my clothes smell spicy

This week was like a flower. It was painful yet throughout the entire week I was in a state of worship. It was lonely at times, but I also experienced the reality of being part of the Church. Some parts of the week were ugly, but as a whole, it was so beautiful. I am just going to tell you about one petal on the flower that was this past week. 

Monday between my sessions at work, Emily, Kyle, and I went over to visit Lavenya. We had not been over in a while, and it was soooo good to be back in her place! We talked a bit, and she invited us [actually, we kind-of invited ourselves :) ] over for lunch on Wednesday. 

Wednesday, I rushed home from work so excited to hang out with our Indian friend. We met up to pray before we headed over, remembering that the power of our God is the only way to reach her with the Gospel. 

We got there and her husband and son were home. What a pleasant surprise! They are such a fun family to be with! Anyways, we were eating, and Lavenya apologized for making such a simple meal (it was chapatis, curry, and rice...and spicy!!). She said that she was very tired lately because she is "carrying." We were like "what?" Then it clicked. She is having a baby!

My jaw started hurting because I was smiling so big! I am so excited to get to be with her during this time in her life! We asked her if they were going to find out if it is a boy or a girl, and she said that she wants a surprise, but her husband wants to know. She said that in India, it is a crime to know what gender the baby is before it is born. I thought that she was joking at first, and she meant that it was taboo to know. So many things that they do are because of tradition, and I thought that this was one of them, but then she explained further. 

She said that in the small villages in India, if the parents find out that the baby is a girl, they will "have a miscarriage" i.e., they will abort the baby. It is still customary for the father of the bride to give a dowry when he gives his daughter in marriage, so because they are so poor, the parents will abort the girls to avoid having to pay a dowry. 

But here is the cool thing. The government in India values life so much that they made it illegal to tell the parents the gender of the baby so that they would not abort the little girls. I just gained some respect for the Indian government. 

Today, Sarah and I went over to return some bowls that we had borrowed from them. It was Sarah's first time to meet the family, and it was friendship at first sight. :) When we were about to leave, the husband (i forgot his name...i know, i am a looser, but give me a break, its hard to pronounce his name, much less to remember it!)  asked us what our plans were for the evening.  

Hello open door! We told him that we were going to church tonight. It lead to some really cool stuff. He asked what we do at church, and we explained what we do, and most importantly, why we do what we do. Then Sarah, in all of her wisdom and joyfulness, told them that you don't just have to be in a building to worship God. You can do it anywhere!

Then we asked them about the temple that they visit, and what the purpose of going to the temple is. Then somehow we found out that they have been to a Christian church when they lived in New York. They did not have a Bible, or any American friends, and so they did not really understand what was going on. In fact, they said, we are their only American friends.

(Let this just be an encouragement to embrace the foreigners where you live.... wait a second.... doesn't the Bible command that somewhere?)                       

Lavenya even went to a Christian school when she lived in India!!!! But she said that she forgot everything that she learned. 

I don't know what to think of this all. 

Please! Pray for God to make them soooo hungry for the Gospel!!!

Pray for God to use this pregnancy to share the Gospel with them!