Our Christmas Card to You!

Well, let me tell you...having a family photo shoot is quite different in India. We recently went to our capitol city for Thanksgiving, and while we were there a "friend of a friend" took
some family photos for us. Our friends took us to a very "Indian-looking" part of town, and we quickly became the interest of many families and children in the neighborhood :) Really, living here is the most like being a celebrity that I could ever imagine....oh, the enthralled onlookers! Since there were 7 of in all (another sweet family was with us), including 3 children, we became quite the show. Though we frequently had to "watch our step," sanitize our hands, and avoid the chickens, we got some pretty good shots. So forgive us for not sending Christmas cards this year, but from our family to yours...Merry Christmas from the Flemings!

Choosing to be Thankful

Sometimes thankfulness isn't easy to come by around here. Especially for me (MP). With never-ending laundry, meals to prepare, language to learn and practice, a family to take care of, and a culture that at times feels so alien, I have to force myself to be thankful. Just because we live in India is no excuse, I'm sure many of you can relate, where ever you are around the world. A friend here texted me Colossians 2:6-7 the other day. It was a good reminder. As we are in the midst of the holiday season, we have so much to be thankful for! Here are some visual ways we reminded ourselves of G o d's goodness to us this November.

Our Thankful banner hung on our closet (puja room for most people) door all month, and we were able to share several times why we are called to be thankful for all G o d has blessed us with. 

This is a tradition that Toby thought of! One Sunday we wrote the names of many people (I kept thinking of more even after we finished) who have touches our lives and Father has used to teach us various things. Afterwords we took some time to pr@y for these individuals, asking that Father would continue to use them and reveal Himself to them. 

Our thankful tree... It's not full here, but by the end of the month we  had a lot of leaves covering it, each telling something we are thankful for! 

We went to our capitol city to visit with some dear friends there. Look at our Thanksgiving day feast :) Yum!

Enjoying so much delicious AMERICAN food. We even had ham; I think it was the best I've ever tasted in my life :)

Half-Way There!

We are 20 weeks, this week. It's crazy to think time has flown by so quickly. Our first year in India, truly has had some unexpected twists and turns, but we are thankful for it's clear to see Dad working in all of it.

We are all excited about Baby Fleming (it's illegal to find out the gender here because of the abortion rates, so we'll be surprised when BF make their appearance), especially Haley. It's fun that she actually understands a little bit of what's to come. She's even predicted that the baby will be a "brother." I think this may have something to do with the fact that some friends here recently had a baby boy. Sometimes,  though, she will randomly come kiss my belly, though...which melts my heart every time!

Here I am at 20 weeks...

Where is Home, again?

Fall is my favorite season, hands down. Why I didn't bring any fall decorations with me overseas is beyond me (my only excuse is that we moved four times before coming here, so maybe they slipped my mind). I LOVE the crisp-ness (is that a word?) of the air, the changing colors, driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, eating my Dad's homemade beef stew, and the warm flakiness of my Granny's apple pie. I guess you could say, there's not one single thing that I DON'T LIKE about fall.

So, have I mentioned that there's no fall season in India? Some of the locals will tell you there is, since it gets slightly less hot and humid. But let me tell you, it's no fall in my book :) All that to say, it may come as no surprise to you that I have been a little homesick as I think about our friends and family in the States enjoying all the wonderful-ness of this season! But I had a revelation today...

As I was spending time with Father this afternoon, pouring my heart out about missing "home" in America, and all the joys that come with it, He reminded me that I mustn't get too attached to a "home" here in this earth. Phil. 3: 20 talks about how "our citizenship is in heaven," and not only that, but we also "eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" from that same home. This came as such a relief to me, since after living in two different cultures, neither really seems fully "home."

Then I flipped to Hebrews, and began reading about some of the "Heroes of the Faith." Men and women who were called out by G 0 d, several of whom were asked to leave their homeland. But you know what Scr!pture says about these people? It says that though they never received the promises, they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on earth (Heb. 11:13 and following). They desired a better place----a heavenly one. My first thought was, "Well of course, that's why they're heroes of the faith! These were incredible people who did amazing things for the Kingdom." But then I realized, they each had their faults (they were still human, after all).

