God is good!

God is good, All the time! All the time, God is good! That is a phrase that has consistently popped into my head over the past week. It's crazy to think that another week has passed already and life here finally feels "normal." I am finally over culture shock, jet lag, and feeling like I am able to do life here being fully invested. I can't believe this experience is over 1/3 done already!

There is a lot going on here and this week is an extremely busy one as everything is in full swing. I'm not going to give you the details of everyday because it looks generally the same as last week only with a few more things added. Instead, I'd much rather tell you stories, highlights and what God is doing here. 

We have been to all of the ministry sites now and relationships have formed and are building. It is so cool to see the barriers being torn down, and God at work both when we are there and when we are not. 

Monday, we got to play games with the patients at the hospital in the afternoon. They had so much fun and it was good to see them smile. 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we went to the slum and the stitching center. Spending time with the women has been fantastic as we are learning more and more about them. Standing at the top of the stitching center and looking down over the slum is such a heart-wrenching experience every time. Seeing the poverty and hurt breaks my heart, but seeing the children's faces light up with a smile and them waving like crazy when they see us brings me so much happiness and hope. Children call us "aunties" so everywhere we see children whether in our neighborhood, in the slum or around the city, they are always yelling, "auntie, auntie, hi!" Children will run and chase us yelling and wanting to shake our hands, smile and wave, or asking for chocolate (candy). The kids in our neighborhood have gotten very good at saying, "auntie, chocolate?" :) Sweets are such a treat for them.  

Rickshaw rides have been another highlight. Not only do we get to see a lot of the city and people when we ride in them multiple times a day, but it also has made for a lot of great conversations and memories between the 5 of us as we travel to and from places. Yes, we are very good at cramming 5 girls into a rickshaw! :)

Church has been a huge blessing. In an area that is very dark and heavy, being surrounded by a body of Christian believers is so encouraging. We have had the privilege of going to three different people's homes from our church. It has been so fun getting to know them better and then to know people at church on Sunday. 

The biggest highlight and joy of my week happened on Tuesday. We began doing Bible lessons in the tuitions classes in the slum. Tuitions is a time every night where the kids can come to do homework and other activities. I thought I was going to be teaching two different sections of children the story of creation, but because of a little misunderstanding, plans changed like usual :) We found out all of the kids were going to be together for our Bible lesson. We went to the top room which is only about 15 square feet, might I add. Kids kept coming and coming and coming. As they walked in the door, their faces lit up and they said, hi auntie!" They all wanted to know our names and show us stuff they were learning in school or talk to us. Soon there were about 100 kids in that room (plus 3 teachers and 4 of us girls). It was packed! That sight and noise brought me so much happiness. As I looked over the room and saw the beauty in those children's eyes, my heart was full of joy. (What wasn't so cool, was the way of discipline the teachers used…that was hard to watch and made me want to cry.) When it was time to begin, the teachers got the kids quiet and explained that we were going to teach them a Bible lesson. We began by singing "My God is so Big" and they knew that song! It was beautiful to see 100 kids singing their hearts out and doing the actions. I'm not sure the smile on my face  could have gotten any bigger. We taught them "He's got the whole world in His hands." They liked that one and caught on very quickly. Then it was time for the Bible story. I read the story of creation and one of the teacher's also translated. They listened very well. Not sure if I'll ever teach 100 kids at the same time again :) We sang "He's got the whole world in His hands" again and then they sang a praise song for us in Tamel which is one of their languages. They were so full of energy. Leaving was difficult, but we are supposed to go back today and every Tuesday and Thursday! :)

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful. I don't know the exact temperatures but probably between 75-85 everyday. It will sometimes rain randomly in the afternoon, but usually nothing more than a small shower. 

Specific prayer requests for the week:

-Relationships-that they will continue to grow and God will be the center of them

-The women and children who are being trafficked everyday

-The people would be open to the Gospel 

-That people would be able to see God in us wherever we are

-Continued safety and health (so far so good!)

-That God would continue working in my heart 

I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you so much for all of the emails, support, and prayers. It is so encouraging!!  

