friday is here which means saturday brings with it a chance to rest, relax and spend more time with people. did a workshop on back care with the community ladies today and said good bye to some regular patients. God is good :) got to visit the city palace. India has soooo much history! I was standing there at the highest point of the palace looking out over the city...big houses, small houses, many houses...squeezed together, spaced out, all fit together on this barren yet beautiful land...all of Udaipur lay there, spread out before my eyes and all of a sudden it hit me again. I wondered how many people in this city knew Him as Saviour. I wondered how many homes are alight in His joy. the magnitude of those that do not know Christ. so many men, women, children. and yet Udaipur is ONE city in ONE nation. there are so many more cities in so many more nations. the earth is full of unreached peoples and unreached lands. there is SO much work to be done. SO many people waiting for answers. there really needs to be more people that will leave everything to follow Him into these unreached communities spread out all over the world.
joined a community women's cell group that meets quite often. wow. these are hungry women. women that yearn to know Christ more. from as young as 16 to as old as 60. they were all there for Him. women that have such great testimonies of deliverance. one of them was describing Jesus visiting her as she lay totally sick. Immediately she was healed of her sickness. got to encourage them about being prayer warriors for their families because most of them are the first to believe. had a great time of prayer and fellowship. really want to get to know their families more. can't wait to see their children reached and their relationships restored!
love the walk back from the clinic. I am getting used to the fragnance of cow dung, and i say fragnance because it really is a unique smell that India is incomplete without :) coming back to the base always fills me with much joy. seeing children and students alike scurrying along with their plates to get dinner, others warming themselves by the fire, and yet others studying in the library. this place is so unlike any other. alive with the hope, love and joy of Christ. :) another beautiful night in Udaipur, He dwells in this camp! :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Banjarra basti...
small brick and mud houses squeezed into a tiny bit of space, flies everywhere, cows, goats and chickens sharing the same living space as the humans, smoke filling the air from the many fires lit around the place, some for cooking, others to keep the people warm. this is banjarra basti, which means community of gypsies. they live on the side of a busy road with nothing more than a few possessions. the kids had eye infections, scabies and a whole range of other stuff. the adults seemed to care more about their children being able to make a living rather than going to school. some of the kids were encouraged to beg. one of the little girls was copying something in a book. when we looked closer it was something in english. however she had no idea of what she was writing, how to pronounce it, or even what it meant. it was so heartbreaking. but i looked into her eyes and i must say they were the most beautiful little pair of eyes i have since after having set foot on this land. despite the hopelessness surrounding her, there was a spark, a hope, a tiny flame in her eyes that could someday become the fire of Jesus. her smile so precious. i found a reason to rejoice in that moment, as I realised that the love of Christ can be birthed even in the midst of nothingness. right there, in the middle of their tough circumstances, these children sang us about 4 songs about Jesus and the depth of His love. none of them know Him personally yet, not the kids, not the adults. but they knew the song, they knew the lyrics and they remembered the actions. the greatest lesson that Jesus has taught me this week is that even in a wilderness, springs of water and fruits can germinate. that the hope and love of Jesus is so great, that barrenness is not a barrier. as we were leaving, an elder was ringing a bell in front of an idol shrine. i remembered something i read once. love is the greatest weapon for overcoming the works of the enemy. and today love had been preached. sometimes you cant see how God can or when God will but you just have to trust that He knows these people and He cares for them. and because of that He will make a way for them to know Him in His time. all you can do is plant seeds and pray hard. all you can do is avail yourself to His purposes. the rest of the work is the Holy Spirit's. this has been such a hard lesson for me to learn, to be able to be still and know that He is God in their lives, as much as in my life. as we drove back to the base, i suddenly realised the magnitude of India's population. there are people everywhere. so many. the guy that sits in his shop watching traffic pass, the lady at the side of the road selling vegetables to make a living, the children walking/cycling back from school. such a great magnitude of people. just living. just living without knowing the love of Christ. how do we reach them and the countless others was my question. and the Lord's answer was simple. one by one. step by step. i've always been someone that wants to reach the many without having to reach the one. God is going to teach me to be available for just one in this season. precious lessons.
will be going back to this community every tuesday as of next week. have also been quite busy helping out at the clinic that the church runs. it provides free services, except for some medicines, which are mostly subsidized. the walk there is short but quite dusty. nevertheless very beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop. being a translator is quite interesting. you always have to phrase your sentences before you can speak em. but i am learning the art :) many precious people have come in for treatment. most expect to be instantly cured. but i constantly have to explain to them that peter is just a bone and muscles person hehe. there have been many opportunities to listen, and share the gospel, especially with those that have little or no hope from being cured of stuff they have had all their lives. a particularly sad story was that of an old man who came in totally limping, with really bad posture. he said not a single word as we tried to speak to him. we figured his diet wasnt adequate and his joint pains could be because of his old age. It is only later that we found out he was from a village, where his daughter in law regularly beat him and hardly fed him. she beat him until the point where he had to have an operation to stop him from going blind. this is just one story. there are so many unheard stories. so many untold stories. everyday someone, a child, a mum or a father dies in these little communities and villages. sigh. but there have been rays of hope too. one old man we saw on the second day came in to see us again today to do a follow up on his exercises. it means so much to know that we really are making a difference in someone's life just by doing some simple exercises with them. it makes me think again, there is so much in the west we take for granted. please pray for us as we minister to people that come to the clinic. there are some we have seen that are heavily oppressed. please pray that we'd be able to bring the presence of Jesus into this clinic and into such lives. that we'd find favour in the eyes of the community surrounding the base, so that they can open up and trust us with their lives. pray that we'd have open doors to share the Gospel with each one who comes, how the Spirit leads. an encouraging testimony is that a lot of the muslim folk come to the clinic. this really could be a way of reaching out to them. in fact i'm sure it is. this clinic is in a neighbourhood full of muslims and God has such a great heart for these people. pray that we'd be able to build some solid and strong relationships with the muslim men and women and especially the children, so that Christ can draw them to Him through us. a young muslim man who was bound to many addictions decided that enough is enough and wants to live a new life. he's been coming to the church. oh the joy of victories :)
over and out from Udaipur! :D
ps: life here really is incomplete without a hot cup of chai! :)
