Grace is building a partnership with Maranatha Bible College in Bangalore, India, training Indian pastors to lead and plant new churches.  Our team will once again be traveling to India in order to continue that partnership building.

MONDAY, JULY 30, 2007

Final update:

Our India II team is home safe and sound yesterday evening.  Thank the Lord with us for a fruitul ministry and teaching time at the Maranatha Bible College in Bangalore, India.

SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2007

Timothy and Julie write:

Greetings everyone!

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support! We are in Singapore at the moment, on a layover. Some of us were able to go on the free, 2-hour, tour that the airport has to offer and we enjoyed it very much.

The Lord has provided for us and blessed us so much. It was very hard to leave India, our family and the students. None of the female students had a dry eye for our farewell time. Timothy and I have mixed emotions since we know that we are coming back here full-time, Lord willing. There is always a part of us that is left behind each time we come and it gets harder and harder to leave back to the States.

Please continue to pray for the rest of our trip back, as we will be arriving in L.A. Sunday night. Also, please pray that we continue to remeber what the Lord taught us and grew us in India so that we can continue that work in the U.S.

Thank you again and God bless! In Him,

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2007

Timothy and Julie write:

Good afternoon Everyone,

We cannot believe that it has already been two weeks that we have been here in India. God has sustained us depsite the exhaustion, but has also given us many joys. The students are learning in our classes and though they have a harder time understanding English, they greatly appreciate our being there to teach them. Since today is Jody's last day here in India, last night the students presented skits and songs in his honor. Some of the skits were hilarious and the songs were very touching. Some of the students even composed songs especially for Jody. The team felt very appreciated and they even pooled the little money that some of them have and bought all of us Pashmiri shawls (they are very decorative and smooth to the touch). It was such a kind gesture.

The Lord is teaching us a great deal as team leaders and how to accomodate and reach out to the team members. It has not always been easy, but when we are trusting in the Lord and leaning on Him, it is much better than doing it on our own strength. This year, the accomdations for the team are much better. The team is right across the school and can walk there and they have an Indian Christian woman cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes for them. It is such a blessing and we are so thankful for her, Lakshmama.

Also, our parents are taking good care of us at home. Mummy cooks breakfast for us and washes our clothes as well. Dad is driving us to and from the school every day in the crazy traffic (takes us about 45min-1 hr one way) and after you see the pictures later, you will definitely agree that most of the guardian angels are in India=)

Please continue to pray for our health and protection and that we will have a servant's attitude. A lot of people are serving the team.  Pray that we are all encouraging and show the people here that we appreciate them.  Also, please pray for Jody as he leaves tonight for home. He has been such an asset and blessing to our team and the students.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! God bless!

SUNDAY, JULY 15,2007

Tim, Julie, Hal, Debbie, Gerry, Jody, and Ellen write:

Hello Everyone!!!

Since our last update, we have been keeping quite busy, but the Lord is graciously sustaining us. We pray that you all are doing well and enjoying fellowship with the Lord and His people. All of us are learning a great deal through the testimony of the students and faculty here at Maranatha Baptist Bible College and through the preaching from those on the team. Tim and Julie Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging notes. There has been some trials (Tim's paternal grandfather fell seriously ill and was hosptalized just before the wedding but after much prayer God healed him and able to come to the wedding. Also, mom and dad are recovering from bad fevers). Though we can see Satan trying to discourage us, the Lord has shown His faithfulness and continues to be gracious despite the fact that we do not deserve His grace. The wedding went well by God's grace and it was awesome to see Christ being honored and glorified. It was also nice to see all the family members after a long time. Thank you again, God bless. Some of the team’s first impressions and comments are as follows:

Gerry: As we were walking back to the house that the rest of the team stays, a herd of milking cows passed by us. While we were going past, Gerry said to one of the cows “Hey, there buddy!”, but he found out that it was not a “buddy” and said “Oh they’re not buddies, they’re gals” and then proceeded to help direct the cows down the road (one of them strayed away). So, as the saying goes, “you can take the boy out of Texas, but not the Texas out of the boy=)”. He thought that the airport was crowded and that driving to their house was an “experience” because of all of the cars even at 12 midnight, The cars are all weaving in and out and the motorcycles and going everywhere. Likes the food, like Lahksmama’s cooking, like her servant’s heart, like teaching. Feels like the student’s are hungry for the Word of God and different than the U.S. because their response is mostly with their eyes, not as interactive.  He enjoys the MBBC choir (perfect pitch).

Hal: Interesting arrival at night with the sense that God prepared me for this trip by sending me to Antigua several times.  The sights and sounds are very similar.  The trees, and climate are the same. The buildings are similar in style and the roads are bumpy and full of potholes.  Instead of burros on the road there are herds of cows.  We have not yet seen any elephants.  The people are very similar in temperament and very hospitable-though different race- both British holdings though), the city is much larger though than Antigua. Really impressed with the faith of the Jesus followers, especially their fervent prayers. They are expecting God to act and have the faith that He will. Really enjoying the students and he believes that we are already responding to each other and responding and asking good questions. Looking forward to the wedding and probably as nervous as the bride and groom=)- he is doing the preaching.  Really exciting thing is being given the freedom to “expose” non-believers to the gospel.

