My heart and mind have been ruminating on this post for a while. In fact, I've had the body of it written since April -- almost 3 months before I left India. I started writing it at a time in India when things clicked... when I realized that, despite some hard things, many frustrating things, lots of sweat, and general confusion, I loved India. I wouldn't say that before that time I didn't love India... I just hadn't experienced that un-doing, heart-produced compassion for India that I'd been longing for.
I got busy with my visiting brother and saying goodbye and before I knew it was busy back here in the states. But the last three weeks the services at church have been reinforcing the lessons learned and "ah ha!" moments I experienced towards the end of my India time that led me to leave in love. I thought it was worth revisiting and sharing with you as a type of wrap-up on my time there.
"One of the most important things the Holy Spirit prompted me to do as I came to India was to read through His Word – in it’s entirety – while I am here. I’ve been obedient in that; it’s been one of my biggest sources of blessing, comfort, and strength.
Using D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God as a guide and built in thought provoker, I’ve learned much – and been reminded of much – simply by tracing God’s sovereign plan. But one thing has particularly stood out; namely, God is holy, and the only, God. Put another way, my awe for God – His worthiness as the only and most holy God, worthy to be worshipped – has increased.
As this has happened my awareness of the profound weight of the gospel of grace in my life has deepened. My recognition of my need of God’s mercy has grown as my absolute astonishment of His sheer greatness has grown.
And this has freed me to love India.
To be heartbroken at poverty and abuse because it demonstrates injustice and sin, both contrary to God’s nature. To be enchanted by the unique beauty of the people and the culture, because it displays God’s creativity and image. To desire to worship God boldly and confidently, encouraging others to do the same, because he is worthy. To earnestly proclaim and defend God as the only true God, while weeping at the rampant and bonding creation and service of idols. To love self-sacrificially, even when it’s not received, because He did.
My growing understanding of His holiness is so freeing. My hatred of sin displayed here and my broken heart and care are not feelings setting me apart or above from everyone else. Freedom comes in the compassion I have in light of my own comparable state. I’m more concerned that the gospel should be joyfully and freely offered… because that display of God’s merciful, faithful, redemptive work in view of His holiness and our sin is ultimately glorifying. And this is all freeing and produces love for India because my growing understanding of his holiness is increasing my awareness of my own sin, God’s right wrath and fearsomeness conjoined with his sweet mercy and loving grace. I want that for India, for His namesake.
As I’ve thought about this, I’ve realized that I probably haven’t loved America rightly. It’s comfortable and known so I like it. But now I want to love it like God’s taught me to love India. How, in fact, God loves the whole world.
I’ve left India and returned to America worshiping God for His holiness. I’m deeply grateful for my time in India, namely that the experience led to these reminders and awakenings in my heart toward loving God rightly and, in turn, loving people – even nations."
”For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever should believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
On My Mind V
God, be merciful to me,
On Thy grace I rest my plea;
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within,
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.
My transgressions I confess,
Grief and guilt my soul oppress;
I have sinned against Thy grace
And provoked Thee to Thy face;
I confess Thy judgment just,
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.
I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.
Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.
Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true;
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.
Sinners then shall learn from me
And return, O God, to Thee;
Savior, all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love;
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.
Is. 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Two SERMONS: The Terrible God of Mercy (Daniel 10) and The Gracious Condescension of the Glorious One (Daniel 10)
On Thy grace I rest my plea;
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within,
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.
My transgressions I confess,
Grief and guilt my soul oppress;
I have sinned against Thy grace
And provoked Thee to Thy face;
I confess Thy judgment just,
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.
I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.
Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.
Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true;
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.
Sinners then shall learn from me
And return, O God, to Thee;
Savior, all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love;
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.
Is. 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Two SERMONS: The Terrible God of Mercy (Daniel 10) and The Gracious Condescension of the Glorious One (Daniel 10)
Friday, August 17, 2007
Better Late Than Never
Though the last blog post would make you think I've been back for the past 28 days, don't let the calendar fool you. I've actually been here, there, and everywhere. Certainly I've been most every place possible without feeling really "back". But, two weddings, two road trips, one fantastic hike, some family time, and lots lunches and coffee times later, and I'm finally settling down. I'm back.
Almost. Trying, at least.
Nice side effect of my "I'm back" feeling week is that I've finally (hence the post title) updated my pictures site. Not only do I have my last weeks in India duly documented, but I've also posted photo evidence of Ry and I's remaining India time and Russian jaunt. Plus, I've added my photos of the recent California/Idaho shin digs, outdoor adventures, etc.
I do have some "leaving India" thoughts I'll be posting (hopefully) in the not-to-distant future. For now it's working in my favor that a picture's worth a thousand words. Saves me a lot of typing.
As usual, just click on my pictures link on the right of this page.
With love,
Duffy
Almost. Trying, at least.
Nice side effect of my "I'm back" feeling week is that I've finally (hence the post title) updated my pictures site. Not only do I have my last weeks in India duly documented, but I've also posted photo evidence of Ry and I's remaining India time and Russian jaunt. Plus, I've added my photos of the recent California/Idaho shin digs, outdoor adventures, etc.
I do have some "leaving India" thoughts I'll be posting (hopefully) in the not-to-distant future. For now it's working in my favor that a picture's worth a thousand words. Saves me a lot of typing.
As usual, just click on my pictures link on the right of this page.
With love,
Duffy
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
I'll Fly Away
Many of you have written to ask the details on my arrival to Cali... if you'd like flight info, location, timing, etc for Ry and I's July 21st arrival, contact Anna.
Thanks, friends!
Thanks, friends!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The Times They Are A Changing
Time flies.
How cliche. But what else to say? I'm entering my last week in India and the, albiet cliche, thought seems most appropriate.
Time flies when you're having fun.
Cliche again. But again, what else to say? Ryan and I have been having incredible fun tipping, tripping, and trekking about Nepal and India the last two weeks. During his first week here I gave him a two day introduction to Indian culture via a trip to Delhi and Agra. Agra was a highlight, as we saw God provide three traveling companions -- Jonathan, Jamie, and Hudson. They were our ages, believers, and they had just come from an interior village in south India where they had been doing medical relief, English lessons, and a host of other activities. Besides the blessing of good company, the dynamic weather and aggressive clouds provided near perfect pictures of the Taj, which made picture happy Ryan nearly giddy. The Taj, by the way, was recently confirmed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
One of our major Delhi site-seeing ventures was a foray into crowded Old Delhi. Ryan's comment: "I think this might be the onlky place the term 'mass humanity' technically applies'". After climbing a windy, spindly tower at the largest mosque in Delhi, we got some amazing ariel views (and more pictures) of the crammed Capital.
The youth group has been planning to have a summer retreat for some time, but I'd opted out as their return date conflicted with Ryan and I's departure for Nepal. At the last minute we were "convinced" that we could both enjoy and participate in camp and make it back in time for our flight. So off we went to Sattal, a small mountain getaway an overnight train ride from Delhi. There were about 30 in all from our group and in the end both Ryan and I were thankful we went. I was especially thankful for some sweet time with the girls I've come to know and love and for the chance to participate in amazing worship. It was also a joy for me to watch Ryan minister through his kind and friendly personality. I have loved and been encouraged, as a big sister, by his easy way with people. It's made it seem quite effortless to introduce him to my life and friends here. I'm thankful for God's gifting and maturing him in this way. The point being -- it was fun to have him a long and fun for him to be along. It gave him a heart for the local church here, something I'd been praying for. Secretly though, I think Ry's favorite part of camp was the rap that he preformed for his team. I have it on video. I do accept bribes. :)
Time at camp was too short (there's that pesky time again!) and after only two days we were back on an overnight train and directly to the airport for our July 8th morning flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. I think it took only the flight in for Ryan and I to look at each other and declare our love for Nepal. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. Amazing! Kathmandu itself, though we were only there for a day, was a refreshing, free city, with much to do and see. We spent most of our time seeing the sites and shopping in and around the Tamil section (read: tourist section). It was an artsy, alive place with great culture, food, and music. After our afternoon and evening there, complete with a meal at the "famous with trekkers" Rum Doodle, we met up the next morning with our trekking guide and porter -- the funny, knowledgable, and sweet duo of Dorje and Bam. Our flight in a tiny, rickity plane into the Himalaya's was breathtaking and would have, in and of itself, made the trip worth it. I got choked up viewing the spread -- including Mt. Everest -- as I recognized and praised God for the awesome display of his beauty, power, and majesty. God is beautiful!
I'll let Ry describe our trek:
"In terms of trekking, Karisa and I have both found our ideal vacation. Flying into a cloudy mass in the sky we suddenly dip and drop nose sniffing for the runway. Then a mountain appeared right in and we settled into the small village of Lukla, Nepal. Our guide Dorje quickly assembled our porter Bam and us and a few minutes after touchdown we were officially trekking in the Himilayan region. The first day we an easy trek filled with beautiful waterfalls and vast crevases the were crossed by rickety bridges. Words fail in describing the vast expanse of God's handywork. The second day was quite the adventure. Karisa had become a bit ill from the day before's helping of Dhal Bhat (rice, lintle stew, and veggies) and a trek directly up the side of a mountain with only clouds for a finishline became quite a labor. Even still we made good time and reached our final destination of Namche Bazar, a small villiage pearched on the side of the mountian we had just ascended. As we arrived the storm that had followed us up the mountain settled in as well. Though the cloud cover was too much for us to see the Himalaya's from the village or trails the cloud cover allowed us to appreciate the beauty around rather than just focusing on the jutting peaks above. The next morning - after a restfull relaxing time of reading and talking with Dorje, Bam, and a few Sherpa - we headed back down the mountain dissapointed that our time in one of God's most beautiful patches of creation would be leaving us soon. Too bad we can't make time stand still! Our time in Nepal was a short and sweet little oasis from the hustle and bustle of India. Words don't describe what its like waking up among the clouds but we'll be home soon and maybe some pictures will."