Here is a verse I read this week that I want to share because it meant a lot to me. Stop and think about the beauty of it :) "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."-Zephaniah 3:17

Blog 1 from the other side of the world

Hello to everyone from Bangalore, India!

It is crazy to think I have already been gone a week and a half and wow, have I already been learning a lot and a lot has happened. I will try to summarize and give you an update of my life. (It is currently 12:15 p.m. on Thursday)

I left on Monday, June 10 from Des Moines with a wide mixture of emotions. Excited, scared, nervous, anxious, sad, happy and about anything else you could think of. I had a short flight to Chicago where I met up with the other two girls on my team, Kelsey and Erin. We hit it off well and it was nice to finally all be together. We got on a very large plane for an 8 hour flight to Germany and then boarded an even bigger plane for our 9 hour flight from Germany to India. Thankfully the planes were nice. The flights were long but not awful. We landed about 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning (which was Tuesday afternoon back home because I am 10 1/2 hours ahead). Praise the Lord for safe and smooth travels and they let us through customs and into the country with no problems. About 3, we made it out of the airport and were greeted by our leaders, Jill and Lydia. They greeted us with big smiles and hugs, and I will tell you right now that they have been a huge blessing and the 5 of us make a great team. Thank you Jesus that they have lived here for 3 months and know what they are doing. We made it to our house and went to bed around 5 a.m. They let us sleep half of the day to try and get a little bit rested up. Jet lag is not fun at all! The rest of Wednesday was a lot of orientation stuff and hanging out. Thursday was our day to go to Commercial Street to buy our Indian clothing. This was an experience like I had never had before and it took no longer than for me to step out of the house to know that I was not in the U.S. anymore. We had to get a rickshaw to travel around (we either walk or get a rickshaw to travel everyday). Words cannot even begin to describe the sights of India. There are people, animals (dogs, cows, goats, chickens, sheep), vehicles (busses, cars, taxis, mopeds, motorcycles, rickshaws, bicycles) EVERYWHERE. Honking and 4-5 lanes of traffic on a 2 lane road is the norm. Shopping on Commercial Street was overwhelming but fun. It definitely threw me right into the culture. I also now own plenty of Kurtas which is what we wear everyday to ministry. Friday we were supposed to go to the stitching center (one of the ministry sites), but plans fell through. Lesson #1 on flexibility and patience.  We did prep work and watched a documentary on sex trafficking. On Saturday, we went to a beautiful park for a picnic lunch and had more training in the afternoon. Sunday, we went to the pastor's house for afternoon coffee time and then went to church. It is a small, Christian, English-speaking church and all of the people were so kind. After church during fellowship, there was a beautiful double rainbow. This was an amazing visual reminder that God is with me no matter where in the world I am. Monday was our first day to get to go to one of the ministry sites. We had our first public bus experience which was a day's worth of excitement within itself. We went to the HIV hospital and AIDS orphanage. During the day, we cleaned at the hospital. God really stretched me there because I am not a huge fan of cleaning and many of you know how much I hate hospitals. I knew how important it was through and how much they needed our help. I had to remind myself that God calls us to love and serve everyone. God was working on my heart. Late afternoon, the kids all came home from school and my whole world lit up. I began talking with a 10 year old boy and helping him with his homework. A little while later, him and another boy began playing volleyball, so I immediately joined. I played volleyball and basketball for about an hour with a group of kids and loved every minute of it. They could speak some English, but language didn't even matter because there was joy even with few words. At one point, I heard one of the older boys, probably around 15 years old, singing, "Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul, worship His holy name. Sing like never before, Oh my soul, I worship His holy name." I stopped, listened and smiled. When he stopped, I told him that was one of my favorite songs. He said it was his too and asked me who it was by. I will never forget that moment. God knew exactly what i needed that afternoon. I was sad to have to leave, but hopefully, we'll get to go back on Saturday. Tuesday we were supposed to go to the stitching center but plans changed again, so we prepared lessons for teaching the children for next week. We are getting a very good idea of flexibility and patience :) In the afternoon, I had my first grocery shopping experience in India. We went to Easy Day which is their version of Wal-Mart. It was similar except it had 3 floors which was pretty awesome. Wednesday, we finally got to go to the stitching center and meet some of the women. They showed us the projects they have been working on and then we did a Bible lesson and henna with them. It was challenging with the language barrier but relationships were beginning to form. This afternoon, we are supposed to go to the stitching center again and hopefully continue to build those relationships. Friday we are supposed to go to the aftercare home for the first time, so hopefully by the end of the week, I will have been to all 3 ministry sites. 

