Luke 18:1

"And He told them a parable to show them they should always pray and never give up."

a day off and a night out

Hello friends! Yesterday (Friday) I took leave to spend some time with Alyssa who has been hanging out all week waiting to start work while I have been busy all day at work. 

We got ready and headed downtown so that I could introduce her to my most favorite eating establishment, Flury's. Flury's has been in the city for over 80 years and is famous for it's tea, dessert boy and British influence. We went for afternoon tea and I am now obsessed with their masala chai. Alyssa got some kind of afternoon tea package, inclusive of two kinds of cake and a presh little cucumber sandwich:

Later we went to the mall for a little with Vic and Trish and a couple other interns. The mall is currently Alyssa's favorite place here. I had Vic and her model some Sperry look-alikes for my favorite BWDS:

My friend Sweta has told me several times that she wanted me to come over so she could make momos for me. It hadn't worked out the last couple times we tried to do it, but last night Alyssa and I went over to her flat for a delicious homemade dinner! We tried to help her make them, but the process is more intricate than I expected and Alyssa's and mine were not quite up to par. Here she is trying to help us do it right:

One tray of them pre-steam:

We ended the evening going out to a club at the Park Hotel with Sweta and some of her friends. The people here LOVE techno. The guy and girl beside me are from Bhutan. I have never met anyone with the dance moves of this kid. Totally entertaining. We had a fabulous time and it was great that Alyssa got to experience so much of this city in one day!

Then when we got home I got to see my speed-demon little sister in her ACC race via online streaming. It was so exciting and I was amazed that I could watch her from my flat over here at 3:30 a.m. Congrats girl, you kicked butt! 

fam jam

So I will admit it. It's five months in and I really miss my family. We are now in 2 countries and 5 different states, and even though we are slightly dysfunctional and so far away, I am so lucky to have to love and support from each of them that I do. The famous five Gillespie girls could not possibly be more different, but I love my sisters so much. Here's to you fam jam:

Mama G: aka Suzles, mum, sexy mama, super mom, pillar of the family, maker of the most delectable meals, seamstress of all costumes, brunt of most of my jokes, fastest tanner alive, computer and technology whiz, English expert, fearless teacher, fabulous listener, greatest cheerleader. I wish I could have dinner with you and entertain you with all of my alter egos. I can't wait to see you. 

Mads: My beautiful baby sister. I remember clearly the day you were born (I was rocking a turquoise stirrup tracksuit probably with kittens on it from grandma and brown little house on the prairie lace up shoes I borrowed from Marie HA) and have been so lucky to have such a cool little sister. I have thoroughly enjoyed morphing you into a mini-me and fellow fashion / design snob. I am sad I am missing so much of your life this year babe, but I can't wait to back-to-school shop and prepare for high school this summer! I love you honey!!

Anna: the most adventurous, ridiculous and hilarious of us all. From 'guess the person in the church' and the swinging arm game when our evil parents put us to bed at like 4 p.m. to high school cross country where you kicked my butt, you have always beat me in pretty much every game / sport that exists. I am so excited for you about your big race this weekend and will be setting the alarm for 3 a.m. to catch it. Not just that, but you are also so generous and loving to everyone. It meant the world to me that you came to see me off... I hope you are there at RDU on June 30th. xoxo

Heather: The sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful sis alive: I Miss You. I would have died at UNC without you and have a bajillion memories of us laughing, fighting, making up dances, analyzing our men, and exploring new places together. For some reason the Black Eyed Peas and Jessica Simpson will never be the same without you to hear it with. And remember that even though I am far away, I am still available to offer any fashion suggestions/ tips that you need :) XOXO

Shannon: The smartest person I know. I love your eye for design and art. You have made great efforts to be there for me and I am so appreciative especially of all the help you gave me last summer getting ready for my trip. I am hoping to do a trip to Ohio when I get home to see your crib and meet your friends. I'm jealous of your edge. We need to catch up woman!!

Daddy / Pops: Always my biggest fan and absolutely always there for me. You are supportive and wonderful and I will never know how truly blessed I am to have a dad like you. You always help me when I need it- from poetry assignments to boy problems to big life decisions to road trips. I can't wait for all the cool things we can do together this year and this summer when I return. Thanks for being a great dad- I love you and am proud of you. Please lose the overalls :)

So there it is. Overly sentimental, yes, but I am 8,000 miles away and I miss them a bunch. 

Five girls freed from bondage.

This morning in devotions Katherine shared about how lucky we are that we worship and praise a God that we can trust. Wholey. Fully. In any place or circumstance. A God who listens to our petitions and with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, takes great delight in his people. And who answers our prayers.

Yesterday we had a successful rescue operation. Five girls believed to be minors were rescued from a brothel in this city. The local police department was more than cooperative; in fact, they were proactive, organized and motivated to get the girls out. That alone is a victory. Today in the debriefing, several coworkers were still shaken up by the things they saw yesterday--the deplorable conditions of the sex rooms, the amount of young children living in the brothels, the amount of men lurking outside and waiting for their fix. Most of the team couldn't sleep last night. It doesn't matter how many times they have assisted rescues. They can see past the make-up that attempts to cover these girls' pain. One coworker thanked God for our sadness. "Thank you Father that we also hurt when we see your children suffering," she prayed.

I was reminded again that we are not alone in this fight. The Lord cries with us and is faithful to rescue them. Facing an enemy of this size and scope, our responsibility is to work diligently yes, but ultimately to place our efforts and our work at the foot of the cross and trust our God to restore and redeem.

