Upcoming Journey to Freedom Firm

"I RUN in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." Psalm 119: 32

Dear friends-

I have so much to share with you and catch up on, but for right now I just wanted to let you know of a wonderful opportunity that I'll be having this coming week and to ask for your prayers to be upon this journey.

Lots of you are already familiar with Freedom Firm, a ministry in the neighboring state to Kerala, in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. Freedom Firm is a ministry that rescues minor girls from the sex trafficking industry. They find girls trapped in brothels, collect information from them by posing as customers, and then take the information to the local police. The police then step in and the girls are liberated in a "raid." Freedom Firm then brings them back to Ooty for rehabilitation, where the girls learn about how precious they are in God's sight and discover God's plan for their lives. The rescued girls live in community,  receiving therapy, spending time in the outdoors with activities like rock climbing and horseback riding, and learning crafts such as jewellry-making and weaving, and then are reintegrated into mainstream society after rehabilitation. Freedom Firm does more than just rescue the girls and help them discover a new way of life, they also are committed to seeking justice against those who have profited from their misery, convicting the brothel keepers, who begin to realize that it's too risky for them to hire underage girls and hopefully cease hiring them. This is Freedom Firm's strategy towards unabashedly working towards the end of child prostitution in India.

Please visit Freedom Firm's website at freedom.firm.in.

Memorial Park, my home church, established a partnership with Freedom Firm over a year ago, and since then, our church community has been deeply involved in supporting Freedom Firm. Within the last year, the founders, Americans Greg and Mala Malstead, visited Memorial Park, and our head pastor Dean and my friend Lauren visited Freedom Firm.

I had planned on visiting the ministry at some point during my year here. When my mom was here, she told me that Roger Rumer, a good friend and husband of Betsy, one of our pastors, would be coming to Freedom Firm in February. He is visiting Freedom Firm this upcoming week to lead a staff retreat! After hearing that Roger was coming, I asked if it would be an okay time for me to visit as well. Not only was Freedom Firm okay with me coming during the retreat, but they invited me to join in the retreat and to lead worship with Roger! They offered to take care of my travel and accommodations, and all the pieces just fell into place perfectly. I am so amazed at how it all worked out...God has so abundantly provided!!!!!! 

So I leave on Wednesday to travel to Ooty where I will meet up with Roger. The retreat will be from Thursday to Sunday of this week. I am so excited to visit this incredible ministry that I have been hearing about for so long, to spend time with Roger, to attend the retreat, to lead worship, and to meet this particular group of God's servants who do this difficult and courageous work.


Please join in this retreat by praying...

1) For safe travel for all coming to the retreat, gathering from all over India and coming even from the U.S. Please pray for my train travel to and from Ooty.
2) For a time of rich encouragement for all during this retreat, for God to speak and minister to each person present.
4) For the worship Roger and I will be leading and for the movement of the Holy Spirit.
5) For the protection and strengthening of our hearts as we meet these girls and hear their stories.
6) For the work of Freedom Firm, for the team of incredibly dedicated workers, and for God's Spirit to really strengthen and help this ministry grow.
7) Pray especially for the girls in hostels right now awaiting rescue who do not know that anyone, let alone Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, loves them.

Thank you for your prayer support and I look forward to sharing all about it when I get back.

Water Night

Water Night

Night with the eyes of a horse that trembles in the night,
night with eyes of water in the field asleep
is in your eyes, a horse that trembles,
is in your eyes of secret water.

Eyes of shadow-water,
eyes of well-water,
eyes of dream-water.

Silence and solitude,
two little animals moon-led,
drink in your eyes,
drink in those waters.

If you open your eyes,
night opens, doors of musk,
the secret kingdom of the water opens
flowing from the center of night.

And if you close your eyes,
a river fills you from within,
flows forward, darkens you:
night brings its wetness to beaches in your soul.


-Octavio Paz, from Early Poems, 1935-1955

(For you Eric Whitacre fans out there, this poem has special recent significance.)

Eric Whitacre...the choral phenomena. Those of you that know me know that I am obsessed with this man's music. I have spent entire days of my life listening to Eric Whitacre. It has affected me profoundly, artistically and spiritually. Listening to and performing his music has really shaken me to the core. His unearthly music draws the soul to dangerous heights and depths, and though he never sets religious texts, his music, for me, is profoundly and intimately spiritual. 

