14 Days

Well, it's just 14 days until three of us jump into a metal tube hurtling hundreds of miles per hour thousands of feet off the ground and go half way around the world. I've got most of my things ready to go, the luggage, the supplies, the medications, the tools. Now it's just my mind and heart that I'm working on finishing up with.

We had a our third and final training meeting this last Saturday night. I say it's our final one but it's really just our final one before we head over. We have a few layovers and those are often spent with the team doing additional training. Then once we get to our final destination we'll have more training with our Indian partners. Those are always a lot of fun as we start to really get to know our team.

This is my fourth trip and I'm noticing something different about myself this time around. It seems like I'm savoring little things that I know I'll miss while I'm gone. When Shannon and I laugh at a shared joke, which is often, thankfully,......I pay a closer attention to the way her eyes laugh with her voice and I try to burn both into my memory. The smell of good, strong coffee seems to linger a little longer on the nose. The crispness of the clean and cold winter air of Nebraska fills my lungs more deeply. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder but I think that maybe the anticipation of absence is just as powerful.

Onward........

I have a nice little prayer calendar you can print out and put up on the fridge, put in your bible, or whatever. Drop me a line and I'll get it to you via email or messenger. Some of you will be getting a print version in the mail and if you'd rather get that via mail, drop me a line and let me know. Your prayer support is greatly appreciated and an incredibly important component to the success of the mission.

If you'd like to contribute financially, you can still do that as well. As of this writing I'm still about $990.00 short of my goal. Until December 28th you can give online at: https://www.purecharity.com/robert-e-josjors-fundraiser-for-north-india-india Now and after December 28th you can also mail a check to made out to New Hope Church with the memo "Bob Josjor - India" to 118 East B Street, Ogallala, NE 69153.

I might get one more post in before we hit the skies. If not, you'll hear from me on the way or when I get there. Thanks again for all your support in prayer and finances.

 

 

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Minus 35

I've been busy making little crosses with rupee coins as prayer reminders for my supporters. Want one? Let me know.

Leave India to God. If that is too much, leave India to anarchy.

m. ghandi

That quote doesn't have anything to do with this post. It just made me smile as I read it so I hurried and wrote it down here before I would forget it. Although, now that I think on it a little bit more, perhaps it does have to do with my trip. After all, God is the whole reason for my going and a huge part of my attraction to India is the organized anarchy of it all. Anyway.......

It's just a little more than a month away, my trip. We've had one training meeting and I'm looking forward to working with some of my old team members from the Bihar trip of last year, as well as meeting a few new folks who have decided to join us on this trip to Assam. The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is getting back to Uttam and the people of Assam and my old stomping grounds around Tezpur. The mission in Bihar last year was and is important, but I have to admit that my heart is truly in Assam. As you may recall, it was our original plan to go to Assam last year but political unrest made us change our plans at the last minute. Fortunately, at least at this point, it looks as if calm has been restored in Assam and this trip will go on as planned.

In the two years since we were at Assam there has been a little progress with the church movement there. Uttam and his team have been as diligent as they can be in following up with the house churches we started on my last visit. There have been a few that have disbanded due to pressure due to persecution, but there have also been a few more crop up from the continuing work that Uttam has carried on in our absence. Probably the biggest change since my visit two years ago is in the amount of training that Uttam and Charles have put into the local volunteers.

As for myself, I'm pretty well prepared. I'm up on all my vaccinations and my visa is good for another six years. Our team has had one conference call training meeting and we will have our second this coming Saturday night. I've got my kit pretty well prepared and, as this is my fourth trip to India and my third to Assam, I think I've got it down fairly well. I've been praciticing up on my Hindi and we'll see how much good that will do me. The main language in Assam is, naturally enough, Assamese. Unfortunately there are very few resources for learning Assamese. Fortunately, many also speak Hindi and the two languages are fairly similar so hopefully my work isn't in vain.

Financially, I'm a little more than half way to my goal. A huge "Thank You" to all of you that have given support to this mission. I can't do it without you. For those of you that would like to give, you can do so at this link: https://www.purecharity.com/robert-e-josjors-fundraiser-for-north-india-india?aff=nb9am You can also mail a check made out to New Hope Church and with the memo "Bob Josjor - India" to New Hope Church, 118 East B Street, Ogallala, NE 69153. All donations are, of course, tax deductable.

In the next few weeks I'll be publishing a prayer calendar and more details of the trip. Until then please pray for myself and my team members, for the volunteers we'll be working with, and for the people we will be in contact with. With the new strategies e3 Partners has put in place and the training investment they have made in our native team, I believe we'll be able to do amazing things in Assam on this trip.

 

 

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