Time didn't stand still and we're back in Delhi, something we're both thankful for even though we left the beauty and simplicity of Nepal with more than a twinge of desire to stay forever. Anyone want to hike to Everest Base Camp with us in a year or so?
I had prayed that these last couple weeks away from my normal life here in India would be my "debrief" time. I truly have been able to spend so much time thinking and praying and processing. It's also been an unexpected blessing to have Ry here. Of course, I knew it would be fun and in many ways a blessing, but what I hadn't expected was that his fresh eyes on India would help me process and pray through what I've learned. I've been able to see so many areas of growth in my life as I've looked back on what it was like when I first came. God has been, and continues to be, good and patient with me through this incredible growth process. Please continue to pray for both Ry and I as we enter this next, final week of our time in India. I have a lot of goodbye's to say, a lot to still process, and a lot to do before I leave. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed today about all that will happen in these next 4 days. Poor Sibu and Tannu especially have already been privy to my buckets of tears as I'm trying to grab some precious last times with them.
Time to go... (I couldn't resist).
With love,
Duffy
Pictures from our travels the past two weeks are up! Just click on the link on the right (as usual) and check out the new tab: O Brother!
How cliche. But what else to say? I'm entering my last week in India and the, albiet cliche, thought seems most appropriate.
Time flies when you're having fun.
Cliche again. But again, what else to say? Ryan and I have been having incredible fun tipping, tripping, and trekking about Nepal and India the last two weeks. During his first week here I gave him a two day introduction to Indian culture via a trip to Delhi and Agra. Agra was a highlight, as we saw God provide three traveling companions -- Jonathan, Jamie, and Hudson. They were our ages, believers, and they had just come from an interior village in south India where they had been doing medical relief, English lessons, and a host of other activities. Besides the blessing of good company, the dynamic weather and aggressive clouds provided near perfect pictures of the Taj, which made picture happy Ryan nearly giddy. The Taj, by the way, was recently confirmed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
One of our major Delhi site-seeing ventures was a foray into crowded Old Delhi. Ryan's comment: "I think this might be the onlky place the term 'mass humanity' technically applies'". After climbing a windy, spindly tower at the largest mosque in Delhi, we got some amazing ariel views (and more pictures) of the crammed Capital.
The youth group has been planning to have a summer retreat for some time, but I'd opted out as their return date conflicted with Ryan and I's departure for Nepal. At the last minute we were "convinced" that we could both enjoy and participate in camp and make it back in time for our flight. So off we went to Sattal, a small mountain getaway an overnight train ride from Delhi. There were about 30 in all from our group and in the end both Ryan and I were thankful we went. I was especially thankful for some sweet time with the girls I've come to know and love and for the chance to participate in amazing worship. It was also a joy for me to watch Ryan minister through his kind and friendly personality. I have loved and been encouraged, as a big sister, by his easy way with people. It's made it seem quite effortless to introduce him to my life and friends here. I'm thankful for God's gifting and maturing him in this way. The point being -- it was fun to have him a long and fun for him to be along. It gave him a heart for the local church here, something I'd been praying for. Secretly though, I think Ry's favorite part of camp was the rap that he preformed for his team. I have it on video. I do accept bribes. :)
Time at camp was too short (there's that pesky time again!) and after only two days we were back on an overnight train and directly to the airport for our July 8th morning flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. I think it took only the flight in for Ryan and I to look at each other and declare our love for Nepal. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. Amazing! Kathmandu itself, though we were only there for a day, was a refreshing, free city, with much to do and see. We spent most of our time seeing the sites and shopping in and around the Tamil section (read: tourist section). It was an artsy, alive place with great culture, food, and music. After our afternoon and evening there, complete with a meal at the "famous with trekkers" Rum Doodle, we met up the next morning with our trekking guide and porter -- the funny, knowledgable, and sweet duo of Dorje and Bam. Our flight in a tiny, rickity plane into the Himalaya's was breathtaking and would have, in and of itself, made the trip worth it. I got choked up viewing the spread -- including Mt. Everest -- as I recognized and praised God for the awesome display of his beauty, power, and majesty. God is beautiful!
I'll let Ry describe our trek:
"In terms of trekking, Karisa and I have both found our ideal vacation. Flying into a cloudy mass in the sky we suddenly dip and drop nose sniffing for the runway. Then a mountain appeared right in and we settled into the small village of Lukla, Nepal. Our guide Dorje quickly assembled our porter Bam and us and a few minutes after touchdown we were officially trekking in the Himilayan region. The first day we an easy trek filled with beautiful waterfalls and vast crevases the were crossed by rickety bridges. Words fail in describing the vast expanse of God's handywork. The second day was quite the adventure. Karisa had become a bit ill from the day before's helping of Dhal Bhat (rice, lintle stew, and veggies) and a trek directly up the side of a mountain with only clouds for a finishline became quite a labor. Even still we made good time and reached our final destination of Namche Bazar, a small villiage pearched on the side of the mountian we had just ascended. As we arrived the storm that had followed us up the mountain settled in as well. Though the cloud cover was too much for us to see the Himalaya's from the village or trails the cloud cover allowed us to appreciate the beauty around rather than just focusing on the jutting peaks above. The next morning - after a restfull relaxing time of reading and talking with Dorje, Bam, and a few Sherpa - we headed back down the mountain dissapointed that our time in one of God's most beautiful patches of creation would be leaving us soon. Too bad we can't make time stand still! Our time in Nepal was a short and sweet little oasis from the hustle and bustle of India. Words don't describe what its like waking up among the clouds but we'll be home soon and maybe some pictures will."
Time didn't stand still and we're back in Delhi, something we're both thankful for even though we left the beauty and simplicity of Nepal with more than a twinge of desire to stay forever. Anyone want to hike to Everest Base Camp with us in a year or so?
I had prayed that these last couple weeks away from my normal life here in India would be my "debrief" time. I truly have been able to spend so much time thinking and praying and processing. It's also been an unexpected blessing to have Ry here. Of course, I knew it would be fun and in many ways a blessing, but what I hadn't expected was that his fresh eyes on India would help me process and pray through what I've learned. I've been able to see so many areas of growth in my life as I've looked back on what it was like when I first came. God has been, and continues to be, good and patient with me through this incredible growth process. Please continue to pray for both Ry and I as we enter this next, final week of our time in India. I have a lot of goodbye's to say, a lot to still process, and a lot to do before I leave. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed today about all that will happen in these next 4 days. Poor Sibu and Tannu especially have already been privy to my buckets of tears as I'm trying to grab some precious last times with them.
Time to go... (I couldn't resist).
With love,
Duffy
Pictures from our travels the past two weeks are up! Just click on the link on the right (as usual) and check out the new tab: O Brother!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My brother is coming! My brother is coming!
From Russia, ironically enough.
Ok, perhaps it is only the McDuff family who will get the ingenious irony of the post title, but...
My brother IS coming. In less than 4 hours I'll be giving him a big (no doubt sweaty) hug and helping him lug his enormous suitcases (filled with all odd items, from curtains to Cinnamon Crunch) back home. That is, to my India home.
I'm excited; I just thought I'd share.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel around, encourage one another, and encourage my dear brothers and sisters here. I hope and pray Ry will walk away with a heart and burden for my dear India!
... Duffy
Update, July 2nd: Poor Ryan got stuck in Russia for an additional 24 hours. He'll be making his appearance on July 3rd instead.
Ok, perhaps it is only the McDuff family who will get the ingenious irony of the post title, but...
My brother IS coming. In less than 4 hours I'll be giving him a big (no doubt sweaty) hug and helping him lug his enormous suitcases (filled with all odd items, from curtains to Cinnamon Crunch) back home. That is, to my India home.
I'm excited; I just thought I'd share.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel around, encourage one another, and encourage my dear brothers and sisters here. I hope and pray Ry will walk away with a heart and burden for my dear India!
... Duffy
Update, July 2nd: Poor Ryan got stuck in Russia for an additional 24 hours. He'll be making his appearance on July 3rd instead.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Like Elivs and His Mom
I did two things yesterday. Two and only two.
I sat in front of my computer furiously editing, transcribing interview notes, and going through page after page of reports and meeting notes from the inception of Aunty's Jowai ministry in 1990 until now. I also went through old journals, prayer letters, and e-mails. It was a productive, work-ahohlic day.
But it means that I'm done with my information gathering and rough (rough, rough, rough) draft editing of Aunty's memories. I've done what I can and should on it while here in India! (Before you get too excited, it's nowhere near book form. Sparing you the details of what's left, I'll just say that the rest is slated to be accomplished when I'm in California and Aunty is settled in Faridabad -- giving us both some time to think, process, and remember.)
