Widows and Orphans

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

This verse has been weighing on my mind for a few days. My mental interpretation is "God is especially pleased when you're involved with caring for widows and orphans." Then I feel guilty. My guilt comes from the fact that I don't personally know (or can't easily think of) any widows and orphans. Adding another layer of guilt: I don't actively seek out widows and orphans in my community. 

The other night when I read this verse, something occurred to me that may seem obvious, but it sincerely lifted my spirit. "Widows and orphans" of James' time were the people who were helpless and neglected by society. Widows were powerless (couldn't own property or manage their own finances) and relied solely on the benevolence of others to live. Orphans were children who were completely alone; they needed guidance and someone to meet their very basic needs. These two groups of people have significant overlap, but I can now clearly see the verse is calling us to care for people who are lonely and/or helpless.

I know in the past I've specifically prayed, "God, please make me aware of *literal* widows and orphans so I can care for them." But once I realized that the verse is calling us to concern ourselves with people who are helpless and lonely, I was amazed by how many people God has placed in my life to help and spend time with. I don't know any widows or orphans, but I do know an old man who is lonely and a group of kids who just need to know somebody cares.

So, if you've read this verse before and thought "widows and orphans? how can I do that?" Then I would encourage you to open your mind to anyone who is lonely or helpless, and then try to serve and bless them as often and consistently as you can. With this idea in mind, I feel more willing and open to serve anyone in need who enters my life.

Oh, and if you are interested in helping literal orphans, I hope you'll consider India Child Sponsorship. Many of the children in this program are orphans or have parents unable to care for them. The school these kids attend and live at is directly involved with physical, spiritual, and emotional care for North India's orphans. I hope you'll become or stay involved with orphans in your community, but also consider supporting an orphan on the other side of the world.

Here we go again

1. Shin's doing well. He's getting the hang of things, keeping a positive attitude, and by the grace of God, I am too.

2. I made a 78 on my first TESOL final. That's like the worst grade I've ever made... I'm planning to keep up with the next course a little better. :-)

3. My Mary Kay party went great! I knew once I stopped fretting and just let God handle the attendance, that things would go much smoother. And they did!

4. My sister's coming on Friday night and she's staying a whole week and I'm SO excited!!!

5. India Child Sponsorship is still coming along well. It's so good to have a few people on board who really care.

6. I'm enjoying this Lent. I've given up TV. For anyone keeping score, we don't own a TV, but that hasn't stopped me from watching Conan, Castle, Saturday Night Live, New Girl, Psych, Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Once Upon a Time... What HAS stopped me from watching them is the realization that I spend at least 8 hours a week just numbing my brain. So, in an effort to spend my time more engaged in and aware of the life Christ has given me, I cut out all TV.

7. I'm reading a YouVersion (Bible) app 40 day Lent plan. It's walking me through the life of Jesus. I've basically come to realize I understand very little about the life of Jesus.

Can you recommend a book I can read to give me some of the historical background? I feel like His parables, teachings, and miracles should REALLY blow my mind, but most of them go over my head or seem normal because I've read them so much.

Please comment or email suggestions! Thanks.

Update

Okay, we're still here and life is still good. I just feel like I can't take the time to create a single, coherent post. And that when I do, I'm avoiding doing something else I should be doing. But I'll just do it anyway...

1. Shin just opened a new restaurant (he's managing, we don't own it). It's called Martha's Place and it's a southern buffet. So far, he's enjoying it but it's a lot of hours at first as he tries to figure out how things should go. (Please pray for him and me as we adjust to this new schedule/life.)

2. We are both enrolled in a Teaching English as a Second Language class and our final is due next week. It's REALLY hard. So, that's what I *should* be doing right now. I'm avoiding it for this post but I definitely need to jump on it and focus.

3. I'm hosting a Mary Kay party on Saturday and I'm nervous no one will come. Or no one will buy anything and I won't get my foundation and primer like I really want. This is clearly not the end of the world, it's just something I've been thinking out/preparing for. I'm really hoping my friends and coworkers can come through. I think it'll be a fun time if anyone actually shows up!

4. It's so humid here these days. Like, winter is 100% vanquished.

5. I miss talking to my mom. We're in different time zones now and it seems like our schedules never quite align like they did before. We have to schedule intentional talking time, which is different from when we talked just a little bit twice a day.

