First Aid...

I have mentioned a couple of times that there is little understanding of basic first aid rules and things here. I was confronted head on with this the other day. Rob and I were in the jeep coming home from the university. On the other side of the road we saw a man lying in the middle of the road and his motorbike accross on our side. He muct have been in a wreck. Well about four people walked over and stopped traffic long enough for them to pick him up by his shoulder and legs and carry him accross to the sidewalk. They just plopped him along the side of the wall! He was unconscious when they first picked him up but he woke up when they set him down. Rob was yelling at our driver telling them that they should never move an injured person like that. They should block traffic until an ambulance comes and puts the man on a stretcher properly. Well we found out that even if an ambulance comes they most likely would pick up the person the same way and just plop them in the vehicle. Most times people just load the person in a car and drive them to the hospital. Immanuel said that when he was in a wreck a long time ago people picked him up like that and carried him to the hospital. (Side note: Immanuel has reoccuring back pain which he attributes to eating potatoes... we think it has more to do with back strain...) So the point is sometimes I just want to go crazy and make it clear how to properly care for a sick or injured person. I am not very patient on this subject because these people are very intelligent but they continue to do very unintelligent things. Ultimately I need to realize that this is a completely different culture and that small steps in health education will help this area. I also try to remember some of the crazy things about health care in our culture.

Another long Sunday

We went on a long journey to a village church today. The church took almost two hours to get to and it was way out of town. We were told we should visit this church to give them encouragment. When we arrived they were not quite ready for church so we went to a home next to the church to visit some of the believers. The one young mother that we visited was anxious to tell us her story. I included a picture of her, her children, and friend. She introduced us to her two children. One was a boy of about 7 years and the other was a 1.5 year old girl. She said that she lost her two middle children in childbirth. I am learning that many of the village people lose children in childbirth becuase they do not go to the hospital and have very poor care. The woman was so thankful for the little girl who had been born healthy and stayed healthy. She said that she is struggling very much because her husband has left her and moved in with another woman. He is still married to her though and he comes by once a week to give her 50 rupees (1.25$) and to check on her. The mother in law still lives with the woman and the mother in law is very mean to her. It is common for the mother in law to be harsh towards the daughter in law here. This woman will live a very difficult life because of her husband. She will not be free from his family but will be somewhat of a slve to them. Eventually the mother in law came in and the woman was not allowed to talk to us any longer. The mother in law wanted to take Moriah to the church and care for her during the service. I decided that was not best. I kept Moriah on my lap. Moriah was a little fussy today during the service so I spent most of it out on the "porch" of the church, sitting on the ground rocking her. She was very tired today. She fell asleep nice outside in the shade but then all the village people wanted to come see the white baby. I was drawing quite a crowd and Indian people do not believe in letting a baby sleep. They always pinch their cheeks and try to wake them up... I dont know why... So I decided I should go back into the church building so Moriah would not get woken up. She did okay in there. Dad yelled loud once during his sermon and that scared her but other than that she recovered nicely:)
A lady in the church provided a meal for us afterwards. It is very nice of them to feed us but it is such a struggle for me in paticular. They serve so much rice and they put spicy gravy on it with chicken and vegetables. I have been eating Indian food for 5 months and I still have watery eyes and a runny nose every time. They always think I am getting a cold because I have to keep my nose from running the whole time. It is pretty amusing. Plus I am still learning to eat with my right hand... I am not as skilled at this as Rob:) The portions are huge and they are very offended if you do not eat it ravenously like it is the best thing ever. Rani helps arrange the meals during the week at the mission and she tries hard to make things that I would like. She has made me french fries a couple of times by cutting potatoes and frying them... She adds hot pepper and curry but it is still a nice treat. She also makes an interesting version of spaghetti for me which I appreciate. So all of this is to say that we are not wasting away by any means but we are definately still adjusting:)
It was 3 by the time we got home. Rob left for a memorial service for Marion Damon at 4. Moriah and mom were just too tired. Moriah and I napped and snacked the rest of the day away:)

Orphans and Prayer

Kirubakkaran (he is the "baby saver")came to visit today. We wanted to talk to him about supporting his ministry in the hills more than we currently have been doing. He is currently taking care of the children he saves in a small rented building. He spends a lot of time each month just raising money for the rent and also to feed the children and other necessary things. In the past month we have had several donations specifically for orphans or general use. We realized that if we put the money together we almost have enough to purchase some land for him to build and adequate orphanage! Than we can raise money to buld the building. This would be a huge relief for him and free him up to do major things there. When he came he reported that they had Gospel meetings the previous week and that many people showed an interest in knowing God. However the local radical Hindu party also showed interest and is threatening his wife and family. We need to pray that God would protect him and the work he is doing in this least reached area of India. I believe that purchasing this land a little oout of the village would help to protect his family and the babies. God is doing some incredible things so please keep praying for this vital ministry.
We also went to a prayer meeting in the evening. Several days after a funeral the family usually holds a prayer meeting to celebrate the life of the loved one. We went to the meeting for Sarah Jacobs and it was a neat celebration. All the children were dressed so nice and a couple of the grandchildren sang to her. They asked the missionaries to sing a song in English along with their family because they view us as a part of their family. (Rob acctually has had contact with this family for a couple of years.) Moriah slept for most of the 4 hour meeting but also brought joy when she did wake up. We are learning a lot by spending time with the Indian people and seeing how they handle every situation.

