In Which They Become Dad and Mom

A year ago, I saw glimpses but now there is unrelenting and indescribable joy pouring from the holy spirit’s work inside. I look at her and long to learn it in my own life. She is beautiful, in her yellow saree, gracious in her slow and gentle words. She makes the little ones speak to us in English , pointing their shy, little faces upward with her palm. She is fearless in her loving discipline of the older ones. They call her Auntie and the respect illuminated daily is unreal. She is mom to many here.

And this week, she became a mom to us too.

She is a servant of the gospel. She is always cooking and visiting and laughing and explaining and translating. Her prayers are meek and gentle, beneath her covering of reverence to He who has overcome. Her posture before the Lord in prayer in itself, offers glorious testimony to His grace in her life. I am challenged by it. Even her words, calm and quiet in recognition of His greatness in our lives. I appreciate the spirit of meekness at work inside of her. She laughs at the days to come. It’s a trust unsettled deep inside my heart as I fret and fear and plan for the tomorrow that isn’t even promised.

This week, they bought us Sarees and before the nights’ end they flawlessly answered to “mom” and “dad” at the sound of our voices.

  

There was something fitting about their protection over us and their love for us that became overwhelming standing in that little fabric shop as they chattered over which color saree would look best on Syd and I. Dad pointing to one and mom to another. Back and forth they went, language we couldn’t understand but with a love that made perfect sense. It came out quietly at first, unsure how they would respond to us offering up such a title.

They laughed and grinned. So we just continued saying it. And it has stuck.

Dad tied the scarf around his neck to show us how to do it and I nearly fell onto the floor in such laughter. [He has it off within seconds of us pulling out the camera, of course.] He then proceeded to tie each of our scarves around us and in this moment we were overwhelmed.

For this daddy-deprived daughter, it was a moment I could testify to the hand of God once again so graciously redeeming an area of my life once shattered. I don’t think I will ever forget this moment, where the God who has drawn me to Himself back home, came and touched me with a father’s love half way across the world. What grace!

It is a humbling moment for us all.

Sam (dad) is a dreamer, a visionary. God has surrounded this place with protection and favor. The testimony to this is unreal. Sometimes, when Sam is storytelling, I can’t even reconcile his words as anything but fiction in my limited mind. He preaches the word with boldness and cares for the least of these with more compassion then most. The plans God has given him for the future are abundant and I am excited to watch them come to life! I love just sitting across the table from him over dinner, listening to him carry on about more vision and dreams for this place. Either Syd or I always keep a notepad within arms reach now, as we have to-do lists everywhere. God is at work through dad, though, and it is so good.

Time with mom and dad is doing something in both of our hearts and I think they will forever be just that—our Indian daddy and momma.

Today mom was talking and said “Sam did this….” And she paused to correct herself. “Oh, I mean, dad did this…” What a blessing this little family continues to be. 

And what a blessing our extended Indian family is as well. I have never seen the body of Christ fleshed out as such a close knit family until arriving here.  It feels as though we have forever been family, sometimes. Even with the ones with whom I cannot understand a single word. That has to be only the holy spirit at work, right?

I am so thankful for the body of Christ. The one that made a way for us to come here for a month and the one that has so graciously welcomed us into their life for the month and far beyond, I imagine. Many times we find ourselves standing in front of church or parents or students and testifying to the hundreds of Americans praying for them right now. We tell of God’s provision for us to be here dealt out through the gracious hands of our church family and brothers and sisters back home.

They don’t know whether to laugh or cry and it is funny to watch their faces teeter back and forth as we stand before them.

They are grateful to you back home, friends. And so are we!! 

Daily, I find myself thinking about heaven. I’m catching glimpses and longing for the day more and more. Someday, ALL of us will fall to our faces before the Lord and cry out. All tribes, tongues and nations together at once. It’s a promise I can’t soak up enough, as I realize one day each of them will worship in unison with each of you. A bond unseen and never broken. We really are a family, all of us here in India and all of you back home in the U.S. God is great and greatly to be praised!

Today, we give thanks for dad and mom, each of you back home, and our family of Christ here in these villages. We are encouraged and exhausted!! Thanks for your prayers, always. 

