This picture was taken while visiting the villages. Children are adorable in any
country!
Hindu school children sitting under a banyan tree. I was fascinated with these trees because
they have roots that grow down back into the ground from what would be branches. If you
look closely at the top left of this page you can see the roots coming down. When these
trees are full grown, they look like a forest even though they are really one tree. Their roots
grow down to take root again and grow another tree which is a part of the same tree.
The children fascinated me because they are willing to learn in the heat with little shade
except the shade of the banyan tree.
Oh...I get so nostalgic when I see this picture. This was when we first
arrived at our hotel, after a 4 hour ride from the airport. I remember how
it smelled, how it felt, and what I was thinking especially..."I am so glad to
be here, but I am sooo tired!" We arrived at the hotel about 8a.m. India's
time which is about 9p.m. Eastern time.
In this photo we were visiting one of the schools which meet in the open. None of the
schools we visited had a roof or walls. They meet in the heat of day and in the rain during
the rainy season. One of our goals is to build safe school housing. Donations would go
toward this goal.
The children are singing English and Telugu songs. Why are everyone's arms crossed?
It is a sign of respect and prayer.
All of these beautiful children of God are gathered to hear God's Word.
They look to His Word for encouragement and strength and hope in
ways we cannot relate to.
Political map of India
We were in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Praise the Lord and God bless you!
My husband and I wanted to take the time to explain how we got to go on a missionary trip to
India. Many people ask us did we go with a church, or a group, or some other organization.
The answer is no. The Lord led just my husband and I for that first trip.
This is the story of how it all got started.

JOURNAL ENTRY1
It is now approx. 9:00p.m. Sunday, November 14, 2004. My husband and I are seated 49 J
and 49 K, the latter being the window seat. I prayed we would get window seats. Isn't God
good? Just in case you did not know, this is my very first plane ride. People usually gasp
when I tell them this and then tell them the flight is approx. 20-24 hrs. long.
We are awaiting take-off and I can hear the hum of the engines. I have to keep saying to my
husband, "I can't believe we are actually going."
I decided to take advantage of my window seat and peered out. To my surprise I am right at
the wing of the huge 747 Boeing. ( could see the engines roaring to life. Well, I guess about
now you are saying,"Why are these people going to India?" Let me take a moment to back
track.





















