Incredible India

I first stepped onto Indian soil seven years ago. Before I came that first time a friend of mine told me that everything you never expected or thought you could see you will probably see in India. She was right. India is a place of intensity. The culture is aggressive and vibrant in all its various outlets...the food is spicy, the colors are bright, the language is loud and never seems to pause between sentences. The traffic is constant, the people are piled and packed and squeezed together, the sun beats down with ferocity, the gods are innumerable, the poverty is overwhelming, and the daily experiences are unpredictable.

When I first came to India, I left with this thought in my mind, "Oh God, I'm so thankful I'm not called to India." I laugh now because God has brought me back to this land a few times and each time, my heart is more and more opened to this place and its people. There is an incredible open door here to work with Afghans. As I've been here in India this time, my experience hasn't been one of just trying to breathe in the midst of the culture shock I was undergoing, but this time I feel at ease and have been able to enjoy and learn and appreciate so much of India. I've made friends, not just "dealt with" people. And many days I've had this feeling like I was quite at home.

I think often times it's the people that make a place and an experience. This trip was not an exception to that. We have met and shared our lives with some incredible people who are living for the Lord here. Afghans, Iranians, Indians from all over the sub-continent, westerners, business people and ministers. Moms and teenagers, pastors and lay people. This has made this trip. We came here to serve and bless. I believe we did that to the best of our abilities. But the people also blessed and taught me so incredibly much.

 This trip to India has opened my eyes in many ways. Delhi is a metropolitan place where people from many nations take up residence and put down roots or reside until they move on to the next place. It's a meeting place of cultures and nations. It's at the intersection of major empires from the past and it's a gate and a hub for many trying to escape a difficult life or searching for a better one.
I also have had my eyes opened to the hunger and the need for truth in this place. Churches and individuals are hungry to feast on God's word, and some just don't know the best way to pick it up and ingest it. The tools that we were able to off through Titus project sometimes felt small in the sea of needs but the individuals that we were able to spend time with I know God touched and challenged and spoke to during the time here. This makes it all worth it. We will leave this place, not just having entertained or had a good experience ourselves, but others have encountered God and will continue to after we are gone.

So India has proven to be an unexpected delight and joy. Our original plan never included India, but God led our team step by step to this place and I stand at the end of it amazed at all the beauty that it has revealed.

Before we left for our outreach, we had a prayer time and someone gave us a word that God wasn't giving us Plan B but his plan was always Plan A. This was a promise we held on to this entire time as our locations, contacts and time of ministry all changed even up until the last minute we left. God knew what he was doing even when we (I!!) couldn't see it.

 And though the sun is setting on this short season of our outreach, I believe there is another sun rising in my heart for things for the future. I sense God just asking me to return to Taiwan to finish well and to seek him there. I believe more of that plan will be revealed in this upcoming year, but it's exciting to me to know that God is in control and he has some open doors and plans to continue to reach Afghans, Muslims and many others with his Word and to encounter Jesus Christ.

And of course, this trip would not have been the incredible experience it was without my team. God blessed me with being able to share two months with these people who love the Lord, who are willing to serve and who teach with passion and authority. I have been challenged and sharpened by each one of them and they have shown me so much of God's heart over these last two months. I could endlessly brag about them. I'm just thankful for their friendship and that we got the privilege to serve in ministry together here in this incredible land. 

What does Jesus see?

Here I am, sitting at the end of my day, reflecting on all it held. There were great people to meet and spend time with, times of worship and preaching, times of laughter and fellowship, food and shopping. And yet there is a moment that sticks in my mind that I find myself going back to at the end of the day.

My friends and I were at a stoplight riding in the back of an auto rickshaw in the late afternoon of the day. The traffic is whizzing by, in and out. The horns are endlessly honking and humanity is ev.ery.where. Out of the corner of my eye, across the intersection I see a small child. She is standing in the middle of the median, holding a plastic bag and scooping garbage into it. The small girl has no pants on, wild tangled hair, and is covered in dust. I look around at me. The cars continue to whizz by, the men try to sell us various goods at the red light. People wait for the bus, hail an auto rickshaw, go about their business.

