Tuesday, September 19, 2006


Bride and groom�s first words to each other were their vows, yikes!
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Once again we return to our regularly scheduled program... "India the Paradox."

We held a traditional Andhra Pradeshian pre-wedding ceremony. It involves, well no it is, a time when you smear the bride and groom with turmeric, a yellow spice, that's all. No one really knows why they do it but all said it had to be done. I think everyone was more excited about the turmeric fight that would inevitably occur before-during-or after the ceremony than the "ceremony" itself.

So on the day of the turmeric fete, the groom and the bride came over (separately of course). And they sat in separate rooms until their turn, where each one individual came out and was smeared with the yellow paste. It was a weird event we prayed for each one and then people took turns smearing some yellow on them while others ran around trying to smear other people with the turmeric.

And right in the middle of this impending wedding celebration, I heard a soft thud behind me. Moments later a young man came up to me and said, "Stephanie, look." He was holding a baby chipmunk that couldn't have been more than a couple days old as its eyes still hadn't opened. He had fallen out of his nest in the palm tree above and landed on the hood of the jeep. He was still alive and moving around a lot. For the next 15 minutes the young man and I cared for the little guy. I wasn't sure what the young man's motives were but mine were clear...guilt. Most of you may not know (b/c I sure didn't) chipmunks make the most annoying high-pitched chirping sound (hence the voices of Alvin, Simon and Theodore) and I have a palm tree right outside my door; yes, the very palm tree that Jr. fell out of. I didn't do anything directly to the poor little guy but I think a month or so ago I cursed his mother. You see, I was trying to write a blog entry and her chirping was SO loud and SO annoying that I just couldn't concentrate so I went outside and yelled at her. I told her, "If you don't shut up I swear I will get a BB gun and kill you and your offspring," and then I threw a stick at her to chase her away from the tree (and probably the little nest she was building). Seriously, I told her that and now I have her cute little boy dieing on the hood of a car... GUILT with a capital G!!!

So the young man and I brought Jr. milk and tried to feed him by dipping a stick in the milk and bringing it to his mouth (that didn't work so well). We tried to keep him on the jeep right where he fell so his mamma would come get him but then we got called away to the ceremony. So we left him for just a moment to go and celebrate the start of a new life of two young people. We were throwing the yellow around when we heard this loud chirp, as if to say, "Mamma or you two crazy humans...HELP!" We looked up and there was Jr. in the mouth of a crow. I screamed and almost fainted! The young man ran after the bird put it flew away with Jr. squirming and chirping in its mouth.
OHHH! I feel so terrible.
I sat there and wanted to cry but then I started thinking about how this one event seems like the most appropriate metaphor for India. A celebration and and tragedy all happening at the same time. And this was just a little chipmunk and a pre-wedding party.

Everyday a baby is born and abandoned or sold. Faithful wives die because they were infected with HIV from their unfaithful husbands. People die of Malaria even though the antidote is readily available. Children are dieing from dehydration caused by the water they drink.

India is a paradox.

A continuous spectrum of life.

Here nothing is hidden. Death, birth, sickness, celebration it is all out in the open. Sure they try to whitewash some things but all you have to do is pull back one layer of paint and you see the truth. The truth is not hard to find you just have to be willing to look.

Lately, I've been wondering if I should even look for the truth. India is hard enough to handle without really intentionally looking so I wonder and ask myself can I handle the truth? And all I hear in response is Jack telling me, "You can't handle the truth." And I know it is just Satan impersonating the over the hill movie star but I really wonder how did Mother Theresa do it? She was obviously a saint or something, and I'm just some white girl from Orange County, how can I possibly make any change here?

Now I know that this must sound so despondent but really I am ok. I promise! I am just sharing with you what I have been thinking about and which has to be a normal reaction to really experiencing a 3rd world country for the first time. I am not feeling hopeless or even considering giving up, I'm just wrestling with trying to make sense of it all.

Thanks for listening!
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Thursday, September 14, 2006


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You say scabies, I say scAbies. Scabies, scAbies, let’s call the whole thing off.

