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Ps. Bev's Blog Missions I recently had a big cleanup of all my personal belongings. Some of the stuff I was sorting through has been moved from place to place with me for more than 30 years! Yes it’s true, I tend to be a hoarder but this time I was ruthless! Some of it went to the tip, some to the Bargain Centre and some items to the Missions Market that Hannah is organizing for the Indian Railway Kids. As I was making my decisions (some emotionally charged) about what to throw and what to keep, I thought about a line in one of the Missions Market ads. It said, The last two weeks of January Stephen and I are going to be in Agra, India for the set up of our first Lifehouse Railway Kids Shelter. I am very much like a woman about to give birth, stre-e-e-etched, a little nervous (I have never had this kind of baby before) and excited that we will soon know just what this baby looks like! We will be back just in time for the Missions Market on February 6th. Can you believe that our church turns 23 on Jan 17th? So many wonderful things have taken place in that time and yet in so many ways I feel like we are just beginning. When we turn 25 we will have to have a BIG party. When we get back from the Railway Kids trip I am looking forward to moving into my new role building local Missions in our Community. We have a vision to see thousands in our city gathered to Christ’s love, mended, washed and renewed to do great things in Jesus name to the glory of God. Somebodies I have just completed reading through my Message bible again. One of the phrases that has captured me the last couple of months is - “ I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies….(Rom 9:25a)” How great is that? This last few weeks I have spent time with both “nobodies” and “somebodies” – realizing of course that “everybody” can become “somebody” in Christ. I have been in slums in India and sat in tiny one room homes with people that would be considered “nobodies” by those from the tall fenced homes not far away; I have talked with railway kids in the trains there and longed for the day to come when we can show them that they are “somebodies.” I have been to an Andre Rieu concert with Stephen and my mum and thoroughly enjoyed the musical talents and creativity of a man who knows he is a “somebody.” I have been inspired by our recent state conference and the fellowship of more than a thousand fabulous leaders who are awesome “somebodies” in their cities and towns and, we have just returned from a trip to Mackay in North Queensland and the wonderful “somebodies” of the New Life Church there who have recently moved into their new building and who encouraged us so much about our own upcoming LifeHouse building project. Sometimes there is so much going on I can be tempted to think I’m “nobody” to be part of all the wonderful initiatives I find myself in and then I remember that this is what it’s all about, and thank God that He has taken my “nobody” life and given me the privilege of serving Him as a significant “somebody.” I pray that the Lord will use me to encourage other “nobodies” that they can be supernatural “somebodies” as they let the love of God in Christ transform their hearts and minds. Rom 12:15 Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Railway Kids I’m looking out the window in Bonville on this sparkling spring day at trees covered with beautiful blossoms under a clear bright sky. I can’t help but think of the contrast with the pollution and the crowded, dirty streets of Indian cities that I will be walking in again in just a few days. I am about to pack my backpack for the trip. There are six girls on the team for the first two weeks. The itinerary includes a women’s ministry day in Delhi; ministry with Empart pastor’s wives at the Training Centre in Rajasthan; a day with little boys from 3 Empart children’s homes; a day with a slum ministry in Jaipur; some Rajasthan experiences including some forts and palaces and a look at some pilgrimage places; lots of culture and for four of us a camel safari in Jaisalmer with my friend Ali the camel guide! I have also found a couple of days in the itinerary to revisit Agra where we plan to start the Railway Kids shelter. I have some appointments with people there which I am praying will help move our plans for this project forward. I have to say that I am quite consumed with the vision for the Railway Kids Shelter at this time. I am so looking forward to being able to start reaching out to these kids in a practical and holistic way. Somewhere in the next few hours I will be visiting my gorgeous grandchildren and trying to fill my soul with enough cuddles and kiddie conversation to last me until we all meet again. They are so much fun and full of life. There is an unmistakable conflict within me about leaving these dear ones to travel to the nation of India so far away, where I feel compelled to help children living at risk on the railway stations! And then there are my other loves! My amazing husband and incredible church! The longer I live, the greater urgency I feel to fill every moment with purpose filled living. So with that thought, even as my life is hurtling along like an express train (I can’t stop thinking about trains in India and the little kids living on them) I am rejoicing in our wonderful God who guides us into places and projects and passions that “…………..No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1Co 2:9 NLT |
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