Vaccinations and New Years Eve!

This morning we had to load Moriah in the jeep again so we could go to the doctors office. She was scheduled for more vaccinations and a weight check. I had the first appointment of the day which is good because if you have later appointments you have to wait a long time as people come in without appointments as well. I got a little worried when we were stuck in stopped traffic. I was not sure what the problem was. Finally when we started moving, I realized the main road to the hospital was closed and this was the reason for the delay. We had to take a detour through a marketplace. I had not been down this road before and was very intrigued by the sights and sounds. There were many huts made out of plastic tarp under a bridge. There were so many people walking and selling items. Although I have been here for several months now, I will never get used to seeing such poverty. It is never ending. When we finally got to the doctors office we were only 15 minutes late which was pretty impressive I thought. The nurses were all panicked and telling me I needed to hurry but there was no one else in the office yet so I do not know why they panicked:) The doctor asked if there was a traffic problem because she has so many people scheduled for 10:30 and no one had come yet. I told her about the road being closed and the detour. Traffic is always like this though so I wonder why anyone is suprised.
The doctor said Moriah is 5.8 kgs which is about 13 pounds! She is a big girl alright. The doctor was impressed that Moriah is growing well and developing well. She gave Moriah two shots in the legs. Moriah did not cry very much because she had just woke up and did not really realize what happened until it was over. She did sleep a lot the rest of the day though.
Tonight is New Years Eve and the churches usually have a late night service. The one we are going to is at 10:30 pm and should be over between 2 and 3 am. I am probably not going to take Moriah since she is already traumatized by her docs appointment today. Rob is supposed to preach so that should be good. I am continually amazed by the fact that Indian people never sleep. They have services in the middle of the night and early in the morning. I hear people moving outside all night long. I do not know how they do it. This morning I had three different visitors before 8 am! They used to come as early as 6 but then they realized we dont get up that early and have started postponing their visits until 7:30 or 8:) It is an interesting world we live in:)

Priscilla

On Friday, Rob and Ernie went to a funeral for a woman named Priscilla. Priscilla had worked for the mission for over thirty years. She helped cook for Marion Damon who coincidentilly also passed away this week. The service occured the same day of her death as they often do in India. There is no way for people to preserve the bodies so they have funerals very quickly. Rob said it was a nice service and that she must have been a great lady. I did not go because it is not kosher for a new baby to go to a funeral. There are many things that I am not supposed to do as a new mother here but I try to choose my battles.
Saturday we relaxed a bit more. I spent a lot of time reading a book about the plight of women in India. I have not really learned anything by reading the book because I am observing the evils daily. The life of a woman in India is horrendous. I know this opinion would make some people very angry and they would think that I am judging another culture unfairly but I cannot rationalize the way women are treated. Just this week I heard of another woman who committed suicide because she suffered a third misscarriage. She was twenty four and ashamed that she had not been able to bear children. She had tried unsuccessfully for 4 years and the current pregnancies of her two younger sisters made her even more ashamed. I heard last week of another woman who set herself on fire. This is a common way to commit suicide for women in India. To Hindus there is something ceremonial about fire. This is also a common way that women are murdered by their husbands if they are not able to bring all the dowry that is promised or that the husbands families expect. These fires are difficult to investigate and it is hard to bring justice to the situation. There are many examples of the evils women here endure and someday I will write a very thorough critique but at this point all I can do is observe and pray.