6. Karen and I are really trying to get in gear with India Child Sponsorship and that's exciting. I'm looking forward to strengthening and improving the program.

7. My sister (and possibly Julie) is coming for spring break. We're planning to go to the beach while she's here. This will be Shin's first trip away from the restaurant. I'm SO excited. About all of it. Really looking forward to seeing my sister.

8. I made a song about Lent to the tune of "Rent". It's pretty bad, but I still like it and it gets stuck in my head sometimes.

9. My cat's still alive and annoying. He's meowing riiiight now. (as I write this and probably as you read it)

10. Shin's home! Huzzah!

Church Annual Meeting

On the 13th, our church, Gateway Baptist had our annual business meeting. A lot was discussed, but I had to give a little blurb about the India Child Sponsorship program. What we've accomplished and what we're doing. Since you couldn't come, I've included the words I prepared beforehand and some pictures for you that people who attended didn't get to see (aren't you lucky? you get to see pictures and you didn't have to sit through a two hour meeting?)...

Hi, I’m Alycia & as most of you know, Karen and I have taken over leadership and implementation of the India Child Sponsorship program. We were a part of the team who went to India back in September and the primary reason we went was to learn the ins-and-outs of Bal Vikas Kendra or BVK. BVK is the school and children’s home Gateway partners with and we are currently seeking sponsors for the children who live there.

I know many of you prayed for us while we were in India and we sincerely thank you. Not only were we protected, but our eyes were also opened to the needs of the children in India. Just this morning, I was reminded of why I am a part of this program. The church prayed for a little boy named Ashraf who is 10 years old. I have about 30 pictures of Ashraf as he attempted to jump into every photo I took. On the playground, in the chapel, in the classroom, he’s in the background, foreground, and off to the side of many pictures. Ashraf was desperate for love and attention and I am so glad we all prayed for him today.

The reason I’m up here today is to share with you all what we’ve accomplished thus far and what we’d like to do next year. We have started the ICS program and gained sponsors for 50 children- at $40/month per child, our sponsors have sent about $12,250! This is fantastic as we are just getting started, but there’s still 185 children remaining.

We are excited about this next year and we have lots of ideas for getting the word out about ICS, however we need your help. One huge blessing we’ve had towards gaining sponsors is a “match” program that allows individuals and families to sponsor for only $20/month instead of $40/month. This has been an incredible opportunity, but as slots for that are taken- it leaves the majority of children needing commitments for the full $40/month.

We have many ideas for getting the word out about this program, but we need your help. Our major goal for the upcoming year is to get every child sponsored. We want to try to do that by reaching out into the community. We know not everyone is in a position to commit to $40/month, however we also know that everyone knows someone who doesn’t go to this church. Whether it’s your friends, family, or coworkers- there’s someone you know who hasn’t heard of ICS.

We have drafted a letter for you to adapt to help us spread the word. We have hard copies of the letter here and we can also send it to you electronically so you can modify it so it sounds like you. It’s a way to let people know that this is something you care about without feeling confrontational or awkward. A shout-out to ICS will make a great addition to your annual Christmas letter, or if you don’t do a Christmas letter, an ICS letter is a great way to start a tradition.

We also have a sign-up sheet for anyone who wants to sponsor a child, or be involved in helping us lead this program. Karen and I have volunteered to take care of the nitty-gritty details, but we cannot carry 185 children by ourselves. We need people who are willing to advise us and be a voice for the voiceless children of India. If you have been to India before, you are a perfect advocate. We need people committed to helping, praying, and letting others know about what God is doing in India.

So some actionable steps you can do right now-

1.        Sponsor a child

2.       If you’ve signed up to sponsor a child but you’re having problems with payments or automatic withdrawals, please let us know ASAP. We want to help you, but we can’t if we don’t know there’s a problem.

3.       Get a letter or sign up for an electronic copy of a letter you can send out to people you know.

4.      Let us know of any organization you might be a part of that we can come speak at.

5.       This is for everyone- pray, pray, pray. Please pray for the children, their families, their teachers & caregivers. Pray for Karen and I and for a group of people to come alongside us and help us.

Thank you so much for your time and for the opportunity you’ve given us to change lives.

