time is flying!

ahh its been three weeks since getting back! wow - amazing how fast time is flying by. We are sending out another prayer letter/thank you/ update on how things are continuing to have influence on our lives and futures... but it hasn't been sent yet. soon.

Im tired, and needing to work on time management! time for rest in the midst of all of everything happening has been challenging! There is always something else needing to get done- but im trying to keep time to process and reflect, and put into practice things i've learned. There is lots more to share - but just thought id write this up to note that i do still exist, and we haven't forgotten about the prayer support team! Thanks for your encouragement and support there and back again! :)

blessings

"This is my story..."

Back for a week.

India? how far away have you gotten? the stories, the lives, the joy the sorrow. Sitting on a creaky bed, holding the hand of a Nepalis Madame - looking deep into her eyes, and seeing the sorrow. "God loves you so very much!" telling of the love, the sacrifice, the victory of our lord Jesus... sipping orange soda, praying. Dancing and swirling around with the children - speaking Marathi and making them laugh. What horrors lurk in the shadows, what pain comes each night. But as the sun is shining, Hope and laughter come easy to their eyes. What of their future? the young girls? the boys? who do they become in this community making money off of human lives? ahh they are so full of life! Lord Jesus protect them!

The trains, the traffic, the language. I keep wanting to shake my head to say yes -confusing here. I don't so much miss the country as i miss the people, and I miss seeing so clearly the ways God was moving and working in lives, and in His church, and the promises of His glory pouring out over India. It was so clearly His story we were living and breathing - given the privilege of participating in.

Yes things are different here in Boston - but on the plane coming back He clearly reminded me - "this is my story too." God is at work here in Boston, here in America, and he wants to talk to us - he wants us to listen. He wants to show us the doors he is opening, the light he is shining through the cracks in the darkest places, and how we can be a part of all of this.

So i am trying to listen.

I get excited when i remember the visions about the work he is doing in India, and how it connects to the middle east. I think God has invited me into the work he is doing globally in some way... and im excited! I have no idea what this will look like. But i trust He knows, and im ready for the adventure to continue! thanks for your prayers and support!

A few things on my heart: encouraging and supporting the leaders God is rising up around the world in His kingdom, and in the work to end slavery. To help provide tools to better understand the systems of trafficking and how to determine the strategic points to break down the cycles. To connect people and combat the enemy's strategy of isolating God's people. To pray.

Back for a week. Still tired, but trying to give myself permission to take things slow (i haven't really been taking things slow) and to rest. my body clock is back in schedule i think. but emotionally im tired. And there is still so much to process. So i will take it one day at a time.

And God is saying "yes, this is my story"

systems mind map

so here is a take on mapping the negative system of trafficking - as it relates to a positive system.

We met with several groups in Mumbai and brainstormed about the system of trafficking - how do we actually end it?! not just deal with its consequences. This is my hope for Boston and other areas of the world as well!

im not sure how to make it bigger on here?

blue is the negative loop - and green is the positive loop. either can be healthy or broken - our hope is to starve out the negative blue loop and build the health of the positive loop. What do we do?

Travel tips for India:

a few helpful insights to keep in mind while visiting the beautiful country of india:

• Don't let a guy take your bag at the train station - for any reason! he will lead you to a sketchy cab and try to rip you off.
• Always cary tissues with for TP
• Don't make a habit of flying out the night of the Cricket World Cup semi-finals India/Pakistan game. No one wants to miss the game to take you to the airport, and if you wait til its over (and India wins) you have to doge parties in the streets and will arrive barely in time - just as they call your seat number for boarding.
• When you give something away use your right hand.
• Don't give change for 1000 rupes - it may be counterfeit. especially if its from the sketchy cab driver
• When on a sleeper car train, try to avoid booking a spot in the same car as the world-famous fart/burp/snorer!
• Don't use a green pen to fill out the customs sheet at the Mumbai airport. They will make you redo it.
• When trying to fall asleep on the train between Kolhapur and Mumbai, listening to Yo Yo Ma helps to drown out the world famous FBSer.
• Don't be alarmed by lizards above the sink, or mice, roaches and spiders visiting your room. They tend to be friendly and/or scared of you.
• If wearing a dupita (scarf) and you need to use the traditional squatter toilet, be sure to wrap your scarf up around your neck securely, or take it off and hang it up until you are done.
• When you give a cild something to hold or play with, don't expect to get it back.

• Taxi fare is whats on the meeter times 9 + 2. Expect to be asked for more, and perhaps to get into a discussion about fairness, justice and the law.
• Avoid drinks made with fresh ground water, and ice, whenever possible - yet don't be rude. This can be challenging.
• Don't be alarmed if a cow or herd of goats or sheep cross in front of your car on the road. Expect to walk by pigs in the neighborhood sleeping in a trash pile.
• Be prepared to receive a florist shop worth of flowers if/when you go visiting churches and schools.
• Be careful when flushing the toilet - you may get sprayed with water.
• Avoid eye contact with the opposite gender when walking on the street, but an occasional smile might make their day!
• Expect to see cars trucks, motor bikes and buses come barreling down on you in your lane as they swerve around a cart pulled by water buffalo. Miraculously they get back to their side of the road before you collide.
• If water comes out of the shower head brown and rusty colored, stick with bucket showers. If the bucket is moldy wash it first.
• Don't give money to the kids begging on the streets - but ask for their name (learn to ask in their language first). smile and touch their nose.
• Empty water bottles can be cut down to make vases for all the flowers received.
• Chai will be offered to you several times a day - be careful of caffeine/sugar overdose.
• take any opportunity to have freshly roasted corn with lime, salt and chili powder! especially on the roadside in the farmlands of Kolhapur. yum.

update 6: coming home

SARAH

Wow- we are almost home! Sorry for the long gap since our last letter- but things have been good and busy in Kolhhapur. We arrived back in Mumbai thismorning form the overnight train. The send off party last night was such a blessing! I felt so loved and encouraged by all of our new friends taking the time to see us off at the trainstation. The last few weeks have been mostly about learning from God about many many things, building relationships, wrestling with complicated layers of legal stuff (Nika is mostly doing that- I just listen and offer support where I can) and we have had some very encouraging prayer and worship times as well as visits to redlight areas. And learning Marathi :-)

I am learning many lessons about receiving gifts - about receiving generosity even in the face of inequality. I am learning about Gods justice- he is not so concerned with equality as I tend to be!! He is more concerned with the heart- with the work He is doing in each person- and this does not usually look like my idea of justice.

When women raise their children in the redlight areas- they grow up and many attend school- it is a community. But the boys have dreams of becoming engineers or police officers... And the girls may have these dreams but they are expected to join the "trade" often before they are 10 years old. The women were children tricked and forced into this life and are now hardened to it- but without going into much detail, we were able to go and sit with them for a while and the women were open to prayer. They were hungry for real love- the love that comes from Jesus. I held one of the babies for a long time. His name is Ganesh after one of their gods. I prayed for him that he would be free from the bondage that he was born into- that he would be protected from the darkness- that God would call him to Himself from a young age and that this little one would be a voice of truth and justice - shining Gods light into the darkness and breaking these chains holding so many million people in bondage!

The light - the peace and protection was so strong in that room. The enemy's territory is being invaded by stealth :-)

I am sad to leave - especially all of the wonderful friends we have made- but I am ready to come back to Boston and I'm excited about what God will do in applying all that I've learned to what is instore for my future and for the Abolitionist network! I will mention more on that below.

Thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers! I look forward to seeing many of you soon!

NIKA
Hey friends. Sorry it's been so long since our last update. It seems the closer we get to the end the more we have to do. Social visits and interactions have increased as well, as we have developed friendships. Some of these have been quite meaningful to me. I pray they will be lifelong and beyond.

I second a lot of what Sarah says above. I do want to reiterate our thankfulness at the love, hosptality and support we received in Kolhapur. The send off was crazy love-filled. Our coworkers from the office came to the train platform with their spouses and/or kids and brought gifts and snacks. Our hosts, a couple folks from their extended family, and of course our Indian mum and pop (Sheba and Ramesh) all piled into a van and rode over with us. There were tears and laughter. It was a very special time to me. I didn't realize we were so loved. I am still surprised about that.

