Many people have asked me to start posting my weekly email updates on the blog. I will post the last four or five emails and then continue to post them from now on. If you’d like to be added to my email list, give me a comment and I’d be happy to add you! Peace friends- Lisby
MARCH 19th
As many of you know before I decided to come to India for six months I was wrestling between going to Kenya (and possibly working with Jeff and Christine Stanfield) or India (working with Caring Hands) for the time I had set aside from school. I knew that God wanted me to take a year off and go out into the world, but I didn’t know exactly what that looked like, so I spent many months praying over the situation, asking for discernment. In the end I felt that God was calling me to India for this time, but that Kenya was in my future, I just needed to wait for the Lord to open up that door when the time was right.
About a month ago I found out that Arun and Shobba and their daughter Melissa are going to be in Australia for the month of May and don’t have a whole lot planned for me in that time. May is a full month off for all the staff in the office and all the girls from school. No one will be in the office during this time (meaning there will be no work for me) and most of the girls will go home for this month (meaning there will only be 15 or so girls at the home). Arun and Shobba were very concerned at what I was going to do with my time every day in the month of May, because there will be very little for me to do, and I will feel very useless and bored. So I started praying about what I should do, and waited to see what God opened up for me.
Before I left for India my sister Meghan and I were dreaming about the possibility of me hopping over to Ethiopia to see them when they go to pick up their new son sometime in (hopefully) April or May. But I left this idea behind because I didn’t want to stuff too much into my time away from home; I just wanted to let God work it all out.
A couple of weeks ago I was talking to Meghan online and she was joking around and said “So, you coming to Ethiopia in May to see us?” I wanted more than anything to write, “Yes! I’ll see you in May!” but instead I wrote, “Ha ha I wish!” So then Meghan and I talked about it for a while and then we looked up tickets and started looking at my timeline. The major problem we had with this plan was that we didn’t know exactly when they would be traveling (because they have to wait to pass their court date), so I wouldn’t be able to book my tickets until right before they left and that could get very spendy. Meghan suggested I talk to the Stanfield’s about staying with them in Kenya (which is right below Ethiopia) and then hopping up to Ethiopia IF they end up traveling in May. So I started talking to the Stanfield’s and it turns out that May is a great month for them to have visitors and they really want me to come and see their work (for possibly joining them in the future and to visit with them). It turns out that tickets from India to Kenya are only about $500 and tickets from India to Ethiopia are about $800 at the cheapest (God?)! I also realized that May would be the perfect month to travel because there would be no work for me to do and it would be at my 2/3rds mark so this would be a good break for me and give me room to process what I am going through. Plus I’m half way around the world already, why not hop over to the continent that I really feel called to and have wanted to go to for most of my life? I’ve asked a lot of people to be praying for me and help me discern this decision and have been doing a lot of discerning myself and really feel like this is what I need to do. Everything is falling right into place, and God is opening up so many doors. This trip that I’ve been dreaming of taking ever since I heard the Stanfield’s (crazy enough) speak in my 3rd grade Sunday school class about Kenya and Africa is actually going to happen, but in the most unexpected, unplanned way ever! I’ve worked it out so that it’ll cost me less than $1000 for the whole trip, when it would cost me about $3000 just for the plane tickets if I was coming from the U.S.A.
Arun and Shobba are all for the trip and really feel good about me taking some time away from the Home to reflect and process on my time that I’ve had here. When I get back from Kenya I’ll still have a month in India, at the Home, and with the girls, and I’ll be totally refreshed and ready to go!
So here’s my plan:
Fly to Kenya on May 5th and stay with the Stanfield’s until June 6th. If Meghan and Stefan end up traveling at any time in May I will fly up to Ethiopia and spend a week or so with them and then fly back to Kenya for the remainder of my time (unless they travel at the end of May). I will return on the 5th of June and have a few days before the girls go back to school to be with them, have a few days before the Bible College starts up again, and have a few days before my Daddy and the rest of the team from NFC comes for the closing of my time here in India.
I’m very excited about what God has planned for me, and so amazed at what He has up his sleeve; it always surprises me! Please be praying for me as I finish up the last plans for this trip and as I prepare to travel in the month of May. God has prepared my heart for the world and I’m getting so many opportunities to see so much of the world already, I feel so blessed, it’s amazing! Thank you for your prayers, they have truly been a blessing, and please continue to pray for me.
