Here is five month old Baby Jireh, son of Sampath and Uma Kumar–our friends and church planters in Peddipalli, A.P. India. We will get to see him on our next trip. We’re making it possible for Uma and Sampath to move from their little village in Peddibonkur, outside Peddipalli into town because their current water supply is contaminated with sewage. All three of them have been sick and it is difficult to be able to afford the fuel to boil all drinking water and cooking water. Here in the states we don’t often live close enough to the edge of our finances to have to count the pennies that fuel to boil drinking water would cost. We can be thankful that we are so blessed to take our daily comfort and safety for granted. Pray with us for this little family as they seek to share Jesus with their friends and neighbors. They have a little church meeting regularly and now need a means of transportation to visit other believers in their area.
Meet Baby Jireh
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: church planting, health and hygiene, Jireh, poverty
India on My Mind
I’ve got India on my mind today. Here’s a picture of little Eswaramma, one of the children we send to school in Andhra Pradesh. She’s the daughter of one of Nehemiah and Sarah Naik’s Master Trainers and her family is very poor. As we were driving to our CPA’s office yesterday we did a summary of the number of children we now send to a good school and the count is 48! These children either wouldn’t attend school at all or would be in a government school where the teachers may or may not show up and where they would receive minimal attention as very poor children. Now they’ll receive an education that will give them the option of continuing on to at least the 10th standard and maybe even the “plus two”, 11th and 12th standards, with an opportunity to find a good job someday. The monthly fees of $10 are well beyond their means, but are just a fast-food lunch to us. We’re so thankful for those of you who help us give to these children, changing their lives dramatically.
We just got itineraries for our next trip which begins on November 15th with a return date of January 12th. Once we have our travel dates and begin to map out our schedule, my mind is continually living in India! This trip begins with a visit to Calcutta and ends with our son’s wedding in Bangalore on December 29th. But in between we’ll be visiting many ministry friends and have the chance to see firsthand all the good work taking place. Because Josh’s wedding is in Bangalore both of our children and our son in law will have the chance to meet some of our co-workers and travel to some villages to see ministry, something we never thought would be possible. We’re excited for that opportunity.
Yesterday I did some planning with my friend Diana who lives in Allahabad. When I visit her we’ll spend a week working with young Hindu women who want to learn to study the Bible for themselves. Many of them are attending Bible School, but as we query them on their studies it seems the curriculum jumps all over the place and they don’t have any instruction that leads them to independent learning. I’ll have just five lessons in which to teach a simple inductive method of opening up a passage on their own. Of course Diana will continue on after I leave which makes the plan so much stronger.
I met for coffee this morning with two teacher friends. They’re both at the end of their summer vacation and their minds are undoubtedly on their new school year. It was fun to tell them some of the stories about India and how different life is over there. I realize how fortunate I am that God has taken me to a place virtually unknown to Americans. I feel as if I’ve been entrusted with the knowledge that we really can change a life with just a tiny effort or a tiny gift. So, if I seem preoccupied next time you see me it’s because I’ve got India on my mind.
Tell a Story, Save a Soul
I spent a good part of this afternoon studying an evangelism method designed for non-literate people. It’s a training program in which trainers teach non-readers to tell stories, both their own and some from the Bible, to invite them to choose Jesus. In turn, these new believers immediately find another person who wants to hear a story and soon these illiterate people are able to articulate both their faith and train others to do the same. It’s a fact that most of the remaining unreached people groups are those who would not benefit from Bibles translated into their language as they don’t read their own mother tongue. But they love to hear stories, and especially those giving them hope for a better life. The program is called S-T4T, or Storying: Training for Trainers. Every person who says yes, they want to hear stories, and then receive Christ as the mediator between themselves and God, learn right away to tell the stories to others. If they say no to Christ, they are invited to join a group to hear more stories. The model was first developed in China and then modified for non-readers everywhere. Lots of thought has gone into providing for cultural differences as vocabulary is tweaked to ensure clear meaning within a given culture, illustrations are chosen from familiar life experiences and so on. We’re excited about sharing this method with our workers in India and with friends there who are looking for appropriate ways to share the Gospel. It’s such a simple message at the heart of it, yet we tend to make it so difficult. It’s God’s provision for restoring people to Him through Jesus. It’s a wonderful story.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: India, literacy, restoration, telling stories, unreached people groups
Farewell to the Heritage Hotel
We just found out through a friend in Hyderabad that our favorite little hideout in that city has closed its doors. The Heritage Hotel was the first hotel I stayed in on my first trip to India. I was still in that open-mouthed phase of travel in India in which every single thing I looked at was a mystery to me. I became somewhat famous on that first trip for shorting out all the electricity in the hotel every time I tried to blow-dry my hair. The Heritage was really only the fourth floor of a pretty horrible building, but that floor had clean enough rooms and a nice little courtyard in front of the eating area. I was used to the breakfasts and the newspaper and the green soap and the particular room in which the shower actually worked. I liked it there. I know all the nearby restaurants, the closest ATM’s and internet facilities. I will really miss it. I am a creature of habit and I like the familiar. I’ll miss the little doorman who wasn’t really on staff, but sat on the front steps and opened the door faithfully day in and day out and for whom we bought eyeglasses. We always gave him our leftovers after we had dinner at the Nanking. I don’t know what he’ll do now to find a way to live.
