VBS surpassed the century mark at 106!

What an honor to share the good news with so many youngsters.  There were about 10 bags unclaimed so that means during the course of the 4 days, we reached out to at least 116 children.  Today's big hit was story time.  Cathy read the story of the prodigal son while it was being dramatized in the background.  Several volunteers participated in this grand production.  Bryan was the prodigal son and Kevin was the father and they played their parts to the max.  Much laughter from the kids and the adults alike.  Our focus was on forgiveness and that if we do the things that we learned about this week, our sins can be forgiven, even if we mess up from time to time.  The craft was the salvation bracelet and it was a great lead point into the salvation story and having the children invite Jesus in to their hearts.  When asked who would like to do so, over 80 children raised their hands.  With so many kids it was hard to know how many actually repeated the prayer, but we know it was a bunch.  Heavenly father, we praise you for these new souls who want to be a part of your kingdom. We ask for your blessing, guidance, and protection in these youngster's hearts and may they always remember the sweet sound of their voices asking you to be their saviour.  Thank you for all of the children. Amen

Now that VBS is over, we have taken an afternoon of rest and relaxation.  Our bodies are a bit weary from the heat and lack of consistent sleep patterns.  We have also poured our hearts in to serving Jesus and these children and the post-activity letdown is catching up with us all.  However, I think we all agree that what we feel in our weariness is joyfullness, satisfaction, and happiness.  While we are visiting, checking e-mails, updating the blog, etc we can hear the boys in the next room singing worship songs from VBS for the various visitors who have stopped by from the Blazing Youth Revival.  These boys love to sing and worship with such joy that I feel a bit jealous that they have that child's heart for God.  I personally feel blessed that I have been surrounded by these boys and some of the town children to show me the way to having that type of relationship.  While we were tasked with teaching these children about the love of Jesus, I think the members of the team were taught a few things by the children and have learned many other lessons from the rest of our experience so far to date.  Bless others and in the same way you will also be blessed.

We are almost done with day number 13 of the trip which means we are halfway through and have 11 days left.  We have all come so far, but we have so much more ahead of us.  We ask for your prayers of strength and passion, for comfort and healing, and a veil of protection as we set out for travel early Monday morning.  Up next is the youth conference in Pune.  Prayers for the many hundreds of attendees for their safe travels, for an open mind to hear what the Lord has to say to them, and courage for those whom God will choose to take the path to ministry.  We hope to be an inspiration to those that we will get to interact with and pray that we are a visible shining light for Jesus.

Thank you so much those who have been thinking of the team and praying for us and all of India.  You are greatly appreciated and please know that God is hearing your prayers and requests and He is definitely putting them to good use!

Good night and we'll chat again soon!

Numbers 14:7

"They said to all the people of Israel, 'The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!'"

Not only are we so happy for this wonderful land but we are thankful for the travels and for the numbers of children we have touched so far.  We are praising God tonight for the safe return of Pastor E.  He is finished with his work and travels in the south of India and is back with the team.  He will get to be present for the last day of VBS and we have a special treat just for him that we have been working on.

Day 3 of VBS was another glorious day.  We had 87 kids in attendance today with an estimated 21 that were new. Our theme today was Live for Jesus and we focused on activities that encouraged their children to build their life on the rock.  Katherine talked them through the parable of the two builders and also the story of David and Goliath.  It was a great example of how children can live for God.  He is not just for the adults.  Each child created a cross and decorated it with colors and jewels.  It was a great example of living your life on the rock that the cross represents.  Our game was a no hands relay and we discussed how living for Jesus isn't always easy; sometimes it is hard.  But just like the builders, it is so worth the extra effort needed to build a solid foundation.

The afternoon was rather lazy compared to the previous few.  Several of us sat around with Abishe, Mahima, and her friend Joti.  It was a quiet time of fellowship.  After eating lunch, the outside games were revived by Kevin and Bryan.  The Anukamp boys were having push up contests and were learning "where the beach was"  When we get back, you should ask Kevin and Bryan where it is  ;o)  A spritely game of Cricket ensued and it was highly competitive.  During this time, the women were inside getting some practice putting on Saree's.  The men came in after the Cricket game and several decided to play Uno.  For a couple, it was their first time playing but they quickly caught on.  It was a great time of fellowhip with plenty of laughter and smiles as rivalries developed and the +2's and +4's came out in full force.  As the sun started to set, everybody went outside to play with the boys.  The beach balls from VBS were brought out and several attempts at games finally came around to teaching the boys the good old American schoolyard game of Dodgeball.  It was no surprise that the boys loved playing this game.