In my journal I wrote,

"Lord, they were great....that's not right. Lord, they were moldable, real, flawed men and women that You chose to use in great and mighty ways. With each character's story, you can see their shortcomings...Moses, Sarah, David. But you also see Your intervention. They were just willing to be used. Lord, as one who has seen the promise, let me be that as well."

So, I still miss fall in America. I will miss all the normal "traditions" that bring comfort with the changing of the seasons. But now I will also remember that my real home is not temporary, with the temporary pleasures (and struggles) of this world. My home steadfast, secure, and better than anything I can imagine. My home is in heaven.

This is Not Where I Belong

Worth it All?

It's been tough here in SA. Living in a culture very different than my own, not understanding the people around me, and to be honest, feeling a little lonely at times. There have been days when I (MP) have really missed "home," where ever that is now :), and wondered what in the world we are doing here. Why do we put ourselves through all the "inconveniences" of a new culture, when all I'm feeling is weariness, confusion, and (I'll admit) frustration?

Rewind a few years back, to an internship I did with an amazing group of college students.... I was introduced to a female music artist named Meredith Andrews, whom my dear friend Jen would listen to over and over again. I can't recall the song, but it became quite a hit in the Chr!st!an community, and definitely touched Jen's heart. Meredith has come out with another  song recently entitled, "Worth it All," which has been such an encouragement to me on my hardest days. The words in the chorus and final verse go like this...

I let go of all I have just to have all of You
And no matter what the cost I will follow You
Jesus, everything I've lost I have found in You
When I finally reach the end I'll say
You are worth it all
You are worth it all

When I'm there in Your glorious presence
Every knee is bowed before You
Hear the sound of heaven singing
You are worth it all
All the saints cry holy holy
Angels singing worthy worthy
Forever I will shout Your praises
You are worth it all 

See, I know He's worth it all. But sometimes I convince myself that all this (i.e. my current circumstances) are NOT worth it all, and that is just a lie. Living in His will is always perfect and for my good. And like the song says, one day every knee will be bowed before Him, with everything on heaven and earth crying out to the Lamb! How amazing. Yes, I have lost a lot but in comparison to how much I owe Him, how can I really even count the difference?

First Visit to Nepal

So...we'd never traveled to Nepal before...Nepal actually made it as Haley's 5th country that she has visited in her short 2 years :) Though it was different than I expected (think slightly grungy and "trekk-y") we still had a fun time making memories, and meeting sweet friends in our new destination!

Toby and Haley in front of our hotel...it was a converted palace, and very Nepalese!

It rained several days during our stay, so we did some indoor "exploration" inside of our hotel

We also took Haley to a play place in a local mall

Obviously, the Himalayan mountains are a huge (the main?) attraction in Kathmandu....and they ARE beautiful! What a creative G o d we serve :)

Packages!

Some of you have asked what (if anything) you could send us in care packages. So if you're wanting to send a package our way, here are some thoughts :) Just make sure to put everything individually in Ziplock bags in case things spill or break (we also had a rat get into our last 2 packages...yikes!).

Kraft Mac & Cheese packets
Light brown sugar
Lipton Decaffeinated tea bags
Peppermint hard candy
Scrapbook paper
Packaged Pepperoni
Anything seasonal (hand towels, dish towels, decorations, etc.)
Clorox wipes
Essie nail polish
Cadbury mini-eggs
Tide Stick to-go
"Cheese-it" packets to-go


Our current address: 101 Vimala Residency, 40
                             Kirlampudi Layout, Visakhapatnam, AP, India 530017

JC ABCs

You know, I've just been thinking about how good my G o d is. My circumstances aren't always ideal. Life doesn't usually go the way I expect or desire. And sometimes that's hard. Even now, as the Father continues to teach us many things...I can still cling to His goodness. I have been recently been reading a book by Linda Dillow entitled, "Satisfy My Thirsty Soul," and it in she suggests doing something that helps me remember His goodness. You may have heard of it before, it's called the "JC ABCs." Basically, you go through each letter in the alphabet, and name an attribute of G o d. So simple, yet such a powerful way to meditate on Him. Here is what I came up with:

A- Abundant                                  N- Nurturing
B- Blessed                                      O- Omnipresent
C- Creative                                     P- Powerful
D- Daddy                                       Q-
E- Eternal                                       R- Righteous
F- Fair                                             S- Safe-haven
G- Good                                         T- True
H- High and exalted                       U- Understanding
I- Important                                     V- Victorious
J- Just                                              W- Wrathful
K- Kind                                          X, Y, Z-
L- Lovely
M- Mighty

As you can see, I am missing a few of the "difficult" letters! Feel free to help me out on my missing letters or make a list of your own :)

The Journey

As I sit down to write this post, a quote comes to mind. I have heard many times before that "life is often about the journey." Of course, our destination is important, but often how we get there makes all the difference in the world. And the passing of our baby, was a very definitive part of our journey. Here are some first thoughts from this part of our journey.

First, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the pr@yers and love you have shown our family as we have/are processing the death of Baby Fleming. The Father has used you in many ways--through truths  from His Word, through song lyrics, and through your own stories of personal experience. Thanks for your realness and willingness to share in our sufferings.  Truly, it is a beautiful thing to see the Body being the Body!

And honestly, G o d has shown us so much grace...more abundantly than I could have ever imagined. I imagine losing a child, whatever age they are---whether they are 8 weeks, 8 years, or 38 years---would be devastating. As I (MP) journaled about our baby's passing a few days after we received the news, I had several statements that were very real, yet the Father gently had a truth from His Word to show me in response. My heart was breaking, but He had a plan to heal. G o d is good :)

1. I said, "I will never get to hear our baby laugh or cry."
He said, "{Their} frame was not hidden from Me,
 when {they} were being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ My eyes saw {their} unformed substance;
in My book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for {them},
    when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139: 15-16)

2. I said, "Why did my baby have to die?"

He said, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways My ways...
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are My ways higher than your ways
    and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

3. I said, "I can't stop thinking about our circumstances."

He said, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

There were many more questions in my mind that I won't share now, but the point being: He is faithful! And He continues to remind us that sometimes, though He allows suffering, it is for our good and His glory.  1 Peter 1:6-7 has been an encouragement to my heart recently: 

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

We are still on the journey, and I know we have much to learn, but for now we are content resting in the knowledge of Him who knows all our ways and makes our paths straight. Blessings to you!

Great Awakening.

Some of you have asked for a run-down of our typical day. This is a bit difficult because every day is not exactly like the others :) Although we are getting into somewhat of a routine, it seems like change is a constant, especially in our new host culture! I will, however, try to give a quick "schedule" of a normal day. Here goes...

The alarm clock goes off around 7 am (though sometimes Haley and Toby are up earlier), and we grab a quick breakfast. Thankfully, they have a variety of cereals here, since I'm not quite to the point of cooking 2 meals a day---maybe in a few months! Cooking has been in the experimental stages for the last few months :) Our house helper comes to clean anywhere between 7:15 am-10 am. There have been a few times she's arrived and I hadn't even made it out of bed yet! Thankfully, Toby was awake to greet her and let her in. She is a huge blessing, and sweeps, mops, dusts, and washes dishes for us 5 days out of the week. I don't know what I would do without her!

Around 9 am, we have language with our nurturer. This will soon change as Toby and I will separate for language study. I am hoping to have a lady, or two, who will come to our house and help me with my nurturing time. Language usually goes from 9-12ish. Sometimes Haley sleeps during this time. Language is a lot more enjoyable when she does :) She is really starting to get into everything so when she's up and about during that time I don't always get to be engaged as I would like to be. Another reason why separate tutoring will be good :)

After lunch, Toby and I both try to get out and about in our community--sometimes together and sometimes separately. Visiting our local iron walla and his family, going to the fresh fruit and vegetable stands, the import store, or the beach are some of our frequent stops---all the while trying to practice the little Telugu we have. We are also trying to explore new parts of our town that we haven't yet spent much time in. I (MP) usually come back by 3:30 or 4 PM so I can start the dinner-making process. And let me just say, it is definitely a process. It's more time consuming than I ever thought it would be. However, I am encouraged because we are now eating more than pancakes and potatoe soup, though those are still two solid stand-by meals :)

After dinner, we will sometimes do a family devotional or just rest and play together. Once Haley goes to sleep, Toby and I hit the Telugu books. Okay, so there are really no books, but we do study by listening to the recordings of our language nurturer saying different words or phrases. That usually lasts an hour or so...and by then, we are really ready for bed...our minds are spent! Then we get up and do it all over again, in some form or fashion.

