Two of my loves

Abby and Claire! It was such a blessing to see them in Virginia! We last saw them when we visited my sister in Texas in April, and both girls have grown so much. Abby is talking up a storm, and learning new sounds and words every day. Claire has gained many rolls of chub since we saw her last, and still smiles almost constantly. Both girls are a joy to be near, and I am so thankful for them!

Below, Abby and Uncle Austin playing "Birthday Party." SO fun to see, especially as Abby has been a little shy/scared of Austin the past few times we've seen her :)



Abby, age 2.5



Claire, age 7 months. LOVE the chubby legs :)



Sisters!



Auntie Sara and Claire, the most smiley baby I've ever met!

Summertime!

I think my first few posts all had to do with my longing for springtime to come (it happened very late in Boston this year!) and now it's hard to believe summer is almost over!

One of my favorite parts of spring/summer in Boston are the vibrant colors the flowers bloom in.



One of the things that I was most sad about this summer was not being able to go to Virginia to visit family (we hadn't been back since last summer!). However, when we got back from India I learned I had more vacation time than I expected, so we quickly bought cheap tickets (yea for Jet Blue!) and flew down to Virginia for a long weekend. We had a great time visiting our nieces and my sister at my parents house. In Charlottesville we also got to see Chris and Cara, and their brand new house!!

The rest of our time was spent in Centreville, where we got to meet Christopher Brenon, our friends Kyle and Sarah's new baby. We spent time with Ted, and as always, went to a baseball game (Orioles) with Leslie. We also had the (pleasurable?) experience of letting Amy drive us around. She's only a few months away from getting her license, and while she's a great driver, I've already decided that Austin will teach our children to drive one day :)

The other really exciting thing about this summer was the visits of two of my girlfriends! Meredith took advantage of her school paying for her to come to a conference in Boston, and after she worked hard for a few days, she spent the weekend with us. We had a great time, and below is a picture of us in Rockport, a very cute artsy beach town.



Our other visitor for the summer was a BIG surprise to me. Austin and Catherine plotted behind my back and she flew up for a weekend visit. Apparently, Austin got the idea to have her come up as a surprise when we thought we wouldn't be able to go to Virginia this summer. HUGE thanks to both of them for loving me so well!




Austin and I in front of "Motif 1" apparently one of the most photographed/painted buildings in the US.

We're Home from India

*Disclaimer* This is a looong post. It also happens to be the same letter we're sending to all of our supporters, so you may read the same information twice*

We are safely home in Boston after spending the past two weeks in India. We are gradually readjusting to the time difference and still processing all that we saw and experienced during our trip. We have quickly become re-accustomed to regular toilets (instead of “squatties”) and being able to drink water straight out of the facet, a luxury we did not miss until it was gone. We are so thankful for the support from each one of you, and for your prayers while we were gone.

Our purpose in going to India was threefold. The first thing we wanted to do was to support Vikas, a missionary from our church. He was born and raised in India, spent several years in the States for college/work, and during that time became a Christian at Highrock, the church we now call home (www.highrock.org). Vikas has been back in India for about two years now. It was great to get a glimpse of his life in India, and a lot of fun to hang out with him.

Vikas is passionate about sharing Christianity with Indians while still holding onto the culture of Hinduism. We had the privilege of attending a Christian worship service that he is designing that keeps the culture of Hinduism central, while religiously teaching Christianity. A few examples of how to do this are to wear traditional clothing during services, sing traditional Hindu songs in which the words have been changed to have Christian meaning, and to take communion using a coconut, a food used widely in Hindu culture. Our goal was to provide encouragement to Vikas, which we hope we did. He certainly provided us with encouragement as well.

Our second purpose in going to India was to see what God is doing in India by partnering with two ministries in Bangalore. The first, India For Christ Missions (IFCM) is a church within the Evangelical Covenant Church, the denomination of the church we attend in Boston. This is also denomination that Austin is pursuing ordination through (www.covchurch.org). The second ministry we partnered with was Hope Orphanage, a connection we had through Vikas.

While we were in Bangalore, we stayed at IFCM church, where Pastor Paul and his wife Rebecca live. They, along with the others at the church, were the most hospitable people we have ever met. They cared for us very well while we were there, and helped us immerse ourselves into the Indian culture. Since beginning twenty years ago, IFCM has planted over 180 churches throughout India. We were able to visit several of those churches as we took a two-day trip out on the mission field. We traveled from Bangalore where we were based, which is in the state of Karnataka, east to the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the span of two days, we visited six of the churches IFCM has planted.

IFCM’s model as they plant churches is to first and foremost care for the children in the villages. They provide an after-school program six days a week, where they help the children with homework, provide skill training, and teach a bible lesson with songs. They also provide the children with a meal each day. While this may not sound like a lot, for several of the children we met, this meal provided by the church was the only daily meal they could count on.

The villages we visited were extremely poor. One of the heartbreaking stories we heard was of the deaths of three children in one village in the month before we visited. One of those deaths was because the church had taken a two-week break from the children’s programs because of school vacation. During that time, a child died of starvation. In another village the reality of the caste system was evident. In this village three different castes lived and each caste was divided from the others by walls within the village. However, at the church, people from all three castes came together. In yet another village, out of the 52 families who lived there, 50 had become Christians since the church was planted. While it was very hard to see the poverty and harsh living conditions of the villages, it was incredibly encouraging to see how the church was caring for these people—not only their spiritual needs, but their physical and emotional needs as well.

