Faith as small as a Mustard seed.

 

Hey family and friends,

  This month has been a very challenging month for me. My school and class are going great and smooth. They are not the challenges but it’s my own mind and thoughts that have been a challenge for me. I have a lot of confusion about being here as there are so many problems back home. The problems and situations are just one after the other non-stop. I feel very helpless and don’t know what to do or how to help other than contend in prayer and pray some more and pray a lot more. Being here with the rule of no phones during the week is also stressful as I’m unable to keep updated on the situations at home and am always worried. I’m finding it hard to concentrate in class and be a blessing to others as I am always thinking about home. I know the Lord asked us not to worry but to trust him and have faith as small as a mustard seed but having even this much in this situation is not easy.

  The Lord has been good to me and my family by bringing Tammyma and Arumai back home although the process was not easy. It has only gotten worse but I believe that God is still working even when I don’t see it or feel it. I have been praying and I felt led to pray more for the government and the office of the immigration that their lives would be changed as they see Tammyma’s documents and papers. They would be like Rahab who hid the two spies in her house and was saved. I believe that the people would see God through my mom and would find favor with Him. My mom would find favor in their eyes too. I pray for peace of mind and complete protection.

  With all this aside, at the end of this month I’ll be leaving for outreach in Nagaland but different district. The district that I’m going to is near Myanmar border and is called Noklak. It is a very new district here in Nagaland and was formed very recently. So we have no idea about how everything will work out but we are trusting in God for direction, wisdom, provision and protection. We might also enter the border of Myanmar and try to help and serve and do ministry.

  Some prayer points are:

 1. Please pray for my family, especially my mom. Pray for peace like no other would wrap her like a blanket.

2. Please pray for me as I leave for outreach.

3. Please pray for God to really come through for all of us.

4. Please pray for a miracle.

Life in Nagaland!!

 

Hey Family and friends,

  This month has been a very exciting month and an eventful month. I left for Nagaland on Jan 19^th and it’s been almost a month since I’ve been here. It was my first time flying on my own and it was a fearful but a successful experience. I had a few of my sisters and family drop me off at the airport. I miss my family a lot. The base that I’m staying at is really nice. We live in the remote/village side of Dimapur and we have power cuts, bad network and shortage of water every day. The people in this base rear and grow everything on their own for food and meat. They raise pigs and chicken. They grow their own vegetables too from all kinds of greens to tomatoes and lettuce. We’re surrounded by farmlands and farmers. It’s a beautiful sight to wake up to every morning. Since it is a requirement for me to attend the school before I become a full-time staff I am now a student as well as an intern.

  The school is very similar to YWAM. There are around 25 students and most of them come from addiction, broken, hard families and are now trying to know God and follow him. Our day starts at 6 in the morning and it’s filled with all kinds of activities. We have Bible study, work-duty, classes, sports, games, small groups, one-on-one, family-fun nights, devotions, worship, etc. Before coming here, I’ve been doubting if I really heard from the Lord about this, whether it was a mistake, if  I’m just running away from Bangalore because of feeling restless and discontent but the Lord confirmed that I’m doing the right thing. I have been going through spiritual dryness and silence from God.  I felt very discouraged and down. Everything I did felt empty and useless. I gave up halfway tried to start fresh too but I got no response from the Lord. I couldn’t hear his voice. After coming here, I’m able to feel his presence and the Holy Spirit.  I realize now the Lord was testing me but unfortunately i was too slow to grasp that and gave up on him. I failed him. But the lord is so gracious to give me another chance. He’s teaching me and showing me more of himself. There is something about this place, the environment and the people that gets to me. I’m really doing well here and adjusting well here. Although I love northeast food, the food is a bit difficult to adjust to here since all they eat is only rice everyday and no other kind of bread. I’ve made some new friends here and am the only south Indian. I’m learning Nagamese and Hindi from my friends here.

Some prayer points for me are:

 1. Please pray that I wouldn’t feel so out of place and lonely because I’m the only odd one out here. It’s    very easy to feel lonely and homesick.

2. Please pray for wisdom and grace as I learn the languages here.

3. Please pray that my body and stomach will adjust better to the food here and that I wouldn’t feel sick all the time.

4. Please pray that I would be a blessing here and continue to listen to the Lord for directions.

New Beginnings!!!

