It's hot.
Yes, I'm aware I neglected the opening salutation, and I apologize - I will doubly up tomorrow - but it needed to be said. It is hot. Oppressively hot. Ridiculously hot.
Whew. Got that out of my system (as well as about 75 liters of sweat because...IT'S HOT!). Today was a "Down Day", which meant that we had a free day to check out some touristy things and just spend the day relaxing. It was a nice change of pace - it really was. The team has been running pretty non-stop since our arrival a week ago and today we had the opportunity to just slow down a bit. We went up to the St. Thomas Shrine on one of the mountains in India and it was breath-taking. You could literally see miles and miles in every direction - all of the surrounding cities/counties...you could see it all. We toured the Church of St. Thomas for awhile and just took in the beauty of God's creation. Then, we headed over to a nice hotel for an incredible buffet lunch. Let me just say, I fully intended to lose 10 pounds on this trip between a picky palette and the effects of Indian food - but the local cuisine has been so delicious - even the food prepared in the villages has been outstanding. But I digress.
After lunch, we said our good-byes to Gary Hanneken as he jumped back on his flight out of Chennai to head back to Maryland. He's currently in the air right now and should be home around 5 a.m. EST on Thursday - so be lifting him up as you read this. We had a great time with him. Then, we made it back to David's condo to rest up a bit and then most of us took the opportunity to do a little souvenir shopping at the same mall as yesterday. All in all, a pretty relaxing day.
However...IT WAS HOT!! Since we don't really have any ministry reports today, it would be a good time to give you some interesting bits of info that we experience that don't really make the cut for this blog. For our transportation, we have a 15 passenger van. And 16 people riding in it (unless dreamy Johnathon drives and he takes 3 lucky contestants with him). We have the same bus driver every day and he doesn't speak a word of English. But he's a really nice Muslim gentleman...and I tell you...homeboy is the best driver on the road. But before we get off the transportation issue, the conditions in the van are like a sauna lately. The A/C has started to go out and I am not exaggerating when I say that arriving at our destinations has been incredible as the conditions outside the van (in the middle of the day in India) are typically better than inside the van. And when you sit in the very back, you are actually sitting underneath the vent which is pushing the air forward, so you get absolutely ZERO air. Today was actually the worst day. No matter where you were sitting, you were sweating - usually pretty good, too. But praise the Lord, it seems like it's getting better. We're really not complaining either - we're all so grateful to get to have these opportunities to minister - but it has taken its toll on some of our team members. Please, please, please continue to lift up Christi Maude. It seems like she's got some heat exhaustion and has been laid up in bed all night with some stomach issues. Others have been taking a physical hit as well from the heat and we could use the prayer for strength!
While we're on the topic of transportation, I want to let you know about an element of India that I absolutely cannot believe has not made it into this blog yet. The traffic. The driving conditions. Unfortunately, my poor descriptions here will do nothing to do justice to the insanity that is driving in India. There is nothing in America that even compares to these conditions. First, while there is a single line often down the middle of the road to indicate lanes...this doesn't matter. At all. I'm not kidding. At any given moment, if there are 2-3 motorcycles hogging the lane, it is perfectly normal for another driver to charge oncoming traffic...and NOT move out of the way. There are no rules. Every car has some sort of dent, scrape and if someone is in your way, you lay on the horn. Always. There is never a moment when a horn is not honking. No one looks out their rear view mirrors - the honking is just to let you know you want someone to more or you're next to them so they shouldn't get over. And the "Autos" (taxis), vans, cars, motorcyles and buses are all fighting for the same space - and when I say "fighting", it is every man for himself and the first person who can push the others out of the way wins. The first few days, we all were on edge thinking either we were going to get killed or we were going to witness someone getting killed. Surprisingly, neither has happened - and we've all gotten used to the craziness and the mid-road u-turns and vehicular games of "Chicken" that take place every day.
Another thing...motorcycles. They're EVERYWHERE. And everyone drives one...but not like America. For starters, helmets are optional. I can count on my left hand and right foot the number of helmets we have seen on someone's head (they're usually tied around someone's waist - I don't think they get the concept). Further, children are always on motorcycles with their parents, either being sandwiched between the driver and the handlebars or hanging on by themselves to the driver on the way to school...No helmet. We've seen two guys on a single motorcycle, hauling two huge moving boxes tied to the bike. We've seen two riders with a goat sitting between them. And the worst...a driver and his passenger sitting side-saddle...holding a baby. No helmet. The driving conditions in India are completely unreal. You just have to be here to check it out. It is frightening and exhilarating all at the same time.
Anyway. Between the heat and the traffic, there's really not a lot that we haven't covered in this blog thing. But those are two things that really are significant in our India experiences. Oh, and the guy who walks the block every night around this time (mid-nightish our time) hitting a big stick on the ground and blowing a whistle every ten seconds to scare off robbers. Crazy! He's doing it now! That's Neighborhood watch right there!
Tomorrow, we're expecting pretty big heat, so our ministry events will be aimed more towards the later parts of the day. We'll be heading out tomorrow afternoon for a new Church dedication in a village followed by some village outreach/ministry. We're also really excited because tomorrow, during our devotion time, David is going to be giving us a presentation on his mission work here in India, what he has done, what is going on and where his vision for this mission and ministry are. Can't wait for that!
We've made it over a week doing ministry now and we owe so much to you all for your diligently prayers. Today/Tonight, please pray:
1. For Christi's healing - and the overall health of the team
2. Travelling mercies for Gary Hanneken
3. Evangelistic opportunities tomorrow evening
4. Discernment from the Holy Spirit to see those who we can minister to here around the community.
Thank you guys so much. Talk to you tomorrow!
-Jeff
Mexico's traffic was the same on the Yucatan Peninsula.No speed limit. Two, three or four lanes where there were only really two lanes. 8 people in a five passenger car. No AC.
ReplyDeleteWe're praying for you.
Kelly
Fbc Mission Team - It is exciting to hear what God is doing through you each day! Your willingness to endure struggles and to lay it all on the line to share the love of Christ with people in India is a challenge to us all. We prayed for you tonight prior to the Children's Music Camp presentation and also during the dult Choir practice. We pray that these remaining 5 days in India will show even greater evidences of God's power at work through you! Tell Jeff to not play in the traffic and to dress warm.
ReplyDeleteDr H