Emotionally it's been quite trying the entire time, and I am looking forward to going home. It takes a lot of energy for me to be highly relational AND intensively focused on my work. I do one of those things at a time pretty well but become a bit of a relational disaster, at least internally, when I try to do both together. I tend to err on the side of being focused and "productive." Here, I've tried to err more on the side of the relational way of being loving, but that has taken a lot of emotional energy and left me weak and sometimes irritable. Anyway I could go on about that, but enough self psychoanalysis.

Spiritually I have drawn closer to the Lord, so I trust that though I feel weaker and more aware of my sinfulness it is still good. Thank you for your many prayers, thoughts and well wishes throughout this seven weeks. (A special thanks to those who don't share my faith - you are super troopers!)

Hah! Anyway. It's been fun learning to read in a new alphabet, even though I don't know what I am saying most of the time. It's a start. I am looking forward to returning to India soon, despite the cultural challenge of it. After July I'll probably need a different visa, so please pray for that if you're one to pray. It's no small thing.

We spent one last night at the girls' youth hostel. I danced barefoot until my feet blistered. The girls don't wear shoes inside. (Or outside unless they are going out). Dancing was fun! I could have literally danced all night. Sunday we headed back to Kolhapur and Monday we took the overnight train to Mumbai for a couple of busy days before flying out. We are seeing some beloved friends here as well as well as meeting with folks from around Mumbai and India. We also did a workshop sort of thing with a newly forming coalition to stop trafficking in Maharashtra. Cool. I've been asked to come back for their larger meeting in May to follow up and perhaps do a legislative drafting session!

Thanks again. Much love.

MINISTRY

Well, it's been sort of packed. We visited more ministries in the Kolhapur District, including a couple of red light area ministries that were quite inspiring. We shouldn't really speak to specifics here. Fantasic work though. Complex, heart wrenching stories.

Sarah ...is not exactly sure what the future holds but I (Sarah) am excited because I am confident God is doing something in and through his church globally and breaking the chains of injustice is at the core. I am recognizing my calling to the global work he is doing in some way - and the abolitionist network is an exciting avenue for that as it is developed in Boston and connects internationally. Please continue to pray for wisdom and dicernment as I seek His will and direction one step at a time! I will keep you updated as things develop- and please share your thoughts and ideas as you feel led!

Nika will be continuing to work with at least three groups. One, in Mumbai on strategic planning, and perhaps legislation, relating to coordinated and systemic anti-trafficking work. Two, with a political party that is newly formed on anti corruption legislation and political engagement. Three, with the KCC on some legal matters. I will also stay involved with the youth hostel for hopefully the next two or three decades. We were able to make a substantial donation, thanks to the generosity of many of you and some folks here India, to the unsponsored girls hostel. Unsponsored means that they have no funds supporting them. As a result they don't have sufficient food, clothing, school supplies, or emotional and spiritual support. They sleep on the hard floor of a separate building that badly needs repairs. They also often cannot continue their education and return to bad environments, including brothel areas, once they finish ninth or tenth grade. I'll be working with the KCC to develop an American sponsorship program focused on sponsoring hostel girls financially, and providing emotional and spiritual support to them, until they achieve their highest educational goals. More on that when we get home. Finally, there are lots of intercession movements going on here. I hope to be one of the hundreds (at least) of both Indians and foreigners that God is calling to help these movements unite under one banner of the Holy Spirit. Also, please be praying for my return trip to Mumbai, which looks like it could happen in less than two months.

Thanks for reading, thinking and praying.

update 5: post mumbai

SARAH

The warm breeze floats through the window of our room here at our dear friends home in kolhapur. Again I am so thankful for places of rest in the midst o the whirlwind that is India! The longer we are here the more complex it seems to get - though I am feeling more and more at home. I think with familiarity comes more perceptive lenses through which we are seeing everything around us. It is both exciting and exhausting! But I'm loving being here.
Last week Nika and I were off "on our own" in Mumbai, Pune and back to Mumbai then down to Kolhapur. We had lovely uninvited roommates of all verities- a rat, beetles, roaches, and of course a few mosquitoes! Haha and our toilet in one of the bathrooms would spray out water from the holding tank everytime we flushed! I laughed out loud the first time it happened- and most other times. Quick! Flush and run!

We have had many wonderful adventures- up small mountains, out on rocks in the arabian sea, watching the sun set and large fruit bats fly overhead, and ofcourse navigating the train system :-)
Over the past week we have met so many more amazing people whom God is using in powerful ways! Prayer warriors and a young couple starting churches in a shanty town by "ceiling road bridge"- law firms to fight trafficking by going after the perpetrators- the president of a new political party formed in northern India based on biblical values and morality - leaders of several NGOs working in mumbai who were excited to do some systems thinking and map out the causes and systems of trafficking with us. I didn't expect my "mind map" of a partial causal loop diagram that I wrote out during a CUME class last year to be useful hear in India as a starting point! It was exciting for all of us in the room to learn from eachother - and brainstorm where the most strategic and influential places are for not just helping stem the tide or rescue a few victims- but to really break the cycle! It is crucial to address the higher criminal industries and the healing of families and relationships... But these things are possible. Networking is key - we must work together- especially as the body of Christ! Enough with our divisions and arguments with territory and doctrine! God is calling his church together and it is so exciting to see it happening here in india! If broken relationships and broken systems are what feeds into the cycle of trafficking and exploitation - may we not be a part of this brokenness as the church, but rather an example of healing.
The darkness coming against the light can seem unbending- and the enemy is attempting all sorts of ways to stop us from pressing on- but he has no power really. walking through one of the most notorious redlight areas in the world was hard for me- not only because of what I saw but because of the spiritual oppression there- no happy about me praying in that place. We will go into more detail in the prayer letter. So many lives are held in such deep bondage - but as Nika mentions- the most powerful of these trapped people think they are hidden in the top spheres of society! Things are about to change. We serve a God who is invincible and victorious!
It is good to be back in kolhapur! We have a day of rest - with delicious food and watching the India vs. South africa cricket game - after taking the overnight train last night. Ready for what's ahead in these next few weeks! Also i have been learning so much to take back to boston- but more on that next time. Thank you for your encouraging emails and prayers!
Sunday the 13th is Freedom Sunday- take some time to join with the thousands of churches who are standing against slavery together! No one should be for sale!
Blessings
Sarah

NIKA
I have been getting better physically. My voice is almost completely back. My shoulder blade is healed. My chest is clearing up. We had a ton of fun in Pune. With Abishek we hiked up a hill, a bit off track, which was nice. See the sun set over Pune city in a pic below :).

Things have been excessively good in Mumbai. We learned a ton. Some of the details will show up in the intercessors email, as it relates to the revival that's about to explode here. It's so fun and faith building to be a part of it. Viju and Valsa took such good care of us, and their apartment is lovely and extremely comfortable on so many levels. They had lots of fascinating guests, though none of the kind Sarah mentioned! Plus they live in one of the high infrastructure, tree-lined residential areas of Mumbai. We walked along the boardwalk, grabbed some corn roasted on coals on the roadside and carefully cantered out on the rocks at low-tide to watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea. Cool. (pic below). There is quite a bit more western style dress in this part of town, but I still wear at least a stole to give the impression that I'm conservative. While many may find it laughable to refer to me as socially conservative in the States, what it means to be a non-conservative American over here can be pretty degrading for women.

My heart is on the mend. My spiritual and emotional healing are directly impacting my work and my love for others. I am beginning to see joy, community and spiritual wealth where I once could only see suffering, poverty and oppression- which enraged me and made me sad. I feel so happy when I visit homes and streets in what looks like slum shanty housing, from up high on an overlooking hill of Portuguese ruins, and find laughter, dancing, ingenuity, people looking out for each other, teaching, small enterprises, and even praising the Lord amongst some families.

India is the most complex place I've ever seen. So many apparent contradictions. So much being birthed so healthy, even amidst thorns, stones and adversity. It's hard to explain in an email. Everything is all mixed together and on top of each other, especially in a big city like Mumbai. Rich poor, clean dirty, educated illiterate: all like grains of various types poured into the same jar. But there is static around the different grains that keeps them from touching or noticing each other. A lovely penthouse flat of four large rooms, first floor ten persons squeezed into a tiny two room apartment with no furnishings but a couple of mats and a tv, outside a dozen families with babies are sleeping on the sidewalk- the police knocked down the lean-tos they'd erected along the front property of some small retail shops. Turn right for a tutorial on Mumbai illicit night life, left for the 15 min train to the top private school in the city. Some kids never turn right and don't know that a pimp hangs on the next corner. Don't see the homelessness, brothels or poverty. Well, a lean-to on the sidewalk is considered a home by the government and the resident; should I judge? In the old part of Mumbai it's not uncommon for even concrete 90-year-old apartment homes to collapse during monsoon season.