I recently had the pleasure of recording a video for Eric Whitacre's third Virtual Choir. The Virtual Choir is a project where people all over the world record a video of themselves singing a part in a selected Eric Whitacre piece, while watching a video of him conducting the piece. These videos are compiled, edited, and then put together, wherein a virtual choir is formed of singers from all over the world performing simultaneously. It's a brilliant idea. The first one, Lux Aurumque, had 185 voices from around the world, the second, Sleep, had 2052 singers from 58 countries, and was an internet phenomena. There was no way I was going to miss out on the third. So I recently recorded on YouTube a part for his setting of the poem, "Water Night," which I anticipate will be the most popular of the Virtual Choirs so far. Please listen to this recording of Eric Whitacre's Water Night. 

The thought of so many people singing the same song at the same time all over the world, from all different backgrounds, is a very beautiful and powerful thing. Song is universal, and the yearning to worship is universal, inherent in each of us. Much of the work I'm doing here relates closely to this. I, too, strive for voices lifted in worship together, coming from different parts of the world, and I work to craft and mold this sound, and to give it expression. Giving expression to the human voice through song is a deeply important task. Worship and song are important. Your voice is important-sing to Him, no matter how you think it sounds, for He delights in it! He loves the sound of your voice; He created it, after all. All souls are created for worship, our voices made to glorify Him. May we continue to lift our voices together, no matter where on earth we are, in the knowledge that God hears and enjoys our song, delighting in the praises of His people, until we join the best choir yet: the heavenly choir. 

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang, 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' 

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! '" Revelation 4: 11-13

Visit from Dad & Katie, Back to Work!

Dear friends-

It's been a long time since I've had a chance to blog, and now look forward to catching up on the events of the past few weeks. I have been blessed with a visit not only from my mom and sister, but also a visit from my father and stepmother this past week. My dad and Katie toured Agra and Delhi and then stayed in Kumarakom, 10 km from Kottayam, for four nights, where I stayed with them. They are currently in the Maldives for this week before returning to the U.S.

They arrived last Thursday and left on Monday, and I stayed with them at the Kumarakom Lake Resort during that time. The resort was extremely beautiful and afforded stunning views of the backwaters. Instead of rooms, the accommodations were in little two-floor villas. During our weekend there we spent lots of time enjoying the different pools: one pool that was right next to the lake and another which wound around the villas in the style of the backwaters themselves! So we literally opened our door to go right into the pool! Also adorning the resort were many lovely bridges, lanterns, hammocks, and lovely lawns. It was quite a contrast to suddenly find myself in such a place, and also to be with my parents.

On Friday we visited Lea Hostel and toured the college campus, and later had dinner with Gigi Sir, his wife Sunita, father Jacob, and son Joe. We also went shopping for churidar material for Katie and had a lovely blue and purple churidar made for her! On Saturday we took a half-day houseboat tour of the backwaters in Kumarakom and Allepey, for which we were joined by my dear friend and Malayalam tutor Shalu. We had a lovely day on the boat together, soaking in the rays and the beauty of this very special part of Kerala. The resort had demonstrations in the arts of mat weaving and pottery-making, and after our houseboat tour we learned about these crafts. We even wove a little coaster to keep as a memento, and then each made a small clay pot with the potter's help. Shalu was so excited to make and keep her very own pot, and promptly carved all our names into it! :)

On Sunday we had lunch with fellow YAV Rachel and then toured her site, Buchanan Girls School, where she teaches English to 5th-8th standard students. Afterwards, we visited with Cinny Miss, a dear friend and English professor from CMS, and her son. Monday morning was spent trying to meet as many faculty and students as possible on campus. It was a pleasure to introduce my dad and Katie to so many of the people I have come to know and love in my new home. (Please see the photos below of our visit, and if you want, check out my Facebook album Visit from Dad & Katie.)

On the home front: Things are vibrant and joy-filled at Lea Hostel, as usual! We recently had our Christmas Friend gift exchange (like Secret Santa). (Yes, recently, even though it's February, because they were waiting for me to return from my visit with my mom!) All of the girls assembled in a big circle in the yard and everyone's Christmas Friend was revealed as we exchanged gifts. My Christmas Friend, Nimi, a first-year, gave me a sweet cappuccino cup. :) I also found out the identity of my secret pen pal "Daffodil."

The CMS College campus has also had a variety of special events recently. Almost every day something special is happening on this dynamic campus. About three weeks ago was the Annual Benjamin Bailey Memorial Lecture, delivered by the former chairman of the ISRO, the Indian Space Agency, Dr. G. Madhavan Nair. He was given a guard of honor by the NCC, National Cadet Corps, before delivering his lecture on "Science and Technology Challenges."

