TRIP
DATES: June 28 - July 9
FRIDAY,
JULY 14:
Team India
II has returned to Santa Clarita after a wonderful
and fruitful ministry. They thank you for
their prayers and report that they were completely
safe during the explosions in India.
SUNDAY,
JULY 9:
Julie
writes:
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers, we can definitely
sense the Lord's presence in our time here in India.
We are having a wonderful time teaching the students
and bonding with them. On Friday some students shared
their testimony and it was very encouraging to see
the Lord leading them. We will try to send more
updates with picture as soon as possible. Please
pray for Jody as he returns tonight that God will
give him a safe journey. It was indeed a blessing
to have him here. The students really appreciated
his committment and desire to serve the Lord even
in a difficult time.
By the way here are some fun comments from
our team:
Elizabeth:
1. "Because of the great food and hospitality
in India, you never get hungry...you just get UN-FULL
and then it is time to eat again =)"
2. "India is the only place that I have seen
where chickens, cows, pedestrians, ox-carts, and
crazy drivers all share the same road"
Randy:
1. "Cows have the right of way, pedestrians do
not"
2. "In India, everything is a piece of art from
the buildings to clothes to trinkets to symbols
on the sidewalk. I think they are trying to brighten
the world with their colors."
3. "Animals act oddly in India."
Jody:
1. "Life in India is a series of close calls
[crazy driving]"
2. "Polite and nice people", "spicy food", "the
rest of the team are sucking bones [chicken bones
have a great curry taste and lots of calcium, but
don't try this at home without professional guidance
=)]"
Timothy and Julie:
"It is
amazing to see God's faithfulness in allowing
us to be here and to see God's hand in the building
of the college. Thanks for your prayers."
THURSDAY,
JULY 6:
Timothy
and Julie write:
Namaste Everyone!
We arrived in India Thursday night,
late and had some culture shock, and have been kept
very busy preparing for and teaching the Bible college
students. We are so sorry that we could not send
the updates earlier. Also, the men have been preparing
and then giving the chapel messages and all of us
spoke at varying times for the conference. Initially
when we arrived, we just got acclimated to the new
time zone and the different sights and smells
of India. That was Friday. Then on Saturday, we
went to the Barnagatta zoo where we saw many animals
(we all rode on an elephant ride!) and even
saw one of the zoo keepers get into the cobra pit
to make it look ferocious for some pictures. We
all thought for sure that he would be bitten, but
thankfully he only had some close calls and no actual
encounters.
Saturday night, Timothy, Randy,
and Julie led the worship and Timothy preached and
introduced the conference. Sunday, Jody spoke in
the main session and reminded us of our position
in Christ, we were all encouraged by it and so were
the students. Also for the mini seminars, Randy
spoke on the Biblical view of worship for the men
while Elizabeth and Julie spoke on the roles of
single and married women for the women. All in all
the conference was a blessing to the students as
well as to the team. Now, Monday through Friday
is teaching time. All of us are teaching one class
two times a day to varying students. Jody is teaching
pastoral epistles, Randy on how to read music, Elizabeth
on counseling for women, Julie on women of the Bible,
and Timothy on leadership. We are learning flexibility
- from where our classes are held to getting copies
of class notes to the students! Our team is
bonding well and we are encouraged by the students
hearts for the Lord and being challenged as well.
The Indian hospitality is amazing
here and we have definitely been enjoying it. Our
family and Lakshmama (the maid to the missionaries
where Jody, Elizabeth, and Randy are staying) have
gone out of their way to help us get the Indian
experience while loving and encouraging us. We are
trying out different foods almost everyday, some
of the foods were tasted by the team for the first
time. It is interesting to watch the team try new
things. We are so excited seeing the final touches
of the Bible college go up and are looking forward
to it being finished. God has provided over and
abundantly what we could have even asked. Every
time we see an idol either on the road or temple
we are reminded that India is a lost country, and
our hearts are burdened for the people that are
lost. Thank you all for your continued prayers for
us and the team. May God bless you all as you strive
to glorify Him!!
THURSDAY,
JULY 6
E-mail
has been difficult to send from the Bible college
in Bangalore where the team is serving, so the information
has been scarce. Jodi Evans was able to send
an e-mail to his wife, and we will post an edited
version here:
It
is about 7:00 PM on Wednesday. We came back to the
pastors house tonight just to crash because we've
been going pretty much non-stop since we've been
here.
The
students have been very gracious but very quiet.
Not much talking at all but they laugh at my gestures
and comments so I think they like that. They are
used to a much more traditional teaching method
and my humor gets them relaxed. They come up after
the lessons now to discuss more issues. That is
really great. When I say good morning to them, they
all say together, Good Morning Sir!
My
sermons went well, I really feel that they were
taken to heart by the college. The total number
here is about 200. But more are coming in since
most come either by train, bus or hitch hiking.
Their school year just started so we are the first
teaching that the first year students have ever
had. Their spirit is just so sweet as you can see
they love Him very much and are dedicated to going
back to their villages or towns to be pastors. They
all think I'm a pastor, they can't believe I'm not.
I
have two more lessons to present (twice per day).....that
will be II Timothy and then a summary of the lessons
in Pastoral Epistles. It is going very well, the
only struggle is undertanding some of their accents.
Most of the 1st and 2nd year students have VERY
limited english skills.
I'm
looking forward to getting back to some level of
normalcy. But I do believe I'll never be the same
after this trip. It has really been eye opening
for myself and how much fun it is to totally immerse
yourself into another culture and spend time with
them. Quite an experience.
WEDNESDAY,
JULY 5:
The India
II team has arrived in Bangalore, India and is ministering
at the Bible College.
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