Transition to Missions at home.

WOw, Lord. Crazy last couple months. Mostly spent dealing with the illness. I was the unusual 2% and the virus will still not return to dormancy. I am permanently on more meds and that has helped a lot so i can go about normal daily life again! Still fighting the illnesses but they have gotten better! I am back in La Crosse, WI and while my heart still earns for the people in poverty and doing missions I am finally adjusting and finding my purpose here in the states for now.

I've been back for over three months now, and not a day goes by that I don't think about India; the poverty, the ministries, the way God showed up and of course the people there! The people  I became friends with on staff, the people at church and the people in the brothels and streets changed my heart. It's the people God worked through to reach me the most in India. I pray for them often. I thank God for them!

Coming back/transitioning was definitely the hardest part of the whole trip. The going didn't bother me at all, the adjustment came naturally there and finding my place there went even more smoothly. I still haven't fully transitioned back, and to be honest I don't want to, because if I do I wouldn't think about everyone in Kolkata as often, I wouldn't be praying for them as much and I would be conforming back to my old self. I'm not that person anymore and in my opinion, doing missions made me a better person. I don't fit in as well back here in the states, but I never fully did anyway. God had always been tugging on my heart to be a missionary, for longer than I even realized. It's hard sometimes because being a ministry here is harder for me to see. But I am seeing more clearly that this season back in the states as just as much purpose as being in India did.

I am going to grow closer to God here, learn how to properly rest in Him, get my degree at Moody Bible Institute- where I study what I love; Jesus, His bible, missions and ministry to victims of sexual exploitation, and build in my relationships with people I love here. God is opening up my eyes to the good things that are right around the corner, not just for a few years off  when I'm a full time missionary but the near future; this spring, this year next year!So excited for what's a head. I'm not sure what it all includes, but I can have joy because my Lord promises good things! I'm changing my perspective and fighting onward!

I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” -Isaiah 42:1-4

city of joy-journey home-health

So....an update is much over due. To make a long story...shorter. I'm back in the states. Got in 2 days ago. I got a nasty virus from an ear infection 2 weeks ago. Its another nerve condition...me and those nerves haha Here is an update and I'm sorry if its not the most coherent because I am still kind of out of it.

God has provided so much for me through all of it. I could have been a day away from paralysis of the right side of my face, my head aches are still there but doing much better than before, i only have minor hearing loss on the right side and some muscle issues with my mouth but its not too noticeable. God has given miracle on top of miracle. My fever is broken and I was well enough to get out of the hospital and to fly back home. I am continuing treatment back here and recovery is coming step by step.

All is going well and I should be feeling much better in the next few weeks. I already feel incredibly better than when it was all at its peak.
The virus has been dormant in my body until the ear infection and could come back and flare up any time but it should never progress like it has because I will know when its coming on and be able to take antivirals.

Well I am so terribly sad to have had to leave early from Kolkata, I feel in my heart I will be back again. Who would have thought I would experience so much dang joy in a city where there is so much need. My heart will forever be with the people of West Bengal. The ladies and children I got to spend time with in ministry and do life with were amazing! They are my role models and helped me find my passion for life. Jewels in a Crown quickly became my second family. The staff I worked with became my best friends. I was able to befriend the most incredible, Christ passionate people!

It was so hard to say goodbye. Especially not being able to do all the different ministry outreaches one last time. I can say with joy in my heart that I will see them again, its just a matter of when. God's timing is perfect and although I don't understand this rapid change of events, I can trust that He has a plan for it all.

Please continue to pray for the ladies and girls, especially as this next week we have the new girls starting at Jewels in a Crown. It'll be a hard adjustment time for them as well as very overwhelming and causing a lot of issues and pains to come to the surface of their heart. I cannot thank you all enough for the support, prayers and encouragement you've given me through this season of my life.
It's been an incredible one. I am so excited to see where God leads me next.

Prayers for continued recovery in my health would also be very much appreciated. The worst is over and I could not have had better people in my life in India to help me through all of that.

