Dear faithful readers and prayer warriors,
Well, we made it. Right now, we are 3 hours away from walking out the door and heading back to the airport in Chennai to begin our journey home after a life-changing 2 weeks in India. Today was a perfect way to end out our mission. We went to a village church about 2 hours away from David's condo. It was an amazing day of worship and ministry. Following the sermon, led by a 75 year old pastor who walks 10 miles to get to church, we shared in Communion with the church. It was a totally new, totally beautiful process for Communion - for those who wanted to take part, we had to line up and have our feet washed by the person in front of us. We then turned and washed the feet of the person behind us before taking our position for Communion. Then, the Pastors came by and gave us a piece of bread from a larger loaf and then we all drank REAL wine from the same cup - ALL of us. From the SAME cup. And it was beautiful.
Following Communion, we came up and led about a 30 minute program, complete with singing (Power in the Blood finished it off AND...we all learned the chorus in Tamil and were able to sing it to them and with them, in their language. And yes, you all will learn it as well - we can't wait for that! And, for the last day on mission, we busted out not one...not two...but THREE skits: David, Daniel and the new skit that John put together for us last night. Then, we shared lunch with the church and then we wrapped out by just hanging with the kids/families, making balloon animals...but the best part...all of the church members wanted our team to pray with them - and the team did - all over the place. It was an awesome God moment.
And then, after our time at the Church, we took a short 5 minute drive deeper into the village for another Church dedication. Once again, we led a few short choruses that spanned the language barrier and it was the closest thing to Heaven I think I've ever experienced - brothers and sisters across many cultures and in different languages singing, "Alleluia" and "Thank You, Jesus". So amazing. We then had a great - and very long - sendoff, saying goodbye to all of the kids, families...it was tough realizing that there's a good chance we might not see them until Heaven - but having that knowledge was a great thing.
Tonight, we just ordered some pizza in, packed up, cleaned up, and just had a good time (with a mild dance party and an impromptu singalong to "Holiday Road"). We've got just a few more hours and we're all homesick - ready to come home - but man, this was an amazing trip.
So, the blog title. If you've been paying any attention, this title was actually used to kick off the whole trip and I think it's appropriate to end with it as well. There really are a lot of comparisons. I mean, we're taking a massively long trip...on a jet plane. We left with 14 and we're coming back with 14 (Lord willing). We're even all bringing home the same luggage and sitting next to the people we rode next to on the way here.
But, not everything is the same. While we arrived here as 14 members of Faith, we're leaving here as a family. A family that saw each other at their worst - sickness, dirty, sweaty, smelly, no make-up, bad hair days - but that worked towards carrying out the mission God put in front of us. We arrived expecting to minister to the people of India, but in reality, they changed our lives and ministered to us in ways that we couldn't even compete with. All of our expectations when we left home were totally destroyed and God threw us out of our comfort zones, but in that, we gained so much spiritual perspective. We come away in the same setting...but as completely different people. Our prayer is that, through these experiences, not only will the Church in India be encouraged, but that our home church will see some ways in which we can deepen our passion for the Lord. And we ask God, the One who ordained this trip, guided and guarded our every move, and is working in all of our hearts in a massive way, to keep this fire burning that we can impact our neighborhood, our church and our world by serving Christ as His "holy fools".
I cannot express how much we appreciate each of you supporting us and praying for us on this trip. Though only 14 of us are physically here, you all have been an integral part of this mission and we could not have done this without you. We love each of you so much and can't wait to share these experiences with you. Please pray for the protection of our Father God as we head out in just a few hours - safety in travel and favor going through security and customs.
And so, with gladness and sadness, for the last time in India, good night. Thank you for making this journey with us. We'll see you guys soon.
India 2010, out...
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The Day Before Tomorrow
Hey Team,
Second to last day in India and it was, again, wonderful. Following our devos this morning, we headed out to another village church for their worship service. We were running a few minutes late so we were only able to catch the last 3 1/2 hours of worship. Yes, you read that correctly. And I tell you what...as a testament to how strong the worship and Spirit is here, we can't understand more than a word or two of what they're saying/singing and yet, we are totally drawn into the Spirit these people possess. It's beautiful. Then, after the message and some dances performed by the church children, we led a time of worship with singing and 2 skits - we even introduced the brand new, never performed in public, David and Goliath! And it went off so well - everyone cheered when little Christian Rose "slew the giant" Lee. It was so much fun - it will definitely be included in the mission trip report (which, as far as I know, is scheduled for Sunday evening, July 11th - mark your calenders and look for updates!).
After our leading, we shared in their lunch. I don't think we've covered their "lunch" times. They are so beautiful. Acts 2, as Sara pointed out tonight. After 4+ hours of worship, the church sits down together and shares a meal. Everyone sits in their lines, gets a placemat and the servers bring around the food, which you eat with your hands. Culturally, this would seem really weird - but it's amazing. We gotta try it sometime at Faith. Then, after lunch was cleaned up, we led another rousing game of "Chicken Chicken Goat" (Duck Duck Goose). These people play CCG with so much enthusiasm. Even the adults who aren't "playing" end up getting into it. Again, something we need to try at Faith. We had a blast. We ended our time at the church today by making tons of balloon animals, hats, crosses, swords, etc. Again, in America, this wouldn't be a big deal or even "cool", but to the people in India...they absolutely love them. What an awesome (and totally unexpected) ministry tool.