God is good friends,
MARCH 14th
This week started out very very tough! I felt very much alone and depressed and I had no motivation. I felt like my work was meaningless and pointless. I felt unimportant and insignificant, I felt useless and I felt like I was a burden to everyone. I felt unloved, and uncared for. And then I forgot how to feel and was numb to everything. I just wanted to sit on my bed all day and stare at the blank wall… this depression was TERRIBLE and definitely an attack from the devil.
Finally, yesterday was one of the best days of my life, and I’ll tell you why: First: It was Saturday, so I was at the Home almost the whole day and hanging out with the girls (because the girls only have a half day of school).
I love you very much, thank you for your prayers!
MARCH 10th
Most of you know that I am a very social person; I always surround myself by lots of people and I am always involved in many activities to occupy my time and keep me busy. I do this because it seems that the more I do and the more I am with people, the more energy I have and the more fun memories I get to share. This is the way I work, and this is the way I’ve done it for years. This last year, however, has been all about God teaching me to slow down, enjoy the moment, take rest, rejuvenate, and take time for myself, and for just “me and God time.” I LOVE community and love spending time with God in community, but God has taught me that I’m a pro at doing that and now need to work on ourtime together, alone, intimately, personally, heart to heart.
My time in India so far has made this even more clear to me, and God is teaching me everyday to stop and listen to Him, to talk to Him, and to just be with Him. At first I sensed that I needed to do this but I didn’t know how to. I sensed that I needed to read the word more, but I didn’t know where to start. It was suggested to me by a good friend to start in Acts, cause this had been a very powerful and meaningful book for him and seemed no matter how often he had read it, it still held truth to that moment in his life and still surprised him. I decided to take his advice and read Acts, and LOVED it! I was hesitant at first, because I’ve read Acts probably twenty times before, but for some reason this time the book came alive, and I got really excited about reading it. I found I couldn’t put it down, and I wanted to study every word…. Yes I am talking about the Bible, who knew it was so cool? After I finished Acts I went on to Romans (which I’m not half way through) and started Genesis as well, I want to read the Bible over and over and over again and I want to know it and understand it and study it and never stop finding truth in it! I’m excited about what I’ll find in every passage and feel that I come to understand God more and more the more I read. At the same time questions come up that I never thought twice about before and I struggle with them, but if I keep reading and keep struggling it seems that the questions unfold and turn into truth and make sense to me, I love this! Because the reading is usually very powerful and deep it stirs something up inside of me and I can’t help but spend time processing it with God and going through what I’ve studied and what I’m finding within that study. So this is one way that God has forced me (in a good way) to spend more time with Him and to spend time away from people, and I couldn’t be more excited about this.
Vicky and I traveled up to Mumbai Saturday night, stayed at the airport for about ten hours while processing her time in India and kinda creating closure to our time together. I then caught a bus back home to Dharwad (don’t worry Momma I was safe and didn’t talk to strangers and made smart choices and always surrounded myself with lots of people), and she waited another four hours to board a plane to the U.S. I got home this morning around 8 am, took a LONG “shower (almost 10 whole minutes!),” made some breakfast, and spent some time alone with God, reflecting and asking questions. I have to be honest; I’ve been very nervous about Vicky leaving and really have no clue how I’m going to get through it. For the first time in my life I’m going to be really alone, and that is SCARY! I will come home alone, sleep in a three room apartment alone, make meals alone, clean house alone, be scared of the monkey’s alone, and all my free time I will be alone. I wonder sometimes if God remembered that I’m Lisby Rogers and I am not an alone type of person… But God is showing me that this is all part of the plan (like He always seems to reveal AFTER I worry and worry and worry) and that it’s going to be okay and I’m going to learn a lot! You see now that I am alone who am I going to talk to except God? Really there isn’t anyone to distract me (not that Vicky did), or take up my free time with discussion, so I have to spend even more time with God… isn’t that beautiful? God took one of the most social people alive and knew that she needed to take time to herself, so He forced her to be alone and learn to take time for Him and spend every moment with Him, how cool! Although I am still a little scared of being alone for so long, I KNOW that it is going to be amazing! I know it’s going to be challenging, and I know I will learn a whole lot, so I am also very excited.