Here is a very general schedule of what a typical day may look like for me (if there is any such thing as a typical day) :)

8:00-Wake up

9:30-10:30-Team Devotions-This has been a huge blessing!!

10:30-1:00-varies everyday (ministry, prayer time, errands, planning, etc)

1:00-6:00-Ministry

6:00-??-Supper/debrief/house visits/anything else

The people are friendly and the food isn't awful :) We have eaten out a few times at Indian restaurants and I have found things I like. I have not gotten sick yet, so Praise Jesus!! I am beginning to feel more and more comfortable here and I'm sure that as we continue to do more ministry work, I will feel even better. It was a LOT of culture shock the first week and I will be completely honest to say that I miss home a lot and have struggled with homesickness. BUT, God is with me and is watching over me and everyone back home. He has been teaching me a lot and I've been growing. God uses our weaknesses to bring Him glory. 

Thank you SO SO much to everyone for your prayers. This experience has definitely been challenging, but knowing the amount of prayer support I have, makes it a lot easier to keep going. Thank you to everyone who contributed to my prayer/encouragement binder. It is beautiful and I read it often. I love it more than you'll ever know!! I was able to read all of my emails today and it was very exciting to hear from so many of you. Seriously, you don't know how happy it makes me! Keep them coming, I'd love to hear from you all! 

Here are some specific prayer requests and prayers of thanks that I would ask for:

-All 3 ministry sites. There is a lot of brokenness and hurt

-Safety-Our lives are put into the hands of many people throughout the day, so please pray that we stay safe. 

-Continued health-so far we have all been healthy, so give thanks for that and pray that it continues

-Peace-Pray that God will give me peace and the ability  to enjoy and live out everyday to the fullest

-A great team and leaders-prayers of thanks for that and that we will continue to grow and encourage each other as sisters in Christ

-That the language barrier won't be discouraging

-Sleep and rest-the three of us haven't been sleeping very well and it is becoming frustrating. 

-Relationships-Pray as we form relationships with the people here. That they will be open to us, and God will be visible through us

-Give thanks for the small things and areas that I have seen God work

-For the classes that we will begin teaching next week (tuitions, life skills, young girls)

-That God will continue to shape and mold my heart

This has gotten very long, but i hope it gives you a little bit of an insight as to what my time in India has looked like so far. I will be able to update you about once a week. Sorry to anyone, if i don't get a chance to reply to your emails, I will do my best. Know that i love them and I read them all :) Psalm 19 really spoke to me this morning as I was doing my morning devotions, so I would encourage all of you to take some time and read it. 

I love and miss you all very much! Thanks again for all of your love, encouragement and support!

P.S. Shout out to my little brother, Kody, and friend, Blaize, and the rest of the team, as they play in the baseball championship tomorrow night! Congratulations! You'll do great!! Have fun! Know that I am cheering for you from half way across the world!

The Day is Here

It is officially June 10 and in about 12 hours I will be leaving small town Iowa and going to a giant city. Bags are packed, have said "see you later" to almost everyone, and now only a few small things stand between me and this experience of a lifetime. I know I should be sleeping, but I wanted to update everyone on my last minute thoughts and feelings before leaving the country for the first time.

To say that I am excited would be just a bit of an understatement! I am stoked. The day I have been waiting and planning for, for over six months, is finally here. It is time. Being on the SOS team and all of the meetings and preparation has been wonderful. I think I am as ready as I will ever be. Do I feel fully equipped? No, but that is where faith and trust in God comes in. Am I scared/nervous? Yes, I am leaving the country and going to another one where the language, religion, food, living conditions, skin color, and size of the city are completely different. Again, where my trust in God fits perfectly. Someone said to me that "God is the God of the whole world, so it doesn't matter if you are in Sully, India or anywhere in between, God is still watching over you and guiding you." God will be my guide and that is one thing that I know for a fact is the same.

