In Christ Alone

This song has been such a source of encouragement for me. Listen to the words -- they are so powerful.



In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Health Update

Our local doctor came to the children's home this week to give blood tests to all of our staff and kids and to do a general checkup. Everyone was tested for a range of different things as it done annually. They were tested for HIV, Typhoid, Jandice, Malaria, Urinary Track Infection, and Anemia to list a few. We got the test results back and twenty of our kids and two staff were diagnosed with Typhoid. Ten girls have a UTI and another handful are anemic. One of the children is HIV positive (we were already aware of that). We concluded that the Typhoid most likely came from school and when it hit our kids it spread like wildfire. It is a potentially fatal disease if not treated so we are taking the proper precautions to make sure our kids get better. They are all on proper medication and we finally have the sickness diagnosed and getting under control.
Just last week our sick room prayer group was bigger than our regular evening gathering. We were down to twenty two healthy kids one night. Yet despite that, the children continue to worship, pray, and study God's Word with an unquenchable passion. One night in particular we could here all the way from upstairs the sick kids worshiping God over our own singing. Without being asked they run their own Bible study. These kids are amazing and so filled with God's spirit.
Please continue to pray for healing for our children and that no sickness goes untreated. Pray for comfort for those children who are feeling the worst. Also pray for the safety and health of our staff as well as renewed energy and strength for the days to come.
Thank you to my family, friends, classmates, teammates, community group, church, and complete strangers for your support and prayers. I never imagined so many people would be reading my stories from India, but I'm so very blessed and honored to be the one to share about how God's hand is moving here in India. Praise be to Him!

Like a Thief in the Night

I watched as a man died today. I felt so helpless that I felt as if my heart was burning in my chest. Only a couple hundred yards from the children's home, a man's life was ended by a single decision. As we sat in the car with only the railroad tracks separating us, we watched as people rushed into the street to the man who had been hit while crossing the highway on his motorcycle. The sounds of screeching tires pierced the air. I watched as the truck drove off. As we got closer, my stomach tightened. People were huddled around the dying man, but no one would touch him. Blood poured onto the pavement. As we drove away, my heart sank. This man had a family. He was a father, a grandfather, a husband. He woke up this morning not knowing it would be his last. I sat and imagined his family saying goodbye to him that day. I winced at the thought of their grief. Death had come like a thief in the night. My heart broke for him as I pleaded with God to spare his life. The ambulance passed us a short time later -- surprisingly quick for India. I don't know with certainty whether he died or not, but only a miracle from the Great Physician could have rescued him from that.
We drove past an hour later. The people were gone, but the crushed motorcycle still laid in the street and the blood stained the ground. Every time I leave the children's home I will go past that spot. Every time I look out from the balcony I see the highway and the scence flashes in my head again. It is a constant reminder of what these people face everyday. For me, I had never witnessed such a thing before, but for the Indians in my community and all over the country this is a part of life. Although this is the only accident I have witnessed firsthand, I have heard too many stories and seen the wounds of so many people. I have sat in a doctor's office as watched a mother come in with her baby after being hit by a car while walking down the street. I see Thomas everyday as he limps around with six broken bones in his foot and leg as a result of a motorcycle accident that happened almost a year ago. I see the mounds of dirt on the side of the road where a body had just been buried. Death is in the air here.

I pray for hope. I pray that despite all that goes on here that the kingdom of God would break into this place and pierce the hearts of so many who are walking in utter darkness. Lord, come...

Where It All Begin

To the casual viewer, this picture probably doesn't mean much. This tree is just another tree and this building is just another building. But to one man, this is a place filled with memories and significance. It is the birthplace of an encounter with God that was beginning of something great. This place was once an orphanage where the kids were treated very poorly. That tree was an escape from the darkness inside to the outside world where a little boy could roam free. This boy was Ravi Manda, the brother I know today as Thomas Mollhagen.
Over the past few years I have had to opportunity to get to know Thomas and have heard his story on many different occasions. I knew that as a child he spent many years getting tossed between different orphanages with his brother Peter. I knew that he was adopted by a family in Grand Rapids and returned to India later in his life to reconnect with his biological parents. I knew that his heart was moved upon seeing the plight of many children here and founded what we know today as Open Arms For Asia.

