me!

Holi - the Festival of Colors

Holi is an Indian festival to celebrate the beginning of spring. March 11th was the perfect spring morning. 90 degrees, sunny, clear blue skies, low pollution, and almost no humidity. All that was missing was watermelon and lemonade, but I had those the day before...If I didn't know better, I would say it sounds like a summer day in America...but this is India...

7:30 was earlier than we wanted to be awake, but we had to get up at this hour in order to make it safely to M's house for breakfast. We had been warned "don't go outside on this day." We knew the consequences, and we were armed and ready.The fun began when we stepped outside. "splat", a water balloon landed in an explosion of pink.Purple water shot from Josiah's water gun in retaliation. The war was on! With pink and orange dye smeared on our faces, we joined the neighborhood children playing the street. Josiah called it "the mother of all water-wars."We were "attacked" by a gang of teenager boys. In our attempt to get even, they caught Joe and smeared poop/mud on his face and shirt...ok, that's a little gross...

Shortly after that M called me to the roof to watch the fun. She said something about many men drinking and playing, and I had noticed that most people "playing" were men and children. I bitterly stood on the roof, the Indian culture had interfered with my fun...

A few minuets later, some women came and M told me to go play with them. "Play" meant let them smear colored dye on my face. Then I got to do it to them as well...Then we went to visit our various friends. First we went to S & J's house for chai. Joe attempted to clean the poop/mud off of himself.Someone turned on the hose to help him...and soaked all of us. J's little daughter, ran across the porch crying, and without hesitation, lept from the porch into her mother's arms.

From there we went to I & J's house. M gave me some dye and said to put it on J's face when she opened the door. M knocked, the door opened, and J poured a bucket of water on me. Then the fight went in-doors as the guys dragged L from his room, smearing his face with colors.Our growing gang moved down the street to U & G's.While chai was served, an all out water-war took place in their kitchen and porch. You can do this in India, because houses are cement, tile and marble, and furniture is mostly plastic lawn chairs...then we chilled on the porch and dried off in the sun...until someone started the war again...We went back to M's for a dance party in her 10x12 ft living room...then home for showers, lunch, and laundry...which all turned pink...

It was a good day...

Mumbai

After a 33 hour train ride, I arrived in Mumbai on Friday morning. It is a rare event, an Indian train was actually on-time! Josiah and Joe, however, were not. Rather than sit at the train station and wait for them, I braved the "local train" (like a metro) on my own. After all I had done it a couple times in Calcutta.

It was 5:30 in the morning, so my ability to realize my lack of intelligence was, well, lacking. I looked up and down the platform, wondering which way I needed to walk to get to the station. If my brain were working, I would have realized which way the train came in from, and been able to figure it out, but I was too tired to realize that I had no idea what I was going to do. There just happened to be some nice ladies standing by the train who happened to also be going to the same "local train" stop as I, and they helped me!

I was very excited to be re-united with my American friends...this excitement wore off quickly, due to their persistence in reminding me that they grew up with TOO MANY sisters, while I am not used to having brothers. They won't stop picking on me!!!!! So I told them I was going to complain on my blog...

We spent the day (Friday) touring Mumbai. We walked a lot...and of course the guys made fun of me for being short and having to take 3 steps for every 2 they take...

We saw "India Gate," the "hanging gardens," 

 and walked past the "Taj hotel" and some other places that were bombed or shot up back in November. 
That was rather sobering...but in case anyone is worried about my safety, fear not, we went to all the "dangerous" places yesterday. Today we are just going to the "red light district," to visit some friends there.

Don't worry about me, I have 2 body guards :). The first time we got in a taxi, I was back seat, in the middle, feet on the bump. I sat there because, well, I am short, but with my feet on the bump, my legs look as tall as theirs. This also protected me when the freaky-looking cross-dresser who tried to reach in the window...


Our train ticket seats (for the 6 hour trip to A-bad on Monday) also have me sitting between the guys. I don't mind because that is a $2 train ticket, and very low class, so I will be safely sitting between my body guards...see it's not all bad having them around. I even get my own room!

Last Day in "Cal"

Today I take the bus one last time. That is something I will not miss...
I will miss playing with the kids, especially that game where you flick the little checker-like pieces...I'm so bad at it, but I think I am improving...Tomorrow (Wed) is pack & move day. I'll get on the train at 8pm, and won't get off till Friday morning when I reach Mumbai!!!