I have a lot of emotions running through me right now. Happiness and joy for this experience, sadness in having to say goodbye (see you later), anxiety about the unknown, peace that things have gone so smoothly (minus my one freak out dealing with insurance and malaria medication) and extremely blessed to know how many people are lifting me up in prayer and the amount of wonderful conversations I have gotten to have this past week.

A few specific prayer requests for the beginning of this journey....
-safety and health
-smooth transition to a new culture
-for my family and friends here at home
-easy relationship building with the people
-Christ's love to be visible through me
-a meaningful and impactful experience for myself and the other two girls on my team as God works in our lives
-God's guidance, peace and strength

If you would like to contact me while I am in India, you can email me at darci.jansen10@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!

I am ready to go and love the people of India! The time is here.

"Love in Action"

That is the phrase that describes what Rahab's Rope is all about. I had kind of forgotten the exact words until the other day when I was on their website again exploring. The first thing my eyes were drawn to was that phrase. Needless to say I was blown away. Over the past week, I felt God teaching me little things about His love and loving others. This was just another reminder that God knew what He was doing sending me to India. I had also been getting a little bit nervous about the whole trip and questioning whether I was really the right person for this. Besides, how much do I really know about human trafficking or life without the love of God? I continued to ask God to equip me for this journey. After watching some videos about Rahab's Rope and exploring their site, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace. The women and children need love. They need to be loved with no strings attached. I can do that. With God's help, I can love with the love of Christ. That in itself might be why God is sending me to India. It may not be something that you can physically measure like painting or doing repairs, but it is something that fits who I am. I am very relationship oriented, so knowing that is what Rahab's Rope is all about makes me excited. There will be a language barrier but it's the little things like sitting beside someone or even a smile that will help me bond with the women and children. There is a lot of love at Rahab's Rope and I cannot wait to be a part of it. I have no doubt that at times it will be extremely difficult, but I am confident that God will be my guide.

Here are a few facts about where I will be spending my summer.
-India has an estimated 1.16 billion people and Bangalore alone has over 8 million people. Just a bit bigger than Sully :)
-India is over 80% Hindu and only about 2.5% Christianity.
-There are 16 major languages and about 844 dialects. In Bangalore, the main language is Kanada. English is widely spoken and taught in most schools, but both their and my accents will be an issue. Not very often am I told that I have an accent.
-The weather will be 70-80 degrees with high humidity. I'll be there during monsoon season, so will probably  experience a good amount of rain.
-Bangalore is known for being the most livable city in India and is known as the Garden City.
-It is the Information Technology capital of Asia.
-Although it is very international with most needs available, the diversity is very large. India is booming economically but there are also over 300 million people that live on less than $1 a day.

-South Asia is home to the world's largest population of slaves. Trafficking into forced prostitution victimizes more children in India than any other country in the world. Approximately 200 girls and women in India enter sex work everyday. Rahab's Rope rescues them from the streets. These are the women and children I'll be working with. Bangalore is the home of the aftercare center for Rahab's Rope. The beautiful women and children there are the ones I will be blessed to share God's love with.
Here is the promo video for Rahab's Rope. The statistics are heart-wrenching.

As I talk to more people and ask for their prayers, I am reminded of the verse in I Thessalonians that says to "pray continually." A few specific prayer requests that I would ask you to join me in prayer for would be for the women, children, and staff that I will get to know at Rahab's Rope. Pray that we may form relationships despite any language barriers or anything else, that our hearts may be opened, and they may be able to experience Christ's love. Also, I ask that you pray for those who are still out in the streets and haven't been rescued yet. Human trafficking is real and there are new victims every day. I would also ask that you pray for me-packing, preparation, calmed nerves, health, my heart, and contentment as I can almost count on my fingers the number of days until I leave.

Music is a huge part of my life. Whether through piano or singing, it is a way I feel connected with God. I love music, so I also have a lot of favorite songs. Over the past few months, I've heard some excellent worship songs that I felt would be fitting for my trip, but yesterday at work, there was one song imparticular that seemed to always catch my attention. I probably heard it at least 5 times throughout the day. By about the third time, I stopped and truly listened to the words and immediately knew why I had fallen in love with it. This song is one of my biggest prayers for my SOS.

