India Countdown: 3 months away!!

As many of you may know, three months from today I will be in Pune, India on a short-term trip with Second Baptist. We will be working with an orphanage called Charasia that has really touched my heart.

I knew going into this that, the enemy would attack and try to keep me from walking in obedience. But I never expected it to be so immediate. I mean, signing up for a mission trip is like a signed a letter somewhere saying,

"I Debi Ostrom agree to be a part of a gambling game by Satan to allow him to throw my life into a frenzy in a number of ways including but not limited to: draining me of my savings, making me busy beyond belief, and making my loved ones ill ( from this point forward loved ones will be known to include dogs)."

So I knew I was signing this form; what I didn't know was that I was enrolling online and hit the "expidite request" button.

Less than a week later my baby girl of the canine species became very ill. I was devestated and felt hopless. We were able to get her emergency surgery and at a discount since my cousin works at a vet, but it was still an exteremely expensive procedure. Then, I had to replace a tire. In the end, my reserves set aside for India were wiped out.

Trying to stay hopeful, can be difficult. But I have faith that this is a sign that surely something awesome is going to happen on this trip. And this gives a greater opportunity for His glory to shine!

Anyway, below is a part of my India support letter. If you want more information, let me know!
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I hope this letter finds you and your family well! I wanted to share with you a passion that God has put on my heart! Since graduating college in 2008, my life has been a whirlwind of changes. In October 2008 I started attending Second Baptist Church which I have come to call home working in student ministry and single life. I remember my first day at Second and hearing people talk about missions. Even that first day God reignited a spark in me for missions that I had in high school. Over the next few months, God began to reveal to me through events and friends that He was calling me to join Second on a short-term mission trip to India in November 2009.

In January 2009 I applied to join the India mission team without even knowing what we would be doing. God's divine plan blessed me more than I could imagine combining my passion for youth and missions in one. Our team will be working with an organization called Charasia that rescues girls from the brothels in India.

Charasia has two homes as well as a Bible College to teach and grow the ministry in India. The Grace Home is a home to girls whose mother's are currently in the brothels in the Red Light District of India. Without Charasia, these girls are destined to a life of prostitution themselves. Before Grace Home, they were living with their mothers in a 6 foot by 3 foot cell in the brothel.

Faith Home is a rescue for girls at risk to life in the brothels. Most of these girls are found on the street in the slums of India.

The slums or the brothels seem to be the only options for these girls. Charasia's goal is to give them a third option. Their mission is to provide an English education, take care of their physical well being, and teach them of the hope they have in Jesus Christ.

Our team will mostly be working with the Faith home. We will be doing a number of things there including working with the girls to update information on the website and working to help Charasia with with administrative tasks. I am very excited because we will have the opportunity to work with these teens like I work with the youth at Second. The goal is to bond with girls to show them they have hope and a life outside of the slums. If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire, that is a very real picture of what these girls face.

Please visit www.charasia.org for more information and stories on "my" girls.

The purpose of this letter is first and most importantly to build a prayer team for us. We will inevitably face many trials, attacks and emotions we have never experienced before. India sees spiritual warfare that we only read about. Please pray for our strength and that God can use us in a mighty way to build His kingdom.

I will update my blog, debiostrom.blogspot.com, with information on the trip and our team. Also, I will write after I return and share with you the seeds planted thanks to your love and support. Thank you for your prayers and support for this precious country and for the love you have shown in the past making known to me the love of our Saviour and Redeemer that I so desire to share with these girls.