Even in knowing all those things, I never really understood the significance of his story until now. While in Hyderabad we visited a few of the orphanages that Thomas had been in. We walked on the same streets he has walked on as a boy. We went into the same buildings he had lived in. I saw with my own eyes the places that are in his stories. I was at the place that Thomas was when he first cried out to God to save him from that orphanage. It became real. I saw a glimpse of the struggle that he went through. I saw how each struggle and every ounce of pain was for a purpose. That purpose is to serve these children. If Thomas had not experienced what he did and lived the life he had, he would in no way be prepared to serve in the capacity he does. His testimony gives him a place in the lives of these kids that no one else can have. He is able to empathize with them. He understands where they are coming from. What a powerful story of the goodness of God in the midst of so much pain. We give Him the glory.

Hyderabad -- Day 2

After a morning meeting with a missions organization that didn't go so well, we decided to explore more of Hyderabad. We spent the better part of the morning at a park on Hussainsagar Lake, a man-made lake dating back to 1562. I experienced a little more Indian culture as I sat and had a henna tattoo applied to the front and back of my hands. The design in the picture below was drawn freehand and she did exceptional work. About an hour later, I washed off the excess and there I had my first henna tattoo. (Don't worry, Dad! It's only temporary!)

Afterward, we got on a boat that took us out to the middle of the lake where one of the world's largest monolithic statues of Buddha stands on the "Rock of Gibraltar." It was quite the site to see.
Another place that Thomas and I went was a huge Hindu temple to the Lord Venkateshwara that rests on the top of a hill overlooking the city. It is known as Birla Mandir: God's Marble Home. The pictures below are not my own because they did not allow cameras or cell phones there. The temple was incredible. It was made from 2000 tons of pure Rajasthani white marble and was frequented by hundreds of Hindus coming to offer they prayers and worship of their many gods. There were hardly any foreigners or non-Hindus there -- practically everyone who came made the trek up the hillock day to pray to their many gods.
Thomas and I walked all around the temple observing the people and structure that we were seeing. I was at a loss for words. These people were sold out. They were one hundred percent devoted to what they knew to be truth. They put me to shame in their reverence and devotion to what they believe. Although it was sad to see so many people walking in darkness, it was more a powerful reminder of who my God is and the honor and devotion that He deserves. We walked around the structure at the top of the temple again and again and again, crying out to God for His name and His power to be shown to these people. My heart was heavy and burdened not just for the people there, but more for the people of the Christian faith. We have been given life -- the very presence of God living in us -- and even so we often fail to devote ourselves to the author and perfecter of our faith. What a powerful way to convict my heart of where I rest my priorities. I am so humbled.

Hyderabad -- Day 1

Our trip to Hyderabad was a wonderful adventure. Apart from the meetings that Thomas and I attended, we basically had no agenda. We met up with some friends of Thomas', all Hindus, who we spent a majority of our time with. There whole family was so hospitable to us and took us many places and allowed us to spend the night at their house. They have a beautiful family and were a joy to be around. Here is a picture of Suneel's hilarious little boy. We had lots of fun.

Our first day there, we met up with Surain, the younger brother of Thomas' friend Suneel and he took us to some incredible historical sites in Hyderabad. The first place we went to is the famous Charminar which is as much a signature of Hyderabad as the Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. It was incredible, except for being ripped off at the ticket counter for being a foreigner. Because of my white skin I paid 100 rupees to get in while Thomas and Surain paid only 5. That is the story of my life here -- getting overcharged because everything thinks Americans are rich. The Charminar was built in 1591 by the founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Shah as a charm to ward off a deadly epidemic that was spreading like wildfire at the time. You could see so much of the city from the top (see picture in previous blog) and it was amazing to be able to experience that part of the city's history.
We visited many other historical monuments as well, including a Muslim temple where I had to wear the traditional Muslim attire (excluding the head covering), the Chowmahalla Palace, as well as a couple museums. I learned so much about Indian history in that short time and it was remarkable to see all of the wealth put into these structures and the culture that accompanies it.
Of course you cannot take a trip to Hyderabad without running into many things that remind you of America. I was thrilled to sit down to an amazing lunch at McDonalds, drink a Red Bull at a shop, and were treated to a delicious dinner at Dominos Pizza by our missionary friends from Back to Back.