In the red light district you know the prostitues bc they wear a lot of makeup and make eye contact with men on the street. Most Indian women don't do that I'm told, though I think this is changing faster than many realize. It's hard to prayer walk while staring at the ground- at least the way I do it. Do you think you can take me, bc I'm comfortable staring you down as you stare me up and down? Probably not. I'm like three feet taller than you. Jk. Jk.

Seriously though, red light pimping is not a high rolling thing here. People are trying to survive. Many children are born and groomed into lives of prostitution. We are told by local lawers that girls trafficked in from other countries by trick or force are sometimes beaten and raped until they agree to stay in the brothel and give all their earnings to the madame or owner. Older prostitutes "break free" to become madames and slave owners themselves. These are the folks mainly being prosecuted now. "The madame contracted HIV when she was enslaved. Will the courts let her off? Should we? Will public health justice NGOs fight us?" This is the jist of a conversation with one freedom fighter lawyer who told us about the results of a recent raid on a brothel. The top guy collecting from the madame is no where to be found. The arrested Madame had coldly inquired of the prosecuting lawyer, "Where were you when I was kidnapped and dragged down here?!" It's complicated. It's ugly. But it's also going down. I don't think prosecuting the middle men like this can work without additional strategic attack on the whole corrupt structure.

This red light district type of crime against humanity is actually not driving the economy of trafficking. I'm sure you are not surprised that a trillion dollar industry isn't maintained by street pimps and resilient ex-prostitutes. The most sustainably corrupt forces don't hang out on street corners much. In fact they work in law offices, parliament, business, law enforcement, etc. I'm looking into this. There are plans afoot to uproot the large scale corruption destroying the fabric of Indian society and impacting the dynamics of trafficking and violence in the US and worldwide. I am meeting good, smart, commited people. Pray that God would allow me to get more involved somehow.

I can't say that I like it here. Not yet. But I do feel called to come back. What happens in India in the next decade or two will export to the entire world. Next couple of weeks- back in Kolhapur. I'll be thinking and working on strategic planning and trafficking stuff with local churches, schools and hospitals again.

Saying goodbye to Mumbai temporarily. Here is a part of a note I sent my house and community mates last week. It gives a bit of the flavor of my experience in one of the biggest cities in the world.

"On the way back [from a church service attended by 400 women trapped in or rescued from prostitution and their kids] traffic was ridiculous. Pedestrians, a small variety of other mammals, taxis, 1-ton roadcarts pulled by old thin men. Burkhas (sp?), some quite sheer and fancy; barechested elderly female beggar, prostitutes, happy children, lots of men working and walking, some hand in hand; many in this neighborhood are Muslims, some with orange beards died with henna; motor bike with 3 children, a woman in a sari and the dad driving. All mixed in the middle of a broad, packed smokey (for some reason) street. Eery lighting at night reflects off smoke and sparkling punjabi dresses. Some people are used to the chaos- enjoying life. Others clearly hate it. Others oblivious to that any other life exists. We are nearly killed (not really) while tailing our escort on foot through the middle of the street looking for an empty cab that will go to our neighborhood. We try to stay close as we walk towards moving headlights coming at us. Sidestep at the last minute, just like everybody else. Finally find one that smells like goat and slide into the slimy seats. Half an hour later we get out and walk. This "traffic" is going nowhere. Keep my head down. Don't feel like standing out tonight.

Night air is humid and strange in the old part of Mumbai where ten-story 90-year-old concrete apartments have never known a fresh repaint and colorful laundry dangles from one hundred crumbling balconies, swaying high above crowded, steamy trash-strewn streets."

MISSION
Most of the mission work is detailed now and deeply spiritually grounded, so we will address it in the intercessors email, for those who replied to the invitation for that. Here are some things everyone can pray/think encouraging thoughts about.

- red light district: beds on the street, small children hanging around the brothels, their homes. Pray that when they come down, they will not relocate or be replaced but redeemed.
- "slum" ministries: beautiful spirits, grassroots community development, the residents are leading the participating churches, the church is coming to the streets as well as helping with tangible needs for homes and medical care. Pray for protection and prosperity for the residents and that they would know and be able to enforce their rights. Also that people, especially church people, would respect and love residents as peers and community leaders.
- legal ministries: pray against organized crime influence in the courts. For government ministries that are receptive to ethics and trafficking enforcement training.
- for strong families and communities that protect and look out for children and other vulnerables.
- for christian mission investigators who go undercover into brothels. They say there is danger in being discovered and also in th temptations aroused by the environment. Sometimes they get minor (so far) injuries while trying to escape criminals who have discovered that they are there gathering evidence.
- pray for unity and grace in relationships for the current and potenial workers and volunteers.
- nika had to give her fingerprint to a hotel concierge recently, it seems, bc she was identified by their computer as staying at a church mission house (hostel) in a totally different city. Pray for continued safety for all the tourists, workers and volunteers.
- Some crazy anti-corruption stuff is being organized. Will send a presentation with the intercession email. Pray for God's light to fully overtake the dark corruption.
- intercessors and church groups are being inspired. Pray for their courage and continued encouragement. Also for the safety of them and their families and churches.

- for Freedom Sunday and the work we will do with/for the church council in coming weeks, including a workshop, a women's retreat and public health visits to the local red light district - a receiving area of trafficked girls from abroad and a feeder district to Pune and Mumbai.

update 4: en route to Mumbai

Look for an email from a particular helen later. It will share more of the controversial warfare type requests and invite you to join a sublist for hard core intercession. (Or because you are curious about just how crazy we are). Ha. Our email access will possibly get dodgier in a few hours, once we leave Pune.

SARAH

nameste! - means hello (and goodbye) in Hindi, and is used
throughout India.
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement - there are many
beautiful things happening, challenging things as well. The enemy
seems to be attacking our team in various ways physically- sickness,
bug bites, hives, back pain - and trying to overwhelm us in various
ways emotionally and spiritually with the scope of the problem, or the
craziness of the schedules, or tensions in relationships. A friend
shared Psalm 91 with me, and it is exactly the promises that we are
holding onto!
"He will cover you with his feathers
and under his wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night (spiritual warfare, even in our hotels)
nor the arrow that flies by day, (opposition/suspicion where we go)
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness (bed bugs/ hives)
nor the plague that destroys at midday." (mosquitoes / allergies/ back pain)
Psalm 91:4-6
>
> Through these pestering attacks, God's grace has been strong - keeping our spirits up and protecting us from any severe problems. Thank you for praying for all of these things! especially Marcos' and Ramesh's backs - they have been quite painful with all the sitting and traveling and hard beds.