A couple weeks ago, Gigi Sir organized a weekend event at CMS called FEEL: Facilitating Excellence in Effective Leadership. For three days students learned interactively all about self-confidence, identifying personal strengths, people skills, interviewing, ways of thinking, and so much more. This was a terrific program. Also, last week was alumni day, the Indian equivalent of our homecoming, with special programs and a special lunch.

My activities are resuming after a looong hiatus (Christmas and family visits in January). What a long break I had-took some time to remember what I was doing where! We've started having hostel English twice a week again, and are now learning about transition words, telling a story, and the differences and similarities between Indian and American dress. Currently there are about 8 girls consistently attending. I have also resumed seeing the PG Lit. students twice a week, and hope to resume seeing the Home Science girls as soon as they are available (haven't seen them since November!)

The Faculty Voice Program resumed this morning after a 2 and a half-month break, because of exams, Christmas, etc. Yikes, do we have a lot of reviewing to do! Excitingly, we have two new members. We meet twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings before class, and are continuing our work on Kodaly rhythms, solfege, basic music theory, and voice training. I've resumed my Tuesday and Thursday visits to Baker Schools, where I teach music and English. The topic du jour: learning to sing "Amazing Grace" and Body Parts with "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" (not at the same time.)

I continue to meet weekly with Jemima for voice lessons. She recently was asked to perform a song as part of a student recital in Bangalore, and right after the recital she called me to tell me that her song, "O Had I Jubal's Lyre," went really well and to thank me! It was so incredibly sweet. We are now working on some new pieces, moving into "Der Nussbaum" and "Apres un reve." Sometimes, our music has French, an English translation, phonetics, and Malayalam all written on it at once. :) I'm also now having private voice lessons with Vimal Sir, a commerce professor at CMS and the college choir director. He is a good friend and a constant source of encouragement and support, who works with me to help plan out everything for the Choir Director's Program.

Kottayam Mixed Voices is now rehearsing for their Passion Recital in the first week of April, and I continue to sing with them and help lead rehearsals. I will meet with the Ascension Church Choir twice a month to help them rehearse and prepare for their Passion Recital, which will be held in late May. I am very thankful for these continued opportunities to sing and help out with these choirs, and even more so, to be among such great friends. God continues to provide abundantly with wonderful opportunities, deepening relationships, and a steady stream of new experiences through which to learn and grow.

Lea Hostel Christmas Friend gift exchange

Former chairman of the Indian Space Agency, Dr. G. Madhavan Nair

The meandering, backwater-esque pool at the Kumarakom Lake Resort

We could walk right out of our door into the pool!

The outdoor bathroom & shower

Dinner at the resort with Gigi Sir, Sunita, Joe, and Jacob Sir

Dock at the resort

Dad and Katie, enjoying the houseboat cruise

Visiting with Cinny Miss and her son, Nick

Houseboat at sunset on the lake

Katie had a churidar made! Doesn't she look so cute?

The entrance to our "villa:" had to brush up on my Parseltongue to open this door

Smiles :)

Things that have recently made me smile (and I hope will make you, too):

• What Indians call blisters that you get on your feet from new shoes: "shoe bites." Perfect. :)

• Recently, I was hanging out with Ann, Rinsy, and Sheny, when my foot fell asleep. Rinsy promptly grabbed my foot, put a quarter in between my big toe and the next toe, squeezed them together, and began vigorously stroking the top of my foot, "to wake it up!" she said. I almost DIED.

• Here, salt on the table is usually served as salt water, perhaps because of the humid climate. The salt water containers at the hostel are kinda shaped like penguins, and every time I ask for the "oopa" I imagine someone passing me a colorful little penguin.

• The kitchen gecko in my room now has a name: Kit.  

• I recently gave the girls some mini Reeses' cups mailed to me in a care package (Thank you, Beth Weaver and Lauren Skurcenski!) and didn't tell the girls to take off the brown wrapper around the Reeses' candy. So they all ate the whole thing.

• When I Skype my sister on her porch in Malawi, I can hear the crickets outside where she is. She can hear the traffic in Kottayam. So we chat and listen simultaneously to the crickets in Africa and the car horns in India. Technology is amazing.

• Catchphrase and Two Truths and a Lie are terrific hostel games. For Two Truths and a Lie, you write down three statements about yourself, two that are true, and one that is made-up, and everyone else has to guess which one is the lie. The first time we played, I didn't tell the girls that the lie should still be believable, so they all wrote things like:
• Today, I had rice for lunch.
• Today, I went to class.
• Today, I met Sha Rukh Khan (movie star) in the Chemistry Department, or Today, I flew to New York City. 