Hyderabad continues to have unrest and many enforced strikes due to the controversy over the attempts of the Telengana areas to secede from Andhra Pradesh. It is a hot political topic and is yet to be resolved. It’s gone on for years but has become violent of late. That and drought and the general dip in economic conditions put the Heritage out of business. I’ll miss the familiar faces there and the views and….pretty much everything about it. It was comfortable like a long-term friendship. Farewell old friend.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: culture shock, hotels, Hyderabad, India, travel
Same and Different
I spent a good part of yesterday writing letters to the fourteen women I taught last year near Hyderabad. Each one of these women was sent by their churches or pastors or someone who believes in their leadership ability to learn cross-cultural evangelism principles plus a whole slough of “technologies”. These technologies are hands-on skills and small business ideas to make a little extra money; things like candle making, detergent making, and compost making.
Every one of these women live far below any poverty line we have here in the states. One woman, when giving me her testimony talked about being a “slave” to another family as she grew up so that she could eat. We might call her a housekeeper (at age 11 or 12) but she used the word slave. This same woman is now a leader over 74 village churches in the mountains of Assam and travels to each of them by bicycle. She has no home of her own, but lives in her ancestral family home with her sister and brother in law. She says she has suffered much in her life. But she has a deep joy inside her as well. This is Bilahi and I love her.
When I think of the things that are the same about my fourteen friends and me it is the inside things. We all love the Lord and want our lives to count for something in His kingdom. But the tangible, material things will never be the same. I long to share some of the comforts I have with each of them. I wish I could provide a home for my friend Bilahi. I wish she had electricity and running water. I wish she always had enough to eat and that she would know she would eat tomorrow too. I feel so fortunate to have met these women and know they are a microcosm of thousands of believing women in India. Pray with me for these women who give so much and are happy to do it.
Veena and Ashwini Go To “Plus Two”
Two years ago when we visited the Indian Mission School in Peddipalli I interviewed some of their top students. I loved hearing their stories but was struck by the tension in each of these young people as they told their family histories. All are poor, most are children of day workers who eat on days they work and don’t the rest of the time. The children are so happy to be in a good school, but even though they are bright and making good grades, they don’t have much hope for future education. Their school ends at grade 10. If they want to go on to “plus two”, grades 11 and 12, they need to find support somewhere. One boy actually trembled and fought back tears as he told of his desire to go on to school. Teams India has established a two-year scholarship to enable the top student of each IMS graduating class to attend Plus Two. This two-year scholarship will make all the difference in the world for their future. Ashwini wrote a qualifying exam to a government residential college and was accepted. She wants to be an engineer, being very strong in science and math. Her father died and rather than live with her mother and step-father she lives with her grandparents who are elderly and very poor. Now she will reside at the college during the school year and our funds will pay for her living expenses.
Veena was the top student in her class. She also has no father and her mother is a daily wage laborer. She has entered a local college and also wants to become an engineer. Our scholarship has paid all her school fees for this year and will again for grade 12. I am always struck by the good we are able to do in India for a relatively small amount of money. $150 pays for a full year of college fees for these girls. There are always more students needing help. If you feel led to change a life, make your donation to Teams India. (See Scholarship tab)
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: changing lives, education, India, poor, scholarship
A Lifestyle of Generosity
My very first posts on this site came into existence because I heard about the concept of saving out one handful of rice daily to give to the poor. I thought this was a Christian teaching in India, but have since learned that it is much broader than that. In many parts of Asia women do this act of kindness as they begin their day. They save the handfuls until there is enough to give as a gift to someone poorer than themselves.
What is the handful that you scoop out each day to keep in store for others more needy? Do you store up kind words or deeds for widows in your neighborhood? Do you offer help to those who can’t do their own household repairs or yard work? Do you make phone calls to someone who is lonely? Do you send money to organizations who help the needy?
The beauty of the one handful of rice concept is that you don’t have to be rich to participate. You don’t have to give a large amount or do monumentous tasks for others. You just need to be mindful that there is so much emptiness and need all around, and you can do your part to help. It’s a pay it forward kind of thing. It’s what Jesus would do.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: generosity, giving, love, one handful of rice, sharing
Persecution Increases in Three Indian States
I received a disturbing e-mail from friends in India this morning. There have been serious attacks made on pastors and church members in the past few weeks. In the city of Hubli, where our friend Grace lives in the state of Karnataka, a pastor and three church members were severely beaten while praying for a sick woman. They had been asked to come to her home to pray for her, but were charged under the “Forced Conversion” Act which is a law on the books in several states including Orissa, Karnataka and Chattisgarh. This law states that no one may be converted from one religion to another forcibly. It also accuses Christians of “deceiving the people with false hopes.” The government authorities in these areas have determined that holding meetings in churches, homes and public places constitutes force. The attacks are usually led by young men from radical Hindu groups, one of them being a group called The Bajrang Dal. Local police seem to be unsure how to proceed when Christian pastors and churchmembers are beaten and then taken to police stations. Sometimes they are pressing charges and other times they are releasing the victims of the beatings with warnings to stop meeting and stop preaching. It all sounds a lot like the trials the disciples went through in the New Testament when they were beaten and thrown in jail or released with the same admonitions.