I'm just so thankful for yesterday especially and all that I was able to extract from the piles of information I was going through. I'm thankful for God's faithfulness through the process... I've gotten to see the clear evidence of his long-term faithfulness and miraculous working in Aunty's life; I've also gotten to experience it myself in new and unique ways as I've waded through this process. One of the things that's been impressed upon me is the necessity and value of making memorials/reminders/records of God's work in my life so that I can regularly look back, see what He's done, and praise Him for His character and the outworkings of the gospel in my life. Praise the Lord for his work and for the ability to remember and record his faithfulness!
Thing number two I did today was eat mangos; or, to be more precise, variations of Magnifera Indica L.,. There are 24 different kinds of mangos here in India and I think in eating 10 specimins today I was tapping into 4 of those varieties. So little time left; so many varieties to go!
Believe it or not, I'd never eaten a fresh mango before coming to India. Was I ever missing out! Mangos are, for lack of a better, more descriptive word... yummy! And ooey and gooey and sweet and cool and tangy and refreshing. They are also a fixture in our daily, mandatory, after-meal fruit eating sprees.
I haven't often posted on my "day". But I was rejoicing so in the accomplishment on the book that I wanted to share with you all. I know many of you have prayed earnestly for me in that area -- thank you! And mangos... well... just trying to give you a taste of my life in India.
With love,
Your Duffy
I sat in front of my computer furiously editing, transcribing interview notes, and going through page after page of reports and meeting notes from the inception of Aunty's Jowai ministry in 1990 until now. I also went through old journals, prayer letters, and e-mails. It was a productive, work-ahohlic day.
But it means that I'm done with my information gathering and rough (rough, rough, rough) draft editing of Aunty's memories. I've done what I can and should on it while here in India! (Before you get too excited, it's nowhere near book form. Sparing you the details of what's left, I'll just say that the rest is slated to be accomplished when I'm in California and Aunty is settled in Faridabad -- giving us both some time to think, process, and remember.)
I'm just so thankful for yesterday especially and all that I was able to extract from the piles of information I was going through. I'm thankful for God's faithfulness through the process... I've gotten to see the clear evidence of his long-term faithfulness and miraculous working in Aunty's life; I've also gotten to experience it myself in new and unique ways as I've waded through this process. One of the things that's been impressed upon me is the necessity and value of making memorials/reminders/records of God's work in my life so that I can regularly look back, see what He's done, and praise Him for His character and the outworkings of the gospel in my life. Praise the Lord for his work and for the ability to remember and record his faithfulness!
Thing number two I did today was eat mangos; or, to be more precise, variations of Magnifera Indica L.,. There are 24 different kinds of mangos here in India and I think in eating 10 specimins today I was tapping into 4 of those varieties. So little time left; so many varieties to go!
Believe it or not, I'd never eaten a fresh mango before coming to India. Was I ever missing out! Mangos are, for lack of a better, more descriptive word... yummy! And ooey and gooey and sweet and cool and tangy and refreshing. They are also a fixture in our daily, mandatory, after-meal fruit eating sprees.
I haven't often posted on my "day". But I was rejoicing so in the accomplishment on the book that I wanted to share with you all. I know many of you have prayed earnestly for me in that area -- thank you! And mangos... well... just trying to give you a taste of my life in India.
With love,
Your Duffy
Thursday, June 28, 2007
On My Mind IV
We Choose to Bow
Walt Harrah
Though a million voices choose to deny You,
We choose to bow
Though a thousand thoughts seek to rise above You,
We choose to bow.
Though they deny that we all are sinful,
Though they proclaim God is in us all,
Though we are told we don't need a Savior,
Humbly now at Your feet we fall.
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
Though the powers of darkness rage all around us,
We choose to bow.
Though trials come and temptations surround us,
We choose to bow.
Though we may stumble or we may falter,
Though we have wandered and gone astray
Mercy is given to all who call You,
Mercy is given to all who say:
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
Though the cost is great to the call set before us,
We choose to bow.
Though the world may hate us our God if for us,
We choose to bow.
Though we may struggle or we may prosper,
Though we have little or many things,
You are our God and there is no other
Worthy now of the song we sing.
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
...in light of reading Daniel...
Walt Harrah
Though a million voices choose to deny You,
We choose to bow
Though a thousand thoughts seek to rise above You,
We choose to bow.
Though they deny that we all are sinful,
Though they proclaim God is in us all,
Though we are told we don't need a Savior,
Humbly now at Your feet we fall.
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
Though the powers of darkness rage all around us,
We choose to bow.
Though trials come and temptations surround us,
We choose to bow.
Though we may stumble or we may falter,
Though we have wandered and gone astray
Mercy is given to all who call You,
Mercy is given to all who say:
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
Though the cost is great to the call set before us,
We choose to bow.
Though the world may hate us our God if for us,
We choose to bow.
Though we may struggle or we may prosper,
Though we have little or many things,
You are our God and there is no other
Worthy now of the song we sing.
We choose to bow,
We choose to sing,
We choose to crown You the King of Kings.
We are not God,
We say out loud,
Only to You to we choose to bow
Do we choose to bow.
...in light of reading Daniel...
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
"'What is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures and conversations?'"
... Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
Indeed. In this case, my blog is the book and conversation. But still pretty useless without the pictures, eh?
So, announcement: the pictures from my Northeast trip are up for viewing, along with a few choice pictures of Tannu and I rejoicing over our new inverter (yay for no more sweaty, sleepless nights with no fans!). Just click on the link on the right.
As a side note, I suppose I don't fully agree with little Alice. I like books just fine without any pictures. But books without conversations attached (be it internal or external) leaves the book lifeless, in my humble opinion.
Now that my internet is working again, more to come later.
With love,
Alice in Wonderland
(randomly enough, Aunty's nickname for me...)
Indeed. In this case, my blog is the book and conversation. But still pretty useless without the pictures, eh?
So, announcement: the pictures from my Northeast trip are up for viewing, along with a few choice pictures of Tannu and I rejoicing over our new inverter (yay for no more sweaty, sleepless nights with no fans!). Just click on the link on the right.
As a side note, I suppose I don't fully agree with little Alice. I like books just fine without any pictures. But books without conversations attached (be it internal or external) leaves the book lifeless, in my humble opinion.
Now that my internet is working again, more to come later.
With love,
Alice in Wonderland
(randomly enough, Aunty's nickname for me...)
Monday, June 18, 2007
Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...
… who is the fairest of them all?
Well if by “fair” you mean white, translucent, or snowy, I think, especially in my present context, that I fit the bill, win the prize, take the cake… you get the picture.
Unlike California – where summer is indicative of shed clothing and laying-out or tanning sessions, all to achieve that perfect, make-your-teeth-look-glow-in-the-dark tone – India’s darker skinned population equates lightness with perfection. So instead of bikinis you’ve got elbow length gloves; instead of tanning beds, broad brimmed hats; instead of lounging in the sun, umbrella covered forays to the great outdoors; and finally, instead of tanning oils, a whole line of lightening & whitening skin products.
In fact, any product remotely related to skin care – from acne cream to hand lotion – has a proud “whitening product” stamp emblazoned on the side. Aside from causing me to take note of the ironic cultural differences, recall mum’s childhood maxims about the grass always being greener on the other side, and momentarily rehas soul-ish questions about the true nature of beauty, I hadn’t really taken much notice of said products.
But the other day during a routine trip to the local market, I spotted a new product. An herbal facemask. In my sweaty, dirty state I was intrigued. A face-mask; sort of a skin self-help, if you will. Acknowledging the product’s purported whitening tendencies, the thoughts flittering through my head were along the lines of, “how could I get any whiter? It certainly can’t do me any harm…” Plunk went the rupees 50 and my fate was sealed.
What ensued was lesson #1,327 of life in India. I’ll bypass the multiple lessons learned from trying to use a drying, peeling product in 100+ heat with no electricity (read: lots of sweat) and get right to the primary revelation: I can’t get any whiter, but I can get redder.
The genius plot to lighten skin – at least in the case of this product – was to painfully peal layer upon layer off. Perhaps it works for some people. In my case the desired pearly affect was eradicated by the nubbins of blood dotting my face and nose. Piqued, I’m sure, by the painful pull, my skin rebelled and turned a rosy, someone-just-slapped-me red. And I have yet to discover a culture that gives red the foremost place in its skin beauty rubric.
Since the beaches of California and horsemanship summers at Ironwood had previously instilled in me a similar lesson, namely, I can’t get any darker, but I can get redder, I feel I’ve effectively covered my bases in lessons learned about my personal skin color.
There really is nowhere for me to go but "redder".
Well if by “fair” you mean white, translucent, or snowy, I think, especially in my present context, that I fit the bill, win the prize, take the cake… you get the picture.
Unlike California – where summer is indicative of shed clothing and laying-out or tanning sessions, all to achieve that perfect, make-your-teeth-look-glow-in-the-dark tone – India’s darker skinned population equates lightness with perfection. So instead of bikinis you’ve got elbow length gloves; instead of tanning beds, broad brimmed hats; instead of lounging in the sun, umbrella covered forays to the great outdoors; and finally, instead of tanning oils, a whole line of lightening & whitening skin products.
In fact, any product remotely related to skin care – from acne cream to hand lotion – has a proud “whitening product” stamp emblazoned on the side. Aside from causing me to take note of the ironic cultural differences, recall mum’s childhood maxims about the grass always being greener on the other side, and momentarily rehas soul-ish questions about the true nature of beauty, I hadn’t really taken much notice of said products.
