Destination

Another long day, much of it with travel. The Ogallala boys (Three Musketeers or Three Stooges, take your pick) all woke up at about 3:30 this morning. That's about usual for me at home, but I think it's safe to say that my companions biological clocks are pretty screwed up at this point. We visited for a while and had really bad instant coffee in the room. Then I went out to see if the chai-walla was yet open.

I was rewarded with wonderfully seasoned, hot, milky, and sweet chai served in an impossibly thin paper cup for only 10 rupees. For some reason, however, the proprietor, pictured here, insisted that I put on a BJP party political hat and he and his friends laughed with me. I'm calling this my ironic picture of the day, considering the BJP is very anti-missionary. The cap is most likely a souvenir I won't keep.

We finally got together for a special lunch. I spotted a cafe that featured American and Chinese food. We also had a special surprise for Lyle who celebrated his 80th birthday today. He's a blessing to be around and during this mornings team meeting we got to know more about him. All of us hope that we can have his enthusiasm and joyful heart when we're 80. I have to apologize to him in that I accidently bought joke re-lighting candles for his cake. What can I say? The package was written in Urdu and all I saw were candles. He was a trooper and even though it took a few minutes, he got them all out.

We had a short flight to Patna and then onto a bus for three hours to our final destination. Some of the team was excited when Charles told them he had KFC delivered to the bus for us to eat on the way. I tried to fool them by telling them that it stood for "Kashmeeri Fried Cat" but the picture of Colonel Sanders on the bucket was a giveaway.

The drive through the poorest state in India was tough for a couple of team members. This area is the poorest in India, even poorer than my Assamese friends. There were some tears and maybe even a few shed by yours truly. It's difficult to see such suffering. Our only consolation is that we get to share what might be the only truly loving and kind bit of hope they may ever have in this life through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

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Assembly

We've spent most of Friday trying to recuperate from way too many hours on planes and in airports. Most of us crashed the minute we hit the hotel, about 5:30am. Not the Ogallala boys, however. We were up and ready to go so we stayed up until breakfast was being served. A couple real breakthroughs yesterday as we finally found some Indian food that Matt likes. :-) There's a better than average chance that he won't have to survive on just the granola bars and beef jerky he packed.

Matt and Jeff, whiling away the airport hours.

We met with the rest of the team for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and it's always great to really get to know them. Our youngest is in his mid 20's and this is his first trip. Our oldest veteran has been on dozens of trips all over the world with e3 and today we have a little celebration for his 80th birthday. Can you think of a better way to celebrate your 80th year? I can't and I can only hope that when I'm 80 I have half the drive and enthusiasm he has.

We spent some more time with Charles Golla, learning about the approach we'll be using in Bihar. I'm excited that this time we will be able to really spend some time in peoples homes, building relationships and actually getting to know them on a real, personal level. We will have three appointments each day and each day will be at the same three locations. The first appointment will be sharing the gospel and the subsequent days will be spent sharing in the same homes and doing I Am Second bible studies with them, the end goal being that they will learn how to lead these studies themselves and this will be the start of a house church.

Our home in Delhi.

 

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Travel

It's the biggest drawback to doing these trips. No matter where you go, there is a wait. Waiting in line for your ticket, waiting in line at security, waiting for the next plane. Waiting for that plane to actually take off. A plane taking off, by the way, is still a miracle to me. Even after my four years in the USAF and working on the B1 bomber, I'm still amazed everytime a tube of metal filled with fuel and people leaves the grasp of earth's gravity and propels us skyward. No matter how many times I see a demonstration of how an airfoil works, I still can't believe it's true.