Following our church service and fellowship time, we went out to another new village church for their dedication of the new building. We went in, sans shoes, and David asked us to play a song. We did "Power in The Blood" which has literally become the theme song of this entire trip. Everywhere we go we sing this and the Indian people know it. It's beautiful. Then Tim had a great idea in suggesting we sing "Holy Ground". We started off and I was strumming out on the guitar, but the sound was so beautiful, I had to stop. The voices of the 20-25 in the room went up in absolutely beautiful harmonies. Today was the first day I could actually sing (regained my voice a bit) and I'm so thankful. The room was filled with beautiful, impromptu music. Following the prayer of dedication, we went right into the chorus of "Alleluia". Again, harmonies, melodies all over the place and it was some of the most beautiful music I've heard in my entire life. I will never forget the sound of that room.
So then, thinking the night is over, we say our good-byes and load up into the van. We pull out and literally go no further than 20 feet when David sees that the music we were singing in the church brought people out of their houses/huts a little ways down the road. He stops the van and says, "There are a lot of people here. Want to sing some songs?" Next thing you know, we're unloading 20 feet from the church and begin more impromptu worship/singing for the villagers. David asked the Pastor to say a prayer. Well, he did...after delivering a Holy Spirit inspired 5 minute message to the captive audience. It was a great time of ministry that we totally weren't expecting.
Our night concluded with our longest and best time of sharing. We began with the Annual Mission Trip Awards (The "Trippies") and because we had 14 people on the team, we were able to give everyone an award. It's too much to go through all of the awards (I will put them out some day), but it's important to note who received the most prestigious awards. Congratulations to Leslie Thrasher for receiving the "Rookie of The Year" award (it was her first mission trip EVER and she was the brains behind our Daniel skit, which we performed EVERY DAY here). And the top honor - the MVP Award recipient for India 2010: Christian Rose Maude. Congrats to everyone for the achievements. After a great time of awarding, remembering, laughing....we moved into a time where each team member had to answer the question: "Why Did God Bring You On This Trip?" And the answers were beautiful. But one resounding message, across the board, was "Perspective". Through this trip, we have realized how much we need - and how much we DON'T need. And even at times our abundance (while considered a blessing) could actually be a huge hindrance to us. The other night, the church got together for a service and all they did was roll out a tarp/political banner for the Church to sit, plugged in a microphone and we had church among the cows and chickens with no lighting. And it was an amazing time of worship. Our lives have been changed by this trip and we can't wait to come back and share with you what the Lord did in our lives.
As we are less than 30 hours from jumping on our first plane, we ask for your prayers again to finish stronger than we started. Please also pray for supernatural, holy energy - everyone is on their last legs in terms of energy, but we want to go out tomorrow and go leave all we have in India. And since you may not read the final blog tomorrow before we head out (we leave at 5 a.m. Monday Chennai time which is 7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday night), please lift up the team's travels and journeys through customs. There WILL be a blog tomorrow to wrap out. Thank you guys so much for following this, for thinking of us and most importantly, for carrying us to the Father.
Tomorrow, we have one more church service like today. We'll lead a time of worship with music and skits and then we'll play some games with the church before coming home to wrap everything up. Of course, that's what the PLAN is. Then again...It's India. Pray that God would have us do what He wants us to do.
See ya tomorrow!
-Jeff
Second to last day in India and it was, again, wonderful. Following our devos this morning, we headed out to another village church for their worship service. We were running a few minutes late so we were only able to catch the last 3 1/2 hours of worship. Yes, you read that correctly. And I tell you what...as a testament to how strong the worship and Spirit is here, we can't understand more than a word or two of what they're saying/singing and yet, we are totally drawn into the Spirit these people possess. It's beautiful. Then, after the message and some dances performed by the church children, we led a time of worship with singing and 2 skits - we even introduced the brand new, never performed in public, David and Goliath! And it went off so well - everyone cheered when little Christian Rose "slew the giant" Lee. It was so much fun - it will definitely be included in the mission trip report (which, as far as I know, is scheduled for Sunday evening, July 11th - mark your calenders and look for updates!).
After our leading, we shared in their lunch. I don't think we've covered their "lunch" times. They are so beautiful. Acts 2, as Sara pointed out tonight. After 4+ hours of worship, the church sits down together and shares a meal. Everyone sits in their lines, gets a placemat and the servers bring around the food, which you eat with your hands. Culturally, this would seem really weird - but it's amazing. We gotta try it sometime at Faith. Then, after lunch was cleaned up, we led another rousing game of "Chicken Chicken Goat" (Duck Duck Goose). These people play CCG with so much enthusiasm. Even the adults who aren't "playing" end up getting into it. Again, something we need to try at Faith. We had a blast. We ended our time at the church today by making tons of balloon animals, hats, crosses, swords, etc. Again, in America, this wouldn't be a big deal or even "cool", but to the people in India...they absolutely love them. What an awesome (and totally unexpected) ministry tool.