Unfathomable Love

(Closer by Steffany Frizzel)

God's been lavishly pouring His love on me, and I've come to a point here where I am experiencing His love in ways like never before. He loves us deeper than we can ever imagine. Who would have thought I'd be taught so much about love while doing missions in India in some of the darkest areas. Yet, here I am in Kolkata, India experiencing so much of the Fathers heart for me and His people. Step by step I can see more with His eyes and the way He views His people. 

The people here that I've made relationships with are people that have changed my life in such beautiful ways. From the staff here at JIAC, my host family, or other staff and interns the Shaw's oversee, I am blessed by having them in my life. I am overjoyed by what I do and the fact that I am here to love on people in dark places. Such stories of God's redemption I've witnessed take place here. Christ works in our lives chasing after each one of us, all we have to do is walk into His presence and choose Him. He has all the plans, he knows what will happen from now on in through eternity. Much of what I see around me breaks my heart, but God shines His light in even those darkest of places and I am seeing revival take place. 

I saw a lady in the brothels whose face was beat up badly, her sari was ripped and worn in so many places, she had garbage in her hair and was sitting in the alley crying out. I assumed she had just been beat up, because that is quite the common occurrence in the brothels. I'm standing next to this weeping lady, picking garbage out of her hair while she talks to one of our staff members.  While talking to her, we found out she actually had done that to herself. She was extremely drunk and had been falling over left and right, throwing fits and letting herself get hurt. This broke my heart all the more, because it was not a case of someone else abusing her and treating her poorly; it was her doing this to herself because she thought so little of her life. She was abusing herself and hurting the people around her. She was believing the lies that people had been telling her in regards to who she is and what she is worth in this life. I was reminded of the women caught in adultery in John 8;1-11. All I could think of was how God showed her his unconditional love and how it was His powerful  love that it caused her to change her ways, value herself and experience God's grace in HUGE ways. 

While my story isn't like either of these women, God definitely spoke to me through it.  He has been trying to show me more and more of His love and it is such an awesome experience to reach a deeper level of love with my Creator. So good.  

It's His love that has caused me to cross oceans, He wants me to show His love to some of the poorest, most unloved people. Some of the greatest leaders and most beautiful jewels in the King's crown are in these brothel and slums, they just don't know it. God is pursuing them, and I'm so blessed to be able to play even a part in showing these people His love for them. A love that when they accept will take them on the greatest journey of their lives.

"37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. "

Romans 8:37-39 

When staying is a new beginning

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED.

I am STAYING in Kolkata for a few more months. I feel God calling me to continue missions here!! I'm so stoked. I know God has not finished loving on the people of Kolkata through me yet. As I love the broken people here, God continues to show me His love in new ways as well. Things have been busy trying to get everything figured out, but I'm so excited for what God has in store in my semester here!

I would really appreciate your support, prayerfully and financially if you feel God calling you to. Your prayers and encouragement means so much to me. Thank you! 

I don't know the details of how everything will work out but I know God will provide just as he always has. (: 

Continue praying for the ministry here with the ladies in the brothels and the kids in the slums. They need to see God's light in their darkness to know there is hope.

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy." Psalm 126:5

For those of you who feel they can contribute to my missions financially, please click on the link below.
http://rpecinternational.org/donate/
Scroll down on the options and be sure to have McDonnell, Erin on the line below.
Thank you so much!

Five of our ladies graduated last week and it was such a reminder of God's power and how His unconditional love sets us free and redeems us all. I couldn't help but cry when I heard them share their testimonies, along with what ministry they are getting involved with to help others who are still going through what they went through. The way they shine Christ's light has taught me SO much! Please pray as we have replacements coming in the near future. They are coming straight from the brothels and will have to be taught about the Gospel, how to deal with anger, manners, and holding pencils and reading. For them, coming here is their first time in formal education. We will be starting at the very bottom and working to the top, just continually lifting them up and loving on them with God's love.