I've been thinking about Jesus a lot. I guess when you teach the Bible, this is the joy and perk of the job. I often wonder what it is that Jesus sees, that touches his heart, that I often walk by and don't give any attention to. I wonder as God sees each hair on every person's head, even the wild mess of a mane this little girl has, what does God see in her that I gaze past, as soon as the light turns green and I carry on the normal course of life and never think about again? And how, in the seas of millions of people, can I go deeper in God's heart for the lost, the poor, the broken, the hurting and the shamed? 

Ni hao, Salaam, Namaste, Hello....from India!

So, call me an idiot, but I had no idea there were as many people groups as there are in Delhi. It's a collision of the world, a traffic jam of ideas, thoughts, religion, hopes, dreams, fatalism and existentialism, experience and thought...body soul and spirit trying to find their greatest good. Delhi is like the intersection of the world where everyone comes with their own mode of transportation and tries to make their way in the world.

I've been to Delhi probably 4-5 times but most of the time I was passing through, on my way somewhere else. This is the first time I've stopped, smelled the roses (among piles of garbage I guess) and spent more time with people. My initial impression on my previous trips was not so positive...I have stress-filled memories from those times and the only gifts I took away were parasites and numerous trips to the bathroom. My heart is much changed. Delhi has proven to be a place of possibilities, where God's spirit is moving and working, where people's lives are being transformed and truth CAN be found.

Our team arrived three weeks ago. From the time I started planning this outreach just in prayer and with an idea to this time, I feel like every step I take gets a little bit redirected. This has proven to be true of this whole outreach as we are not going to be continuing on to Central Asia as we had originally planned. But, God's opened up the door for ministering here. We have had opportunities to teach, preach, lead Bible Studies, pray for people, share the gospel a bit, and experience the many flavors and varieties of life that India has to offer.

We have spent most of our time with the Afghan people. I have to say, I have been near to tears many days seeing the realization of some personal prayers and dreams of mine become a reality right in front of my eyes. My stomach has been blessed with great Afghan food once again and I'm still convinced Afghan hospitality is the best in the world. And the friendships that have been formed just in these first three weeks, have the potential to be life-long friends. One thing that amazes me about times of outreach is as much as you step out to be a blessing, to serve others, to build others up, God has poured back into my life many times that. Today as a number of Afghan women laid hands on me and prayed blessings over me in their own language, I felt so humbled and blessed that God would call ordinary Danika from a tiny little town in Northern Minnesota, and send me half way around the world to a culture and people so completely different from my own and allow me to feel at home and see the Kingdom of God grow and blossom. I am one blessed woman.

So, here are some photos from my trip so far...to give you a taste of what I've been doing. Many of our times with the A people cannot be posted here so know there is a side of this trip where even more treasure and great times have been had but will not be included on this blog.

teaching prep in the cold of the morning....but with a hot cup of chai! 

Becca, myself and Aimy...the powerhouse women of our team

Preaching in a Hindi-speaking church

Lindsay, who is graciously allowing us women to stay in her home--a great new friend

Preparing Bible Overview teachings at the coffee shop....this is how I spent my birthday! 

Bible Overview teaching

Pilau....so good to eat Afghan food once again! 

So, what does God have in store next? We still have 5 weeks left here in India. Our plan is to travel and teach in a few different places, to build into those relationships we've already made, and to seek God for more opportunities to minister to the people here. My heart is so full on this trip...in many ways, I feel right at home and there are definite open doors for the future should I choose to walk through them. This will be a year of decision for me as to the path that lies ahead so if you think of it, please pray that God would direct me step-by-step and give me wisdom as I consider all the options to invest in both now on this trip, and in the future.

Rock-buzz

I really love people. I love getting to know their stories, to hear about their lives and to share mine. I love it when two people start to connect on a heart level and we get into the real "meat" of life...the raw, open honest things of the human experience.

Thursday evenings you can find me at this place above...The Rock Coffee Bar in the city I live in. This place is the center of a lot of our work and ministry here. It's an English speaking coffee house where people can come in, get a free cup of coffee and have conversation. The goal is to have a place where you can have conversation about Jesus without having to brave walking through the door of a church, which many people would never even consider.

Most Thursday evenings I come home with a "Rock-buzz"....I love the fellowship, the challenge and the excitement of what these evenings bring. I never really know who will show up, what we'll talk about and what the response will be.