Internet Slump

The internet has been down the last couple of days. Someone digging on the road outside cut the phone line... This is India. Well, we are back up and running now. Christmas day was very busy. We had a 6 am service at Mambalam. The church was packed full for Christmas day service and it was very nice. Rob preached and Immanuel translated. Moriah slept most of the service and seemed happy. They wanted us to sing a special song... they just have not understood that Rob and I are not musicians despite our name:) We sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing. We realized that their style of singing is so different they would have never known we were way off key:)
We had a little rest before lunch. Then Ernie took us to a nice hotel for Christmas lunch. They had a nice buffet with some western style foods. It was nice to relax and fellowship. It was a little escape from the Indian lifestyle. Rob went to the restroom and when he came back he said I should just go in there and check it out. He said it was like going home:) It was also entertaining that they had two Indian men singing and playing the guitar. They sang Margaritaville and Hotel California. Rob and I could not stop laughing.
In the evening we went out to a village church about an hour and a half away. We just foloowed the long line of cows and water buffalo:) They were having a childrens program. We understood that we were just supposed to come watch so we did not bring a translator. When we got there they asked if Rob would bring "God's Word". Rob tried to explain that we did not have a translator but they still called on him to preach in the middle of the service! He got up there and had no idea what he was going to do. The pastor tried to translate but only got through about one sentence. He then had his wife try. SHe did an amazing job. Rob also had a young girl come up and he told the story through motions. He would do a motion and the girl would imitate it. It really worked very well. The program was outside because there was not enough room in the church. People from all over the village came to watch. The children did beautiful dances and skits. It really was a great event. By the time the service was over there were so many people that just stopped to watch. They were sitting on the dirt road and crowded in. I pray that God continues to use the church to draw people to a relationship with the Lord.
We got home around 10 pm and were pretty exhausted. We went to bed and rested most of the next day as well. We did receive a package from my parents with gifts for Moriah and some snacks. That is always exciting:)

Merry Christmas

It has been a whirlwind of a holiday season. The last couple of days I was here at the mission attending several functions and Rob went South to visit some of the churches and pastors down there. I was blessed to be able to hand out gifts to all the orphanage children who live next door. They were so happy. They swarmed Moriah as well and all wanted to see her. One little girl in paticular always is watching me from a far and she came up and gave me a hug which was very sweet. I love the children and hope that in the future I can do more with them.
We also had one of the slum churches come to the mission to celebrate Christmas on Sunday. It was nice for them to have a small field to play games in and a break from slum life. We all shared a meal and rejoiced together. The children had a great time after luch when the monkeys came to visit. The monkeys were playing on the roof of the fellowhip hall and the children were throwing bananas to them. Needless to say I think the monkeys are going to have a belly ache from all of the bananas and the children will have another great memory.
On Christmas Eve we spent some time resting and visiting with mission staff. It was a quiet day gearing up for all the activities of Christmas.

Christmas Fun

We had our staff Christmas party today. We had a wonderful time playing games, eating together, opening gifts, and celebrating God's love. The kids were all dressed in new clothes and looked so nice. They were able to buy new Christmas dresses with Christmas bonus money. The kids also did a couple of dances for us and that was so neat. I cried a little... not sure why but thats okay. Moriah won one of the games we played:) She was carried by Rosemary in order to participate. She also had a beautiful dress on that Rosemary and Raja bought her. It is not very practical but it is cute:) Rani bought Moriah a blow up bear that is cute. Moriah just watches it and laughs. We had pictures of the kids printed and gave them to the families. They were very excited about this. They do not own cameras or have money to have pics developed so it is a real treat to receive pics. This is another luxury I always took for granted. It never occured to me that people would not be able to afford pics of their kids. We have albums and albums of pictures.

I also wore a sari for the first time. It is a little awkward at first but it worked out okay. It was worth it to see the ladies so excited. They love that I am trying to be more "Indian." They put a flower in my hair and gave me bangles to borrow on my wrists.

Rani came up to my apartment today with her daughter and granddaughter, Ruby. Ruby was born three months before Moriah. She has got the most hair I have ever seen on a little one. Rani was really encouraging me today that God has a plan for Moriah because He wanted her born in India. We had a really good time fellowshipping.

