He had played cards with his wife until late night on the 10th and then gone to sleep peacefully.  But shortly thereafter he suffered from a fatal heart-attack.

The days to follow were like a whirlwind.  Everyone was in shock as they prepared for the funeral.  I went over to my cousin’s house several times to offer condolences.  It felt weird.  I hate death.  It doesn’t quite seem real.  And I don’t quite know what to say to grieving family members, because nothing I can say can fix things.  Nothing I can say can bring him back.

But, what I found even more uncomfortable was the conversations I heard others having.  Here my cousin lay in an open casket, and I was over-hearing conversations on business, television programs, and up-coming festivities.  As i was hearing all of this and observing the people who were gathered, I was reminded of a poem I once read written by Linda Ellis:

I read of a reverend who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend.  He referred to the dates on her tombstone…from beginning to end.

He said that the first was the date of her birth, and spoke of the last date with tears in his eyes, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all teh time that she spent alive on earth, and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own: the cars, the house, the cash.  What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard, are there things you’d like to change?  For you never know how much time you have left, you could be at “dash mid-range.”

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when you eulogy is being read with your life’s action to rehash, would you be please with what they say about how you spent your dash?

This is so true.  It is the dash that counts.  It is the days in between the first and the last that define a person’s life.  And I have been thinking lately that I want those days to count.  I want my dash to be something special.  I want it to be one that leaves a mark in this world.

And at the end of the dash, I want to be able to say:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7. 

And I want the Lord to say of me:

Well done, good and faithful servant.

See Matthew 25:21.

I encourage you, this week to take time and think about your dash.  What does it represent so far?  And what would you like it to mean?

People keep asking me how I brought the New Year in.  Well, I must admit…I was sleeping!  On New Year’s eve, we first went to see Avatar (the Hindi, non-3-d version).  Then we played games and prayed for some time.  Finally, around 11ish, I fell asleep.  I guess my niece and nephew were awake at midnight and made a huge commotion, but I was completely out and didn’t hear a thing.

On New Years day, my eldest sister and her family returned to Hyderabad, and my middle sister went with them.  All of a sudden, the house became quiet.  It is weird how when there is noise, you wish for quiet and when there is quiet, you miss the noise.

On January 2nd, the weather changed.  It had been pleasant before, but now became freezing cold!  But, despite the cold, we went to the orphanage land to spend time with the youth there.  Some of the guys from Ballabgarh had come for our Christmas program and invited me to come.  However, when I called to see if they were coimng no one picked up the phone.  We decided to go anyway.

When we arrived there, I was able to call a guy I had met about a year earlier.  He had come over to the house and we had prayed for him and he said that since then his life had completely changed.  He went from being aimless to finaly finding direction in his life and becoming productive.

Two friends went with us (as sort of body guards).  As I was talking to the boy who’s life was changed, the two of them went outside the gate and collected a bunch of kids who were interested in praying.  The kids came and we taught them a few action songs.

Just as we were finishing up by telling the kids a small story from the Bible with a life-lesson (Jesus feeds 5000), the boys who had initially invited me showed up.  I shared with them some testimonies about my life and our first trip to India after believing in Jesus.  Then we prayed for a few of them.  We have decided to go back every Tuesday.  Lets see where these friendships lead…

January 3rd was Sunday.  At both prayer services, I shared a message from James 3:1-12 about the tongue.  It is small, but can do a lot of damage.  We need to use our tongue for good, not for evil. 

It was still very cold.  So, less children showed up to the morning prayer service…but we still had avout 55 kids.  Some of the children had good testimonies.  A couple of girls shared about pains that were healed when they prayed to Jesus.  One boy shared about how he went for tutoring and his tuition teacher gave everyone some very difficult sums to solve.  The boy prayed…and to his surprise, he got every one right!

After the morning prayer service, we went to my cousin’s house.  My cousin’s son had a son!  So it was a party to celebrate the baby.  According to tradition here…I am his grandmother

Then, we rushed to the prayer service in Delhi.  At first it seemed like no one was coming.  But, slowly the place filled up.  we had most of the regulars and even some first-timers.  One man came for the first time and shared his testimony about how he had come to know Jesus, but then fallen away from God.  However, several years later when his wife and children went missing, He prayed to Jesus again and Jesus restored his family.  But then again, he forgot Jesus.  Then again his wife left…and he prayed…and she cam back.  But once again, he forgot Jesus.  And then his son got very ill…and again he prayed to Jesus.  Jesus immediately healed his son and the doctor’s diagnosis was reversed.  So, this time the man had resolved to continue to walk with Jesus!