This evening was one of my favorite kind of evenings...I got to see familiar faces and invest in relationships that are continuing to go deeper. I also got to meet new friends and see friends that I hadn't seen for awhile. There's talk of times to get together, times to study the Bible together, and times to just have fun together. And Jesus is the passion that I am able to speak of openly. This ministry is such a blessing and I love seeing how God uses it to reach people where they are at, challenge them to consider and follow him, and a place where people can talk about "real stuff." It's one of those evenings where I just take a moment and realize, I love what I do. I'm so blessed that this is the life I get to live. And I was just so excited I wanted to share my moment of excitement with you. May God continue to reveal himself more and more to the people of Taiwan.

Meet the team!

The last few weeks have been spent sitting in a classroom, talking about things like learning styles, team dynamics, reaching oral communicators, how to prepare a lesson, teaching through a translator and listening to many different practice teachings from those who are in the training time. The five of us (pictured from L to R: Julien, Becca, Danika, Aimy, Timmy) have had a number of team meetings to plan our teaching times, better understand one another and to learn more together about the nations we will be connecting with.

It has been two years since I have really interacted with the A people and my heart misses them. I'm excited to take a group of people to be able to pour into and build up these people, equipping them to live lives for God that give him glory and strengthen their faith.

As we prepare to leave, I'd invite you into our preparation process. Would you please commit to praying for us, for the teaching that we will be giving, for the people we will be serving, the contacts we will be working with, and just that in the middle of all of it, we would enjoy God and grow in him and together in relationship. Please also pray that the rest of my ground fees would come in. I'm still in need of (on top of my regular monthly support) another $500USD. My team's finances are mostly in as long as their monthly supporters also continue to give as they have committed. Praise God for how he's opened the door for this trip financially, with the contacts we'll be working with, and all the details that have come together.

Just to rave about this team a bit....each one of them will be returning here to Taiwan to staff and teach. They are all incredibly mature and each uniquely gifted. We have people from France, Egypt and USA and all of us have been involved in ministry to some degree in the past. I'm seeing we all really enjoy spending time together and are very relational with the people around us so I hope that continues to be the trend as we will have lots of time together and meeting with people over the next two months.

Teaching on Cross-Cultural Ministry

Culture....
Something we may not deliberately think about, but it affects us every single day.

Culture is a normal part of my life.

I live in Taiwan. The last 6.5 years of my life I've been primarily in Asia. I know how to say hello and thank you in countless languages. I have friends on and from every single continent of the world and I feel like nearly any country I go to I would at least know someone who knows someone from that place. I have had the privilege to experience the joys and challenges of working in cross-cultural work for nearly 10 years now. I've made cultural blunders, and also known the feeling of learning something in a culture and because of it, connecting to the heart of another person. I love it.

Yesterday I got to teach on Ministering Cross-Culturally in our Titus Project class. And as I prepared and yesterday as I taught, I'm just so thankful. I'm so thankful for the variety of people that God created. For the nationalities and cultural beauty that he used to paint the canvas of the world. How very boring and ordinary the world would be if we all looked, acted, talked, and thought the same. God is definitely a God who loves diversity, creativity, variety and beauty.

And to my friends who live all over the world, speak any number of languages, have customs so very different from my own, I truly appreciate you and what you have contributed to my life. I feel I have become a richer person because of it.

Teaching on High and Low Power Distance in all our different cultures

Titus Project Begins

 Wednesday morning, 28 participants and 9 staff members started meeting together to learn what it means to be a teacher, how to be a more effective teacher and how do we all take our 9 months of Bible training and put it into a format that others can benefit from and utilize themselves.

This is a great group of students. Many of them have long-term vision to work here in Taiwan and in many other places around the world.

At the end of our three week training time, outreach teams will be headed all over the world to train and equip churches and church leaders all over Asia. This year we have teams in Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, and in two other locations that can't be listed here due to security. If you are reading this, please take a few minutes to pray for these teams as well as the believers in these locations that they will be blessed and built up and better equipped to minister to others.

My team has been meeting together and our teaching time is slowly unfolding. One prayer request is that in one of our locations, there is a great movement of new believers and young leaders being trained up. We want to work with this group but due to security we have been unable to find a place to actually meet and do teaching together. Please pray that a place will open up that we could help equip these guys as they are standing for truth in a place where Christianity is not welcome.

