On Saturday we learned that Kumari's dad died in the hospital he was receiving treatment at. Kumari is one of the ladies that works and lives at the mission. Kumari had mentioned that her dad was sick a couple of times. Rob kept asking how he was and she kept telling us that he was better and then suddenly he died. This is a common pattern around here and I have not been able to pinpoint the problem. Just a couple of weeks ago Danny's brother died after being sick for a week. It seems like as soon as people tell us that their loved one is "better" we find out that they have passed away. The people we work with have very little medical knowledge so things that are big always seem small to them and things that are small they always think are major... So I am trying to learn what questions I can ask so that I truly understand the situation. I am tired of asking how people are and finding out way too late that they died of something treatable. Right now we are praying for the principle of the school in Bihar. His wife needs a hysterectomy but he cannot come home to help her (nurses do not take care of the patient) until May. He insists that she will be okay until May and that she can just receive blood transfusions and outpatient treatment until he gets home and can help her in the hospital. I am just so worried that I will hear bad news about this situation as well and that I should have pushed harder for him to come home now... I cannot force people though. At some point if they tell me that it is okay I have to believe them.
On the brighter side, we had a busy weekend. We went to a drama Saturday night at Stanly Foljers church. They had put signs all over the town announcing the drama but they also put our names in big letters all over the place. This is a big no no since we are supposed to be students and only students. We asked the pastor about it and he just laughed. They just love to celebrate people who support them. They love to have the "missionaries" at their churches. I also struggle with this a little because I want them to fall in love with the Lord and not us. We must continue to point to Him and only Him!
On Sunday we celebrated a 25th anniversary of one of the local churches. The fact that this church still exists is a miracle. A developer had come into the area and bought all of the surrounding buildings and they wanted the church property as well in order to complete his project. The people refused to sell because there was no other church in the area and to relocate would mean no Christian presence in that area. The developer threatened to knock down the building with a crane. The Christians did not back down though. They stayed in the church night and day fasting and praying for their building to be saved. God heard them and answered their prayers. This Hindu developed was impressed and decided to build them a new church in the same area but on the edge of the property he needed instead of the middle of it. So the church ended up being able to stay in the area and received a new building for free! If this does not prove the power of God then I do not know what does:) I have included a picture of the celebration we attended. It was so packed that there was not one free inch of space on the floor. I was sitting on the stage and when Moriah got hungry I had no where to take her to eat. I went outside and almost started feeding her on the side of the road but the pastors wife took me to a shed that I could use... Yeah. It is always an adventure!
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