Following our church service and fellowship time, we went out to another new village church for their dedication of the new building. We went in, sans shoes, and David asked us to play a song. We did "Power in The Blood" which has literally become the theme song of this entire trip. Everywhere we go we sing this and the Indian people know it. It's beautiful. Then Tim had a great idea in suggesting we sing "Holy Ground". We started off and I was strumming out on the guitar, but the sound was so beautiful, I had to stop. The voices of the 20-25 in the room went up in absolutely beautiful harmonies. Today was the first day I could actually sing (regained my voice a bit) and I'm so thankful. The room was filled with beautiful, impromptu music. Following the prayer of dedication, we went right into the chorus of "Alleluia". Again, harmonies, melodies all over the place and it was some of the most beautiful music I've heard in my entire life. I will never forget the sound of that room.
So then, thinking the night is over, we say our good-byes and load up into the van. We pull out and literally go no further than 20 feet when David sees that the music we were singing in the church brought people out of their houses/huts a little ways down the road. He stops the van and says, "There are a lot of people here. Want to sing some songs?" Next thing you know, we're unloading 20 feet from the church and begin more impromptu worship/singing for the villagers. David asked the Pastor to say a prayer. Well, he did...after delivering a Holy Spirit inspired 5 minute message to the captive audience. It was a great time of ministry that we totally weren't expecting.
Our night concluded with our longest and best time of sharing. We began with the Annual Mission Trip Awards (The "Trippies") and because we had 14 people on the team, we were able to give everyone an award. It's too much to go through all of the awards (I will put them out some day), but it's important to note who received the most prestigious awards. Congratulations to Leslie Thrasher for receiving the "Rookie of The Year" award (it was her first mission trip EVER and she was the brains behind our Daniel skit, which we performed EVERY DAY here). And the top honor - the MVP Award recipient for India 2010: Christian Rose Maude. Congrats to everyone for the achievements. After a great time of awarding, remembering, laughing....we moved into a time where each team member had to answer the question: "Why Did God Bring You On This Trip?" And the answers were beautiful. But one resounding message, across the board, was "Perspective". Through this trip, we have realized how much we need - and how much we DON'T need. And even at times our abundance (while considered a blessing) could actually be a huge hindrance to us. The other night, the church got together for a service and all they did was roll out a tarp/political banner for the Church to sit, plugged in a microphone and we had church among the cows and chickens with no lighting. And it was an amazing time of worship. Our lives have been changed by this trip and we can't wait to come back and share with you what the Lord did in our lives.
As we are less than 30 hours from jumping on our first plane, we ask for your prayers again to finish stronger than we started. Please also pray for supernatural, holy energy - everyone is on their last legs in terms of energy, but we want to go out tomorrow and go leave all we have in India. And since you may not read the final blog tomorrow before we head out (we leave at 5 a.m. Monday Chennai time which is 7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday night), please lift up the team's travels and journeys through customs. There WILL be a blog tomorrow to wrap out. Thank you guys so much for following this, for thinking of us and most importantly, for carrying us to the Father.
Tomorrow, we have one more church service like today. We'll lead a time of worship with music and skits and then we'll play some games with the church before coming home to wrap everything up. Of course, that's what the PLAN is. Then again...It's India. Pray that God would have us do what He wants us to do.
See ya tomorrow!
-Jeff
Friday, June 25, 2010
"Yeah, Let Him Go, 'Cuz I'm Gonna Cap Him"
And the winner of the "Best Quote of the Night" goes to...Bob Henry!! Congratulations, Bob, on your focus-shattering, hysteria inducing adlib on our new skit.
And, this just in...the award for "Most In Need Of A Belt" goes to Lee Salley. No congratulations are in order. In fact, we all lost with this award.
Hey everybody-
Hope you all had a good day today. We had a great time today. We called today a "Down Day", which makes it sound terribly un-missional. So, we have renamed today the more appropriate "Recovery Day", because that's exactly what it was - and that's definitely what we were in need of. Between heat exhaustion, dehydration, food poisoning, respiratory problems (and that's just what Christi was suffering from) we all needed some time to gear up for a big weekend.
We spent some time today doing some souvenir pickups and breaking bread together at a Vegetarian restaurant (being a vegetarian would be easy if the food tasted this good). We then came back for some rest and recovery before our evening stuff. Before and after dinner tonight, we came together as a team and worked up 3 brand new things for this weekend. One is a "David and Goliath" skit with C.R. Maude (our 10 year old trooper) playing the role of David and Lee Salley (our 50 year old park ranger) playing the role of Goliath. It is perhaps the funniest version of David and Goliath you've ever seen 14 Americans perform in India ever. In fact, I'd bet money on it. What was amazing, though, isn't so much the skit (though it is pretty good for a few practices), but the amount of fun we had as a team spending time together and working this up. The team has come a long way very quickly in the past 2 weeks and the unity among the team is really special. Thank God for this.
After dinner, the guys and ladies split up. The ladies put together an interpretive dance to "Here I Am to Worship" and the guys pulled together another skit penned by our local theatrical scribe, John Kinsey. We're looking forward to putting these in front of people tomorrow. All in all, a very good night.