India: Children

The reason we went to India was primarily for me to learn more about Bal Vikas Kendra (a school and children's home) and New Life Center (the parent ministry over it). We did visit many schools, but even outside of intentional children's ministries, there are still children EVERYWHERE in India. Just SO many children. Children ages 0-6 make up about 13% of the total population and ages 0-25 make up 50% of India's population. By the way, once you're 33 years old in India, you're essentially over-the-hill. Average life expectancy is 65 years old.
Anyway, here are some children we saw:

at an orphanage in Mussoorie

These boys were distracted by our visit to their school in Rishikesh.

Sandeep is 9 years old and lives very close to the forest. His home is always under threat of wild elephants (100% seriously. He lives in a house made of mud which can easily be broken down by an elephant. He walks daily to the school and is always excited to learn and play. His father is a laborer and his family lives in poverty. Please pray for him and for his family. (I learned this from his school Principal after snapping this picture of his soul-searching eyes and cherubic smile.)
 

Boys taking a dip in the Ganges.

Girls who traipsed over to a gawking passle of Americans just so they could say "hello" and flash us their brilliant grins.

We saw many children, such as the ones in the last two photos, who were completely unattended. I know in America we're super hardcore about always watching kids, being with kids, and never even feeling comfortable with teenagers out unsupervised. However in India, we saw 6-year-olds caring for toddlers as they toddled down busy streets.

I didn't even take pictures of the impoverished children who would tug at our clothing and put their hands to their mouths begging for money. Shin shared food with a pack of about four 5-to-7-year-old boys and a girl. Ugh. In America, you just never see children begging alone in the middle of the street. I feel like I can't even imagine the atrocities some of these children face. I also can't imagine leaving the 4-year-olds to keep each other company after school as their 9-year-old cousin plays with his friends and "babysits" until mom comes home late at night after cleaning houses.

Not everyone in India is impoverished and not every child is uncared for, but it is astoundinglygreater than what we face here. Oh, I have SO MANY more pictures of tiny faces that broke my heart with their unabashed smiles and giggles as they practiced saying "Good Mo'ning Ma'am" at any time of day. I know India (as any country, organization, or person) is incredibly complex, and it cannot and will not be fixed by just funneling money into poor people. However I firmly believe that something must be done. From Job to James, we are commanded to care for widows and orphans; fear and overwhelming need is not a reason to remain inactive.

Catching Up on Life

This is just a list of random thoughts. There's no theme. But it IS brief.

1.        I PROMISE I will continue to share more about India… in case you’ve missed it, all I’ve said so far is there were lots of animals. Trust me, there’s more to it than exotic animals.

2.       I’ve got other things going on. Like school. Working on a project on early childhood obesity.

3.       Shin’s been working hard on his own business (drug screening and background checks).

4.      He’s had several meetings. So far, none have panned out. He also has an interview at the end of the month to be an auditor with the AL Dept. of Public Health. This was a complete surprise. He applied to the state a long time ago. You basically fill out a resume and just send it off into space and they contact you if they’re interested. That was back in the summer and he didn’t think anything about it because he had been applying for LOTS of jobs. So, he has an interview at the end of this week. It would be really great to have a second source of income, but only if that’s where God wants him.

5.       Shin also gave a short presentation to our Korean church about our India trip. Almost everyone at the church supported us financially and it was really great to give them some follow-up on how everything went (other than “it was great!”). It was just 10 minutes, but still. Glad he got to do it.

6.       I also have a short presentation that I get to give at a Bible study in December. I’m pretty excited about it. We get to take our ICS show on the road. My goal is after that, to get to go to at least ONE place per month. (Other churches, Bible studies, youth groups, Sunday school classes, Wednesday night meetings, AWANA meetings, etc).

7.       At work, our office just moved to a different part of town. The new office is just down the street from my house!!! I’m so excited about my much shorter commute. The new office is also bigger and cuter and safer. *sigh* just excited about everything being so fresh and so clean, clean.

8.       This weekend we spent some great time with people from church that we haven’t hung out with much before. We’re having a get together at our house on my birthday (Nov. 12^th). It’s not a birthday party, but that’s my gift from Shin that I get to host a partay. I know, I’m weird. But I love hosting and he doesn’t, so it’s a wonderful birthday gift. Anyway, it’s for S.I.N.K.s and D.I.N.K.s (acronym courtesy of my mom) and I’m hoping that we’ll get to spend time with some new “Single Income No Kids” and “Dual Income No Kids” couples/singles.

9.       I’m tutoring 5 (possibly 6) kids per week. I really enjoy tutoring. But I have really cut down my free time. But we do need the money, so I’m really thankful to be able to do it.

