Thousands more die...

Please pray

This is a request for prayer for YWAM missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India.

Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India. We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribal's have be en slaughtered.

For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.

In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.'

Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside.

The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in a house and burned them to death.

Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At an orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said, "We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.'

More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down.

The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for God's Kingdom. Pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Prayer works!

Blessings, Chip & Sandy Wanner Col 2:2

MBI Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines

It's getting worse!!!

The persecution in India is getting much worse!!! Sadly, hundreds more people have been brutally injured and hospitalized. The violence is spreading all over the country as well. It's no longer one isolated area. One of the worst parts is that the Indian government is simply standing by and letting this happen!!! They aren't doing anything to try to stop the violence! It's horrible to hear of these tragedies from a distance and feel so helpless. The only thing we can do is pray. Let's stand together in prayer so that this in-humane nightmare may end!

Urgent Prayer Request from India

Dear Friends,

I urge you to stand with us in prayer, am sure you are aware of the ongoing violence against Christians in Various districts of Orissa a Hindu pre-dominant state. The reason for the sudden escalation of violence is a Hindu priest was killed by the Maoists, for which Christians were made scapegoats by the Hindu activist groups. These Hindu groups were already angered at the growing rate of conversions, and used this incident to unjustly turn against Christians. As a result Christians have been victims of violence instigated by two major Hindu groups by VHP and RSS. They have destroyed 600 churches, killed more than 25 people, 4000 people are hiding in the jungle out of fear for being killed with no water, food or shelter, and thousands are living in relief camps. A nun was gang-raped and murdered, another one was burnt alive. A pastor's throat was slit and he bled to death. Two pastors were killed last week. A handicapped person who couldn't run was burnt alive right before his brother's eyes who was helpless by an angry mob. Thousands of houses have been destroyed. There are endless stories of brutally Christians being tortured for their faith, it's a reality right here in India a so-called democratic secular front.

We want guys on your knees crying for these dear ones and martyrs of the gospel. We don even feel like eating when we hear the news of our brethren under such great persecution.

If u guys would feel led to support the victims , please let me know I know pastors and missionary organizations whom we can channelize it through. Above all pray that God of Elijah would intervene supernaturally and protect his children.

God bless,

Pastor Caleb, India

I'm Home!

I'm HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! India was an incredible trip! I'm soooo glad to be back! I missed everyone so much while I was gone! It's great to be in America again, America really is a GREAT country!

Please keep checking my blog, I will continue to post lots of things up here. I'm off to see my family, more later!

Leprosy

We arrived safely in Chennai. The time here has flown by so fast! I can't believe it's already Sunday and I'm getting ready to go back home on Tuesday! Our time here has been great!

This week we visited 2 leprosy colonies and an aids hospital. To tell the truth I was not very excited to visit these places. I hate hospitals! It wasn't as gruesome as I thought it would be, but it was still very eye opening. Do you know how hard it is to look a 8 year old girl in the eye and see her total lack of hope. She wouldn't smile at all. I don't blame her. She has aids and will die in a couple years or so. The conditions of the "hospital" resembled more of a Zoo and I'm told even the pigs won't eat the food served there. Yet these people have no other place to go. The leprosy colony wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, but still very sad. It's very strange to see people with no fingers, only a stump of a hand. They are also very hopeless. It's tragic.

On a happier note, I leave for home on Tuesday! My final flight arrives on Sept 3rd around noon. Please pray for my return journey. It will be VERY LONG! (I have two 5 hour layovers!) Please also pray for my safety! I can't wait to see everyone when I get back! I miss you all so much!

~Audrey

Leaving Rajahmundry

Sadly, in seven hours we will be leaving Rajahmundry. We will be heading back to Chennai for our last days in India. Rajamundry was great! It was also CRAZY! We interviewed over 200 sponsor children! They were all so cute! I'm very excited that Living Hope has taken the initiative to help these kids! They sure do need it! THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who sponsor a child! WE will be sending you more info as soon as possible. (We have 200 profiles to short out and limited internet, so your patience is GREATLY appreciated.) If you don't already sponsor a child I highly recommend that you sign up for one! Contact Living Hope Church for more info.