But the other day during a routine trip to the local market, I spotted a new product. An herbal facemask. In my sweaty, dirty state I was intrigued. A face-mask; sort of a skin self-help, if you will. Acknowledging the product’s purported whitening tendencies, the thoughts flittering through my head were along the lines of, “how could I get any whiter? It certainly can’t do me any harm…” Plunk went the rupees 50 and my fate was sealed.
What ensued was lesson #1,327 of life in India. I’ll bypass the multiple lessons learned from trying to use a drying, peeling product in 100+ heat with no electricity (read: lots of sweat) and get right to the primary revelation: I can’t get any whiter, but I can get redder.
The genius plot to lighten skin – at least in the case of this product – was to painfully peal layer upon layer off. Perhaps it works for some people. In my case the desired pearly affect was eradicated by the nubbins of blood dotting my face and nose. Piqued, I’m sure, by the painful pull, my skin rebelled and turned a rosy, someone-just-slapped-me red. And I have yet to discover a culture that gives red the foremost place in its skin beauty rubric.
Since the beaches of California and horsemanship summers at Ironwood had previously instilled in me a similar lesson, namely, I can’t get any darker, but I can get redder, I feel I’ve effectively covered my bases in lessons learned about my personal skin color.
There really is nowhere for me to go but "redder".
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Success!
I’ve returned from my trip to the Northeast! What an adventure (in more ways than one). Besides experiencing a very different culture, nearly dying on a foggy mountain road drive in a 16-year-old barely functional car, escaping from my first bahnd, rejoicing in the monsoon season 20 C temperatures, wind, and rain… besides all that… interviewing 23 people in 3 days, sharing with three groups, and getting to know and love the people and ministry of *****. Like I said, adventure!
I was so pleased and encouraged with the interviews I was able to conduct. I got exactly what I needed; I got a much better understanding of the nature and impact of the ministry of *****. I got to see the exact places that Aunty has been telling me about all these months – the land that was in a vision God gave her, the people she discipled, the jungle they built in – even the gargantuan bugs that I had thought must be exaggerated!
As I’ve gotten to hear Aunty's story of God’s leading over the past couple months, I’ve been continually convicted and encouraged by her example of consistent quick obedience. My trip just confirmed this. I was rejoicing as, in Jowai, I got to see the fruit of Aunty’s obedience. She went to a place that had a very real need (and still does) to hear truth and see Christian living consistently displayed. She provided that by her own life example and by establishing such things as a Basic Bible School and Bible study projects. As I interviewed person after person I realized that even though many had been born in “Christian” families, they didn’t even know the basics of who Christ was until they were involved in these programs. So many people gave testimony to their changed lives because of Aunty's example and the ministry's stand on God's Word.
My two favorite interviews were with people who, after getting basic training at *****, have gone to villages. I can’t wait to come home and share their actual stories with you. My heart was broken and touched as I heard about their front line work. They are sharing where it’s never been shared before and they, and those who believe, suffer. Jim Elliot's classic quote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” kept coming to mind as they talked. They were two interviews that I will not soon forget. Heart-changing.
There are so many more stories and joys from my trip, but that will have to do for now. Pictures are forthcoming, it’s just taking me forever to label them all so you’ll actually know what you’re looking at. Hopefully they’ll give you some more insight into my adventures.
Coming back has meant a hit-the-ground-running return to “normal life”. Tannu’s English lessons continue and we’re both pleased with her progress. She starts her school early next month. Aunty and I are trying to put concentrated effort into the book during this upcoming week. I’ve got notes to type, old reports to go through, pictures to scan, and letters to read. Also (I’ve not mentioned this before), I’m about a month into a Bible study with a neighbor friend, A. We are using a great study titled, Following Jesus: Navigating the Narrow Path written by friend, Grace Cabalka. Our bi-weekly Bible study has been an India-time highlight for me as I’ve seen how lessons I learned at the front end (cultural lessons, openness to the Spirit’s leading, sensitivity to spiritual battle issues, increased knowledge of the Word) were the Spirit’s preparation for this particular study with this particular friend. It’s been fruitful, encouraging, and amazing to lead and care for her in this way! Add to all these “normalities” Brajen’s upcoming engagement ceremony (this Saturday!) and you’ve got a very busy Karisa & Co.
As side notes in my little update-fest, Aunty’s health is greatly improved, though the health of two of her dear sisters is not good. Please pray for continued health for Aunty, strength during this busy time, and health for her two sisters. Also, the Faridabad property continues to move forward – today Aunty picked out the flooring, bathroom fixtures, etc. Please pray for further finances to be raised, as there has been an unexpected cost increase of $10,000 to complete the ministry portion of the building.
More later, friends!
With love,
Duffy.
I was so pleased and encouraged with the interviews I was able to conduct. I got exactly what I needed; I got a much better understanding of the nature and impact of the ministry of *****. I got to see the exact places that Aunty has been telling me about all these months – the land that was in a vision God gave her, the people she discipled, the jungle they built in – even the gargantuan bugs that I had thought must be exaggerated!
As I’ve gotten to hear Aunty's story of God’s leading over the past couple months, I’ve been continually convicted and encouraged by her example of consistent quick obedience. My trip just confirmed this. I was rejoicing as, in Jowai, I got to see the fruit of Aunty’s obedience. She went to a place that had a very real need (and still does) to hear truth and see Christian living consistently displayed. She provided that by her own life example and by establishing such things as a Basic Bible School and Bible study projects. As I interviewed person after person I realized that even though many had been born in “Christian” families, they didn’t even know the basics of who Christ was until they were involved in these programs. So many people gave testimony to their changed lives because of Aunty's example and the ministry's stand on God's Word.
My two favorite interviews were with people who, after getting basic training at *****, have gone to villages. I can’t wait to come home and share their actual stories with you. My heart was broken and touched as I heard about their front line work. They are sharing where it’s never been shared before and they, and those who believe, suffer. Jim Elliot's classic quote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” kept coming to mind as they talked. They were two interviews that I will not soon forget. Heart-changing.
There are so many more stories and joys from my trip, but that will have to do for now. Pictures are forthcoming, it’s just taking me forever to label them all so you’ll actually know what you’re looking at. Hopefully they’ll give you some more insight into my adventures.
Coming back has meant a hit-the-ground-running return to “normal life”. Tannu’s English lessons continue and we’re both pleased with her progress. She starts her school early next month. Aunty and I are trying to put concentrated effort into the book during this upcoming week. I’ve got notes to type, old reports to go through, pictures to scan, and letters to read. Also (I’ve not mentioned this before), I’m about a month into a Bible study with a neighbor friend, A. We are using a great study titled, Following Jesus: Navigating the Narrow Path written by friend, Grace Cabalka. Our bi-weekly Bible study has been an India-time highlight for me as I’ve seen how lessons I learned at the front end (cultural lessons, openness to the Spirit’s leading, sensitivity to spiritual battle issues, increased knowledge of the Word) were the Spirit’s preparation for this particular study with this particular friend. It’s been fruitful, encouraging, and amazing to lead and care for her in this way! Add to all these “normalities” Brajen’s upcoming engagement ceremony (this Saturday!) and you’ve got a very busy Karisa & Co.
As side notes in my little update-fest, Aunty’s health is greatly improved, though the health of two of her dear sisters is not good. Please pray for continued health for Aunty, strength during this busy time, and health for her two sisters. Also, the Faridabad property continues to move forward – today Aunty picked out the flooring, bathroom fixtures, etc. Please pray for further finances to be raised, as there has been an unexpected cost increase of $10,000 to complete the ministry portion of the building.
More later, friends!
With love,
Duffy.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Jet Plane...
Tomorrow morning (June 8th) I'm leaving bright and early for a 6 day trip to Goharti, Shillong, and then Jowai, all cities in the Northeast state of Meghalaya. Click HERE. for description, maps, info, etc. If you don't want to wade through an encyclopedia article, here's my shortlist of interesting things about the area:
1. Meghalaya means "Abode of the Clouds"
2. The % of Christians is 64
3. The "Wettest Place on Planet Earth" is the town of Cherrapunji... which I'll be visiting
4. The tribal people of Meghalaya are part of the "world's largest surviving matrilineal culture"
The cities I'll be visiting are Aunty's old stomping grounds -- a place where she spent years caring for the tribal people and establishing a strong, Biblically based, discipleship focused ministry. She went when there was nothing but jungle; the result is thriving ministry center, the Basic Bible School, Bible Studies, counseling projects and sewing centers.
I'm going to do interviews and "research" (read: take pictures and see the place I'm to describe) for the book Aunty and I are putting together on how God has directed, provided, and blessed her during her years of service. I'm looking forward to meeting the people that I've heard so much about. Please be praying that I'll have wisdom in what questions to ask. Please also pray for the time to meet everyone I need to, particularly that my schedule and theirs will conenct. In addition, I'll be doing some "encouraging", so please pray as I prepare for those times. Finally, pray for me as I've been hit with a wave of exhaustion the last two days-- pray for physical strength and endurance.
It's a "whirlwind" trip -- I'll be back June 13th.
Until then...