Tomorrow, as best we can tell, we'll be doing at least 2 new church dedications and even possibly some outreach events in the evening. Please be in prayer for this as David just told us that both the heat and humidity will be very high and where we are going, there is no electricity/air - so, tomorrow may be the most trying day we've had, weather-wise, since we've been here. With a lot of people having been battling health stuff, we really need the prayer cover to finish strong. In fact, that leads our prayer requests tonight:
1. Please pray for strength and energy to end the mission as well as we began it.
2. Pray that we would have eyes to see the needs around us and that we wouldn't miss the opportunities God gives us
3. Pray a prayer of thanks for David Rajan. He has been beyond hospitable and patient with us. He is one of the Godliest men on the planet and we all need to be thanking God for the work God is doing through him - our "Godfather"
Two more days left. Pray also for our team because earlier in the week I told them that in our sharing time/final debrief tomorrow night they had to answer this question: "Why did God bring you on this mission?". Please pray for clarity in knowing the answer and the ability to carry the lessons and experiences we've had here home.
And pray for Faith. We've already been discussing what to "bring back" with us. We've decided that our role is to give America "heart attacks". But, holy ones. The good kind - won't kill you...just make our faith stronger.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you all and the Kingdom. Your support has been so amazing. We love you guys.
-Jeff
And, this just in...the award for "Most In Need Of A Belt" goes to Lee Salley. No congratulations are in order. In fact, we all lost with this award.
Hey everybody-
Hope you all had a good day today. We had a great time today. We called today a "Down Day", which makes it sound terribly un-missional. So, we have renamed today the more appropriate "Recovery Day", because that's exactly what it was - and that's definitely what we were in need of. Between heat exhaustion, dehydration, food poisoning, respiratory problems (and that's just what Christi was suffering from) we all needed some time to gear up for a big weekend.
We spent some time today doing some souvenir pickups and breaking bread together at a Vegetarian restaurant (being a vegetarian would be easy if the food tasted this good). We then came back for some rest and recovery before our evening stuff. Before and after dinner tonight, we came together as a team and worked up 3 brand new things for this weekend. One is a "David and Goliath" skit with C.R. Maude (our 10 year old trooper) playing the role of David and Lee Salley (our 50 year old park ranger) playing the role of Goliath. It is perhaps the funniest version of David and Goliath you've ever seen 14 Americans perform in India ever. In fact, I'd bet money on it. What was amazing, though, isn't so much the skit (though it is pretty good for a few practices), but the amount of fun we had as a team spending time together and working this up. The team has come a long way very quickly in the past 2 weeks and the unity among the team is really special. Thank God for this.
After dinner, the guys and ladies split up. The ladies put together an interpretive dance to "Here I Am to Worship" and the guys pulled together another skit penned by our local theatrical scribe, John Kinsey. We're looking forward to putting these in front of people tomorrow. All in all, a very good night.
Tomorrow, as best we can tell, we'll be doing at least 2 new church dedications and even possibly some outreach events in the evening. Please be in prayer for this as David just told us that both the heat and humidity will be very high and where we are going, there is no electricity/air - so, tomorrow may be the most trying day we've had, weather-wise, since we've been here. With a lot of people having been battling health stuff, we really need the prayer cover to finish strong. In fact, that leads our prayer requests tonight:
1. Please pray for strength and energy to end the mission as well as we began it.
2. Pray that we would have eyes to see the needs around us and that we wouldn't miss the opportunities God gives us
3. Pray a prayer of thanks for David Rajan. He has been beyond hospitable and patient with us. He is one of the Godliest men on the planet and we all need to be thanking God for the work God is doing through him - our "Godfather"
Two more days left. Pray also for our team because earlier in the week I told them that in our sharing time/final debrief tomorrow night they had to answer this question: "Why did God bring you on this mission?". Please pray for clarity in knowing the answer and the ability to carry the lessons and experiences we've had here home.
And pray for Faith. We've already been discussing what to "bring back" with us. We've decided that our role is to give America "heart attacks". But, holy ones. The good kind - won't kill you...just make our faith stronger.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you all and the Kingdom. Your support has been so amazing. We love you guys.
-Jeff
Thursday, June 24, 2010
[Insert Witty Blog Title Here]
Hello Dear Readers,
Greetings, Prayer Warriors and Jesus family members,
(told you I'd double up on the salutations last night).
I apologize for the lack of a decent title for tonight's blog. We'll all collectively come up with something amazing for tomorrow - it will be epic! We had a great day today. This morning, following our Devos (that's Christian hipster slang for "Devotions"), David gave us an overview of the ministry that God has allowed him to lead since 1997. To see how God has used this man is completely amazing. He's helped plant (though, in his completely humble self will tell you he had nothing to do with it - but he was God's appointed instrument) 35 chuches in the last 14 years and, to God's glory, they're seeing 200+ baptisms a year and 500+ conversions a year. I speak for all of the team when I say that we feel entirely humbled that God would allow us the opportunity to see first hand the work He's doing and bless us with the chance to play a very small role in this work. We can't wait to share with all of you what God is doing here and we can't wait to bring you with us next time!