 

  Hey family and friends,

   Happy New Year 2021!!!! I hope all are doing well. This month has been a month of reconciliation, making-peace with others, and getting a fresh start with the Lord. I finished working with Daily Bean last year and now I’m preparing for my next step in life. After my ywam last year I had been planning to go back to Nagaland for ministry when COVID hit. Now I’m finally getting to go back to Nagaland which is something new this year and I’m very excited about it. I’ll be leaving on Jan 19^th and for now, it's only for a year and if I feel led to stay longer I might.

   This ministry in Nagaland is called Hope ministries Globe Nagaland and the base I’m staying at is called Potter’s House in Dimapur. This ministry is mainly focused on equipping youth to find their callings and destinies. They help youth in establishing their dreams and laying the foundation for new ministries. They run a school called “school of destiny” which is a four months course; 2 months teaching phase and the next 2 outreach phase. I’ll be entering this ministry as an intern for 6 months and will be attending this course as it is a requirement before I become a staff here.

   The big three events happening this year is the school of destiny, a pre-school for the laborers’ kids, and branching another base in another area of Nagaland. The school of destiny will be happening from Jan 25^th to April. The Potter’s House recently shifted to a new area in Dimapur and was building relationships with the farmers and their families when COVID hit and now they are back to square 1 of building relationships and trusts. So, I’ll be attending this school for the first 4 months and then helping with the opening of preschool. It goes all the way back to getting to the farmers and their families all over again, becoming familiar with the village, spending time with the kids, and then opening a preschool for the kids while their parents work during the day. The last event is the branching out another base in another part of Nagaland.

   Some challenges that I’ll be facing are; language, adapting to their culture and environment, building new relationships within the base and outside the base. I’m expecting God to really come through for us in starting this school. The progress will definitely not be easy and there will be a lot of problems but I’m asking God for peace of mind, discernment, a good team, and grace.

   Some prayer requests for this month are:

1.       Please pray for me as I travel, for protection and smooth travel.

2.       Please pray that I’ll adapt well with the people and the environment.

3.       Please pray for God’s hand over the big events happening this year.

4.       Please pray that I’ll be strong in the Spirit and truth and that everywhere I go I’ll go with the presence of God.

 

Content in all things

 Hey Family and friend

   This month has been an emotional roller coaster ride. I have been mentally, emotionally and spiritually imbalanced and unstable. I felt like I was being pulled and stretched to my last and barely holding on. I had unintentionally allowed Satan get a foothold of my life and he succeeded in bringing me down in almost every way possible. There were misunderstandings between my siblings and me, work wasn’t any fun either and I felt very lonely and stuck. I had so much negativity and this affected my life, my work, my relationships etc. I had hit rock bottom.

   But the Lord didn’t give up on me. In his kindness, faithfulness and most of all love, he reached out to me through my mom, my sisters and friends. He is too good to me and It’s been very hard for me to accept his grace and I am still learning. I was able to be vulnerable and open to my sisters and mom.

   Two things that really stuck out to me was, when my mom reminded me that the environment is not the whole reason for my problems but my own self and my discontent. I can’t wish for my promise land and expect to be completely happy when I am unable to be content with where I am currently. The only way for me to learn to be content like Paul is to know the Lord more and run after the Lord even more than before. The second thing that stuck out to me and actually made me think and ponder is when my sister asked me who the Lord is asking me to be in this season. What’s my identity in Christ this season? Not what I do, not my job, my actions but who I am. What part or character of Jesus am I carrying or showing to the world, my family this season?

   Some prayer points are:

1.      Please pray for more of Jesus. I need rekindling and fanning of flames, passion and desire to run deeper in the Lord.

2.      Please pray that I would be able to stand firm in the Lord and use his word as weapon against the devil.

 3.   Please pray for my next plans, decisions and steps.

November 2020

Hey Family and Friends,

    I hope that all are doing well with the new normal life. This month has been a smooth month of working at Daily Bean and helping in FSP. In FSP we were able to help pay for the children's school and tuition. Daily Bean has been picking up slowly and the days are unpredictable. Days where it used to be slow are actually getting busier. Customers are slowly coming out of their homes and starting to hang out socially. 

