A student at a school we passed

We have been really busy the last two days. Yesterday, we were awakened by the zap zap of our obnoxious hotel room door bell. When Dad answered, we were delighted to see Sunnil. He had come down from Sitarganj with another pastor, Jugdis, to take us to see the new outreach COI has in the villages surrounding Rudrapur. After taking us to a scrumptious hole-in-the-wall restaurant for breakfast, we met the local evangelist who works in this area on a daily basis. Called Bapoo, he is only 21 and a really neat young man who is so earnest and sincere in his ministry to the villages.
It was a bit of a drive to the village, and along the way the scenery changed from dusty and urban to vivid green with lush rice crops. It also seemed that we could have been in a time transporter. Apart from the few tractors and motorcycles, there is hardly a trace of modern comforts and technologies. It is astounding to see how hard these people work. On the way to another village today, we saw about a dozen guys slaving away boring a hole for a well. 5 hours later we passed the same group and they were still there, working as hard as ever. Although some of the villagers can afford tractors and plows, many do all the work by hand. This includes plowing the field, planting the rice, flooding the field, harvesting it and then separating the chaff before the rice can be cooked. In so many things in their simple lives they put forth such a tremendous effort to sustain themselves.
The people in the village we visited yesterday are primarily of the Sikh religion. While we were in Delhi, Ramesh told us some very interesting things about this religion. He explained that they do not really believe in any gods or even an afterlife. The religion is all about improving our lives here on earth - caring for the poor and sick, loving people, and respecting others. There were 10 gurus long ago who set down their laws that they follow, and adherents revere these gurus to the same degree that in other faiths is held for gods. You see pictures of them in many of the Sikh homes. After meeting some of the people and drinking some chai (Indian tea that is always served to respected guests - we stop by so many homes I think we drink around 5 cups of it a day!) a worship service was held in one of the courtyards. Sunnil told us that there are about 3 Christian families there and many Sikhs who quite interested in Christianity. When Dad and I were given the opportunity to share with them, I tried to focus on the fact that there is a God, a tangible, personal God, who loves us and created us for His pleasure and when we restore our relationship with Him, that is the ultimate reason for doing good works. Around 40 people were there, and they listened intently to all that we had to say. Pray that they will consider these new ideas and have the courage to accept it. Also pray for the few Christians there, as they do not have much support and it must be very difficult at times to stand up for their new found faith in their village.
Today we went to two other small villages in the same area. The first one we visited is the home of another Christian evangelist, Sunnil (not the same Sunnil who is in charge of the outreach here.) The Christian witness in this primarily Hindu village is very new, going on for only about two months. We joined a worship service there held in a small school hall. Marvin shared a message regarding the Son of God who is innocent paying the penalty of the guilt of His creation, mankind. This idea was very new to them and they listened spellbound the entire time. When he was done, they had many good questions. They are very interested in God, and pray that this seed will sprout up and take root. When we stopped in the next village later this evening for another service, we had a great time walking about the quaint countryside and trying to relate with some of the people there before it started. I always carry my camera around, and they always chuckle at they funny things I take pictures of - a water buffalo, a rusty old bike or their small stoves fueled by water buffalo dung. When I start taking pictures of the children, more and more people begin gathering around to see the pictures on the LCD screen. Then they start asking for me to take photographs - first of themselves, then them and their buddies, then their siblings, then their family, and sometimes I find my self putting on my wide angle lens to take a huge extended family shot with uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents - sometimes 30 in one photo. Although these posed photos aren’t as interesting as more natural shots, it’s serves as a great icebreaker and a way to connect with the people. Marvin’s get-the-ring-off-the-string puzzles and Edwin’s string tricks always gather a large crowd of delighted spectators, all trying in vain to accomplish the puzzle and laughing loudly when they are shown how simple it is after they give up.
After a long day in these villages, we headed up to Sitarganj. I tagged along on the back of Sunnil’s motorcycle. It was a lot of fun, riding astride Tatas and navigating between cars and narrow bridge walls. Max and his wife arrived in Sitarganj today via bus, and we had a delightful time with them this evening. It will be such a blessing working with them for the rest of our trip.

Marvin engaging some of the young people with string tricks

A Quiet Village Outside Rudrapur

It is very late, so I don't have much time to write about our day now, but I'll just mention that it was very busy and very enjoyable. We went with Sunnil and two other local evangelists to a village outside Rudrapur and joined a worship service with some of the few Christians there and around 40 people (primarily Sihks) who came. I'll tell more about it later, but for now here's some pictures.