Now I am waiting for more carolers to come... It could be a late night!:)

Wrapping Gifts

Tommorow is the staff Christmas party so we have been wrapping gifts for the kids of the mission staff. The staff members would not be able to provide any gifts for their children without some help so at the party we give a little bonus to the parents and a gift for each child. I also tried to pull off stockings this year so the kids could have some little necessary things like pencils and stuff.... I had to sew the stockings and could not get them all done so we just put the little things in there packages. I am so happy about this. It makes it a lot of fun to be able to give gifts to these kids who have so little. The circumstances of the staff are improving little by little and I have hope that eventually the families will be more secure and healthy. I also wrapped a sari to give away as a prize to a Bible Quiz. That will be fun.
The last couple of days have been pretty quiet because of the rains. Everything kind of stops when it rains here because the road are pretty much just mud and the rain is horrendous.

247 letters

Today was my second day of Tamil lessons with Rani as my teacher. She is a very good teacher. She says that we have to start slow and lay a good foundation. I agree with that. I also learned that there are 247 letters in the alphabet... Go figure. I am very overwhelmed by this but also confident that learning the language is possible as long as I am willing to work hard at it. I have worked on learning 9 of the main letters. Once I get the basic letters down the others are supposed to be easy... Although Ernie argued with Rani today and said there is no way this language could ever be easy. It sure sounds like it is going to be an interesting journey anyway.
We also recieved several donations from the States and New Zealand which we are very encouraged by. We received a donations for orphans, and Bihar. We also received a general donation and a donation to build a parsonage. We are so thrilled to be able to share these blessings. The needs here are endless so every donation is helpful. We also have several people donating on an ongoing basis for pastors salaries and so forth. On days where we are very homesick it is good to receive support from the States and to know that people care and are praying with us!
It also rained cats and dogs today. Overall the monsoon season has not provided the necessary rains for the year so it is good to have rain but it is also hard to function in these dramatic down pours. Many of the people who live in thatched huts and on the streets suffer during these rains. Even our staff people have to fight to keep the water out of their homes. So the rain is a bitter sweet thing around here. It is necessary but also troublesome. I have included a video of the staff people dealing with the water problem!

Moriah's First Train Trip

This weekend we went on a long trip to a city called Gobi which is down south of us. We took a train for about six hours and then had an hour jeep ride to our hotel. Moriah did really well. The train was soothing to her and caused her to sleep most of the way. She did not sleep well at night becuase of it but that is okay. We went with several pastors, church leaders, and the other missionaries of course. It was nice to spend the weekend with the pastors and leaders so that we can get to know them better and form relationships.

The church was very nice. The actual church members did most of the work on the building which was a great testimony to the people of the church. This way they have ownership of their building and they care for the maintanence of it. They also built a small parsonage for the pastor. It was also nice for the family. The pastors wife was very nice to me and helpful. She showed me where I could feed Moriah when she got fussy and helped me meet the other believers. She appears to be a great partner in ministry for Peter, the pastor there.

I also learned that staying at a hotel in India is not like staying at one in the states. The water is cold. There were no sheets on the bed. Cleanliness was not the greatest. You also have to bring your own drinking water and water for brushing your teeth. I guess our hotel was pretty nice but I was still a little suspect. It did serve its purpose though and we were able to rest and clean up. This experience gives me a new perspective on what is really necessary when traveling. I realize that there are many things we can do with out.

Overall it was a nice weekend. I enjoyed the town we visited and the people at the church. I am excited to see God move in these different areas and towns. India is so diverse and it is amazing to see how God is worshipped in each setting.

