Traveling Mercies

As I am about to board a plane to London and then on to Hyderabad and then on to Rajamundry,  

I snapped this picture of my necklace that I am wearing. 

(a pendant for Anna, a pendant for Taylor and a pendant for Children of the Kingdom- C.o.K.).  

I wanted to share this email that my friend Susanne sent to me this morning after I passed on the news that I was heading to India (see letter below that I wrote late last night.) 

"......I hope to be with you in prayer every day of your journey.

And I will especially pray for Anna and Taylor. I know that will be hard for you and them to miss the infamous first day of school. But it's important for you to be with your "other" children God has given you." 

Traveling mercies and so much love,

Susanne

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letter written on August 25, 2014: 

It has been a whirlwind of a summer with teaching class at SPU, camping & backpacking trips with friends and family, and some other beautiful outdoor adventures here in the NW.  My adventures will continue tomorrow as I head to India for the next 10 days.

This might come as a surprise to some of you because the trip has been up in the air for a while. I applied for my travel visa on May 12^th and just got it back in the mail on Thursday, August 21^st (5 days before my trip!) It was down to the wire so I had to hold this trip with open hands all summer.  As Taylor said to me when we were talking about it, we have all had a lot of waiting to do this year and we have had a lot of practice with patience (referring to Jason’s job search and to his own experience of waiting for a package to arrive in June which seemed like it would never come!). 

The story of why I am heading overseas is below.

In the past couple of years, it has become increasingly difficult to give undivided attention to the Share International ministry in India due to the growth of the ministry in Kenya. Our board and our director have sensed the need to focus more on one region and to concentrate on the ministry in Africa.

When the board expressed this recommendation for Share to transition out of our ministry in India, the goal remained for the projects and people we have supported through Children of the Kingdom there to not be abandoned in any way.  Over the last 8 months, we done much research and we have been introduced to another organization called the Caleb Hope Foundation (CHF - http://www.calebhopefoundation.org/).  The Caleb Hope Foundation is a ministry that also reaches out to the Dalit people in India whose founder has a passion for empowering the poorest of the poor in India.  They are committed to helping us grow and expand our work there, and we believe we will be able to support the children more effectively with this partnership.

The Children of the Kingdom sponsorship program will not change in our commitment and outreach to children in both India and in Kenya. I will still serve as the coordinator for the program in Kenya which will be overseen by Share International, and I will be the coordinator for the program in India which will be under the umbrella of the Caleb Hope Foundation.

Amy Bernard (on the Share International board) who has been instrumental in her leadership with the sewing ministry in India will oversee that project under the Caleb Hope Foundation.  Amy and I were together in India in October 2012 and we will be traveling to India together from August 26- September 4^th to introduce the director of the Caleb Hope Foundation (Jeremiah Caleb) to the children and families in our sponsorship program, to the women who have been in the sewing program, and to the Thota family who oversees our program in Rajamundry.  Amy and I will serve on the Caleb Hope Foundation board to ensure the continuity and growth of our ministry among the Dalits that Share International has carried out the past 9 years.

I am sending this to you to ask for your prayers for us over the next week and a half.  Would you pick a day between August 26- September 4^th to pray for us? I would love your prayers for safety in our travels, for unity as we begin this new chapter in our work in India, for joy in the reunions with the families we are connected with there, and for God’s kingdom to grow.   Also, please pray for Anna and Taylor as they start school on September 3^rd. I will miss getting to be there for them on the first day back, but I will be back in the evening after their second day. 

Let me know if you have a day in mind so I can jot it on my calendar and be praying for you that day as well.

Thank you for joining me in this journey!!  

Much love,

Emily