Finally it was time to settle down for the evening.  Pastor Eric arrived shortly before 9pm and it was good to see him.  He had traveled many long hours this day to journey back to Latur, 14+ hours.  We are grateful for all the prayers that have been coming our way.  Now it is time to start thinking about bed as we have the final day of VBS awaiting us in the morning.  We are praying that God will work in the hearts of neighbors who know what has been happening, but have yet to allow their children to come, that tomorrow they will wake up with a changed mind.  We would so very much like to have 100 or more children present tomorrow.  Please take a moment to say a prayer praising God for sending those that have come, and requesting that he overflow the worship center tomorrow with eager children.

Good night and God Bless!

Pictures will be delayed on smugmug

They take a very long time to upload here so I will upload all of them when we get back to Mumbai on Monday.  For those of you who are Facebook friends of other team members, you have been seeing several pictures that give a great synopsis of what we have been doing.  Be sure to keep looking there.  For those who do not use Facebook, you'll just have to wait until Monday.  ;o)  It will be worth the wait!

Cheers!

VBS is halfway through...

And these kids know how to worship!  They are all very energetic singers and dancers.  Each morning we started off with Abile, Abishe, and Mahima leading singing in Marathi.  We have learned some really great songs and plan on teaching the lifepoint kids some of them in English.  The first day we had 63 kids and today we had 71.  There were about 11 new ones and 3 or so that didn't come back.  Hopefully we will see them again tomorrow.  Bryan did a great job the first day introducing them to Jesus during story time.  Today, Tammy told them the story of the Woman at the Well and the Good Samaritan.  We want these kids to know that Jesus is for everyone.  He is not just for those with light skin, or the rich, or the adults.  We are pretty sure they got the message.  The crafts have been a big hit and some kids have been completely overcome to realize that these things are theirs to keep when VBS is over.  So far, they have decorated a canvas backpack to carry their items, a bandanna to wear, and a prayer box.  Tomorrow they'll make a cross and the last day will be the salvation bracelet.  We are pretty sure that one will be an especially big hit.

These kids are well behaved.  It takes relatively little to get  their attention after activities, and they are able to sit still for long periods of time with very little fidgeting.  They also return after being sent downstairs to get water.  I am not sure if we have had to really chase anybody down who decided to pursue their own agenda.  All of them are truly a blessing and they make running the VBS for them very easy and very rewarding.  Today each kid wrote down the name or names of people they knew who didn't know Jesus.  We prayed that God would shine His light in their lives and to bring them to Jesus.  Not only did we let the kids know that Jesus was for them, but Jesus is for their friends to and that they can be the ones to introduce them.  I am asking that each of you consider praying for the courage of the children who are willing to take the risk of mentioning Jesus to their friends and families.  Also, please pray for those names written down.  They represent somebody special to these children.  We don't need to know their names because God already does.

The afternoons after VBS have been absolutely fantastic.  Yesterday, we took a trip in to downtown Latur to do some shopping.  We went to the market to look at fabric for Sari's and shirts for the guys.  Tammy bought a punjabi and some bought some jewelry, but Chaya was not happy with the fabric and didn't want us to buy Sari's there.  We went to a Sari shop and were taken to an upstairs room and basically had a private fabric sitting.  The salesmen brought out many, many bolts of fabric and many were very, very pretty.  Each of us kind of had an idea of color that we wanted.  It took about 30 minutes or so, but we all found something that we loved.  The guys were with us as well and were good sports about having to sit through that.  On the way out of town, we stopped at another shop and the guys were able to find some really great shirts.

After dinner, we attended the prayer meeting in the church here at the worship center.  It was a nice time to unwind and destress.  Kevin gave a testimonial reagarding worhsip and encouraging everybody, especially the boys, to find out their special way to communicate with God.

This afternoon we went to a session at the Blazing Youth Revival - Latur.  A band was playing and they really rocked worship.  People were dancing and jumping and just putting their whole body and spirit in to worshiping the Lord.  Even though it is a youth revival, there were toddlers and elderly people in attendance.  The india team eagerly partook in the dancing and were fan favorites out mixed in with the crowd.  After several high octane songs, we were all sweating profusely and ready to hear the message.  Pastor Sheldon gave a great message about how our God is the true God and that stones and iron are nothing.  Our God answers with fire and is the fire.  He also talked about Judas betraying Jesus and how the disciples chose Mattias as a replacement.  He asked everybody to cast out the Judas in their lives and to replace it with something new, just as the disciples replaced Judas with Mattias.