Mmm...good!
What a great day...

(Oh yeah! I officially drank Indian tap water at Suneel's house and didn't even get sick. What a blessing it will be to not have to constantly worry about buying bottled water.)

The Hand of God

This past weekend Thomas and I took a trip to Hyderabad to connect with some people there and have a few potential ministry partnership meetings. We bought train tickets, planning to leave for the nine hour trip somewhere around 1am the next night. Thomas and I decided to leave a little early the night of our trip, but not for any particular reason. Although there is a train station about two hundred yards from the children's home, the train we needed to get on only passes by and does not stop. We had to drive about a half hour to a train station where we could board. Upon arriving to the ticket counter, we were notified that our train had been cancelled. It was strange that we hadn't been informed, but were thankful that there was another train leaving in five minutes that we were told to get on. God was watching out for us because there was no reason for us to have been there that early in order to make that train.As our train arrived and we spoke with the TC about acquiring new seats, he informed us that the train we were supposed to be on was in a bad wreck and two to three hundred people were just killed. (We found out later that actually that many people were injured and about 15 died). I could do nothing but praise God for His faithfulness to us that we weren't on that train. The conductor showed us to our seats and found two open beds in the AC car where we slept all night until we arrived in Hyderabad. Thomas even met an attorney who offered some valuable advice on our land-purchasing endeavors. Even now, I am so humbled at how God protects those who are doing His will even as Satan seeks to destroy. I can truly say that God spared our lives that night and that there is no reason other than His faithfulness that Thomas and I are alive today.
Our time in Hyderbad was so refreshing. I now understand why people take months to go backpacking around Europe. There is something about not having an agenda (other than a couple meetings) and just being able to explore and experience the city that is irreplacable. We met up and stayed with some friends of Thomas' that were more than hospitable to us. Although it was my first time meeting them, I left only a day and a half later feeling like we were lifelong friends. More details to come on some of what we were able to experience there.
As we headed back on the train Monday night, God's hand was on us once again. Our train was due to arive around 5am so we slept through the night as we did on the trip there. Trains in India are quite unlike trains in the US. There are no announcements or warning at the various stops. There is no one to monitor that people are clear before the train starts moving. It's quite the opposite, actually. People are constantly jumping on and off moving trains and nearly hanging out the door as the train drives off. As you may have guessed, Thomas and I missed our stop (I was awake, but had no way of knowing it was our stop), and had to continue on the train for the next half hour or so until another stop. At that point, we were way out of our way. We got off and paid 18 rupees for two new tickets (that's less than 50 cents). What I didn't realize at the time was that these tickets didn't take us back to the station we had left from two days earlier, but dropped us off directly in front of the children's home! We didn't have to pay for a taxi driver to take us home and even with having to purchase new tickets, we actually saved money.

The hand of God is so evident here. Regardless of how much Satan tries to seek and destroy, God is always there to protect and to save. It is such a beautiful feeling knowing that when we are walking in the truth, we have the God of the universe on our side.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that we are alive today.

Breana

P.S. Don't worry, Mama, jumping on moving trains isn't as dangerous as it sounds!

A Shout Out to Cornestone

This story is for you, Cornerstone University...