will be going back to this community every tuesday as of next week. have also been quite busy helping out at the clinic that the church runs. it provides free services, except for some medicines, which are mostly subsidized. the walk there is short but quite dusty. nevertheless very beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop. being a translator is quite interesting. you always have to phrase your sentences before you can speak em. but i am learning the art :) many precious people have come in for treatment. most expect to be instantly cured. but i constantly have to explain to them that peter is just a bone and muscles person hehe. there have been many opportunities to listen, and share the gospel, especially with those that have little or no hope from being cured of stuff they have had all their lives. a particularly sad story was that of an old man who came in totally limping, with really bad posture. he said not a single word as we tried to speak to him. we figured his diet wasnt adequate and his joint pains could be because of his old age. It is only later that we found out he was from a village, where his daughter in law regularly beat him and hardly fed him. she beat him until the point where he had to have an operation to stop him from going blind. this is just one story. there are so many unheard stories. so many untold stories. everyday someone, a child, a mum or a father dies in these little communities and villages. sigh. but there have been rays of hope too. one old man we saw on the second day came in to see us again today to do a follow up on his exercises. it means so much to know that we really are making a difference in someone's life just by doing some simple exercises with them. it makes me think again, there is so much in the west we take for granted. please pray for us as we minister to people that come to the clinic. there are some we have seen that are heavily oppressed. please pray that we'd be able to bring the presence of Jesus into this clinic and into such lives. that we'd find favour in the eyes of the community surrounding the base, so that they can open up and trust us with their lives. pray that we'd have open doors to share the Gospel with each one who comes, how the Spirit leads. an encouraging testimony is that a lot of the muslim folk come to the clinic. this really could be a way of reaching out to them. in fact i'm sure it is. this clinic is in a neighbourhood full of muslims and God has such a great heart for these people. pray that we'd be able to build some solid and strong relationships with the muslim men and women and especially the children, so that Christ can draw them to Him through us. a young muslim man who was bound to many addictions decided that enough is enough and wants to live a new life. he's been coming to the church. oh the joy of victories :)
over and out from Udaipur! :D
ps: life here really is incomplete without a hot cup of chai! :)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Peter's update (part one)
I left Perth at 6am and arrived in Kualu Lumpur (Malaysia) in good time. After checking in for my next flight I realised that the plane to Kolkata was delayed by about 2.5 hrs so I arrived in Kolkata just as my flight to Mumbai was due to leave. Fortunately nothing in India departs as scheduled so I ended up making the flight and having about another 2 hr wait. I got out of the airport for a short walk and smelt the smells of India. The air is heavy with woodfire smoke, petrol fumes, refuse and an indescribable mixture of unique smells. I also managed to purchase the most precious of rare commodities in India- a coca cola. The flight to Mumbai was great, awesome food and awesome service and I ended up landing in Mumbai at about midnight before the experience of a 30 km ride into the centre of town in a taxi. This was my first experience of the Indian roads and my driver was both extremely skillful and extremely crazy. There don't appear to be any road rules and people overtake and cut each other off with only centimetres to spare. And there are bikes and motorbikes everywhere sneaking into all the little gaps in the traffic they can find. It seems that the most polite thing to do while driving is honk your horn as much as possible to let everyone know that you're coming past. You don't wait for a gap in the traffic to turn or pull out from the side of the road but just pull out and expect the other drivers to slam on the brakes or swerve to miss you. I must admit that instead of being scared by it I was actually thrilled by the risk and skill displayed in the very quick journey. Upon arriving in central Mumbai I found a hotel for a few hours sleep.
I was woken in the morning by the sound of the 5am call to prayer blasting from a loudspeaker just outside my window (the sound came in via the air-conditioner which in my drowsy state had me confused for a little while). There was no sleep after that and I made the short trip to the train station at 7am ready to board the train to Surat. It turned out that the train had been delayed for 5 hours so my taxi driver took me to see the Gateway to India which is just outside the hotel that was bombed last year. He was a nice guy and was going to take me to see most of the sights in Mumbai (and probably make a lot of money from it) but I really had to get to Surat asap to meet Ziech so I could join the rest of the team. So it was back to the station where I managed to buy another ticket for an earlier train which took about 5 hours to get to Surat passing through some beautiful country but also some slum areas. It seems to me that there are very few buildings in India that have finished being constructed. Most building either look half finished or in a state of disrepair. I wonder what will be left in another 10 years from now. My train trip was kept interesting by the constant stream of vendors walking up and down the carriages selling Chai, different foods and weird odds and ends like toys and locks. I also managed to be propositioned by a couple of transvestites and a group of child beggars sat next to me for half an hour tapping me on the arm and pressing their foreheads against my legs after I gave one of them some money. I had paid a little bit extra for a 2nd class sleeper ticket but most of the time different passengers came and sat on my bed so the few minutes when I could lie flat were a luxury.
If I thought the beggars on the train were bad the beggars at the station in Surat were terrible. I had about a 45 minute wait for Ziech who was coming by bus and a crowd of young kids crowded around me poking at me and touching their fingers to their lips asking for food. The tragedy is that most of them will be working for someone else so any money you give them will go straight to someone who is making a lot of money. I gave one of them some popcorn and was shocked at their cheek when they said that wanted my coke as well! Anyway, Ziech arrived soon enough and we just made next bus to Navapur which was about a 3 hour drive. The bus driver was nuts. We were driving on a road with one lane in each direction and at one point he overtook a car which was overtaking a truck with oncoming traffic. Imagine three vehicle side by side heading in the same direction on a road with just two lanes and with cars and buses fast approaching from the other direction. Ziech and I were thankful that the driver was in the worst position but there were many times that he just swerved back onto the correct side of the road with a split second to spare. This is driving with no margin for error. We were spooked after passing a truck on the side of the road with the whole front end buckled inwards but we made it to Navapur safely. Ziech was due to preach that night in a village church and we were running late so we quickly got in a tuktuk (a small 3 wheeled motor-rickshaw that is less powerful than my little postie-bike) and made the 10 minute journey to the little village where we were staying. Almost immediately we were on the back of motorbikes and heading to another village where the rest of the team were already leading worship. During the 15 minutes on the bike there was a stream of tears flowing from my eyes which I don't know whether to attribute to the smokey, dusty air or a sense of peace from God knowing that I was in the right place with a group of beautiful people. Although we were late Ziech and I had to have a cup of chai with the village pastor before joining the team for the last worship song. The team then did a drama performance (the Lifehouse 'Everything' skit) before Fenny and Cindy did a dance to Casting Crown's 'Who am I' telling of how unworthy we are that we have a God who cares for us individually. Then Ziech preached an awesome message challenging the local believers and encouraging some of the non-Christian visitors. It must be hard to be a non-Christian in the villages surrounding Navapur because 90% of the villagers are Christian and strong and passionate in their faith. More than 30 years ago there was a great revival so many of the Christians are second and now third generation believers.
We went back to the village where we were staying in a school bus so I had a change to catch up with all the happenings of the rest of the team. Then it was time for dinner and planning for the next day which was a Sunday. We were splitting up into three groups and preaching in three different village churches whilst also running the childrens churches. I was teamed up with Andre to preach in the local church so I definitely had some preparing to do. We were staying in a grand buliding owned by the missions organisation with three storeys with high ceilings and wide corridors. It stood out from the bark and clay huts that make up the village houses and the rough unfinished concrete building that was the local school. The building housed an orphanage and a bible college and we had rooms on the third floor where my room had light and power during the day but nothing at night. So after dinner I headed back to my room got out my computer and started preparing a message to follow on from what Andre was sharing. I planned to share about continuing on in faith and being like Caleb who at 80 years of age was still just as willing to fight for God as he was when he returned from scouting the promised land with the other 11 spies and encouraged them to be obedient to God and take the land. Unfortunately I fell asleep almost as soon as I started preparing and woke in the morning totally unprepared with my computer on my lap. In the 30 mins I had before heading off to the church I wrote down some scriptures and when it came to my turn to speak I just spoke as I was led and everything seemed to fit together. There were about 200 villagers packed into the little church which had a ceiling draped with most beautiful cut paper decorations of every bright colour imaginable. So beautiful. The message was well received and afterwards we went back to the college for lunch where gradually the rest of the team arrived back.