After our morning stuff, we had the opportunity to do some touring around Chennai. Our first stop, for those who were interested, was to pop into the American Embassy and see what's going on there. Report on what's going on: Nothing. It was actually pretty funny though. The process for getting into the embassy is rigid and slow. It might have something to do with not having an appointment, but I'm thinking it had more to do with the fact that when the Embassy guards asked us why we were there, our answer: "We're American tourists and just wanted to see our Embassy". Apparently, this is a new one for them. It's the equivalent of touring the DMV...just without all of the people. And fun. Once we finally got in, we met a nice Embassy employee named David - who, while excited to see some Americans, also couldn't understand why we were "touring" the embassy. All he did was hold the door open for us and then he became our accidental tour guide because we wouldn't stop asking him questions. Then, for the big finale, he took us up to the 2nd floor to see the "Library", which is exactly what it sounds like. It's a library of books on American history and culture. Good to know that even halfway across the world, Americans are nerds.
We followed that up with a visit to St. George's church (which was really cool) - the church where Shirani (David's daughter) and her husband Immanuel got married. THAT was a cool experience to see that place. Beautiful church, beautiful landscaping...very lovely. Then, some of the group went shopping, the others went to see the oldest church in Asia. I was in the former group as I owe my wife jewelry (It's coming, my love).
Our afternoon/evening took us about an hour/hour and a half out into one of the villages for a church dedication. These things are beautiful experiences. The church facilities themselves are very humble (four walls and a doorway) - but I couldn't help but compare to our church. We always talk about, "When we get the next worship center..." and have all of these grand plans (which are fine), but when you saw these people and their excitement over having a 15'x40' building to call their own...it was really moving. And you become so excited for them. Family, we are so completely blessed beyond our needs and we better start realizing this. Though, I am encouraged...if we could find a way to worship as passionately as these Indian believers do in proportion to God's provision and our blessings, we would blow the roof off our church and the Mid-Atlantic region could not contain the Holy Spirit that would be pouring out of us. Let's work on this.
After the church was dedicated, we moved outside for a 30-45 minute program (singing/skits and a message from their pastor). Oh...and get this...Tim did a NEW illusion today! He did both! It was great and he would love for you to ask him to both of them every time you see him upon our return. One of the most beautiful events of the past week or so was that following the message, the Church came forward and asked our team to pray one-on-one with them. It was a beautiful time of worship that transcended the language and cultural barriers. Our Team was the "Church" tonight. Amazing experience. We're still getting over that one.
Tomorrow is a free day/prep day. This weekend, we're ending big. 2-3 more Church dedications and events all day on Sunday. We're going to take in a few sights in the morning, pick up the last few souvenirs and then come back together to pull together some new skits and be ready for a massive weekend of ministry. Please be praying for this.
Along with your prayers, we need to ask you to up your prayers for Christi Maude. She was pretty ill last night and sat out the events of this morning, hoping it would get her rested so that she could participate tonight. Unfortunately, she needed to see a doctor and ended up being admitted into the hospital for a few hours. She was suffering from dehydration. They got her fixed up and she is back with us now resting, but she needs your prayers for healing. We don't want her to have to miss out on this weekend after all the work she's put into this. Thank you in advance.
Our prayer requests tonight:
1. Healing for Christi
2. Strength and energy for the upcoming weekend
3. Creativity in pulling together some new ministry activities
4. Mental/Spiritual energy to end strong
You guys are awesome. Thanks for coming alongside us.
-Jeff
Greetings, Prayer Warriors and Jesus family members,
(told you I'd double up on the salutations last night).
I apologize for the lack of a decent title for tonight's blog. We'll all collectively come up with something amazing for tomorrow - it will be epic! We had a great day today. This morning, following our Devos (that's Christian hipster slang for "Devotions"), David gave us an overview of the ministry that God has allowed him to lead since 1997. To see how God has used this man is completely amazing. He's helped plant (though, in his completely humble self will tell you he had nothing to do with it - but he was God's appointed instrument) 35 chuches in the last 14 years and, to God's glory, they're seeing 200+ baptisms a year and 500+ conversions a year. I speak for all of the team when I say that we feel entirely humbled that God would allow us the opportunity to see first hand the work He's doing and bless us with the chance to play a very small role in this work. We can't wait to share with all of you what God is doing here and we can't wait to bring you with us next time!
After our morning stuff, we had the opportunity to do some touring around Chennai. Our first stop, for those who were interested, was to pop into the American Embassy and see what's going on there. Report on what's going on: Nothing. It was actually pretty funny though. The process for getting into the embassy is rigid and slow. It might have something to do with not having an appointment, but I'm thinking it had more to do with the fact that when the Embassy guards asked us why we were there, our answer: "We're American tourists and just wanted to see our Embassy". Apparently, this is a new one for them. It's the equivalent of touring the DMV...just without all of the people. And fun. Once we finally got in, we met a nice Embassy employee named David - who, while excited to see some Americans, also couldn't understand why we were "touring" the embassy. All he did was hold the door open for us and then he became our accidental tour guide because we wouldn't stop asking him questions. Then, for the big finale, he took us up to the 2nd floor to see the "Library", which is exactly what it sounds like. It's a library of books on American history and culture. Good to know that even halfway across the world, Americans are nerds.
We followed that up with a visit to St. George's church (which was really cool) - the church where Shirani (David's daughter) and her husband Immanuel got married. THAT was a cool experience to see that place. Beautiful church, beautiful landscaping...very lovely. Then, some of the group went shopping, the others went to see the oldest church in Asia. I was in the former group as I owe my wife jewelry (It's coming, my love).
