most recient happenings in aurangabad: renewed mind

If you want to reduce the level of stress in your life, you must change the way you think because the way you think determines how you feel. And the way you feel determines how you act, which is why the Bible teaches that, if you want to change your life, you need to change what you're thinking about. This involves a deliberate conscious choice where you change the channels. You choose to think about the right things. Because the root cause of stress is the way we choose to think, we need to focus on the positive and on God's word. (I read this today in a devotional by Rick Warren and wanted to share it because it is so fitting for my life right now). God says to be transformed by the way you think and be no longer conformed to the world.

Being here in Aurangabad this far has been challenging to me in the area of leadership. I have found myself being stressed because I don't see things go as I percieve they ought to go and then I get stressed out. I am trying to learn how to love the girls on the team and motivate them to be obedient to God. To just let God lead them and move in their lives and rise up to take leadership themselves is so challenging but I understand how it is the best because that is how they learn.

Good things are happening here in Aurangabad. Today we spend our last day here at the Hotel and will be moving into Manisha and Shivaji's home with them for the next week as we serve with Manisha's sister Mungala as well as some YWAM church planters. I am really looking forward to this week as we will be closer to our friends and also get to build relationships with the YWAM staff in ministry. This past week we had our team member Menka join us after waiting on her visa! Praise the Lord, with her we are refreshed again and are looking forward to the things she will bring to the team. While we have been staying at the Hotel some of our team will be with one ministry while the other will be serving at a house church late into the evening. One of the nights this past week myself and three other girls arrived just in time to recieve food from Shivaji. We were so hungry we almost ate all of the food and after checking if the rest of the team would be provided food where they were, we went ahead and just enjoyed. When the team came home we found out they were hungry and had not eaten yet! Oh G's....well, they went and got food at the hotel restaurant and ended up having a divine appointment with the man who runs the restaurant. They discussed worldview with him and ended up praying for this Muslim man...going to bed praising God for an opprotunity. The very next day the man came up to tell Troy (part of dts staff) that someone came upto him and gave him a Bible at the market and then walked away. The man disappeared he said and linked the occurance with the prayer that Troy had prayed for him. He was so thankful and seemed excited to read the book. Please pray for this man, his name is Raul.

As for me, this week God has really been highlighting to me the importance of knowing who I am in Christ and has been giving me specific words for women who live in the slums and are trying to make a living for themselves. This week I believe the Lord will open up many doors for this.

Continue to pray that clarity would come for those on the team who don't know why they are here...that the Lord's vision for this time would be revealed. Pray for good health and that we would be obedient to what God is asking. Thank you thank you .

I am thankful for these girls, papaya, earplugs, morning chai, transportation, gracious leaders, many opprotunieies to serve, learning new songs with the children on the streets, and most of all ...His Presence.

forgive me for being choppy in my sentences... I had to be quick.... we are heading to the market today to seek out Christmas gifts for eachother!