The rest of the 3 days that I was with the team in Navapur went by with a rush. We were busy with so many things. Each morning different members of the team would wake at 5:30 and do devotions with the orphanage kids and one morning I joined Andre for his sharing to the boys and ended up telling them the story of Jonah and the big fish. We also did sharings with them during the day and one time Fenny felt lead to teach them about how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples so then we washed the feet of all the kids who were old enough to understand. It was really hard because so many of them objected to letting us wash their feet because it went totally against their culture but we finally managed to have about 25 pairs of clean feet and were then blessed when they washed our feet in return. On the last night in Navapur we were invited to the birthday party of the young daughter of the overseeing pastor of the Bible college. We sang some songs in Hindi and then sang some of our loudest and fastest English Christian songs before Ziech shared a challenging message about going where God has called and taking advantage of the gift of our youth. It was an awesome evening and an interesting introduction to the Indian Christian culture of sharing a message during a birthday party. Afterwards back where we were staying we had a worship and thanksgiving session to give God the glory for what had happened during the trip. On the final day in Navapur Fenny, Simon, Cindy and I made a trip to the local school and taught a geography lesson and a back-care lessons to two of the classes. Fenny did a great job with the back-care lesson she had prepared. Later I was lucky enough to hear the last message in a three sermon series on evangelism that Esther had prepared for the Bible college students. We also had the opportunity to pray for them as they were coming to a time where they needed to decide in which area they were going to serve the Lord and they returned the favour and prayed for us as well. I then managed to find some time to explore the little village with Ziech and Andre before heading back to my room to pack and preparing to leave.
The kids in Navapur were so beautiful and really made it hard for us to leave but after some group photos we piled into two 4WDs and made the trip back into Surat where the team were boarding a train to Delhi. It was a fun trip for a few of us in the back seat who sang songs and made a nuisance of ourselves most of the way. On arrival to Surat the 4WD carrying Gagan and me had a detour to visit a local pastor who had booked us some bus tickets to Udaipur on the overnight bus. We made it to the station about 20 minutes before the train was to leave but there was a short lived scare when we got an incorrect report that the train had been delayed for 6 hours. Even though it was now about 7pm the child beggars were making a nuisance of themselves and again weren't pleased with the food that Gagan gave them. The team made if off ok but not before a brief moment of panic for Gagan and myself when she suddenly couldn't find the tickets for our bus trip. I made a decision to never let Gee look after any tickets or other valuables while we were travelling :-) Anyway, she eventually found the tickets and we were dropped off at the bus stop where we were constantly comparing the number plates of the buses arriving with the number on the ticket. We caught our bus easily enough and I had a sleeper compartment which is a 1.7 by .7 metre compartment with just enough room for me to lie flat with my feet touching one end and my head a couple of centimetres from the other end. Gee had gone budget and just had a seat so while I managed to get 9 hours of sleep during the 10 hour overnight journey she didn't get much at all. The streets in Udaipur were quiet when we arrived early in the morning and we quickly found a tuktuk who took us to the Bible college here and overcharged us a lot for the pleasure. Most people were still asleep so we sat on the verandah outside the main building softly playing guitar as it became light and people started appearing. There is such a peace in this place. It's hard to think that it's the hub of an organisation that has planted over 1500 churches throughout northern India. It's like a little oasis in the craziness that is India. And it's such a blessing to be here.
I was woken in the morning by the sound of the 5am call to prayer blasting from a loudspeaker just outside my window (the sound came in via the air-conditioner which in my drowsy state had me confused for a little while). There was no sleep after that and I made the short trip to the train station at 7am ready to board the train to Surat. It turned out that the train had been delayed for 5 hours so my taxi driver took me to see the Gateway to India which is just outside the hotel that was bombed last year. He was a nice guy and was going to take me to see most of the sights in Mumbai (and probably make a lot of money from it) but I really had to get to Surat asap to meet Ziech so I could join the rest of the team. So it was back to the station where I managed to buy another ticket for an earlier train which took about 5 hours to get to Surat passing through some beautiful country but also some slum areas. It seems to me that there are very few buildings in India that have finished being constructed. Most building either look half finished or in a state of disrepair. I wonder what will be left in another 10 years from now. My train trip was kept interesting by the constant stream of vendors walking up and down the carriages selling Chai, different foods and weird odds and ends like toys and locks. I also managed to be propositioned by a couple of transvestites and a group of child beggars sat next to me for half an hour tapping me on the arm and pressing their foreheads against my legs after I gave one of them some money. I had paid a little bit extra for a 2nd class sleeper ticket but most of the time different passengers came and sat on my bed so the few minutes when I could lie flat were a luxury.
If I thought the beggars on the train were bad the beggars at the station in Surat were terrible. I had about a 45 minute wait for Ziech who was coming by bus and a crowd of young kids crowded around me poking at me and touching their fingers to their lips asking for food. The tragedy is that most of them will be working for someone else so any money you give them will go straight to someone who is making a lot of money. I gave one of them some popcorn and was shocked at their cheek when they said that wanted my coke as well! Anyway, Ziech arrived soon enough and we just made next bus to Navapur which was about a 3 hour drive. The bus driver was nuts. We were driving on a road with one lane in each direction and at one point he overtook a car which was overtaking a truck with oncoming traffic. Imagine three vehicle side by side heading in the same direction on a road with just two lanes and with cars and buses fast approaching from the other direction. Ziech and I were thankful that the driver was in the worst position but there were many times that he just swerved back onto the correct side of the road with a split second to spare. This is driving with no margin for error. We were spooked after passing a truck on the side of the road with the whole front end buckled inwards but we made it to Navapur safely. Ziech was due to preach that night in a village church and we were running late so we quickly got in a tuktuk (a small 3 wheeled motor-rickshaw that is less powerful than my little postie-bike) and made the 10 minute journey to the little village where we were staying. Almost immediately we were on the back of motorbikes and heading to another village where the rest of the team were already leading worship. During the 15 minutes on the bike there was a stream of tears flowing from my eyes which I don't know whether to attribute to the smokey, dusty air or a sense of peace from God knowing that I was in the right place with a group of beautiful people. Although we were late Ziech and I had to have a cup of chai with the village pastor before joining the team for the last worship song. The team then did a drama performance (the Lifehouse 'Everything' skit) before Fenny and Cindy did a dance to Casting Crown's 'Who am I' telling of how unworthy we are that we have a God who cares for us individually. Then Ziech preached an awesome message challenging the local believers and encouraging some of the non-Christian visitors. It must be hard to be a non-Christian in the villages surrounding Navapur because 90% of the villagers are Christian and strong and passionate in their faith. More than 30 years ago there was a great revival so many of the Christians are second and now third generation believers.
We went back to the village where we were staying in a school bus so I had a change to catch up with all the happenings of the rest of the team. Then it was time for dinner and planning for the next day which was a Sunday. We were splitting up into three groups and preaching in three different village churches whilst also running the childrens churches. I was teamed up with Andre to preach in the local church so I definitely had some preparing to do. We were staying in a grand buliding owned by the missions organisation with three storeys with high ceilings and wide corridors. It stood out from the bark and clay huts that make up the village houses and the rough unfinished concrete building that was the local school. The building housed an orphanage and a bible college and we had rooms on the third floor where my room had light and power during the day but nothing at night. So after dinner I headed back to my room got out my computer and started preparing a message to follow on from what Andre was sharing. I planned to share about continuing on in faith and being like Caleb who at 80 years of age was still just as willing to fight for God as he was when he returned from scouting the promised land with the other 11 spies and encouraged them to be obedient to God and take the land. Unfortunately I fell asleep almost as soon as I started preparing and woke in the morning totally unprepared with my computer on my lap. In the 30 mins I had before heading off to the church I wrote down some scriptures and when it came to my turn to speak I just spoke as I was led and everything seemed to fit together. There were about 200 villagers packed into the little church which had a ceiling draped with most beautiful cut paper decorations of every bright colour imaginable. So beautiful. The message was well received and afterwards we went back to the college for lunch where gradually the rest of the team arrived back.