Our afternoon/evening took us about an hour/hour and a half out into one of the villages for a church dedication. These things are beautiful experiences. The church facilities themselves are very humble (four walls and a doorway) - but I couldn't help but compare to our church. We always talk about, "When we get the next worship center..." and have all of these grand plans (which are fine), but when you saw these people and their excitement over having a 15'x40' building to call their own...it was really moving. And you become so excited for them. Family, we are so completely blessed beyond our needs and we better start realizing this. Though, I am encouraged...if we could find a way to worship as passionately as these Indian believers do in proportion to God's provision and our blessings, we would blow the roof off our church and the Mid-Atlantic region could not contain the Holy Spirit that would be pouring out of us. Let's work on this.
After the church was dedicated, we moved outside for a 30-45 minute program (singing/skits and a message from their pastor). Oh...and get this...Tim did a NEW illusion today! He did both! It was great and he would love for you to ask him to both of them every time you see him upon our return. One of the most beautiful events of the past week or so was that following the message, the Church came forward and asked our team to pray one-on-one with them. It was a beautiful time of worship that transcended the language and cultural barriers. Our Team was the "Church" tonight. Amazing experience. We're still getting over that one.
Tomorrow is a free day/prep day. This weekend, we're ending big. 2-3 more Church dedications and events all day on Sunday. We're going to take in a few sights in the morning, pick up the last few souvenirs and then come back together to pull together some new skits and be ready for a massive weekend of ministry. Please be praying for this.
Along with your prayers, we need to ask you to up your prayers for Christi Maude. She was pretty ill last night and sat out the events of this morning, hoping it would get her rested so that she could participate tonight. Unfortunately, she needed to see a doctor and ended up being admitted into the hospital for a few hours. She was suffering from dehydration. They got her fixed up and she is back with us now resting, but she needs your prayers for healing. We don't want her to have to miss out on this weekend after all the work she's put into this. Thank you in advance.
Our prayer requests tonight:
1. Healing for Christi
2. Strength and energy for the upcoming weekend
3. Creativity in pulling together some new ministry activities
4. Mental/Spiritual energy to end strong
You guys are awesome. Thanks for coming alongside us.
-Jeff
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
It's Not The Heat That'll Kill Ya, It's The...No, Wait...It's The Heat
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
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
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Video links from last night
Hey everybody. This is Tim. Jeff is still exercising his practice of Beauty Rest. As we know, he needs much more of it than I do. This affords me the ability to hijack the blog momentarily as Jeff still races to finish his daily quotient of sleep.
In the previous entry, we shared about David and Jonathan leading us in worship and singing some of their favorite songs with the Spirit's leading. I want to share with you those times via YouTube.
Listen carefully to the words. Let God speak to you through the song. As Jeff shared, it may not be your favorite style of music, but the message and the spirit of the song transcends. Please enjoy:
May God bless you all as you continue to serve Him in your everyday lives. We look forward to being with you again and sharing in person all that God has done with us and through us. Not a day has gone by where we have not experienced a massive dose of God's glory here in Chennai.
-Tim
In the previous entry, we shared about David and Jonathan leading us in worship and singing some of their favorite songs with the Spirit's leading. I want to share with you those times via YouTube.
Listen carefully to the words. Let God speak to you through the song. As Jeff shared, it may not be your favorite style of music, but the message and the spirit of the song transcends. Please enjoy:
May God bless you all as you continue to serve Him in your everyday lives. We look forward to being with you again and sharing in person all that God has done with us and through us. Not a day has gone by where we have not experienced a massive dose of God's glory here in Chennai.
-Tim
The Godfather Sang
Oh man, I can't wait to explain the title of this entry. All in good time.
Well, yesterday I said that today was shaping up to be a huge day for us. Ends up, not terribly huge. But amazing. We had three items on our agenda (2 school programs and a village church dedication), but due to some fighting in the area, David felt that we should stay out of the area where the church dedication would be held. We were sad to have missed that opportunity, but again, God, in His provision, knew what we would experience today and what we would need.
We arrived at our first school today - the Jesse Moses School - which is a primarily all-girls Volleyball school. These girls are highly educated and so Father Abraham was a bit beneath them. Because of this, we had to change almost all of our music to more of a worship setting - but your INDIA 2010 Team killed it! We added some songs we hadn't done yet and Christi even had the opportunity (finally...after almost a week of waiting) to sing Thy Word as a solo and the team all joined in at the end. It was great. We had a great time at the school.
After some lunch at the world's most confusing mall, we headed out to our second appointment at the St. George's school nearby. Pretty much everything that the Jesse-Moses School was (orderly, reserved, well-behaved), St. George's school WASN'T. They were insane and hyper and it was awesome. The stage they had was actually the biggest one we've been on and the entire school surrounded the rectangular stage (almost like Theater in the Round...or, Rectangle). This was so much fun because the team got to spread out and lead songs to all the different sides. These kids were screaming, dancing - we had a ball. We did our usual routine (with a couple of adjustments) and it was so much fun. However, it was at 2:30 p.m. In INDIA. We learned a very important lesson today. When you dance and jump around during the massive heat of the day in India...your clothes will be soaking wet. Just to give some perspective, by the time we finished up our hour program, we had to wipe down the guitar I was playing because my sweat was dripping off of the guitar...I mean, it was literally soaked.