Yes, it isn’t pleasant, I know, but I have found it quite amusing. Amusing like one of those “dark comedies” you watch on a Saturday night when there is nothing else to rent and half way through you turn to the person your watching it with and ask, “I thought this was a comedy.”

We aren’t sure how I got it b/c they say a first-timer usually has “infestation” occur 4-6 weeks before the sores show up. And looking back now I can see I was showing signs that I could have been a carrier for up to 7 weeks ago (horribly itchy skin—one of the 1st signs of scabies). But it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I KNOW I came in contact with scabies when the doctor at the clinic had a little boy shake my hand before realizing why he was in the clinic…scabies breakout on his hand J So who really knows or cares how I got scabies, it is all apart of the developing country experience. And actually it has really helped me to empathize with the women enslaved in prostitution.
** The following may sound cheesy but it really has made this tolerable for me**
When my hands itch, I pray a prayer of thanksgiving that it is only my hands that are itching this badly. And then I pray for the women in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad, Delhi who are trapped in a life that is infested with STDs, constant physical pain, and emotional scarring way beyond what I am experiencing. I am humbled by the life I was given and am thankful for the lesson I am learning through this.

So don’t worry about me…pretty much I just had to post this b/c I enjoy people laughing at my expense. And beside they say the itching will only last for 2 more WEEKS.

I also wanted to thank everyone that has posted comments or sent me emails or are just logging on to check in on me and my wacky play-by-play. I really do appreciate all the encouragement and support you are giving me.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Saturday, September 09, 2006


On the stage at J.D. Seelam's father's memorial. Can you find me?
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Hebrews 11:1 faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.


The Memorial service for J.D. Seelam was well attended and I am sure it was very nice but I couldn�t understand what the people said during the 5.5 hours we were there. But seriously I was very honored to be invited, Mr. Seelam even requested I say a few words. Also to Mr. Seelam�s request we brought the Harvest India choir which was the highlight of the day.
We were scheduled to leave at 7am so I was dressed in a beautiful (borrowed) blue saree, hair washed and in place, coffee drank at exactly 7am. It was important that we leave ON TIME as stressed several times the day before by Suresh. And so I waited and waited. At a quarter to 8 we left although it was an hour drive and J.D. requested our presence at 8am. We arrived at 9:15 and no one noticed, so my anxiety ridden chest pains the entire way were all for nothing.

When the service finally started at around 10:45 someone decided that the rusty metal polls holding the tent up needed to be painted to look like the Indian flag. So as the choir is singing and dignitaries are coming in a man begins painting them. Only he realizes too late that there is no orange so he paints them red, white and green and they end up looking like the Italian flag. No one else thought it was funny but I got a kick out of it.

Mr. Seelam was so gracious to us. He brought us on stage to sit with all the big politicians and dignitaries and even had Suresh and Sudheer give a short message. You should have seen Suresh. He was like a LA scenester at his first Hollywood party; he kept looking over everyone�s shoulder to find the next VIP to talk with. He had a nice time and it helped to reignite old networks.

But seriously, what a miracle that we not only got to attend but were invited to attend. Mr. Seelam seems to really respect Suresh and even found out about Harvest India�s HIV/AIDS Center building projects and has offered to help as much as he can. Just the fact that he offered was nice but he followed up the next day to set a time to meet. We will be having a meeting with him on September 16 to discuss the building and operation plans for the 2 centers. God is amazing b/c up until now we had started to build (leveling the ground and building the compound wall) but we didn�t know how to proceed but God opened the door. He always does when his people step out in faith.

**********************Caution, Nonsense***************************
I mentioned it was a steamy day, right? Well, due to the steam and the huge amounts of dye they use to color their clothes I had quite the surprise when I came home. When I took off my saree I found that somehow though I was I alive it appeared that I was dead. My legs had turned blue; so blue it looked like death had set in. It was so bad I had to take a picture... Enjoy!
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Seriously, look how blue my legs are!Reminds me of Arrested Development Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 07, 2006

It Continues Like I Told You It Would

It happened to tonight… You know what they say…When you least expect it.

Yes that is right, the CREATURE, was avenged last night…da..da..da!