It is now after 7pm and shortly we will leave for dinner at the house of some friends who are Hindu.  Pastor Samuel asked for one (or more) of us to consider offering a testimonial to the gospel.  This family is not new to the idea of Jesus and has hosted a meal with prior Christian visitors.  We pray that maybe this time will be the moment that they have a change of heart and mind. 

Overall - we are having an absolutely fabulous time.  We are warmly welcomed every where we go, there is no shortage of food or tea, and we are having just as much or more fun than the kids during VBS.  Both in Latur and Mumbai, people have opened up their homes to us to host a meal and we feel like we are part of a big extended family.  Many know Pastor Samuel, Chaya, and the boys as the face of the ministry in India, but know that there are soooo many more brothers and sisters in Christ doing the good work of the Lord. 

We hope everybody is waking up to a glorious morning back in the states and that your day will be as full of love and joy as ours has been.

God bless ~

Look out Latur - the team has arrived!

We took the overnight train from Mumbai to Latur.  We had a sleeper car so we all got to sleep through most of the 9 hour trip.  We pulled in to the station as the sun was rising and there were enough low clouds that the corona of the sun was blocked so that we could see the ball of the sun and it's bright orangish-red glow.  Gave our arrival a bit more of an exotic feel.  We went to the hotel to drop off our luggage and to freshen up and then it was off to spend the day at the Latur Ministry Center.  The boys were very excited that we were there and along with Chaya and Pastor Samuel, they gave us quite the warm welcome.  After a few moments of visiting with everybody, a quick tour of the facility and a wonderful breakfast, we found ourselves outside participating in an impromptu Cricket game.  Several of us took turns both bowling and batting.  Pastor Samuel has a wicked underhanded spin delivery.  It was a great way to spend some time being around the boys as an ice-breaker.  We were treated to more yummilicious food for lunch and then had a couple hours rest. When we returned, we asked the boys what they had been doing and they explained that they were playing games.  We asked them to show us games that they like to play and ended up spending the next several hours playing with them in the courtyard.  They taught us a few indian favorites and we taught them a few "american" ones.  There were even a few moments of dancing and singing, with the boys performing for us and Tammy, Cathy and Katherine teaching them the YMCA and the Chicken dance.  They LOVE the chicken dance.  It was as glorious day and we all felt quite at home.  The boys are fun-loving, sweet, quick to smile, and full of energy.  It is a blessing to now be  known as their auntie.

Our second day began the way the first day ended - with a myriad of booms and crackles as the indian people are celebrating Diwali.  The fireworks seemed to stop just for a couple hours in the wee hours of the morning, but were booming away full force again by 4am.  The excitement would continue as this was the first day of VBS - vacation bible school.  Around 9:30am, several children from the neighborhood started to arrive.  More filtered in throughout the first hour and we ended with a total of 63 attendees.  By the grace of God and the blessings of Jesus, the VBS was a smashing success.  We had several volunteers to help with the various tasks and to interpret for us.  Abile and Abishe were the main interpreters, and along with Mahima, provided the singing of the songs in Marathi.  These kids know how to rock action songs.  We taught them "Deep and Wide" in English as well.  Bryan delivered the story today, introducing Jesus.  He gave a synopsis of the creation story and the fall from grace, and then how to recover that special place with God - through a great man named Jesus.  Each day we have a theme that will build upon how Jesus is for everybody and that He wants us to live for Him and that He will forgive us when we fall and can always come home.

As usual, games were organized chaos and the game of Thankful Volleyball was an exact duplicate of how the kids back home at lifepoint play it.  Kids are the same everywhere.  ;o)  After a snack and some rest, the kids decorated their canvas backpacks and several drew crosses or had phrases such as God loves you.  We finished this wonderful time with the children by teaching them "If You're Happy and You Know It"  The kids caught on quickly and yelled Amen with such spirit!  I have it on video and may have to use it as motivation to challenge the lifepoint kids to worship with the same vigor and joy.

We are all very tired, but it is a happy tired, knowing that we were a part of God's great plan and that these children heard about the Good News today, some possibly for the first time.  There were many neighborhood kids who didn't come, but gathered outside the compound gate so we are expecting more to come tomorrow.  All of the kids that attended were encouraged to invite their friends to join in the fun.

Would you be willing to pray for the continued success of the VBS?  Pray that we will have many, many more kids walk through the door in the morning?  And lastly, would you pray for strength, wisdom, and blessings for the team as we continue?

Thank you all very much

PS - be sure to check our smugmug for pictures.  Easier to only post to one site with the limited internet options

For the children:

Foreward:  Internet connectivity is not working that well with my PC in Latur.  Pastor Samuel has allowed us to use his PC and we are very thankful.  This post will not include pictures and the photo sites won't be updated with pics from Monday as they are already downloaded on my PC and not on the camera SD card.  The pictures are quite precious and I will let you know when those become available for viewing.  For today forward, I will be able to download images to the blog and photo sites using Pastor Samuel's computer.

