Flotsam and Jetsam

So I'm back home now, even if my luggage still hasn't made it here. We juggled between three different flights on our last leg and Southwest had a hard time keeping our luggage with us. Hopefully I won't run out of clothes before it gets here or it's going to be pretty awkward waiting on customers at the store. Plus it will be cold.

This picture has nothing to do with this post, I just love her beautiful face.

It's been a bit of a pain that I can't really share about what we did or where we went during this mission trip. Most of you that are actually reading this are probably also getting my emails, in which I can be specific. I am at liberty to say that it was a very good trip and I left confident that the seeds we spread will grow, many will flourish, and hopefully a few will spread. The local team we worked with were mostly top notch and of the four trips I've made, this is the one that I left feeling the most confident in. By the way, if you're not on the email or snail-mail list, give me a call or drop me a line and I'll get you added.

Some things are always a bit of a shock when I get back. The weather, of course, is quite a bit colder and I have to say, I didn't miss having to scrape windshields in the mornings. We did have cooler weather in India this year, cool enough to need a jacket in the evenings. Still, landing at DIA and being met with 12 degrees was a shocker. Landing without our luggage and almost seven hours later than planned was another.

Jet lag and getting my sleep back on track is another struggle. I've never been a real succesful sleeper anyway. Add the 12.5 hour time zone difference and I'm really thrown for a loop. It's odd as I never seem to have any difficulty adjusting to India time, but adjusting back to Nebraska time is always a chore. I did sleep for most of the night last night so I am getting there. It just takes time.

The thing I usually struggle with the most when I get home from these trips is our wealth and consumerism. After working with and seeing so many people in extreme poverty, it's easy to get disgusted with what we spend on everything from food to phones. It's easy to feel guilty about my own spending and wastefulness. For me it's particularly ironic as without excessive American consumerism, I'd be out of business. I'd like to get all philosophical and argue that music is an essential part of life, but if I'm honest, I can't. After all, nobody ever died for lack of a trombone or stereo system.

I also get fairly disgusted with what the vast majority of us think are important things. This last couple of weeks saw the deaths of David Bowie and Glenn Frey and I watched as my Facebook feed featured hundreds of tributes and farewells to these two iconic artists. I probably saw hundreds of posts about one movie or another or people with new toys they were showing off or complaints about things like their cable tv service or the bad meal they got at a restaurant. I could have missed something, but I only saw one post about the persecuted church and I don't believe I saw any concerning saving the lost, starving children in the developing world, or the countless murders of the unborn that happen every day.

Of course, the thing I get most disgusted with is the realization that I'm just as guilty of these things as everyone else.

 

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It's All About Perspective

If you are ever in Kolkatta I'm not sure I can recommend the Ajanta Hotel. Of course, I'm not sure what hotel I could recommend, but that is beside the point. Just make sure when you reserve your room you specify two beds if you want them, otherwise two 6'4" American men will be shown to a room with one 6' bed to share for the night. It's OK, I suppose, as having two bodies in close proximity makes it more convenient for the mosquitoes that swarm the room. The shower doesn't work and the latches on the doors are simple gate bolts but here's the catch: There is one on each side of the door and this means that if one is an early riser such as myself, in order to fully close the door I have to lock my roommate into the room. I guess it conceivable means that a passerby could lock anyone into their room and I'm not sure what to make of that.

So secure you can get locked in your room!

The hotel compensates for such iniquities by also not offering coffee or chai or internet service. It does offer rather grand and guady strings of blue and white and purple LED lights hanging from the roof and down the front of the hotel. They emit just enough light to filter through the dirty windows and give your room a dim, ghastly glow all night. It keeps you company until about 5:00am when the sound of mosquito buzzing finally gives way to the grotesquely loud Muslim call to prayer from the mosque just a door down.

I hope my roommate and I share the same blood type as I'm fairly certain that throughout the course of the night we gave each other transfusions via mosquito. I need to remind him to get his blood sugar tested as I'm feeling a bit light headed this morning.