The rest of the 3 days that I was with the team in Navapur went by with a rush. We were busy with so many things. Each morning different members of the team would wake at 5:30 and do devotions with the orphanage kids and one morning I joined Andre for his sharing to the boys and ended up telling them the story of Jonah and the big fish. We also did sharings with them during the day and one time Fenny felt lead to teach them about how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples so then we washed the feet of all the kids who were old enough to understand. It was really hard because so many of them objected to letting us wash their feet because it went totally against their culture but we finally managed to have about 25 pairs of clean feet and were then blessed when they washed our feet in return. On the last night in Navapur we were invited to the birthday party of the young daughter of the overseeing pastor of the Bible college. We sang some songs in Hindi and then sang some of our loudest and fastest English Christian songs before Ziech shared a challenging message about going where God has called and taking advantage of the gift of our youth. It was an awesome evening and an interesting introduction to the Indian Christian culture of sharing a message during a birthday party. Afterwards back where we were staying we had a worship and thanksgiving session to give God the glory for what had happened during the trip. On the final day in Navapur Fenny, Simon, Cindy and I made a trip to the local school and taught a geography lesson and a back-care lessons to two of the classes. Fenny did a great job with the back-care lesson she had prepared. Later I was lucky enough to hear the last message in a three sermon series on evangelism that Esther had prepared for the Bible college students. We also had the opportunity to pray for them as they were coming to a time where they needed to decide in which area they were going to serve the Lord and they returned the favour and prayed for us as well. I then managed to find some time to explore the little village with Ziech and Andre before heading back to my room to pack and preparing to leave.
The kids in Navapur were so beautiful and really made it hard for us to leave but after some group photos we piled into two 4WDs and made the trip back into Surat where the team were boarding a train to Delhi. It was a fun trip for a few of us in the back seat who sang songs and made a nuisance of ourselves most of the way. On arrival to Surat the 4WD carrying Gagan and me had a detour to visit a local pastor who had booked us some bus tickets to Udaipur on the overnight bus. We made it to the station about 20 minutes before the train was to leave but there was a short lived scare when we got an incorrect report that the train had been delayed for 6 hours. Even though it was now about 7pm the child beggars were making a nuisance of themselves and again weren't pleased with the food that Gagan gave them. The team made if off ok but not before a brief moment of panic for Gagan and myself when she suddenly couldn't find the tickets for our bus trip. I made a decision to never let Gee look after any tickets or other valuables while we were travelling :-) Anyway, she eventually found the tickets and we were dropped off at the bus stop where we were constantly comparing the number plates of the buses arriving with the number on the ticket. We caught our bus easily enough and I had a sleeper compartment which is a 1.7 by .7 metre compartment with just enough room for me to lie flat with my feet touching one end and my head a couple of centimetres from the other end. Gee had gone budget and just had a seat so while I managed to get 9 hours of sleep during the 10 hour overnight journey she didn't get much at all. The streets in Udaipur were quiet when we arrived early in the morning and we quickly found a tuktuk who took us to the Bible college here and overcharged us a lot for the pleasure. Most people were still asleep so we sat on the verandah outside the main building softly playing guitar as it became light and people started appearing. There is such a peace in this place. It's hard to think that it's the hub of an organisation that has planted over 1500 churches throughout northern India. It's like a little oasis in the craziness that is India. And it's such a blessing to be here.
sunday worship service
Sunday service here is so saturated in the Spirit! we were encouraged to pursue and seek God for Him. not for the manifestations that come with knowing Him or the gifts, but to seek His face alone. often worship can be about our instruments or our voices, but this morning the Lord reminded us that all it really should be is a response of your heart to the beating of His. your response for what He has done on the cross for you. your response to the blood that was shed on the cross. your response to Him for being alive and sanctified. wow. seeing the lil kids dance down the front was so precious! the message was by a visiting pastor from the south. he spoke about the white garments of righteousness mentioned in the book of revelations. he spoke about how its not just something we are going to have in Heaven, but that we can have those garments of righteousness here on earth too. the destination is set, but the road starts here. let's not wait till we get there to be all that He tells us we can be. we can be that here. today. right now. one thing he emphasized was that Holiness comes at a price. it costs. so true. there is a price that those that follow Christ pay. however, everything lost is nothing in comparison to what is gained, more of Him. like it says in the Word, "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain". really everything fades as Christ increases! Peter made his grand debut with his song (Lord I give my life), written and composed by him, during offering time. here's a snippet of it. enjoy the clip and keep us in prayer! its going to be a longgg and busyyyy week! activities planned are the clinic, school, teaching dance and devotions with college students together with a few spontaneous things here and there...please pray especially that admist all the busyness and prep, we'd be able to have meaningful fellowship with the Lord in our personal devotion times. in order to minister to them, we need to draw from the Living Waters ourselves... many of the congregations here are coming together tmrw night at one place. i'm excited! the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is going to do some MIGHTY things!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Mount Abu and sight seeing!
greetings to you from chilly Udaipur!!
so we set off on friday at 7.30am for Mount Abu,(cold but beautiful morning, which is about 2 and a half hours from the base. we joined the UK medical team for a day of seeing sick villagers that live at the foothills of the mountain. the most amazing thing was that this was the first time such a thing had been done in that region!! we drove along these beautiful Rajasthani plains on a smooth road (exceptional for India) through ancient rock...sunrise over this landscape was one of the best i've ever seen!...so we got there and set up at a local believer's house... we saw more than 120 patients. most people asked for prayer afterwards! there was A LOT of happy kids afterwards. its amazing how we take basic health care for granted and how happy these villagers were even just to get a wound cleaned up. it was the FIRST medical camp in their area and it was such a blessing to them and to us. our team leader presented a talk to the ladies on basic health care and hygiene...a meal was prepared for us at the end of the afternoon and it was horrifying to know how much chilli had gone into the curry!!! seriously a plate FULL of chilli was crushed and put into the curry. but we didnt want to be offensive so we just had to be of good courage and down it haha...one of the guys from the medical team was literally in tears at the end of it!! we left behind a lot of happy villagers and it was really good to see the lil kids smile...to see joy in empty eyes and painful faces... :) it would be sooo good to go back there someday!!! had to had to stop at a local chai stop on the way back! :) no road trip in India is compplete without one! :)
after getting a good night's sleep and recovering from all stomach issues we headed into town today to celebrate a birthday and do some exploring. after touring the serene queen's gardens we hung out at a local ice cream shop. was really good icecream and really good service! can you imagine having a double scoop cookies and cream sundae with butter scotch sauce and a whole heap of other stuff in it for just 35 rupees?? :) well thats just under 1 australian dollaR!!! then we headed off into town to get little bits and pieces...i seriously think God's hand is so over India...honestly with the amount of stuff on the road (cows, people, buses, trucks, rickshaws), its a wonder these people are alive! God has been good with keeping us safe too!! :) we must have walked for hours and hours, but there was nothing like having some gulab jamun's as a relief from the hot sun! you guys MUST try some of these sometime! absolutely the bomb!!
peter has just gotten the next week's schedule and wow! he has a lot on his plate!
an opportunity has come up for me to teach some of the little children a dance.sort of a build up from what another teacher had taught them, so i'm excited!! this dance will then be performed at future church events. and there'll be lots more of teaching english at the local school next week as well as learning some new worship songs in hindi...exciting stuff! and i'm sure there'll be more spontaneous stuff! REALLY loving it here, but missing you my friends!!