It all started through the wonderful thing called the Internet. No, let me change that. It all
started through the will of God. In my email inbox there was a message from Pastor Elisha
from India. He was requesting help for the poor families and orphan children in his schools
and congregations. There was a unique urgency to the email. He asked for food and
clothing, not money. We prayed and God touched our hearts. We started off by sending rice
and a few clothing items. Then God touched us to send money. We exchanged pictures and
prayers. Then Pastor Elisha requested that we come and preach the Gospel. God
was already preparing our
spirits, hearts, and minds. We
prayed and left the rest in the
hands of the Lord. We told the
Lord if He wants us to go, He
will provide a way. And as you
can see, He kept His part of
the deal...and so did we.
We arrive at the airport and
everything goes smooth. As a
matter of fact, better than
smooth. We met a couple while
we were waiting to board our
first plane and eating our last
McDonald's meal for the week.
They were a sweet Christian
couple who gave us our last donation. This showed us that God did not get us to a certain
point and leave us, but he was still with us every step of the way.
After that it was time to deal with customs. For some reason I was horrified. It may have          
 been a combination of it being my first time flying and a
fear of being delayed or stopped by customs. Everything                                                  went
fine. I was in awe of the view from the plane. There  was no end to what I could see. Our first
stop was in Paris for plane cleaning. But to my regret we could not leave the plane at               
 Paris. We did happen to meet a funny French man who wanted to hijack my pack of
cookies. We sleep alot on the long plane ride. Our next stop is Mumbai, formerly known as
Bombay. We have to board one more plane there. Everything goes well with that flight also.
                     We arrive in Hyderabad about half an hour late, so I was a little                              
                      nervous about being picked up. I was hoping Pastor Elisha and                             
                      his brothers did not leave or something.
                     At the airport in Hyderabad we were greeted with rifles on
                     shoulders and some smiles on faces. We went through customs fine                    
                     and there were no problems with getting our luggage. We looked                           
                     around for Pastor Elisha and did not see him at first. I  was looking at                    
                     everyone asking myself, "Is that him?" But we walked to the outer                           
                     part of the airport and were greeted by a small mob of people with beautiful
handwoven wreaths of flowers and a large sign with our name on it. We were shown much
love and never had so much fuss over us before. We were then escorted to a car which had
our names on it also. We had no idea of the length of ride we had ahead of us. The ride from
the airport to Kethana Konda, where our hotel was, was over four hours long. But praise
God. It was a blessing to make it there safe. Driving in India is different from driving in
America. There are very little rules. Because of this, there are alot of times your vehicle
comes head to head with another vehicle. But the drivers do have skills. Our driver's name
was Ramu. He was a kind Hindu gentleman. On the dash  of his car were figures that light
up. We thought they  were some type of siren. But the Hindus place little idols on their dash's.
The ride from the airport to our hotel was over 4 hours
long. But praise God, we had an awesome driver. The ride
was scary because driving in India is not a ride through
the park. There is a lot of lights and horn beeping for
signals. There are alot of incidences where you are head on
with other vehicles. All of the vehicles in India use diesel
fuel, so there is much pollution. They told us to put
scarves on our faces because of the smell. I began to get
nauseous but God touched me. We also got a flat tire, but
my husband and the other men quickly fixed it.

THE SCHOOLS AND VILLAGES
Our daily schedule was very similar each day. In the morning
we would visit the schools in several different villages.
School is held in the open, sometimes under trees where
allowable. Where there were no trees, the children gathered
in the open. There is a great need in these areas for shelter.
The children are completely susceptible to the weather
conditions. The weather can range from extremely hot to
intense down pours which cause flooding.
While we were visiting the schools, we were blessed to hear
                                                                   the children
                                                                   sing and read.

s
Prayer being ministered outside of Pastor Elisha's and his family's
home. The young, old, sick, weak and strong came for prayer. We all
needed a touch from the Lord. The Lord was faithful and true!
Our good friends(left to right) Paul, his mother, and his
brother, Pastor Elisha. They are pictured in front of there
welcoming home. Pastor Elisha's mother and father have
raised him and his brothers and sisters in the way of the Lord.
Prayer being
ministered in
New Life
Ministries
office.
Journal of India
Missionary Trip-
Nov.2004
View of a beautiful Indian hillside. We were high up sight seeing. If you look
really close you will see a couple of people in the shot. We were hoping to see
some monkeys, but we did not get up there early enough.
One of the planes we flew to India on for
12hrs. The next flight lasted 10hrs. (or
vise versa...a very long time)
Journal cont.
The children showed us their chalk boards which contained their
school work. They wrote in English so beautifully! The children spoke
from two to four or five different languages. They are truly and
inspiration to us in America. We were honored and we prayed while
we visited the different schools.
The afternoons we visited the homes of various people in each
village and saw the condition of some of the poorer villages. Our
hearts cried out with compassion for the many orphans and living
conditions. We did what we could, but we could do so much more if
others would team up and partner with us financially. In the spirit, if
one can take a thousand, and two ten thousand, imagine what we
cold do with that truth in finances. My God, My God!
In the evenings we would have services in the villages. The Lord
would pour down His anointing and He had His way with all of us.
People got saved, healed, and delivered. Many converted from
Hinduism and Islam to follow Jesus! At all of the services, there was
such a desire for prayer. Each night we prayed with 30 to 50 people.
God is so faithful.
We had such a remarkable time there, we would love to return and
stay for longer.
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to answer God's call
on our lives.
PRESS By CHRIST CHOSEN