Remember back in November when Thomas Mollhagen came and spoke at Evensong about the children's home he started in India? I know many of you felt led to give that night or in the following weeks to help purchase chickens, goats, and water buffalo for the children. This was intended to be for when Open Arms For Asia was able to purchase their own land and begin to raise these animals for food, selling, etc. I know for myself when I give money to organizations I often wonder in the back of my head whether they will actually use my money for what they say they will. This time I didn't have to wonder.
As you probably know, I am in India right now serving at the Open Arms For Asia children's home with Thomas Mollhagen and the rest of the staff. He took me his brother and law's factory the other day and showed me a place where they keep about twelve chickens and are incubating fourteen eggs. Three of these chickens are ready to lay eggs and in about a month we'll have over fiffty chickens. At another location there are two water buffalo and four goats that are being raised for us. There are also about five more chickens being purchased next week from the money sent by the Cornerstone women's soccer team. These animals were purchased with the money that was given by you that night at our Evensong gathering.

Know that your gift is being used in the way you thought it would be and that what started with only a few chickens is growing rapidly into something that will be of great profit to these children. Thank you for your financial support and for all of your prayers for this ministry. Know that all you have given is been used wisely and that God is blessing and multiplying it. Praise be to God!

The Sting of Abandonment

All the little kids were watching a movie with Thomas and I and a few of them fell asleep. We came back about an hour later to wake two of the boys up who were still sleeping. Like any kid, these kids do not enjoy being woken up and most of them are quite heavy sleepers. One boy in particular, Prasad, was not wanting to wake up. Prasad is six years old and couldn't walk when he was little. He still has trouble getting up at times, but is a very happy boy now. After he woke up he started to cry and began rocking himself back and forth quite fast. I was confused for a second what he was doing. Thomas explained to me that he was rocking himself back to sleep. He said that kids who have been abandoned and didn't have someone there to rock them to sleep as babies learned to rock themselves to sleep. It was just another harsh reminder of the reality of these kids' suffering. What a cruel world we live in.

This story breaks my heart. Every time I think about what these kids have gone through I cringe. But then I remember the cross and all that it means to these kids and how God rescued them and has given them new life. Praise the Lord!

Tears of Pain

I held my kids as they cried tonight. Instead of doing a Bible study, some of the older children gave their testimony. One after another, they broke down in tears as they told their new brothers and sisters their stories of how God rescued them out of the pit of despair. They stories are heart-wrenching. At such a young age they have experienced more abandonment, hunger, neglect, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, and hatred than I could ever imagine. All I could do was hold them and dry their precious tears.

Two girls also found out that their grandmother had just passed away. Everyone was so emotional as they cried not only out of the hurt of their own situations but for their brothers and sisters who have gone through so much pain. I can't put into words how much these kids and their stories have effected me. Their stories are so real and their wounds are still so fresh. Even the little ones, what we'd still consider babies, have experienced more pain in their few years on earth than your average grown adult has faced. It is sickening what some of their own family members have done to them.

But amidst all the pain and hurt there is something much greater that these children cling to. They have the hope of Jesus Christ and his offer of a new life in Him. They have been rescued not just physically from the hands of abuse, but rescued spiritually from a world of Hinduism and Islam into the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. These children cling to that closer than anything. Their faith is not just something they profess, but something that has quite literally saved their lives. Somehow, by the grace of God, they found hope and they can feel it. They have such bright futures now. My children are safe in the arms of the one who saves!

"Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." --Psalm 27:10

Health Update

We woke up yesterday with even more kids sick. A couple more got the chicken pox and a few more with the fever deal that's spreading around. They think Peter has TB so he's been in seclusion for the past two days until he gets tested. Grace and Prisana are still in the hospital and should be coming home this evening, Lord-willing. Please continue to lift our kids up in prayer as they fight all these sickness and many of them return to school today. God is already beginning to heal many of them and we praise Him for that!