may the Lord bless and keep you!!
so we set off on friday at 7.30am for Mount Abu,(cold but beautiful morning, which is about 2 and a half hours from the base. we joined the UK medical team for a day of seeing sick villagers that live at the foothills of the mountain. the most amazing thing was that this was the first time such a thing had been done in that region!! we drove along these beautiful Rajasthani plains on a smooth road (exceptional for India) through ancient rock...sunrise over this landscape was one of the best i've ever seen!...so we got there and set up at a local believer's house... we saw more than 120 patients. most people asked for prayer afterwards! there was A LOT of happy kids afterwards. its amazing how we take basic health care for granted and how happy these villagers were even just to get a wound cleaned up. it was the FIRST medical camp in their area and it was such a blessing to them and to us. our team leader presented a talk to the ladies on basic health care and hygiene...a meal was prepared for us at the end of the afternoon and it was horrifying to know how much chilli had gone into the curry!!! seriously a plate FULL of chilli was crushed and put into the curry. but we didnt want to be offensive so we just had to be of good courage and down it haha...one of the guys from the medical team was literally in tears at the end of it!! we left behind a lot of happy villagers and it was really good to see the lil kids smile...to see joy in empty eyes and painful faces... :) it would be sooo good to go back there someday!!! had to had to stop at a local chai stop on the way back! :) no road trip in India is compplete without one! :)
after getting a good night's sleep and recovering from all stomach issues we headed into town today to celebrate a birthday and do some exploring. after touring the serene queen's gardens we hung out at a local ice cream shop. was really good icecream and really good service! can you imagine having a double scoop cookies and cream sundae with butter scotch sauce and a whole heap of other stuff in it for just 35 rupees?? :) well thats just under 1 australian dollaR!!! then we headed off into town to get little bits and pieces...i seriously think God's hand is so over India...honestly with the amount of stuff on the road (cows, people, buses, trucks, rickshaws), its a wonder these people are alive! God has been good with keeping us safe too!! :) we must have walked for hours and hours, but there was nothing like having some gulab jamun's as a relief from the hot sun! you guys MUST try some of these sometime! absolutely the bomb!!
peter has just gotten the next week's schedule and wow! he has a lot on his plate!
an opportunity has come up for me to teach some of the little children a dance.sort of a build up from what another teacher had taught them, so i'm excited!! this dance will then be performed at future church events. and there'll be lots more of teaching english at the local school next week as well as learning some new worship songs in hindi...exciting stuff! and i'm sure there'll be more spontaneous stuff! REALLY loving it here, but missing you my friends!!
may the Lord bless and keep you!!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The mission continues!
There we were. Saying goodbye to all the kids in the childrens home we had come to care for so much over the last few days. Each child amazingly unique in the Lords eyes and each child so beautiful. unfortunately all good things had to come to an end... and as we were getting ready to go... the kids began to hold on saying "leave tomorrow ... leave tomorrow."
The time had come to leave and what a journey ahead. We would travel to Surrat by car, then to Delhi by overnight train which ended up taking 17 hours instead of 14, but all the same the team had a great time sleeping, eating, playing cards and worshipping the Lord (competing against the group in the next set of bunks who were singing songs to Krishna). I tell you what... worship really changes the spiritual environment.
From there we spent half a day in Delhi (what a confusion! more to come on this later), before flying back to Singapore for our further onward departures to Perth and elsewhere.
God was so good to us as a team. There are so many great stories to share, and I'm sure others will share soon, but one of the things that really stood out to me was how the Lord brought the team together and the love that really was present in the team. There we were in a foreign land, and our distance from the familiar only brought us closer as a family in the Love of Christ.
What a great experience. An amazing time in India. May I encourage you to join us for the next missions trip in 2010.
Is God calling you to reach the unreached? Yes. So prepare, equip and go!
God's Love is waiting to be shared.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
onwards and upwards to Udaipur!!!!!
i love how India never sleeps!!! blaring horns, a bus that was being driven at the speed of a rocket and constant stops at motels playing loud bollywood music...as chaotic as that sounds, thats what makes India unique :) God's Presence on the bus to Udaipur was so strong and as we zoomed past the vast sky and endless stars, I was again reminded that Jesus is always in control and even though i couldn't understand why on earth i was asked to stay behind for 6 months, He knows and He is with me. and again in that moment, living for the lost world just felt so right, just felt so normal...any other place would be abnormal...
so Peter and I made it alive to the college...it was quite amazing to see no cars on the streets at 6am...Udaipur is beautiful at dawn...!! but got ripped off by the rickshaw guy...!! after some chai and some guitar time the week's plans were discussed. it looks like we have a busy week ahead!! I'll be working in the clinic with the women and children with the slight chance of being able to minister in women's prisons around the area. Also working in the children's home at the college and assisting in teaching english at the local school which is down the road. EXCITING stuff!!!! Peter will be used as the physiotherapist he is at the local clinic and also have a chance to do some jamming with the guys...he is also able to join a visiting medical team from the UK who will be working with the village folks. Have had a chance to get to know the UK team. Thery are doing some great work and their jokes are actually really funny hehe...!!! as well as being meds, they have been organizing prophetic healing meetings at which many of the villagers have been healed!!!! Talk about preaching the Gospel through actions and the Word!
Peter spoke at chapel on the first day. it was quite hilarious because the translator was a guy that was translating for the first time so he kept mixing up the words haha...but despite that tiny obstacle, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of the students and they understood it! :) overall a really encouraging message that broke through the barriers of language! went out to dinner with the UK medical team at a local restaurant called "berry's". was great fun and a great laugh on the way back as we decided to experiment with the whole many people in a rickshaw thing...good thing i'm tiny, i can squeeze in anywhere ;) by the way Udaipur is very pretty at night... :)will try and post some photos soon...
while it is great being back here, its quite different without the rest of the team....today, the kids at the children's home followed me around all morning curious to know more :) the schools were closed for 2 days because its been quite cold...LOL!! India is funny i tell you! so the kids have been hanging around alot...and little kids trying to explain things to you in hindi is quite hilarious!! Spent some time with the girls at the college too. They are quite keen to learn English in order to do their assignments better...so from today onwards i’ll be doing some classes everyday for about an hour or so. ...tomorrow we might head off to check out the local school for a mela (indian carnival) and then do some more teaching with the college students... having the UK team around has been quite a blessing...could be assisting them with more of their village ventures... thinking of doing some intercession workshops with the girls...getting to know their lives, their hearts and their stories has really challenged me...their hunger and desire to honour for Him is soo raw!!
good night from the starry skies of Udaipur :)
so Peter and I made it alive to the college...it was quite amazing to see no cars on the streets at 6am...Udaipur is beautiful at dawn...!! but got ripped off by the rickshaw guy...!! after some chai and some guitar time the week's plans were discussed. it looks like we have a busy week ahead!! I'll be working in the clinic with the women and children with the slight chance of being able to minister in women's prisons around the area. Also working in the children's home at the college and assisting in teaching english at the local school which is down the road. EXCITING stuff!!!! Peter will be used as the physiotherapist he is at the local clinic and also have a chance to do some jamming with the guys...he is also able to join a visiting medical team from the UK who will be working with the village folks. Have had a chance to get to know the UK team. Thery are doing some great work and their jokes are actually really funny hehe...!!! as well as being meds, they have been organizing prophetic healing meetings at which many of the villagers have been healed!!!! Talk about preaching the Gospel through actions and the Word!