I knew his family of mutated indestructible slimy pests would not be satisfied until the laid their vengeance on me.

And so it was last night…

It was late as I crawled into bed, I pulled back the sheet, and tucked myself in.

Ahh, I forgot to turn off the lights (a strange thing I know—I think they were working some kind of mind warp on me).

I open my eyes and began to pull of my sheet and there right by my chin is a HUGE cockroach! (Not as big as its brother this one was only 2 inches as apposed to 3).

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh! I jumped out of bed grabbed my nearest flipflop and started whacking. I must have hit that thing 10 times but it didn’t want to die. Finally I squished it between two flipflops and threw it outside.

Now to go to sleep….
How do you go to sleep after that?
Most of you couldn’t sleep if you found a daddy longleg on your comforter.
Thank the Lord I have Jesus, is all I have to say. I prayed for the strength to close my eyes and fall asleep. And it worked, Amen!

Oh, you’re probably wondering about the sheet, right?
Did I get a new one?
No way, I did it Indian style; turned it over so I couldn’t see the mess and went to sleep.

Sweet Dreams!

Friday, September 01, 2006


Today is the last day of a 5 day celebration that marks the birthday of the Hindu elephant god, Ganesha. As I am writing to you I can barely hear myself think over the chanting, music played over huge crackling megaphones, fire crackers, honking horns, and the construction going on overhead. But life is good, electricity just came back on after 3 hours of blackout so I thought I would use this opportunity to tell you about the crusade we just did.

On August 23-27 Harvest India held its first of many crusades after the summer/monsoon break. God worked in miraculous ways at this crusade. Though this has been a relatively dry monsoon season the forecast during our crusade called for heavy showers. Praise God, for His control over the weather!. The first night showers broke out the minute we finished the closing prayer. On the last night, the audience numbered in the 10s of thousands and the sky began to open up and winds started to blow but after our prayers went up the wind subsided and the crusade finished without a drop of rain. What a powerful God we serve.!

During the day we would hold medical camps, mercy camps (handout food), and construct and dedicate water wells. I got to dedicate a well that a church from CA supported. These activities were strictly humanitarian as we always face adversity during crusades. Many forces were against us trying to shut us down but by the grace of God we triumphed. Many other crusades have been attempted by other pastors but failed, in fact, after the first night a pastor that had attempted one came and talked with Suresh until 1:30am about how he was able to succeed against all the persecution.

Suresh, his brother Sudheer and their PR guy ,Punna Roa, are amazing at networking and strategizing. You wouldn't believe who we had at the crusade; the PA to Sonia Gandhi.** You probably don't know him (I don't even know his name) but trust me he is HUGE in Indian politics, he came with 8 bodyguards with machine guns. And not only that, but he has requested Sudheer, Suresh, and myself to conduct his father's memorial service in a couple of weeks. Harvest India is finding amazing favor in the midst of a climate that is so intolerant of Christians-God is good!


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The following is for no real purpose. Just my thoughts...

For those of you who know me you will find this next statement hard to believe...

Indian food is soooo salty. I think the whole country has to be suffering from high blood pressure.

This has to be what is making me gain weight. Well, it could be the rice they force fed me three times a day in portions a sumo wrestler would have problems getting down.
But I really like to think the weight gain is b/c there is no Diet DrPepper here so I am stuck drinking Pepsi, not even Coke. If you find a Coke it is usually imported form the Middle East, which I found rather interesting considering there is a Coke factory down the street. But when I asked about this I was told that the government closed down the factory b/c it was putting pesticides in the soda. Sounds a little like a "rural legend" to me!

Anyway, I can rejoice in the fact that Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth.

Love you!!!!

**Sonia Gandhi was married to the last Prime Minister after her husband was assassinated she became active in politics as the dual chief of the 113 year old Indian National Congress and its Parliamentary party.
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Well Dedication. The people were so grateful and welcomed us with flower garlands and flower confetti
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Medical Camp: Administering preventative meds for Chicoon Goonya (sp)
He was not happy to see me!
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Mercy Ministry: When was the last time you waited in line for 1.5 hour for an egg, milk, and fruit? Posted by Picasa