Champawat

Well the air card I was using does not get service here, so I have been dependent on internet cafes which are few and far between here, and when you do chance upon one, they rarely work. I finally found one, so I’ll catch you up on what we’ve been up to but it is too slow to upload any pictures.

For the last few days we have been working around the area of Champawat. Our departure from Sitarganj Tuesday morning had an interesting start when after we loaded our Eiffel Tower of luggage on the top of our small SUV, we realized it was almost too high to get out of the hotel’s parking garage. Dad was able to squeeze under without taking any bags off, and we were finally on our way to the mountains. It was a pleasant drive, all the time gradually approaching the increasingly high horizon, carpeted with thick forest and blanketed in mist. We began slowly ascending the meandering switchbacks, pushing higher and higher along the incredibly steep terrain. In some places, the ground fell away so sharply that the trees bend nearly 90 degrees to grow vertically. Monkeys ran all about, leaping from branch to branch and scolding us for invading their arboreal domain. Although it was only a four hour drive from Sitarganj to Champawat, Dad was glad to stop driving the narrow, rough roads complete with wide trucks always flying around sharp corners to greet you with an ear-piercing blast from their enormous horns.

We stopped at the hotel in Champawat where we have stayed two times before. We were greeted by the comical owner of the hotel, Andragh. He knows a lot of English, and has the most hilarious smile and is always cracking corny jokes and in a good natured way snooping around and asking questions. He knows a lot about Christianity and is very friendly towards Christians, but he is still devoted to his Hindu faith.

I feel that God worked out a miracle for us in Champawat. No sooner had we checked in to our hotel, then a man appeared and said he was a pastor at a church just a little distance outside Champawat. He took us to his home, and introduced us to his wonderful family. He had just recently moved there, and it was so exciting to see a strong Christian witness in the Champawat area. His family is so kind, and very sincere in their faith. They sang us some songs and showed us some of the different plants and fruits that grow around their house. The next morning we went back up into the same area to go with the pastor to evangelize some of the surrounding villages. We hiked in about 5 miles, and along the way picked the fruit of the prolific wild berries that grow along the trail and distributed Christian literature. At one place we waited for a little while until a small crowd gathered and then I shared a concise version of the gospel. When I was finished, Max asked them what they thought. Someone answered, “It is all very interesting but it is difficult to process so much new information at once.” We told them about the church nearby, and they said they wanted to come and hear more.

Please pray for this little church. It was started nearly 100 years ago by British Methodist missionaries, and it feels like it really needs some vivacious Christians willing to reach out to people around them. I think that this pastor and his family could be just that. They are new to the idea of evangelism, and I think they were really encouraged by going along with us to the villages and joining us as we showed the Jesus movie both nights we were there.

This morning we met with another Christian evangelist in Champawat we had met on our previous trip. He is sent out by Action for Asia and spends every day speaking and witnessing in Champawat and the surrounding area, in addition to conducting a daily Sunday school for children. We had just had a short visit over some chai, but I think we were both encouraged by it. He is planning to get married next month, and kept inviting us to come. I wish I could, but it is only a week after the day we get back to the U.S.

Once again we assembled our tower of luggage and then set out for Pitoragar. Along the way, we stopped in the town of Lohaghat to encourage a small house church there. They were busy, but seemed very blessed by our short visit.

It was a long drive to Pitoragar, but the vistas along the way were breath taking. As we crawled up and up passes and then headed back down into a valleys and then back up again, we got our first glimpses of the lofty peaks of the snow capped Himalayas. We also enjoyed watching monkeys, marveling at the narrow terraces carved into the immensely steep hillsides and practicing our tract throwing skills as we attempted to give them to the passengers of the trucks and taxis that passed us.

After we settled into our hotel in Pitoragar, we went out to see if we could find a young evangelist we had met on our last trip. We were glad to find he still lives in Pitoragar and is still working in the villages in the area. We had a delightful time drinking chai and talking with him, and he has promised to take us out to go and work with him tomorrow morning.