Well, I'm off to finish packing! Please pray that we will have a safe train ride back! I'm not really worried about it. Dr. Kumar is coming with us and the ride here was fine. Still, prayer is always needed!

Thanks!

Speaking out in Faith

God has really been doing amazing things in me. On Sunday, I was prepared to share about Joshua (during a church service we put on). Suddenly, ten minuets before I was going to start talking I felt God asking me to talk about a completely different subject! I began to feel a little uneasy! I mean you kidding right God? How am I supposed to know what to say ten minuets before I speak?! I jotted down a few notes I thought God wanted me to talk about, only about 5 minuets worth of talking if I stretched it! I thought for a second maybe a compromise would work. I'll talk about what I planed on talking about and then kind of encompass the new subject for a few minuets at the end! The little voice in my head said, "That's NOT faith! How much do you trust me? Step out completely! Talk ONLY about what I told you!" Me, "Wow this is crazy! I mean their expecting me to share for half an hour! What if I run out of things to say?" God, "Trust me." "Ok, I'm going to jump, YOU BETTER CATCH ME!" I walked to the front, full of adrenaline, ready to speak. I was so excited to see what God was going to do! I knew I had trusted Him and he was going to do something great that evening! Well, he did! Line by line he gave me analogies and words to say! And I didn't just casually speak them either. I was very excited, and passionate about what God told me to say. It was amazing! My best sermon yet! Thanks God! : )

On a more shallow note; Today we went shopping, it was crazy cuz Jean (Mrs. Kumar) went with us and we had our own driver and were accompanied by a body guard! They even carry our shopping bags for us! I feel like royalty here. As guests we are not allowed to work at all. Not even to sweep our bed room floor or to take out our trash. Not even to take our plates to the sink after eating! I kinda like it but it feels strange. The only thing I miss doing myself is cooking! We eat the same thing for lunch and dinner every day. Deep fried potatoes, deep fried carrots, fried chicken, rice with cardamom, and chicken curry. I feel so pressured to eat here. Jean serves us BIG servings. And she’s always telling us to eat lots now and lose weight when we get home! Often I’m not even hungry when it’s a meal time but I sit down and she still serves me a big plate of food! I feel like I’ll offend her if I don’t eat it! But I can’t! Also today it rained very heavily and all the laundry the maid hung out to dry got soaked. Guess we won’t have any more clean clothes for a while! Lol

Dr. Kumar

Tuesday we took the train from Chennai central station to Rajahmundry. It wasn't as bad as I though tit would be. It was a cooler slightly over cast day, which pretty much saved our lives because the coach we rode in had NO A.C.! The seating was a little cramped and yes creepy Indian men starred at the WHOLE time. Apparently they don't think starring is rude here and some of them act like they've NEVER seen a white person. The men will literally stare at you unblinkingly for hours on end. It's very awkward!

After an 8 hour train ride we arrived safely in Rajahmundry. Dr. Kumar was there to greet us as soon as we stepped off the train. He was escorted by the usual 2 body guards. (Alisha and I nick named them Mikey and Bubah, we have no idea what their real names are.) His body guards follow him everywhere he goes. Dr. Kumar took us to his home where we would be staying. He has 3 sons. The middle one, Alver, is VERY lively and reminds me of my brother Andy. (I sure miss him!) He likes to watch power rangers and does his own highly energetic version of Karate! Dr. Kumar has a servant who does all the cooking and laundry for his house hold. At every meal the team, the four of us, sit at a table and are served food by his wife. She treats us so well! None of us is allowed to lift a finger even if it's just to refill our water glass. I feel like we are staying at the presidents house! Complete with body guards and servants! Dr. Kumar is a very nice man. He speaks very good English. He's also a very schedualed man. But when you have as much to accomplish in one day as he does I guess you have to be. We also live very routine lives here. Which is very different for spontaneous me