  

 

 

My painting  

Game time! (:

 

At mother Teresa Home right by the brothels 

Slum dog Millionaire

Slum dog millionaire is a famous movie. All about a  boy in India who goes from a life full of tragedy to a time of triumph. It's a movie that pulls at your heart watching the things these kids have to go through. Watching that movie this summer over here, I can honestly tell you that it does a good representation of what things look like in Kolkata. I've spent a fair amount of time with people in poverty, but never have I seen this. It reaches a new level. This week I've been going to the feeding program where we give food to the children who live on the train tracks. They have no where they belong and have no one to love them. They go crazy with us because of the affection we show them, we are pulled every which way by the children. They were climbing on me, always wanting me to sing or hold them or swing them around. My body actually would hurt after it-not exactly a shocker for me- but it was the best reason to be in pain i've had yet.


I went in the back of the slums where countless families and children are living on mounds of garbage with nothing but a roof of metal sheets to call home to so many. I spent time inside one of the lady's homes. The kids were so shy because we are white, but they warmed up.  holding the two babies while sweat was dripping down me was one of my favorite parts of this week. What a blessing. I pray those children get to have a future where they can break the family cycle and have a bright future filled with the joy God has for them. Malouse, one of the older brothers of a child in our children's home, lives there and has TB. He is getting very sick, and is loosing so much weight on an already skinny body. He won't let us take him to the hospital though because he doesn't see a reason to live. He wants to die and not have to live in the conditions he's surrounded by. its heart breaking. Regardless of how many people I see living in terrible poverty, living a broken life or the number of people who are lost; my heart never goes numb to it and continues breaks for them.


I often become overwhelmed with emotions after all the people I work with and encounter.  It's also been an incredible blessing to have the support system that I have here. Between my host family, the other intern and the staff from JIAC & children's home I never feel alone or filled with despair. We continue to have awesome experiences from the goofy times to the hour prayer sessions we have with each other. There is a team that's here too, they are great and I've really enjoyed spending time with them. It's beautiful to see how coming here to serve has already changed their hearts as well. It's all so encouraging.

There's a lot of planning events that will happen before I leave here. It's been busy but a good busy; a busy that leaves me content and filled with joy. Seeing prayers be answered again and again is always incredible and that continues to happen. Keep your prayers coming though, we could use many prayers for the people in Kolkata, those in the brothels, our women who are healing from trafficking, the slum children and the children at the home. I have two more weeks left and while part of me wishes I could skip school and stay another 4 months, I just want to make the most of every minute here in Kolkata.

 

One of the ladies who was in the sex trade and is now a bright light to the ladies and children in the brothels! She is absolutely amazing! 

 

Us at JIAC being silly 

 

My supervisor/close friend (: 

The rest of these below are from online because a lot of places i spend time in, it is not appropriate to take pictures of/in.  

 

Living in the slums, filled with garbage 

 

Children living by the train station

 

 

An example of a brothel lane...but looking a lot nicer than ours. 

 

this is Kalighat road, all the people lines up on the sides of the street are the ill and disabled and beggars. 

Growing hearts

Most of the time my writing is all over the place because I'm writing in a hurry and have so much to share! Tonight I actually have down time to myself and thought I'd write a little bit more about the women/children and what I am learning while in Kolkata.

God is always working in our lives on thousands of things, and we are normally aware of...three of them. My time here though is opening up my eyes to more of what He is doing in my life. The way God radically transforms lives regardless of circumstance, background, or how long you've followed Him seriously amazes me. I am in awe of the things number of things God is doing here. I realized that when i walk through Kalighat (area where mother Teresa's home for the sick and dying is, as well as the red light district) I judge all the men for taking part and demanding sex out of these women and even children. The idea just disgusts me. I realized I am holding this judgement on them and have to forgive them.  They are broken people who need Jesus just as much as the females. its a hard concept especially when I know the women and children personally affected and the way their lives have been completely altered because of it. I do think its still very important that I do that, even if its just to free myself from the anger I will get inside of me.