Yep. Pretty sure that's how it went. It's 2015, folks. I want my teleportation devices and my flying cars.Matt, Jeff, and I headed to Denver in the morning, spirits high and ready to go. A short hop to Chicago, and we met up with Dan and a couple others. After almost 15 hours on a plane, we meet the rest of the team in Dubai. Now we wait for one last hop to get to Delhi and a much needed night in an actual bed. Not to whine too much, but getting comfortable on a plane with a 6'4" frame. Don't get me wrong, Emarites is THE best airline for comfort and service. Still, whoever designed the airline seat needs shot. At close range. I think the idea behind it went something like this: "Let's make the seats just firm enough to cause thrombosis and let's make the back tilt back just enough to annoy the person behind you, but not far enough that the person in the seat can actually lean their head back and rest."

More later.........Anyway, then we land in Delhi, wait an interminable long time for a taxi. Three of them, actually, because there seems to be a lot more luggage than a crew our size should need. A fun time riding with Jeff and his first experience with Indian roadways, and then we end at our home for the next two nights. A row of hotels that look like they're in an alley.

I'd love to post a picture or two, but it seems the internet just isn't up to it right now.

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D-Day -7

So here we are, just seven days to go. Not really much to report here except we've got a new, updated prayer calendar. I also wanted to make sure that the update to Blogsy that I installed yesterday didn't screw anything up.

I think I've pretty much got everything together. I'll spend the next six days making sure everything is squared away at the shop and at home. Speaking of home, make sure and add Shannon to your prayers. Having me gone not only means extra work for her at home and the music store, but she worries about me and my safety, as she should. Pray for her strength and that God would give her comfort.

Well, that's it. Most likely you won't see a post here until I'm actually in a foriegn land. Until then, thank you for your support in prayer and financially. Talk to you soon!

 

 

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Redirected

On December 23rd Bodo seperatists attacked two Adavasi villages in norther Assam. In the attacks and the police actions that followed, 78 people lost their lives and dozens more were injured. This type of violence and the dispute behind it go back over 40 years. In short, the Bodo want to create their own state north of the Brahmaputra river.

I'm a fairly nerdy guy when it comes to India and I read the Times Of India at least four or five times a week so I was aware of these incidents. I also did some pretty deep research and they appeared to be isolated incidents, well away from the areas we go to in Assam. The BJP led federal government of India was promising a tough crackdown on the militants. It was with this in mind that I was confident we wouldn't have any problems in Assam. I also didn't mention any of this in my fundraising letters or in my last blog post as I didn't want people to worry about something that I was sure would blow over by the time we got there.

Then this last Friday we got an email from Uttam, the pastor we work with in Assam, asking us not to come. It is simply too dangerous, not only for us, but also for his team of volunteers and the churches we would be working with. Twelve Americans traveling around and working with believers would simply draw too much attention. Not only that, but a "bandh" had been called for. This is basically a work stoppage, the type of protest made famous by Gandhi. No buses, no hotels, no restaurants, no services. None of the things that a bunch of Westerners would need for a ten day visit in Assam.

Not to be discouraged, I floated the idea of the rest of the team doing something else in India and just the three of us from Ogallala going to Assam. Nope. Not going to happen. Even a lower profile visit of three Americans is just too much. Like Paul in Acts 16, we are being redirected.

It's fortunate to get the news that Assam is not going to happen this early. e3 has a great network in India and Charles Golla, the India coordinator for e3, is incredibly resourceful and works tirelessly. He had previously been training a team of local believers and volunteers in the state of Bihar and while it is earlier than they expected, we'll be joining them.

To be honest, I don't have as much of the ease of acceptance that Paul showed when his way to Asia was blocked. I'm bummed that I don't get to see the friends that I've made in Assam. From a more official standpoint, I'm disappointed that no one from Uttam's sole supporting church, New Hope, is going to be able to be on the ground in Assam. Now, if I let the more spiritual side of me take control, and I should, I realize that there are about 1.19 billion non-believers in India and not all of them are in Assam. I'm glad to still be going to India and even if it isn't in the district where I've invested a huge part of my heart, I will serve with 100% of my heart wherever God sends me. This time He is sending me to Bihar.

 

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