This place makes me more aware of the earth's groanings for redemption and renewal. I can see better the hopeless state we are in without the saving grace of God. We desperately need forgiveness and we need the world to be made right. And when I doubt, God is faithful to show me that I can trust him because he is real and he is moving:

I see him answering my prayer and I see him producing fruit. I am learning more that it really is just about trusting in him and his plan and being patient. As Erin Coomer always explained to me, it's the simple transfer of trust from me and my way to God and his way, believing that his way is for my good :)

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act."
 - Psalm 37:5

I offer my life

All that I am, all that I have

I lay them down before you O Lord

All my regrets, all my acclaims

The joy and the pain I'm making them Yours

Lord I offer my life to You

Everything that I've been through

Use it for your glory

Lord I offer my days to You

Lifting my praise to You

As a pleasing sacrifice

Lord I offer You my life

Things in the past, things yet unseen

Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true

All of my hopes, all of my plans

My heart and my hands are lifted to You

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

 - James 5:16

an indian wedding

Today we went to a traditional Indian / Catholic wedding. It was my first (and only) sari experience. These things are NOT easy to put on - It's like a whole process of wrapping and pleating and pinning and tucking. Alyssa was loving her blinged out silver one. What an experience!

The bride

aaw to ccu

As many of you already know, one of my closest and most fabulous friends Alyssa is arriving TONIGHT from Memphis to visit me and volunteer here for an non-profit in the red-light district for the next six weeks. I could not be more elated.

Alyssa and I have always had an LDF after we were randomly placed as roommates in a dingy motel in California for a summer. We have managed to visit each other and travel all over the place in the last two years, so in honor of her visit I am going to give you all a chronological photo tour of our friendship!!

June 2008 - Soquel, California vineyard

July 2008 - Santa Cruz, CA - 80s Party

August 2008 - Yosemite National Park

November 2008 - Raleigh, NC - Summer Project Reunion

November 2008 - RDU 

 January 2009 - Toronto, Ontario

January 2009 - Toronto, Ontario - Dundas Square

April 2009 - Bowling Green, KY / Nashville, TN

July 4th, 2009 - Greers Ferry Lake, Arkansas

August 2009 - Nashville, TN - Opryland Hotel

October 2009 - Chapel Hill, NC - Old Well

October 2009 - Chapel Hill, NC

September 2010 - Asheville, NC - Blue Ridge Parkway

And now for the hugest adventure of them all!! I am so thankful that the Lord (and her parents!) enabled this trip to work out. I am so looking forward to a reminder of home and especially the south. PTL. I tried to describe this place to her as best as I could but it definitely requires a personal visit to experience it fully. See you in two hours girl!!

2 Corinthians 4:8

"We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair."

Tip-off led to a failed rescue operation last night - when the team arrived the brothel was vacant and all evidence was gone. Beds were overturned and the food was still out. Pray for perseverance for our workers and for the 18 girls trapped in this horrific nightmare.

URGENT: IJM is looking for 25,000 people who will ask President Obama to help end modern-day slavery: http://bit.ly/g4c7EO. Sign & tell your friends!!

1 Timothy 2:1-4

"First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people...This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

Lord, give me more of a burden for the lost and for the broken. Break my heart for what breaks yours and enable me to see people the way that you do. Give me a heart of flesh.

see dad? i love animals!

Readers!! I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long! For the first time since I have been here, I have been absolutely swamped with work- but I love it! The last couple weeks have been spent interviewing, writing, planning and preparing for deadlines this month and for the next few. My roommate Katherine finally arrived back last night from her Christmas vacation so things are beginning to feel normal again. This week we get two new guy interns coming in and I am looking forward to meeting them.

Also, the girl with my job in Mumbai is coming this week so that we can work together on a Media Kit to hopefully start and finish during the week she is here. This way, as we are moving forward in our media strategy and in building relationships with the press, we can have a super sweet kit for them. Hopefully some of my stories will be up on the Web site soon- one has made it on there already.

I have been absolutely tickled by all the packages I have received in the last few weeks. THANK YOU so much! They are so exciting. The people in the Admin department of the office all come in my room together when they deliver any parcels to me because they love seeing me squealing and freaking out.

Additionally, I have decided to start adding a two new words to my regular vocabulary: queue and query. People in the office all have very proper English because of all the British influence in India, so they say cute things like:

"Do you have any more queries?" and "I stood in a queue waiting."

Eleven days until I see the love of my life again.

AND huge major newsflash called Alyssa's Indian visa got approved and she is officially coming out here for a MONTH in February! I could not possibly more excited.

"words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness"

- mother teresa

new village

i saw what i saw

Today I interviewed one of the girls. I might post the story in a few weeks when I am done, but I will say that the hour and a half in that room with her, listening to her story, will be with me for the rest of my life. I am still processing everything she said and trying to comprehend her reality.

Check out this song by Sara Groves, written after she too spoke with a girl rescued from forced prostitution:

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it

I heard what I heard and I can't go back

I know what I know and I can't deny it

Something on the road cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me

Your dream inspires

Your face a memory

Your hope a fire

Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of

And what I know of love

We've done what we've done and we can't erase it

We are what we are and it's more than enough

We have what we have but it's no substitution

Something on the road cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me

Your dream inspires

Your face a memory

Your hope a fire

Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of

And what I know of love

I say what I say with no hesitation

I have what I have and I'm giving it up

I do what I do with deep conviction

Your pain has changed me

Your dream inspires

Your face a memory

Your hope a fire

Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of

Your courage asks me what I am made

Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of

And what I know of love

And what I know of God