10.    I’m done. There is more going on in life and in the world. But I must go back to paying attention in class.

Pigs, Cows, and Monkeys? OH MY!

So, the streets of India are very different from the U.S... "Very dirty, poops everywhere, cows, monkeys" -Shin Jeong

Around any bend in the road it wasn't unusual to see this:

or this. (Notice what they're feasting on... Yum! Sanitary and delicious!)

 There were also LOTS of these:

Cows on the road.

Cows on the bridge...

Fat cows, skinny cows, old cows, young cows, big cows, little cows, mama cows, baby cows, shiny cows, dirty cows...

You get the idea.

Lastly, there were MONKEYS!

Monkeys in India were as common as squirrels on a college campus.

This guy was on the bridge RIGHT next to us. Like I could have easily reached out and patted him on the head (just like those cows up there). Except he probably would have bit me (not like those cows up there). Unfortunately, he wouldn't look up! So, I made a little "tsk, tsk, tsk" sound...

...and he looked up alright. He bared his teeth/fangs, hissed/growled, and lunged at us like a gangsta affronted! Apparently you DON'T try to get a monkey's attention. He did not like making "eye contact" with the camera (he wasn't mad at me, he was aggressive towards the Kodak checking him out). This shot was taken as we scampered away from him.

India: Dogs (and cats)

There is an overwhelming amount of information and detail to go through in order to thoroughly recap our trip. So I'm starting a little series that will just focus on one aspect at a time. This way I can post a short post and just cover a single thing... Also, I'm all drugged up on decongestants and the idea of writing something coherent is a little intimidating. We'll let the pictures do the talking.

There are lots of dogs in India. This picture was taken at one of the school's we visited in Rishikesh. This school is for dalit (untouchable) children. Dalits are considered to be outcastes within the caste system. The easiest way to understand how a person can be an outcaste within the caste system is that they have no caste. The people are treated so low that they were considered animals who can talk. Now the caste system is illegal in India today, but people are still imprisoned by their caste. We went to a school for middle-class kids; there were no dogs walking around. Obviously a dog on any campus is a safety issue. Now this dog did not seem like a safety issue, he was totally asleep and unconcerned the entire time we were there. But it's just something I noticed.

This dog was hanging out by the Ganges River. He came up to our little group and wasn't begging. He just kind of stuck close in case anyone wanted to drop any food. Maybe he could tell we were tourists. Even though dogs are everywhere, I never saw a dead dog. This surprised me, because even in America where relatively few dogs roam the roads, I've seen plenty of dogs that have been hit by cars.

There are also plenty of pet dogs. This is Snoopy; Helena's dog. She had lots of fleas, but other than that, she was totally safe. She had all of her shots and vaccines: a proper pet. Snoopy could open the screen door. She would stick her paw in the screen, pull it open, stick her nose around the side to catch the door, and walk inside or outside whenever she wanted to. She also remembered where people were. She came to get me in my bedroom five minutes after I had played with her.

We only saw three cats in India. Two in homes and one running acoss the street. This one was at Helena's children's home (Bal Vikas Kendra) and is clearly injured. I hope he makes it.

A Day In Rishikesh

Today, we spent the day in Rishikesh... I'm going to be very brief because 1) I didn't come to India to write about it, I came to be here; 2) the internet can be sketchy; 3) someone else might need on the computer.

The road to Rishikesh is supposed to take an hour from Bal Vikas Kendra in Dehradun... it took us at least an hour and a half because of two reasons: there was a Hindu holiday (there are many) and people were all going into the city to pay honor to their ancestors- this involves many parades. Also, there was an "astroturf" rush into the city to protest political issues.

We had an amazing time in Rishikesh once we finally got in to town. We went to Vikrant's two schools, Prem & Agape. We got leid at Prem. We then had lunch at his house with his wife and two children. Afterwards, we went into town and saw the River Ganges, temples for Shiva, and many, MANY, many, many people. We even saw many westerners and we prayer-walked around a bit, soaked up the sights (monkeys & cows within reach), sounds (car horns & bells ringing to keep the gods awake), and smells (feces, B.O. fried food, popcorn, incense). Then we took a lovely ride home through the forest so we wouldn't face all that same traffic that would be heading home.