Rajahmundry has a bad side too. The least of our worries is the power cuts. Which are even MORE often and last even longer then they did in Chennai. It's miserable here with out fans and A.C. But that's not the worst part! The worst part is the hatred of Christians here. There is a group of people here wholly dedicated to demolishing Christian efforts. People here are allowed (I would even say encouraged) to openly persecute Christians here. That's why Dr. Kumar has body guards! We have to be very careful what we do. On the train ride we were strictly warned not to talk to anyone. Hindu fanatics have killed Christians here before, and it wasn't a long time ago that it happened! Please have no fear for us. Dr. Kumar knows how to be careful and God is protecting us. I say this so you will pray for us not so that you will worry for one moment. If anyone needs to worry it would be me, and I'm not worried so you shouldn't worry either! Just pray.

God is still teaching us so much! If I were to right about it all it would fill a whole book! I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back. It's been amazing to see how everyone on the team has realized and developed their spiritual gifts. There has been prophecies fulfilled in our coming here and prophecies given us while here. It so crazy how God continually confirms that I am supposed to be here. There's no doubt in my mind I am exactly where God wants me!

Wednesday, we went and visited the children's orphanage that Living Hope Church sponsors. The power was out so it was very dark. To small candles lit the crowed room where 90 children sat in perfect rows. The children all stood and greeted us as we entered. "Good evening Father, Good evening Mother..." They call all visitors from America father or mother because we are like fathers and mothers to them. The children were perfectly behaved! They say us a song in their native language accompanied by some native drums. It was the most amazing sound I've ever heard in my life. I'm sure heaven itself couldn't make a more beautiful noise! It gave me goose bumps. the children continued to sing to us song after song for half an hour! Then we had to leave so they could do their home work. I can't wait to see the children again!

We visited orphans in Churches. They have no place to stay so they return to their church every night. There a church family takes them home to feed them and let's them sleep on the floor ever night. We are hoping to get these children sponsors soon as well. Right now they are sleeping on dirt floors.

On a side note; these are the children that Living Hope Church is helping find sponsors for. For $30 a month you can sponsor a child. That means that they will be able to receive 3 meals a day, an education, a place to sleep and medical care.

Gypsies and Rag-pickers

We visited the rag pickers and showed them some movies outside on a big screen. They were so excited we came! One movie was in Tamil, and one was the Jesus movie. Five of them came forward and accepted Christ as their savior! I got to pray with three of them! It was awesome to get to see some fruit. They had been waiting for 2 years for someone to some show them the movie! This was the first time someone had come to show them a movie where they live. Please pray for the new believers. Several of them requested that we pray for their family difficulties. One lady in particular said her mother has been missing for 5 days. No one has the slightest idea where she is, or even if she’s alive.

We visited the gypsies and took them rice. It was Crazy! We had to be really careful the way
we handed it out. They are very wild people. In the past when others have given them rice they have broken out in fist fights and have tried to take rice from other families. They will try to get more than their allotment of rice and cheat others out of their rice. Caleb said today went the best. No fights broke out (although there was lot’s of yelling) and everyone received a fair share of rice and lentils. It was really good to know that they won’t be going hungry for a while. We were going to put up a big screen out side and show them the Jesus movie, but it started pouring buckets of rain so we had to postpone it. : ( Please pary we are able to reschedule it sometimes before we leave.

Random Updates

Thanks for all your prayers guys! We all really appreciate it! We need your prayers everyday. I'd like to send a BIG thank you out to all of you who prayed for James. He's doing much better, and hasn't had any attacks since the one I witnessed on Sunday night. Thank GOD!

Please pray for Persilla. She operates the Christian daycare. All of the children that attend come from very low income homes and their parent are Hindu. She was physically attacked last night by something. She was at her house alone in her room when strange things began to happen. Toys and things were thrown at her from different directions. The next morning her whole body was so swollen she couldn't remove her blouse. Her work is very important. Please pray for her safety and courage. She is at the forefront of a spiritual warfare.