Mother Theresa's Tomb

It is a fairly secure hotel. In addition to the arrangement that allows you to be locked into your room with no chance of escape, the hotel also features a nine foot gate and two security guards that wander around aimlessly in the courtyard. They opened the gate when I asked and pointed me to a chai-wallah down the street where I could get my early morning dose from a dirty cup.

Of course, just a few short hours later I was touring Mother Theresa's home. She had a hard bed, a desk, and a rusty bucket to clean herself in. That puts things into a really fine perspective and yes, just in case you were wondering, I do now feel like a jerk for writing a snarky post about my accommodations.

 

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Ode To A Chai

When it comes to things in a cup, there is nothing in this world so good as street chai. If you get to the shack early enough, you can watch him make it. First he puts a handful of powdered milk in the rough aluminum kettle and then pours in water of questionable origin and mixes it with his hands that have been who-knows-where. More water is next and the gas fire is lit under the kettle. He takes a small handful of loose tea leaves and throws it into the pot as it begins to simmer and reaches for a finger of ginger which he roughly chops and then smashes with the side of his knife, right there on the small counter where millions of ruppees have passed. Into the pot the ginger mash goes, along with cinamon, pepper, and half a dozen other spices.

Simanta The Chai Guy with his wife and son.

A small dipper sort of like a half cup measure goes in and out of the pot, stirring it as it comes to a rolling boil. Workmen waiting for their bus are starting to gather, ruppees in hand, bindis burning at their lips. When he determines things are just right, the chai-wallah fills a well worn tray with impossibly thin plastic cups. In one hand he has a fine mesh seive that he holds over a cup and with the dipper he ladles the foaming liquid into the seive and below, your cup is filled with delight. You grab the cup by the rim because if you try to hold the sides not only will you burn your fingers, but you will crush the cup whose thickness must be measured in microns, not millimeters.

Hand over your ten ruppee note and sip your chai. Stay out of the bindi smoke as it burns your eyes and smells curiously like it's laced with marijuana. The workman aren't used to seeing a Westerner at their stall and they steal sideways glances at you. Pay them no mind at first and simply savor the sounds, smells, and sights of a busy Indian street corner. Sip. Inhale. Listen. Sip again.

Your cup is now drained and you crush it and throw it to the ground, a hard habit to get into when you are used to trashcans on every street. If the chai-wallah has coins he will now give you your change. If not, he hands you three pieces of wrapped candy or gum to make up the difference. Now you can smile and greet the workmen with the little bit of Hindi you know. Nine times out of ten, they'll be delighted that you took the time to try and learn their language and if you would like, you can snap a picture. Make sure and show them their image when you're done. A smiling "namaskaar" and you are on your way to continue your journey in this incredible country.

 

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Smile Everyone!

Someday I will figure out that part of the Indian culture that says you must frown at all times. I say all times although that really isn't true. About 95% of them, upon getting a smile and greeting from you, will return the smile and warmth and when they do, a little bit of the worlds cruelty slips away. I've been to this country four times and spent forty days here and yet sometimes I feel that I will never really know it's people. Oh, and they'll smile and be all communicative until you pull your camera out. Then it's back to the frown again. Like my driver seen here. He got a new cap that day but he kept admiring my hat so we tried each others on. Laughter and smiles until I asked for a picture. I don't get it and probably never will.

New idea for a TV show: Cultural Survivor Man. You get dropped off in the middle of a foreign country with $10.00 and no interpretor. I would volunteer to be the first contestant and I would choose Assam. It's mild enough you could sleep under that stars and if you just had the tea and biscuits everyone so graciously offers you, I think you could survive for a week and keep most of your $10.00. The people are incredibly hospitable here. It is the custom of the Assamese to present honored guests with a scarf and I now have four of them. I've been here three days and I have had tea in five homes now, each time with biscuits and one time with these wonderful homemade fried treats that were light as a feather and sweet as honey. Anyone who has the tiniest spec of English is eager to share it with you and you can have a bit of a conversation without really understanding each other. At one home today, as we were loading up in our vehicle, our hosts said "We feel like God has come here today." I could let that go to my head but instead it humbles me more.

