JAIPUR! the city of kings.

well, right now I have been in Jaipur for about two weeks. I have been teaching in a school every weekday morning and visiting houses in the afternoons. I am having an amazing time with my group, and we are all growing and learning a lot. we have been connecting with some of the local people while we are here, through the house visits and meeting new friends at the mall. through this we have been able to share a little about our lives and why we are in India. they have also told us about themselves and the city itself.
we have learning all about the culture and religions of this area, and have been told that you can't have one without the other. most of the people that we have met have been very open and willing to talk.
i need to run, but i hope you are all safe and well! i'll try to post more later!
(oh, and Jaipur is named after one of their old kings, Jai. pur means city.)

India!

crowded streets, scrawny cows, bright colors (every color imaginable), spicy food, horns blaring from every vehicle and bike... this is my life for the next two months.

God has been so good to my and my entire team so far! in the two weeks that we have been here we have been able to see and do so much! He has really been our strength and has been continously pouring His peace, love, and joy into our lives to overflow into Inida.

there are so many things that we have been doing. we have been able to visit two different slums, an AIDS clinic, two orphanges, a leper colony, and spend an entire weekend with girls living in a home for the daughters of prostittes.

tonight I actualy get to share part of my testimony at an evening church service.

This is the link to a video we made... I encourage you all to watch it if you can! It shows just a little bit of what God has been teaching us all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTJ1vZPj1yo

Impossible thing #1

Greetings!
I am sorry I have not yet updated my blog; I will try to do much better from now on. I have been down here in North Carolina for about 6 weeks. During this time God has been doing some amazing work in my life!
The topics our speakers have covered include spiritual warfare, relationships, discipleship, adorations and so much more. This week we are learning about the fear of God. The things God has been doing in my life do not always fall into line with what we are learning about, but I have been getting so much out of our speakers. It is so encouraging seeing their willingness to pour into our lives the wisdom that they have gained from walking with God for so long.
I want to share with you all something God is doing right now for a lot of us. God has been teaching us all about trusting in Him and letting go of our control. There is still great financial need within the group. We are viewing this as the needs of our family, not of individuals themselves. We do not need to leave anyone behind when we go to India. Through this time God is really working on our trust in Him. He is showing us that He can provide, and that we need to lean on Him for that. We can not rely on ourselves during this time, because this is not something we can do.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
God has called each and every one of us to be in the school, and we are trusting on Him to provide the resources to help us follow through with this.
My prayer is that you will all have the chance to grow in your knowledge of who God is, and that you might learn to trust in Him because of who He is. Thanks for taking the time to check in with me!
With love, Julia

the future: India

I have been down here in North Carolina for almost two weeks now, and I am loving it! Everyone is amazing and wonderful here, both the staff and other students. There are twenty-one students total, including me. I am having do much fun getting to know everyone and making lots of new friends!

Today, after much prayer, our leaders here at YWAM Charlotte informed us that we will be heading to India for our outreach. We still do not know where exactly in India God is leading us. We are still praying, asking God where we should be. We do know, however, that our school will probably be split into two or three groups for our trip.

I am trying to get my support letter out to everyone this week. I will try to post more later to let you all know what is going on... but I need to do my homework. :)
Thank you all for supporting and praying for me!

with sunshine and love from the south,
Julia