I am so thankful for a team that can laugh and joke - even in the
midst of stressful situations or difficulties! I am thankful for God's
gentle reminders to give thanks in all circumstances - we have been
blessed with so much! I am thankful for all the amazing people we met
in Kolhapur - especially Rev. Pathani, Mr and Mrs Chopade (who have
opened up their home for us to stay in when we get back in a few
weeks) and for Rahul our driver, and our brother - looking out for us
when we were staying in the hostel. His gentle humble spirit is
encouraging and refreshing. I am thankful for the delicious fresh
veggies along the road side - for roasted corn on the cob sprinkled
with salt, lime juice and chili pepper :) for oranges and carrots and
unexpected showers of rain as we crossed the mountains into Pune. I am
thankful for friendships that cross any distance, for the blessing of
internet and phone and for God's plans being so much bigger than i can
even imagine to rescue and restore those who are suffering unspeakable
horrors right now. Because I know He is at work, i can lay my anger
and feelings of helplessness at his feet - and listen for his still
small voice saying "come. follow me. Follow me into the brokenness,
into the abandoned streets, into the crowded traffic, into the tangled
webs of a caste system, of oppression, of guilt, of blindness, of
despair, and into this darkness a light shines. We may not always see
it, but in our smiles, in our encouraging nods and handshakes we are
sharing his love, and through his love, his Hope!
I am so thankful that I am merely called to listen and obey. To
follow. I am thankful for the lessons on receiving gifts, on working
through tensions with team members, on navigating through the crazy
traffic to cross streets, and for learning yet again to lay down my
ideas of what i should be accomplishing or what expectations i should
live up to, or even just trying to wrap my head around the problems -
to lay it all down, and let the burden roll off. To breath freely - to
see and love people (as Nika shares) and to soak in and to learn.
Nothing is going to be accomplished by my strength.
As we were coming away from lunch a few days ago we passed by several
girls begging for change - they were thin, small little girls with big
dark eyes, imploring us to give. we were hurried along, and as I
climbed into the rickshaw i looked back and felt an incredible weight
of helplessness - I have nothing to give right now, and no way to help
this girl - in this moment. she doesn't just need money - someone is
probably taking most of the money from her anyway - she might be
working as a slave for someone else - but she represents so many
thousands of others stuck in desperate need. This burden stayed with
me for a while and I wasn't fully aware of it, but when i recognized
what was happening I had to shift my focus again - away from me and
what I could do - and back to the reality that God is in fact doing
something for that little girl. and I am a part of that plan. We all
are if we will respond to His call.
We are in Pune and I enjoyed a calm day of catching up on some things.
Nika and I had a time of prayer out on the roof again, and watched
another sun set over the buildings and palm trees as bats fluttered
about overhead and mosquitoes started chomping down. We had a lovely
dinner down with all of the engineering students, and then back up in
the room I had fun drawing on Consuela and Michelle - with Henna :) I
will miss everyone heading back to Boston, but am looking forward to
this next part of the trip. I trust God will guide and protect us!
Please pray that Nika and I will use caution and be wise with
decisions especially while in Mumbai, and that we would be safe as we
travel and meet various people and organizations. Nika explains more
below. I have a strong peace that God is paving the road ahead for us
- there will be some rocks and bumps, but he will guide us one step at
a time. Thank you for your prayers! already people are stepping up to
escort us places and watch out for us.
So, I leave you with this reminder - "give thanks to the Lord for He
is good - His love endures forever!"
Blessings and much love! hope to hear from you! (please do not include
the attachments in your reply :) we will be accessing email with
Nika's iPhone again - Thanks!)

NIKA

Dear friends and prayer partners, I write you from what feels to me like our crossroads city - Pune. Here, on the way to Mumbai from Kolhapur, we stay comfortably and without charge, thanks to Ramesh's professional connections and long time service to India as a chief engineer in this college town and high tech center. When we first came through a couple of weeks ago, Pune looked so foreign to me; so different than anything I had experienced - full of poverty and half-made seeming buildings. Now, after a week and a half in Kolhapur and round abouts, Pune looks opulent and very westernized. It is very difficult for me to remember how I once saw it otherwise. Interesting.

Of course there is too much to report, so I won't try. I do want to share just a few direct answers to prayer before musing a bit about what I am learning- my big prayer request.

After sending my last note I have consistently encountered and devoured lots of safe, delicious fresh fruits and veggies. We also began eating as a team in a way that included more protein, generally. That's been very good for my metabolism, though I have to come to terms with that it is not how the people around me here are able to eat. That is true when I am stateside as well, even though I am not as consistently cognizant of it. Also, because sometimes very poor friends spend time and precious resources making food especially for me/us, I have eaten several unsafe veggies and with no ill-effect.

Some of you were praying for (well against) a strong allergic reaction I had (hives) while staying in a ruralish orphanage/boarding school. I am just about all better, and it didn't get in the way of being with people. Thank you. Marcos's back is also steadily improving. I have been staving off this cold that seems to be going around, but just barely. Please pray for other members who are feeling under the weather. Finally, I have started exercising again. Just in time, as a bit of pot belly is starting to peek through my punjabi dresses ;).

As always, my heart is the place where the real action is. 2010 was an incredible year of heart learning for me. Horrific really, but in a good way. One of the things God told me during that time was that the lessons of that season, as well as the lessons of this trip, would be all about learning the importance, the depth and and the reality of love- passionate, true, devoted, unstoppable love. Here, I can't go into tremendous detail about how those lessons manifested in my life. Suffice it to say this trip has been the, thankfully less painful, capstone to the best "living sermon series" God has ever shared with me.

In short, I have come to terms with my own insatiable need for love. Not just the dutiful kind- "love as action"- which I am quite comfortable giving and receiving. But also the passionate, Songs of Solomon type love. That love that would die for you because he/she wants to in a I-can't help-it way, not because it would be honorable to do so. Anyway, I want to love others in this way. I have always been afraid to unleash this part of myself for fear that it would not be returned at the level that I need. For this reason, I have generally kept an internal distance from people and tried to approach love as a task rather than a feeling. God has been showing me all of this and sort of curing me of my somewhat fear-driven "condition," but I haven't really liked it, though I have been compliant.

Well, I realize now that I don't have to be afraid that in loving others, they will not be able to reciprocate in a way that fully meets my need for love. First of all, I can know for sure that not only can one person not meet that need, the whole sum of all people I know and love could not. My need is infinite. Second, God is capable enough and desires to, in fact he is determined to, fill that need- through others and by himself directly.

I have known this in my head for about a year. Progressively I have felt it deep in my spirit and soul. My heart has been the big holder out. And she still struggles to receive this. Being here helps a lot, because I have such a strong and growing desire to love the people that I am encountering, rich and poor, who live in spiritual poverty of an unspeakable kind. This makes it easier, somehow, for me to envision loving others and seeking the return from God alone.

On a related note, I mentioned before that God has been encouraging me to look past people's situations and to see the individual people- not their poverty or "exploitedness," or their exploitation or addiction, or their racism/classicism or their "star struckness" with us as westerners (all of which bother me deeply). This ""looking past" has helped me relax about the justice "movement," which must be fueled exclusively by God's power, and to allow some of my anger about injustice to chill into the productive variety of energy. It has also made space for me to have more meaningful relationships with some of the people I have been spending time with. For example, I feel quite close to the warden of the girls orphanage/boarding school in a town called Kodoli. I think we connected at a heart level. I will see her again next time I am in town.

The fact of relating to people as brother and sister has helped me, well is slowly helping me, to let go of the "project" mentality. It protects me against using people as a means to an end that is praiseworthy but a) not my responsibility, but God's, to bring about and b) not worth using people. When you are in love with people, I think you can help them in ways that are more eternal and more of a blessing in the moment as well. One of God's words to me was "you don't have to help the whole world, only those I bring to you." I felt a divine chuckle when I asked God would he be planning to bring us (those who are willing) the whole world one group at a time.

Please pray that I would trust God more and more for the long-term vision of justice and love poured out across the earth. And pray for the greater miracle of my trust in him for the safety of my quite vulnerable heart. I was telling my friend and community-mate Kaitlin that I am turned inside out and getting cleaned out and reshaped. It feels surprisingly refreshing- at the moment. haha.

Consuela is terrific. She is such an angel and a gift. Pray that I would be a support to her, emotionally and otherwise. She seems to be having a good time, and Sarah has been a terrific blessing to her. They are just under 9 years apart, and Consuela has told me that she relates to Sarah quite well.

Marcos gets to go to his job's Pune office today! Please pray (probably retroactively and that's ok) for a productive and encouraging time there. And that I would be able to love him in the ways that are most meaningful to him. He has been a sweet and incredible support to me.

M and C head back to Boston this week on late wednesday night, early thursday morning, along with Alex and Michelle. Sheba and Ramesh will be traveling to other parts of India by train. Sarah and I will be in Mumbai and traveling to Pune in that time for various meetings. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers with respect to travels, safety, relationships, health, etc.

I also give thanks for our amazing driver Rahul, back in Kolhapur, the cows that walk by as we are parked on the roadside waiting for Raul Bhau (brother) to buy us some mosquito traps from one of a gazillion storefront shops, wild green parrots, wild boars roaming town streets, meeting up with Sthuthi's awesome brother Abishek at a Pune cafe and lots of cute funny goats everywhere (but not in Pune, which I've mentioned actually looks a lot more "western" to me after living in Kolhapur and its rural environs for a week and a half or something). I'm also learning the hindi/marati alphabet and some phrases.

Thank you for reading, encouraging, thinking, praying.