Once we got into Dehradun, a light rain had begun and it was JAM PACKED with traffic. Our driver, Vijay, is ah-mazing. He literally got out and pushed a car out of the way. It still took us about an hour to get back to BVK. We ate dinner at Prez and then all came home. Exhausted.

I showered. And I've been trying to write this post for like a million minutes but I keep getting distracted by these two BOYS. They think blogging is a "very bad habit." I must go. I will post pictures laterz.

Are we human? (or are we dancer?)

Forgive how long this is- I want to remember everything!

So Shin and I just explored the streets of Delhi. That was an experience. It's a little unnerving when your husband, your older, cultured, brave husband, fears for his own life walking down the street. Not that I think we were in any real danger from humans since there were SO MANY people around. But cars and motorcycles were everywhere.

Anyway, the people of India walk through their streets with confidence. Just like in any big city. Look like you know what you're doing and where you're going. Don't make too much eye contact with anyone.

We encountered three sets of beggars. As we exited our hotel we were instantly accosted by a girl, probably 7yo, and a boy who looked 5yo. They could have easily been older but they were so small and skinny it was hard to tell. Her teeth were yellowed. The boy had a cup of liquid. We kept saying 'no, nay, sorry.' and they kept tapping my elbow saying 'hellooo, hello, helloooo' and begging in their language (I assume Hindi). I later discovered they had an older girl (12? 13?) also with them.

After that heartbreak, we came across a woman, tiny, thin, sitting on the ground. Her tiny, thin young child (4yo?) wrapped around her feet. As she saw us approaching, she put her hands before her face as if in prayer and began to rock back and forth. She didn't get up, just held out her cup and called out 'helloooo' to us. We pretended not to see her and kept moving.

We continued walking down the street covered in trash. There were produce stands selling limes and fruits I didn't quite recognize. There were fast-food stands with men in bare feet frying things. There were men sitting on the ground tossing, smacking, and flattening out dough things.

We finally stopped in a calmer part of the street to try to take it all in. Shouts and honks came from every direction. The putrid smell of the street (trash, fuel, foods, B.O., probably human waste) constantly violated our senses. We saw billboards for Hanes, Samsung, LG, Marlboro... And numerous brands we didn't recognize. We passed a few nice looking hotels. We saw very few women.

What's so neat to see is how different everyone looks: barefoot and impoverished, business casual, jeans and t-shirts, suits and jewels, turbans and robes. Even the women we saw ranged from jean capris and flops to full body/face scarf wraps.

We saw many dogs. As we turned around, it was much easier going back. We knew what to expect, we knew streets were actually better than sidewalks (as long as we didn't get hit). We passed our hotel (and the two sets of beggars) and went the other way. It was all mostly hotels and we didn't go too far, just far enough to pass another tiny woman begging on the street. And we saw women walking with long branches, bound and piled high, balanced on their heads. And saw two young men carrying two looooong trees.

We went back to the hotel. We parted and went to our air conditioned, clean rooms. I washed my feet. But I don't want to wash away the memory of the smells, sights, and sounds. This morning, before group prayer and breakfast (both good), Shin and I stepped outside and crossed the street and looked around. It was quieter and less busy. We saw someone wrapped head-to-toe sleeping (hopefully not dead) on the sidewalk. The person was still out there two hours later when we hit the cacophonous street again.

Anyway, I really want to see people as humans and I want to be human. Not just seeing the brokenness (if someone comes to America, I'm sure they can see much to be pitied). I don't want to feel heartbroken for THESE people and their idols, I want to feel how God's heart breaks for ALL of humanity and all of our idols. I might not post pictures of my idols in my car and home... Or do I? Are my marriage, my friends, myself, or my family my idols (of which I have many pictures)? Do I idolize cleanliness, my health, my appearance? I want to see it all with new eyes. Not just the situation here, but also in my own life. How hypocritical it is to assume that my world is all figured out and I'm here to show them how?

I am here to help and encourage, but not because I'm better. Just because that is what God has sent me to do in this time and place. I don't want to just dance through it all with a simplified or romanticized frame of mind. I want to fully see and know the human brokenness everywhere and then adopt God's passion to relieve it and bring hope and joy.

Guess Who?

I bet you'll never guess who gets to go on the trip!

Okay, you probably could have guessed... anyway. Clarence is packed and ready to go.

In all seriousness, he's the perfect size for a plane & sleep pillow. I'm glad he gets to see the world. He hasn't been out of the country in a while!

