bracelets for india

i can't remember if i've posted about this before, but even if i have, it's time for an update. my dear friend and maid-of-honor from my wedding is going to india this summer for four weeks. one of the things that the organization is encouraging the people going to do is get other people involved somehow. prayer and financial support are the obvious two, but they wanted them to get creative. jency's making bracelets!!! but it's so much more than that. this is so cool!!!!

one of the main things they're going to be doing over there (this is kind of heavy - get ready) is sitting with prostitutes in brothels and having tea with them, talking with them, praying with them - whatever the Spirit leads them to do. they're also going to be spending time in orphanages with little girls. (side note: the orphanages were put there as a safe-haven for little girls to live so they wouldn't get sold into the sex slave market...i think.) it amazes me that this actually goes on in the world. the hidden and more-criminal side of the whole thing is the child sex-market. they won't be working with any child slaves b/c the owners of the brothels keep them very well hidden b/c it's so illegal. but it happens - thousands of little girls are sold into sex slavery!! think about a girl you know who is anywhere between 5 and 15, and then imagine them being used as a forced prostitute in a brothel. it's very, very shocking and sobering. if we do nothing else, we should be praying for them - and the brothel owners, really.

whew. so jency had the idea of her friends and people from america making beaded bracelets for the ladies and girls she meets in india. the maker's name will be attached to each bracelet so jency can tell them who made the bracelet for them out of love and that they (the maker of the bracelet) will be praying for them. then the idea is to get a picture of the person or at least get part of their story so that she can then bring the picture or story back to america and let us, the bracelet makers, know who has our bracelet(s) and so that we can pray for them more specifically over the next few months. ISN'T THAT COOL??? i'm so excited.

so these are some awesome pictures of some girls after a little impromptu bracelet making party up at vesper point during the alumni weekend retreat. i loved getting to know some girls i had never met and spending time with old friends! you get to make bracelets to show people that you love them in Christ, and while you're making them, you get to spend time with awesome people! it doesn't get much better than that. God is already doing a lot with this trip to india. i can't wait to hear how He continues to work!!!