An exciting ride to Uttar Pradesh

What a wild ride it feels I have just been on. Although just a normal Indian day trip, the exotic sights, sounds (and smells) all around, combined with the constantly comical and often crazy traffic, have been both fascinating and exhausting. We have left Delhi, and though we only traveled about 120 miles, we were on the road for 9 hours. The roads in India are like nothing we can see in the USA. Due to the wide variety of vehicles, (cars, trucks, rickshaws, bicycles, horse & water buffalo drawn carts and pedestrians to name a few) and a lot of construction, the roads are very inefficient. The nearest thing to an interstate here has all of the above mentioned traffic on it, making it impossible to have a minimum speed limit. Also, every time you pass through a town or village, the congestion reduces your speed to around 13 miles per hour. Although it can be frustrating how much time you have to spend driving to get some where, I found that I really enjoyed it. Often when we travel in the United States, it is easy to “check out” and not really experience what we are whizzing by at 75 miles an hour. Here, you are immersed in it every moment, the slow speeds and constant stopping providing a much more intimate contact with the country and with the people.
We left Delhi a little bit later than we had hoped. Max, who was to be our translator, called us and said that he would not be able to join us until Saturday, so in the mean time Vijay has very graciously agreed to come along. He was such a blessing. In addition to asking directions in Hindi along the confusing roads he did a terrific job navigating through the complex and tight traffic. Delhi is so huge it takes hours to get through, and then there was most of the height of the province of Uttar Pradesh. It is here that Dad first met Sunnil, and we are planning on visiting his many churches he has help start in this area. Today our destination was not Sitarganj, were Sunnil lives, but Rudrapur. COI has started a new outreach here and has ordained several new evangelists to head it up. We are hoping to spend a few days encouraging the Christians here and aiding Sunill and the other pastors in outreach.When we reached Rudrapur we met one of the local evangelists for this area, Rajaram. Although he speaks no Englsih, he is so kind and obviously full of the Spirit of Christ. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the new work here, as well as getting into the countryside and being with these humble, quiet people.
Today I was reminded of how important language is to evangelism and how little Hindi I know. As we were doing some errands is Rudrapur, I came across a group of young men. I gave them each a Christian Hindi tract, which they enthusiastically opened and began reading. One of them, in very broken English, was able to communicate to me that, “I muslim... you Christian... you tink Jesu is son of Allah... I tink Jesu is messenger of Allah.” As I attempted to explain how Allah could have a son, and that with out his perfect sacrifice, there is no way we can appease God, he shook his head and said, “I no understand what you saying. You speak Hindi?” I had to give my one of twenty sentences answer, “Me boht zya da nahe bolte hain,” (I speak very little.) I can only pray that he will read the tract and seek Allah for truth.

(Click on photos to enlarge)


Children begging

Catching up from jet-lag and preparing to head to Uttaranchal

Today was a good, restful day. It was very stormy, with strong winds and a heavy downpour of rain. Due to the bad weather, we could not go out and visit the slum schools, but hopefully we can when come back to Delhi before we fly home.
After having a delicious egg breakfast served by Nana Gee, we had a fascinating discussion with Ramesh, ranging from topics to the history of the Sikh religion to how COI was first started to the influence of the Persian language on Hindi. After that, Vijay attempted to teach Edwin and I how to play cricket. After multiple swings, I finally got the hang of the cricket bat, but no matter how many times I pitched, I just couldn't get it.
After lunch, we headed into central Delhi to exchange our money and pick up a few more things before we head up into the much more remote regions in Uttaranchal. Along the way, I had a blast soaking in the uniquely Indian landscape and traffic (see pictures above and below.)
Later this evening, Maxwell Goerge and his dear wife Della came by to visit us. Max had been our translator on our last trip, and he is an excellent friend and brother in Christ. He has agreed to come with us to translate again, and his wife may join us later on.

Praise God. We are finally safely in Delhi. It is midnight here, but due to jet-lag I don’t feel very tired. The 13 hour flight was long, but I slept for about 5 hours of it and it didn’t seem as long or grueling as I had expected it to be. We landed at about 8:30 PM - the same time we left Newark on the 12th, so it feels as if 24 hours has gone by - and were greeted by some delightful old friends - Vijay and Divender. As we rode to COI’s headquarters, Vijay caught us up on all that is happening in Delhi, Utar Pradesh and Utarranchal. It is really amazing how God is working through this ministry. In Delhi and Uttar Pradesh alone, Ramesh excitedly tells us once we arrived, around 6,000 new Christians have been baptized since we were here two and a half years ago. (You can check out COI’s website at http://www.coindia.org/ .)
It is so thrilling to be in India again. The ride from the airport is just an ordinary drive in India, but Vijay can’t help but chuckle when he seems how amazed Marvin and Edwin seem at the crazy traffic. Horns constantly blaring, two or three auto - rickshaws or scooters in one lane, big Tata trucks pulling in front of you only inches away, all the while dodging dogs, cows and people crossing the streets.
It is also a delight to be around Indian people. Always so courteous, friendly and artistic. You see their love of art all around - from the colorfully painted trucks to the neatly arranged beads decorating a shop to the intricate paintings on a telephone booth. At the same time, though, you can see that they are desperately hungering for something. Their beautiful, intense eyes show an emptiness that they cannot seem to fulfill.
As I was flying over, I passed the time reading renowned Christian thinker Ravi Zaccharias’ autobiography. Born and raised in India, he provides some very interesting insights into Indian culture. One thing he mentions is that for the average Indian, your identity is very much tied up in your family and your religion. Many Indians do not know very much about Hinduism, but will always see themselves as Hindus. It is part of who they are. That is why, Zaccharias points out, it is such a major upheaval in family and social acceptance when an Indian converts to another religion.
He also states that for many people in India, your religion may or may not have any effect on your personal life. He recollects trying to sleep to the sound of his neighbor mercilessly beating his wife amidst desperate pleas from her to stop, and then awaking the next morning to the sound of the same couple singing praises to the Hindu deities.
That is what I think these people are looking for, whether they realize it or not. They are looking for more than an identity, but the power to have a new life. That is just what we are hoping to tell them of throughout the next two weeks.
I should try to sleep so my body will start getting used to the 12 hour time difference. Vijay has promised to take me to see COI’s work among the slum children here in Delhi tomorrow morning.

India

Right now, Dad, Marvin, Edwin and I are sitting at the Denver air port waiting for our two hour delayed flight. I am so excited, eagerly anticipating the joys of being in a new place, a new culture and most of all, looking forward to spreading the great news of our saviour to others who may not yet have heard it. The 20ish hours of flying time is looming before us, but when you consider other missionaries of old who would spend 3 or more months on a ship to reach foreign lands, suddenly our flying time sounds like a trifle. We board in about 10 minutes, and I'll keep you posted on the next stage of our adventure