Today we went to visit the gypsies. They literally live in the dirt. They sleep in the dirt and eat in the dirt and their children are born onto the dirt. It’s so sad. They live among piles of trash. The few rags we saw strewn across the surrounding scraggily bushes, were actually their laundry drying! We will visit them again in a couple days and take them some rice.

On a random note, a wore my first Saree yesterday!!! I was soooo excited! It was royal purple. It's difficult to wear 9 yards of fabric wraped around you! One false move and the whole thing falls off! So, don't stand up too quickly! lol I managed to wear it all day with out any embarrasing aacsidents! (YAY!) I wore it to Cableb's church and then 2 other churches.

Serious Prayer Request

Please pray for James if you get the chance! He is/was (I'm not really sure how to describe it) demon possessed! Saturday AND Sunday night he went crazy! Well, it wasn't him it was a demon! It was the craziest thing I've ever seen! I wasn't there the first time but I just so happened to be there on Sunday night. It was crazy! The room he was in was deathly still and everyone instantly KNEW something supernatural was going on! He suddenly became unresponsive to stimuli and then tried to run towards the train tracks!!! Several boys and leaders from the church tried to hold him back. He a really small framed boy but it took FIVE of them to keep him. He began rolling around on the floor and if any one from the church put their hand on him to pray he would tear it away. His eyes were closed the whole time, but they still had a really creepy look to them! I wasn't afraid for myself at all. I knew IT couldn't touch me. So Summer and I just prayed and prayed and then we started singing, pretty soon the whole room was singing. After about half an hour the demon left him and he began to come back to himself. This demon isn't going to leave him alone without fasting and prayer! Justin and I fasted and prayed over him all day today. Please add him to your prayers. His parents are involved in a lot of evil thing that we believe are contributing to James' demonic problems. Thanks so much for your prayers!

A Darkness You Can Feel

We never know what to expect in India. No matter what you plan the day before when you wake up in the morning all bets are off. In the words of JRR Tolkin “It’s a dangerous world out there. Stepping out side your door, you never know where the road will take you.” This morning we were woken up by Caleb asking us to join him on a prayer walk. Thinking he meant a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood we all got up and put on our savalkamies. It wasn’t longer before we realizes we were in for something different, we had NO idea just HOW different it would be. Caleb’s friend drove us to Uthera Meadu one hour away. After driving for an hour in a cramped car we arrived in a busy dirty village of Uthera. The streets there were like many others I’ve seen in India; dusty, filled with lots of different sized vehicles, and lined with rickety shops on the edges. But above the grim and sights and noise there rose a huge tower, solid and white. Boldly standing against the sky, beckoning its heathen worshipers to flock to its gates. Caleb and the other pastors that had been riding with us went to a prayer meeting. They left us with a local guide to show us the temples and shrines in the city. The 1st temple we visited was of modest size, built of large cut block stones one on top of another. We left our shoes at the temple gate and walked across the HOT stones to the temple door. From the first stone to the last step before the temple door colorful and intricate designs in chalk paved the way. The temple door was a heavily carved wooden door painted blue. The heavy door was bolted shut by a huge lock. Through the key hole we should see a single flickering candle somewhere, everything else was pitch-black inside. A faintly eerie feeling began to creep around us. We knelt at the temple door and prayed against the darkness. We prayed esp. for the all those in the town living under the temples bondage. We prayed that they would find God’s light. We prayed for a Long time. Then we crossed back over the hot stones and went on to the next temple.

