taking flight

well, the time is drawing near...in two days i'll be on a flight to nepal with my team for 10 days of mountains...himalayas to be exact. we'll be visiting the WMF field in Kathmandu as well as taking a painful 6 hour bus ride through the hills...ha hills! to take a small personal retreat. after their first month here in kolkata, i'm guessing my team is in need of some processing time. kolkata plants that need deep within us all. so weds we will be taking flight, and i will covet your prayers as we embark on our little journey. kathmandu has its own picture of poverty and oppression, may our eyes be ever open to recognize the image of Christ dwelling within all the folks we encounter.

i absolutely love the mountains, and am selfishly excited for a bit of an excersion although living and readjusting to kolkata hasn't been difficult these past three months. i'm always up for a little journey-ing...
slowly the heat is sneaking up on us here. the weather resembles a great mid-july indiana afternoon. a good breeze. bright sun. although the brown haze smeared across the sky differs from my open sky back home...and there's not really any knee high corn to speak of...
anyways, just wanted to offer a little update.
more to come from the mountains of nepal.

the great image.

"People travel to wonder at the heights of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long course of the river, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."

-St. Augustine

This quote keeps the image of Christ quite close to my mind. keeps the wrestling match alive, as i ache for change in my heart to see fruit that will last, birthed from within. fruit of dignity and love. of generousity to those around me. men, women, kiddos throughout the red light district. madams and oppressed little girls.

customers and pimps.

beggars. and street kids.

my community. myself.

all made in the image of Christ.

Oh Lord, stir the wonder of passing by your created Beloved.

for the sake of simplicity

simplicity.
a word of offense. a word of law. a word of honor. a word of great difficulty.
lifestyle. law. heart condition.

simplicity creates margins and space.
involves the art of letting go.
downsizing my possessions.

but these are simply by products of the condition of my heart...the relationship within.
between my savior. between my friends.

this is a topic continually before me. something i cannot shake away or ignore. living simply. to honor my friends in kolkata. to honor my savior. to make my life cleaner, spacier. free.

surely we will drown in our flailing attempts at strength. and change. in the boundaries of a lifeless law. but in the midst of relationship, in the core of our heart, wehre simplicity becomes an afterthought of our relationship with christ...with the poor...sure it is a lifestyle i will long to embrace.

and materialism will loosen its grip...
and our possessions crumble in importance...
and we can honor our friends...
reflect our savior....

simplicity for simplicity's sake~a vain and prideful act.
but birthed through the changing condition of our heart...
true.
birthed in love.
surely it will stand

simple words.
whole truth.
simple actions.
simple living.

Lord, draw me close to you.
amen.

"do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and

rust destory...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven for

where your treasure is...

there your heart will be."

elimination attempts.

slowly slowly, i have finally let go of the mass email technique, in hopes to elliminate busy work from my life.
which results in a blog between us.
i'll try my best to include stories, thoughts, pictures, witty jokes...and what not.
and as always, thank you for your interest in my life. i hope in some respects this will become a voice on behalf of the women in Sonagachi and the city of Kolkata.
i'll also post my april prayer letter here, in case you didn't recieve in via email or mail.

much love.
beth