We leave tomorrow and we'll be back October 1st, check back here for updates!

Ten Days Left!

So, we’re at… 63% of our funding goal!!! That’s so stinking, incredibly awesome… We are also 100% immunized. (FYI- I’m stats class. We love percentages!) So, lots of shots. 5 for me, 4 for Shin. TDaP? Yep. Hep A & B? Got it. Polio? For sure! Typhoid? Yeah, and that one definitely causes soreness.

We also leave in 10 days… September 22^nd is coming QUICKLY. Does anyone remember when I wrote about our trip being one month away? Well it feels like I wrote that yesterday. But I didn’t. Now we’re 10 days away. It’s a little stressful. We want to freak out a little. At the same time, it feels SUPER far away. Like surreal. Not actually happening. But it is.

AND we have to pack everything in one backpack. One carry-on. 9 days. One carry-on. We DO get to do laundry mid-week. So that’s helpful. But still, tough decisions… I’m not sure Clarence is going to make it. L We’ll see. I’ll keep you all posted on Clarence’s ability to take the trip. He is a perfect size for a pillow.

Lastly, please pray for our church fundraiser. We want people to come and donate because this is probably the last chance we have at raising money for our trip. There’s a spaghetti lunch this Sunday, September 18^th at Gateway Baptist Church. Money for the meal is all donations and it all goes to help the support-raising efforts of the team AND the ministries in India that we’re going to visit. My friend, Amanda, and I are trying to pull this lunch together for an expected 150 people. It’s going to be great (we hope!). If anyone who reads this wants to help, please contact me or Amanda ASAP.

Thanks everybody! Keep praying for us and for our the people of India that we will meet soon.

Oh, a specific prayer request? That Shin will have an aisle seat. OR that he will have an inside seat and be miraculously okay with it. The guy is 6’1”… and most of that is legs. He’s a little nervous about the LOOONG international flight. Kay, thanks!

36%

WOW!

So as of today, we’ve reached 36% of our goal… this is INCREDIBLE. It’s a truly amazing thing to realize how many people love us and sincerely support us. This is us:

We’re really happy. Extremely blessed. And Excited.

We’re also still in love. Marriage rocks.

Anyway, we want to specifically thank:

Mr. and Mrs. Parker

Katie

Mr. and Mrs. Kang

Mr. and Mrs. Kim

Great Grandma Lavely

Grandma and Grandpa Lavely

Robin and Eric

Uncle Clyde and Aunt Marlyn

Stephen and Kim

YoungHoon and HyunReong

Andrew and LeAllison

MyeongHee and GeunHyeok

Uncle Bill and Aunt Henri

Melissa and Nathan

Faith Baptist Church of Missoula, MT

Also, we know that so many of you haven’t been able to support us financially but that you have been lifting us up in prayer. That is SO important to us. Maybe more important. There’s absolutely no point in us going if we are outside of God’s will. No amount of money can cover the amount of prayer we need.

^{James 5:16} Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Our prayer for all of you and for ourselves is that we will pursue righteousness (and as Jesus was the only righteous human, He is our example), that there may be great power in our prayers.

As a special request, please pray for Jordan & Marty. Their new baby, Morgan, is in the hospital and she’s likely to be there for a while. They’ve been married a little over a year and parents for less than a week.

One Month From Today

We're headed here!

 

 And then here!

 That's ridiculously exciting... even though we may not see the actual images depicted (just came from a Google search).

Answers to Questions

Thanks for coming to my blog. More than likely you came here because you know that we’re going to India and the logical question is WHY?

Well, I’d like to place the initial blame on Jeff Moody. Now, it’s not totally his fault. But he, and his lovely wife, Mandy, were super important people in the structure of Gateway Baptist Church. I say “were” because they just moved away. But that is an important aspect of the story. Jeff was in charge of the India Child Sponsorship program. He wasn’t necessarily running the whole thing, there’s a dedicated team of Gateway members who have all played a part. But Jeff was the point person and his impending move was going to leave a giant hole in this fledgling program.

When I saw this need and realized no one was really jumping up to take over, I began to feel burdened. Not in a guilty way. But in a way that I felt it was a REALLY good, important, doable program and it was sad that it wasn’t just exploding with success. I didn’t know too much about India (still don’t) or the program, but I knew that I was able and I wanted to give my time to something. I didn’t really have any fantastic ideas for how to get the proverbial ball rolling, but I knew that the ball should be rolling and maybe God would show me how to do it.

