One Handful of Rice » 2010 Posts

A grateful Heart

janpierce — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:30:43 +0000

As we get ready to fly out tomorrow morning I want to take a minute to thank all of you who have contributed to Teams India. When I first began this blog I appealed to all of us to live a life of generosity. Now four years later I look back and think of all the good things that have been accomplished in large part because of generous friends—you know who you are! I know that some of you give sacrificially. Thank you. On this trip we’ll be able to continue the education of nearly fifty children, share basic Bible truths with various groups, distribute some beautiful books on Psalm 23, give seed money to my friend Grace who manages an ever increasing number of mini-banks for the purpose of helping women begin small businesses, and we’ll also teach a two day marriage seminar. We’ll do more as doors open as they always do in India. I’ll post on this site as often as I can and would love to have you send your comments to encourage us along the way.

Your Valuable Prayers

janpierce — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:42:04 +0000

I just received a message from a friend in India which closed with a phrase often used by Christians there. He thanked us for our “valuable prayers” on behalf of his daughter who had been very ill. The words made me think of what is actually accomplished by our prayers for others. Do we benefit the persons we pray for by simply reminding God about their needs? Are we reminding ourselves to care about the outcome of the circumstances surrounding the needs? Or is there something mysterious about prayer that we, in this life, don’t quite grasp?

Probably there are these elements and many more in the prayers we offer up to the God who loves us. And I know that God doesn’t forget things–no senior moments there– yet we’re told to pray without fully understanding the benefit. Our believing friends in India seem to be aware that prayer is valuable. I, for one, would like to remember that phrase and use it to spur my heart and mind to pray more often.

My Feet in Two Worlds

janpierce — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Today my task is to type up outlines for two lessons we’ll do on the topic of marriage. Then I’m visiting my hairdresser and spending some time with a close friend. In my mind I’m fitting things into suitcases and trying not to forget little details: buy more cat food, ask the neighbor to feed said cat, buy nametags for the Hindi speaking women’s class, try to figure out what I’ll do with my hair for the wedding, talk to the staff at my Mom’s assisted living and leave contact phone numbers….and the list goes on.

But what am I really doing instead of all these things? I’m looking at pictures of the people I love in India. Little Stalin, Krupa, Pavan and Pranith, Naveen–all children at the orphanage. Akanksha and her husband Thomas who will have their first baby by the time we get there. I so wish I knew the gender of that baby so I could buy some things. I’m thinking of Nehemiah and Sarah and wondering how Sarah’s injuries are healing. Thinking of my friend Grace who we’ll get to see later in the trip. My head is spinning and in between two worlds, but my Spirit is really, really happy and excited.

Like a Mustard Seed

janpierce — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:15:04 +0000

In eleven days we’ll head for the airport and begin our journey to India. We’ll check luggage in Portland and then fly on to Seattle, Frankfurt and land some thirty or forty hours later in Calcutta. We get in at something like one in the morning there, but after going through customs and all it may be more like three a.m. By the time we finish one of those long trips we really don’t know what time of the day or night it would be at home. We’ve entered into the “other world” of India. We’ll do a little shopping and then take a train with Diana Phillips back to her hometown of Allahabad.

While we’re with David and Diana in Allahabad we’ll both be teaching groups of adults from their home church. David also meets weekly with a group of young Christian men and Roger will work with them too. The Word says we only need faith like a mustard seed to plant the truth of life in Jesus in the hearts of others. With that tiny seed imparted we can watch God grow huge trees of mighty faith and hope. While we’re both preparing lessons for our time in Allahabad, we’re also mindful that sometimes the best teaching comes directly from our hearts and lives and is best served “fresh” as the Spirit moves. I’ll be teaching themes from Philippians to a group of young Hindu women who have converted from Hinduism to Christianity. They want to be able to read the Bible and learn for themselves. I want them to be able to do that too. David and Helen Haidle have given me some beautiful books on Psalm 23 and I hope to share those. Then there are gift inventories for the adult women (probably needing some tweaking for cultural differences) and finally a two day marriage seminar. Roger and I sincerely hope we are able to dispense some marital encouragement without breaking out into a little spat of our own.

Not only is our faith sometimes as small as a mustard seed, but it seems that the things we have to offer others are small as well. We can only go in the desire to be givers of all we’ve received and with the desire to be least and not most. You can follow our travel at this site and remind other readers to check in during November and December as we go back to our friends and family in India.

Calcutta, Allahabad, Delhi, BANGALORE, and more

janpierce — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:01:45 +0000

Josh and Kavita have just a couple of months until their wedding in Bangalore on December 29th. I can’t wait. It’s only three weeks until we leave for India. This weekend we had the privilege of meeting Kavita’s aunt and uncle from Connecticut and also seeing Kavita’s cousin, husband and little baby. It made me even more eager for the wedding day to come. We expect to be absolutely overwhelmed by wedding parties which will come during Christmas and various family birthdays too. But first we have a million things to do here.