I do worry about the countries future a bit. Yesterday I met a young couple having ice cream. They were second year medical students and they couldn't wait to graduate so they could move to the States. They were cheerful, bright, and had better English than I do. They asked why we came here and I told them that I love the people. "This shithole?!? I can't wait to get out of here. Nothing works, it stinks, and the government is a joke. I will go to the USA and never come back." I hope that this isn't the norm for India's brightest and best. I didn't argue with them much, but I did tell them not to overlook the importance of people. I think that is the most significant thing a person can do, invest in people. It's something I'll try and get better and better at doing myself.

Yes, she smiled. Only because she didn't know I was taking her picture.

Every time I look into the street or visit a humble village home with its walls of bamboo and mud, I'm reminded of just how hard life is for a vast majority of Indians. Countless times I've been introduced to someone who I assume is in their 80's only to be told that they are in their 50's. I met a bent-up woman today that walked with a cane and could barely see. She was missing several teeth and her skin had the texture of a dryed and cracking river bed. She was 58 and as I look at her picture, I smile at the rememberance of her warmth and the enthusiasm she showed as she welcomed us into her home.

 

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The Winter Of Our Discount Tent

(NOTE: The internet went down Saturday during a thunderstorm and we just got it back today. I'll have some post catching up to do.)

Today we got together with a bunch of old friends and met some new ones. Lunch was supposed to be in the family courtyard and 99% of the time in January this is a perfect time for that kind of event. The weather sunny and dry and it's in the mid-70's. This year we saw some torrential rain and even a little hail and the temperature was in the 50's.

Clouds produce rain but the power lines don't deliver power.

There are certain items that you can find anywhere in the world. Coca-cola cans, those plastic lawn chairs that break if you try to lean back in them, and blue polyester tarps. Only two of those three were found at lunch time. The chairs work great as long as you don't try to lean back on them and the tarp is excellent at sheilding you from rain as long as you aren't near the edge where the water drips down or towards the middle where the creases have caused it to crack. Oh well, we still had a great time with friends and a real home-cooked Assamese meal, even if we were a bit soggy and everone had a blue tinge to them from the light filtering through the tarp.

There's a power outage in the rural areas so our indoor meeting was lit by a single kerosene candle contraption. I think I inhaled enough smoke from it that I've lost 40% capacity in my left lung. That still left me 60% for conversation and laughter, more than enough if you're with the right people and I was. We were late leaving for town and it was pitch black in the middle of nowhere when we had the flat tire. Getting out of the back of the vehicle someone slammed my finger in the car door. The upside is that you should always have hand sanitizer in your pocket and no matter where you are in India, within 200 yards you will find a shack selling an odd assortment of items. That means you can clean your wound and if you have ten ruppees, you can buy five bandaids. Watching the ingenuity of an Indian changing a tire with none of the proper tools and getting it done in record time provides enough entertainment to take your mind off the pain.

Tomorrow I'll be going to church with these same friends and then I believe we're going to see some old ruins and a fort left from the British colonial days. We'll see what actually happens as in India, the key to happiness is to always be flexible. Actually, I think that's one of the keys to happiness no matter where you are.

 

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Finally

When it comes to travel, that was the worst trip to India I've had yet. l won't bore you with a lot of details. It was mainly one delay after another that left us getting to the hotel at midnight instead of the planned 6:00 in the evening. That meant we had been either in a car, on a plane, stuck in an airport, or on a bus almost constantly from 3:00am Wednesday morning until midnight of Friday night. The lukewarm shower and humble bed last night was like a day at the spa and a night at the Ritz-Carlton. So, this morning, rather than grumble in my writing, I'm feeling incredibly thankful for a good nights rest and after a little reading of the 46th Psalm, I'm ready to face whatever the day may bring.

Domino's evidently delivers here as well. Sigh.