As we are getting more used to life here, I was thinking about how much time and energy it takes to just live life. Some days it's really not easy. Not having the language, learning the culture, setting up a home, making friends, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and family time can consume everything we've got. I was encouraged by a song a friend introduced to me. It's called, "The Great Awakening," by Leeland. For me, it's a perfect reminder of letting go the things that consume my mind on a daily basis, and remembering how the Father can transform the lives of the people we live among, even amidst our learning curve. I was reminded, once again, that it's all about Him! I hope you have that same vision where you live, as well.

Great Awakening

Valentines Day 2013

We had fun celebrating Valentines Day.  Haley received a ton (!) of cards from the States :) Thank you to BeBe, Granddaddy, Aunt Joan, Uncle Jimmy, Great-grandmomma Pat, and Granny. She enjoyed the day, but was a little clueless since Valentines Day is a bit more rare in our part of the world! Toby and I also got to go out to a local hotel restaurant for dinner. Our sweet friends kept Haley and we had a great meal and shared lots of laughs :) It was much needed, and we were thankful to take a "break" from normal life for a couple hours.  Our neighbors also got to share in our Valentine's Day fun with heart-shaped sugar cookies. Many of them have lived in the States, so Valentines was no surprise to them at all. With the cookies, we attached a verse from Dad's Book, which sparked some good conversations. All in all, we had a great day full of love! Thanks to all who made that day special, and who make all of our days here special!

Haley "coloring" one of her Valentine's cards from Grandmomma Pat

Toby and I even got to go out to eat and celebrate!

Cookies for our neighbors. They got to celebrate too...and hear about the most important Love of all!

Addicted to...Granola?!

This recipe got passed to me, and it is AMAZING. For those of you health nuts (and even if you're not...you can definitely cater it to suit your sweet tooth!), you may enjoy this homemade granola. Our home has the best smell whenever I make a batch...Yum!

Kara's Granola

2 c. oats
2 c. cornflakes
1 c. dried coconut
1. c. craisens
1 c. chopped nuts (anything you want!)
1/4 tps. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients. Combine to coat evenly. Bake on greased pan. After cooled, add dried coconut and craisens. (We also added mini-chocolate chips, and it was great!)

Okay, so two confessions...while I was writing this post I realized we had, in fact, some granola left-over from when I made it last. I definitely ate it the entire time I wrote out the recipe. Also, I said this was for "health nuts," but after reviewing the ingredients, I'm not sure how accurate that comment is :) At least it's tasty...Enjoy!

Team Life and Little Things...

Hi all,

It has been SO long since we last connected on Starfish By The Sea. Things are getting routine now, and we are all staring to settle in. January started off well, and we received our long awaited furniture mid-month! It was definitely a joy to have more than a mattress and couch in our home :) Around the same time, our team leaders arrived back in India. With 4 kids, and I don't know how many pieces of luggage (!), they were welcomed home and seemed ready to jump right back into life as normal :) We have gotten to spend a lot of time with their family, as well as the other new family who is living in our city. We're had numerous meals, beach explorations, and phone calls. A very different story than when we first arrived. It's great, though, to see that amidst our various personalities and opinions, Dad had brought our team together very purposefully!

Though we have had many highs, there have been times of culture stress and shock that (we hope) will lessen with time. Although we were very well prepared for our host culture, sometimes the little things can just get to you :) We've seen all the more that our daily time walking with JC is so crucial. Please pray that we would persevere in spending quality time with Him. Not only that, but that we would hourly---minute by minute--- remember that He is with us and provides for all our needs. We know that He is worth the challenges of our new home. May He be worth it to you in your challenges as well, dear friends. Until next time...