Sarah Jacobs

This has been a heard month for the mission as we are grieving the loss of several people close to us. Sarah Jacobs passed away yesterday morning and left beind 12 children who are grieving. Sarah was a Bible woman for 48 years and worked hard to raise her children in a manner honoring to the Lord. All of her children are in some sort of ministry. Michael is one of the younger sons and he is the pastor of the church in the slums we visited in November. Michael and Malachi have really helped Rob and I feel at home in India. We went to visit the famliy yeasterday after we heard of their mother passing away and there were hundreds of people at the home to view Sarah. This morning was the funeral and again it was very well attended. We pray for her family now that they remember all she taught them and can continue to bring glory to God through their lives. I included a picture of Michael when he came to meet Moriah.

Weekend Activities

We had a restful and quiet weekend. We spent a lot of time reading and relaxing. Saturday we had Ernie over so we could play games. Rob lost twice in Yahtzee:) This was a good time for us to fellowship together without focusing on the work that needs done.
Sunday we went to worship at Manivakkam. Pastor Lawrence has been there for a little over a year. The pastor who had been at this church previously left after major sin in his life and Lawrence is struggling to help the church recover. He has had major issues with the church board and with the finances of the church. We are going to have him meet with our mission manager and national missionary in hopes that they can assist him with his current struggles. We will also continue to pray that god will provide for them.
We also heard a report from Pastor Stephen. He is a new pastor and doing an incredible job. He called to tell us that they had a twelve hour continuous prayer service in which they had seventy attend. He is very filled with joy when he talks of the ministry he is involved in at Periakulum. There have been several new families join and he is planning a baptism service for this upcoming weekend.

School Starts up Again

Well Rob had his first day back at the University today. He is taking a class on Islam in the West. The only other student is the girl from Iran that Rob has been praying for. Isn't God amazing. Rob was asking for away to have contact with her and her husband this semester and God put them in a class together. Rob had bought her a Bible in her language and she came back today and said it was in the worng dialect. The good news is that she is still interested in a Bible in her language. She could have just shoved it under the bed and forgotten about it. Rob will order the correct language this week.

Moriah has been going through a growth spurt or something this week so she has needed a lot of attention. I have spent a lot of time with her. I am so thankful that God gave her to us and that she can experience India with us. On days where I cannot do much ministry because I have to be home with her I am happy to intercede for the many needs we see around us. I know that God is in the midst.

Sick and Tired...

Yeah, I am just complaining now...:) I was sick over the weekend and I am still a little worn out over the whole thing. It is hard to be at home alone with a three month old when you are sick as a dog. Rob had to go to church though because he was the speaker... It is just that days like that I wish church services in India were not four hours long... Anyways, enough complaining for now.

I am feeling better today and glad that this is a new year with new beginnings. We are making our plans for this year at the mission and it is very exciting to go over the incredible possibilities. We just pray that God would ultimately be the one making the decisions on how we proceed from here. We are also encouraged to see some of our Indian brothers and sisters respond in faith to God's call on their lives. We heard of one pastor having 26 baptisms at his church this month. Absolutely amazing. We also have one of our friends living at the mission named Joseph and though he makes a very meager salary he is going to provide a meal in a couple of weeks for the mission families and all of the hundred children at the orphanage next door. He is responding to God's call to give and I believe God will continue to provide for his needs. This man in particular is a true blessing to our family. As he works around the mission I can see that he is constantly interceding. He is a prayerful man and one who celebrates the Lord's goodness. I have included a picture of Joseph when he came to see Moriah at the hospital. I feel completely surrounded by God's presence when Joseph is around.

Visits and more rain

Today we vebtured out in the pouring rain to see some friends. We had been contacted by this family that is visiting Chennai from our hometown in America. They are friends with my sisters in laws and they wanted to bring us a gift from them. It was nice to meet them and hear about the states and things going on there. It is always nice to talk to Indian families who also understand western culture.
It is still raining in Chennai. The monsoon was supposed to be over by now. They say it never rains in January here and yet it is pouring... I am not sure what to think about that. I just hate to see what such heavy rains do to people here. You do not hear of rain being a cause of death in America but here it is a huge problem. Drainage systems are not very good and rain easily floods the homes of even middle class families. The water shuts down the city in many ways.

Happy New Year

Well it was a long night on new years eve as promised. Rob went to a service which lasted from 10 pm until 3 am. It was a lot of fun he said. Rob preached and they had a lot of songs and dances. They even got Rob and Ernie to dance a little with the kids. Each of the pastors spends three days fasting and praying for their congregation. They pray specifically that God would give them a Scripture for the upcoming year. They call this the promise word. It has been neat to ask each pastor what the promise word is that they have been given and to hear their vision for the upcoming year. Today was the monthly fellowship celebration for the pastors and they shared some incredible stories. I am so happy to hear how God is moving through them. One pastor spoke of his church and said that one Sunday he noticed that 5 teenage girls who usually come to the service together, did not show up. The next week when they came he asked why they could not come the previous week. They all live in an orphanage together and they said that on of the girls who lives with them was fighting an evil spirit and that this girl kept them up all night screaming and running around the orphanage. The pastor (Stanly Foljer) asked the girls to bring the girl fighting the evil spirit to him. They did and the pastor had several people pray for the girl. After a long prayer the girl was delivered of this evil spirit and became saved. Now 20 more girls from the orphanage are coming every week to church. Once they saw the change in this girl they knew that God was real. I am just amazed at the faith and the answers to prayer that we see weekly. It is much easier for me to understand some of the scriptures in the new testament because this culture seems very similar at times. God is so Good.