I'm taking some special care with names and places this year so you'll get a bit of code-speak. Sorry about that, but it's for the safety of all involved. Don't let that raise any undue fears on your part. I'm more in danger in a lot of neighborhoods in Omaha or Denver than I am here. It's just a consideration for those that live here that I've got to take this year.

I've been reunited with many of my friends from previous trips and it's great to see their faces, share their embraces, and hear their voices. G is contagious in his joy and enthusiasm, K shared the news of his upcoming wedding in February, and we have our favorite driver that we haven't seen in four years back behind the wheel.

Our final airport is really the picture of a third-world airport. There is decaying plaster falling from the ceilings and men carrying AK47's, people dressed in little more than rags hawking samosa's and chai. And right across the road there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken. As the photo here shows, across from our hotel there is now a Domino's Pizza. The appearance of these two American icons in the middle of nowhere (which in my heart, in many ways is the middle of everywhere) gives me just a tinge of sadness.

Last night, or, more accurately, this morning, when we were getting to bed a heavy rain came. It's the dry season here so the rain is very welcome. While it's fairly tropical here, in my previous visits I never got to see the green as everything is covered in dust. This morning throught the haze I can see that it has been washed away and later we'll be driving into the countryside and I can wait to see the tea plantations in their proper hue.

 

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Hurtling and Hurting

Let's get something straight: I love being in India. What I hate is getting there. As my traveling partner Jeff puts it, we're treated like cattle. That might be putting it a little bit harshly as I don't believe there is a slaughter house at the end of the trip. Still, for the most part you are poked and prodded and led down chutes in tight places and the whole ordeal is never really comfortable. The 15+ hour flight to Dubai, even if it is on Emirates, is still no place for any shuteye if you are 6'4" and 205 pounds.

Pre-flight pic. No post flight pic as there are decency laws to consider.

Oh, well. It's all part of the process. The good news is that the person seated next to me was the perfect airline companion. A self-proclaimed surf bum, the 27 year old girl from Denmark was pleasant company and very petite. Those two attributes are always preferable to a grumpy 250 pound ex-linebacker or the like. She's on her way to South Africa to chase waves and a boyfriend. We visited about politics, faith, and how one would ever learn to surf in Denmark. I thought it providential that I would end up next to a Dane as I had just started reading Macbeth while waiting at the terminal. While not a timely piece of literature that takes place in Denmark, my traveling companion did inform me that Denmark still has a monarchy. No word of a ghostly murdered king showing up and asking his troubled son for vengeance, however.

That's right: 15 hours and 29 minutes.

Emirates is a great airline and because we had an eight hour layover, they've provided us with a hotel and meal vouture. Unfortunately, with the check out of security, bus ride to the hotel, bus ride back to the airport, and time for another security check, it really equates to about four hours in the hotel. I don't think I'll take advantage of the bed because I have a feeling that if I do hit the sheets, I won't wake up for the bus ride back. Still, it beats hanging around in the airport and I just had the most extraordinary lentil soup at the hotel restaurant so there is that.

Two more short flights and a bus ride and I will be with some old friends in India and I can't wait. There's a little disruption at home with the store, but it's a good thing. My prayers and thanks are with my wife and staff that are handling it all in stride.

 

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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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Investing Wisely

This weekend I attended the retirement celebrations of one of my closest friends. I guess it's just sort of a retirement. Mark is retiring from being a full-time pastor though he will remain in the church as a teacher and preach every once in awhile. He's also a professor at the local community college and he'll continue there, a position he hopes will become full-time in the next year or so.

Mark and I are not the most likely of friends. It's probably been about twenty years ago that he saw me sitting at a local diner, waiting for my breakfast, and he approached my table and asked if he could join me. It started as simple as that: two passing acquantances, one an evangelical pastor and the other a confirmed agnostic, sitting and having coffee together. The friendship grew to include the pastor sitting in the hospital for six hours praying as the agnostic went through a life-threatening surgery, the pastor officiating at the agnostics wedding, the pastor hearing the now former agnostic proclaiming Christ as his savior, the pastor and the former agnostic traveling half way around the world together to tell others about Christ.

