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.