Buy a two month supply of cat food and cat litter for Mom’s cat. Check

Buy safety pins and hair pins and gold slippers and, yikes, what else for the wedding day. Sort of check

Make Roger try on his suits and shirts and pants. Not so much.

Try not to worry that I’ll forget things, and just relax and enjoy the ride. Working on it.

In church this morning our pastor had us think of something that is really bugging us and then pray for God to meet us right at that point and do us some good. I prayed about how I’ve been a teacher my whole adult life, but still worry that I’ll be ineffective when I teach in India. I realized that I do have things to say and I do know things I want to share and even though there will be cultural barriers and language challenges, I’ll do fine. I’m really tired of being so hung up on my own fears of failure and I’m just not putting up with it anymore! What do you think? Will I succeed? I’ll let you know while we’re on the road.

Typically, once we’re on our way I ‘m able to let go of life here and focus on the “other world” we find over there. It is always a little surreal to realize that India is always there, living and breathing as it always has, while America trots along on this side of the world with our focus on politics, sports, movies, television, food, the latest on Dr. Phil and all the rest. But three weeks from now we’ll dive in again. First we’ll shop in Calcutta, then on to Allahabad where we’ll teach and share with the church David and Diana Phillips attend. It will be so great to see them in their beautiful home again. Then on to Delhi where we’ll stay with Rodrick and Neetu Gilbert. Their little baby Avajit is one now and we’ll enjoy seeing Twinkle, Adesh, Rodrick’s lovely mother and many more friends. We may do some teaching there, or we may just enjoy time at the training center where there is always a lot going on. Then on to Bangalore and wedding festivities. Once during that time period we’ll take a side trip to Hubli in Karnataka to visit my friend Grace. She has ministry to women’s groups there and we will stay in her home. We’re hoping Josh can travel with us on that little trip. After the wedding Jon and Sara will stay on for a few days and we hope to get into a Banjara village so they can experience village life. Then after they leave we’ll probably go up to Hyderabad and that area to visit Uma and Sampath and Akanksha and Thomas and many more good friends. Two months will fly by.

If you talk to me in the next three weeks, please be advised that I have India on my mind.

Thomas and Akanksha

janpierce — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:57:25 +0000

It’s just a month until we leave for India and there is so much to do first. I’ve been thinking about all the ones we love over there and how their lives have changed since we met them. When Roger met Akanksha she was just a little girl of about nine years who had been living and scavenging at the dump. She came to the orphanage through a summer Bible camp and in time changed her name to Akanksha, Hope, because Ilamma is the name of a Hindu goddess. Then at the age of about 14 she ran away from the orphanage and married her cousin, Kalyan. They had been promised by their parents in marriage at birth. Their tribal group, the Buduga Jangam, used to be folk singers, people who traveled and sang old folk songs, rang bells and blessed people in exchange for alms. They also wove grass mats and ate things like birds and snakes. Now they are mostly day laborers in the rice fields. They still live in very simple homes constructed of whatever is available, plastic, pieces of metal, boards, and the like.

We were fortunate to be able to find Kalyan and Akanksha soon after their marriage through an older cousin. Now they have finished a year of Bible School and are enrolled in a different Bible school this year. Kalyan, meaning happiness, but also linked to a Hindu god, changed his name to Thomas and they both want to serve God. It really is a miracle that we have been able to keep in touch with them. We help them with small daily living expenses and their room and board is free through the Bible School. Akanksha will deliver their first baby sometime in December and we hope to visit them after our son’s wedding in Bangalore.

What will God do with this young couple who come out of abject poverty, but are willing to serve Him? We’ve learned to look past the poor living conditions and the appearances, to the hearts of the people and their vision for ministry. May God bless this couple and their family. We trust that God will use them to share the love of Jesus with their people and we count it a privilege to be part of their lives.