Christmas Parties

Today we were invited to a Christmas party for the women of one of the larger churches nearby. We had a really good time celebrating with the ladies. They were so happy to have all of us there and they were really happy to see Moriah. There was a short message and some prayer but the majority of the time was spent in fellowship. We played games and ate lunch. I enjoy these kinds of days because they give me an opportunity to meet with women and learn about their culture and life. I am the only woman on the actual mission team so I get lonely for female friends sometimes. Lately I have been able to spend more time with wives of the mission workers but this was still special to me. We played hot potato which seems to be a popular party game here. They tried to explain it to me. The lady told me to sit by her and showed me the ball. Then she said, "You hold ball, you out." I was pretty sure what we were up to then:) We also played a game where you try to light as many candles as you can before the match gets to short and burns your fingers. I thought I did pretty good but I ended up getting beat by just about everyone! Rob tied me though. We also "stuck the eye on the elephant" and played a ring toss game. The ladies were so happy and it was good to see. They bought Moriah an outfit for Christmas and gave me a saree for Christmas. I thought this was very sweet of everyone. I just wish they did not feel like they had to gift us. I would like to be the one giving to them... I guess this is how you learn humility.
We also had two more sets of carolers tonight. When they come to carol they bring a keyboard and drums and go all out. We serve coffee and a treat. This is also a way the churches raise money so that is why it is more like a personal concert than just a song at your door. They also gave us a calendar for the next year... It is in Tamil but I am going to write in the English so we can still use it. At the end of the second group of carolers two different ladies came and gave me a big hug. This really blessed me because in India they do not seem to hug very often. There is not a lot of physical displays of affection. You can imagine that it would be a weird transition from working in a church where we were hugged at every service and then to move to a country where there are no hugs. Tonight was the first time I had received a hug from anyone outside of my family since I moved here. It was a real blessing. Also the first group of carolers sang in English and also helped alleviate any homesickness. Overall it was a good day but tiring. We are ready for a good nights sleep:)

Lots of Visitors

We have had many visitors the last couple of days. It is always a blessing when people come to visit and share their lives with us. Raja and Rosemary came to give Moriah a beautiful dress and pray for her. It is so sweet that they do this for us. It makes me a little uncomfortable that they spend the little money they have on a dress for Moriah but I know they wanted to do this. Rosemary loves to hold Moriah. She is the mother of two young boys and she keeps telling me that she didn't have any girls so she likes to spoil Moriah. Also Rachel is the sister of our driver Thambu. She is a beautician and best friends with a Hindu seamstress. She has realized that I have not had much success shopping for Indian clothing and decided it would be easier to bring her seamstress friend Shanti over to tailor my clothes. Wow, what a blessing for me. Now I have clothes that acctually fit me correctly and look very nice. This also gives us a continued opportunity to share Christ with Shanti.
We had a visit from Malachi Jacobs as well today. He is connected with some family ministries and is helping us to connect with these. This is a continued need for the pastors families. We are grateful to be making some headway in these areas. He also brought a gift for Moriah. He brought her a feeding set with a sippy cup and even a baby spoon... Since Indians do not eat with silverwear I thought that this was a funny gift. I think that we will have to teach Moriah to use eating utensils because it will be awkward when we go back to the states if she does not know what a spoon is...
I must also make a clarification about a previous blog... I said that Amma head never seen a band aid before... Well there are in fact band aids in India and the are very cheap. However, these families make so little that even a cheap band aid is hard to afford. Also, since they rarely get medical care they would not know about band aids. So the point is basic first aid items are available and very inexpensively in my mind. But for families who only make 30 dollars a month it is difficult even to spend 50 cents on a luxury like a band aid.

Night Watch

Here at the mission we have a night watchman named Thomas. He comes and sleeps on the front porch to keep an eye on things throughout the night. He is in his nineties and mostly deaf and mostly blind. He has worked with the mission most of his life. He is an incredible man with a wonderful heart for God. We do not really need a night watchman at the mission, escpecially one who can hardly see or hear... yet he is such a blessing. He decided this week to retire because he is getting so old and is not well. He asked if he could come to live at the mission until he dies. We told him it would be better for him to be with his family for this. We will not hire another watchman because it really is not necessary. We have many of these people on staff in order to provide an income and stability for them. We will continue to help Thomas financially. After he turned in his resignation we prayed for him and as he left the building he prayed a blessing on Moriah. He truly loves her dearly. He prayed very hard for her safe delivery.

We also had two baptisms done at the mission. One of the pastors named Immanuel Ragu used our baptismal and invited us to pray for the people being baptised. He said both are converts from Hinduism. They came to know the Lord through the ministry of the church. Immanuel Ragu said that he is also arranging for them to be married to each other next year. Since they have converted from Hinduism it is difficult for their marriages to be arranged by their families because their families are Hindu so Pastor Ragu will arrange for them to be married to each other.