Now that I've written a novel, I should probably wrap it up. But I was reading an email from a friend today and was reminded that God's plan is perfect and He knows what He's doing and exactly what we need. We may think we know, but in reality, we have no idea. There have been a lot of little reminders lately in my life that God takes care of me down to the tiniest details. His love is greater than we could ever imagine. I am so thankful for all of the encouragement, support, and kind words everyone has blessed me with as I prepare to leave in just a little over a week. I have five days of work left, six days at home and to prepare, and before I know it, I'll be boarding my plane at the Des Moines airport.

Counting My Blessings

Well it's officially summer! I have been out of school for 1 week which means only 3 weeks until I leave to go to the other side of the world. This will be my first time out of the country, so I am a little nervous but more excited. It will be very different to not be in a little Dutch town, but rather to see a whole new part of God's world. I'll be getting on the plane before I know it.

It seems like just yesterday, I received the letter that I would be a part of the SOS (Summer of Service) team at Northwestern. Looking back, I realized that it has already been 6 months and God has been faithful through it all. When this all began, I was pretty set on going somewhere in Africa. After committing to what I thought was the perfect trip to Kenya, I found out in March that was not going to happen (If you don't know the story, feel free to ask me about it sometime).  I was extremely disappointed, but after a few weeks, I realized God had a better plan. Through a few connections and after lots of prayer, I applied and was accepted to go to India with Rahab's Rope. This whole journey has been a process, but I can now say I am confident that Bangalore, India is where God wants me this summer.

Throughout the semester, the SOS team would meet on Monday nights to prepare culturally, spiritually and mentally. These meetings were such a blessing! I have made 17 new friends who will be going all over the world working with different organizations. I ask that you pray for them as well as a couple have already left and the rest will be leaving around the same time as me. One of these friends is a girl that I have gotten extremely close to over the past few months and am excited to spend the summer with in India. Kelsey and I have been on this journey together as we went from not knowing each other, to beginning to prepare for Kenya, to many tears and laughs, to finally deciding to go to India...all of which have involved many hours of conversations and prayer together. I cannot wait to see how our friendship grows even more throughout the summer!

There is so much I would like to share about the many blessings that I have experienced over the past few months, but I guess I will just have to pick a few. This opportunity in itself has been such a blessing! I had a tough semester but having the support of the team and many friends made it a lot more manageable. I have been blessed with some amazing friends! (The end of the year "see you laters" were not much fun.) 

 Megan and I (This will be the longest we have ever been apart)

The beautiful girls I was blessed to live with this year.

Along with the weekly SOS meetings, we had a SOS Commissioning Service in April. This was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. I was blessed by the support of my family, friends, and people from the NWC community. So thankful my mom, dad, sister and grandma could be there. 

My host parents

Another blessing was receiving a binder full of encouraging notes for when I am gone. Thank you to everyone who contributed!! I cannot wait to read them. (Kara currently has the binder, so I'm not tempted to look through it before I leave.)  

During finals week, we had a prayer meeting which the Holy Spirit was very present at. We prayer for each member of the team and lit individual candles and placed them on the map. What an awesome picture! 

Another huge blessing is logistics. Passport here, visa came this week, plane ticket purchased, got all of my immunizations on Thursday (4 shots in one day isn't the most fun), and the best part, 100% of my support is raised. THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who contributed!! Both the financial and prayer support that I have received so far has been unbelievable. (If you still would like to contribute financially, talk to me.) Most of all though, I ask for your continued prayer support throughout the summer!! I cannot do it alone. Prayer is the most important part of this whole trip, so I ask you to stand alongside me in prayer. In the next few weeks and when I am gone, my blog will be my main form of communication. But if you would like to be on my email list for prayer updates, please send me your email address. My email is darci.jansen10@gmail.com. 

Lastly, it is a blessing to be home. Junior year of college complete and one month to prepare for my trip! Between working, spending time with friends and family, going to ballgames, and all the preparation both physically and spiritually, I have no doubt that these 3 weeks will fly! Next on my agenda is continue learning about India and begin packing. Let the countdown begin...23 days :)