Mark was instrumental in my coming to know and accept the gospel but he did it in the most benign and simple way: he became my friend. He invested his time, his friendship, and his prayer in me. To put it at it's most basic level, he just simply loved me.

Mark (second from the right) taking a break during our trip together.

A few days ago I found out that another person had signed up to be on our team that is going to India this next January. As I've done in the past when someone who has never been to India or the mission field signs up, I sent him my primer for India missions. It includes a lot of practical information about the culture, what to pack, what to expect, and it finishes with some information about the actual ministry. The final paragraph is the most important, in my mind. It reads:

"Love the people you are sharing with. It's really that simple. The lives they live are hard. They work long hours to provide for their families. Most of them are dalits, the lowest social class in India. You are considered the highest of social class. To show them love is something they have never experienced from anyone but their own people. Not even their Hindu gods show them love. Love them and show them that love and do it without ceasing and without reservation. It's as effective as any gospel presentation could ever be."

I wrote that long before I started thinking about Mark retiring and our friendship and God's use of Mark in my becoming saved. The more I reflect on it, the more I think it's true. The most effective thing that believers can do for one another, for non-believers, and for ourselves, is to simply love. It sounds so simple and yet in practice can be so hard.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the people in which I've invested a big chunk of my heart. When I get there I'm sure I'll spend a fair amount of time reflecting on my friend Mark and the investment of love he made in me and the time we spent in India together simply investing our love into the people there.

 

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Miscellany

As promised, here are some little tidbits, many of them not related to the actual mission itself.  For instance, how about the traffic?  It's organized mayhem.  My friend Mark likes to say that Indian traffic disproves the physics rule that two objects cannot occupy the same space.  As an added bonus, I've found a translation of the official India Drivers Manual.  It's quite short.

1. Stay left.  Mostly.
2. When in doubt, honk your horn.
3. Try not to die.

Not sure if I'm helping, or just getting in the way.

It was rice processing time while we were there.  The harvest was complete.  Now most of the residents were busy getting the rice ready for storage and use.  Getting the rice off the stalk involves whacking it on a board.  Then it has to be spread out to dry.  I jumped in to see what kind of work it is to do the whacking.  It isn't hard at all, but I can't imagine doing it from sun up to sun down.

Spreading the rice to dry on a rooftop patio.

If you can see this picture and not smile yourself,
consult a physician.  You may be dead.

This is the poorest state in India.  Each time I'm in India, it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me.  I spend half my time being extremely happy to be there and to be doing what I'm doing.  The other half of my time I spend fighting back tears as I watch the hardships these people face.  God is good, however, and it seems that whenever I'm at my lowest, he sends some kids to me and their infectious smiles bring me back to my joy.

I learned a little more Hindi on this trip, thanks to my coaches, a troop of young ladies that are the daughters of some of our national team members.  They loved teaching all of us Americans simple phrases and words and laughed when we would screw them up.  They also love to have their pictures taken.  I think they are the prettiest blooms in this garden.

I Am Second Follow Up

One of the impressive things that e3 Partners does is the way it partners with local native churches and pastors to provide follow up with people who have accepted Christ as their savior while the American team is there for their mission. In many areas, including our trips to India, this is done using the I Am Second method of bible study to create small groups that will eventually, with God's grace, become house churches.

The I Am Second method is brilliant in it's simplicity. As a study method it offers a lot of advantages, including:

1. Nearly anyone can lead a group, whether they're a new believer or quite seasoned.
2. The format is conversational in nature, building bonds between the participants.
3. Since it relies only on the scripture passage at hand, you don't need a vast amount of scriptural knowledge to participate.
4. Accountability is built into the study, as is sharing with others outside the group.

The basic outline of an I Am Second study is very simple and is as follows:

1. Read the scripture.
2. Ask the following two questions: What do you like about this scripture? What do you find confusing about this scripture?
3. Read the scripture a second time.
4. Ask the following two questions: What does this scripture tell us about people? What does this scripture tell us about God?
5. Read the scripture a third time.
6. Ask the following two questions: What will you apply from this scripture in your life? Who will you tell about this and when?