But in spite of all of this, your team made you proud. And just because the program was over, ministry didn't stop. John Kinsey went and ministered to about 20-30 older teen guys who surrounded him as he gave his testimony and shared what God had done in his life. Tim got together with a group of students and showed his illusion again. Christi sat on the steps, surrounded by kids, and gave the gospel presentation using her "Salvation Glove". When she was done, four children prayed to receive Christ. Amazing. Absolutely amazing ministry taking place even when everyone was so incredibly drained.
Then, a handful wanted some of the poisoned popsicles the kids had (made with the "no no" water). Fortunately, no one is sick from them. That's what you get for eating popsicles.
With the Church dedication being cancelled, the rest of the evening was free. As a result, we experienced what to me has been my favorite part of the trip to this point. We rested up and spent some time recharging, then around dinner time, everyone started convening downstairs and we got to spend the evening just hanging out with David. He gave us the long version of his testimony (which is absolutely incredible), we had dinner together, had our sharing time and then...The Godfather Sang.
Ok, you've been patient. Time for the explanation. Over the past week plus, we have noticed a trend wherever David Rajan goes. First, he's always the best dressed person everywhere. Second, no matter what the setting, he always has a chair that people get him. He's hardly ever on stage, and instead sits off to the side or in the back just watching everything going on. Yet, if you look around, you get the sense David runs everything, no matter where he goes. For instance, today, we were in a store buying some authentic, home-made shirts from India. We head to the cash register and David walks over, grabs the employee "swivel seat" and makes himself at home like he owns the place (which, in fact, he just might). So, because of this, he has earned the nickname "The Godfather", because we legitimately believe he is the "Godfather" of India. He's done nothing to downplay this distinction either, as evidenced by his posing for "Godfather" pictures while we were meeting with the Headmaster of St. George's (a time for seriousness). But what does David care? Who's the Headmaster to him when he's The Godfather? By the way, for any of you who only know David as the humble missionary servant of God who is responsible for planting 35+ churches in India, know this: David Rajan is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet - get him "at home" and he is off the charts hysterical.
So, after sharing time tonight, everyone pressures David to sing us a song or two. David grabs the guitar, handsome Indian heartthrob Johnathon grabs the other one, and they lead us in a few songs. But here's the thing I NEVER expected....David is well versed in the style of old-time country gospel. Yes, Country-Western gospel is David's style of choice. I will give you a minute to wrap your minds around this.
Ok, so, we're sitting around his living room as he performs a mini-concert for us singing old-time country gospel songs (my favorite: "On My Mother's Side") and it was my favorite moment of the trip and most likely will not lose that distinction to anything else that could possibly come up between now and the time we leave. First, David has an incredibly gorgeous voice. Second, the song itself was amazing (and I'm not a fan of the country-western - but this song moved me to tears). The "concert" went on for a few more worship songs but as it was getting late, we had to wind things down. But knowing that The Godfather was so talented and time with him is so much fun, I can't wait for the next concert. Fortunately, Tim grabbed a few of the songs on his phone and we are working on getting them uploaded onto YouTube. Links will be made available as soon as we get it up.
As far as tomorrow, things have had to change. Hey, like we've learned to say, "It's India". Ends up, the government has shut everything down from tomorrow through Friday. This means all of the events we had planned are kind of out the window. But every time God changed our plans by removing a scheduled event, He always had a reason - and we can't wait to see what it is. So, it looks like tomorrow will be a "Down Day". We have plans tomorrow to do some sightseeing with David, maybe a little shopping....and see where the Lord leads. Tomorrow night, we're planning on hearing from David all about the churches he's worked on and planted in India. It's going to be a great time of fellowship and celebration.
So, even though tomorrow is a "down day", we need your prayers:
1. For continued health of the team - please keep Lee Salley in your prayers as he turned his ankle pretty good heading down the stairs - it hasn't affected his ability to participate, but he sure is hurting.
2. For divine appointments/opportunities that we can't even begin to anticipate
3. Praising God for His work at the schools and the lives that were changed for Jesus.
Thanks guys. I'm going to go sign off now. Lee is snoring like...well, something that snores a lot...and Tim is about to go do something to punish him for continuing to keep us all from getting a goodnight's sleep. Gotta grab the camera phone....see ya tomorrow!
-Jeff
Well, yesterday I said that today was shaping up to be a huge day for us. Ends up, not terribly huge. But amazing. We had three items on our agenda (2 school programs and a village church dedication), but due to some fighting in the area, David felt that we should stay out of the area where the church dedication would be held. We were sad to have missed that opportunity, but again, God, in His provision, knew what we would experience today and what we would need.
We arrived at our first school today - the Jesse Moses School - which is a primarily all-girls Volleyball school. These girls are highly educated and so Father Abraham was a bit beneath them. Because of this, we had to change almost all of our music to more of a worship setting - but your INDIA 2010 Team killed it! We added some songs we hadn't done yet and Christi even had the opportunity (finally...after almost a week of waiting) to sing Thy Word as a solo and the team all joined in at the end. It was great. We had a great time at the school.