    The year is almost coming to an end and I am asking God for re-affirmation and guidance as to the plans of going to Nagaland. I have been having doubts and worries about it but the Lord is good and faithful to be my compass in my sense of direction and decisions. I can't believe 2020 is almost coming to an end. The question the Lord has been asking me to ponder on is whether i strived/survived through 2020 or have i been thriving through it? How have I been handling my uncertain feelings and emotions? Have I been like Jesus to my family and friends? Am I still useful for God to use me for his glory and Kingdom? I am still a work in progress with the Lord and he is still teaching me and molding me towards being his instrument. I am not the easiest piece of work for the Lord but his patience and kindness leads me to him. 

     Some prayer requests are:

 1. Please pray for a willing heart. Pray that I would willingly surrender and submit to his teaching and molding even when they are hard to accept.

 2. Please pray that I will not doubt the Lord's plans for me.

 3. Please pray that I will end this year with my best for the Lord, in my work and in FSP. 

Learning in progress!

 Hey family and friends,

   This month has been a month of disciplining myself and my lifestyle. Since the lockdown everything has been haywire and crazy. I have been going through a lot of ups and downs in the past 6 months of my stay in Bangalore. There had been some really good times with the Lord, where I feel really close to him, awakenings and relearning things, some revelations too. And there were also some not so great moments, where I’ve been in my lowest and depressing stage of life, but this month has been stable and easy-going. I was able to discipline my life to wake up at a certain time, set priorities and achieve them, set a time for all things and working to keep myself busy and occupied. Work at The Daily Bean has been really good for my mind and body. Working at FSP has been good for my heart.

 

    I have been taking tuitions for some of the children in FSP and also got an opportunity to teach my sponsor kid. Most of the children in my class are really smart and some a bit slow but once they understand the concept, they really get it. I really loved teaching them. I could see that I really did grow in my patience level and have a knack for teaching children. I got to teach them for a month and now we have a new teacher for the kids. We are so grateful that God brought a young and cool teacher for these kids. I was able to show the new teacher how to handle the students and the classes and have passed my class into her hands.

   The Lord has asked us to live a self-controlled and self-disciplined lifestyle, not just mentally and spiritually but physically also. There is a thin line between going through a mundane daily routine life and a self-disciplined life. I have been learning the difference between these two and I can see the vast difference between these two. In a self-disciplined life, we keep putting Jesus first and thinking of how we can please him through our daily routine whereas in just going through daily routine stuff we do it because we have to do it and those things become boring and mundane. I’m still learning and growing in this area.

 

   Some prayer points are:

1.        Please pray for our FSP children and the tuition center. Pray for safety and more of Jesus in these children.

2.        Please pray for my family. We’ve had some sick siblings. Pray for healing ad full recovery. Pray that the blood of Jesus would wash our home and cleanse us all.

3.        Please pray that Arumai and Tammyma would be able to come home soon.

  Please pray that I would continue growing and learning, more of Jesus

Basics and Foundation.

 

Hey family and friends,

  As you already know, I have been working in Family Support for quite some time now and we have been able to open a second tuition center in another area in Bangalore. My sister Santhiya has put in a lot of time and effort into the opening and establishing of another tuition center. When we thought it wouldn’t be possible to open one this year at all, God made a way for that to happen. We were able to get a house for reasonable rent and set up a decent center with all facilities which include being able to play in the park, snack time, and not just working on school work/ homework but setting their foundation in phonics and basic math. I find it very upsetting to see the school education system being so business and money-minded, but pay no attention to teaching the students. All the kids that come here have very or no knowledge at all of the phonics and basic math. I get to teach classes 4 and 5. The children in these classes too have no knowledge of phonics and math but I am able to teach them and I really enjoy doing that. I also get time to spend with my sponsor kid as he’s in my class. He has a very cute personality and I’m very glad to be able to get to know him and sponsor him.

  This month has also been very challenging for me as I have emotionally accepted the changes around me. Sadly, I wasn’t very positive about it and had to have a number of one-on-ones with Tammyma to help me process them and not just accept them but to embrace them. The lord has been very patient with me and so has Tammyma. For a while, I forgot my identity and started feeling insecure compared to some of my sisters that I live with but God opened my eyes and reminded me of who I am in him. I have been able to reconcile with my sisters and start getting along just fine. I needed Jesus more now than ever and he has been there for me but I was too blinded by my own self-pity, bitterness, loneliness and self-doubt. But the Lord was able to get my attention through my mom and now I feel so much closer to God and lighter at heart. My mind is so much more at peace now that I get along with my sisters and am myself again. My foundations needed to be cemented once again and the Lord has been faithful to do that for me.