This is the basic outline of the follow up sessions that the Indian pastors and volunteers will do with the new believers that started groups during our trip. If you will take note of the questions in step six, those become the first two questions for the following weeks study. This makes for great accountability and also lends iteself to the group spreading as the participants share the stories with others.

For more information about I Am Second studies, free downloads and information, and whole slew of resources, visit www.iamsecond.com

 

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The Final Days

Our final evening at the location was spent as a time of celebration with our nationals.  There was plenty to celebrate.  Over the course of four days we had shared the gospel with 1,937 people.  581 of those people had professed faith in Jesus Christ.  16 I Am Second bible study groups were formed and it is a hope that these study groups, given time and nurturing, will become house churches.  Due to the structure of the bible studies, and I'll go into that in depth in a later post, there is a great possibility that those study groups will spread to make many more.

As you can tell from the video, Indian style worship is pretty dynamic and a real joyful thing!

We spent the next morning in more training with the nationals, making sure they were 100% in their understanding of the method of their follow up studies with the home study groups, call "satsangs" in India.  Satsang, translated literally, means "discussion."

This was the team that I hit the field with everyday.

We spent some time saying our goodbyes.  Over the course of four days you spend a lot of time with your team, at least eight hours a day, driving to and from the field, in the field, and at meals.  There is a fairly good chance that I'll never see any of them again and I will miss them all.

We loaded up our bus and started the four hour drive to the airport for our first short flight back to Delhi.  Unlike our bus drive here, this one is in the daytime and the traffic is incredible so the trip takes longer.

We finally arrive in Delhi and it's bedtime so we crash for the night.  The following morning is a bit of free time.  It's election day in Delhi so many of the shops are closed.  Five of us decide to take a hike to the ruins of a sultan's tomb that is about a mile from the hotel.  We walked through some pretty interesting and perhaps dicey neighborhoods and attract plenty of attention, but there aren't any problems.  The ruins are pretty cool, but even here there is trash everywhere.  I'll never understand the practice of just throwing all your trash onto the ground.

Inside the actual tomb.  While we were there someone came to worship.
I really wanted to tell them that our tomb is better because it's empty.

The shops were allowed to open after 5:00 on election day so the bus loaded up and we went to a shopping area to buy souvenirs for our loved ones at home.  Then it was off to a final dinner together.  There happened to be a real Baskin Robins ice cream store next to the restaurant and we all loaded up on some great ice cream and then posed for a shot of the American team, minus Leotta and Lyle.  They had a friend in Delhi they had left to spend a day or two with before heading back.

We had our rooms for the evening so we were all faced with a choice: try and grab some shuteye before our bus to the airport at 1:00am or simply tough it out and spend the next several hours with little sleep.  Maybe it was unwise, but I opted for the latter.  Little did I know that, due to cramped flights and bad timing, I wouldn't be sleeping again in any real meaningful way for a total of about 40 hours.

The American team, minus Leotta and Lyle, along with Charles
and his wife Rohini.

It was with great relief that I finally walked in the door of my home to hold my wonderful wife in my arms.  I'm still struggling a bit with jet lag and both Matt and I caught some sort of bug on the way home so we're a bit miserable, but it's all worth it.  I can't wait to get back.

In the following week or so I'll have a couple more posts for you.  One with some miscellaneous info and fun stuff, another with some details on I Am Second studies and the method the e3 Partners has put into place for helping the satsangs thrive and hopefully grow.

Final Field Days

(NOTE: I'm actually back in the States again after some grueling hours in airplanes and airports. I didn't get around to posting while more while I was there because of scheduling and the lack of good internet access. There'll be a few more posts to follow concerning this trip so stay tuned.)
It's been a couple of really good days in the field here and today we will wrap things up.
Yesterday took us to three different villages and we shared with about 200 people. The first home was a second visit for us and our first chance to start an I Am Second bible study. For a large part of this and all of our visits today, we Americans don't play much of a role. That's just fine with me as the whole purpose of these visits is to equip these new believers and the local pastors with the tools and knowledge to learn and study about God on their own. After all, the commandment is "Go and make disciples", not to simply make believers. The Americans make their introductions, sharing about our country, participating in small talk with the people, and then sharing the gospel or our testimony with them.