Another interesting fact... I was taking care of Moriah up in the apartment and the door bell rang. I went to get it and it was Amma (grandmother), the grandma of the children who live below us. She had cut her hand cleaning and it was bleeding. She was very distraught. She doesnt speak any English so I just tried to be very gentle and clean it for her. I used one of Moriah's clean cloth diapers to wrap it until the bleeding stopped. Then I put some neosporin on it. She was very scared of the neosporin. I tried to tell her it would not hurt and that it would kill the germs but she was still scared. Once I applied it though she looked very relieved. I also put a band aid over it. I do not think she had ever seen a band aid before. They just do not use them here. They would cost money... So all of this just reminds me of all things from the states I took for granted. I had easy access to any first aid items I needed. I had a doctor who could always caare for me. I never imagined people who never saw a band aid...

Church

We went to church this morning on the outskirts of town. It was a small cement building with a thatched roof. It was a very small church building but soon was filled with lots of children. There were a lot of ladies and a couple of men but mostly children. It was also fun to see a couple of other moms with their little babies. The children seemed to come without their families. I think that many were from Hindu families and they just came because the pastor and families care for them. The teenage girls love to see Moriah in particular. Rob preached and the service went very well. I enjoyed meeting these people and learning about their ministry.
Afterwards we went to a Arul's house because he wanted to dedicate the new room he added on. They dedicate everything to the Lord... everything. I thought it was just supposed to be a couple of people but it ended up being quite a crowd. Arul is a neat man. He is in his 70s and has been involved with the mission since he was a kid. He is able to give us a lot of history and information. He also speaks very good English and is able to understand our western ways pretty well. After the dedication we had lunch. Lunch was pretty good. I am getting used to eating rice at every meal and eating it with my hands:) They also had a corn potato mixture that was pretty good and he even served ice cream at the end. I definately enjoyed it. Speaking of food. Everyone should know that Rob gets teased a lot for his eating habits. They have learned that he doesnt eat breakfast but that he does walk down the road to a little store and get pepsi or coke every day. (THere is no Mt. Dew) Rani, one of the ladies is always teasing Rob about not eating and that he is only drinking coke. They drink a lot of coffee but not cold drinks. I cant figure that out. It is so hot here and they drink coffee or tea every other hour but they think if you drink something cold that you will get sick... Interesting.

More Answered Prayers

Yesaw has been released from the hospital and now is recovering at home from his motorbike accident a couple of weeks ago. I have included a pic of when he was in the hospital. Raja is his son standing next to the bed. Raja brought the exrays for us to see today and it looked horrid. His upper arm was broken completely in two. They put a large metal plate in to keep it together. He also broke his finger in two. We were able to help pay for his medical bills through relief funds which were sent. So we are rejoicing in God's provision. Also Jansi is feeling better after a complicated delivery and complications in recovery. She was released from the hospital today. We are also raising relief money to help their medical bills. We also received money from the Youth in Ohio to send Bibles to Paul Sunder in Bihar so that is exciting as well. We love to see God move and it is so apparent that He is moving in powerful ways among us. Rob also has gotten a go ahead on teaching English at the University which will broaden our ministry again. We are looking into other ways to teach english. English is a valuable skill which will get a person a much better paying job!

Jesus wore a purple dress???

Today there was a big Christmas celebration for a large group of churches. The kids were putting on a nativity play and Moriah got to be Jesus... She had on a purple dress so it looked kind of funny but it was fun. She is a star what can I say:) We had a great time celebrating with the people and Moriah continues to bring big smiles.