I must say that I am sad that Vicky isn’t able to stay for as long as I am because our friendship has grown so much in this time we shared together and God has really changed the both of us for good. Vicky was great with the girls and able to connect with many of them in ways that I will never be able to. She loved them with all her heart and just as they touched her, she touched them. Vicky was challenged by God and she hurtled over the obstacles that were placed in front of her, she trusted Him, and loved Him with all her heart. I have seen Vicky change so much, and I have seen her follow God’s leading in this time, I am proud to know her, and to call her one of my best friend. Our friendship means the world to me, and some of the memories we share will never stop making me laugh when I think of them (head bobble, Betty, market). If any of you get a chance you should talk to Vicky about India and help her to transition back into the U.S. way of living. I pray that she will not forget what she has learned here and that she will teach all who come in contact with her. I pray that God continues to transform her and work in her and I know that He will. Please join me in praying for her, because even if her time in India is over, her heart will not leave for a long time, and her journey is not over.
I ask for prayer for me as well. I pray that I will be able to connect with some of the girls that really connected with Vicky and show them that I love them too. I pray that I can manage my time wisely with each girl and show them all that I love them the same and they are equal to each other and to me (this is one of my biggest struggles). I pray that I can have energy to do this, and to get through everyday with a smile (not just on my face but in my heart and soul as well). I pray that I can complete the tasks that are given to me with all my ability (no matter how small or large), and that I can have a positive attitude always. I pray that I can continue to learn and grow from God and really use this time of solitude to the best of my ability. I pray that I can listen to what God has to tell me and be quick to act on that. I pray that my health continue to keep up with my activity, and that I can be smart in every decision that I make. And, finally, I pray for all of you back home, that you would be challenged daily, and be growing and learning from these challenges. I pray that you are very much on fire for Christ, and alive and present in everything that you do.
Thank you for blessing me friends, I will never stop praising God for your support!
MARCH 1st
This week has been an official week. Vicky and I have officially mastered the bus system and have made multiple trips to the market and the only store in Dharwad all by ourselves! We have officially learned how to squat “Indian style (squat with your feet flat on the ground)” and have done chores such as washing clothes, making chipathis, or cleaning the dishes. We officially have lice and are learning how to pick it out of each other’s hair (let me tell you that friendship goes to a whole new level when you learn to pick lice out of each other’s hair)! All these things are very big steps and we are proud of all of them (yes even the lice), because we feel like we are becoming more and more “Indian” by the day : D. As you can see, it’s been an eventful week!
But this week I’ve really been thinking about something as well as learning things. You see every morning, afternoon, and evening as I walk from the Bible College to the Children’s home I am greeted by starving children asking me for food and money and holding their stomachs. I see women who are aged because of a lifetime of hard work, pain, and starvation walking with bundles of sticks or bushels of vegetables on their heads. I see heads popping out of the trash can bins on the side of road watching the “white girl” walk by; watching the rich girl pass them…
Seeing this everyday, multiple times a day, I can not help but feel hopeless, and I can not help but feel like I am living with too much! I get three meals a day and could have seconds, thirds, or even fourths if I wanted to and these people right outside my door are not getting three meals a week. Is it right for me to be filled by a meal when there are 20 or 30 people that I pass daily that aren’t eating? The only answer that I can come up with is “no.” So what do I do? There’s nothing I’d rather do than feed everyone of these kids, and make sure that they have a clean home to come back to every night and arms to hold them when they hurt, but I can’t. No matter how much food I bring, there will always be more people that are hungry. No matter how much I smile at these people and talk to them and try to show that I actually care for them, I can not be sure that they feel that they are loved by anyone. No matter how much I want for them to feel safe and be happy, I have no control over their emotions. What do I do?
I remember sitting in the Prayer Chapel at Twin Rocks the summer after my 8th grade year listening to Rachelle Staley teaching. I can’t remember what she was teaching about but I remember one story very distinctively: There were two men walking along a beach and on the beach were thousands and thousands of star fish dying from lack of water. As they walked one of the men picked up a star fish and threw it back into the ocean, saving it’s life. The other man said; “Why are you doing this? There are thousands of star fish, and you can’t save them all, what difference will that make?” But instead of agreeing with this statement,the first man said, “Well I saved that one.” And as he stooped down to pick up another star fish and throw it back, he said; “And I saved that one…” This story has really made me think about how I look at helplessness over the years, and yet again I use it. No I can not help every single person in this world (although I wish I could), but I can help one person at a time, and I can try my hardest to do everything I can for everyone that I have the opportunity to help, no matter what form that help comes in.