Also, we purchased our tickets to our first location in India! What has been just a far off thought and plan is slowly becoming a reality.

For more information on Titus Project you can check out the website

2011 Reflections

New Year's Eve and all is well. 2011 is fading into history, and 2012 looms in front of us all. I love this time of year. I love new beginnings. I've always loved starting something new....a new project, visiting a new place, starting a new school, meeting new friends. Not that I despise the old, but the new really get's my imagination rolling and all the possibilities get me excited.

But I want to take a few moments and just reflect on this past year, the highlights that made it a great year to remember. This year was one of stability in the fact that the only places I traveled was home to visit family. I remained in Taiwan from January through the beginning of November....this is the longest time I've remained in one place since I joined YWAM....nearly 10 years ago! Staffing SBS challenged me and blessed me in so many ways. I was able to deepen friendships that began when I came to Taiwan, said goodbye to friends, and met new people.

The year began in the snowy wonderland of Minnesota on vacation but was interrupted a bit abruptly by a visa crisis in Taiwan and I had to return early in order to take care of my visa. This began a number of long hours helping with visas this year. God worked a number of miracles to help keep me and others in this country I learned so much this year. And I'm convinced visas are the most faith-building endeavors, no matter where in the world you are.


Staffing SBS

Studying the Bible has been one of the best things I've ever pursued and being able to staff the school of Biblical Studies was an incredible opportunity to go through the Bible again and learn and grow with other staff and students. As with every school it presented it's own challenges, ups and downs, sleepless nights, tearful moments and many laughs and hugs and deep conversations. Most of the people I worked with this last year will be staffing next year as well so we have an opportunity to go deeper and grow and learn and improve.

Enjoying my 30's
I know many milestone birthdays can be scary. However, I've been amazed at how much I've been enjoying being in my 30's. Making decisions hopefully with more wisdom and less compulsiveness. Discipling younger men and women out of what I've learned and seen in life, and enjoying friendships with people of all ages. I've just been really thankful for this season of life



Studying and Teaching the Word
There are so many days when I have this moment of realization and think to myself, THIS is my job! I spend most of my days reading God's word, speaking about him, counseling others in knowing his word better and talking about what we are learning. This season has been such a blessing in really cementing a foundation of truth in my life. For much of my life I secretly found the Bible a bit boring and dry and after SBS and now even more being able to teach, God's word has become so alive and so fresh and so relevant in ways that I never expected it. I feel as though I discover something new nearly every day.
I was able to teach a lesson on Figures of Speech in the SBS, shared an hour during the book of Acts on Pioneering, taught the book of 2 Timothy to the DTS, and taught Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah and Lamentations to the SBS here in Taiwan.  One huge thing I've been seeing is how God so perfectly orchestrated history and it's events to point us to our need for salvation from our sin and it all pointed to Jesus. He has always intended to be in relationship with us and did everything possible to make that happen.

Teaching English and Making new friends
Each week I work at our coffeeshop having English conversation with local students and helping with the Advanced English class. I've been able to deepen friendships, pray with people, share the gospel and really get to know more about Taiwanese culture and life through the people I've met. This has been a huge blessing to be a part of and get to know some amazing people. Pray for more fruit in this upcoming year.

Running
This year I was able to do a 5k with my mom, run a 10k on Thanksgiving Day and then ran my second half marathon here in Taipei. There is a great group of people here that loves running and working out together so it's been great motivator this year. Next year my goal is to get in even better shape and really invest in my health.

 Time with Family
This year has been incredible in that I got to see family all throughout the year. My grandma and Dad came to Taiwan to visit me....my first visit since I moved overseas 6 years ago! I was home over Thanksgiving and just relaxed with everyone. My niece Alexee is growing so quickly and I got some Auntie Danika time with her. I am so blessed by these people.

Looking ahead to 2012

I'll be continuing here another year in Taiwan. I recently moved to a new apartment so it feels like a whole new beginning full of possibilities. I'll be staffing SBS again but before that I'll be leading a Bible teaching team to India and central Asia. I'm looking forward to being able to merge three of my passions: the Bible, teaching, and central Asia into one. 

