Got to post 3 days worth here. It has been a busy set of days with still very limited internet service.
Sunday services at the Latur Ministry Center was very special. Some of the children from the neighborhoods who attended VBS came to church service for the FIRST time. How completely exciting! It is quite humbling to see children attempting to come to Jesus as a result of our work. The India team was honored on-stage with flower necklaces and shawls. They called some of the Anukamp boys up to place the necklace on us. The shawls were presented by some of the women of the church. Pastor E's message was centered around following Jesus and each of us had a question to answer regarding some aspect of following Him. I personally found myself quite nervous to be speaking. I usually do not have a problem and afterwards questioned why this was the case. I believe it is because somewhere deep inside, I feel like my words need to mean so much more. Back home, almost everybody in the church is a Christian and they are working on their relationship. Here, there are people in attendance who are hearing about Jesus for the first or second time, and some who have heard many times but are still trying to decide if Jesus is right for them. I have understood from the start how important this trip is, but for me, that was an A-ha moment where that reality really hit home.
After church service, we got to meet several parents and siblings of the Anukamp boys. They were all heading to their homes for a 15 day holiday. They go home twice a year - two weeks in the fall and two months beginning the middle of May. It was a bittersweet experience as it was quite sad to know our time with them was over, but they were sooo excited to see their parents and introduce them to us.
Hugs, smiles, and tears were present everywhere. When there were only a few boys left by late afternoon, we turned to helping Mahima celebrate her 16th birthday. She is the only girl in her extended family and she got quite the frosting facial from her brothers and cousins. It was fun to help her celebrate her birthday as though we were part of her family. Alas, for many it turned out to be an early evening as we all were catching the 6:30am train to Pune.
As expected, Monday morning came quite early but we managed to get everybody and the myriad of luggage to the train station with plenty of time to spare. The ride, though long, was interesting for many reasons. We all met someone or two to chat with. The gentleman sharing our berth spoke great English and worked for an Indian division of Johnson & Johnson. He had travelled to the states previously, gave us an idea of a tourist trap for when we return to Hong Kong, and was quite helpful in narrating some of the trip. The countryside is very similar to Eastern Washington, just much warmer. We saw lots of deer, which is not hunted here. We also saw some teepee villages. A little bit of old school India looking out of our windows. We passed by lots of farmland and farmers tilling their soil using Ox and a plow was quite the common site. The train stations we stopped at along the way all had many goats milling around. We finally arrived at Pune station just after 1pm. As per the course when we travel to a new location, the biggest struggle was finding transportation big enough to accomodate both the people and the luggage. A van, a car, and a ricksaw later, we arrived at Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) This is where the Free Methodist Youth Conference is being held. Sessions did not begin until the next morning so we were free to settle in our rooms until the pizza came. Yep - good ol' pizza - however the ingredients were not what I would consider standard american fare. Kevin made some noises about pizza loaded with every kind of meat known to man which made a few of our vegetarian friends cringe, but now worries. The pizza we had was plenty delicious. After dinner, we all strolled the campus grounds. The sun was setting and the air was slightly warm. We were up on the highest part of the grounds and watched the sun setting below the trees and the spire of the chapel. Glorious sights!
Tuesday morning began the first day of the conference. By lunchtime, there were 195 registered participants. There were more in attendance who had not registered due to late arrival. It will be interesting to see the total number. Pastor Eric opened the days speaking and discussed the need for everybody to have a vision. The theme of the conference is from Daniel 5:27 "You have been weighed on the scales and are found wanting." Pastor E asked us what we wanted written on our wall. Certainly it is not what was written on Baltshazaar's wall. Pastor Paul Pawar centered his message on John 3:16 and how Jesus is our only saviour. After lunch, there was free time and a time for games. Not everybody participated in the games, but many did. A soccer ball was kicked around for a bit (Yes Tammy joined in) and then a lively game of Cricket was started with the men. The women played several games by themselves such as Throw-Ball, Catch-catch (with and without blindfold), and Ameoba tag. I don't really know what they called the tag game but we call it Ameoba tag back home. It was a good way to interact with the youth and let off some steam after sitting all morning. Bryan was the speaker of choice for the evening message and he centered on creation and the fall from grace. He was quite interactive with the crowd and had about 20 volunteers up front with him doing silly things. He ended with a reference to a scene from Slumdog Millionare and how nasty the boy was when he jumped out of the outhouse. He likened that type of nastiness to us when we are filled with sin and how everybody has the choice to dwell in their stench and filth, or come clean with Jesus.
Darkness has settled upon us as the day draws to a close. The constant activity and higher temperatures (than in Latur) have drained most of our energy. Everybody is laying down or settling in to a quiet activity. We pray that your day is equally productive and if given the chance to share the good news with someone, you will embrace it and pour out His love. Good night and Amen.