Sickness in the Ranks

Today was quite the day. The elementary school kids had a holiday today so they were home from school all day. Thomas and I played, bandaged kids up who were hurt or had infections, watched movies and just hung out with the rowdy little ones. They wear you out quick, but are such a joy to be around.Vijay and Peter took little Grace to the hospital this morning so they were gone all day. Prisana was sent home sick from school today with a fever and all that goes with it and went with them as well. Grace has had a fever, vomiting, and diarrhea for a day and a half and was only getting worse. That's a lot to handle for a one year old. It turns out that she'll be in the hospital for two days. I'm not sure what she has, but she is hooked up to an IV because of all the fluids she has lost. Please please pray for this little girl that God's hand would rest upon her and heal her body. Also pray for strength for her mom Vijay and Uncle Peter as they stay there with her for these two days. Things only got worse as kids started getting sick right and left. Little Sharisha who is about four came down with a high fever and slept most of the afternoon. Thomas thinks she might have malaria because she has been getting fevers a lot lately and doesn't have the energy she used to. We planned on taking her to the doctor around six and when we started getting ready to do so, more and more kids started to get sick. Peter came to us with a fever and cold. Jauncy has the chickenpox. Anusha has a swollen knee and has been throwing up all evening. Asha has an infection on her ear. Swapna has some sort of a rash on her body. Bhaga Sree has a fever and the rest. I can't remember anymore off the top of my head. So we collected about seven of the kids and took them to the doctor to get medication. The doctor is coming here tomorrow to check up on all of the children.

With this many kids there should be a doctor or nurse on staff here. There needs to be more staff in general. It's so difficult to find and keep hard-working staff who have a passion for this ministry. Please pray that God provides us with sufficient help. Also pray for our kids. It's very difficult (especially when the staff gets sick too [I'm fighting a head cold now]) to keep moving forward and teaching the kids and accomplishing everything we feel called to do when everyone is so sick. I hate to see these little ones so miserable as well.

I'm off to bed. The morning comes early here. Please remember to be praying for our staff and kids. God is faithful and will take care of us. I cling to His promises.

Praise the Lord!

Baptisms

The day before I arrived in India, 1.29.09, twenty-one of our kids and ten village people were baptized in the river by pastor Brian from Immanuel Reform Church. They each received cross necklaces as a reminder to them of what they had done. They were all very proud and showed off their necklaces to me. The kids were baptized in the river in Thomas' village where his parents live. On the other side of the river is a cemetery. That was the last thing they saw before they went under the water and when they came up, they turned away from it. Thomas explained to them that the cemetery represented all of their past pain, hurt and sin and that now it has all been washed away. They no longer look back at that or live in it, but run hard after Jesus! What a beautiful real-life picture that was for them and a perfect representation of where they are in their lives. I'm so proud of these children.Before the kids were baptized, Thomas sent a note to all of the children's parents or relatives telling them of what was to happen. Even though hardly any of the families are Christians, no one here tries to hide anything. We are very transparent with what we do. Thomas invited the relatives to the baptism if they wanted to come. There was a grandmother (a Muslim) of one of our older girls, Mastani, who wholeheartidly objected to her granddaughter getting baptized. She quickly sent a woman to where the kids were being baptized to try and stop them. As soon as she sent the woman, the grandmother started getting very very sick in a short period of time. She developed a fever, shaking, lost her sight, etc. The lady called the grandmother once she had arrived to tell her that Mastani had just been baptized and it was too late. Immediately, the grandmother was healed of her sickness.
A few days later, Mastani's grandmother came here to the children's home to talk to Mastani. She told us the story and that God had punished her for trying to stop Mastani from being baptized. She said that she is thankful and glad that she did get baptized or else God would have continued punishing her. Although she is a Muslim, Mastani's grandmother told her that she believes that our God is real and is sorry for trying to stop the baptism. Wow.

It was so powerful to stand there and listen to this story and see this Muslim woman in full health telling us of what God had done and how only days earlier she had suffered all these ailments. The power of God is at work not only in these children, but all over this community as we step out in faith and are obedient to what God has for us.

Praise the Lord!

A Beautiful Sight

Never before have I seen children with such a passion to know God as these. It is truly remarkable watching each day as they fall on their needs and seek to know the heart of God better. Thomas and the older children wake up each morning around 4am for prayer and Bible study. At about five thirty the younger kids get up and all have another Bible study together. Then their tutors come and they study until breakfast. They get ready for school, get the little kids ready, do some chores and then school at nine. They accomplish so much in the mornings and still begin their days by spending time with the Lord.These kids know how to pray. They are being trained and brought up in the ways of the Lord and know that He is sufficient for all of their needs. Not a day goes by where they do not pray. Not a day goes by where they do not praise the Lord. Not a day goes by where they don't spend time in the Word. What an incredible challenge it has been to me to have even a portion of the faith that these little ones do. They pray for their sponsors, the board, the staff, and so many others by name. Even the little ones like Moses are prayer warriors; he is not even two years old.