1. Meghalaya means "Abode of the Clouds"
2. The % of Christians is 64
3. The "Wettest Place on Planet Earth" is the town of Cherrapunji... which I'll be visiting
4. The tribal people of Meghalaya are part of the "world's largest surviving matrilineal culture"
The cities I'll be visiting are Aunty's old stomping grounds -- a place where she spent years caring for the tribal people and establishing a strong, Biblically based, discipleship focused ministry. She went when there was nothing but jungle; the result is thriving ministry center, the Basic Bible School, Bible Studies, counseling projects and sewing centers.
I'm going to do interviews and "research" (read: take pictures and see the place I'm to describe) for the book Aunty and I are putting together on how God has directed, provided, and blessed her during her years of service. I'm looking forward to meeting the people that I've heard so much about. Please be praying that I'll have wisdom in what questions to ask. Please also pray for the time to meet everyone I need to, particularly that my schedule and theirs will conenct. In addition, I'll be doing some "encouraging", so please pray as I prepare for those times. Finally, pray for me as I've been hit with a wave of exhaustion the last two days-- pray for physical strength and endurance.
It's a "whirlwind" trip -- I'll be back June 13th.
Until then...
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
ESL SOS
“Kh – now.”
“Know.”
“Now.”
“No, know.”
“No now?”
“Yes… er… no…er… nay… know!”
“No?”
“Yes, know.”
“Huh?”
I’ve always had a fairly amicable relationship with my mother tongue. A few random “oot” and “aboots”, one frightening junior college English teacher (Mr. Roundy called the class “a pile of stinkweeds”), and a propensity toward verbose written creations are the only aspects of the relationship that could be termed “negative”. And even those experiences I prefer to see as quirks or anomalies. (In retrospect, I have had one truly negative experience: my inability to consistently and correctly use “nauseous” vs. “nauseated” in their respective “right ways” has led to sometimes violent remonstrations from a roommate who will remain nameless.)
The point being: I like English. I speak it. I write it. I read it. I’d say it’s been pretty good to me.
Then I tried teaching it.
Who came up with English? What were they thinking? How are student and teacher supposed to keep their sanity when every time you finish teaching a “rule” the very next word to be read breaks that rule? Homonyms, homographs, and homophones…is there a specific phobia for these kinds of terrors? Grammar? Eek.
It is not my student’s fault. My student – also my dear friend – is19-year-old Tannu. Tannu is one of Aunty’s adopted daughters and has been living with us for the past month. This past May she received her certificate in Bible from the local Christian college. She did that course via their Hindi medium program. This fall she will begin studying at what they call “Open University” in a bid to complete her 10th standard (code word for high school diploma). Her long-term goal is to go back to Bible college and obtain her BTh. Both the high school diploma and her future Bible studies will require English proficiency. I have never seen such an eager, motivated student. She is constantly reading – signs, brochures, books, and receipts. Anything with English she wants to decipher. She is bold in striking up conversations with me and we role-play phone conversations and shopping trips multiple times a day to help her practice. She diligently writes chapters of the Bible and has memorized a plethora of verses in English. She is a model student.
(And on a side note, I am so thankful for Tannu! Her cheerful spirit, amazing and quick laughter, and affectionate friendship have all been a true blessing to me. Her story, which I will have to share in person, is an amazing testimony to God's miraculous, saving power, and sovereign work. Even her desire and ability to learn after, as a girl, having been kept from educational opportunities most of her life, is an example and reminder to me of God providing wisdom to those the world would deem foolish. I love Tannu so much!)
But English is still difficult! I watched My Fair Lady the other night and was fairly (see!?!) oozing sympathy for heroine Eliza Doolittle. That poor thing had to contend not only with the irascible Henry Higgins but also the uppity pronunciation and finicky rules of the English’s English!
To add insult to injury, I've barely been able to write this post. I was agonizing over each dot and tiddle (or is it dot and tittle?) because of my new, painful, language-aware state. (If you couldn't tell already, I just gave up and wrote the post anyway...crimes against the "Mothertongue" and all.)
My unexpected foray into teaching English as a second language needs to have a storybook ending. So I’m on the lookout for any advice or resources all you practiced teachers might have on hand. Pronunciation is a key difficulty; how do you help a non-native speaker “hear” the difference in what you are saying and what is coming out of their mouth? Have you ever had students who really struggle with consonant blends and combinations (i.e., they always put a vowel sound in-between any two consonants at the beginning of a word – “paress” or “puress” instead of “press”)? What about a student who seems to consistently mix up seemingly unconnected letters (o and v, f and s, p and r)… any idea what might be going on there? What combination of phonics, memorization, etc, should be used in teaching someone to read? Another difficulty – bringing together the three aspects of language learning (reading, writing, conversation) when the student is at different “levels” in each. Ideas? Helpful hints? I've been using several on-line ESL resources/curriculums that have been helpful, but I'd welcome any tried and true recommendations.
Just to clarify, English and I now have a love/hate relationship. I'm sure once we work on our communication the relationship will improve.
(In the space of time it has taken me to write this blog Tannu and I are both seeing the brigher side of English. It's beginning to make sense to her, my ability to convey meaning and explination in Hindi/English is improving, and we are having so much fun reading missionary stories, doing Bible study, and acting out conversations. Today we both saw a marked improvement in her reading comprehension. Don’t let that stop you from any suggestions, though. I could use all the help I can get!)
“Know.”
“Now.”
“No, know.”
“No now?”
“Yes… er… no…er… nay… know!”
“No?”
“Yes, know.”
“Huh?”
I’ve always had a fairly amicable relationship with my mother tongue. A few random “oot” and “aboots”, one frightening junior college English teacher (Mr. Roundy called the class “a pile of stinkweeds”), and a propensity toward verbose written creations are the only aspects of the relationship that could be termed “negative”. And even those experiences I prefer to see as quirks or anomalies. (In retrospect, I have had one truly negative experience: my inability to consistently and correctly use “nauseous” vs. “nauseated” in their respective “right ways” has led to sometimes violent remonstrations from a roommate who will remain nameless.)
The point being: I like English. I speak it. I write it. I read it. I’d say it’s been pretty good to me.
Then I tried teaching it.
Who came up with English? What were they thinking? How are student and teacher supposed to keep their sanity when every time you finish teaching a “rule” the very next word to be read breaks that rule? Homonyms, homographs, and homophones…is there a specific phobia for these kinds of terrors? Grammar? Eek.
It is not my student’s fault. My student – also my dear friend – is19-year-old Tannu. Tannu is one of Aunty’s adopted daughters and has been living with us for the past month. This past May she received her certificate in Bible from the local Christian college. She did that course via their Hindi medium program. This fall she will begin studying at what they call “Open University” in a bid to complete her 10th standard (code word for high school diploma). Her long-term goal is to go back to Bible college and obtain her BTh. Both the high school diploma and her future Bible studies will require English proficiency. I have never seen such an eager, motivated student. She is constantly reading – signs, brochures, books, and receipts. Anything with English she wants to decipher. She is bold in striking up conversations with me and we role-play phone conversations and shopping trips multiple times a day to help her practice. She diligently writes chapters of the Bible and has memorized a plethora of verses in English. She is a model student.
(And on a side note, I am so thankful for Tannu! Her cheerful spirit, amazing and quick laughter, and affectionate friendship have all been a true blessing to me. Her story, which I will have to share in person, is an amazing testimony to God's miraculous, saving power, and sovereign work. Even her desire and ability to learn after, as a girl, having been kept from educational opportunities most of her life, is an example and reminder to me of God providing wisdom to those the world would deem foolish. I love Tannu so much!)
But English is still difficult! I watched My Fair Lady the other night and was fairly (see!?!) oozing sympathy for heroine Eliza Doolittle. That poor thing had to contend not only with the irascible Henry Higgins but also the uppity pronunciation and finicky rules of the English’s English!
To add insult to injury, I've barely been able to write this post. I was agonizing over each dot and tiddle (or is it dot and tittle?) because of my new, painful, language-aware state. (If you couldn't tell already, I just gave up and wrote the post anyway...crimes against the "Mothertongue" and all.)
My unexpected foray into teaching English as a second language needs to have a storybook ending. So I’m on the lookout for any advice or resources all you practiced teachers might have on hand. Pronunciation is a key difficulty; how do you help a non-native speaker “hear” the difference in what you are saying and what is coming out of their mouth? Have you ever had students who really struggle with consonant blends and combinations (i.e., they always put a vowel sound in-between any two consonants at the beginning of a word – “paress” or “puress” instead of “press”)? What about a student who seems to consistently mix up seemingly unconnected letters (o and v, f and s, p and r)… any idea what might be going on there? What combination of phonics, memorization, etc, should be used in teaching someone to read? Another difficulty – bringing together the three aspects of language learning (reading, writing, conversation) when the student is at different “levels” in each. Ideas? Helpful hints? I've been using several on-line ESL resources/curriculums that have been helpful, but I'd welcome any tried and true recommendations.
Just to clarify, English and I now have a love/hate relationship. I'm sure once we work on our communication the relationship will improve.
(In the space of time it has taken me to write this blog Tannu and I are both seeing the brigher side of English. It's beginning to make sense to her, my ability to convey meaning and explination in Hindi/English is improving, and we are having so much fun reading missionary stories, doing Bible study, and acting out conversations. Today we both saw a marked improvement in her reading comprehension. Don’t let that stop you from any suggestions, though. I could use all the help I can get!)