The next temple was huge! Obviously the biggest of the 3 we visited by far. It was only 3 levels but it was well over 3 stories tall.
We stopped under the huge white stone gate to remove our shoes. To ole women sat begging under the gate. A table selling mini idols and prayer beads also sat under the tall gate. The barefoot walk from the gate to the temple was even longer then the last place and the stones were even hotter. As soon as we entered the first floor of the temple we all felt creeped out. The feeling that something very dark and menacing is lurking close by. As we entered the first room our eyes began to adjust to the darkness. We began to see that the room was very large, reaching far back to our left and right. Large shapeless objects covered with cloth were on either side. At the end of this room we inter a narrow hall way. A Shaw man welcomed us to his temple. He looked like something out of a movie, exactly how I would have pictured a Shaw man. He was a dark man, about my height, with a round belly, he wore only a cotton skirt, and a string tied across his chest like a sash. On his forehead was painted the customary doted U. He lead us to the back of the hall where 2 carved idols stood. They looked menacing and creepy. Wrapped in Saree's and adorned with flowers they stood slightly taller then a grown man. They were black and sticky as if they had been drenched in blood. A small flame burned between them. The priest reached into a small bowl next to the idols and drew out what looked like 5 crystals. He placed one in each of our right hands. Our guide promptly popped his into his mouth. After a series of grunts and hand gestures we understood that it was something like rock candy. Candy or not, there was NO WAY I was about to eat anything that had been offered to a Hindu god! The priest also gave each of us a string of jasmine flowers. We were expected to eat the rock thing, but there was no way we were going to. We quickly left the room and went on the next floor.

The stone steps scorched our feet as we ran quickly to the next level. The next level had a smaller even darker chamber. It also contained two dark carved idols that were even creepier then the first ones. You could walk around the outside on the second level. There was three stations each facing a different direction were there was a covered idol that you could look at. In front of each one there was a tiny bowl where incense burned.


To be continued… dun dun dun

The Battle

I miss all the luxuries of living in America (YES LUXURIES!!!) You are so fortunate to be in the U.S. where everything is at your fingertips. A place where witch doctors and demon possession are only things you talk about, NOT EVERYDAY occurrences. Where "black magic" is common and powerful! It's sink or swim here! A constant battle against the current of a very prevalent evil. For the people living here, choosing God means to be completely cut off from family and probably public discrimination. To choose not to follow God means to live in extreme darkness! (Yes, many of the Christian here WERE demon possessed!) For me, it;s still sink or swim. We are constantly under attack here! To stray even one step from God would mean ruin. We constantly seek strength from God in prayer and through the scriptures. I know this is exactly where God wants me! I can't imagine being anywhere else. I am needed here. a vital part of the team. I am teaching and preaching and sharing and even singing to the people here! But I am also learning SOOOOOOOOOO much! I know this was God's timing and He wants me here! However, do not think for one moment that this is easy! This is my GREATEST challenge! Everyday is a battle, everyday filled with unexpectedness. We must be constantly alert to what God is doing and on guard against what satan is attempting! I LOVE being here! & working so hard for something I know is so worth it! As I write this, I cannot help but smile, for God has filled my heart with peace.

~Audrey

The Tuttor Centre

One of our projects while working here is teaching in the evenings at a “Tution center” It’s a place where street vendors children can receive free tutoring. These children are so poor! They attend regular school during the day. But the teachers work ethic at their school is so low they hardly learn anything. Instead, the teacher sends the children on errands to buy her food and work in her garden! So the children come to the tution center so they can really learn. In addition to homework help, we teach the children English (otherwise not taught at their school). The tution center is also a great opportunity to teach the children about God. I LOVE teaching the children there. I have a group of about ten 1-3rd graders. They are so eager to learn! It’s amazing to see so many eager, dark faces looking up at you expectantly with eyes shining! Their faces are bright but their clothing is torn. They sit on the hard, dusty cement, they don’t even have matts to sit on! ( I wish I could buy a bunch of them.) Their writing utensils are sad. Often only 1 pen or pencil and a small note book with a few thin pages in it. The tution center is a small building, about the size of a trailer home. It was a rickets wooden door, 2 windows and a dusty cement floor. The 2 chalk boards that hang on the wall consist of a sheet of plywood painted over with chalk board paint, leaving the writing surface rough and bumpy. They don’t even have a chalk eraser! They use tiny bits of cloth instead.