On Monday, I reconnected with a friend who had moved to Australia, it was really nice.  Finding old friends is so much fun!  Also, in the afternoon, a couple of girls came over to talk.  I had run into one of the girls a few days back at the mall.  She told me that she had come for Sundy prayer some time back.  I invited her to come again.  Unbeknownst to her, her sister and her friend had recently resolved to start coming to church every Sunday also.  So, on Sunday, they had all come for prayer.  I had invited them to come on Monday so we could talk one-on-one.  To my surprise, they actually came.

One of them was from a Christian family, but had married a non-Christian.  She had back-slidden over and over again and somehow felt that God wouldn’t take her back now.  The other didn’t know why, but she was attracted to Jesus and the things of God and just wanted to believe.  We had a good time of fellowship and prayer.

On Tuesday I went to a movie and lunch with a friend.  It was fun.  In the eaarly evening I taught the kids mom tutors how to make origami jumping frogs The rest of the day just kind of passed by without my even realizing it.  I spent much of the evening on the phone with some young people talking about the things of God.

On Wednesday I got an amazing gift from God and my Dad.  For over a year I have been wanting a new phone, but I have not wanted to spend the money necessary to buy the kind of phone I want.  My old phone was not working properly.  Last year when I started praying, initially, God just healed my phone.  One day, it just started working again.  I was happy…but disappointed too, because I wanted a new phone.  Well, a few days ago, I again asked God for a new phone.  And Wednesday morning my dad (who knew nothing about my desire for a new phone) walked into my room and handed me a Samsung OmniaPro!   It is a beautiful phone!

Later, a bhaiya came over whom I had met over a year ago at Priyas.  Jesus had healed him of a migraine headache problem.  He has been calling me daily for prayer regarding his business and has seen some improvement.  We talked and prayed and he received the Holy Spirit!  Then we prayed for his right ear.  He said that about a year ago he went somewhere where the music was very loud.  Since then, his hearing had not been normal in one ear.  But, after prayer, he called and said that his hearing was now normal!  Praise God!

Later in the evening, I did Bible Study with another person.  We discussed the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah and Esau.

I had thought that 2010 was going to start of rather quietly, but, things have been busy…but a good type of busy!

Day 1 – Hyderabad

Day 2 – Singapore

Day 3 – Beyond Imagination

Day 4 – Beyond Fears and Failures

Day 5 – Beyond Excellence

Day 6 – Beyond the Visible

Day 7 – Beyond Strongholds

Day 8 – God’s Provision

Day 9-12 – Back in Hyderabad

He had rib pain and a high fever. At first we thought that he had a viral (flu) and perhaps had pulled a muscle in school. But the fever and pain persisted. It was so excruciating that my nephew was unable to sleep one night and had to be rushed to the emergency room. The doctor wasn’t very good and sent him home saying she thought it was gas.

However, when the pain persisted the next morning, my sister and brother-in-law took my nephew to the hospital for an ultrasound. In the ultrasound, the doctors could see that my nephew had some sort of infection. His condition was so serious that the doctors said he would have to be admitted to the hospital for at least 2 to 3 days.

We all prayed.  But, his admission into the hospital seemed inevitable. My sister packed her bags and prepared to be gone for a few days.  The general hospital had referred them to the children’s hospital.  And the children’s hospital was known to always be on “the safe side” and admit patients rather than sending them home.

Just before my nephew left for the hospital, he told his mom, “Mom pray that I don’t have to be admitted in the hospital.  And also pray that they do no do another blood test.”  They prayed.

And, praise God! Jesus did a miracle. The doctor did not admit my nephew and didn’t take another blood draw either.  Instead, he gave my nephew some antibiotics and sent him home!

Our God truly is a God of the impossible!

