Turning Our Hearts Toward Home

We arrived by rail in Bangalore yesterday. It was a pleasant 2 hour ride in an AC car with large windows. The Indian railroad prides itself on always being on time. And it was! Viju picked us up at the terminal and we quickly were swallowed up in the overcrowded traffic. As you take in the sights, you are so aware of Thomas Samuel's words, "You can not just hear about India, you must experience it." For instance, we drove behind a fuel tanker that said, "Caution, contents inflammatory."  I thought you might enjoy seeing just a sample of the sights you may see in India. Just click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Tribal Out House minus the house

Village Laundromat

Motorcycle built for 4 or 5 or 6

The Neighbors

The Infrastructure

BFF

Water-top Property

Where are they taking me?

We got the Right of way

Cowdallac

Billboard

Trucking

Road construction IS a work in progress

The Final Days

Today and tomorrow will be our final days here at QCI. We are in the throws of packing and organizing. This is no job for the fainthearted. We will be heading back to Bangalore on Friday. Instead of the usual 7 hour car ride, we have decided to try the rail system from Mysore. We will be driven there (about 2 hours) and then take the express train (about 2 hours). Our luggage will come by car and we will be picked up at the station in Bangalore.

Yesterday Bev and I visited the Elderly Feeding Program. There were about 12 people present. They are given a good amount of rice and dahl to take home. Many of these people are frail, deaf and have poor eye sight. We made up speci
al tote bags for each one. They included a sweater and some soap, shampoo and candy. Many of these dear people asked for prayer and were happy that we came to visit them.

Nila and Her Puppy

In the late afternoon Sal and I along with Pastor Vasu and Deva went to Bokkapuram Village to pay a quiet visit to Prayma and her family. It was a happy visit. Prayma is 12 and her sister, Nila, is 14. The father, Raj, and mother, Monju, were very welcoming and happy that we have a special love for their daughter.

The girls attend an English immersion school and are doing

Me and Prayma

nicely in learning our language. I asked them if they would like an English Bible. They both said yes so we will shop for that in Bangalore and have it sent to them. There were lots of hugs and kisses as we said goodbye and how we are looking forward to the next time we are together.

I will write one final blog after we arrive in Bangalore. It has been a most interesting trip. On March 6 we will be back at Lake Country Bible Church. Sal will preach a message based on this trip. We will have a video that highlights parts of the trip. You are welcome to come if you are in our area. And stay for lunch when team members will be sharing about the time spent here at Quiet Corner India. 

Pure Religion

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27

Thomas Samuel is 86 years old. God still gives him vision to expand and develop ministry here in the jungles of south India. Just this year Thomas received a burden for the young widows. There is no pension or social security for these ladies. There is no life insurance policy or charity programs to help lighten the load. They have children to raise. Just keeping a roof over their heads is difficult since many of the homes they live in are literally crumbling. And so Thomas and Marykutty took the initiative and started a relief ministry for these widows. 

Young Widows

We met with 12 wonderful ladies who all have lost their husbands. Each one stood and told us their name, how many children they had and how their husbands passed away. Some died of health problems, some were in car wrecks, some committed suicide. Two women were abandoned. All of them were young with young children. 

Each is given rice and lentils

I was asked to speak to the ladies. What can you say? We are sorry for your loss? We can't imagine your grief? The only encouragement was to tell them of God's love and provision for them. Through the kindness of QCI these ladies have found a place that is showing the love of Christ to them in authentic and practical ways. Once a month they come here, they participate in prayer and praise to the God of the Bible. They are given a sac of rice and lentils. They are given about 300 rupees (a day's pay). They are served lunch. One lady's roof was in need of repair. QCI put a new tin roof on her home. What better encouragement could there be then to know that God loves the widow and fatherless children? How can they know that if we do nothing? 

Later we made a visit to see the latest member of Pastor Vasu's family. Little Sarah was born one week ago weighing in at just under 5 pounds. Everyone is doing fine.

Jemema, Vasu, Joyce and Sarah

 

Sunday, Sunday

Sunday was a long, hot, tiring yet a wonderful day. We left Quiet Corner early in the morning in order to attend church in Gudalepet, a good size village about one hour away. After a rough ride through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (at least 50 speed bumps), we arrived in the village which has a population of about 300,000.

The Quiet Corner Church there is a wonderful little community of believers. Thomas Samuel is especially proud of the

The Church in Gudalepet

Christian presence that exists there. Forty years ago QCI planted this small church. Since that time many have come to faith and Bible Vision has distributed many bibles throughout the area. Sal preached a message on being a light to the world. After the service we enjoyed fresh coconut water.

Satellite Church planted in the village

We had a good lunch at a vegetarian restaurant and then traveled about an hour to a newly established satellite church. Pastor Thomas, the pastor of the Gudalepet church, travels this distance every Sunday to conduct a service there and then comes back to conduct a service in Gudalepet. The small village of about 70 people is very poor

Rural church believers

and rural. The church meets in a tiny building with no electricity. As we drove down the narrow dirt road, villagers began congregating at the tiny church and gave us a warm welcome.
The Christians who attend the church read scripture for us and sang some hymns in their language. To see the conditions in which they live was troubling to us, and yet they all seemed to radiate with joy and peace.  