Monday October 24
At breakfast, we said goodbye to Pastor E as he was heading to Southern India.  The rest of the group were going to travel to a different part of Mumbai to some slum daycares.  These are places where children in the slums can go for two hours each day to learn some educational lessons, learn about the love of Jesus, and get a snack.  Many parents in the slums do not send their children to school and thus increase the chance that their children will remain in the same cycle of poverty.  These parents are encouraged by the daycare workers to send their children to school and provide a great headstart.  Hopefull with the lessons and tnd love they receive, they will resist the temptations to engage in bad behaviors such as hurting others and stealing.

As we drove in to the city, we passed areas of wealth and areas of poverty.  Shanty or lean-to houses within sight of skyscrapers and buildings that house the financial industry.  After about an hour of hot, cramped traveling, we turned on to a side road lined with falling down booths, trash, old cars, and debris.  Our destination was not one of these booths, but instead a small cramped room down a narrow passageway.  Inside this dark room were about 20 small children who were both awed and excited to see us.  They sang us several songs and then we got to interact with them for just a few short minutes.  They wanted to touch us and they wanted our attention, but the big delight was when the cameras came out.  They loved seeing themselves on the digital camera display.  Their faces were so sweet and their smiles were so bright, it made your heart hurt to think of the way in which they had to live.  Quite sobering to realize that the best part of their day was 2 hours in a hot, dark, very cramped room with a nasty, unclean floor.

Less than 10 minutes and were off to the next daycare.  This one was also down a side road, but there were more structural buildings in the area and the entrance was down an alleyway that was triple the size of the previous one.  There were again about 20 children, but this room was larger, bright, and airy.  They sang songs and a few stood up to recite the alphabet or count in English.  The time for them to leave came while we were there and several parents came to retrieve their kids.  Many milled about the area waiting to see us as we left.  The emotions running through each of us at these daycares were quite mixed.  It was sad and heart-breaking to think of the living conditions and lack of opportunity afforded them.  Their bright faces and huge smiles made us smile and wiggled a spot of warmness into our souls.  Sometimes it is easy to ask the question "How do they live this way and still show joy?"  First, we must caution ourselves that we are trying to put ourselves in their situation and then compare the comforts and privilege of our daily life.  These children do not know of such things so they do not pity themselves like we would pity ourselves should we end up in that scenario.  We all know someone, maybe it is even one of us, who has fallen on hard times and complains to Jesus about difficult things are and question why God would allow that to happen.  Seeing these children is a great reminder that we need to have a

How was your day? Ours was pretty awesome....

We have only been in India one full day, and I have a major concern.  I have yet to find any food that I dislike.  I am probably going to gain 10 pounds on this trip!  All kidding aside, the first day in India was full of the presence of the Lord.  It brings to mind the scripture regarding the Great Commission.  We are here to further the kingdom of God in India in a couple ways.  The VBS in Latur will expose many children, some possibly for the first time, to the love of Jesus.  At the youth conference, we will be there to bless and inspire youth who are interested in ministry.  However, our Indian friends have beaten us to the punch so to say and have been teaching us about Jesus’ love.  We may be the ones who have gone to other nations, but so far, our Indian friends have been discipling to us.  Won’t you take a moment and read Matthew 28:16?

After breakfast, Pastor E, Cathy, and I set out for the Marathi service at Andheri  church.  This was my first chance to see a part of Mumbai during the daytime.  The route to the church was not far, but we passed booths on the side of the road with vendors hawking their wares, lots of motor and foot traffic, and many signs of the impoverished population.  The roads have very uneven construction and are full of potholes.  There are also scattered mounds of concrete and debris, sometimes pretty far out into the road from the buildings that have, or are in the process o,f being demolished (or have fallen down)  As we went under an overpass, Pastor E pointed out that the numerous people grouped under there call that spot home.  There were clothes and blankets and a myriad of possessions, but nothing that I could see that I would call a shelter.  There were adults milling about, an elderly woman sitting on a blanket, and several children.  A few were chasing after each other in a circle and they had the biggest smiles on their faces as they played. 