And the testimony gets even better.  The medicine was so bitter, so my nephew was unable to take it.  But, from the moment he came home from the hospital, his fever was gone and he was full of energy!  Jesus not only answered my nephew’s prayer of not wanting to be admitted in the hospital, but apparently, Jesus healed him as well!

Aside from my nephew’s ailment, our time in Hyderabad was pretty relaxing.  We didn’t even leave the house!  Mom and I helped my niece make 31 friendship bands to pass out to all her friends.  We braided yarn.  Surprisingly, the bands turned out nice.

I also had the opportunity to meet an amazing woman, Kalpana.  She has started a non-profit organization wherein they adopt existing schools for poor children and try to improve them drastically.  It was awesome hearing about the work she is doing…very inspiring.

We all sat around and tried to begin concretely planning our orphanage   Pray about that also.

Our last day in Singapore was very very busy. As soon as we got dressed, we went to the lunch with the Singaporean businessmen. We shared with them what God has put on our hearts. They asked us to make a business plan with more concrete numbers and submit it to them. That will be one of our first projects once we return to Delhi. Please pray that the Lord’s will be done. If it is His will, let the finances come. I only want to move forward according to His will.

When we got back to the hotel room, we had a chance to chat with Pastor Pritam. As we were chatting with him, others joined us. I also had to do the interview for The Christian Post. We visited with various people until it was time for us to go to the airport.

I had one strange, or not so strange experience. I met a lady, she wasn’t part of the conference, but she had heard my plenary session. Since then, she had been desiring some alone time with me. And somehow, we ended up in a room alone together. She immediately jumped at the opportunity. She told me a testimony about how she had prayed for an elderly lady who had been sitting in a wheelchair for 6 months because of various ailments. After prayer, the lady had gotten up and walked about. She wanted to pray for me too, so we prayed together. Afterwards, she asked me to try and stand. I did. But nothing happened. Then the lady began saying that it must be because I do not have enough faith or I am limiting God or do not want it enough. I hate when people do that. I am sure I want to be healed more than others want to see me healed. And I have full faith that Jesus will heal me. But, I am waiting for His time. People who are sick don’t need others blaming them when the miracle does not happen. Those praying should encourage, not discourage.

Ranee Didi and her sister took us to the airport. We had brought some CDs from a young artist who has just left his job to serve God full time. Unfortunately we had been unable to sell any of them. I had wanted to sell them and give the entire proceeds to the artist to encourage him. Now, we were trying to figure out if we would buy them from him and try to sell them in the US. But, during the car ride, Ranee Didi’s sister offered to buy all of them! What a blessing! God is so good. He blesses us beyond what we can think or imagine.

At the airport Ranee Didi’s sister also bought us french fries. They tasted so good!

When we got to the church, we were taken to a back room. There, we met the Malaysian band that was going to be leading worship. They were so complimentary of my presentation at the conference. And we met with the Pastor, a 30 something year old, who is doing awesome things for the Lord. It was fun talking to him because he also has a heart for North India and was in the Gurgaon area for 2 years ministering. He was familiar with many of the places that we minister at.

When I shared, there were mostly youth there. I shared both our family testimony as well as the POWER message. Afterwards, Mom and I prayed for all of the young people there. After praying, the Pastor arranged lunch for us – Subway! Yay!

Then the afternoon session, the final session of the conference began. During this session, we took Communion and were Comissioned. After worship, there was a short time of bhangra as well. Bhangra for Jesus! I love things like this. I love the fact that we don’t have to be “stiff” and “religious” in church. God likes to have fun. And we can have fun in His presence!

The speaker was an evangelist from Australia. He spoke on the story of David and Goliath and how we, with God’s help, must overcome our giants. He was quite entertaining in his presentation style.

After the talk, we had a time of just saying “bye” to everyone. Again I was afraid that I was going to have to go back to the Salvation Army, where we were staying, by bus. But, praise God! He takes such good care of me! The Pastor arranged for a car to drop us!

Back at the Salvation army, we had an evening of just spending time with various young people and encouraging them and being encouraged by them. It was really nice and relaxing.