MISSION

- Wow! so much amazing stuff- can't report it all. We spent part of last week staying in a hostel, which is a combination orphanage and boarding school for children from all backgrounds, mostly extremely underprivileged backgrounds, including the red light districts. Even though the girls here are relatively blessed, they live in poverty and have many unmet needs. Some of the girls have sponsors that enable them to have things the other girls can't, from small things like more meat (twice a week), to big things like a college education. God is really moving, and it seems he wants to do some work to increase the condition of these girls and to give them ALL access to a life better than brothels, slums or field work. Many of them are top students and very hard workers. Though many come from non-Christian homes, they encounter and often accept the love of Christ in their lives. It is amazing to see what this faith can do for them as they face hardships once they become women, especially. Pray that God will use us however he has in mind to bring justice and resources to these girls and to this school, both from within India and from abroad. There are lots of specific ideas and possibilities and some fair amount of enthusiasm swirling around at the moment. But we want to build the house upon the rock, not the sand. And it all has to work within the foundation of what God is already doing. Please pray for Shaila, one of the wardens (headmistresses) at the boarding school. She has a lot going on and is praying that God would help us bring in more sponsorship. We'll see. It seems doable, and is, of course, if that is God's plan.

- Please pray for our meetings in the coming week with International Justice Mission, Freedom Firm, Oasis (Vasu, from a previous prayer letter), ACT (Viju's collaboration of anti-trafficking, economic development and rehabilitation ministries and NGOs), an intercessor's group in Mumbai (Vanita), an acclaimed Christian documentary photographer (Santosh) and whoever else God is bringing our way in the next 8 days till we return to Kolhapur.

- Pray for wisdom and clarity about whether, when and how the corporate social responsibility and legislative pieces of this puzzle will tie in.

update 3: in Kolhapur

Dear friends,

Thank you for your concern, prayers and encouraging thoughts. We had
considered sending an abridged update for those who are a bit prone to
worry. Instead, let us assure you that we are quite safe and go ahead
and inform you all of the basic issues on our hearts. We are planning
a separate intercessory prayer update for those of you who desire to
make intercessory prayers for India or want more detailed information
about what we, along with our local and indigenous brothers and
sisters, are sensing in the spiritual landscape. For reasons you might
intuit from below, we will set up a new email for this purpose. You'll
receive an invitation to that list from an interesting address,
probably on Monday.

Now on to the usual update.

SARAH
As the sun sets over the farmland surrounding kolhapur the colors
nearly match the brilliant sarees splashing red pink greens and blues
amongst the sugar cane fields, cow patty mountains and red mud pits
for making bricks. Small villages are scattered among the low Hills
and mountains and it has been amazing to have the opportunity to enter
in as guests. We bump along dirt roads swerving around cow driven
carts ladden with sugarcane and narrowly missing motor bikes on the
other side as a huge truck brightly painted with "goods carrier"
written across the front barrrels down on us. The chorus of different
pitched honking is quite amazing actually. And it's ok because as we
somehow squeeze through to continue on our way the retreating truck
has " honk OK please" written across it's bumper.Entering villiages we
pass children playing or working, women bent down grinding spices or
washing dishes animals wondering in the streets and men going about
their work or sometimes just standing against the crumbling brick
houses watching. We are ushered into a small home - women in
multicolored beautiful sarees are sitting crosslegged on a straw mat
with wide eyed children and men show us to our plastic lawn chair
seats. I would much rather join those on the mat but I obey. This is
where they worship as a core group- waiting to have 25 adult members
to become an official church with the kcc. Often we sing some songs
and pray together in Hindi or marati or sometimes english. Some of the
pastors or evangelists are working with over 20 different groups in as
many villages! There are thousands of villages around kolhapur and God
is doing amazing things throughout the area. Of course the Hindu faith
is very strong and the spiritual battle rages- especially in the
churches. Thankfully the kcc hasn't experienced much persecution but
Nika and I both sense that the enemy is watching closely. On Sunday
one of the churches we visited didn't have a building yet so they were
meeting in the village hall where the community worships their village
god. As we were singing praises to Jesus the idol sat there in the
corner- caged in - just a thing. The darkness hovered in corners but
could not do anything- there was no power over the light of Christ and
his people! Thank you all for your prayers- they are part of the
spiritual sheild around us as we are here. It has been so encouraging
to see the response from some people when we talk about trafficking
and how to end it. Often these conversations are merely moments here
and there and Nika and I will have more time to follow up when we get
back- but we did have the privaledge to talk to a group of women
representing 9 different villages about trafficking and they were
interested in hearing how they and their curch communities can get
more involved. I think they won't need to look far. As Nika mentions-
the kcc is already very involved - they just don't always recognize it
and I don't think the church has connected into it directly yet. So
many exciting oportunities to though! I am getting more glimpses of my
role here and ways to communicate things- sharing my experience. so
thanks for praying! It's fun to work together with Nika as we bring
different strengths and experience to the table and I continue to
learn so much from her. I am also learning from everyone else on the
team and From those we are visiting. I knew that trafficking was
compex and I knew India was complicated but seeing the layers of
complexity right up in my face every day has been quite an adventure!
I am so thankful for the lessons God has been teaching me over the
last few years and even days before leaving of giving the complexity
over to him. To see and take note and let it influence my
understanding but not to get burdened by it or overwhelmed. That does
not help anything! We are the vessals and tools- we do not have the
whole plan and that's ok! So seeing the brick cilns and small children
working among the stacks or red bricks as we drive by- or watching a
mother talk down to her little girl - or grappling with the caste
system and the mentality of holding tight to what is mine with no
thought to help those who are not seen - those right outside my
doorstep washing their other shirt in the gutter. It is hard but also
motivating to see change. This world is a broken place and we are all
a part of that brokenness - that's the sad reality. Yet not the end of
the story! I truely believe the people - the church of kolhapur can
change and be the change for this state and for india! And I firmly
believe that we all have a part to play in our own communities as
well. So- sorry for the sermon :-) thank you for the notes of
encouragement and support! I love hearing from you! Internet is
challenging so I might not reply right away. Personally I am doing
well- feeling a bit off now and then but not bad at all- mostly head
aches- not stomach issues so that's a praise! I would really
appreciate prayer for strength and decernment against the lies and
threats of the enemy. He has no real power- but could have the ability
to dicourage or distract if I am not paying attention. Well I will
wrap up my part and we can send this off :-) Blessings!

NIKA
- praise for emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I'm feeling more
balanced and peaceful than I have been and feeling enormous love,
tenderness and grace from God. Also, more in touch with my negative
emotions (so not shutting them down), like anger, disappointment,
concern or irritation, without them dominating my mood. I have more
focus too.
- nutrition: I've struggled lately with the lack of fresh raw
vegetables, which we aren't allowed to eat bc of bacteria in the
water, and whole grains, which just aren't as available. We eat LOTS
of white bread and similar simple carbohydrates. And, mostly
overcooked but tasty, tasty vegetables smothered in savory, spicy,
oily sauce. I'm not used to this. I'm also not getting much
exercise, which is ok. But I've been feeling slightly anemic and
getting head rushes and dizzy at times. My bowels are fine, which is
great. I've nearly run out of the nuts I brought, so my protein
sources are limited. This feels like a problem I can solve with help.
I just need time and a plan.
- Consuela has been terrific. She wants to interact more with the
kids. Mostly we've been visiting in fairly formal ways, watching
presentations and limiting the question and answer time to private
meetings with leadership. However, this week a few of us will spend
the night and two days in a KCC youth hostel, which is a combination
boarding school and orphanage. We got to have recess with some of
those kids earlier this week, and we all thoroughly enjoyed each
other.
- marcos was exuberant with the children, as usual. But unfortunately
he threw his back out again . :( It's worse this time, and he can't
get out of bed. Please pray for his rapid recovery. He is missed on
the "field." The beds are quite hard, almost like wood. The pillows
too. I like this, but it's worse for his back, even with two
mattresses. We will look to buy a softer one tomorrow. Stores here are
sort of, well, tough to explain. Kolhapur isn't a very modern city,
despite the prevalence of wealthy people in gated homes. So it's hard
to find things, and most shopping places feel partially like open air
markets. That's partly a limitation of the way we roll and who are
particular connections are, which is kinda cool, really. But even
buying an envelope to courier a letter was a little adventure. So pray
for our success at locating a good mattress and transporting it, haha.
:) Packed and busy dusty dirt roads, hundreds of vehicles, random
farm animals and pedestrians all mixed together, a rickshaw and a
mattress. The scenario promises some comedy.
- pray for marcos's work, both on the KCC website and for his job. Or
hotel doesn't have Internet, so while he can't move much, he can't do
much work either. He has been able to upload some stuff at the cafe
and to download some work to his laptop. But he can't test it from the
hotel.
- praise for very personally encouraging friends in Mumbai and Pune
and for the good connections that are developing in Kolhapur.
-praise for our team. Each one is a special gift.
- praise for beautiful weather- not too hot.
- I really enjoy the one-on-one emails. Even though it takes me a
while to get back to the authors, even the one liners are so
encouraging when I feel a bit lost out here. And they are an even
greater gust and confirmation when I am already feeling the wind on
the sails of my heart.- I am so encouraged by the youth development,
administrative capacity building, church planting and
seminary/leadership training work that the other members of the team
are doing. I feel so honored to be able to observe, learn and help, as
needed.