• I showed Lydia my blog, she looked confused at the title, and said, "Chechi, who are you running after?" :) "God!" I said. 

• A recent lesson on American and Indian dress. Some of my favorite sentences that resulted:
• "I wear my nightie to an interview." 
• "She wears sneakers to his funeral."
• "I wear a T-shirt, heels, and track suit to church."

• Explaining the concept of Groundhog Day to students.

• Shalu and I were translating the Lord's Prayer literally from Malayalam. The last line she wrote as: "Kingdom, power, glory...it's for you." Love that.

Gigi Sir with the Terrible Towel that now hangs in his office :)

The Day I Did the Cha-Cha Slide with A Bunch of Americans

About three weeks ago, SIXTEEN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS visited CMS! Cinny Miss called me in the morning and said, "Hey, there's a bunch of Americans here...where are you?" and I RAN to campus!!! They were from different universities and will be studying abroad in Pondicherry for a semester through a program called Semester in India. As I ran into the Great Hall, they were attending a special cultural exchange performance, where the students presented the different song and dance forms of Kerala. It was an extremely comical introduction: we were obviously extremely surprised to see one another but couldn't talk until the performance was over! This resulted in a kind of dance in and of itself of glances and facial expressions, as they wondered who I was and what I was doing here and I wondered about them. When the program ended, the Americans were invited up to the stage to perform a couple songs for all the CMS students (this was part of the "exchange").

As they were coming on stage, I asked if I could join them. Now some of them saw me for the first time while we were on stage together and were totally taken aback to see another member of the group! We sang a Motown medley and the national anthem, and then invited all the Indian students on stage and TAUGHT THEM THE CHA-CHA SLIDE! "I can't believe this is happening right now!!!" It was a BLAST. Then both groups of students chatted with one another for awhile, and then the program was over, and I finally looked at them all and said, "Um...hi! I'm Claudia!" and we finally MET. This was too funny. They invited me to eat lunch with them, where I didn't even eat because I was talking so fast. Unfortunately, they had to leave that day for the next leg of their tour before beginning their semester. Apparently they'd been in Kottayam for a few days already! And just as suddenly as we'd stumbled upon one another, they left. It was incredibly refreshing to meet these students just coming to India, to exchange contacts, to talk with them about their fears and expectations, and hear their reasons for coming here.

A day in the life in India. You never know when you're going to wake up and run to campus to do the Cha-Cha Slide with 16 American college kids!!! Every day here, truly, is quite the adventure. :)

16 American college students studying here with the Semester in India program!

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

About two Sundays ago, I had a memorable worship time out on my porch. It was a beautiful hot and sunny day, and I sat on my porch overlooking the street and the hostel yard. I have been spending a lot of time out there recently with God.

I was playing my guitar when one of the dear girls from the hostel (who will remain nameless here) came into my room. I invited her onto my porch. While out on the porch, we had church together. We love to sing contemporary praise songs together, so she asked if we could sing some together.

I was feeling spiritually depleted, like I was running on empty. My mother had just left and things felt strange and new all over again for a few days. As she and I sat there and began to sing, I felt our spirits mutually lift. We entered into a time of real worship, something that I had really been missing out on for too long. The Holy Spirit was there as we sang together and the tears flowed for both of us. I started crying first, and I said, "I'm sorry, nothing's wrong, I just cry when I worship," and opened my eyes to see her tearfully say, "Me, too!" We sang and sang and sang and prayed while singing, simultaneously in English and Malayalam. I felt our spirits really connect in worship together.

We decided to read the Bible together. I said, "Let's each just pick a place to read aloud," and we both turned to Psalm 139 at the same time, and then proceeded to start crying again! We read the Psalm over and over, really letting His peace settle on us. I played a song based on some of the verses from the Psalm, and then played for a song my best friend Susan has out on her new CD, "Steady Me," called "Fearfully & Wonderfully Made," also based on Psalm 139. We talked about which verses in the Psalm speak to us.

Shortly after, my friend opened up about her father's recent sudden and tragic death, of which I was previously unaware. We talked and cried together for a long while, and we had at time of deep, restorative, healing prayer. Our time together created a special friendship that has been growing since.