The first session in the morning was presented by an evangelist from Nepal. He came to the Lord a few years ago and now has a vision to reach every village in Nepal and plant a church and a trained leader in each village. He walks miles and miles to fulfill his calling. The main point that struck me from his talk was that we need to remember that “prayer is an intercontinental ballistic missile.” No matter where we are, we can pray from situations far from us and expect that in the name of Jesus, the strongholds of the enemy will be broken and God will work in amazing ways.

My seminar was in a room that was a bit difficult to find, so some people later told me that they were unable to attend because of this reason. However, those who were able to attend said that they were blessed. I spoke on the keys to seeing the power of God in our everyday lives. A few were even filled with the Holy Spirit during the prayer times afterwards. And I was able to counsel others to overcome the failures in their lives.

In the evening session, which was about going beyond socio-economic structures, focused on Jesus’ commandment that we should love our neighbor as ourself. It went into detail on the practical meaning of this commandment. It was presented by a Datuk, which is a person who has been conferred the title of “Sir” by the Malaysian monarchy.

After the main session was over, the talent show began. Just as the talent show began, I was called away to speak with a lady who was not a believer, but had attended my plenary session and had been deeply touched. I was able to spend some time listening to her story and encouraging her to move forward. She said she would try to attend church regularly in an effort to find peace and move beyond her visible circumstances.

I was able to catch the second half of the talent show. A guy did come for prayer to receive the Holy Spirit, but mom prayed for him instead of me.

A rich Singaporean-Chinese businessman wants to set up a meeting on Monday with his friends. God has laid it on his heart to possibly help us build the orphanage. Pray the the Lord’s will be done. Maybe now is the time for my childhood dream to become a reality?

Initially Pastor Pritam told me that he had been unable to arrange for us to speak at a church on Sunday morning. I was so exhausted that I didn’t feel to bad about this. But, half-way through the evening, Pastor Pritam said that we would be speaking on Sunday at Jesus Lives Church. Praise the Lord! Lets see what the Lord has in store. Sunday is going to be a busy day!

Singapore is a very beautiful city/state. The name Singapore comes from the Malay word Singapura, which means Lion City. Although there are no lions in Singapore, when it was first founded, the man who discovered Singapore thought that he saw a lion, and thus named it.

Singapore is one of the world’s 20 smallest countries, but one of the most densely populated. It consists of a main island as well as 63 smaller islands. In Singapore, I was told, they have a law that a tree must be planted every 3 meters. So, it is very green. I really like the fact that there are so many different types of trees and greenery. It is beautiful.

In the evening, George Kuvoor, a Chaplain to the Queen of England, spoke on going beyond excellence for God. The one thing that struck me about his talk was the statement that we need to make “Jesus Lord of all, or not at all.” In our lives, we need to give Jesus the first place in all things. He needs to be more than just our “Savior”. He needs to be our Lord!

I was introduced to a reporter from The Christian Post after the meeting. He said he would like to interview me afterwards, when we both have more time. Lets see what happens.

After the talk I had a chance to spend some time with some of the delegates to the convention. One shared her testimony with me and about the struggles that she has been going through. I had a chance to encourage her and reassure her that despite her failures, God still loves her just the same and He has called her and will use her for His glory. I also had the chance to speak with a young guy who is ministering in south India. He has been facing a lot of set backs and frustration in ministry, but I tried to speak God’s words into his life, encouraging him that the Lord would see him through it all.

Today, the second day of the conference, was the day I was supposed to present in the evening. I woke up not feeling well. Actually I have not been well for quite some time. I have been getting sick with one thing or another ever since we returned from the US, about 3 months ago. Now, I am experiencing extreme pain. Ranee Didi even offered to take me to the doctor so I could get medication to control the pain. But, I decided not to go because I needed to prepare for my plenary presentation in the evening (plus, I am scared of doctors ).

In the morning, a Pastor from the UAE did a presentation on going beyond cultural boundaries. He shared about how we do not have to think that the Lord is only going to use us in and amongst our own people. We need to think globally. He talked about Acts 1:8 and how when Jesus said that we need to be his witnesses in “Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth,” this was not just geographical expansion, but also cultural expansion of God’s kingdom. Judea and Samaria were not very far from each other, but culturally, they were miles apart.