MISSION
- The Kolhapur Church Council (KCC) is doing amazing work. It takes
time to find out all they are doing that touches on trafficking and
exploitation, because they don't describe their work in those terms,
for a variety of reasons. In fact, many members of the churches and
leadership seem to think the KCC churches (60 in all) don't do much
that involves trafficked persons. In fact all of their schools,
orphanages and hospitals house or help many children from trafficked
families. We suspect there may be many trafficked women, in
particular, among them who are not known as such in the larger
churches. Pray for wisdom, guidance and Spirit inspiration for us and
KCC leadership as we discern wheher God is calling their churches to
focus on this more directly and to involve church members in the
movement that ministry leaders, doctors and teachers are working on
without sufficient volunteer and financial support.
- Pray that the ministries and programs that have space for more
participants could partner with KCC ministries that don't know of the
resources available to their poorest families and children. We'd like
to be used by God to help with this, if that would delight him.
- We delight with God in the emphasis on anti-corruption and prayer.
The KCC ministries have sophisticated systems of accountability that
they have been diligently enforcing. We also praise God for the health
and intelligent design of their micro business programs. They are
contributing to the explosion of the middle class in ways that build
up poor communities, rather than push the poorest member further into
poverty. This is the opposite of the national and international trend,
which has been toward a widening wage gap.
- It is so exciting to see all the new church growth. Can't say
specifically what I mean here. Or use numbers. But it's cool. His love
and mercy is spreading to dozens of surrounding villages, and it
shows. We've visited half a dozen of them.
- This trip has been largely about learning what is going on amongst
God's people and churches, as he raises a movement to defeat sex
trafficking and slavery. So many churches or groups who are working in
this area labor in neighborhoods or villages, and they don't know
about each other. Pray that our ministry would be one of encouraging
and connecting folks here, first, and then facilitating partnership
with Boston, to the extent that this furthers God's plan.
- Continued building of relationship among team members. It is a fun
group that loves Jesus and people. Everyone has traveled before and is
sensitive and respectful too.
- Pray for wisdom and protection around security, particularly the
security of our conversations and Internet communications. Due to new
regulations, we have to register our passports, visas, local
residence, home address, general travel plans, and reason for travel
at many locations, including internet cafes, hotels and some churches.
These are collected by regular employees, sometimes along with copies
of our photos, and are supposed to be forwarded to a government
agency. Clearly this is not a secure process that maintains the
confidentiality of these documents. At one church training led by two
team members, we discovered that a guy who was asking a lot of
questions and listening in on team conversations was actually known to
no one in the church. He knew Sarah by name and that we were from
Boston. He may have known this from listening in during the early part
of the training, or he may have come in knowing this. It isn't clear,
because no one saw him enter. The churches and buildings can be fairly
open, including our hotel. He seemed to be a religious zealot of some
sort but left before anyone could be sure. This is the most striking
example, but several incidents of photo taking have drawn some concern
as well.
- Because of the above, we don't feel safe using the Internet cafe.
They require you to use their computers. So all our email would be
visible to them at will, once we logged on there. Theoretically we
could log on remotely to a Boston computer, but we don't fully trust
this process and plan to use it as a last resort. Consequently, in
Kolhapur we have to rely on my little iPhone for all our missives. And
we have a megabyte quota to keep, which Sarah and Nika purchased from
AT&T with Marcos's help. In Pune and Mumbai we have more flexibility.
Except that we may be affiliated with some folks whose emails are
being monitored. We have no evidence of this, so we aren't too
concerned. But we don't want to get anyone in trouble (or in more
trouble).
- We attract attention as a multicultural team with several lovely
ladies. Some people here worship certain white goddesses and are quite
taken by white skin. Sarah and Consuela attract quite a bit of
attention due to their beauty and light skin tones. Others hate white
Americans in particular, or Americans in general. It is sometimes
unclear why people are staring at us, but given the above bullet, it
can be disconcerting to draw attention, particularly when traveling in
smaller groups or without a man or an Indian member of the group.
Please pray that we would continue to be a bold witnesses of Christ
and the Gospel but also wise. Pray that God would use this attention
for His good, even as he protects us from evil or distracting designs.
Also that we would not be paranoid about people's intenions.
Especially those intentions of Christians and seekers, as "spies" are
sometimes sent in to figure out whether and how much proselytizing is
being done. We want to trust God and, as Scripture mandates, cooperate
with His Spirit in maintaining unity among believers. This can be
difficult when we don't know whether to trust people's intentions in
their questionning and invitations. We welcome any advice on this
regard.
- Sometimes cell groups or village house churches relying on the
kindess of Hindu neighbors have been forced to shut down after
visiting missionaries asked offensive questions. This happened at
least once with the KCC, our host church council. Their cell groups
tend to be in village homes with few doors and no windows. And they
are open to anyone.
- Next week Sarah and Nika will stay in Mumbai for several days. We
will be staying at a Christian hostel wihout any other team members.
Local friends will be checking in on us. We will also travel for about
12 hours by train to ge back to Kolhapur. Pray for our safety, peace
and good witness.
- We may speak to students about trafficking and legislation at a law
school in Pune. We are also connecting in deeper ways to connections
in Mumbai during an eight day (probably) visit there, part of which,
as mentioned, will happen after the rest of the team leaves town.
Please pray for safe travel for the other members and for God to
continue to guide our connections, interactions and work. We want to
be fruitful for his Kingdom!

PARTIAL REWARD (for those who read or scroll to the bottom ;))

We'd planned to waaay splurge on our Megabyte quota to send you the
photos indicated by the labels below and a whole poem, rather than the
clipped version below. Due to technical challenges, we ended up
splurging on a send that didn't work. So you get this foretaste and
the joy of sharing in our technology drought :). No worries. Hundreds
more photos will return with Marcos and Consuela and freer Internet
and technology access. We will also try to send the full "reward"
again this weekend, with the invite to the intercession list. So sorry
to make you wait with baited breath.

update 2: the adventure begins

Hello dear friends,

SARAH
It has been a crazy whirlwind these last few days since arriving in
the wee hours of the morning saturday in Mumbai! God has been so
faithful in making it clear that He is working here in India! He
brought people across our path, even within the first few hours of
waking up in the country, who are fighting for justice and thinking
systemically about how to end human trafficking and slavery. We also
received an amazing blessing of prayer from an intercessor who stopped
by where we were staying that first morning.
We left Mumbai yesterday and arrived here in Pune - dropped our stuff
off, got changed and headed to a wedding (in three motor rickshaws)!
It was Ramesh's nephew's wedding and it was a fun time, although there
is some difficult family drama relating to religion, so it was sad
that many of Ramesh's relatives did not come. Our team was super tired
too...Michele had taken some drugs to combat motion sickness from our
4 hour drive through the mountains from Mumbai to Pune, so she was
knocked out and couldn't keep her eyes open. others were falling
asleep at various times as well. but we sat and watched and ate good
food. Nika, Consuela and I wore beautiful saris that Sheba helped to
wrap (thanks Judy for lending them to us) :) And Sheba's sari made
her look like a Queen (though she always is).
Im really enjoying the clothing here in India. Its so fun and colorful
and very comfortable. Thanks to everyone who lent us clothes - we have
worn traditional Indian clothing most of the time so far.
Nika and I have had some very interesting conversations with people
working locally against trafficking - and thinking systemically. Very
cool- and encouraging. I find myself watching and soaking things in -
and Nika has been so encouraging, and stimulating - as we grapple with
these huge issues, excited about what God will do, and is doing! On
the bus ride to Pune, as we passed monkeys and wove through mountains
we talked about the pyramid of the trafficking rings, and how often
ministries and NGOs can get distracted by the poverty - but where is
that coming from? Who is at the top of the pyramid actually running
these operations? how do they get brought down??
also during the ride, Ramesh pointed out the railroad he was the
overseer to build, and told us the story. Quite amazing. And here in
Pune we are staying in the dorms of the railroad engineering school,
since Ramesh was a professor here for some time.