In Which God Sets the Solitary in Families

It was actually the second sentence of scripture I ever learned back in those early days. I was desperate for the love of a family, and God had truly made Himself known to me through one. My three older siblings led me to Christ, and looking back it's surely a miracle that would make even the hardest of hearts want to believe in something or another.

God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Ps. 68:6

It is simple and hopeful and a promise.

The past few weeks of raising support for this trip have been marked with overwhelming evidence of this simple, hope-filled, promise. From family and friends across the country, near and far, today, we reached our support raising goal of $5,000--and far exceeded it.

But let me back track a moment here. A year ago when I ventured to India for the first time, I ended up not even raising half of my support--in the end, God gave me an income and it got paid off. So I entered into this support raising journey with a little more doubt and a lot less belief. Sure, I'd seen His provision in such miraculous ways these past months, and so I sort of decided this season of my cup overfloweth was running out? As in, it was time He blessed someone else instead of me.

I tell Him I believe and beg Him to help my unbelief, but as we are a week out and in need of nearly half the money, well, do I really believe?

On Sunday morning we needed $1,700 as a team in order to meet our goal. By 4pm on Monday, we exceeded our goal with a good bit of excess too. There were just two events that took place in those few hours. Sunday morning we were commissioned by our church. Sunday night we had a coffee and dessert open house as friends passed by to encourage us.

The church globally of course, are my brothers and sisters forever. And this little body in the rolling hills of NW Arkansas has become my family. It has been a process over these past two years, and seeing them gathered around us, praying for us as we go out, well it was all humbling.

[proof of the whole camping thing for you skeptics]

I have fallen in love with the church this year. In all of her imperfect, sinful, broken glory. And in the refuge of this body, God has restored and wained my ever-decietful heart of past hurts and sin that so easily entangles. There has been a family that took me into their home and taught me trust and grace. There are brothers and sisters in my season of life that have made a safe place to wrestle and grow in understanding of His word together. When they tell me they are praying, I know they are. There are several families that have paid me to work for them, though my only qualification was unemployed lover of Jesus. There are older men and women that pour into my life. A few of them even taught me to love internationals and then modeled how to study scripture with them. I have camped with these people. TWICE. Ya'll, I don't even camp, like ever. But in this community, I would do it again and again and again because it's real and I see Jesus more when I am apart of this body.

There is a legacy here. For a girl with a whole lot of generational garbage, it might just be the sweetest gift aside from Christ Himself. The day my "adopted grandpa" sang cowboy songs over lunch while the kiddos looked up with bug eyes, when he tells me about burying his daughter on the mission field and Polio at age six-teen and he opens his lips with the gospel pouring forth, praising Jesus more today. Well, that is the victory I'm fighting from. That's the leg of this body that's taught me the Groom really is enthralled by His Bride. And He is coming!

I see her preparing it is not without imperfection, but it is glorious.

Simply put, this body has given exceedingly, abundantly more then I believed was even possible and the recieving end is soaking in the glory today. It's all Christ, even this money is His and the testimony of how He has used these people in my life this year, this family--well that is all His praise too. His alone. In the flow of finances from Him to them to us for His namesake, all the way to the middle of the mountains of rural India--may HIS NAME BE PRAISED IN ALL THE EARTH.

May we honor Him in it's usage.

Do you see it yet? The way He places the lonely in a family?

It's a testimony many know too well in my generation, the loneliness that is. We have been hurt and we are hardened to trust. We get anxious at simply the talk of submission to anyone (particularly the church) and yet we so desperately desire loving relationship. But Christ says He is head of the church and it's members are to function like the body, grieving together, rejoicing together, and maintaining accountability.

I came in with a lot of hesitation and lot of doubt. These people have loved me through the fear and the pride and the sinner beneath it all. Relentless pursuit, a pointing back to the gospel. And I know Jesus more because of them. I am thankful for a Pastor that preaches the Bible expositionally and church leadership that aims to glorify God and shepard well. I am so incredibly in awe of the way this body has and continues to love on our international friends.

Before our India going away party!

Members of UBC, Syd and I are so incredibly humbled and grateful for the love you show us and protection and support you lavish on us. We are blessed to share of what God is doing at UBC with our friends and fellow brothers and sisters in India.

I urge you to commit to the local body of Christ, the church and experience this awesome picture of a family for yourself.

[India-bound in just a week and waiting to pack for another six days!]

Courtney