Working with Sunnil

What a wonderful and eventful time we have had working with Sunnil and the other pastors in the Sitarganj area. I am sorry I have not been able to upload anything for a couple of days. We have been out late every evening.
Sunday was a full day for us. Each of the churches in the area have their own Sunday morning service, and Sunnil thought we should split up and go to a couple of them. Dad and Marvin attended the service held in Sunnil’s house and Edwin and I went a short distance to one of the churches in a small village. Vijay and Jugdis accompanied us, and we met the local pastor of that church, Mandrah, and his wonderful family. About 25 people attended this service, and all of us crowded into Mandrah’s small house to worship. After several very uniquely Indian praise songs, accompanied by congo drums, tambourines, and clapping, Edwin and I both shared a short message. I decided to tell the story of Gideon, and encourage them that even though they as Christians are often the minority and sometimes not accepted by their neighbors, with God’s help they can stand up for their faith, just as God empowered Gideon with his 300 men to defeat the Midiannite army of 20,000.

Afterwards, I asked Vijay what he thought of the service. He said that was probably the first time they had heard that story, and by the way they sat glued to their seats, I would not doubt him. Vijay also said that he thinks stories are the best way to touch the hearts of the people in theses villages. I have been thinking a lot for the past few days what the ministry of Jesus was like while He was here on earth. He came to culture more similar to this than our own, and in an environment just like this. The people hard working, barely eking out a living in their fields or with their livestock, many having a minimal education and not having much time for the luxury of reading and thinking. I think this is why our Lord told parables. A simple, applicable story that they could relate to, but full of profound truth when sought for by a heart with faith.

After the service, the elder of the village invited us to his house for chai. He has a delightful family, and we had a very enjoyable time trying to relate with them. One of his daughters, about 12 years old, spoke a little English and told us that they had given Edwin and I nicknames - “Gulabi brother” (pink brother) and “Suffayed brother” (white brother) respectively. We laughed so hard, and for the rest of the evening they only called us by these names.
That day we also visited a widow and her family. It is such a heart wrenching situation. The father of the family accepted Christianity shortly be for he fell ill and then passed away, and his daughters, who were very close to him, blame Christianity for his death. Also, they have no man in the house who can work and earn a living for their family, so the mother had to borrow land and money so she and her daughters can pay for the medical bills for the father before he died. Please keep them in your prayers, that they would see it is not God’s fault and that He does care for the widow and the fatherless.

Monday we gave a sad farewell to Vijay. He boarded a train for Delhi to get back to work in his office at COI. He was such a blessing, being willing to come along at such short notice and so wholeheartedly pour his heart into what we were doing.

Our next stop was to see COI’s sewing workshops. They have sent several Christian seamstresses and sewing machines to teach the local women a trade they can use to support themselves and bless others with. After Della chatted with the women for a few minutes, she told us some very sad things. She said that many of these women's husbands are drunkards, and spend nearly all of what little money the husbands may earn on alcohol. This ministry of COI gives them a way to provide clothing for their families and also helps put food on their tables. Most of all, it provides an excellent opportunity for one on one discussions about Jesus and Christianity.

After another service, we visited a very sweet Christian family. Some of them were grinding up corn stalks for fodder so Edwin, Dad, Della and I all had a lot of fun helping them out.

That evening, we showed the Jesus film in a small village where there is no church. Due to some complications with our equipment, it took awhile to get started, and even though it was late, around 40 people came to see it. Most seemed to listen very carefully, and stayed for the entire film.

Today we visited a village quite a distance from Sitarganj. There is only one Christian family there, and they have only recently converted. I used a book with large pictures to share with this family and a few other interested neighbors. I really appreciate the content of this flip chart. It is an excellent summary of the gospel, starting with the creation, then God creating man to have a relationship with Him, man’s sin separating us from God, and God Himself paying the penalty for us. There are about 40 pages, but everyone listened so intently, even the children, that you could have heard a pin drop had we not been outside. Afterwards, while we were drinking chai, all the children and many of the adults spent at least 20 minutes looking at the pictures again and again. Della translated for me, and she said she thinks they really were paying attention and allowing it to really sink in. After this, we headed to another service at the home of another young Christian pastor. Edwin and I rode on the back of his motorcycle (three or even four people on one motorcycle is common here), and though it was a little tight, I really enjoyed it. It was stormy all day, and the cool breeze and smell of rain throughout the day was very refreshing. Along the way we passed by groves of oranges and mangos, their cool, delectable scents swirling up to greet us. After the service, we had fun trying to convey intelligible concepts with English and Hindi words with some of the villagers.

We returned to Sunnil’s home for a meal for the last time. After many affectionate farewells to Sunnil, his wife and children, and Jugdis, we loaded up several boxes of Hindi tracts to take into northern Uttaranchal tomorrow. We have had such a wonderful time visiting and encouraging (and being encouraged by) these simple and yet sincere churches, but I am eager to head into the mountains, to areas where the gospel has never been spread.