When we arrived at the church, Bryan was just finishing his talk at the English service with Pastor Shirish. 
Bryan gave us a quick wave as he passed by to join the receiving line and then he was off to head to the other church service that he was preaching at.  The service we attended was very similar to our services with worship being the first item on the agenda.  While I was unable to understand the songs, it was quite easy to get in the groove and clap and move to the beat of the music.  A boy of about 6 was in front of us across the aisle and he sang along,  clapped his hands, and really got into every song.  After singing and some prayers, people from the congregation could come forward and provide a testimonial.  Several people, including a few youth, came up to provide their story of the Lord’s work in their life.  After this time, the youth were dismissed to head to their Sunday school.  The 3 of us were invited up to the stage and we were officially introduced to the congregation.  We got to say a few words in greeting, which were translated, and received some flowers.  We had been sitting about halfway to the stage, so it was surprising to see from the stage how many people were in attendance.  If I had to guess, I would say about 105.  Cathy and I left the stage, and Pastor E began his sermon.  Sanjay translated for him and they got into a good rhythm as Pastor E discussed what it means to be Not a Fan.  Everybody was engaged in the sermon.  As points were made, we could see heads in front of us nodding and heard murmurs of praise behind us.  Just like at Lifepoint, some were very quiet studious participants and some were quite animated.  After the sermon, prayers and offering completed the service.  We joined a receiving line and shook hands and said a greeting to {almost} everyone in attendance.  Several people who know Pastor E came over to spend a few more moments in fellowship and to be introduced to Cathy and I.

Back at the hotel, we met up with the rest of the group (minus Bryan) for lunch and to discuss the morning.  Katherine’s service happened to be hosting their monthly youth service and also had a birthday celebration.  Their service had many, many songs of worship and Kevin, Katherine and Mickie sang two songs for them in English.  Talk about Mickie getting out of her comfort zone!  Katherine preached on the love of Jesus and how even though we live in different parts of the world, we all stand as one in Jesus’ love. 

After lunch, everybody retired to their rooms for a couple hours of rest.  We were headed to Pastor Moses’ house for dinner and fellowship at 7pm.  Many of us took naps as India is similar to other warm climates in that they eat dinner pretty late at night.  Our transportation were auto-ricksaws, which look like little cars from an amusement park ride on top of a motorcycle engine.  The driver sits in front and steers using handlebars.  There is one wheel  at the front and two wheels at the back.  No doors or belts to hold you in. They don’t seem like they would  hold up all that well in a collision, but they are small and agile.  While vehicles have blinkers, most do not use them and instead honk their horns to let people know they are coming up behind or beside them, or to let someone know that they intend to cut them off when traffic starts moving again.  Pastor Moses accurately described the rules of the road as “there are no rules”  I am surprised that there are not more accidents and that the vehicles are not more dented than they are, but I guess it works if everybody is watching out for themselves.

We spent time with Pastor Moses, his wife Rajka, his son Joshua, and his daughter, Aratna.  Rajka’s younger sister, Sunjata, also came home from her nursing job at around 9pm.  We took some time answering each other’s questions about families and jobs, as well as learning a bit about the Indian lifestyle.  Dinner was rice, Chapatie, Chicken Curry, and dal.  Chapatie is very similar to a tortilla and Rajka let me watch how they were made.  Everything was very delicious and had just a small kick.  They thoughtfully made the food less spicy than they would normally.  After dinner, we were given sweet Chai and it was yummy as well.  As it came time to leave, we gathered around and Moses prayed about each and every one of us individually.  He asked for blessings for our families, for our travels, and for the VBS in Latur.  His words were heartfelt and we were all moved with the presence of Jesus.  It is an honor to be around so many Christians who truly believe in and trust in the power of Jesus in their lives.  We heard stories of persecution that some have endured in fairly recent times, but they still trust in Jesus to lead their lives.  Truly an inspiration.

Many in the lifepoint family have already heard, but Cathy and Mickie took to the streets of Mumbai on the back of a motorcycle!  Not really by choice, but it happened just the same.  There were not many auto-ricksaws for rent near Pastor Moses’ house, so Joshua was sent to hail some from the main road.  Kevin, Katherine, and I got in one and off we went.  We got back to the hotel and waited for several long minutes for Cathy and Mickie to arrive.  As the minutes ticked by, we had to fight off that small niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right.  We kept our eyes on every oncoming ricksaw expecting to see them at any moment.  When Pastor Moses pulled up on his motorcycle, it took a few seconds to realize that it was him and that his rider was Cathy.  They explained that they were unable to secure another ricksaw so he used his motorcycle and would return with Mickie shortly.  Traffic is Mumbai is nothing short of treacherous and it was an amazing act of courage for these ladies to ride the bike. 

It is 11pm and finally time to lay down for the night.  It was an amazing day full of new and interesting things all wrapped up in the familiar love of the father.  We hope that each of you had such a blessed day as well.