Sunday, June 03, 2007
On My Mind III
"The key to humility is not merely feeling the absence of merit..., but feeling the presence of free grace." - John Piper, What Jesus Demands of the World, Demand #17, p.130
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matt. 5:3
Humility: Five Implications for Bold Truth-Telling
1. "...humility begins with a sense of subordination to God in Jesus." (Matt. 10:24)
2. "(Humility) is not a life based on perceived rights. It is a life of sacrifice." (Matt. 10:25)
3. "(Humility) speaks truth as a service to Christ and as love to the adversary." (Matt. 10:27-28)
4. "...humility knows it is dependent on grace for all knowing and believing and speaking." (John. 15:5)
5. "...humility knows it is fallible, and so considers criticism and learns from it, but also knows that God has made provision for human conviction and that he calls us to persuade others." (Matt. 18:15-17 & 28:19-20)
"Is not the most effective way of bridling my delight in being made much of, to focus on making much of God? Self-denial and crucifixion of the flesh are essential, but O how easy it is to be made much of even for my self-denial! How shall this insidious motive of pleasure in being made much of be broken except through bending all my faculties to delight in the pleasure of making much of God!...You have to go down deeper into the grave of the flesh to find the truly freeing stream of miracle water that ravishes you with the taste of God's glory. Only in that speechless, all-satisfying admiration is the end of self." (John Piper, What Jesus Demands of the World, p. 135-7)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matt. 5:3
Humility: Five Implications for Bold Truth-Telling
1. "...humility begins with a sense of subordination to God in Jesus." (Matt. 10:24)
2. "(Humility) is not a life based on perceived rights. It is a life of sacrifice." (Matt. 10:25)
3. "(Humility) speaks truth as a service to Christ and as love to the adversary." (Matt. 10:27-28)
4. "...humility knows it is dependent on grace for all knowing and believing and speaking." (John. 15:5)
5. "...humility knows it is fallible, and so considers criticism and learns from it, but also knows that God has made provision for human conviction and that he calls us to persuade others." (Matt. 18:15-17 & 28:19-20)
"Is not the most effective way of bridling my delight in being made much of, to focus on making much of God? Self-denial and crucifixion of the flesh are essential, but O how easy it is to be made much of even for my self-denial! How shall this insidious motive of pleasure in being made much of be broken except through bending all my faculties to delight in the pleasure of making much of God!...You have to go down deeper into the grave of the flesh to find the truly freeing stream of miracle water that ravishes you with the taste of God's glory. Only in that speechless, all-satisfying admiration is the end of self." (John Piper, What Jesus Demands of the World, p. 135-7)
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Have I Mentioned...
...that I've posted new pictures? The majority are from VBS (under the "India Adventures" heading, but the rest (under "The Happenings" heading) provide some photo documentary updates on the Faridabad building project, the DBF church building project, visitors, a random McDonald's trip, a birthday celebration, and family!
Click HERE.
Click HERE.
WINN Window
The ministry that Aunty directs and that I am here serving was recently featured in their larger, international newsletter. I thought I'd display it here so you can see how the ministry is moving along, the prayer & praise points from Aunty's perspective, and a taste of the other WINN cells around the world.
June 2007
Welcome to the new format of the combined monthly prayer letter and WINN Window newsletter. The aim is to give a fuller picture of one of the IN Network women’s ministries which you can refer to again and again. We will include other important prayer requests which need special attention during the month of publication. For those on email you may still receive urgent prayer requests as they arise.
This month we feature the ministry of WINN India, ably directed by Miss S. M.. The WINN Ministry works primarily with womenfolk and includes retreats, seminars, conferences, workshops, teaching, discipling, Church ministries, counseling, equipping to be witnesses and computer and sewing centres.
WINN India’s work takes place in Delhi , Jabulpur in Madya Pradesh State , Noida and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, Gurgaon in Haryana, Pune and Mumbai in Maharasthra, and a strong work in North East India. With over 50 women and men paid staff or volunteers, S. M. has a large workload overseeing the various aspects of the work. S. M. also ministers overseas each year.
The Pune Counselling Centre, which last year reached over 7,400 people as a result of its various outreach ministries and prayer groups, provides friendship, fellowship, counseling and supportive help, guidance and encouragement for women to grow to spiritual maturity and shares the love of Jesus with many.
The Jabulpur Sewing Project trains disadvantaged and disabled girls in employable skills. The computer training programmes see their graduates into well paying jobs. The Meerut sewing project reaches girls from Hindu backgrounds, many coming to know Jesus. The Women of the Word Bible Study groups cause women to grow in their relationships with the Lord and the WINN Watch Prayer groups are full of powerful prayer warriors.
In her annual report S. M. tells how April 2006 – March 2007 year was a remarkable one for WINN-INDIA. The “Rastriya Sathwavana Gaurav Sanhman” (National Award) honoured WINN-INDIA with an award for its involvement in social works. “We praise God for His help among the poor society who come to us to learn computer, for awareness programmes, English spoken classes and sewing classes.”
Some testimonies and success stories
From Pune:
"P" came to the Centre very depressed and discouraged, nursing a broken heart. She also had a lot of unforgiveness and bitterness in her heart towards her family, particularly her mother. She surrendered it all to the Lord. Over a period of time she has been able to deal with it all. She has understood what is expected of her and is working on it with the Lord. She trusts Jesus and loves Him and with Him hopes to overcome all her battles.
"S", a 14 year old, was admitted to the hospital as she was vomiting blood. We met her sister who wanted us to pray for her. They had done all kinds of tests but could not diagnose the reason for her condition. They even did an angiograph after which the girl has been unable to move the right leg. She was having asthma and was using an oxygen mask. Her condition was serious and the family was desperate. The doctors said they could do nothing more and they should take her back home. We shared with her and her 3 sisters, the love of Jesus with the gospel message. All of them accepted the Lord. Sarita began to recover. She is still in hospital but the doctors themselves speak of a change in her condition. She continues to look to Jesus to heal her completely. She is able to sit up now. There has been no more blood vomit. She had spoken of a demon telling her and even threatening her to go with it, but now as we prayed in the name of Jesus and told her to claim victory in the Name and blood of Jesus, even that has gone. Praise God
From the Computer Education Centre, Delhi
"S" is a girl who comes from a Punjabi background but she accepted the Lord as her personal Saviour. She has completed the Basic computer course. She shared a prayer request about marriage because for a long time she was praying to be married. We prayed and God answered with a good proposal from a man who works as a Hardware engineer. They got married and on 22nd of March God blessed them with a baby girl. She is enjoying one blessing after the other. "S" wants to support her family financially.
From the WINN Sewing centre, Jabulpur
"S J" -I come from a very poor family. It is very difficult for my parents to make both ends meet. I have decided to help my parents in the running of the house. Since I am a girl therefore I was very keen in learning to adopt a vocation, which would help me to earn my livelihood. I came to know of WINN Sewing Centre at Sneh Niketan through the survey work conducted in my slum area. I came here with no knowledge, with no experience about tailoring work. The teachers are very patient with me and taught me every thing step by step .I have completed almost six months and can now do my own cutting and tailoring work. My parents feel happy seeing me learn to do things independently for myself. I wish to continue and learn more. Last but not least we wish to thank the WINN Team for Coming and ministering to us and for giving us your valuable suggestion for the upliftment of the WINN class. May God bless you all.
PRAYER POINTS
• For the extension of the WINN India ministry into Faridabad . S. M. will move there once construction on the house is completed.
• For the provision of finance for a hall for training ladies in leadership and for retreats on the Faridabad land.
• For a good response from Christian doctors and teachers to come and hold medical and adult literacy camps at the new location.
• For S. M.’s friendship and outreach to the village people
• For more young women to disciple
• For the conferences, retreats, seminars, workshops and camps for women.
• For an increase in the number of prayer cell groups (WINN Watch) and Bible study groups (WOW) into more areas.
• For the ministries to the poor and underprivileged to help them to have a source of income and raise their economic standard.
• To expose those who come to the projects to the gospel.
• To increase the effectiveness of the counseling centres
• For daily strength for Sheila and all her paid and voluntary staff.
• For the Vacation Bible School for street children, 18 - 21st June 2007.
• For B and K (pictured) engagement day on 23rd June 2007 that it will be a day of rejoicing and glorifying God.
PRAISE POINTS
• For the wonderful time WINN ladies spent in prayer on the global day of prayer.
• For Lakhi who passed her 10+2 with high marks.
• That Ms. Sheila Massey's sister tumor is benign.
• For Ms. Sheila Massey's health. She is recovering slowly. Continue to pray for complete recovery.
• For the Faridabad Building construction - it has reached the plastering stage.
• For the wonderful VBS organized by Brajen and Karisa. 240 children attended; all churches of Gurgaon were brought together due to the event.
IMPORTANT PRAYER REQUESTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
• Thanks be to God for those who have prayed for Rosemary Kisandu of Tanzania , who is schooling in Kenya . She is completely restored and set free from the evil spirit that was troubling her.
• Praise the Lord that Mrs. Dipa Adhikary, Bangladesh , had a good medical treatment in Singapore and arrived safely. However, her heart valve activity has deteriorated and may need a replacement. Kindly pray for Dipa who is suffering from a high fever from last week and has some chest complications. The fever is not responding to paracetamol and antibiotics. These has been some slight change since her son McDonald laid hands on her and prayed in the Name of Jesus Christ. Please pray that our Lord restores her health and relieves all the pain and discomfort she is having now.
