Amsterdam airport

During the 6 hour layover in Amsterdam on my way home from India, I had plenty of time to “process.” Although I had journaled during the time there, I still needed to use the list of questions I hand out to summer teams to really think through what happened. One of the exercises we encourage team members to do in preparation for re-entry into life at home is to come up with several answers to the inevitable question, “So, how was your trip?” There’s the lengthy-presentation answer, complete with a multimedia extravaganza and, in the case of my church, lunch. (This post is the virtual version of the lengthy-presentation answer, minus the extravaganza — just a few pictures. Lunch is on your own, and you might consider getting some as this is going to get long.) Then there’s the top-highlights answer for times when the asker is really interested but time is limited. The most difficult one to come up with is the short answer: the one word or phrase that will satisfy the asker who is making small talk and doesn’t really want to hear about it, but will also give a descriptive hook that opens the door for further conversation as the Lord may lead. Continue reading…

Hello! Thank you so much for partnering with me in Global Impact. I think of all people on the globe, I’m the one that is most impacted right now by all of this. Your prayers for a deeper relationship with God have definitely been fulfilled. As a bonus, God has been setting up connections that I had pretty much given up on. Sharing time with one of the classes also went as well as can be expected for a language barrier. Thank you again for being a part of what God is doing in me, WFI, and India!

I’m going to switch things up a little and just send out prayer requests this week, even though it is the first Monday of the month. A full ministry update will be sent next week, after I’ve had time to process through what God has been revealing. In the mean time, could you please pray this week for:

• a strong finish: 4 days to go with lots of opportunities in store. Need to stay focused on where I am and what I need to do here, even though I am also looking forward to family and friends at home.
• the last two hosts I hope to meet this week (one is actually a friend from last year’s trip, so the time will be more friendly than business): wisdom and discernment as we meet to see His vision for their ministries and how WFI might partner with them
• ministry opportunities: working on keyboard/piano skills with students, sharing about Global Impact with the School of Worship. Want to be a blessing to them, not just as a “teacher” but as a fellow traveler on the road toward Heaven.
• responses from potential hosts in other countries: enough said?
• safe journey home: flying through Europe, so it will take some time. Pray for calm air (none of that tower-of-terror turbulence, please), smooth connections/layovers, and everything to come home in one piece (like my mind–haha).
• boldness to share Christ with people I might meet on the way home: in airports, sitting next to me on the plane, wherever…just to be aware of whom God might be pointing out to me as His appointment.

Thanks again! It never ceases to amaze me how much I can sense the power of your prayers even when we’re on opposite sides of the world. Our God is pretty amazing, isn’t He?

Hello from India! It’s been so encouraging to receive your fb posts and other messages. I have a love-hate relationship with new traveling adventures: love encountering God all over the world in all kinds of people and cultures, but hate not having family and friends to share it with. Thanks for helping me stay connected and encouraged! We arrived safely (obviously) at our ministry base, and classes have started.Thanks so much for all of your prayers for safe travels…I especially appreciate it since flying is not my favorite mode of transportation.

Along with trying to meet up with hosts for future teams in India, I get to help out as a guest teacher (interpret that lightly, please ), with tentative plans to be a kind of TA for the real guest School of Worship teacher (Sandy, one of the people with whom I’m traveling), a keyboard tutor, and a one-time sharing on worship with Janey and Sandy (my traveling buddies) at their Discipleship Training School. Might also co-lead a worship time next Monday morning with Sandy. A lot of this depends on whether or not they can get their keyboard up and running.

This week, could you please be praying for:

• overcoming jetlag! Usually takes about 2 weeks for me, so at least I can enjoy the early mornings without setting the alarm clock. Still, it would be nice if I could coherently engage in dinner conversations with our hosts.
• God’s provision. As with any ministry, but especially with short-term international stints, we can expect to (and already have) run into unexpected opportunities and challenges.
• appointments with other Indian hosts. I’ve been able to connect with a few over email and phone (thanks for praying for that), but no set dates, times, and locations for meetings yet. Partly because of culture and partly because of an unreliable internet server.
• sharing on worship with Janey and Sandy this Friday morning. It’s always a little bit of a challenge to team teach with people you don’t know very well. Please pray the Spirit will unite us as we each prepare our different angles and approaches to the topic. Pray also for the students, several of whom are fairly new Christians.
• wrapping up plans with hosts from other countries. Please pray they will send in their forms soon! I just sent them a reminder two days ago, and one has responded…hooray! Now, just waiting for two more (not counting the Indian ones I hope to meet).
• last but most importantly, intimacy with God. Doing all of this doesn’t mean much if I don’t grow more in love with Him on a daily basis, and it is so easy to overshadow that relationship with Him with doing stuff “for Him.” Please pray for that…I can’t even express how much I need to know His presence closely and deeply.

That’s it! Well, probably not, but that’s it for now! Thanks so much for supporting me in your prayers. I’ll post updates on facebook/twitter so you can pray along as things happen, if you want to. Thanks!

After an uneventful flight (except for the tomato-juice-on-the-ceiling turbulence), we’ve made it safely to our home base in India. Had the nicest welcome: a bouquet of flowers! (Not that the welcome meals in Japan weren’t nice, but I never get flowers!)

Quick tour of the campus this morning after the chai tea break. Looking forward to getting to know YWAM a little better…they use more initials for their operations than World Christian Fellowship! We’ll be kicking off their School of Worship, which runs concurrently with a few other schools. All of them start on Monday, so this weekend a lot of the students will be arriving. This weekend will be spent preparing curriculum and recuperating from the journey.

Over the next few days, please pray for:

• quick adjustment to time change (we’re 12.5 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time)
• sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as we make ourselves available for His use
• the SOW staff…they’re down to two people now
• health…just little extra steps to maintain standards we normally take for granted at home

We’re still trying to figure out a setup for internet use that won’t intrude on the office staff here, so we might not be able to get online too frequently or for long periods at a time. My apologies in advance if I don’t reply quickly!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support! Looking back at the last few days of preparation to come, things have been less than smooth and definitely not according to my plans, but your prayers for peace have totally been answered because I was uncharacteristically not frustrated. Now that’s spiritual transformation…haha.

blessings, josie

Hello, and thanks for the many prayers for the upcoming India vision trip. Can’t believe I leave the house in 22 hours! God has been really good in allowing yesterday and today to be set aside for actually preparing to go. (Up until now, I’ve only been preparing to leave.) I was finally able to talk with a guy from India who has a lot of contacts near the area we’ll be staying, so that’s totally God’s provision. I’ve been praying for that for weeks!

This week, can you please pray for:

• the peace and presence of God to reign in me (I love experiencing God in different ways and cultures, but traveling is a little stressful)
• divinely appointed connections and schedule in India…everything is pretty open ended right now, and I want to make the most of the time we have there to accomplish whatever He has in mind for this trip
• God’s grace on Sandy, Janey, and me as we get to know one another (meeting for the first time in the Atlanta airport!) and worship God together for 17 days
• the usual travel stuff: safety, health, no lost luggage…you know the drill
• for 2010 Wavefront hosts all around the world…even though I’ll be in India, I’ll still be trying to maintain communications and keep the momentum going for the set-up process…so especially for clarity as I switch gears between a strong India focus and a larger overall perspective regularly

Thanks so much! I’ll have internet access, but it will be slower and less reliable. Feel free to send messages, no security issues. If possible, though, please avoid forwarding or sending large files (images, videos). Those take a while to download, and I probably should keep online time to a minimum so I can be as present as possible with people. Praying for you as you pray for me…