We’re living in dangerous times for Christians who believe in evangelism. The large established Christian churches are not being targeted at this point, but the future for the Gospel in India seems to promise a lot of confrontation and conflict. We know what that does to the church—it intensifies the work of the Holy Spirit and causes believers to become firmly established in the midst of the persecution–It causes the church to grow. So we can praise God for that while remembering our brothers and sisters in prayer.
You can become involved in the battle. Will you pray for Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh and Karnataka? Pray that the current leaders whose political leanings support radical Hinduism will be thrown out of office. Pray that the authorities will interpret the anti-conversion laws correctly and stop the assaults on Christian gatherings. Pray for courage for the believers to stand in the face of danger and if you would like to flood the governor’s and chief ministers offices with concerned e-mails, here are some e-mail addresses. Speaking truth in love is an effective force for the spread of the Gospel around the world.
Chief Minister of Karnataka: Shri B.S. Yediyurappa,
Governor of Karnakata: Shri Hans Raj Bhardwaj,
rbblr@vsnl.com
Chief Minister of Chattisgarh: Dr. Raman Singh,
cm@cg.nic.in
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: persecution, radical Hindu movement, Bajrang Dal, Dharam Sena
Fifteen Friends
This is a group photo of the women I taught last November at a training center near Hyderabad. The women came from different parts of the country and spoke many different languages, but the teaching was all done in English. One of the women, Akip, came from a place in the north and spoke a language that no one else could speak. She spent six months understanding only a little bit, but still was able to worship, pray, and learn the hands-on technologies such as tree grafting, composting, candle-making and so on. The lady in white is the women’s “warden”, what we might call a dorm mother. She belongs to an order of women who serve and remain single although she has several “adopted” children. She scolded us when we missed one of the mandatory tea times. She laughed at our jokes and made sure we had everything we needed and took good care of us. I love these women. Each one has a ministry either in the future or already begun. Several have heart-wrenching stories of oppression and persecution for standing firm in their faith. They are on my mind and in my heart every day. They spent six months in a place far above their usual lifestyles of struggle and need. Their daily lives now are often difficult, their living conditions impossible for us to accept. Will you pray for them? Pray for courage and perseverance to follow their plans to reach out to another culture in their home area. Pray for the means to buy land, or begin small businesses or start “wedges” which are women’s groups to grant small loans to begin small businesses. Pray for their continued devotion to the Lord and that they will gain favor with the people groups they minister to. Pray for their safety. One of these women houses thirty children displaced by the persecution in Orissa. Pray for the funds to care for these children as she raises her own son and three nephews. Praise God when you remember them for their wonderful spirits and the joy they have in knowing Jesus as Savior.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: cross-cultural evangelism, India, missions, persecution, training centers
Education:The Gift of a Better Life
Nehemiah and Sarah Naik have built a house church network in southern Andhra Pradesh. They began their ministry by giving free rice to the families of handicapped people and slowly began to tell friends and neighbors of their belief in a God who loves His people. Now they have a large network of house churches and seven master trainers who continue the multiplication of small churches meeting in homes. Master trainers have their own territories and must travel often to visit their leaders and give trainings. Many of them work in the fields as day laborers to feed their families. They are very poor.
One of the things Teams India most enjoys doing is providing funds for a proper education for children in India. For only $10 per month a child can attend a good school (as opposed to the very questionable government schools). That $10 pays for school tuition and fees, uniforms, books, pencils and paper. For a mere $120 per year a child can get an education that will make the difference in finishing high school after completing 10th grade, and ultimately will decide the life work of the individual. Statistics show that a child who becomes conversant in English will earn triple the amount of money annually that a native speaker is able to earn.
Nehemiah’s seven master trainers have a total of eleven children who up to this point have been attending very poor government schools. In these schools there are from 60-100 students per class with only one teacher. And often the teachers’ attendance is poor. They are known to write something on the board and then sleep the rest of the day. Children play or sit idly as the hours pass by. In private schools the teaching is rigorous and time is not wasted. Although the conditions of the buildings are sometimes poor, there is quality instruction and learning taking place.
Teams India has recently had several contributions made to our education fund for these eleven children. Their families are absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity for their children. The new school year begins in July so the gifts are very timely. There is a similar need for the children of Master Trainers in northern India. If you want to make a huge difference in the life of a child, feel free to respond to Teams India with your interest. Below are two of the children who will now attend a good school and begin to experience the joy of real learning.
Salem Raj Eswaramma
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: education, house church networks, India, master trainers, scholarships, schools