These kids also know how to praise the Lord! They sings songs in Telugu, Hindi, and English and are so joyful in all that they do.

I am so humbled by them. I look at my own life and desire so much to have the passion that they do. I am learning that it is something you must learn and something that you must choose to have within yourself. These kids don't just go through the motions -- they know that their prayers are being answered every day and that one much greater then themselves is watching out for them. They know that God has a beautiful future in store -- something much greater than they could have ever dreamed.

I wonder what the church in America and around the world if more kids were brought up with such a passion and zeal for the Lord. These kids are not taught to love Jesus by the school system. They did not learn how to pray or worship from a church or youth group. These kids have been surrounded by abandoned, neglect, death, and poverty their entire childhoods. Yet, they have hope for bright futures. They are happier then most kids I see in America who have grown up in the church. They are taught by the ones who raise them now-- Thomas and the other staff -- to stand firm in their faith and live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a challenge to me as I think about the kids that I desire to influence and teach now and in the future. It is too easy to pass the responsibility of teaching our children the ways of the Lord onto others. These kids are living proof of what can happen when you truly invest your life into teach these little ones to follow the straight and the narrow.

Under the Weather

Just when I get my blog up and running I am set back by the infamous food sickness common of many foreigners in a new land. After being quite barbaric my first few days here -- eating everything put in front of me -- I was unfortunately sentenced to two days of fever, throwing up, and an extremely upset stomach. My guess is that it was the papaya. It was no fun, but I might as well have gotten it over with now. I do praise God though for that time that I had amazing people come around me and caring for me.
First there is Thomas -- the guy who runs the whole show here on the India side of things. What a compassionate heart he has. For someone with so much responsibility on his hands, he cares for people on a very personable way. He never failed to come and check how I was doing, keep me company, and pray for me. He was always there for good conversation and much kindness. Then there is Peter -- the one who did everything in his power to help me get well again. He always made sure I had the medicine I needed, cold water to drink, juice and other foods to give me strength, and always the offer to get me anything I needed. He looks out for me as well. I also had Vijay care for me -- the "mother" to the children here and Tom and Peter's sister. I was told later she was worried about me so much for those two days and wished that she could help in some way. She doesn't know English or else so would have keep me company much more often. She has such a beautiful heart. After I was on the road to recovery she came in to give me a full body massage! She has such a caring heart.
Of course I can't forget the kids, the beautiful, beautiful kids. As I laid in bed I could hear them in the other room praying loudly for my healing. They are true prayer warriors. When I finally gained the strength to shower and come out of my room they were there, eager to give me all their smiles, love, hugs, and prayers. I am so blessed to have them in my life.

I'm over the worst of it now for sure and almost back to full strength. My appetite is still not there, but it will come. Thank you for those of you who were praying.

Praise the Lord!

Welcome to OAFA!

I knew from the moment I laid eyes on them that this is where God wanted me to be. As Peter, Tom and I pulled up in the car the children came running to greet us with the most beautiful smiles on their faces. The older girls had skipped school to be there to welcome us. As we walked up, they began singing to us and little Grace placed a beautiful necklace of flowers called a "dunda" around my neck. They had written with flower petals on the ground "Welcome to OAFA Peter Raghu and and Breana." It was so beautiful. It didn't take long for these kids to find a special place in my heart. They are some of the most beautiful kids I have ever known. Although I can not understand most of what they say, their smiles speak volumes of the love in their hearts. I am so thankful to be here and humbled that God would choose me to be a part of this powerful ministry. Praise the Lord!