So, I joined the team and now Shin and I are going to India. Our church  views taking the trip there as part of a long-term investment in the Indian leadership and in our abilities to serve them. Our group will not just be observing and brain-storming (although that is part of it), but we will be following-up with several different organizations we work with. Gateway Baptist Church has been working with New Life Center (the orphanage) as well as other schools, church-plants, and a pastoral training network for many years. Shin is particularly interested in one of the schools our church supports- he met the leader of the school and wants to learn more about it on a really practical level. Our group will also be helping to lead a conference for church leaders and exploring some property up in the mountains for a future building site.

So, the entirety of the trip is about much more than the orphanage. The orphanage is just the part I am focused on since I am now co-leading the ICS (India Child Sponsorship) program. There is one other woman, Karen, who is co-leading the program, she is planning to take the trip and she has an amazing heart for the ministry. She and I both believe it is important for us to have a first-hand experience so that we can better understand how to best lead the ICS program. ICS is just getting started and we want to meet with the director of New Life Center so we can get a grasp of the complexity of the situation. As Karen and I try to recruit sponsors, we think it's important that we know what we're talking about and that we have a connection to the Center. We realize it's not impossible to lead the program if we don't go, but we believe we will be more effective and have a deeper understanding if we do go.

In light of the fact that the orphanage is about to lose some funding, it sounds incredibly selfish for Shin & I (and the others we’re traveling with) to be asking for $4,400. That money would support 110 children for 1 month! But in light of the bigger picture, ICS needs over 200 people to establish long-term commitments. The end goal is to grow the program to cover even more children in Dehradun and Northern India. So $4,400 is a lot of money for Shin and I to go. But our prayer is that it will enable us and inspire us to be able to come back and get many families to invest in the future of these children.

BTW- we’ve reached 17% of our goal! Woo Hoo! Thank you to everyone who has supported us already!

Life Updates

We’re going to INDIA!

Shin and I are embarking on a grand adventure to India with a group from Gateway Baptist Church. The trip is from Sept 22^nd- Oct 1^st and our specific interest is related to the work I’ve been doing with India Child Sponsorship, a program of Community Development Initiatives. It's a ministry organized for people in America to sponsor Hindu orphans in Dehradun, India.

Our church has been working with this ministry for the last 7 years and we work directly with the staff of New Life Center. Unfortunately, unless sponsors step up by September 20^th, they will lose funding that will cut 120 children from the program. Our church is taking a small group to assess the situation and find out how our money can best be used to aid the children that get to stay. For Shin and I to go, it's going to cost us $2,200 each.

I am trying to pick up some extra part time work cleaning, organizing, yard-working, errand-running (pray for people to take an interest in hiring me!)  and I may be taking a semester off from graduate school. However we also fully believe that missions is not just about us experiencing God, it’s not just about the people we will meet and share God’s love with, it’s about all of us – including you – worshipping God!  We believe that, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”¹

We hope you will pray for us as we prepare to leave (for passports, Green card, and visas to process quickly), and we hope that you will let others know about what we are doing. If you are interested in prayerfully and/or financially supporting us, you can contact us by email at: Alycia.Jeong@gmail.com OR shin.d.jeong@gmail.com or use our PayPal donation button at the top right of the page.

As we prepare for our trip, I’m planning to post more on Dehradun, New Life Center, Child Sponsorship, Fundraising, and how we’re trying to figure out trusting in God on this seemingly financially ridiculous path He’s called us to. We hope you’ll follow along as we learn more about India and what God is doing there.

As an aside:

For anyone who read this post and thought the poky-grassy plants were weeds… you were wrong!  Check this beautiful flower out! Now I really wish I knew what it was because it successfully grew! All I did was water it, and one day it developed a tiny bud. Then the bud grew. And it took about two weeks. Then I thought it was never going to open and it was just going to die (the plant turned yellow-ish and was leaning over). So I repotted it Wednesday night into a larger container… and Thursday there was a BEAUTIFUL white blossom.

 It has yellow pollinator guys and they’re dusty and lovely (I’m sure anyone who knows anything about biology remembers what those are called but I don’t. Grease 2 only taught me “stamen” and “pistil” and I have no clue which is which). It also has purple veins on the outside that are perfectly impressive. (Can you tell I’m in love with this blossom?)