I continue to be amazed at the beauty of the girls of Lea Hostel. They are extraordinarily beautiful girls, inside and out. Their faith is so real, their friendships so deep. I feel that the deep love of these girls has healed a part of me somewhere. As we continue to grow in relationship together, I begin to discover their individual stories, stories often filled with immense heartbreak or challenge. Yet their joy is unmarred, and they are extraordinarily innocent. They truly listen to one another, they walk around holding hands together, frequently going about in pairs, where you never see one without the other. The depth of their ability to love and the purity and trusting nature of their hearts leaves me speechless. I am so thankful for these girls. (What am I going to do when I suddenly don't have 140 sweet little sisters to sing with me and play with my hair and play games with every night?) It would have been worth it to come all the way to India just to see them. No matter what happens during the day, I can always come home to my sisters at Lea Hostel who will shower me with their goodness. I see Jesus so clearly in each one of their smiles. They are each so precious, so unique, so wonderfully and expertly made in His image.

(Please check out my best friend Susan's new-and first-album, "Steady Me." Along with being a devoted follower of Jesus, my friend is an extremely talented songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and so much more, who has long been inspiring others in their walk of faith through her music. Her music radiates the love of God and speaks His truth boldly and beautifully; this album is about how in the raging ocean of life, Christ alone steadies us. Please listen to her music at her website: susanrandall.blogspot.com )

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:7-11

I recently reached it-Psalm 150. Day 150. The half-way point. The "hump," if you will.

And now before me lies the second half of my YAV year.

And so with a big page turn, I returned to the beginning of Psalms, where by the time I finish the book this second time through, it will be almost time to go home. A big turn in my Bible, a big turn in the book of my life.

And I found myself once again face to face with Psalm 1, with new eyes, and a new spirit. And so I reflect on the past half year and look to the year ahead.

I'm gonna be completely honest with you. This year has been more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. It has been downright terrifying at points. It has been filled with the unexpected, the unknown, and a lot of tears. It has at times been discouraging, overwhelming, and frightening. It has required me to become a completely new person, and I seem to keep putting up a fight against that! It has involved being constantly broken down and rebuilt up in the image of Christ. It has been painful. My faith is being refined, my faith, of more worth than gold, is being refined in the fire of this new land. And not only am I finding it to be true, I'm finding it to be the only thing I have. 

But far, far greater than the challenges have been the blessings. The friendships made, the bonds developed, are some of the strongest I have ever known. I can't believe how abundantly He has provided for me here the chance to share in a wealth of rich and precious relationships. The opportunities I am having are opportunities I would have never imagined! The memories made so far, the love I have been shown, and the opportunities I have had to love, are beautiful and ever constant. Mostly, the ways in which I have seen the living power of the Gospel manifested in people's lives, the ways the Gospel is becoming real to me, are almost too great to know how to recount.

It has been a year of immeasurable change. I look back at the beginning of the year, which feels approximately 3 years ago, and I see how far He has led me, from myself, to myself, and ultimately, closer and closer and closer to Him. I can't believe how much He has been teaching me.

And oh my goodness how I have GROWN! I have been stretched beyond what I ever expected, and have found myself intact only in Christ. I have learned so many lessons, more than I can even keep up with. Boy, am I being remade, remolded, reshaped-hopefully more into the image of Christ.

When it comes down to it, and you strip it all away, this year is about drawing closer to the power of the risen Lord.  Paul writes, "I want to know Christ!" My spirit resonates with this cry- God, I want to know You and make You known! I have been floored time and time again to find that it is only by Christ's strength that I can stand again. My weakness, so readily apparent, allows God to make His strength that much more apparent to me! For His power is made perfect in weakness-my goodness, does that seem to sum up this year for me!

I have never been more reliant on the power of Christ to get me through each and every day, to rescue me from the misery of self-absorption and anxiety, to put the chaos of this life into perspective. I cling to His hand every day. I hunger for His word, I can't get through the day unless I spend time in it. And He has NEVER let me down-for He is ALWAYS faithful. What more important thing in life is there but to draw closer in relationship to Jesus Christ? This year has forced me to confront and rely on my Creator more than I ever have- and nothing can replace that. Nothing is more valuable than that. What new trials can I encounter that He has not already intended for His glory? What people can I meet that He has not called me to love? Where can I go from His spirit?  In the midst of my fear and the anxieties that plague me, God never fails to uplift me by His right hand.

He WILL lead me all the way. He has led me this far. "The Lord WILL fulfill His purpose for me," I declare, "and He will sustain me all the way through." It has been an unbelievable journey-the journey of falling deeper in love with Jesus. 

Though the road ahead is entirely unknown and overwhelming to me at times, it is IN HIS HANDS. There is nowhere I can go where He has not already gone before me. And so I go boldly ahead, and declare that God has the victory in the rest of this year, that the victory is won!

Here's to the rest of my time, that I may know Christ and make Him known. Here's to the rest of the road.


All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

-written in 1875 by Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) to a tune written by the Baptist minister Dr. Robert Lowry