The other ministry that we spent time with was Hope Orphanage. I (Sara) had many preconceived notions about an Indian orphanage. I was expecting a rundown building with few, overworked, under qualified people caring for children who did not receive enough love, touch, or attention. However, the orphanage we worked with completely crushed those expectations. Hope Orphanage is run by a married couple named Obed and Chong. They are from the Indian state of Manipur, in northeastern India. For the past several years, Manipur has been facing civil wars, terrorism, and extreme conflict and violence. Many young children are being recruited to fight in these wars, and it is not safe. Many innocent people have been killed. Obed and Chong, along with their three biological children, have taken over thirty children ages 4-19 from Manipur and welcomed them into their home in Bangalore.

We had the opportunity to spend two afternoons with Obed, Chong and the children. It was another heartbreaking experience to hear the stories Obed shared about the fighting in Manipur, and how some of these children are the only survivors in their families. It was an extreme joy however, to get to know these kids. We spent most of our time playing soccer and cricket with them. We discovered that if becoming a pastor doesn’t work out for Austin, he quite possibly might have a future as an international cricket star! We were also able to visit a house Obed and Chong are building. In the past year, they have had to move the entire group four times (what landlord wants 35 children living in their building?!) In the next month or two, the house they are building should be completed, and they will not have to move again.

Obed and Chong did not focus on the hardships they have faced, or the terrible conflicts happening in their home village. Instead, they focused of the hope they have for their future, and for the future of each of their children. They all attend schools, where some are academically at the top of their class. Others we met were top in their region in different sporting events. There are many days when Obed and Chong do not know if they will have enough food to provide for everyone, or enough money to pay the bills. However, they are confident that God will provide for them whatever they need.

Our third and final purpose in visiting India was to begin to build lasting relationships with the people there. Already, Highrock is wanting to make this trip an annual occurrence, and keep in close contact with IFCM and Hope Orphanage, as well continue to support Vikas. While the trip was very hard in some ways, it was also incredibly encouraging to see the work that God is doing halfway around the world. There are currently twenty million Christians in India. While that sounds like so many, in reality, it is only 2% of the population of the country, which is just over one billion people. Our hope is to be able to continue to encourage the people we met while we were there, and support them in their hard work.

We are so thankful for your partnership in this as well, as you have supported us prayerfully and financially. If you have any more questions or want to hear more stories, please contact either of us.

Three Years Ago...

It's hard to believe, but Austin and I celebrated our Third Wedding Anniversary on June 4th! We're obviously a little slow in this posting, but it happened to be the day before we left for India. We had a fun night eating hot dogs and fried dough at our third Red Sox game! And they won, which is always a nice plus.



It was a rainy night, but ended up clearing up in time for a good game! We're doing a pretty good job of looking like locals now too!




Courtesy of Austin's dad, when we got home from India, we were treated to a lovely fancy dinner out, at a place called "Flora", near our apartment. No pictures from this however, as our camera batteries often seem to be dead when we want to take pictures. Overall, it was a wonderful anniversary!

Two Weeks!

It's been a while since I've posted, but in exactly two weeks, we are leaving for our trip to India! The beginning of this week consisted of both Austin and I getting three shots in our arms, taking our typhoid pills, and getting our prescription for malaria pills (which we don't need to start until right before we leave).

THANK YOU all for your support-- Austin and I met our financial goal quite a while ago and were so blessed by the generosity of our family and friends. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to leave, and during our time in India from June 5-18th!

In other big news, I (Sara) officially received my Master's diploma from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary on May 10th. Even though I officially finished my degree in January, it was a fun day and it was really special to officially recognize all the hard work I put into seminary. It was also really special because my parents came up from Virginia to celebrate with us. We have no pictures to post due to Austin forgetting the camera. I still love him lots anyway, and just need to learn he'll probably do stuff like this for the next 50 or so years :)

Spring?

While it is offically springtime, it snowed yesterday in Boston. A strange snow/sleet/hail. The only upside was that it didn't last too long! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am more than ready for warm weather.

The other upside-- Austin and I will be in Texas in JUST two weeks for his cousin's wedding, and then staying a few extra days to visit with Erin, Ben, Abby and Claire. I just checked the 10-day forcast for Waco, and the daytime temps are in the 70's and 80's. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins, Oh My

Here are some pictures from our Boston sports experiences to go with the post from a few days ago!

The Infamous Fenway Park

We wouldn't be true Sox fans without our hats; At our second Sox game back in Fall 2006

Curt Schilling's Stats

We definitely had nose-bleed seats at this Boston Celtics game back in March or April of 2006.

With our friends, left to right: Meghan Smith, Me, Sally Wilson, Ian Wilson, and Derrick Smith (Austin must have been the cameraman on this shot).

Right before tip-off. At this point, the Celtics weren't very good, but we got to see Shaquille O'Neal play, which was pretty exciting!

Action shot!

The Celtics and Bruins play in the same arena, so this is the same place, now covered with ice.

Is a fight about to start? (We actually saw a few good ones!)

I somehow didn't realize that an ice hockey game would be cold-- I think I had goosebumps the entire game!


Final Score: 8-2. The Bruins lost. Not a typical score for a hockey game, but it was exciting to see that many goals scored!

Now the only thing left to check off our list is a Patriots game...