Today was a beautiful day - with a late morning, and a restful quiet
day of rest, somewhat unplanned, but a blessing. The sun was shining
brightly and it was a lovely temp of low 80s with a gentle breeze
blowing through the hallways. breakfast was cornflakes with warm milk,
and toast with butter and jam, and these fried bready doughnuts with a
soup to dip them in and some green sauce :) it was all quite good...
but breakfasts here are definitely unique! And of course there is chai
- sweet spicy tea with lots of sugar! The quiet day was needed after
the crazy schedule of the last few days: up at 7:30 and out the door
into the never sleeping city of Mumbai to visit churches, tourist
sights, NGO's, resturants, and as i wrote in my blog and nika
describes more below, a few of us walked through one of the apartment
complexes where women who are in the "trade" live with their children,
and where some prostitution happens as well.

my blog is: abolitionistmusings.blogspot.com

Today we had some time to pray and reflect, to play Uno and make up
crazy jokes, and to sleep. After a late lunch Nika and I talked and
prayed on the roof top, watching birds fly over head, as the moon rise
over the palm trees (and we got covered in 'Pune dust' and tried to
avoid mosquito bites). I am so blessed and thankful to be alongside
her in this journey!

Thank you all for your prayers! I would love continued prayers for
health (my stomach was off a bit last night - no worms please!! and my
feet have been a bit swollen since we landed- but getting better. also
other team members have been feeling a bit sick) and for wisdom in
processing all that i've been taking in the last few days. To hear
God's voice, and respond to his guiding. To see others as He sees them
- and to be a willing vessel for Him to use. Both willing to be
adjusted and worked on, and through that process, willing and able to
carry out His plans.
So far things have been awesome with the team getting along and loving
and serving eachother! everyone has a great sense of humor and so even
in some of the more stressful moments we can laugh at the adventure of
it all. No one has gotten seriously lost yet either which is a
blessing - sometimes a we have to split up into three rick-shaws and
not everyone
knows where we are going... but everyone ends up in the same place,
and in one piece despite insane drivers! :) Thank you for praying for
safety! Other prayer requests are covered near the bottom of this
email.
Blessings, in His peace and grace.


NIKA
Wow! The first few days were flawless and amazing (see below for my
earlier update to the community I live in and to share in the
honeymoon glow ;)). But then we went to work. Haha! Sarah and I met
for hours and hours in Mumbai with various folks and ministries. For
example, we walked with some women through a dilapidated apartment
building that sources brothels and street corners. Weaving through men
and women along damp, dark narrow halls with walls that were half
crumbled mud, we prayed for and with some women and their small
children. We witnessed as our guides wandered in and out of various
doorless apartments to speak with women they have relationships with
and invite them to the evening service. We smiled a lot and gave
greetings in broken Hindi. I tried hard, and succeeded, not to haul
off and punch a guy who appeared to be oogling a women's two or three
year old child who was wandering the halls wearing only jewelry,
smeared makeup and a tiny tank top. It was hard not to hate men and
India and rich people and everyone I could think to blame after that
and other experiences. I am ashamed to say that but submit it for your
prayers. It was even more diffiult not to shut down my emotions and
move seamlessly into "get to work" mode. I in fact did that for about
48 hours before God broke through the anger and fierce focus to show
me that he wanted me to keep my heart tender and allow it to be fueled
by and overflow with love. There is so much to say there. But I don't
think I could easily write it out in a way most of you would be able
to/interested in reading. But please do pray for Marcos, as he is on
the front lines of my transition away from being the somewhat cold,
analytical but dutiful crisis responder, to the emotionally tender and
passionate lover- of God, humanity and my loved ones.

Sarah and I made great connections in Mumbai. We decided to return and
stay for about a week in early March, when we drop off Marcos, C,
Michele and Alex at the airport to return to Boston. It will just be
the two of us. Please pray for safety and good connections and work
during that stay. Through Sthuthi's brother Abishek, we also made some
sweet connections with a ministry called Justice Ventures that is
helping another state do some legislative work against trafficking.
The group is interested in exploring a partnership. Please pray for
guidance and continued blessing on that relationship.

Consuela has been so fun to watch. She dives right into every
situation and manages to keep a tender heart whilst emitting an
incredible joy for life and for people. Please pray that God would
bring her meaningful relationships with people her age and others
while she is here. She is also working hard on her homework when she
has down time. Pray that she is able to maintain that balance somehow.
And that she deepens her intimacy with God and knowledge of who she is
and the work she is made for.

Please pray for Marcos that the technology would go smoothly for
getting his work done in Kolhapur. Things haven't been conducive of
him gettig much work done so far, but he was expecting that till now.
Please pray that he will be and feel as productive as he should and
desires to. Both in terms of his ministry here and his job work that
he has to get done while he is here.

We leave Pune tomorrow afternoon. Tonight we have dinner with Abishek.
We've been chillin all day, for the first time in five days of
non-stop visiting, learning and talking. Church on Sunday was
terrific. We visited several services. One of them was an outreach to
mostly Hindus. It was packed and the sermon was mostly delivered in
call and response song, with drums and most worshippers seated on
floor mats. Pretty cool! Our team lead turned 75 that day. We visited
a church his father planted nearly 80 years ago! The pastor their
prayed for Ramesh and little girls laughed at my awkward accent ;),
among other interesting and delightful encounters there. We also
attended a wedding yesterday.

Sarah continues to be a great partner and co warrior. Her joy and
tender heart are as inspiring as her wisdom and prayers. We enjoyed a
few hours praying and sharing on a Pune rooftop this afternoon till
sunset. So cool. :)

Well, there's too much to get it all down, but I hope that gives you
enough of a flavor to enable you to pray or think about us in
encoraging ways. Looking forward to hearing how things are going with
you stateside. We are on line now, via iPhones, but unable to send or
receive pictures or other huge files at the moment.


MISSION
- for open hearts full of love as we enter and experience Kolhapur

- for eyes to see in the little things, as well as the glaringly
obvious, the brilliance of God

- for hope beyond hope in the vision of God declaring Himself the God
of India and the Indian people as His people

- for God to continue to raise up and unite the intercessors of India

- for words to encourage those who feel alone in an uphill battle that
God's people are behind them and with them in spirit and in truth

- for strength and health for some team members who are exhausted and
feeling undress the weather

- for Santosh, the acclaimed NY Times photographer who has committed
the next phase of his life to a photodocumentary of Isaiah 58 as it
applies to India and who has experienced backlash from powerful
corrupt forces

- for Viju, our host in Mumbai, Vasu and others. That we would bless
and not be a burden to them. For safety as they travel around India on
various ministry matters

- for Bobby Bose, a member of our team who just arrived and will be
traveling all over India meeting with lots of ministries and people to
discuss urban ministry education for Indians and internationals in
India.

- for our team leaders as they balance the emotional and logistical
rigors of returning home (to Maharashtra) with their leadership
responsibilities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

GREEN HOUSE UPDATE FROM LAST SATURDAY
Hey GH & the gang ;)

Here's a quick update from the heart of Mumbai.

Praises
Before I left I was able to sort out all the financial stuff I'd asked
for prayer about. Thank you for praying! I also got sworn into the MA
bar the day I left. :). So I can present myself here as a legit
lawyer. Haha. More or less.

We are thankful for a smooth ride over. We saw three sunsets on three
continents in one day! No material glitches in the logistics of moving
ourselves across the planet.