• Pray for Ms. Hazeline Tripura the Assistant Matron of Savar Village in Bangladesh who lost her niece in a tragic drowning accident. Pray for the bereaved family.
June 2007
Welcome to the new format of the combined monthly prayer letter and WINN Window newsletter. The aim is to give a fuller picture of one of the IN Network women’s ministries which you can refer to again and again. We will include other important prayer requests which need special attention during the month of publication. For those on email you may still receive urgent prayer requests as they arise.
This month we feature the ministry of WINN India, ably directed by Miss S. M.. The WINN Ministry works primarily with womenfolk and includes retreats, seminars, conferences, workshops, teaching, discipling, Church ministries, counseling, equipping to be witnesses and computer and sewing centres.
WINN India’s work takes place in Delhi , Jabulpur in Madya Pradesh State , Noida and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, Gurgaon in Haryana, Pune and Mumbai in Maharasthra, and a strong work in North East India. With over 50 women and men paid staff or volunteers, S. M. has a large workload overseeing the various aspects of the work. S. M. also ministers overseas each year.
The Pune Counselling Centre, which last year reached over 7,400 people as a result of its various outreach ministries and prayer groups, provides friendship, fellowship, counseling and supportive help, guidance and encouragement for women to grow to spiritual maturity and shares the love of Jesus with many.
The Jabulpur Sewing Project trains disadvantaged and disabled girls in employable skills. The computer training programmes see their graduates into well paying jobs. The Meerut sewing project reaches girls from Hindu backgrounds, many coming to know Jesus. The Women of the Word Bible Study groups cause women to grow in their relationships with the Lord and the WINN Watch Prayer groups are full of powerful prayer warriors.
In her annual report S. M. tells how April 2006 – March 2007 year was a remarkable one for WINN-INDIA. The “Rastriya Sathwavana Gaurav Sanhman” (National Award) honoured WINN-INDIA with an award for its involvement in social works. “We praise God for His help among the poor society who come to us to learn computer, for awareness programmes, English spoken classes and sewing classes.” Some testimonies and success stories
From Pune:
"P" came to the Centre very depressed and discouraged, nursing a broken heart. She also had a lot of unforgiveness and bitterness in her heart towards her family, particularly her mother. She surrendered it all to the Lord. Over a period of time she has been able to deal with it all. She has understood what is expected of her and is working on it with the Lord. She trusts Jesus and loves Him and with Him hopes to overcome all her battles.
"S", a 14 year old, was admitted to the hospital as she was vomiting blood. We met her sister who wanted us to pray for her. They had done all kinds of tests but could not diagnose the reason for her condition. They even did an angiograph after which the girl has been unable to move the right leg. She was having asthma and was using an oxygen mask. Her condition was serious and the family was desperate. The doctors said they could do nothing more and they should take her back home. We shared with her and her 3 sisters, the love of Jesus with the gospel message. All of them accepted the Lord. Sarita began to recover. She is still in hospital but the doctors themselves speak of a change in her condition. She continues to look to Jesus to heal her completely. She is able to sit up now. There has been no more blood vomit. She had spoken of a demon telling her and even threatening her to go with it, but now as we prayed in the name of Jesus and told her to claim victory in the Name and blood of Jesus, even that has gone. Praise God
From the Computer Education Centre, Delhi
"S" is a girl who comes from a Punjabi background but she accepted the Lord as her personal Saviour. She has completed the Basic computer course. She shared a prayer request about marriage because for a long time she was praying to be married. We prayed and God answered with a good proposal from a man who works as a Hardware engineer. They got married and on 22nd of March God blessed them with a baby girl. She is enjoying one blessing after the other. "S" wants to support her family financially.
From the WINN Sewing centre, Jabulpur
"S J" -I come from a very poor family. It is very difficult for my parents to make both ends meet. I have decided to help my parents in the running of the house. Since I am a girl therefore I was very keen in learning to adopt a vocation, which would help me to earn my livelihood. I came to know of WINN Sewing Centre at Sneh Niketan through the survey work conducted in my slum area. I came here with no knowledge, with no experience about tailoring work. The teachers are very patient with me and taught me every thing step by step .I have completed almost six months and can now do my own cutting and tailoring work. My parents feel happy seeing me learn to do things independently for myself. I wish to continue and learn more. Last but not least we wish to thank the WINN Team for Coming and ministering to us and for giving us your valuable suggestion for the upliftment of the WINN class. May God bless you all.
PRAYER POINTS
• For the extension of the WINN India ministry into Faridabad . S. M. will move there once construction on the house is completed.
• For the provision of finance for a hall for training ladies in leadership and for retreats on the Faridabad land.
• For a good response from Christian doctors and teachers to come and hold medical and adult literacy camps at the new location.
• For S. M.’s friendship and outreach to the village people
• For more young women to disciple
• For the conferences, retreats, seminars, workshops and camps for women.
• For an increase in the number of prayer cell groups (WINN Watch) and Bible study groups (WOW) into more areas.
• For the ministries to the poor and underprivileged to help them to have a source of income and raise their economic standard.
• To expose those who come to the projects to the gospel.
• To increase the effectiveness of the counseling centres
• For daily strength for Sheila and all her paid and voluntary staff.
• For the Vacation Bible School for street children, 18 - 21st June 2007.
• For B and K (pictured) engagement day on 23rd June 2007 that it will be a day of rejoicing and glorifying God.
PRAISE POINTS
• For the wonderful time WINN ladies spent in prayer on the global day of prayer.
• For Lakhi who passed her 10+2 with high marks.
• That Ms. Sheila Massey's sister tumor is benign.
• For Ms. Sheila Massey's health. She is recovering slowly. Continue to pray for complete recovery.
• For the Faridabad Building construction - it has reached the plastering stage.
• For the wonderful VBS organized by Brajen and Karisa. 240 children attended; all churches of Gurgaon were brought together due to the event.
IMPORTANT PRAYER REQUESTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
• Thanks be to God for those who have prayed for Rosemary Kisandu of Tanzania , who is schooling in Kenya . She is completely restored and set free from the evil spirit that was troubling her.
• Praise the Lord that Mrs. Dipa Adhikary, Bangladesh , had a good medical treatment in Singapore and arrived safely. However, her heart valve activity has deteriorated and may need a replacement. Kindly pray for Dipa who is suffering from a high fever from last week and has some chest complications. The fever is not responding to paracetamol and antibiotics. These has been some slight change since her son McDonald laid hands on her and prayed in the Name of Jesus Christ. Please pray that our Lord restores her health and relieves all the pain and discomfort she is having now.
• Pray for Ms. Hazeline Tripura the Assistant Matron of Savar Village in Bangladesh who lost her niece in a tragic drowning accident. Pray for the bereaved family.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
On My Mind II
THE RESOLUTIONSof
Jonathan Edwards
Being Sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake.
Remember to read these resolutions over once a week.
1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.
2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the aforementioned things.
3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.
4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God. July 30.
9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.
11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances do not hinder.
12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.
13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.
14. Resolved, never to do any thing out of revenge.
15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.
16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
17. Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
18. Resolved, to live so, at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.
19. Resolved, never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.
20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance, in eating and drinking.
21. Resolved, never to do any thing, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.
(Resolutions 1 through 21 written in one setting in New Haven in 1722)
(And some of the other 49 he wrote that especially stuck out to me...)
23. Resolved, frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God' s glory, to repute it as a breach of the 4th Resolution.
24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.
25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.
28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.
36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.
37. Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,- what sin I have committed,-and wherein I have denied myself;-also at the end of every week, month and year. Dec. 22 and 26, 1722.
43. Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God' s; agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12, 1723.
48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or not; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.
52. I frequently hear persons in old age, say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.
53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.
56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
57. Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether I have done my duty, and resolve to do it, and let the event be just as providence orders it. I will as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty, and my sin. June 9, and July 13 1723.
58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity. May 27, and July 13, 1723.
59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July 11, and July 13.
61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it-that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc. May 21, and July 13, 1723.
65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this, all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness, of which I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him: all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance; according to Dr. Manton' s 27th Sermon on Psalm 119. July 26, and Aug.10 1723.
67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what am I the better for them, and what I might have got by them.
70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak. August 17, 1723.
Monday, May 28, 2007
VBS Survived
Brajen and I have been working for the past several months on planning, directing, and finally executing a citywide Vacation Bible School. Of course we didn’t do it alone – the VBS was planned through the combined effort of pastors and ministry leaders from all over Gurgaon. In addition to the 50 teachers and handful of volunteers, almost 250 kids (ages 4 to 16) came each day during VBS week, May 14th – 18th.
Phew. It was a lot of kids! But I can joyfully (and with a huge, contended sigh of relief) say, mission accomplished!
At times it didn't feel that way, namely when it seemed to melt into pure chaos. And, of course, there were the unforeseen bumps – no electricity on days 1 and 3, not enough classrooms or workbooks, undelivered craft materials, etc. The resulting blessing was seeing God work all those things together (tangibly by providing uncomplaining children and spurts of creativity to meander through the mess) and marvelously accomplishing what we had prayed would be the end result. Viz., to clearly and simply have the gospel proclaimed, children led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and all encouraged in their young faith by the teaching of God’s Word. And by God's grace and power this happened! A large group of kids made a profession of faith and an even larger group of un-churched kids asked for (and received) their first Bibles (more on that below).
