Just How Did We Get to this Point? Part 3

Praise God, rather than becoming bitter and fearful (although, admittedly, there were (and are) moments of frustration and uncertainty), we chose to look to Him.  We felt a strong conviction to do as Daniel did - we began praying together 3 times each day.

And things began to change!!  

No, our circumstances did not change.  However, our outlook on our lives, our marriage, and our call to ministry shifted drastically - and we began to see the path God was nudging us toward.

Surprisingly, that path was leading straight to India!  In all the years of praying about Christian Ministry, neither of us ever envisioned overseas missions.  Yet, here we were seriously considering becoming Missionaries in India!

Madhav began doing a bit of volunteer work with LCMI in order to get a better feel for the ministry.  

And in June, 2012, Madhav and I both traveled to India in order to participate in 3 LCMI camps.  While there, we had the opportunity to teach the daily Bible class . . . and have a ton of fun with the children who came to camp!

  And, we continued to pray.

After returning from India, Madhav and I both felt God saying it was time to "take a leap of faith."

And, so, we applied to become missionaries with LCMI.  

That's where we are today.  We have decided to say, "Yes" to God's calling to India.

And LCMI has appointed us to join them in reaching the children of India.

Needless to say, we are SO excited - and absolutely terrified at the same time!

Just How Did We get to this Point? Part 2

I wish I could say that once that small spark was lit, it grew quickly into a roaring fire and we were soon on our way into ministry with Life Change Ministries International (LCMI).  But that wasn't the case.

In fact, rather than a smooth path toward  ministry, the next several years proved to be the most difficult years of our lives and our marriage.

Within the first 18 months of moving to PA, we welcomed our 4th and 5th children - our sweet daughter, followed by our fun-loving son.  

We moved into a lovely home and began to look for opportunities to serve God in various ministries.

"Our" plan was for Madhav to continue his engineering job while we began volunteering (on evenings and weekends) with various ministries in order to get an idea for what type of ministry we would like to pursue.

However, soon after moving to our new home, Madhav's job hours sky-rocketed.  Because his work-site was well over an hour away, he would leave for work on Monday morning and not return home until Friday night - staying in the home of a dear couple who lived near his work-place.

Being home only on weekends was not only difficult on our family, it didn't leave much time to get involved in any other ministry.  We were just trying to survive our daily schedules - the thought of Madhav spending more time away volunteering on the weekend went out the window!

We pleaded with God to change Madhav's schedule or job - and He did . . .

with two job losses within a year's time!  

That, of course, wasn't exactly the solution we had in mind!

Needless to say, the uncertainties and questions about our future in ANY type of ministry . . . along with the financial challenges of no employment . . . and the added stress of now seeing each other 24 hours a day (after rarely seeing each other) . . . brought us to a breaking point.

We were frustrated and angry - and we definitely didn't understand what God had in mind for us!

We realized that we had a choice:  we could become bitter about our circumstances and fearful of our future, or we could fall completely at the feet of our Lord and let Him handle things his way!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story!

Just How Did We Get to This Point? Part 1

Even before Madhav and I were married, we talked and prayed about a future involvement in Christian Ministry.  The problem was, we had no idea where or in what capacity!  Madhav was a mechanical engineer.  I was a speech therapist.  How in the world would God use us in ministry?

We were married in 2002.  Two years later our first son was born.  Another 13 months, and along came our second son - followed shortly by our beautiful first daughter.  And, still we continued to wait and pray.  

About a year after our 3rd child joined our family, Madhav received a job offer in Pennsylvania.  Although he really enjoyed his current job, we sensed God telling us it was time to go . . .

so, we packed up our family and headed north.

Our family at dedication service, shortly before moving to PA

When friends asked why we were moving to PA, we told them we believed God was moving us toward Christian Ministry.  Of course, the inevitable next question was,

"what ministry?"

And, our vague answer was,

"we have no idea yet."

As we settled in PA, we began to search for a church family.  Having grown up in the area, I had a general idea of the nearby churches and put together a list for us to visit.  However, one night, just out of curiosity, I did an internet search of churches in the area.  A church popped up with which I wasn't very familiar - Bible Fellowship Church of Ephrata.  Although the website was quite nice (and it did actually look like a church we might enjoy), what really caught my eye was an announcement about their upcoming mission's Sunday with special guest speaker, Sanjay Dalavai.

Now, having just migrated from the ethnically diverse DC area to small town PA, we were both surprised to see Sanjay's name (an obviously Indian name) on the list of speakers.

At the time, Madhav joked,

"We're definitely visiting that church on mission's Sunday.

Any church that is having an Indian guy speak, must be pretty good!"

We still laugh about that comment today.  Especially because it turned out to be right on target!

That Sunday, Sanjay shared about Life Change Ministries International (LCMI), a Christian Camping Ministry to the children of India.  Sanjay, director of LCMI, and his wife and three daughters were living in India in order to get the ministry up and running.  He was home only for a couple of weeks, and was at that church just for that Sunday to update the church on what was happening through their ministry in India.

Sanjay spoke about the more than 400 million children in India (did you know that's more than the entire population of the USA?).  He shared of the 18 million children who live and work in the streets of India - and the fact that only 2-3% of the country's population are Christian.

He explained how LCMI was partnering with local churches and pastors to identify children who needed to go to camp and hear God's word - and how excited they were about an added outreach to children with disabilities and their families.

Madhav and I listened that Sunday, quite intrigued to hear of LCMI's work with the children of India (Madhav's home country) and their special focus on children with special needs . . . and . . well . . . let's just say a small spark was lit that day in both Madhav and me.

(stay tuned . . . there's more to the story . . . )

Our Journey Begins . . .

 . . . actually, we've been on this journey for what seems like a LONG time!

Now, though, it's "official".

As of Friday night (February 8th), Madhav and I (and our family) became approved missionaries to I*a with Life Change Ministries International.

And, so, we begin another journey . . .

A journey of a HUGE life change.  We'll be changing cultures, and climates, and comforts.  We'll be teaching and training and trying to learn a new language.  And always asking God to bring about life changes in  the children of I*a as they personally encounter the Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, before that great move, comes a shorter journey:  one of preparing ourselves for what is to come while patiently waiting for God to say "Go Now".  We'll begin some training and language learning.  We'll start clearing out the house and making plans for life overseas.  And, most importantly, we'll be traveling and visiting and always sharing our story; building a team that will support us and stand with us as we go.

We're excited to finally be at this point . . . so stay tuned, there's much more to the story coming your way!