Hello!

Only three more days left in India. My feelings are mixed. I am excited to go on to thailand and see what the LORD has in store fr me there. It will be good to see some familiar faces and speak to people in clear english. But at the same time my heart is sad to be leaving this country that continues to captivate and bewilder me at the same time. It has been a good journey in India this time a completely different experience from me last trip and i am grateful to God for this opportunity. After checking my email my inbox was completely filled with emails about the thailand missions and honestly I felt so overwhelmed. I haven't been on the internet for some time so a lot of things had piled up. I don't know how to prepare for thailand i don't know if i am packed right or anything at all. Whatever it is I am going and I am sure the lord will take care of all the details!

My favorite place that I visited this time in India was Bangalore. It is not an exceptionally beautiful place like otty or Munnar but the people I met there were truly beautiful. It was good to meet some strong fellow brothers and sisters in the lord. I really felt blessed an encouraged by the family i stayed with.

I have spent the last two day with my close friend Beena and her family doing ministry in a remote village in AP. Her father is a pastor and gave me opportunity to lead worship and preach three times I can feel the Lord is once again growing me in those things. He is stretching me an and forcing me to use me gifts and talents.

My next entry will most likely be from thailand!

With Love!

Sarah

Hello everyone!

I tried to upload some of my picture onto my blog but the computer is really slow and it isn;t working so for now you will just have to read about my adventures.

Right now I am staying in the home of my friend Robert in the district if Cannore in Kerela. The village I am staying in is quite remote, It took a two hour bus journey just to come to this internet cafe. The place I am staying is surounded by rubber and coconut plantations and is very beautiful. The family I am staying with does not speak english except Robert so I am being forced to learn a least some basic malyalam.

I definety prefer family life to tourism (staying in a hotel eating hoel food) but sometimes it is lonely kiving in such a romote place. There is no electricity in the home because of poitical corruption so it has in some ways the feel of our cabin with candles and oil lamps and the constant sound of water running from the creek that runs in front of the house. Right now there are 9 of us staying in the home and sometimes ten if robert cousin come to stay over. With ony three beds this can make for tight living conditions but as per Indian culture I have the biggest bed al to my self. I have told them many time use my bed and i can esily sleep on the foor or on a smaller bed but they won't hear it. I don't know what I am rambleing on about i am rather tired and didn't have a proper breakfast so i am sorry if I am not making any sence.

In two days or so we wil be leaving this place and going to Ooty another hill station in Tamil Nadu then from there we will travel to Bangalore. Where I will meet a number of my freinds from My DTS. I am very excited for this!

Pardon my spelling/grama mistakes i can't be bothered to fix them or read this over!

Blessings,

Sarah

Greetings everyone!

I relly don't know what to say or how to explain anything. Maybe I am tired or maybe I am just feeling a little numb right now. India has been a crazy adventure so far. The first night I was here I did nothing but cry. I don't really know why I cried maybe the sadness was an overflow from my last expiriences in India. I was really missing my family and friends and had a deep desire to pack my things up and go straight back home.

BUt after one or two days I have once again settled into the routine of daily life here in India and whithin me there is a joy and a peace to be back in a place that has in more ways then one captured my heart. I know this is a Nation I will spend much time in and I belive God is giving me an oppurtunity to see it with differnt eyes this time around.

I started my journey in trivandrum (south Kerela) where we went to the zoo/museum/art gallery/horse palace/ and beach. We then traveled about 5 hours by train to Cochin where we went and traveled by boat on the back waters and expirienced traditional kerela food. From there we traveled to Kumuli up in the mountains where we visited a spice plantation and rode on an elephant and even saw some elephants in the wild in one of the forest reservations we went to visit. NOw we are staying in Munnar a beautiful mountainose town surrounded by achres and achres of tea plantations. It is so beautiful here and the climate in cool (almost like home)

well thats it for now just a short explanation of whats happening!

much love

Sarah

HEY!

I have no time I am at the end of my limit at an internet cafe but i just want to let everyone know that I love you all and that I am extremly jet laged and making very little sence! I am hateing Singapore right now mainly because I just want to get on my way to india and get this long journey over with.

On a side not I went to see some of the most beautiful orchids in the word at the botanical garden today so i can't complain to much! I will write more later!

blessings!

Sarah

Temples on the beach in Chennai. There are so many temples in Tamil Nadu more then I saw anywhere else in India.
These monkeys look friendly but they really aren't. Look at it's beedy little eyes... just gives you the shivers doesn't it.
A crazy temple place we went to in chennai the whole thing is carved out of one stone
Yes that is me eating a cucumber with rambabu
From left: Mohit, Robert, Me, Beena, Joshua, and Rambabu

Our team and friends walking towards the beach in Chennai
Doing a Drama in a Joshua's fathers church
Yes it was election time in Chennai when we were there.
Beena and I at the beach in Chennai
I am holding a baby goat in the village

This is during an open air outreach. The man in the very back is Pastor Murli ( Yes he was a Bollywood dancer when he was younger, He showed me a few moves) who we work with for the month we stayed in Tamborum.
This is a typical lunch of rice, dhall, and Ladyfinger fry.
praying for the people
Feeding everyone lunch after church
This is T-Nagar the biggest market in Chennai. A little crowded eh?

A little girl and her mom who we saw on the bus often on our way to go to Cosmopurum.
A gypsy boy who came to the church with his mom after we did evangelism in his village
A typical sunset in Cosmopurum
This is a picture during an open air evangilism outreach. The women are praying a prayer of salvation.
Some of our team members waiting for the bus in Tamborum

One of our first days of ministry walking through village of Cosmopurum just outside of Chennai
We saw these Children almost everyday when we went for minisrty. I used to play with them and try to speak to them in the the little bit of broken Tamil I knew.
Endless fields of sunflowers seen from the train on the way to Chennai
This is a picture of a normal India Cow. They are huge and very scary if walking towards you. This is in the city of Chennai in an area called Tamborum, a five minute walk from where we lived for almost a month.
This is my friend Robert playing with one of the children in the village

Hello!

I arrived home on monday at 1:30 in the afternoon. I am sorry I didn't post sooner I figured most people knew when I was coming home and I just spent the last few days resting and seeing close family and friends.

Wow it has been a long, exciting and challenging journey. I can honestly say I am so glad to be home to have some peace of mind and good rest. It was needed. Now that I am adjusting to life at home I am already missing India and starting to think about and plan to go back soon. I am seeking the Lord about maybe going back in November with Steve and Christina Stewart the Pastors from my church and their Organization Impact Nations. My life is completely surrendered to God and whatever the next step is I am sure he will lead and guide me.

I thought it would be nice to post some pictures from my outreach time. While I was on outreach I had no way to upload pictures so now I can give everyone a bit of a taste from those 2 and half months that were lacking in the visual department. Here they are...

The first picture is of a toilet in the train we took to Chennai. Dosen't it look appealing! Imagine having a bad intestinal infection on a 24 hour train journey and having to use that baby every half an hour or so. Yes I am talking about myself. It may just have been the worst experience of my life!

The Second picture is of all the girls in the team when we first arrived in Chennai. We are all super tired, hungry and very stinky!

The third Picture is of my entire DTS class including the staff.

The fourth picture is of me just after I woke up from trying to sleep on the train. I maybe got 2 hours maximum of sleep that night. Don't I look fresh!

The fifth picture is of our team before we left for outreach. Don't we look pretty! The boys in the back row are ( from left to right) Robert, Joshua, Mohit, and Mohan. The girls in the front row( from left to right) Sarah, Usha, Supriya and Beena.