Sunday services at the Latur Ministry Center was very special. Some of the children from the neighborhoods who attended VBS came to church service for the FIRST time. How completely exciting! It is quite humbling to see children attempting to come to Jesus as a result of our work. The India team was honored on-stage with flower necklaces and shawls. They called some of the Anukamp boys up to place the necklace on us. The shawls were presented by some of the women of the church. Pastor E's message was centered around following Jesus and each of us had a question to answer regarding some aspect of following Him. I personally found myself quite nervous to be speaking. I usually do not have a problem and afterwards questioned why this was the case. I believe it is because somewhere deep inside, I feel like my words need to mean so much more. Back home, almost everybody in the church is a Christian and they are working on their relationship. Here, there are people in attendance who are hearing about Jesus for the first or second time, and some who have heard many times but are still trying to decide if Jesus is right for them. I have understood from the start how important this trip is, but for me, that was an A-ha moment where that reality really hit home.
After church service, we got to meet several parents and siblings of the Anukamp boys. They were all heading to their homes for a 15 day holiday. They go home twice a year - two weeks in the fall and two months beginning the middle of May. It was a bittersweet experience as it was quite sad to know our time with them was over, but they were sooo excited to see their parents and introduce them to us.
Hugs, smiles, and tears were present everywhere. When there were only a few boys left by late afternoon, we turned to helping Mahima celebrate her 16th birthday. She is the only girl in her extended family and she got quite the frosting facial from her brothers and cousins. It was fun to help her celebrate her birthday as though we were part of her family. Alas, for many it turned out to be an early evening as we all were catching the 6:30am train to Pune.
As expected, Monday morning came quite early but we managed to get everybody and the myriad of luggage to the train station with plenty of time to spare. The ride, though long, was interesting for many reasons. We all met someone or two to chat with. The gentleman sharing our berth spoke great English and worked for an Indian division of Johnson & Johnson. He had travelled to the states previously, gave us an idea of a tourist trap for when we return to Hong Kong, and was quite helpful in narrating some of the trip. The countryside is very similar to Eastern Washington, just much warmer. We saw lots of deer, which is not hunted here. We also saw some teepee villages. A little bit of old school India looking out of our windows. We passed by lots of farmland and farmers tilling their soil using Ox and a plow was quite the common site. The train stations we stopped at along the way all had many goats milling around. We finally arrived at Pune station just after 1pm. As per the course when we travel to a new location, the biggest struggle was finding transportation big enough to accomodate both the people and the luggage. A van, a car, and a ricksaw later, we arrived at Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) This is where the Free Methodist Youth Conference is being held. Sessions did not begin until the next morning so we were free to settle in our rooms until the pizza came. Yep - good ol' pizza - however the ingredients were not what I would consider standard american fare. Kevin made some noises about pizza loaded with every kind of meat known to man which made a few of our vegetarian friends cringe, but now worries. The pizza we had was plenty delicious. After dinner, we all strolled the campus grounds. The sun was setting and the air was slightly warm. We were up on the highest part of the grounds and watched the sun setting below the trees and the spire of the chapel. Glorious sights!
Tuesday morning began the first day of the conference. By lunchtime, there were 195 registered participants. There were more in attendance who had not registered due to late arrival. It will be interesting to see the total number. Pastor Eric opened the days speaking and discussed the need for everybody to have a vision. The theme of the conference is from Daniel 5:27 "You have been weighed on the scales and are found wanting." Pastor E asked us what we wanted written on our wall. Certainly it is not what was written on Baltshazaar's wall. Pastor Paul Pawar centered his message on John 3:16 and how Jesus is our only saviour. After lunch, there was free time and a time for games. Not everybody participated in the games, but many did. A soccer ball was kicked around for a bit (Yes Tammy joined in) and then a lively game of Cricket was started with the men. The women played several games by themselves such as Throw-Ball, Catch-catch (with and without blindfold), and Ameoba tag. I don't really know what they called the tag game but we call it Ameoba tag back home. It was a good way to interact with the youth and let off some steam after sitting all morning. Bryan was the speaker of choice for the evening message and he centered on creation and the fall from grace. He was quite interactive with the crowd and had about 20 volunteers up front with him doing silly things. He ended with a reference to a scene from Slumdog Millionare and how nasty the boy was when he jumped out of the outhouse. He likened that type of nastiness to us when we are filled with sin and how everybody has the choice to dwell in their stench and filth, or come clean with Jesus.
Darkness has settled upon us as the day draws to a close. The constant activity and higher temperatures (than in Latur) have drained most of our energy. Everybody is laying down or settling in to a quiet activity. We pray that your day is equally productive and if given the chance to share the good news with someone, you will embrace it and pour out His love. Good night and Amen.
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