My role was mainly all the “fun” administrative type stuff leading up to VBS, for example, the accounts. I even tried my hand at a bit of the publicity, designing the posters and registration materials around a main theme, “Come Sing a New Song”. During VBS I coordinated registration (disastrous but we all survived with full heads of hair), teachers & volunteers (we had morning meetings and prayer times), and crafts (who knew my two Martha Stewart magazines and collections of ribbon and scrap paper would be my “two loaves and five fish” when there were no craft supplies delivered on Monday morning?).
It was my coordination vantage point that allowed me to see a blessing that will go beyond just our VBS week. I walked away fairly encouraged by the efforts that all these pastors and churches made to work together. Despite some challenging differences, these pastors demonstrated that they are ultimately committed to furthering the gospel in their city, specifically in the lives of their young people. VBS and the joint effort committee seems to have paved the way for other collective efforts – a citywide day of prayer, a “transformation network”, and a renewed interest in Pastor prayer meetings.
Please pray with me that this team effort attitude for the sake of the gospel will continue among Gurgaon leaders and that their efforts will lead not only to growth of local churches, but also to increased accountability and encouragement among Pastors and fellow believers.
Another blessing that will go beyond VBS week was a point of personal growth. My whole involvement in the committee, planning, and VBS week itself was a humbling lesson in cross-cultural communication. And by humbling I mean sometimes embarrassing (those stories will be archived for another day) but mostly just revealing. Revealing of the fact that dying to self is hard. Living for Christ, i.e., putting into practice the type of love so clearly demonstrated to us by Christ’s example, is hard. Daily, “keep at it”, press on, wearisome type of hard. And for whatever reason (perhaps all the miscommunication frustrations) VBS planning and VBS week chaos just brought out my need to work on listening lovingly, relinquishing my idea of the “right way” to the ideas of others if the end goal is being accomplished, and being patient – even affirming and adapting – with others’ differences (cultural or otherwise).
Please continue to pray with me that I will love sacrificially, that I will kill my pride, that I will communicate love, and that I will daily recall my own position in grace and so joyfully extend that attitude towards others. Pray that I will increase in brotherly (sisterly) love and affection for India.
So good, lasting blessings. Out of the actual VBS week itself my favorite blessing “snap shots” involved (not surprisingly) my interactions with the kids.
During the week I got to give a few devotionals to the junior group, kids ages 10-12. The given theme for one of the days was “Do Not Fear”. After making a list of things the kids feared (top of which were: exams, snakes, and big dogs), we looked up some passages that highlighted God’s power and sovereignty. I was about to spend some time making the connection between God’s character and why we don’t have to fear when one of the boys raised his hand. My heart did a little jig as I quickly realized he’d made the connection. I let him explain to the rest of the class why we don’t have to fear – in his terms, God is “the biggest and best” and also loves us, so we can trust him. He was afraid of the scary dog because it was “bigger” than him, but the dog can’t even compare to God, so he doesn’t have to fear. Three cheers for kids better understanding God’s character.
Please pray for these dear kids, specifically that they will continue to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. Pray that truths about who God is, how He works, and what He’s done will touch their hearts and that this new generation of Christian Indians will be desperately in love with Christ, ready to radically and unequivocally stand for Him!
My absolute favorite snap shot, or VBS memory, was from the last day. We had purchased 100 English/Hindi Bibles to give away to children who had none. My friend and I were organizing them while waiting for the closing ceremonies to end when word began to spread that Bibles were in the back. Despite the ongoing program, kids began to rush back to the table. My friend and I were pushed, crushed, pinched, pulled, yelled at… we were mobbed. Literally, mobbed. For Bibles. By kids. Some of them were mobbing me because they wanted something free, but there were those that had, all week long, been asking for a Bible because they truly wanted to read it themselves. Several of those shouted at me: “Ma’am, please give me a Jesus book”. Precious. I’ll get mobbed for that any day of the week.
Thank the Lord with me for His precious, alive Word and for the reminder these young ones provided of cherishing it and desiring it. Pray specifically that those who took Bibles for the first time will get opportunity to read it and that it would be read not only by them, but also by their parents. Also, praise the Lord for his marvelous work in orchestrating the details, bringing children, sustaining us through the program, etc, and for the ultimate example of his power in the group of children that responded to His offer of salvation. For the group that heard the gospel and responded, please be pray for their spiritual protection and growth.
Phew. It was a lot of kids! But I can joyfully (and with a huge, contended sigh of relief) say, mission accomplished!
At times it didn't feel that way, namely when it seemed to melt into pure chaos. And, of course, there were the unforeseen bumps – no electricity on days 1 and 3, not enough classrooms or workbooks, undelivered craft materials, etc. The resulting blessing was seeing God work all those things together (tangibly by providing uncomplaining children and spurts of creativity to meander through the mess) and marvelously accomplishing what we had prayed would be the end result. Viz., to clearly and simply have the gospel proclaimed, children led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and all encouraged in their young faith by the teaching of God’s Word. And by God's grace and power this happened! A large group of kids made a profession of faith and an even larger group of un-churched kids asked for (and received) their first Bibles (more on that below).
My role was mainly all the “fun” administrative type stuff leading up to VBS, for example, the accounts. I even tried my hand at a bit of the publicity, designing the posters and registration materials around a main theme, “Come Sing a New Song”. During VBS I coordinated registration (disastrous but we all survived with full heads of hair), teachers & volunteers (we had morning meetings and prayer times), and crafts (who knew my two Martha Stewart magazines and collections of ribbon and scrap paper would be my “two loaves and five fish” when there were no craft supplies delivered on Monday morning?).
It was my coordination vantage point that allowed me to see a blessing that will go beyond just our VBS week. I walked away fairly encouraged by the efforts that all these pastors and churches made to work together. Despite some challenging differences, these pastors demonstrated that they are ultimately committed to furthering the gospel in their city, specifically in the lives of their young people. VBS and the joint effort committee seems to have paved the way for other collective efforts – a citywide day of prayer, a “transformation network”, and a renewed interest in Pastor prayer meetings.
Please pray with me that this team effort attitude for the sake of the gospel will continue among Gurgaon leaders and that their efforts will lead not only to growth of local churches, but also to increased accountability and encouragement among Pastors and fellow believers.
Another blessing that will go beyond VBS week was a point of personal growth. My whole involvement in the committee, planning, and VBS week itself was a humbling lesson in cross-cultural communication. And by humbling I mean sometimes embarrassing (those stories will be archived for another day) but mostly just revealing. Revealing of the fact that dying to self is hard. Living for Christ, i.e., putting into practice the type of love so clearly demonstrated to us by Christ’s example, is hard. Daily, “keep at it”, press on, wearisome type of hard. And for whatever reason (perhaps all the miscommunication frustrations) VBS planning and VBS week chaos just brought out my need to work on listening lovingly, relinquishing my idea of the “right way” to the ideas of others if the end goal is being accomplished, and being patient – even affirming and adapting – with others’ differences (cultural or otherwise).
Please continue to pray with me that I will love sacrificially, that I will kill my pride, that I will communicate love, and that I will daily recall my own position in grace and so joyfully extend that attitude towards others. Pray that I will increase in brotherly (sisterly) love and affection for India.
So good, lasting blessings. Out of the actual VBS week itself my favorite blessing “snap shots” involved (not surprisingly) my interactions with the kids.
During the week I got to give a few devotionals to the junior group, kids ages 10-12. The given theme for one of the days was “Do Not Fear”. After making a list of things the kids feared (top of which were: exams, snakes, and big dogs), we looked up some passages that highlighted God’s power and sovereignty. I was about to spend some time making the connection between God’s character and why we don’t have to fear when one of the boys raised his hand. My heart did a little jig as I quickly realized he’d made the connection. I let him explain to the rest of the class why we don’t have to fear – in his terms, God is “the biggest and best” and also loves us, so we can trust him. He was afraid of the scary dog because it was “bigger” than him, but the dog can’t even compare to God, so he doesn’t have to fear. Three cheers for kids better understanding God’s character.
Please pray for these dear kids, specifically that they will continue to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. Pray that truths about who God is, how He works, and what He’s done will touch their hearts and that this new generation of Christian Indians will be desperately in love with Christ, ready to radically and unequivocally stand for Him!
My absolute favorite snap shot, or VBS memory, was from the last day. We had purchased 100 English/Hindi Bibles to give away to children who had none. My friend and I were organizing them while waiting for the closing ceremonies to end when word began to spread that Bibles were in the back. Despite the ongoing program, kids began to rush back to the table. My friend and I were pushed, crushed, pinched, pulled, yelled at… we were mobbed. Literally, mobbed. For Bibles. By kids. Some of them were mobbing me because they wanted something free, but there were those that had, all week long, been asking for a Bible because they truly wanted to read it themselves. Several of those shouted at me: “Ma’am, please give me a Jesus book”. Precious. I’ll get mobbed for that any day of the week.
Thank the Lord with me for His precious, alive Word and for the reminder these young ones provided of cherishing it and desiring it. Pray specifically that those who took Bibles for the first time will get opportunity to read it and that it would be read not only by them, but also by their parents. Also, praise the Lord for his marvelous work in orchestrating the details, bringing children, sustaining us through the program, etc, and for the ultimate example of his power in the group of children that responded to His offer of salvation. For the group that heard the gospel and responded, please be pray for their spiritual protection and growth.
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