Teaching Time

Ellen: I was definitely culture-shocked when I first arrived. If the airport officials were any indication of the way the rest of India was, I was unsure about wanting to stay here for three weeks. However, the people have been very hospitable. I am enjoying getting to know the students as well as family and friends here. The way of life is much more relaxed, anything goes. It is evident that the Christians here are very passionate about their faith. Just to hear them pray brings me almost to tears because it is apparent that they understand with whom they are talking. As far as the teaching is concerned, it is definitely something I was not prepared for, no matter how much Timothy and Julie told me about the demeanor of the students. They are very respectful, which means little to no interaction in the classroom. However, I am learning how to make sure they understand and even laugh at a few of my jokes. I feel blessed to be here and am learning as much, if not more from this teaching experience.

Jody: Since this is my second year to come to Bangalore, I did not feel the big culture shock like I did last year.  Another reason for the easier transition is the fact that we are staying just across the road from the Bible College so we do not have the one hour trip through the insane traffic in the city.  This area is rural and very quiet compared to last year.  I am once again impressed with the sincerity and serious nature that the students take to their Bible studies.  You can just see in their eyes the intense interest they have in following Jesus with all they have.  It’s really great to be teaching and they are writing down every word you write on the board.  They just soak up everything and want to learn everything they can.  I feel that I am getting the larger blessing by just being among these great young people.  Our Indian hosts are very hospitable and if I can get out of here without gaining 10 pounds that will indeed be a miracle.

Debbie: Since I have been to India before and that I keep coming back and hopefully for the following years to come, I have a great heart for the people here and love them so much. I am always so thankful that my sister is married to an Indian and the family is here because they are so hospitable and are always so concerned with our well-being when we are here. The students in the college always smile at us and say good morning to us every morning and throughout the day. For the wedding the students are singing a beautiful song and when I hear it, it almost sounds heavenly and it makes my choir back in the States look really bad because we have about twice the amount of people but less than half the sound it is a sad reality. Every time I come here I always realize at how much I have and all the things I have taken for granted. Hopefully when I go back to the U.S., I will not take so many things for granted and be more influential to people I meet about my experiences here and other places that I might travel.

God Bless,

The house where the team is staying

Worship Time with students

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2007

Jody writes:

      Well, after 40 + hours of traveling, we arrived in Bangalore, late Sunday evening.  It didn’t take us too long to get out of the airport and get to our home away from home for the next three weeks.  This year we are staying just across the road from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in a rather rural area outside of Bangalore.  We were in bed by 2:00 AM with a wake up call at 7:00.  We’re hitting the ground running!  

      The school is undergoing more construction as it is growing to accommodate more students.  There is a second floor being added to the facilities that will help President PJ Mathai accept more applications next year.   

      The guys (Timothy, Gerry, Hal, and Jody) began their teaching of the men Monday morning.  Our basic plan of action is to teach the 1st and 2nd year students fundamentals of the faith and the 3rd and 4th year students, pastoral and leadership skills.  There are two classes taught each day by each of the teachers with about 15 students in each class.  

      The ladies (Julie, Debbie, and Ellen) began their teaching also on Monday morning.  The plan there is to teach the female students English, music, bible study skills, and personal discipleship.  They also have two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  

      The students once again are proving themselves to be very receptive pupils as we are all teaching them in our classes.  They are truly very grateful and totally soak up everything that is presented.  The majority of these students are there to learn to be pastors and leaders in their home churches.  Your prayer support is very much appreciated and is already playing a large part of our trip.  It’s amazing how quickly we have all adapted to the new time zone and have also achieved some great successes in teaching our lessons.  We give the glory to God for all of this for we know from where our power comes from.      

      Please continue to pray for the India II team and for Marantha Baptist Bible College.

Arrival in Bangalore

MONDAY, JULY 9, 2007

Timothy and Julie write:

Namaskara friends and family,

      We arrived here in Bangalore at about 11:30pm on Sunday night and about 11am Sunday morning for California. Out trip was long, but mostly pleasant (we had about 44 hours of travel with the layovers). It was exciting to stay in a transit hotel in Singapore since our layover was about 18 hours=) The rest of the team is staying close to the Bible college at a rented house (it is very nice and we are thankful) and Timothy and I are staying with our parents in the city.

      We had our first day of teaching yesterday and it was a bit of culture shock for us all since the students are trained not to interact as much and so it was harder for us to gauge their understanding. Some of the team members tried to crack some jokes, but hardly any of the students understood it. Many of the students are still learning English and so it was hard. We all teach 2 classes a day so that all of the students are receiving about 4 classes a week. We taught class in the morning from 10:15-11:45am, took lunch at a restaurant, and then taught class again from 2-3:20pm (our class was started late due to the students and us taking longer at lunch). Normally, we would start the second class at 1:15-2:45pm.

      Then we went to the team's place and had dinner that was cooked by Lahkshmama (chicken curry and dahl-lentil). It was delicious! We will continue to keep you posted and thank you for all of your support and prayers!

In Him,

MONDAY, JULY 9, 2007:

Julie reports:

Team India II made it safely to India - arriving on Saturday evening our time.  They had their first day of teaching at the Bible College and all has gone well.

Their flights were uneventful and everyone is healthy and well.  They are having an interesting time adjusting to Indian culture.

Pray for them as they continue their teaching time.