“ They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore: nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be there shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” –Revelation 7:16 &17
Many people are overwhelmed by the problems in this world and think that there is no hope for it and that people will always be hungry and there will always be hatred and war and murder and pain. I don’t know how I feel about this but I think I am somewhere in the middle of feeling that with God all things are possible and we should never underestimate the power that He has. However with human efforts alone, I believe it would be impossible for these things to become extinct in this world. So I am putting my hope and my trust in God, that He will use me to help make this world a better place, one star fish at a time.
God is good friends, and I am very happy here. Please continue to pray for me and for this ministry that I’m working with. Please pray for the girls at the home and their families in their separate villages. Please remember us over in India as we remember you in America. Thank you for your love and support!
Peace friends
FEBRUARY 19th
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
As I sit on my bed drinking Sleepy Time tea out of my favorite mug from Saturday Market with my favorite blanky draped over my lap, I can’t help but think about home. I think about dinner time with my beautiful family, early morning coffee dates at chapters, walking through the town with good friends, going hiking on a rainy day, driving to the beach on a sunny day, sitting on the couch playing with my niece and nephew, Sundays at Newberg Friends Church, etc. All these memories float back to me, and my heart aches for home. My heart aches for something familiar and comforting…
This week has been very difficult and I have struggled with staying focused on the things here and not what I’m missing back home, please pray for me. Although I consider this place my second home, right now I’m missing my first home. There is no doubt in my mind that I am supposed to be here and there is no temptation to go home early, but there is a longing to be home or for everyone to be here with me. I have made great friends here in India and I enjoy talking to them everyday, but I miss the friends that know everything about me, that speak English as their first language, that understand my humor, and that I share many memories with. Right now I would LOVE for everyone to come to India and experience all of this with me, apart from that just being a lot of fun, it would make things a whole lot easier! So if you could just get your tickets and fly on over that’d be great, thanks!
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” –James 1:2
Being away from home for six months is very very hard for me, and is one of the many things that God is challenging me with while I’m here. I am growing in my faith everyday, and constantly learning from God, I praise Him for this! I know that because things are difficult I am relying on Him fully and understanding the relationship that we have to a different degree. I know that I will not be the same person when I get home (I’ve already changed so much) and I’m excited for this. Although this is not easy, and not always fun, I praise the Lord because it is right!
I’m currently studying the Psalms and the book of Acts and getting so much out of it! I’ve discovered that I have apassion for reading God’s word, and it is amazing! When I read the Bible I get excited and don’t want to stop; I want to do research and understand the reading, the background, the situation, where the writer is coming from, I want to study so I know more about God. There’s a quote in the office here that says: “We must know His word so that we may better know His way.” I’m not sure who said this but I like it and agree. The word of God always holds truth and always surprises me, and I’m thankful for that!
Things at the Home are going great! We are finding that going to the Home for breakfast, instead of eating it alone in our apartment, is a great way to start the day! We get to see the girls off to school, we are forced to be up by 8am, we eat a good breakfast, and we get some exercise, what more could you ask for? I’m now teaching the student at the Bible College English as well as how to use a computer on top of guitar classes. I’ve officially decided that teaching is not my strong point, but one on one lessons are where I thrive. So I’ve set up all my classes where everyone works on one thing and I go around and help each person with what they are struggling with individually. This way everyone stays at the same level and no one is left behind. Teaching wears me out, and I pray for energy and enthusiasm everyday, please join me in this prayer, I need it! I’ve definitely learned to be thankful for the little things that I am blessed with, like how to type on a computer, how to drive a car or ride a bike, how to use the internet, etc. These are things I never thought twice about until I was asked to teach full-grown men and women how to do some of these things.
God is good, and I am learning SO much! Thank you for your support and prayers, I hope that you are being challenged by God as well, and growing closer to Him by the second. You are His precious child and there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you less… nothing!
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