what a week is has been!!

this week was spent in the hospital, and let me just tell you it wasn't my favorite time. actually, it has probably been the hardest four days of the trip thus far. not only am i not the biggest fan of hospitals in the states, but hospitals in foreign countries definitely are not my cup of tea, this hospital especially. i'm sure in other places in india there are more advanced hospitals, but this one was founded in 1838 and although i know the technology and equipment is not that old, a lot of it seems like it. i know i can't paint a good word picture for you as to what it looks like, but the best thing i can think to describe it is a hospital that you would have seen in movies from the 1950s or so where all the wards are separate and all the patients are in one big room on uncomfortable metal beds. the nurses all wear white saris and they still wear hats.

regardless, as challenging as it has been, it has also been a blessing. i was able to hold some adorable babies in the nicu, catch the very tale end of a mother giving birth, and pray for patients throughout the entire compound. it was humbling, challenging, frustrating, and an incredible growing and learning experience that is for sure.

i am quite excited to get back to the orphanage though, that is for sure. i can't tell you how excited i am for the children to be climbing up me for me to hold and for me to end up having two of them in my arms at once! nor can i tell you how excited i am for the older girls to teach us more tamil words, to eat chapattis, and spend time with our tattha (johnson), to continue encouraging the staff in their english, and to essentially be in the middle of a haven the Lord has created as the mountains and windmills surround us.

regardless, the Lord has continued to show up, and i cannot tell you how thankful i am to be here serving Him in the capacity He has deemed fit for the summer. while these last four days were a definite struggle, i began to truly learned what it meant to give thanks in all circumstances, and i was reminded of 1 Thess 5:24 (i believe) that says, "He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."

that verse has spoken to me on two specific different occassions as i have been on this trip; the first being when i was incredibly overwhelmed at the beginning of the trip when we were trying to figure out our programming for the staff at the orphanage and the second being the second morning before we headed to the hospital. i was so blessed by that verse each time i read it that i almost cried...

tomorrow morning i will be preaching at a church, and the remainder of our day will primarily be spent working with people from the congregation; sharing some of our stories with them and hopefully hearing some of theirs. we aren't completely sure what it is going to look like, but i have no doubt that the Lord is going to show up. He has in so many ways thus far, there is no need for me to doubt now.

i can't wait to share with you the ways He has answered my prayers for a sense of wonder nor can i wait to share with you about how the Lord used an egg to speak to me. i am amazed, astounded, blessed beyond all measure, and so thankful; yet, i know i am nothing without Him and continue singing praises to Him for the simple fact that His power is made perfect in my weaknesses. we are all inadequate, but we also must be grateful that he chooses to use us anyway.

i'm not sure when i will have access to the internet again, or if i will before we leave india, but please keep praying for us as we are here. and know that you are being lifted up in prayer as well. what a blessing it is to be halfway around the world from all of you and know that we are still serving the same Almighty Father. be blessed today, my friends.