~Auds

Every Day Differences

Life here is very different. Nothing is reliable! The power goes out here at least once a day! Sometimes the government shuts it off for a couple hours or a couple days. Sometimes it goes off due to a storm or a technical glitch. Everyday, when the lights flicker off and the fan stops, we hold our breath in the sweltering heat, hoping it will quickly turn back on! It’s so hot with the air off! It’s hot enough with it on! Not to mention it makes internet usage even more rare with no power! Besides electricity difficulties, the English here is different here too. They use British English here. They pronounce words the British way like koo-pon instead of the American quew-pon. They also use some British words I’ve never heard before. Also, lot’s of people go barefoot over here. Mostly the poor because they have no shoes. It very sad to see them walking around barefoot in the dirt among garbage and excrement. People also go barefoot in houses and churches. I never felt uncomfortable taking off my shoes at places in Korea, but I do here. Things here are so dirty. But one must do as the natives do! Church is different too. Kinda more like an all black church from the south except everyone’s Indian. Women in church often cover their heads during service. Almost all women do during prayer. I suppose that’s not so strange, the Hebrews used to. The clothing here is beautiful!!! It’s also really comfortable! The women here wear Sulvalkamies (long shirt like tops and baggy pants underneath) or Saris (a looooooong scarf wrapped around them.) The fabrics are silks and cottons in a beautiful rainbow of colors and designs! I love wearing them! Did I mention that the “rules” of modesty are completely opposite here? You can show your whole midriff but to show knees or shoulders is shocking!

I miss being home!

~Auds

Arrival in Chennai

Well, I arrived safely in Chennai! The flights from Korea to India weren’t to bad. Somethings went better then I though and some were much worse! It took 3 flights to get me to Chennai. They weren’t too long but I had a 5 hour layover in Bangkok Thailand. It was sooo confusing there! The air port was GIGANTIC!!! Much bigger then any other airport I’ve been in before! I’m pretty sure I was THE ONLY “white” person there. Everywhere I went EVERYONE stared at me. There were mostly all men in the airport, so I felt REALLY uncomfortable! I travel alone a lot but I’ve never had people stare at me so awkwardly before! Not even in Korea! Also, I was really hungry and wanted to buy food but food there coast 1,300 bahts. I had NO idea how much that meant in American dollars! It could mean $50 or it could mean $5.


My friends and I are staying with a family that lives in a little house off the HWY near some train tracks. When I say HWY I’m referring to a 2 way dirt/semi paved road. The hwy median is some times random scraps of big sheets of metal and some tines a broken cement curb. It’s difficult to say how many lanes there are. Often there are no lane markings which is just as well because people never follow the lane markings anyway! They seem to prefer either driving in the middle of the road OR driving 4 cars across when there’s clearly only 3 lanes marked. I was right about one thing, driving here is even more CRAZY then in Korea!!! Anyhow, the home we’re staying at has 2 bedrooms 2 baths a small living room and a kitchen. It’s very noisy here due to the constant honking on the HWY and the frequent passing trains. All three of us girls (Alicia, Alicia S. & I.) have crammed ourselves and our luggage into the extra bedroom. (A small room about the size of my own room.) There we sleep on mats on the floor. Justin is then left with the couch to sleep on in the other room.


The garbage here is astounding! Litter is EVERYWHERE! I’m not just talking about a coke can and a couple wrappers, I mean PILES of trash! They have absolutely no organized collection system. One of the lowest classes “Wrap pickers” go through all the trash turn in recyclable iteams for cash. That’s how they earn a living! They weren’t kidding when they said people pee on the road here! Most people do! You have to be careful when you walk to avoid wet spot and “logs.” It’s really gross.


It's VERY HOT and muggy here. But our hosts are very gracious and they're great cooks. So far so good.


Please pray for;

• my team and my safety!
• Also for the local church. They are hoping to start building a bigger building soon.
• Lastly, please pray against the great darkness in this regein. There is so much idol worship and demon possession here it's astounding!

I miss you all very much!!!

Bye for now! ~Auds

Leaving Korea

Hey Everyone!