After some lunch at the world's most confusing mall, we headed out to our second appointment at the St. George's school nearby. Pretty much everything that the Jesse-Moses School was (orderly, reserved, well-behaved), St. George's school WASN'T. They were insane and hyper and it was awesome. The stage they had was actually the biggest one we've been on and the entire school surrounded the rectangular stage (almost like Theater in the Round...or, Rectangle). This was so much fun because the team got to spread out and lead songs to all the different sides. These kids were screaming, dancing - we had a ball. We did our usual routine (with a couple of adjustments) and it was so much fun. However, it was at 2:30 p.m. In INDIA. We learned a very important lesson today. When you dance and jump around during the massive heat of the day in India...your clothes will be soaking wet. Just to give some perspective, by the time we finished up our hour program, we had to wipe down the guitar I was playing because my sweat was dripping off of the guitar...I mean, it was literally soaked.
But in spite of all of this, your team made you proud. And just because the program was over, ministry didn't stop. John Kinsey went and ministered to about 20-30 older teen guys who surrounded him as he gave his testimony and shared what God had done in his life. Tim got together with a group of students and showed his illusion again. Christi sat on the steps, surrounded by kids, and gave the gospel presentation using her "Salvation Glove". When she was done, four children prayed to receive Christ. Amazing. Absolutely amazing ministry taking place even when everyone was so incredibly drained.
Then, a handful wanted some of the poisoned popsicles the kids had (made with the "no no" water). Fortunately, no one is sick from them. That's what you get for eating popsicles.
With the Church dedication being cancelled, the rest of the evening was free. As a result, we experienced what to me has been my favorite part of the trip to this point. We rested up and spent some time recharging, then around dinner time, everyone started convening downstairs and we got to spend the evening just hanging out with David. He gave us the long version of his testimony (which is absolutely incredible), we had dinner together, had our sharing time and then...The Godfather Sang.
Ok, you've been patient. Time for the explanation. Over the past week plus, we have noticed a trend wherever David Rajan goes. First, he's always the best dressed person everywhere. Second, no matter what the setting, he always has a chair that people get him. He's hardly ever on stage, and instead sits off to the side or in the back just watching everything going on. Yet, if you look around, you get the sense David runs everything, no matter where he goes. For instance, today, we were in a store buying some authentic, home-made shirts from India. We head to the cash register and David walks over, grabs the employee "swivel seat" and makes himself at home like he owns the place (which, in fact, he just might). So, because of this, he has earned the nickname "The Godfather", because we legitimately believe he is the "Godfather" of India. He's done nothing to downplay this distinction either, as evidenced by his posing for "Godfather" pictures while we were meeting with the Headmaster of St. George's (a time for seriousness). But what does David care? Who's the Headmaster to him when he's The Godfather? By the way, for any of you who only know David as the humble missionary servant of God who is responsible for planting 35+ churches in India, know this: David Rajan is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet - get him "at home" and he is off the charts hysterical.
So, after sharing time tonight, everyone pressures David to sing us a song or two. David grabs the guitar, handsome Indian heartthrob Johnathon grabs the other one, and they lead us in a few songs. But here's the thing I NEVER expected....David is well versed in the style of old-time country gospel. Yes, Country-Western gospel is David's style of choice. I will give you a minute to wrap your minds around this.
Ok, so, we're sitting around his living room as he performs a mini-concert for us singing old-time country gospel songs (my favorite: "On My Mother's Side") and it was my favorite moment of the trip and most likely will not lose that distinction to anything else that could possibly come up between now and the time we leave. First, David has an incredibly gorgeous voice. Second, the song itself was amazing (and I'm not a fan of the country-western - but this song moved me to tears). The "concert" went on for a few more worship songs but as it was getting late, we had to wind things down. But knowing that The Godfather was so talented and time with him is so much fun, I can't wait for the next concert. Fortunately, Tim grabbed a few of the songs on his phone and we are working on getting them uploaded onto YouTube. Links will be made available as soon as we get it up.
As far as tomorrow, things have had to change. Hey, like we've learned to say, "It's India". Ends up, the government has shut everything down from tomorrow through Friday. This means all of the events we had planned are kind of out the window. But every time God changed our plans by removing a scheduled event, He always had a reason - and we can't wait to see what it is. So, it looks like tomorrow will be a "Down Day". We have plans tomorrow to do some sightseeing with David, maybe a little shopping....and see where the Lord leads. Tomorrow night, we're planning on hearing from David all about the churches he's worked on and planted in India. It's going to be a great time of fellowship and celebration.
So, even though tomorrow is a "down day", we need your prayers:
1. For continued health of the team - please keep Lee Salley in your prayers as he turned his ankle pretty good heading down the stairs - it hasn't affected his ability to participate, but he sure is hurting.
2. For divine appointments/opportunities that we can't even begin to anticipate
3. Praising God for His work at the schools and the lives that were changed for Jesus.
Thanks guys. I'm going to go sign off now. Lee is snoring like...well, something that snores a lot...and Tim is about to go do something to punish him for continuing to keep us all from getting a goodnight's sleep. Gotta grab the camera phone....see ya tomorrow!
-Jeff
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