The nationals then take over and lead the group in an I Am Second bible study. When properly done, these studies really do a great job of doing what most every teacher would agree is about the toughest thing to get a student to do: actually think about the topic at hand. The format encourages discussion and participation and for the most part, there are really no wrong answers that a participant can give.
At the end of our study time we asked for another appointment to study again. A young lady, mother of four, quickly volunteered her home for the next day. What was great about this was that you could tell from her enthusiasm and the way that she participated in the study that she wasn't volunteering her home simply for the honor of having Americans visit, but because she was eager to learn more.

Charles leading a group of interested young men in an I Am Second study.

Today we as Americans will do the last of our visits. The nationals will continue the studies in the homes that we've started them in. We will also be installing water filtration systems in six villages, a pretty desperate need here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the level of poverty here is unimagineable to most Americans. Last night Matt, Jeff, and I were in the hotel room and the TV was on in the background. A commercial for one of the aid groups like Feed The Children came on. Jeff said "I never would have thought that I would be seeing one of these kids." referring to the haunting images on the screen.
I replied "You haven't seen one of them. You've seen thousands of them."

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That lucky old sun

One thing about the celestial design of our Creator: Each day is a new day.

Within minutes we had quite a following. Mainly children with the few adults coming along to see what the fuss was about. I visited with the men digging a new connection line from the well to their village. I got to help just a little with seperating rice kernels from their grassy stalks. Alicia learned how to properly tie her scarf into a headcovering from a young girl, one who would not let go of her hand for our entire stay.Today was a much better one. We took off this morning and the plan was for three of the nationals to go the village where the man had died yesterday to see how things stood. Kajul (pronounced Ka-jewel), Alicia, and I were to be dropped off at a village we had also visited that day, just to walk around, see the village, and pray a bit.

We ended our tour in front of a home and chairs were put out for us. Alicia and I wondered what to do next. Looking at all the young ones around, we decided to pick one of them and act out the story of David and Goliath. Being a giant here among the Indians, I was the natural choice for the part of Goliath. We picked a somewhat shy David from the crowd and Alicia started telling the story. Yes, I hammed it up quite a bit. The kids laughed as the young David was coerced into throwing a pebble at me and I took a dive on the courtyard ground.

A few adults had gathered by now so we decided to share the malaria and HIV prevention information we had. We had previously been told to only share the gospel in a more enclosed setting, but an adult from the crowd must've heard about our previous visit and asked us to tell about Jesus. So how could we refuse? I gave a presentation and ten adults accepted Christ. We were telling them that we would be back on Thursday so they could learn more when a stranger showed up in a rather new red car. We got just a bit worried because with the BJP government, anti-christian sentiment is a little bit high and there are certain provisions concerning proselytizing in India.

As it turned out, he was a businessman-cum-politician and was curious what we were doing. I told him we were sharing information with the people about malaria and HIV prevention and other health issues. (Christianity is a health of the soul issue, is it not?) He then went on to tell about a factory he was opening that would make fertilizer and soap and how he would provide health services to his employees, etc., etc., etc. He invited us to tour his office whenever we were in Delhi yada, yada, yada. One can only hope that he was at least half telling the truth.

My two companions are blessing. Kajul really is a jewel, intensely quiet until she laughs and smiles and then the world around her explodes in lightness and joy. Alicia's love for the children here is intense and it shows in every breath she takes in their presence.We had two more presentations today and they both went well. The second one had a lot of children so we again did our David and Goliath routine. We'll be back to these two villages tomorrow and Thursday to do I Am Second bible studies, distribute reading glasses, and install water filtration systems.

Sorry there's no pics today. The internet is being a pain and pics are clogging it up.