In the afternoon, there were some seminars, but I did not attend any of them because I needed to prepare for my talk. My sermon had been written for some time, but I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. At the last minute, I almost changed the entire thing, but decided against it. My topic was “Beyond Fear and Failure,” but as I was preparing to speak, I experienced so much fear of failure. I had to remind myself of the very things I would be teaching that night. I just had to speak what God put on my heart, and Jesus would do the rest

I wore a white salwar kameez. Everyone was so sweet, they gave me so many compliments. Ranee Didi and her husband said the same thing, that I looked like a bride. It is weird how married people think alike I guess you really do begin to think like the person you spend most of your time with, without even realizing it. Thus, if we spend more time with Jesus, we will become more like Him

I was nervous, but a lot of people were praying for me, and the talk went well. Afterwards many people told me that they were blessed by the message I shared on. Praise God!

As we were leaving the sanctuary, we ran into Rabi Maharaj, a man who has written one of the most widest selling Indian-Christian testimony books. He gave me a very high compliment. He said that my speech was perfect in that it had the right amount of personal testimony, scripture, humor, etc. He said he would not change a thing, and in fact the speech should be copied and distributed widely around the world!

After the talk, we spent the evening in the family from the UK’s room. Ranee Didi had each person share one thing that blessed them from my speech. It was interesting to hear how in the same talk, different things touch different people. God speaks to each one of us differently. Aster Didi shared an awesome testimony of how many years ago, she was stricken by some sort of partial paralysis from knee down. The doctors said it was incurable. They said she would have to use a walker for the rest of her life. But, God healed her completely, and today she is walking, running, and dancing!

One guy shared something that surprised me. He said that at the last conference in London, he felt very intimidated by me (little old me…can you imagine?). He said that he felt like I had accomplished so much for the Lord, and he had done so little that he couldn’t even talk to me. But over the past two years, he has been working for the Lord and now he was able to talk to me. He said that it wasn’t that I had done anything to make him feel this way, it was just something from inside of himself. hmm…I really don’t want people to feel that way about me. I pray that I never project a “holier than thou” attitude. But, I am glad that my life was able to challenge him to go out there and accomplish more for God.

By the end of the day I was feeling much better. The pain was less.

There are a few hundred delegates at the convention from around the world – US, Canada, UK, Nepal, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, India, Pakistan, etc.  It is kind of weird…in London, mostly girls attended, and here mostly it is guys.

The convention started with some ice breakers that were fun.  And then several people shared their testimonies of how God opened doors for them to be able to come to the convention.  God provided miracle visas, miracle finances and miracle connections for people to come.  One lady testified that initially someone had offered to sponsor her to come to the convention from the Phillipines.  But, at the last minute, the person backed out.  She was very angry and disappointed.  But, God cheered her up by finding her a new sponsor in an unexpected way!

Just before the first session started, I got word that God has opened the door for me to minister at a church on Sunday morning!  Praise Jesus!  This is another answer to prayer.  I kept intending to send out an email to all of my contacts asking them if they new of any opportunities to share in Singapore.  But, I never got around to it.  So, I left it up to God, but didn’t really think anything would happen.  I wanted to have ministry opportunities in Singapore, but I didn’t think it was going to be possible.  But our God is a God of impossibilities!

The first session started with amazing worship.  They started by welcoming Jesus as the guest of honor, with a dhol and bagpipe music, dancers with flags, followed by the blowing of a shofaar.  It was quite awesome to behold!

The main speaker shared his testimony of how God brought him through a difficult phase of his life to living in victory.  18 years ago, he was wrongfully accused of corruption.  Prior to that he was a successful and very well-respected lawyer.  But, as a result of the accusations and following conviction, he lost everything and was disbarred from practicing law.  But, he held on to Jesus and Jesus eventually cleared his name and restored all that was lost back to him.  The speaker, Mr. Glenn Knight, encouraged us that no man or principality can hold us down when God is with us.

After the session I had a chance to talk to the girl who is a Sikh convert from Amritsar.  She shared how her parents used to be very sick.  They had tried all sorts of faith healers from every religion, but all to no avail.  But, when they tried Jesus, He answered.  Still, she did not want to believe until Jesus came to her in a dream/vision and spoke to her and revealed himself through a personal encounter.  Since then, God has completely transformed her life and is using her for His glory!