10.10.2009

Random but it will make you laugh

Hey all,
Wanted to share this youtube video with you. It's pretty random and has nothing to do with anything, but it always makes me laugh. And it's only a minute and a half, so if you hate it, I didn't waste that much of your life, right? Haha.

C

10.09.2009

Pray for my health

Friends,
I've been having health problems on and off for over a month now. Most recently, I've been suffering from severe mold allergies and digestion problems. Please pray for my total healing and for the Father to bind the enemy from me and all those that live in my household who have been struggling with similar health issues. Looking back on the last few months, I can see how satan has been actively distracting me from what the Father called me here for through different circumstances and illness. Pray that this would soon end and that I would be able to give 100% during my last 6 months here. I covet your prayers.

-Camille

9.24.2009

Left Behind


A friend sent me a link to this video and I wanted to share with you. It gives another perspective on life in the slums.

9.21.2009

Eid Mobarak | Happy Eid


Today is Eid, the last day of Ramadan. This evening I went to my language helper's house to celebrate with her family and eat my favorite Indian food - mutton biriyani. Yum! Here's a picture of the awesome outfit I had made especially for this occasion. The Mus lm ladies in my city LOVE bling. If you would have shown me this outfit 2 years ago, I would have told you how ugly and tacky I thought it was, but now... well, let's just say my fashion sense has come a LONG way. I love the bling, as you can see by the picture above!

And I have to share one more picture. This is the niece and nephew of my friend above. Take a close look at the boy. Yes, he's wearing lipstick. He loves to put on lipstick, eyeliner and wear nail polish on his toes just like his sister and mom. He was cracking me up!


Have a great week everyone and thanks for reading and praying through Ramadan with me. You rock! :)

9.18.2009

Yay and Nay

Yay! My computer is back! I picked it up today and they even upgraded me to the newest operating system. Woo hoo! (I'm such a computer nerd).

Nay! Ewww, gross. The centipedes are back! I had one crawl into bed with me a few months ago. It stung me in my sleep! I haven't seen them for awhile, but my house helper showed me a dead one she found in my bed when she was cleaning today! GROSS! I live on a ground-level apartment that doesn't get much sunlight and we're right in the middle of monsoon season = perfect breeding ground for centipedes. But do they have to hang out in my room and my BED?! If anyone knows a good remedy for getting rid of them, I'm all ears. Yuck.

9.15.2009

The Other Half


Last week I went to a slum not far from my home on a photo assignment. I had been there before, but never as far in as we went on this day. Most people in this slum live from day to day, not knowing if they will have enough money for their next meal or enough dry fire wood to cook their food. The breadwinners in this slum are primarily the women who typically work as maids. The majority of the husbands don't work and spend all the money that the women make on alcohol. I went into four houses that day. Each house was probably a little bit bigger than your bathroom at home. It's common to see nine adults and three or four children living in spaces a fraction of the size of your living room. Here are some of the things I saw inside each home:

Inside two houses



This corner of the house serves as a shower, dish washing area and laundry room

Can you see how the house is open to the elements behind the cups? This was actually a nicer home because it had a gas stove top. And of course, Coca Cola is everywhere!

The owner with pictures of her gods in the background.


The stories that each woman shared were heart-wrenching. One woman told us how her husband would come home drunk everyday, choke her, beat her and her daughters and then demand that she give him the money she had made that day so he could buy more alcohol. I saw another boy whose father literally threw him outside the house on his stomach onto the hard cement. His stomach was swollen because his dad had thrown him so hard. He couldn't have been more than 6 years old. And this is how it goes, day in and day out for many of the hundreds of families that live here.


But there are other stories. Stories about a family of Believers who opened their home just around the corner from the slum. About how this family feeds more than 200 children a day. Sometimes this is the only meal this children have each day. This family also helps the children with their homework and for those children who can't afford to go to school (a rather pricey thing for many families in India), free tuitions are offered. Some families have made public professions of faith because of the testimony of Believers they have met through this family. Others are secret Believers. God is moving in this slum and doing something among the people of this neighborhood. However, many people continue to bow to idols and look to inanimate objects for peace.



Some of the homes that I entered that day asked me to pray for them before I left. Would you join me in praying for the special people of this slum as I did last week:

  • Ask that the people of this slum would know the One true living God.
  • Ask that He would reveal Himself to them in dreams and visions.
  • Pray that the people that live here would find peace that only comes from JC.
  • Ask that new Believers would stand strong in their faith.
  • Pray a special blessing for the women of this slum. Many of the women in this slum are constantly devalued and abused. Ask that they would know the Lover of their soul and look to Him for strength in the midst of the challenging conditions they face each day.

Computer has officially failed :(

Well, my computer finally bit the dust and is in the shop right now getting a brain transplant. Thankfully, I can use the computer at work to keep up with posting occasionally and to check my email. They said my computer should be fixed in 2-3 business days, but that could mean 2 weeks. I'm not holding my breath. It's actually kind of freeing not to have a computer at my disposal all the time, but also frustrating in some ways. I'm on a PC right now and realize how inefficient it is! Once you go Mac you never go back, I suppose. Haha.