Peter spoke at chapel on the first day. it was quite hilarious because the translator was a guy that was translating for the first time so he kept mixing up the words haha...but despite that tiny obstacle, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of the students and they understood it! :) overall a really encouraging message that broke through the barriers of language! went out to dinner with the UK medical team at a local restaurant called "berry's". was great fun and a great laugh on the way back as we decided to experiment with the whole many people in a rickshaw thing...good thing i'm tiny, i can squeeze in anywhere ;) by the way Udaipur is very pretty at night... :)will try and post some photos soon...
while it is great being back here, its quite different without the rest of the team....today, the kids at the children's home followed me around all morning curious to know more :) the schools were closed for 2 days because its been quite cold...LOL!! India is funny i tell you! so the kids have been hanging around alot...and little kids trying to explain things to you in hindi is quite hilarious!! Spent some time with the girls at the college too. They are quite keen to learn English in order to do their assignments better...so from today onwards i’ll be doing some classes everyday for about an hour or so. ...tomorrow we might head off to check out the local school for a mela (indian carnival) and then do some more teaching with the college students... having the UK team around has been quite a blessing...could be assisting them with more of their village ventures... thinking of doing some intercession workshops with the girls...getting to know their lives, their hearts and their stories has really challenged me...their hunger and desire to honour for Him is soo raw!!
good night from the starry skies of Udaipur :)
unheard cries, untouched lives, unreached places...the lost world...
"can anyone see me?" it is a cry heard the world over that each day I hear a little louder.
"am I worth seeing? can YOU see past where I am to who I am? will YOU love me enough to see behind the facade and beyond the image to what is real?"
There are many ways to be invisible. I have been learning it is not just the ones discarded on rubbish dumps who are unseen. While some lives are hidden in trash heaps and slums, others are hidden behind wealth and success. But the heart cry is the same. Whether the disguise is poverty or prada, the question remains unchanged. And so does the answer.
I have been learning to see. God has been teaching me to see both the physically poor and the truly poor as He sees them. the physically poor are the ones we have often looked past and chosen not to see. seeing might compel us to become involved. and that involvement would surely entail risk. risk might mean personal cost. And alas, in the culture of cost/benefit analyses, it remains easier for most of us to feign blindness and choose to live in a sightless world.
"am I worth seeing? can YOU see past where I am to who I am? will YOU love me enough to see behind the facade and beyond the image to what is real?"
There are many ways to be invisible. I have been learning it is not just the ones discarded on rubbish dumps who are unseen. While some lives are hidden in trash heaps and slums, others are hidden behind wealth and success. But the heart cry is the same. Whether the disguise is poverty or prada, the question remains unchanged. And so does the answer.
I have been learning to see. God has been teaching me to see both the physically poor and the truly poor as He sees them. the physically poor are the ones we have often looked past and chosen not to see. seeing might compel us to become involved. and that involvement would surely entail risk. risk might mean personal cost. And alas, in the culture of cost/benefit analyses, it remains easier for most of us to feign blindness and choose to live in a sightless world.
Navapur....
the name Navapur means new horizon... indeed it was a new chapter for many of us coming to India for the very first time...!!! the kids there really stole our hearts, they broke us, they challenged us, they convicted us...all of them are up by 5.30 every single day to do their devotions... the passion burning in their little hearts lights up their faces as they sing praises to their Lord and King...they live each moment with such simplicity...their whole life is packed in one small suitcase, that contains everything from clothes, food supplies and memories of home... they love like there's no tomorrow and they smile like they've never known pain...really we all had so much to learn from them. one particular day we were doing devotions with them regarding Jesus washing the feet of His disciples...and we were convicted to wash their feet...at first they didnt let us because they wanted to wash our feet instead! such humility!! washing their feet did something powerful in my heart...serving the least of them is such a great priviledge bringing with it a new revelation each time...earlier on in the trip i just looked all around me and saw such tremendous need and as i did i felt that my love is so small compared to God's love for mankind...but as the children turned around and washed our feet...God's love washed over me in waves and floods...once again i was reminded that His grace is so sufficient and the only way we as Christians can respond to the needy is by asking God to fill us with His love more and more...we cant love supernaturally on our own. we need His grace and His love in us to love like He does...powerfully and deeply...for us to be Christians that live out of the deeper places we need to be able to let God take us into deeper places, places where your life, your heart and your all gets wasted for the Kingdom of God...
the Kingdom of God...is such great treasure...a lesson we all learnt at the 4 village churches we visited...people that worship in mud houses in authencity and simplicity...they dont have much, but they have a Kingdom treasure that is impossible to miss...and they hold onto Jesus with such zeal that it makes you want to worship the King of Kings even more madly...for me the best bit about visiting these churches was worshipping in hindi...worship that was just so rich and so pure...on the second last night in Navapur we went out to our translator's church where they were holding a youth rally...i must say that hearing worship rise through the vast and plain surroundings of trees and mud houses was incredible... its amazing that whether we live in a city, or a village, in a proper house or a mud house, for those that believe...Jesus is still the King of Kings...Cindy and Fenny did their wonderful dance entitled "who am I?"...doing the drama was a bit of a squeeze in that place but it worked out well...we had a lot of laughs which was kind of strange because it was a pretty serious song...but after speaking to a few of the village folks we realised it was the first creative drama done in their village and they'd never seen anything like that before...they were all so curious and so welcoming at the same time...i'm sure we sowed some great Kingdom seeds that night... riding on the bus home (back to the children's home) through the village was filled with lots of laughs and chatter...and being out there driving in the middle of nowhere expands the size of the sky as you realize that although you've known God and continue to know Him one of the things you'll never quite be able to fathom is the size of His heart and the amount of love in it for every person...its like this ceaseless bottomless tumbler that continues to overflow and overflow...leading kids church in hindi was a tough one but a good experience...its funny how God places you in a ministry that you dont have a passion for, uses you and grows you in it and then uses you in a totally different environment and country...hahaa He really does all things for a reason :)
on the day we left, the students at the college prayed for us and wow! was it awesome!! they really are serious about spending their lives in service for Jesus....they know the costs involved and that the road is so narrow yet they are willing to go into some of the most unreached places around... strengthening and encouraging people like these teaches you more and you receive much more than you intended to give...they have such precious hearts!!!