Stranded: The Long Version

It was cold that Tuesday night as I boarded the plane at Gerald Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It would be the last time I would see that city or my dear friends for a while – four months to precise. God’s hand began working right away as Peter and I were offered much grace as we checked in our excess baggage with extremely reduced fees. My adventure thus began as Peter Mollhagen and I journeyed to the Windy City and then across the Atlantic to London, England. It was there that things took an unexpected turn. I blame myself entirely for trusting the word of a flight attendant instead of figuring it out for myself which terminal our flight would leave from two hours after arriving in London. As Peter and I boarded the empty bus to take us to Terminal 3, there was something in my gut telling me that we shouldn’t have been the only ones heading that way. We went through security without having our tickets or passports checked which I also found a bit odd. But after arriving at the terminal and seeing a flight for Bangalore, our next connection, on the screen we make our way to Gate 2 and patiently sat. We enjoyed over an hour and a half of talking and eating wonderful oatmeal cookies (thank you Darlene!) before realizing that there was not a single other traveler in sight. Well past boarding time, we hurried to the nearest employee only to find out we were not only at the wrong gate, but in the wrong terminal. With twenty minutes until departure time, our spirits dropped as she informed us of the eighteen minute bus ride that was between us and our terminal.

Upon arriving at the correct terminal, the security officer informed us that our plane had left and pointed us toward the nearest British Airways customer service representative. He informed us that the next flight to Bangalore did not leave until the next morning and that they could not provide hotel accommodations because our plane had arrived on time. He advised us to go back to American Airlines and see if they would provide the hotel voucher because they were in fact the ones who directed us to the wrong terminal. After graciously waving the $250 ticket transfer fee (each person), we were handed our new boarding passes for the next morning and regretfully made our way back. One at American Airlines customer service, we were informed that they too were unable to provide hotel vouchers but that they did have a flight leaving that night. Unfortunately, that would still make us miss our next connection and result in spending the night at an airport. Wanting to get out of London because of our fear of what a hotel might cost there, we gladly took the tickets to Bangalore for that night (free of charge). The problem with all of this was that our luggage would no longer have been checked through to our final destination and was essentially lost between the different airlines. No one could seem to locate it. We were advised to simply give up looking and once we arrived in Bangalore file a missing bag check. It wasn’t possible for the new airline we were traveling on to have known about our ticket change and get our luggage on board – or so they said.

Once arriving in Bangalore, India we retrieved five out of our six combined bags. Praise God! After filing a missing bag report for one of my bags of clothes and medicine for the kids we made our way to passenger services to try to get another connection for later that day instead of the next morning. The man at the desk pointed us outside to where the ticket windows were for the various airlines. Little did we know that once we left the building there was no coming back. Of course, the airlines couldn’t get us a earlier flight. So there we were, with six pieces of luggage and four carry ons combined standing outside the airport in the quite hot weather. I was very thankful to have had Peter along as he quickly began speaking the native language of Telugu in order to try and find us hotel accommodations. Everyone around wanted to rip us off because they saw that I was American and automatically associated that with being rich. We were also informed that the nearest hotel was about twenty kilometers away.

Only by the grace of God did we stumble across a taxi driver who loaded all of our bags up and took us to the nearest hotel, promising to be there in the morning to return us to the airport. We checked into our room and praised God for the refreshing shower and opportunity to rest. I ended up going to bed around 5pm seeing as it was bedtime back in the States. Unfortunately I was up by 10:30pm and didn’t sleep much in the following hours, but it was wonderful just to rest. We got up around 6am and went to a nearby restaurant for my first Indian breakfast. It was wonderful and a great start to the day. Our taxi driver, not wanting to lose his pay, had slept in his car in the hotel parking lot and was ready to load up our stuff again to drive us back to the airport.

And so, we made the final stretch of our trip on Friday morning and made to Vijayawada, India where Tom Mollhagen was gladly awaiting us. It was refreshing to see him again and realize that I was actually in India. What seemed like the worst possible situation at the time turned out for the best as we arrived at the children’s home with must more rest and energy. I was a bit disappointed to have missed many of the children’s baptisms the day before, but still praising God for his provisions. What a an amazing God we serve.