Well. Sadly today was my last day in Korea. It has been a great trip! I've gotten to see traditional dancers, traditional music, the Coex Aquerium, the Wolrd Cup Soccer stadium, Geoje Island, Oedo Island (one huge exotic garden), the N tower, & several open air markets. The sights and smells here are all so different from those at home. Often the streets are grimy and sometimes nasty smells wafe by. (I'm sure it'll be much worse in India!) But the people her are un-usually friendly and helpfull!
The drivers here are insane! Esp. people on scooters! They will wip into the opposite lane of traffic while going twice the speed limit so they can pass up ten cars!!! Drivers here consider things like HWY medians, lane lines, speed limits and RED lights more like optional Guidelines then Acctual rules!!! I don't think anyone in this country has taken Drivers Ed! It's a wonder people get anywhere safely!

The food here is amazing! I stay away from the live baby octopus and shrimp n' anchovies pizza. But they sure know how to cook beef and noodles! Just don't ask where the beef came from, it's not nice to talk about politics! Right now the Koran's are (peacefully) protesting against their presidents decision to import American beef. Due mostly to the huge risk of mad cow disease!!!

Korean culture is so different then our own I could write a whole ten pager on it. (Don't worry, I won't) I like the way they dress more modestly and respect their elders more. I think America would be much better off if it could learn to appreciate & adhere to those values!

Sponsorship!

This trip is a huge undertaking, both financially and physically! I need both financial and spiritual support. I am looking for monthly financial supporters. I'm hoping to receive about $500 a month to cover food and travel expenses. Please consider supporting me. If you are interested in doing so, just send a check to Only God International (10702 NE 117
th Ave; Vancouver, WA 98662) and write Audrey Carson, India in the lower left hand memo. If you have any questions, contact Marlette Estes (marlettee@livinghopechurch.com; 360-944-3905). Also, please pray for me while I'm there. Here's a prayer list I borrowed from Marlette.

What to pray for:

Please keep your child and all the others in your prayers.
Please also keep Justin and Alisha in your prayers as they travel.
Pray also for Audrey and Alicia as they leave for India in July.
Pray for God to lead more missionaries to India to work with Dr. Kumar and others.
Pray for the hearts of those who will hear the good news of God's love when John speaks to them.
Pray for us as we work with this ministry. We will do our best to serve with integrity; stretch the funds to help as many people as possible; and communicate with you on a regular basis.

I am very excited about what God is doing in India! I can't wait to join the team and the work that has already been started there!

~Audrey

Korea

Well, I'm in South Korea right now. I've been touring around Seoul for a week with my choir, and now I'm heading to Susies house till July 8th. So far my trip has been great! The weather has been very warm and muggy but no rain! I've gone to an old folk village, a gorgeous palace, and several open air markets here. The markets here are crazy! They sell lots of clothing and goods and sometimes fresh fish. It's pretty crowded here and people don't think it's at all rude to push and shove you out of their way. There's also lots of men on scooters weaving in and out of crowds and driving at suicidal speeds! I almost got ran over several times!

Korea makes for an interesting trasition to India. I know however crazy or dirty thinkgs seem here they will be ten times worse in India!

Well my friend is here to pick me up now. I gotta go! More later...

~Auds

Plans for India

Hey Guys!
Thanks for checking out my new blog! Here I hope to record all my up-coming travels. I shall miss you all very much and hope to keep in touch with every one! I leave For South Korea this Sat. June 21st (on a school trip) and will be there for about 2 1/2 weeks. Then in mid July I will (if all continues to go well) head over to a children's orphanage in India. (My final destination being Rahamundry) I'm so excited for my up coming travels! It's been amazing seeing how God has just continued to open doors and pave the way for me to go!

I can't wait to get to India! The conditions there are appalling! The conditions people live in are animalistic at best! Once in India we will be helping set up the sponsorship program so that people out side of India can contribute to helping impoverished children get the nourishment, clothing, and Christian education they need. I will be staying at a children's orphanage for most of my stay in India, filling in where ever they need me. Possibly teaching and/or helping them learn English.

I will be in India until early September (if I decide to come home! lol). That's 2 1/2 months! I am praying that people will sponsor me month by month while I am over there. I really could use the support. If you are interested I'm thrilled! That's all the info I have for you now.

I'll post more up-dates soon!

~Audrey Carson