saying bye to the kids was hard...literally because there were soooooo many of them crowded all around us, some hanging onto us, others not letting go of our hands...but also much more because their little hearts had so captured ours... there was this one girl called Manisha, and as i hugged her she said to me, "you wont forget us will you?" even though there were so many of them, its then that you realize that each one of them wants to be loved, wants to be known, wants to be held, wants to love back... they gave us so many cards just to make sure we'd remember them and to say thanks for all we'd done, even though we were only there for 6 days... after one last photo we were off in the jeeps to Surat from where the team was catching a train to Delhi, and we were heading back to Udaipur... there are so many beggars at the stations and especially seeing children begging is quite heart breaking...however some of them are quite cheeky.. you kinda laugh and cry at the same time... :) well this is India... :)
the Kingdom of God...is such great treasure...a lesson we all learnt at the 4 village churches we visited...people that worship in mud houses in authencity and simplicity...they dont have much, but they have a Kingdom treasure that is impossible to miss...and they hold onto Jesus with such zeal that it makes you want to worship the King of Kings even more madly...for me the best bit about visiting these churches was worshipping in hindi...worship that was just so rich and so pure...on the second last night in Navapur we went out to our translator's church where they were holding a youth rally...i must say that hearing worship rise through the vast and plain surroundings of trees and mud houses was incredible... its amazing that whether we live in a city, or a village, in a proper house or a mud house, for those that believe...Jesus is still the King of Kings...Cindy and Fenny did their wonderful dance entitled "who am I?"...doing the drama was a bit of a squeeze in that place but it worked out well...we had a lot of laughs which was kind of strange because it was a pretty serious song...but after speaking to a few of the village folks we realised it was the first creative drama done in their village and they'd never seen anything like that before...they were all so curious and so welcoming at the same time...i'm sure we sowed some great Kingdom seeds that night... riding on the bus home (back to the children's home) through the village was filled with lots of laughs and chatter...and being out there driving in the middle of nowhere expands the size of the sky as you realize that although you've known God and continue to know Him one of the things you'll never quite be able to fathom is the size of His heart and the amount of love in it for every person...its like this ceaseless bottomless tumbler that continues to overflow and overflow...leading kids church in hindi was a tough one but a good experience...its funny how God places you in a ministry that you dont have a passion for, uses you and grows you in it and then uses you in a totally different environment and country...hahaa He really does all things for a reason :)
on the day we left, the students at the college prayed for us and wow! was it awesome!! they really are serious about spending their lives in service for Jesus....they know the costs involved and that the road is so narrow yet they are willing to go into some of the most unreached places around... strengthening and encouraging people like these teaches you more and you receive much more than you intended to give...they have such precious hearts!!!
saying bye to the kids was hard...literally because there were soooooo many of them crowded all around us, some hanging onto us, others not letting go of our hands...but also much more because their little hearts had so captured ours... there was this one girl called Manisha, and as i hugged her she said to me, "you wont forget us will you?" even though there were so many of them, its then that you realize that each one of them wants to be loved, wants to be known, wants to be held, wants to love back... they gave us so many cards just to make sure we'd remember them and to say thanks for all we'd done, even though we were only there for 6 days... after one last photo we were off in the jeeps to Surat from where the team was catching a train to Delhi, and we were heading back to Udaipur... there are so many beggars at the stations and especially seeing children begging is quite heart breaking...however some of them are quite cheeky.. you kinda laugh and cry at the same time... :) well this is India... :)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The day of Navapu
Curries curries and more curries! The last meal we had at Udaipur before leaving for Navapur of course came along with curries.
It is interesting that the concept (and design) of buses around the world varies from the usage of it. From the defaulted buses found on the streets of Singapore and Malaysia to the uber high class coach for those wishing to make a 5 hour journey from Singapore to KL or vice versa. The one we boarded for Navapur was of course, custom made for overnight trips. To call it high class was perhaps overhyping it a little while to call it haphazard was to underhype it. Imagine a bus with a little more leg space than normal added with an extra level for several 2 by 1 metre compartments for that extra comfort of being able to lie down for some shut eye. That was our 12 hour journey transport to Navapur.
The ride was rather smooth together with the usual bumps that one would expect from travelling on the road the colours within the bus was however what I would call scintillating, it was almost like a mini party bus (only thing missing is the disco ball) with neon colours of blue, red, yellow and I think there was green as well and with the constant chattering, it was pure vibrancy!
The amount of shut eye time was good. Most of us got ample rest while in our little bus "boxes" which upon reaching Surat (the meeting point where we would be picked up to head into Navapur), we were all ready and raring to go.
Some highlights have been: joining them in worship, acting out a skit called the lifehouse 'everything' skit (for those of you who know it) with Fenny starring as mankind, and Simon as Jesus, and all contributing fantastically (Zee - money guy, Andre- mr suave, Jason - mr death, Esther - too much drink, char - good looking) and our directors Andre, Cindy and Gee, with only 2 hours practice!! Praise God!! people were really encouraged by the skit and hope to use it in their ministry.
The girls also did a dance presentation for all, and a workshop for the college students. Many of us have given devotions with students including Gee and Andre during the evening time.
During the trip to the orphanage in the mountains, we were moved to pray for a little boy who became crippled due to a fall from his cot. As we hugged him, we could just see him breaking into a smile. That melted all our hearts. Even though we didn't see physical healing, both ours and the boy's faith were strengthened through this experience. We know that God is at work in restoring his soul as we commit to continue to pray for him.
It is encouraging that we are able to use Creative Arts (which is a major part of ZION ministries) to minister to the students. Our activities will hopefully equip and empower them to in turn minister to their own people through Creative Arts.
It is interesting that the concept (and design) of buses around the world varies from the usage of it. From the defaulted buses found on the streets of Singapore and Malaysia to the uber high class coach for those wishing to make a 5 hour journey from Singapore to KL or vice versa. The one we boarded for Navapur was of course, custom made for overnight trips. To call it high class was perhaps overhyping it a little while to call it haphazard was to underhype it. Imagine a bus with a little more leg space than normal added with an extra level for several 2 by 1 metre compartments for that extra comfort of being able to lie down for some shut eye. That was our 12 hour journey transport to Navapur.
The ride was rather smooth together with the usual bumps that one would expect from travelling on the road the colours within the bus was however what I would call scintillating, it was almost like a mini party bus (only thing missing is the disco ball) with neon colours of blue, red, yellow and I think there was green as well and with the constant chattering, it was pure vibrancy!
The amount of shut eye time was good. Most of us got ample rest while in our little bus "boxes" which upon reaching Surat (the meeting point where we would be picked up to head into Navapur), we were all ready and raring to go.
Some highlights have been: joining them in worship, acting out a skit called the lifehouse 'everything' skit (for those of you who know it) with Fenny starring as mankind, and Simon as Jesus, and all contributing fantastically (Zee - money guy, Andre- mr suave, Jason - mr death, Esther - too much drink, char - good looking) and our directors Andre, Cindy and Gee, with only 2 hours practice!! Praise God!! people were really encouraged by the skit and hope to use it in their ministry.
The girls also did a dance presentation for all, and a workshop for the college students. Many of us have given devotions with students including Gee and Andre during the evening time.
During the trip to the orphanage in the mountains, we were moved to pray for a little boy who became crippled due to a fall from his cot. As we hugged him, we could just see him breaking into a smile. That melted all our hearts. Even though we didn't see physical healing, both ours and the boy's faith were strengthened through this experience. We know that God is at work in restoring his soul as we commit to continue to pray for him.
It is encouraging that we are able to use Creative Arts (which is a major part of ZION ministries) to minister to the students. Our activities will hopefully equip and empower them to in turn minister to their own people through Creative Arts.
Monday, January 4, 2010
India: Day1&2 Udaipur
The awaited time of the India missions trip had finally arrived. 7 months of preparation, heaps of prayers and countless meetings later, we were stepping off the plane in Dehli international airport staring into the endless queues and queues of people with the marauding crowd shoving their way towards the customs point it was almost akin to a stempede.
Road dividers were obviously a non existant item within India as cars (and the taxi we were travelling in) were crossing each other with the constant "I'm coming through" beep of the horn as the usual saying in Perth goes, "if you can survive driving in KL you can drive anywhere" after the life shortening experience in the Indian traffic, I reckon the word KL should be changed to India. But all was good (thank God) we survived the ride, though thoroughly shaken by "roller taxi" ride we had.