Bible Women Then and Now

janpierce — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:59:52 +0000

This is a picture of a Bible Woman in India probably taken in the early 1900′s. Her job was to work under the guidance of a missionary wife or other mission leader taking hymns, Bible verses and Bible stories out into Indian villages. These women often traveled two by two into nearby villages where they would visit each home, offer to pray for the sick, and bring a message about Jesus and His love for each person. Sometimes the Bible women were illiterate and could only repeat the stories and verses they had memorized. Even so they carried large Bibles with them to distinguish themselves from Hindu women who traveled in a similar fashion and were known for bringing Hindu ceremonies which sometimes involved sexual behavior. Bible women were paid very little and gave their entire lives to the ministry. They usually walked on foot for long hours to do their jobs. Sometimes they were widows and other times they dedicated themselves to their work, giving up marriage and family life. They still exist in India today and support outreaches to women and children through churches. Sometimes Bible women do basic health care including delivering babies and teaching basic health lessons. I met a young woman in her twenties living near Peddipalli in the Warangal District of A.P. who has proclaimed herself a modern-day Bible woman and who begins each day listening to direction from God as to where she should travel to share her stories about Jesus that day. She tells the stories from the Bible that powerfully impacted her when she was released from her bondage to Hindu life. As a little child she had been offered to a Hindu god in a ceremony to heal her brother and had suffered a great deal as a result. She was given to fevers and times of mental illness due to her curse and people were afraid of her. When she was freed from that condition she was so overjoyed that she gladly gave the rest of her life to tell others about a loving God. She tells the story of the Good Shepherd who goes looking for the one lost sheep and other stories that highlight the difference between evil Hindu gods and her new loving Father. It’s a different world over there—very hard for us to understand, but that is just one reality of life in India among the poor.

In five weeks we return to India. I need to remind myself of the realities of life there as I prepare to re-enter a world that is now familiar, but not even remotely like the life I live here at home. I’ll have the chance to teach some young women who are new Christians how to read and study the Bible for themselves. They want to learn, but don’t know where to begin. I think of the dedication it must have taken for the Bible women to have walked long distances to tell about this new God who had such a different story than the ones they were taught in Hinduism. What made them willing to give their lives to this ministry for so little financial reward and with the sure knowledge that some of the people in the villages would turn them away or even harm them? The young Hindu girls I’ll teach in Allahabad have chosen Christ in spite of the fact that they may never be able to marry because of that choice. Or, they may be forced by their families to marry a Hindu man who will not allow them to openly worship Jesus. They’re willing to pay a high price for their decision. Maybe all Christian women should be Bible Women in the sense of laying it all on the line, telling our stories freely and being willing to live a life of service to others no matter the cost.

Think About It

janpierce — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 19:40:42 +0000

Let’s say you and I live in a low-income neighborhood with modest homes and large families. Let’s say we have jobs but they aren’t high-paying ones. We get by, but when one of the kids gets sick, we worry about how to pay for doctor visits and medicine. Still, life is pleasant and we enjoy our traditions. We love our friends and families.

Next, let’s say that a group of people buy the lot next door, build a nifty little condo on it and begin to have lots of company. The company arrives in late-model cars, they all wear nice clothes, if a little revealing, and seem pretty happy. They sing a lot and make quite a ruckus as they come and go. They smile at us all the time and sometimes they give our kids candy or gum.

Pretty soon some of our kids and even a few of the neighbors are hanging out at the condo. The word is out that the visitors come with lots of money and sometimes there’s a free meal served or clothes or school supplies given out as gifts. Sounds pretty good, but what’s the catch?

Listen, I can hear a woman speaking.

“I’m worried about our daughter. She is listening to the things these visitors say. They feel sorry for us. They look at our clothes and our homes and they seem upset by what they see. At times it feels as though they are looking at us as animals in a zoo. What’s wrong with the way we live? Are they somehow better than us with their fancy cars and their big smiles? I’m beginning to wonder why they think we need fancy furniture in our houses and why do we need to serve our families steak instead of stew? They know we can’t afford such luxuries. I’m starting to believe these visitors place a heavy judgment on us and our way of life. Maybe we’d be better off to stay away from them altogether. We can never give our daughter all the things these visitors want us to have. I will tell my daughter to ignore these intruders and all of their fancy ways.”

***********************

If you’ve ever gone to a third world country and stayed in a mission compound or other outreach station, you’ll recognize the scenario above. What can we do to avoid being the arrogant outsiders who swoop in with wealth, judgment, good will, but often not a clue about the local culture and needs? I’d love to hear your comments.

To Us Who Are Being Saved….

janpierce — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:01:02 +0000

In I Corinthians 1:18 Paul includes himself in the phrase “to us” as he encourages the church members of Corinth to stop bickering. They had fallen into the trap of comparing their earthly leaders and forming little cliques around different men. Paul says, to us who are being saved.. in other words, we’re all in process of becoming a little more like Jesus each day, but none of us are there yet; not even those in leadership roles. How foolish to fight amongst ourselves when the world around us is in desperate need of love and direction. Paul points the Corinthians back to the message of the cross which is the life blood of believers. As we look around today at all our fellow believers let’s remember that each one is in the process of being saved, being perfected, becoming more and more like Jesus. The flip side of that coin is that not one of us is perfected yet, so let’s not expect that or be disappointed when we don’t find it. Can we be done with factions and disagreements? Well…..maybe not completely, but we can surely place that harmonious lifestyle as a goal and when we feel ourselves veering off into grumpy, cantankerous living we can make the effort by the grace of God to get back on the road toward unity.

Meet Baby Jireh

janpierce — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:59:52 +0000

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.