Our next stop was Elmbrook Farm. This 10 acre farm is home to almost 100 coconut trees and a large crop of tomatoes. Pastor Samuel and his young family live in a nice house there. It was a sweet time of fellowship. One of the farm hands climbed a tree to cut down some fresh coconuts for us. While at the tree top he took a call on his mobile phone. Technology has infected India!!!!

Completely exhausted we safely arrived back at QCI around 7:00 PM. A hot shower never felt so good. After a wonderful meal, we all called it an early night.

This is the (Sun)day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Basking In Blessings

Class of 2016

It's a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness as we concluded the final day of the Bible School. Happiness because the students are
thrilled with all the material and information they were given. Sadness because we must say goodbye to old and new friends as they leave to return to their homes. This year we gave each student a pen drive with instructions how to download free Bible software. Most students now have lap tops and the study tools will be most useful for them in their ministries.

Tashi & Philemon

Tashi and Philemon are old friends. They are leading Bible Vision Teams that travel from state to state distributing Bibles. They shared that times have changed in India. Only in the last two years have they sensed danger in entering these remote villages. They ask for prayer for safety as they continue to serve.

Right now I am sitting on the terrace balcony and listening to the lively sounds of the surrounding jungle. There is one annoyed

monkey somewhere nearby that is sending out a very angry message. Birds are chirping out a symphony of melodies. In the distance is a constant playing of music from a Hindu festival. The summer winds are blowing and a rooster just crowed. This is India. The beauty of this place is amazing.

One personal sadness for me was the realization that due to the trouble we encountered with the local authorities, we would not be able to visit a small local village where a sweet little girl lives that Sal and I are quite fond of. We know Prayma since she was about three. It was love at first site. Each year I look forward to our visit. But this year I saw no hope of seeing her. Yesterday I did some errands and my driver asked if we could stop at the Good Shepherd Medical Clinic on the way back. As we pulled into the grounds, children were leaving the school. And there she was! Prayma.

Sweet Prayma

I called her name and she looked at me but did not immediately know who I was. Then I took off my sunglasses and her eyes got bright and huge with excitement. She ran into my arms and started kissing and hugging me. All I could do was thank God for the chance to see her. It was to me a personal confirmation that though this trip has had some bumps in the road, the Lord was well pleased. Just having a few minutes with Prayma was a personal blessing and continues to put a smile on my face.

Bible School in Full Swing

Let me start off by apologizing for not posting sooner. The Bible School is in full swing and the days fly by quickly. This is day four with two more to go. Things are great. We haven't even had a power outage yet! And no sign of the local authorities. Thank you, Lord.

The students trickled in Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday morning we had 20 pastors and church leaders in attendance. Our day is full beginning at 9:30 AM with the first session and ending at 6:30 PM. The students are delighted with the information they are receiving. They share with us that this depth of teaching is not readily happening in the churches here. Yesterday, at the end of one
session, they were full of questions about false teachers and bad teachings which run rampant in India.  We are sharing resources with them so that they can continue to hear sound doctrine on line and pass it on to the churches. One student suggested we think about pod-casting the Leadership School so it can be shown all over India.

Dinner is served around 7:30 PM. Each night a number of pastors request to meet with Pastor Sal after dinner to share their burdens and receive counsel from a fellow pastor. They are precious men of God and we are humbled when we hear of the troubles they suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Persecution of Christians has escalated over the past 2 years since the new prime minister took office. Many of the pastors feel their lives are in danger. But they also are dedicated to spreading the Gospel and believe that God will protect them. Please pray for Christians in India.

God is Our Fire and Glory

Even the monkeys miss Team B!

As the bus carrying Team B pulled out of the gate, Quiet Corner became quiet once again. We all wish they were still with us. What a fantastic team! They will never know how much we appreciated their excellent attitudes and cooperation in light of the circumstances. 

Soon after their departure we were left with the decision whether to go forward with the Bible School. Sal and Tom had gone to town and within minutes there was a policeman watching them. Benji and Deva went to get permission from the local police to have us teach. The police said it was fine as long as we did not do any outdoor speaking with microphones. We asked that be put into writing but he was unwilling to do so. With that said, Sal decided we should not go through with the school. We called Thomas and Paul to let them know. We were all sad and disappointed.


The next morning Sal got up and opened his Bible to Philippians 1:12-14:  Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear through the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. 

Sal felt God convicting him that we had been listening to the advise of men and had not truly sought God. These verses spoke clearly to his heart to stay and teach. He left each of us to make our own decision to join him or not. Both Tom and I trust his discernment and we all agreed to teach. 

Some students have already arrived. Others will be arriving tonight and tomorrow morning. We will start sessions tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for us and for protection. God has shown me the following verse. I am claiming it for the coming week. Zechariah 2:5   Then, I myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem (Quiet Corner) says the LORD. And I will be the glory inside the city (camp)!