I just spent the last 2 days at the children's home! It was so nice to be out in a quiet village and be with the children. At this home there are 20 kids and they all came from living off of garbage on the train tracks. It's so sad and hard to even picture these little children (who i will post down below) living around the railways wherever they could find a place to sleep. I am hoping to go to the feeding program at the train station for the kids who were not able to be placed in homes, I think its going to be really eye opening to see that. There are just hundreds of hundreds of the kids living there. I'm actually going to suggest the movie slum-dog millionaire for those of you who have not yet seen it. I think it gives you a good idea of what these children have to face and slightly brushes on the topic of human trafficking. The children have quickly captured my heart and could really use your prayers.

The staff here I work with are incredible! I am so blessed and encouraged by having them in my life. It's through them and the experiences here that I've been able to grow deeper and reach a new level in my prayer life. Prayer has always been a big thing for me, but being here the importance and focus of it has increased exponentially! I love it. It'd often been my concern that I would go back to being the same person I was once I'm back in the States, but with where I am at in prayer I am confident that that will not be possible.

I seriously am tempted to stay here longer. My visa gave me 6 months here.... and I love this ministry and working with children and females in human trafficking. But when I pray about it, I know God wants me to be back at school, so I can become a counselor. I am sure I will be back here though, no doubt about that.

Prayer requests for me would be to focus on the time I have left here so I can enjoy these last 3 weeks. For JIAC women, prayers would be best for continued healing spiritually, and mentally. For the children at the children's home please pray for them in their studies as they try to catch up to the rest of the people their age and that they may understand just how much God loves them. For all of those I know in the brothels- pray for them to understand the Gospel and for them to be freed and given the chance to heal.

Thank you! God bless.
Shanti

Miracles of God

 So much happens in a week….i don’t even know where to start! It’s been amazing; the experiences I’ve had are unreal. The ladies at Jiac and I are getting a lot closer. I love them so much. They are such wonderful believers. I am honored to call them my friends. When I am with them, in this ministry I feel like all my God given talents, interests and hobbies are used to give glory to God.

     I spent all of last Saturday at Kalighat with the women. It was such an eye opening time, seeing where all the ladies live, spending more time with the children who are raised in the brothels. This one girl in particular captured my heart, pia. I play with her every Saturday there. She is such a cutie and it breaks my heart that she has to be raised up in the brothels staying under the bed or outside when mom has customers. It’s just such a dark place for children to grow up in. hard to think there are so many of them in the brothels. I just pray she doesn’t become another number in the prostitution business once she is older. I really pray she can break that cycle.

    that same day i experienced jesus healing a lady After hours of praying she begin to proclaim jesus as lord and was healed and she accept Christ! She went with me to the Bengali church service the next day and was able to talk to a Christian counselor from the church!!!!!

 

   During one of my prayer walks in kalighat I saw a vision of God’s light shining through us with every step we take, making it a brighter place. God brings hope and hope does not disappoint us because god’s love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit (romans 5:5). 

     So much has happened, I was supposed to finish the blog for last week but its almost a week late,  a lot has happened since then. A teamed has arrived here for 3 weeks. We are excited to see what god does through them. Yesterday we spent a lot of time downtown showing them around, and the traffic was absolutely terrible. We spent 1+    hours looking for 3 taxis to fit the whole team, we ended up walking the whole way there because we couldn’t get a taxi. It was madness. Today I lead a day of prayer and fast, which we called “greater things are yet to come”. It went beautifully,; the holy spirit really moved and healed people in powerful ways. 

   My work is really picking up, the responsibilities are increasing and all the projects to get done in the next 4 weeks. Suddenly feel that my time here is coming to an end, it saddens me. I am however going to become an ambassador for the states for jewels in a crown!!! That way I will at least feel connected to the ministry and the ladies even when I’m not in Kolkata. 

I have been growing so much as a person here; spiritually, mentally and physically. I love it. It wasn’t until recently that I noticed the change, it happened subtly as my time here went on. When I think about how god wants his church to be, I always look in Acts of the Apostles. and In Kolkata I feel that I am living more in that manner, it’s beautiful, humbling and dreamlike all at the same time.