 

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Mobius

There is poor, and then there is Bihar. None of us can imagine the struggle it is to simply survive here. There is no thriving, simply surviving. I'm not really sure that there is anything I could write that would explain it. I remember my first time, three years ago, witnessing the poverty in Assam. At times it was almost crushing to ones spirit. The second year I was able to keep that steam from coming to a boil. I hadn't gotten hardened to it. I had just learned to accept it as something that simply is. And now, seeing an even deeper poverty, something I couldn't have fathomed even existed............. well, it's just hard. At the end of the day you are emotionally drained from the strain of not breaking down in front of the people you are here to serve.

Today Alicia and I were on a team that visited the home of a man that was suffering badly from tuberculosis. We shared with his family in the humble courtyard of their home. There were about 20 present from the extended family and neighbors and even though we were the big attraction, so to speak, you could feel that the concern for their father was really the only thing on their mind. We prayed over him before we left.

Indian believers have a way of praying that can seem odd to us Americans. It's often their habit for everyone to pray their own individual prayers out loud, everyone at the same time. This is what we did at this mans bedside today. I don't have much Hindi so I can't be sure what my brothers were praying. Besides, I was concentrating on my own prayers.

For whatever reason, I'm always hesitant to pray for a healing. My prayer today was, if it was in God's will, this man be healed, but whatever the outcome, that God would be glorified. I prayed for his family as I know that having the man out of commission, whether due to sickness or due to death, would make life even more of a struggle for this family, as hard as that is to imagine.

By the time we got back to our hotel about three hours later, we found out he had passed away shortly after we left them.

I can't say that I have a lot of spiritual gifts but the one my friend Mark has accused me of is empathy. That has proved helpful a lot of times when I'm trying to negotiate a situation as it helps me to see things from other peoples points of view. Other times, like tonight as I sit late at night in a dark hotel lobby, typing through tears and feeling the pain of a desperately poor and struggling family who has just lost their father, husband, brother, and breadwinner, this gift to feel others pain really sucks.

 

 

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Sunday

Today was Sunday here and we broke up into five teams to visit and teach at five churches in our area. As with almost everything here, things started out immediately behind schedule. The official designation of the time zone in India is IST. We swear it stands for "India Stretchable Time." Anyway, after a 23 kilometer ride on bonecrushing roads, we finally arrived at our destination almost 90 minutes later than planned. It didn't matter. The humble house church, which usually numbers about 15-20, swelled to about 40 and they were waiting anxiously for us.

We assembled in a room that was about 15 x 15 feet. The congregants were spread out on the floor and the Americans, our native pastor, and our translator were all seated in plastic stacking chairs, the ubiquitous furniture of rural India. The pastor led us in an opening prayer and then a couple of acapella hymns, sung with great enthusiasm and rythmic clapping. Alicia then led off with a reading from Psalms and Marilyn followed up with her testimony using the evangicube. I finished off with a brief message focused on Isaiah 1:18-20. By the time we had finished our time together there were perhaps 60 people surrounding the little house. Word that Americans had arrived in this little village had evidently spread.

We were escorted back to our vehicles and I was disappointed that we didn't have more time, expecially when a sweet village elder asked us to stay for tea. My experience with the rural Indian people is that, no matter how poor they may be, they are incredibly hospitable and will share anything they have, no matter how little it is.

This afternoon and evening we spent about four hours in training with our nationals. Charles Golla, pictured here with Matt, is an amazing teacher of both the word and in how to share it. He has a contagious enthusiasm and a smile that makes you immediately take him into your confidence. The training was indepth and I think we all feel well prepared for our time in the field starting tomorrow.

Training was followed by dinner with our national volunteers. This is one of my favorite things, not just because of the food, but because of the fellowship with these people. Most of them have amazing testimonies and all of them have sacrificed to be on this mission with us. By the way, if you are ever at a table with rural Indians, do yourself a favor: skip using silverware and eat with your hands as they do. It's a liberating experience.

Tomorrow we hit the field and we're all excited to do the work we came here for.

 

 

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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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