Kari's Christmas Letter 2012

I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I last set foot on Indian soil. This morning I woke up with the faces of the precious children and dedicated teachers’ fresh on my mind. It brought tears to my eyes. I miss them so much. It seems like ages have passed since I last saw them all. Periodically Calcutta Mercy Ministries will highlight Project Rhino in one of their newsletters featuring pictures of the kiddos and updates on how the program is going which is encouraging, yet leaves me wishing more could be done for them. When I left India last year, God had provided me with the peace to come home and leave the program in the hands of the local staff and teachers. I felt that I had accomplished what I had set out to do which was to help establish the Project Rhino Learning Centers and share the love of Jesus while doing it. As many of you know, shortly upon my return to the states, the Lord answered the prayers of many by providing me with a nanny job. I am currently still working for the Clark family who quickly took me in as a part of the family. The youngest three are boys ages 2, 3, and 4 and the oldest two are girls ages 7 and 12. I love seeing their eyes light up when I pick them up from school, and I enjoy playing outside with them until the winter sun goes down. One day while I was having a conversation with the oldest child, she concluded, “So let me get this straight. You left teaching and India to come be our nanny. Are you crazy? Thank you!” Nothing motivates me more than feeling appreciated, so it’s moments like these that make my job incredibly rewarding. God definitely handpicked me for the Clark family for this season of their lives, and it feels good to know I’m in the center of His will once again. In case you haven’t heard, my boyfriend Ryan, moved all the way down from Colorado to Texas this past August to live nearby. It’s been great! He only lives 10 minutes away from me now, so we get to see each other almost every day. We have been dating almost a year too. The funny thing is we actually met back in college, but didn’t really know each other very well back then. When he started going to my church several years ago, I got to know him a little better, but just when I felt like I was starting to get to know him, he moved away to Colorado. We actually reconnected on Facebook, and the rest is history, or at least we’d have to sit down over a good cup of coffee for me to spill all the juicy details ;). Ryan also has a huge heart for India/Asia. Although I know this is where we are supposed to be for now, I feel certain God will call us back to Asia one day. Thank you so much for being a part of my life. I hope and pray that the Lord will fill you will his love and peace this holiday season. Merry Christmas everyone!

December India Update

Gathering all the Christmas gifts for the kids was quite an adventure. We had to run out and collect some large orders of additional gifts at the last minute, and God really gave us favor. We were able to buy all the gifts we needed which included one scarf, which will double as a head covering. My team explained to me that most of the girls would not wear the hat if we bought them one because they'd prefer to wrap their head as well as their neck with the scarf. The Christmas bags also consisted of two journals, three pencils, two erasers, one ruler, one pencil sharpeners, two pencil boxes, one pack of crayons, 1 bracelet, and four pieces of candy. During the Christmas Programs we were also able to give each child and parent a small food packet.

Last Wednesday we gave out all 310 gifts to our children at 3 different schools. It went really well and all the children were so excited but managed to wait their turns. I teared up at one point because I knew it was going to be my last day to spend with the kids before I went home. I'm sure going to miss them. Thanks again for all your prayers. I'm home enjoying Christmas with my friends and family now, and I hope you'll be able to do the same. Have a Very Merry Christmas!

October India Update

There's no better way to put your life into perspective, than to see it through someone else's eyes. This October I had a chance to volunteer for a week at one of Mother Teresa's Orphanages for children with disabilities. My responsibilities involved feeding, changing, and playing with the children. Some of the children were completely immobilized and unresponsive, while others were lively and interactive. My most memorable afternoon was spent playing a game that reminded me of hot potato. Instead of being out when a child was left holding the ball when the music stopped, it meant it was time to take center stage and dance. Since many of the children were confined to wheel chairs, I helped them glide, by spinning them around the middle of the dance off circle. As each child took their turn on the dance floor, we would chant their name, which brought a huge smile to most of their faces. One girl spun me so fast I thought I was going to wipe out! Loving on these kids was quite a wonderful and humbling experience. I'm hoping to spend a few more days at the orphanage before returning home.

As my time in India was drawing to a close, I felt the Lord tugging on my heart to stay a bit longer. After much prayer I felt peace about staying an extra month to finish out the semester strong. I'm really excited that I have the opportunity to share this Christmas season with my students! Each school will be putting on a little Christmas Program including Christmas songs and dramas. If we can raise enough money, then we can bless each child with some school supplies a scarf to keep them warm this winter. Please pray that we will have sufficient funds to purchase warm Christmas gifts for about 300 children. Thanks so much!

Note: The first picture is of my Tangra students dancing during a night of prayer and praise. The second picture is of me with my Tangra students. The third picture with me, covered by children, was taken at Tangra as well. (This is how most of my pictures turn out). The last picture was taken on a chilly day last January at Project Rhino in Kadamtola and shows the kind of warmth we are hoping to provide with the Christmas gifts.

September India Update

Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support this past month. It was amazing how God used four different people to speak the same Scripture into my life: “Do not grow weary in doing good. For in due season, you shall reap if you faint no,” Galatians 6:9. By the time the fourth person said they felt God had given them a Scripture for me, I started to laugh because I knew exactly what she was going to say and started quoting Galatians with her.