We took 3 taxis to the train station for the next leg of the journey to Udaipur. By the time we boarded the train, it was well past 6.30 p.m. The train was going to be an overnight trip arriving between 8 a.m and 9 a.m. The train itself wasn't that bad, we had a time of worship and prayer before calling it a night and going to sleep (lots couldn't sleep and the other passengers were snoring!). The next morning, tired and sore, we had finally arrived at Udaipur. Our friends picked us up and away we went to the Bible school. It was a Sunday morning, we freshened up, had a light breakfast and then it was time for church! It was such an experience to be having attending church on the first Sunday of the year in India. Worship was great, although we didn't know the language for the songs, the message from Pastor Finny and Pastor Paul was awesome, ask anyone of us when we're back. From the message, we moved on to a special time in the service, Holy Communion! How cool is that? Having our first Communion of the year in India! Soon after, we ended with a few more worship songs (sounds familiar anyone?) before concluding the service. And since it was the first Sunday,the church prepared lunch for the whole congregation, thats 500 - 600 people! And lunch was good! Take it from Esther who's never, NEVER had Indian food.
After lunch, we showered and took some time to rest. The girls took this time to prepare for their dance which was going to be performed on Monday. In the evening, we joined the Bible college students in their evening devotions. We as a team lead in praise and worship and generally the whole devotion session. Ziech shared to the students about "knowing Jesus" as a relationship rather than "knowing about Him."
After the devotion session, We had a meeting with Pastor Finny to discuss what we're going to do or what we can do while in Udaipur. Following that meeting, we were served dinner. This time we had dinner with Pastor Paul and Pastor Michael from Florida, another guest at the college. After dinner, we had a bit of free time, the girls again practiced for the dance in the guys room while Jason and Andre went to the men's dormitory for some fellowship. It was really a good time of fellowship, getting to know the students better, sharing our knowledge and getting to know their heart and desires. Each and everyone of the students already has such an amazing testimony and their passion for God and to serve Him really encouraged us. It was 10 p.m by the time we left the dorm to get some sleep and there is the morning devotions at 5.30 a.m tomorrow.
Day 2
The guys got up at 5.20 and were ready to share for the morning devotion but we were told there would be no morning devotions for today because most of the students arrived back at the college last night or early in the morning. So off to bed again for a few more hours of sleep. We got up again around 7 and went down for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time for morning chapel. It started at 9.45 and it was basically a mini service run by the students. The girls then presented their dance after the message and it was well received. Students were excited to see what we were doing for them and for the church, it was something new. It's usually the little girls who dance during worship on Sundays but to watch a worship dance by our young women, it inspired the young women who are studying at the college. Then we announced that Cindy and Fenny would be conducting a workshop for the dance and we'll also be conducting a drama workshop the next day after performing a ZPH drama.
After chapel we frantically got ready to take a "45 minute" journey to one of their missions in the field where our friends run an English school and a orphanage for about a 60 children. Ziech just told us it was in the mountains ... which is somewhat undescriptive!
The ride up to the mountian was a bumpy one leaving a few of us with rather weak stomachs. The view of the mountains were however breathtaking! The children were glad to meet with us and definitely, the feeling was mutual. We sang songs, did a short skit on the story of Noah's Ark and taught them how to fold an origami boat! Taking photos of the kids was a delight as they rushed to Andre each time he previewed a photo to them on his camera.
2 days are over! But what an experience already. It feels like its been a week. From the comfort of Singapore and Perth, to the masses of Delhi, to the riviting traffic and dreadfully long train ride. Our next stop would be Navapur where we would be spending time and living in an ophanage and children's home!
PS: Chai is really really good tea!
Road dividers were obviously a non existant item within India as cars (and the taxi we were travelling in) were crossing each other with the constant "I'm coming through" beep of the horn as the usual saying in Perth goes, "if you can survive driving in KL you can drive anywhere" after the life shortening experience in the Indian traffic, I reckon the word KL should be changed to India. But all was good (thank God) we survived the ride, though thoroughly shaken by "roller taxi" ride we had.
We took 3 taxis to the train station for the next leg of the journey to Udaipur. By the time we boarded the train, it was well past 6.30 p.m. The train was going to be an overnight trip arriving between 8 a.m and 9 a.m. The train itself wasn't that bad, we had a time of worship and prayer before calling it a night and going to sleep (lots couldn't sleep and the other passengers were snoring!). The next morning, tired and sore, we had finally arrived at Udaipur. Our friends picked us up and away we went to the Bible school. It was a Sunday morning, we freshened up, had a light breakfast and then it was time for church! It was such an experience to be having attending church on the first Sunday of the year in India. Worship was great, although we didn't know the language for the songs, the message from Pastor Finny and Pastor Paul was awesome, ask anyone of us when we're back. From the message, we moved on to a special time in the service, Holy Communion! How cool is that? Having our first Communion of the year in India! Soon after, we ended with a few more worship songs (sounds familiar anyone?) before concluding the service. And since it was the first Sunday,the church prepared lunch for the whole congregation, thats 500 - 600 people! And lunch was good! Take it from Esther who's never, NEVER had Indian food.
After lunch, we showered and took some time to rest. The girls took this time to prepare for their dance which was going to be performed on Monday. In the evening, we joined the Bible college students in their evening devotions. We as a team lead in praise and worship and generally the whole devotion session. Ziech shared to the students about "knowing Jesus" as a relationship rather than "knowing about Him."
After the devotion session, We had a meeting with Pastor Finny to discuss what we're going to do or what we can do while in Udaipur. Following that meeting, we were served dinner. This time we had dinner with Pastor Paul and Pastor Michael from Florida, another guest at the college. After dinner, we had a bit of free time, the girls again practiced for the dance in the guys room while Jason and Andre went to the men's dormitory for some fellowship. It was really a good time of fellowship, getting to know the students better, sharing our knowledge and getting to know their heart and desires. Each and everyone of the students already has such an amazing testimony and their passion for God and to serve Him really encouraged us. It was 10 p.m by the time we left the dorm to get some sleep and there is the morning devotions at 5.30 a.m tomorrow.
Day 2
The guys got up at 5.20 and were ready to share for the morning devotion but we were told there would be no morning devotions for today because most of the students arrived back at the college last night or early in the morning. So off to bed again for a few more hours of sleep. We got up again around 7 and went down for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time for morning chapel. It started at 9.45 and it was basically a mini service run by the students. The girls then presented their dance after the message and it was well received. Students were excited to see what we were doing for them and for the church, it was something new. It's usually the little girls who dance during worship on Sundays but to watch a worship dance by our young women, it inspired the young women who are studying at the college. Then we announced that Cindy and Fenny would be conducting a workshop for the dance and we'll also be conducting a drama workshop the next day after performing a ZPH drama.
After chapel we frantically got ready to take a "45 minute" journey to one of their missions in the field where our friends run an English school and a orphanage for about a 60 children. Ziech just told us it was in the mountains ... which is somewhat undescriptive!
The ride up to the mountian was a bumpy one leaving a few of us with rather weak stomachs. The view of the mountains were however breathtaking! The children were glad to meet with us and definitely, the feeling was mutual. We sang songs, did a short skit on the story of Noah's Ark and taught them how to fold an origami boat! Taking photos of the kids was a delight as they rushed to Andre each time he previewed a photo to them on his camera.
2 days are over! But what an experience already. It feels like its been a week. From the comfort of Singapore and Perth, to the masses of Delhi, to the riviting traffic and dreadfully long train ride. Our next stop would be Navapur where we would be spending time and living in an ophanage and children's home!
PS: Chai is really really good tea!
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