there is so much to do to prepare to go overseas. one of those things, my favorite of all, are travel shots. when i was 15, and had to get my "booster" shots (my mother will vouch for this) i ran away from the nurse. yes at 15 years old i ran away.
since then i've only had one shot (other than novacaine at the dentist), and that was a tetnus shot after my mountain biking accident. it wasn't that bad, and since i was laying in a bed, i didn't run away.
but i won't lie and say i'm not going to be a bit of a freak when i go in next week to get my travel shots. but i'm hoping after this, it really won't be that big of a deal.
all part of the journey.
matthew.
one thing i have been told my other people who have been on similar trips overseas for this king of time, is that team bonding beforehand is huge.
that said. i'm really looking forward to getting to know the team. i know a few of them decently well already, but some i've only met the one time when we were all introduced two weeks ago.
we have our next meeting at rod's place in los feliz this sunday night. praying for great team building and a great time.
matthew.
if you are going to help support me and the team by donating to my trip online, its really quite simple.
click on the donate link to the right. it will take you to ecclesia's paypal donation site where you can safely and securely donate.
all you need to remember is after you click the "review donation and continue" button, you will be allowed to add text to a comment or notes section. this is where you will put Matthew Schulert so the donation will get directed to my funds.
again. thank you for all your support! i'm really excited to see God work through us to bring love to these children and their families.
matthew.
Let me give you a little history. As most of you know, I moved to Los Angeles just over a year ago (June 2008) to pursue my "dreams" of working in the creative, entertainment, industry. During this past year, I have been blessed to find a church family at Ecclesia (www.churchinhollywood.com), a church situated in the middle of Hollywood with a heart for the oppressed, hurting people of both our immediate culture, and the world. Also during this past year I have put forth a lot of effort working on ME and what I need(ed) to succeed. Although it was necessary to get me to a place of stability, it has definitely left me with a feeling of "what am I doing to help others and show them the love of Christ?" That leads me to where I am today, in need of your support as I join 10 passionate, loving Ecclesians bring justice, hope and most of all the love of Christ to slums of India.
Ecclesia has a strong relationship of support with the groups we will be serving alongside, both financially and by regularly sending teams to encourage and help in any necessity. Here is a small glimpse of those ministries and organizations. (Due to the sensitive nature of these organizations, I have been asked to leave out the names and the names of those working there for safety).
We arrive in Delhi the first day, where we will meet with our partner organization who work with students from the US where they learn culture, worldview and experience life in a third world country. They will introduce us to culture in India and Hinduism, which is the prominent religion. These partners also work in orphanages and run ESL classes as well as attend to justice issues.
We continue on, by train, to the slum community of Dehradun. Here there is a school for slum children, who would otherwise never be allowed to attend school. Slum children often scavenge the streets or pick through the dumps for reusable materials. This organization enables them to attend school, begin to discover their value, talents and worth as God's children. There is also a health clinic and community programs to empower the women of the slums.
My team is going to run a children's program there, for 4 days. This will be where we spend the majority of our time. I know this will not only be life changing for the children, but for each one of us as well.
Another portion of our trip will take us into the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, to a town called Mussoorie, where we will meet and support our partners who are training pastors of small churches throughout the mountainous villages. Persecution, rough terrain and cultural barriers make the spread of the Gospel very difficult in this region of India.
We are all working to raise support for this journey, as well as paying for a portion on our own. God has been so faithful and I am asking you to pray for me on this journey as well as consider supporting me financially. Of course it's fully tax deductible, but even better is the difference it will make in the life of a slum child, woman, man or family.
You may make a secure donation using the paypal link on the right or you may want to mail your donation directly to me, you can do so at the address below, remember to
make checks payable to Ecclesia with India Trip and my name written in the memo.
Matthew Schulert
746 S. Normandie Ave. #107
Los Angeles, CA, 90005
Thank you, you are a true blessing in my life.
i've added a link to the team's official blog up top. but wanted to let you all know that you should follow http://ecclesiaindia2009.blogspot.com as well, as this will be where all the official information is posted before, during and after the trip.
matthew.
as a team, we have only had one meeting together thus far. so i'm just starting to get detailed information on the trip. i'm waiting to hear if some of the organizations and ministries we will be working with are of sensitive nature, before i delve into those on here.
but as for cities we are tentatively planning to visit, here is what i know:
delhi. we will fly into delhi and spend our first three days there. we will meet with our partners and they will help introduce us to india and hinduism. there are many many cultural differences between the us and india, so this will be helpful for the rest of our time there.
dehradun. we will be taking a train from delhi to dehradun. here we will meet with more partners. (hopefully i'll have more information for you on this soon). but we will be spending quite some time here.
we may spend some time in haridwar, rishikesh and mussoorrie, as well. we'll be ending our time back in delhi for a debrief day before flying back to los angeles.
matthew.
news flash.
i'm going to india. yes it's true. for 15 days in october, that is.
i'll be joining 11 other ecclesians as we partner with existing organizations in india to help bring justice and love to those in need.
more to come about what we will be doing there and some of the needs that you can help with. but i wanted to use this first post to inform you all of what's happeneing. please subscribe to this blog, as i promise to keep you updated on all the goings on between now and when we leave (and while there if at all possible) and of course after!
matthew.
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