The English program is now officially in full swing at our two new centers, Tangra and Balarampur. I feel so fulfilled mentoring the teachers there, and I’m so grateful for their teachable spirits. The students at Tangra all speak Hindi rather than Bengali, so they are really challenging me to step up my game. Today,
a friend of mine helped me create a small intro to Hindi cheat sheet, so I can have a little easier time communicating with them.

September 18, a 6.8 earthquake struck Northern India destroying numerous homes and claiming the lives of 68 people. The quake was felt in some parts of Calcutta as well, but the aftermath only consisted of some minor structural damage to a few buildings. Praise God that Calcutta was spared from the devastating effects of this earthquake.

A team of eleven lovely ladies from Washington came to volunteer with Project Rhino this past month. They were such a blessing to all of us. Four of the ladies were nurses, so they were able to assist with the much needed medical checkups at two of our Rhino Centers. The other ladies enjoyed loving on the kids and helping me with little projects for the children. One of the team members, Hannah, was so touched that she is seriously praying about coming back to serve with Project Rhino for a more extended period of time. If it is His will, please pray that God will open up the doors for Hannah to come and serve with me.

Please pray that God continues to guide and direct the leadership team of Project Rhino. Also pray for our Balarampur Center which is currently functioning without electricity. They need to receive funding so their solar panels will function properly to light up the dark classrooms again. Thanks for praying for us!

Note: The first picture is of me playing Duck, Duck Goose with my Tangra students. The second picture is of the Rhino teachers and me traveling to our Balarampur Center on a motor van because of the extremely narrow roads.

August India Update

I hope this blog finds you doing well. I found myself on an emotional roller coaster earlier this month because of how much some of our learning centers were struggling. The good news is that attendance has increased dramatically at the center for which I was most concerned. The highlight of my month was when our volunteer team from New York came and ministered at our village school. They even taught me how to make doggies out of balloons. The kids absolutely loved them!

Right now, I am busy starting a new Project Rhino Center in Tangra, which is known as the China Town of Calcutta. Tangra consists of many Chinese restaurants and leather tanneries. Mostly, I have been assessing students in order to determine their educational level so that I will know how to plan my lessons accordingly.
Another center that I'm involved with starting is in Balarompur, which is an agricultural village located two and a half hours south of Calcutta. I had my first chance to visit this remote location on August 16th, and it turned out to be quite an adventure. The first two hours of my little road trip were pretty uneventful, but the last leg of my journey involved traveling down a narrow bricked pathway in an auto-rickshaw with water surrounding us on either side. Each time we hit a bump or dodged a cow in the road, I became terrified that I would fall right on into the green, murky water. It was all worth it when I finally got there, and was greeted by 180 smiling faces.

God has answered another one of our prayers! A very experienced local teacher is going to start planning lessons with me. This will help me out on so many levels. Her greatest contribution will be helping me synchronize our curriculum with the Country of Indian guidelines.

As you continue praying, please pray that attendance will increase at all our centers. Thank you again for all your prayers!

Note: The fist picture is of me and a Balarompur student, and the second picture is of me testing a student at Tangra.

My Return to India - August Update

Thank you so much for your prayers. I had a great trip back to Calcutta and met a lot of interesting people along the way too.
Here's a little excerpt from my diary about my first day back that I'd like to share with you...

Sunday morning-
This is my first day back, and it already feels like home again. In fact it almost feels like I never left. This morning it's pouring like crazy which is no surprise seeing as it's Monsoon Season. I'm actually about to head off to church in this mess. But it will definitely be worth it to be in God's presence and to praise Him with my friends who I haven't seen in over two months. I've got a feeling that it's going to be an awesome day!

Sunday afternoon-
One of my biggest fears about coming back to Calcutta was loneliness since I was pretty sure all the Project Rhino volunteers would have dispersed. To my surprise Jobin was still around since they decided not to send him off to the village learning center which is 3 hours south of Calcutta. In light of friendship, today was actually nation Friendship Day, so everyone has been going around wishing each other Happy Friendship Day and sending out cheesy, sappy friendship texts. Today I got to go out for lunch with 5 friends, some old and some new. I feel like everything is already falling right back into place. God is already answering my prayers and providing me with an abundance of friends. After lunch my friends needed to head back to the church early for worship practice before the evening service. I was planning on just walking home from church, but my street had been replaced with a river that flooded knee high. It really wasn't a big deal since I could just hang out at church until the evening service, but I do regret not packing my blue and pink polka-dotted galoshes.

So there you have it folks! A day in the life of Kari Westlund. Aaber dekha hobe - See you later!

India Summer Update

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support this past school year. I couldn't have made it through without you. Though the challenges were great, God answered our prayers, and so much was accomplished for the children of India. This summer I am home raising support, so that I will be able to return for my second, fulfilling year of starting learning centers for Project Rhino. If you're interested in helping me out, you can go online to awakeningchurch.org click donation and enter Kari Westlund in the description. If you'd rather you can snail mail a check (with my name in the memo) to Awakening Church Ministries, PO Box 810, Euless, TX 76039 Thanks so much!