God has moved incredibly quickly and strategically in leading us to
the right people. We had an incredible prayer time with our "friendly
neighborhood intercessor," as she called herself. The Holy Spirit
commisioned us through her. Powerful! Her name is Vanita, and she is
quite lovely. And there is a local non-profit leader, Vasu, who is
totally down with the systemic approach to taking down organized
trafficking. He's got tons of ideas exploding into reality right now.
We are going to have a blast I think. He had lots of strategic
connections for us and was, I think, very encouraged by our meeting as
well. I can't really adequately describe how amazing our meeting was
for me in an email, so I won't attempt to here.

Viju Abraham, a leader in anti-trafficking non-profit organizing, is
incredible. He is our guide for the weekend and linked us with Vanita
and Vasu. I have so much to learn from him and those he is connecting
us to.

No jet lag for me! Or, at least, it feels the same as my standard
insomnia, haha!

There are tons of other praises, even already. Everything is perfect,
really. It's kind of dreamlike in that way. I guess if I tried to list
every good thing I'd never finish, and it's only been two days since
we left Boston.

Requests
Today, while Sarah, Marcos and I were in a meeting, Consuela went with
our team lead and a guide and other members of the team to see one of
Mother Theresa's homes for abandoned disabled children and other
impoverished people. They also saw a lot of quite young street
children leading obviously dangerous lives on a number of levels. Even
the team lead, an Indian, was overwhelmed at what she saw there. So
you can imagine that Consuela's grief was considerable. She was
beautiful, though, sharing in Christ's compassion and mourning. But do
pray for her. For God's comfort, insight and joy to accompany her
grief. That he would walk alongside her in her pain and shock. And
whatever else God brings to your heart or mind in this regard.

The dreamlike state is going to end for me in about an hour. That's
when I begin visiting some of the most trafficked red light districts
in the world. I guess I can't begin to ask you how to pray for me.

My emotional stuff has been a little bit better. Prayer fora continued
increasing of peace around all that.

Pray for Vasu. He needs partners and encouragement.

And for Vanita. Her sons are taking their high school board exams for
college entry.

Thanks for reading guys.

Love,
Nika

update 1: preparing to go

Sarah

dear friends,

Im so thankful for all the many pieces coming together as I prepare to go. Making sure all the contacts and networks in my head were shared with the right people, that those taking up leadership with NFS and Amirah had everything they needed to carry things on while im gone (they will do an fantastic job of it!!). I finally went to the travel clinic and got 4 shots and had very sore arms last week - and ive been fighting off a cold for the past 2 weeks, but am feeling better. I am armed with Malaria meds and anti-biotics in case of stomach issues... i've nearly packed - and i am SO thankful to everyone who has been so supportive, but financially and will encouragement and prayer! I am enjoying seeing many of you the last few days - and soaking in the fun and fellowship of my awesome housemates.

Im excited to head off tomorrow - and would love your prayers that I will remain focused on the Hope that we have in Christ - and never get distracted by the depths of evil and darkness that surround us. It is amazing that God invites us to join him in this work of redemption! Thank you for being a part of it too!

Blessings, and we will write more once we land in India!

Nika
Praises (I attached my original letter, in case you need a refresher on our trip and team)

• Logistics: The logistics have ironed out incredibly smoothly! Visas, tickets, medications, clothing, housing etc. It has been amazing. People have helped us out with practical advice, gifts and borrowed items. It has been incredible.And, we are pretty much all packed!
  
• Fundraising: Are you kidding me? It's as though God wanted to leave no room for doubt as to whether his abundant blessing is on this trip. The trafficking awareness and (super tasty) fundraising dinner at our house was BEAUTIFUL, well attended and incredibly encouraging! The money continues to come in just as we need it. People have been remarkably generous, often giving magnitudes more than they originally pledged. We have received several large gifts, both to the abolitionist work and for my family's particular expenses. This is quite a praise. Also, very generous people have lent us money or made purchases for us to tide us over until our income and fundraising can cover our expenses. This has helped cash flow and made it possible for us to do everything more or less on time.
• Other family Financial: I got a job! It starts when I return, is designed for my special interests, and is half-time, so allows me to spend half of my time writing and doing abolitionist work. I also received a fellowship from BU Law to help further my work in the abolition movement, so now I am on faculty there through June! These funds will help with some of the prayer requests below :). Another praise is that I was able to do various workouts with all but one of my student loans that came due while I still did not have a job.
• Spiritual: Our family continues to be very excited and to have tremendous peace about this trip. God's peace and encouragement has been with us strongly, directly, through each other and through others, like you! You have offered so many words of encouragement and support that have cheered our hearts.
  
• Professional: Consuela's school and Marcos's job have been very encouraging. They will both be able to work in India and maintain their studies, workload via internet posts from their respective workplaces.

Requests:

• Safety: Please pray as you are led, and let us know if God puts anything on your heart to share. This includes spiritual safety, as well as physical and other forms of safety. It also includes the safety of our material possessions. That they'd function well, that I wouldn't break things, and that no one would steal our stuff (unless God has purpose in that).
  
• Personal: Marcos and I are coming through a very tough year. We have only just come up for air, but God has been so gracious to both of us. We are newly healed and healing. Please pray that this trip would be a continued healing balm and that our marriage and love would bring God and us delight and glory. Also, that I would continue to grow in my ability to receive love and to feel emotional love, joy and passion. Pray that I would withstand the temptation to replace God with other relationships and rather that God would use those relationships to bless me and others through his designs and effort, not mine. This has been an area of intense pain and challenge for me my whole life and even in recent days. I think it spiritually relates to the work of trafficking, but I am just beginning to learn how. Please pray for my protection and learning, as well as for increased spiritual maturity and faith in this area.
• Financial: I have some remaining student loan stuff to work out. It'll get sorted, but some of the timing issues are a bit tricky. Pray that I remain diligent, and that one lender, in particular, is a bit more consistent and easier to work with.
• Pray that C has fun! And develops meaningful relationships with people her age and others.
  

Mission

• We want hearts that see and understand God at work, especially in those unexpected or lowly places.
  
• We want to be good listeners, encouragers and supporters, especially of his people.
• We want to be infused with God's vision.
• Nika is bringing some materials from the law school to share with local non-profit, business, government and church leaders. There is a possibility that the school would send students and professors for future training and/or logistical support on legislative and other responses to social and public health ills, like trafficking, if the folks in Kolhapur and beyond are interested. Prayer that God would make his will crystal clear in this area.
• We want to encourage the children, women and others involved in trafficking that God's love is available right now, even as we seek long-term solutions for their natural bondage. Pray for continued deliverance and that God would use broken people, like us and those being trafficked, to shine his light and message to all of India and beyond!
• Pray for great relationship building and that the Holy Spirit's unity, love and humility would pervade all of our interactions with his people.
• We want to have fun! And to be fun for others. God's joy is so important. And it's his desire that we rejoice in this gift of life on earth.
• Pray that the local churches are also catching God's vision for tearing down the system of trafficking and building up his Kingdom of love and justice in its place. Pray for God to inspire individuals and connect us to them and them to each other according to his Master Plan.
• Pray for healing, spiritual and natural, for all involved.
• We need the continual outpouring of God's resources and not to be deceived by the candy and pretty tricks that the enemy waves before us. At the same time, we want to work lovingly, strategically and sensibly with people of all religious and secular backgrounds, rich and poor, high positions and low.
• Pray that our team will be filled with respect and love for one another. So far, so good. And for uplifted and positive spirits and perspectives.
• Pray for the right connections with the right people. Including both large groups, like World Vision and International Justice Missions, and small groups, like this powerful group of intercessors who has contacted us. We've also made contact with a trafficking law firm. Pray for focus and God's viewpoint as we make difficult decisions about how to focus our time and activities.
• Pray for wisdom with issues of confidentiality around the child trafficking, in particular. These sensitivities cannot be discussed here, but feel free to contact us using a gmail or other secure account (url address says "https:" instead of just "http:" if you'd like to pray more specifically.
• Pray for money laundering, caste oppression, sex addiction, and self-loathing strongholds to be brought down with mighty roar that brings glory to God and releases justice, love and freedom! May his Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!

back home!

wow- im back in Boston! sorry for not being able to update my blog... we only had internet through nika's iphone with limited bandwith so now its time to go back through and post the email updates... I will also be reflecting on what everything means now that im Back. God has clearly said that this is still His story- back in boston he is working and there is much to be done. I know whatever i do in the future has been influenced by my time in India, and i hope to go back before too long! i will share more in real time soon... but im going to post up the emails now.
thanks for reading, and praying!