Kirubakkaran came to visit again today. He is the one that saves the babies from child sacrifice. He saved four more babies this month. He hears from his believers that a child has been declared a curse and must be sacrificed to a Hindu God named Koli. When Kirubakkaran get this news he goes to the family and tries to convince them to give the baby to him instead of killing the baby. Child infanticide is a major problem in our area of India. Particulary girls are killed at birth because families cannot afford to care for a girl and pay her dowry when she gets old enough. Plus Hindus believe the son plays a part in their "salvation." Anyways, I asked Kirubakkaran how he gets the money to care for these little ones. He smiled and said by faith. He has saved over fifty children now and has 22 in his care at this time. He has a dream to have an orphanage for a thousand children. We are praying about how we can make that happen. I have included a pic of one of the babies saved this month. Kirubakkaran has a heart of gold and sacrifices so much for these children. He is also sick right now and needs surgery. He has waited 4 months for the surgery because he did not have the money. We have had a donation from New Zealand and this will pay for the surgery. He should have it next week. I cannot fathom the kind of sacrifices this man makes for the children that are at such risk.

More Pothys

We spent yesterday packing all of the 102 outfits we bought for the children and organizing them. We also realized that our last pile of seven shorts didnt make it into our bage so we had to head back to Pothy's for 7 more pairs of shorts for the boys. Silly of me to think that buying 7 shorts would take less time. Rani, Grace, and Rosemary came along also and we ended up doing a little Christmas shopping as well. Rani wanted to buy dresses for her granddaughters and I bought a dress for my neice and my other "daughter" Laura. We also looked at materials for clothes and things. The ladies had a lot of fun. As we were standing outside waiting for Raja to pick us up, some one must have dumped gallons and gallons of water off the building. It looked like it started raining but just over us. I couldnt believe that they just dumped water out the window on a crowd of people! I jumped for cover pretty quickly but Rani was not as lucky. I just dont want to know what was in the water...
Anyways, Rob also had a day long meeting about education needs for the pastors. We are trying to figure out the best way to develop leaders here. A major obstacle is that there are very few resources in Tamil. There is also still a huge need for family counseling. These families have major issues to deal with. They have had their marriages arranged and the format of Indian families is complicated. It will be difficult for an American to effectively connect with these families.

Hills Ministry

Magimadoss came to report today how his last trip to the hills went. He took a team for five days to do evangelism in the villages where Hindu idol worship is rampant. One group he worked with in particular focus their worship on Monkeys. They walk like monkeys and act like monkeys out of reverence for them. Magimadoss and his team decided to share a video about monkeys which showed that they are not to be worshipped. Then they showed the Jesus film. They had many people come for prayer and we are praying for more pastors to be placed in this area to assist with long term follow up. One man named Daniel is going to be sponsored by a person in the States to do ministry in the hills permenantly. Magimadoss was encouraged by the prayer times and responses he had.
We have more reports of illness. Neil Armstrong was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain. They are running tests. Kirrubakkaran is the man running the orphanage with babies he has saved and he is having chest pains. He is not well but it has been difficult to get information. Please continue to pray for Yesaw and his arm injury. Kirubans brother in law who still does not have a diagnosis and Raja's knee. We have many on going needs but these are important to take care of.

Baptisms and Parties

Sunday the whole family went to worhsip at Stanely Foljers church. They had a great celebration. Rob was able to preach and perform 7 baptisms there. Many people came for prayer. Many young women were asking for prayer about their marriage arrangement. Since marriages are arranged it is difficult for Christian women to find men in their social class who are also Christians. This is a serious prayer concern for them as you can imagine. I am glad I got to pick Rob:) There will be videos of the baptism service on the you tube site.
Monday we also had a Christmas party for the pastors and their families. I loved seeing everyone so happy. We played musical chairs and hot potato. We also had Mary Soroja speak on a devotional thought. We had a good time of prayer and fellowship. Once again Moriah was a huge hit. The pastors all wanted their pictures taken with her. It was hard to keep track of her because they kept passing her. I am just glad that she brings joy to these people as she does to me. She will not be a shy child thats for sure. She is used to seeing many people.
Rob has a few more exams and then he is done for the semester. He has been studying hard. HE is looking forward to having the rest of the month to visit churches and spend time with little Mo.