Outside of the cultural truths I have been learning, God has been teaching me truths as well. I am learning that I am very prideful and doubtful. I have been praying for the Lord to help me in these areas. While I desire to be God's zealous yet humble servant I find my motives to be placed on worldly things and not righteous things. I would really appreciate prayer for this. I have been struggling with my doubt a lot. I'm seeing more and more that I have a lot to learn about God and his crazy ways. Please pray that I will be open and faithful towards whatever the Lord is teaching me. 

The orphanage is so much fun. If there were one place I would choose to live in India it would be there. The children are precious and the staff is wonderful. There is one boy, Ravinder, who is the oldest and is constantly helping the little ones with whatever they may need. He is always happy and willing to help. While I haven't gotten to know him real well I am very appreciative of him and I am in awe of his strong commitment to the Lord. One of the little ones I am really attached to is Maryam. She is new to the orphanage and doesn't speak Hindi, the language spoken in that area. She's about 2 years old. I have been trying to teach her how to use a writing instrument and while she hasn't gotten it yet I can see improvement each day. We also try to learn the ABC's and numbers there. Right now she only repeats what I say but I am convinced that she will learn more as I work with her. Outside of her academic improvement I am thrilled to see her grow socially each day. She was very, very quiet and pretty unresponsive but as she has gotten to know me she has started to loosen up. She calls me "Didi" which means big sister. I am teaching her to call me "Mama." I really want to take her home. J The children are such a joy and blessing to us. It's a privilege for us to see them when we do.  Also I have been trying to connect with the women working there. I really admire their wholehearted service to God and I feel pulled to encourage them in it. Whether it's talking about their home or doing little chores with them; I try to spend time with them in addition to the children each day. Their joy and devotion is inspiring to me. 

The leper colony is also interesting. The last time we went we taught one woman the "Macarena." It was great. We met another woman, Mary, who is very old but acts as if she is a child. She's hilarious; always cupping my face in her hands and pulling my hair out of my eyes. She is playful and sarcastic and makes the place pretty lively. The children there are desperate for our love and attention. We have been singing songs with them and doing a skit or a short activity. They are full of energy and need us to love on them. This is not always on simple task for us because of all the chaos they create but I think with each visit we get better at it. Prayer is pretty helpful too.

Living in the house has its ups and downs - as does living with anyone. One thing I really enjoy about the trip is the quiet time made available to us. While sometimes it is difficult for me to do it every single morning I find it to be more and more beneficial. 

While I can't go through all our individual prayer requests I ask that you would pray for truth and unity over our team.   Pray for our leaders to be strong in mind, body and soul and to give them encouragement as well. Pray for the leper colony that the people would be made aware of the true God and fall to worship him and only him. Please pray for the orphanages that the children would continue to praise God and live in his glory each day and that the staff would be encouraged and that all their needs would be met through the Body from all around the world. 

God Bless You!