I'll be teaching the book of Hebrews in May in our SBS, a book I'm greatly looking forward to studying and getting to know more. I'm also hoping to do some traveling and teaching this year and will be making more of those plans as the year unfolds. 

So, here's to a great 2011 and anticipating a fantastic 2012!

What have been the highlights of your year?? What are you anticipating this next year??

My New Apartment

Well, after sharing stories of the crazy man in the stairway of our old house, moving houses, and leaving out all the sordid details of the frustration of dealing with our old landlord, I'm excited to show you a little bit of my new home. The photos of the living room and kitchen turned out a bit dark because (thankfully, and at this time of year it's a rarity) it was a sunny day outside and I'm not a gifted photographer. 

But this will be my home for the upcoming year and this place has really been a God-story. We needed to move very quickly and we found this place in ONE DAY which was in our budget, was partially furnished and had perks in it like the flat-screen TV (and the 100 cable channels including some English ones) on the wall, AC in every room of the house, and a good amount of space for the three of us. 

So, come on in...make yourself at home: 

Our living room.....all decorated for Christmas too! 

The kitchen...this is nice and big for Taiwan

The bathroom...everything in here was newly remodeled

My bedroom

and my bedroom...my study area

the living room and kitchen shelves as seen from my bedroom
The place is really open and spacious

This apartment used to be a four bedroom dorm housing for students with a kitchen, but they remodeled it taking out one bedroom which is now the living room so the kitchen and bathrooms are remodeled and the whole place is newly painted and quite well taken care of. This was definitely God's gift to us girls this upcoming year. You are always welcome to come on over for a visit to Taiwan!

Christmas Eve celebrations

 Christmas Eve arrived in Taiwan and I invited a bunch of people over to celebrate together. We had some pumpkin pie (I made with cans of Pumpkin from the US!), homemade cider (see below), eggnog, gingerbread cake and of course, pizza!! I made the above paper babbles to hang in the living room and they turned out pretty nice. We watched Christmas movies and talked about all the great things that happened in our lives this past year. God has truly been good.

Starting to make homemade cider...turned out delicious! 

Our cute little tree

Can you see me waving at you?? Merry Christmas!!

A toast, from two distinguished gentlemen

Friends

More friends

I hope that you got to spend the holidays with people who you love and that there was love and fellowship around you to share in. Merry Christmas from Taiwan everyone!

Taipei Half Marathon, Round 2

Oddly enough, the half-marathon at the end of the SBS is starting to become a bit of a tradition around here. Last year fifteen of us ran and it was about the same this year.  This has been such a great community to challenge one another in getting out and running, staying healthy and fit. In an environment where study and sitting takes the majority of the day, this half is quite a motivating endeavor. 

This next year I'm hoping to be better at eating healthy and exercising. It's just hitting me as I continue to get a bit older every year (though I know I'm still a little young'un) that I want to be better at taking care of myself because then I'm able to also give out more to others. 

Those races and running while I'm at home in MN paid off because the last two weeks being back and finishing SBS, my training suffered a bit. But, I still finished the half, my time was a few minutes slower than last year but I also made a full-on potty break in the middle of the race....stood in line for the bathroom and everything. 

I'm so thankful for the friends who I got to run late evening, sweaty humid runs at the university track with, Sunday morning mountain runs, running along the river together and of course, celebrating at a finish line with. It's been another incredible year, another amazing time of persevering with God through teaching, studying, living, witnessing, laughing, crying and celebrating life with. 

"crossing the finish line"

NOW we're almost all the same height

A beautiful day for a race at 101
Thanks to all who came out to cheer us on! We have some amazing friends!!!

For those of you who are wanting to get out and accomplish something great this year, I'd challenge you to pick a half-marathon where you are at, and get out and start running. Two years ago I couldn't run more than 5 minutes without  needing to stop, but you have to start somewhere. One of these days, I hope to accomplish a marathon as well. 

In the spirit of the season....

Thankful

So so so many things to be thankful for. I don't know why it is, but often times, it's easier to sit around and complain about all the things in life that are difficult, kinda suck, don't go the way we want, or are just a bit frustrating. I've been wanting to be more intentional about the way that I speak. I realize that often just to start conversation I'll complain about something....i.e. ugh, it's cold out today. or "man it's been raining a lot lately.""Dang, I'm tired today..." But what does that do? Where does that get any of us? 

