Family, Friends, St Johns and other church members -

The first weekend in February, February 3rd.

India Team will share experiences and the many God stories from the trip at services and Bible studies.

We have so much to share of God's love and His ongoing mission in India!

1. How many Indians have heard the Gospel message because of our visit?

2. All of the children at Bethania Kids are Christian. True or False

3. How many Bethania Centers have we visited?

4. What is the principle language of their children? English, Hindi, or Tamil?

5. The preaching of which team member got us kicked off the St. Thomas site?

6. Which team member managed to lock themself in the bathroom on the train due to a broken latch?

7. Which team member forgot that it was her 22nd birthday until aftyer 7:00pm?

8. Which team member celebrated her 17th birthday at the girls home in Nagercoil?

9. What national holiday was celebrated here in India during our time here?

10. Which team member was confronted by an armed Indian soldier on the train for passionately celebrating Pongol Day?

Answers -----------------

1. Several hundred perhaps even a thousand

2. False. While the orphans are taught the Christian faith and all are very much alive in their faith , those in the day care represent all the faiths of India. At one day care, of the 48 children, 15 were Christan; 8 Muslim, and 24 Hindu

3. 10, 3 girls homes, 1 boys home, 2 special needs centers, 1 truition day care, 2 creschi day cares, and Paramadas' home where he cares for 6 'differently abled' young adults

4. Tamil

5. The answer may surprise you . . .

6. Tom

7. Deanna

8. Again it was Deanna - 5 years were lost in the translation from English to Tamil

9. 2 of them.  Pongol Day and Cow Pongol Day. These are harvest festivals accompanied by music played on loud speakers.

10. It wasn't Alan.

Thursday January 17, 2008

Hello Friends and Family!

We apoligize for not keeping you informed of our travels and experiences.  We have been extrememly busy travelling and visiting many homes and day cares. This has been our first opportunity to use a computer. 

After visiting St. Thomas mount, we packed up our suitcases and headed by train to the mountain town of Kodai Kanal.  Train station life is hustle n bustle - fast paced.  We did not wait long enough to find out if the trains waited or not, but my guess is probably not!  The highlight of the train ride was meeting all of the interesting riders, one of whom was Phil Collins himself! Not Phil Collins, the singer but Phil Collins the English Baptist minister! He and our team both share a love for biscuits as well as sharing Christ in orphanages throughout India.  After our sleepless train ride, we began our hike up the mountain to Kodai Kanal!

Kodai Kanal is placed on the foothills on the sides of gorgeous mountains.  People still do not know how to drive but the pace is much slower than Chennai. The houses are bright colored and the people are warm to welcome.

Here is where we met our strong and devoted Brother in Christ Paramadas.  He took us to 2 day cares (one of which was formerly a slaughter house), a boys and girls home, but the highlight was the special needs home.  Wherever we go, we have the local community's attention.  At one particular visit in a small village, about 25 locals gathered to hear our friend Gabe preach and then were invited to be blessed by our team.  It is amazing to see how God works.  Here we are expecting just to talk with the children at the homes and God steps in and opens up the ears of the entire village!

Our last day in Kodai Kanal, Paramadas showed us his home and we met his family.  He has a beautiful wife and two adorable children, but that is not his entire family.  He and his wife take care of 6 'differently abled' young men who have exceded the age limit of Bethania homes.  Paramadas and his wife work day and night taking care of the day cares as well as his own home.  Please pray for his family and his special ministry.

On our last day, the team was fortunate to have a little time to shop but too late in the day to blog.  Dave and Mitch led the way in their bartering skills as the rest of the team stood in awe with mouths dropped in amazement.  The team bonded through the experience.

Today we said goodbye to our beautiful cottage and cool, pleasant weather and lovely, breath taking mountain views in exchange for the hot n humid 10 hour van ride to Nagercoil - home of LCMS Seminary and the girls home. 

Tomorrow we look forward to visiting the seminary and spending more time at the girls home.

Looking back on our past couple of days, we have seen and experienced so much.  We look forward to telling you more when we meet face to face. Please continue to pray for us as we think and pray for you.  

 Pictures from Kodai Kanal

Trivia! Be the first to impress your friends with all your knowledge of India Trip 2008.
Guess before you look at the answers!

1. How many pastors are under Bishop John?
2. How many kids shared testimonies with us?
3. How long were we in London?
4. Who was the first team member to lose his/her room key?
5. How many kids did each team member bless?
6. How many bottles of water did we go through?
7. How many 1 gig cards has Kate filled on her camera so far?
8. How many puke bags did we take from the airplane?
9. What does a milkshake cost here in $?
10. What's the annual average income in $?
11. Why do the young Christian Indian men want arranged marriages?

1. 200!
2. 5 beautiful kids
3. 3 hours
4. Micah Rabe
5. 60-70 beautiful little rugrats
6. 3 per day * 15 people * 3 days = 135 Whew!
7. 2 1-gig cards (over 200 pictures!)
8. 13 puke bags + 2 shirts and a pillow case
9. $1.40
10. $500-$1,000
11. Because they trust their parents to make the best decisions for them and know that the parents will make the best choice.

Micah just found his key. Turns out mayb it wasn't it fault

We slept and recovered for most of Saturday morning, but we also got acquainted with many of the workers in the YWCA hostel. There are many familiar and fun-loving faces we shared Christ with throughout today.

Galatians 5:16,22-23 So I say, live by the SPirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Our devotion and meditation for the day.

In the afternoon, we went to the orphanage and prayed over, shared with, and watched the children. They are enthusiastic and wonderfully joy-filled. Alan shared the Gospel news with them and we performed a few skits. They danced for us - beautiful lively dances. The girls wore long dresses and bright colors and made themselves look like princesses. The goys had great, athletic dances.

God has blessed us so much to be down here when he gave us the privilege to tell tehse kids that Jesus is their and our Lord, as well as telling them that everyone at St. John's is caring and praying for them!

We have a big day tomorrow, so I'll sign off and get some rest. Thank you for your prayers!

Posted by Tom B. (Friday the 11th)

The team arrived safely in India last night, and this morning it is a beautiful summerlike day. Wonder of wonders, all our luggage arrived here. Every one is well - a little tired, but we got a good rest last night.

We will visit the children here in Chennai this afternoon after the return from school.

God send you His richest blesings. Keep us in your prayers. We'll be praying for you.

India Team

INDIA team 08

7:30am Church Parlor

- Meet and Greet All Services

- Blessing

- Packing Party

There are 7 homes and 10 day care centers caring for 1000 kids in 4 different cities. We are spiritually adopting the children in Chennai, located on the east side of India, where the Tsunami hit a couple of years ago.

We are leaving Thursday Jan 10, Please keep us in your prayers. 

India Mission Trip was beautifully painful with a huge amount of exhaustion. Four got sick and all our luggage was lost for a time. We shared Christ with 6 homes and over 275 children. Three of the homes were for disabled children, it broke our hearts and yet filled us with love for the lost and hurting. Join us on Feb 4 for the sermon time and Bible hour.
Thank you for your support and prayers. We are all His Missionaries.
Any questions call Alan 334-4901 ext. 305.