 Coming home to MN has been a huge blessing. This trip has been different from many others in that I don't have a lot "to do" scheduled. No support raising (though, I need to do that soon, but felt I was to just relax and God will open up the doors for that at another time). No speaking, and this time, no running around trying to visit everyone I know. I felt this was a time just to BE and relax. Do a few things I love, and mostly just soak up down time with my family. The last few years of family time have surrounded tragic events rather than the mundane. I could use some mundane in my relationships.

Great friendships/Relationships
I've been able to have and maintain some amazing friendships despite the miles and the long periods of time not being able to see people. I was able to make a trip out to Colorado and the sole purpose was just to see good friends. I stayed a few days with my friends Nate and Steph (pictured above) who I served in A-land with. I also saw my cousin and her boyfriend, friends I met in Taiwan, a friend from grad school, other friends I served with in A-land, a friend and supporter I know from my days working at camp in high school, and another friend from Northwestern College (undergrad). I walked away from that week realizing that every season of my life has yielded some incredible friendships and though seasons of life change and we all change with them, we can still stay connected, learn from one another, build one another up and be invested in one another's lives. I'm so blessed by friends no matter where I've gone.

Health and Fitness
(photo taken after the 5k my mom and I did this weekend)


I came out of central asia very out of shape and carrying a lot of carb-filled-diet induced pounds. I still have a little ways to go in getting more healthy but I've been thankful to be able to do things I never thought were possible....like running a half marathon last year, regularly exercising and being active. My family is also getting more and more healthy and I'm so thankful because it means we can enjoy life together and we can enjoy our relationships a whole lot longer. (sadly as I write this though, I have fallen miserably behind in my half-marathon training for this current year! Gotta just get out there and run!...10k to come on Thanksgiving Day!)

Beauty in my Upbringing
(photo from Canal Park, Duluth, MN)


Coming home always reminds me of where I came from and what it took to get me to where I am today. I love my homeland of Minnesota and who it contributed to me being. I love my family and in all our ups and downs, tragedies, fights, laughs, failures and successes, it's impacted who I am. I started reading the book of Matthew this last week and was just meditating on the first chapter of Jesus' genealogy (can you tell I'm a Bible student/teacher??! Who meditates on genealogies?!) and the news of Mary's pregnancy to both Joseph and Mary. I'm continually struck by Jesus' humble roots. Yes, he came from a line of kings, but that line was birthed through prostitutes (Rahab), infidelity (David and Bathsheba), deception (Tamar and Judah) and questionable circumstances of parentage (really Mary? pregnant through the Holy Spirit??!). Jesus' primary concern was not how others viewed his family or trying to make a statement of who he was according to the world's values. We talk about the humble king who came on a donkey but the way he came into the world is a great picture of humility as well. God chose this path for his Son. He was not ashamed of it. Neither should we be ashamed of the origins in which God placed us.

more thanks to come....

I love my brothers, so much!

November 1 is here in Taiwan. I was wanting to get up this morning and push through my to-do list. But I needed a moment, or a few, to sit and just remember and shed a few tears and miss my brother James.

Five years ago today he left this earth and there has been a hole in our family ever since. We all have walked through some incredibly painful times of grieving and in my perspective it has brought us all to a realization of how much we truly love one another. My brother William lost his best friend. My mom lost a child...a deep loss no parent is ever prepared to face. All of us lost a person who we treasured and deeply cared for.

What's strange to me is to think that James would be turning 21 this year. This year we could be going out for dinner and I could by him his first drink as a legal adult. Or he could have been in the Navy as was his plan and I'm sure it may have not been his first ;). He would be stepping into those dreams he had as a kid. But instead, he is burned in my memory as this young man. Our family has gone from us 4 kids around to three...though James is never really not with us. He always remains a part of all we do and all we are and all we are becoming.

I would do anything to reach out and give this guy a hug. I know he's with Jesus and God can do the hugging for me, but there is still an emptiness on this side of death when our loved ones are no longer here. I shouldn't be so resistant to remembering, even though it's painful and as I sit here, tears stream down my face. My brother was in incredible guy. I miss you James. I miss you so much.