Kurnool - Blogging Off!

We are finishing up our India work here in Kurnool, and what a wrap up.  We were up yesterday at 3AM to catch a train here, and after some freshening up, we were off to teach Ladies classes and three continuous group meetings in various parts of the city.  We taught in homes, in halls, and on rooftops.  We traveled to some outskirts and remote areas of town, which is not a small task in a city of a half a million people, and that served once as the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh (Pradesh meaning state).   And I believe the good Lord saved the best for last for me.  The church service was an evening service, some 20 miles away from where we are staying.  When the road ran out, we got out and walked about 100 yards or so over rocks in the dark with a little help from my cell phone light.  I’m thinking….after 20 days in country, this is where the cobra will get me.   But we made to the church building with walls but no ceiling or hard floor, and dimly lit with gas lamps up front.  But worship we did, preach we did, and fellowship we did under the endless stars shining right above us.  Our bed time that night was a welcome event.  We got up this morning and provided the lesson for worship services. Prior to that Renee conducted a ladies bible class with pictures below (note her new India attire).  The building serves as home for Brother Issac and his family, the worship hall, and on the third floor the new Kurnool School of Preaching that will open March 1^st.  

One sister has sort of adopted the care of almost 30 orphans in her home.  The space is inadequate as most all of them sleep on one room on a carpet, but for now it beats sleeping on the streets.  They need your prayers, and should you want to support in any way, we would be glad to guide your efforts.   What remains for our evening is a few more bible classes, some baptisms, and then say our goodbyes while we prepare to catch a bus back to Hyderabad early tomorrow morning.   We’ve been here it seems a long time, and as I type this we've already said our goodbyes and are staying here at overnight rooms at the airport for an early departure tomorrow.  The goodbyes were emotional on a level I wouldn't have guessed a month ago, but Lord willing, we'll be back to see them all and work with them all next year.  It's like the scene at the end of the Wizard of Oz; you want to stay with your new friends yet you know it's time to go home.   So off we go!

The last picture here...the future of India!

 

Back to Hyderabad

We've come full circle now after about three weeks of travel back to our starting point in Hyderabad. Today Juanita and Renee prepared and conducted a Ladies Class which is always an event for the wives and members of local congregations in the area which is always followed up by a wonderful meal. While that was going on, Jerris, brother Das  and I traveled to a local congregation for what amounts to a Gospel meeting, where each of us gave our lessons and left the congregation to a good Indian meal afterward. Prior to begining, we rejoiced to witness the baptism of two new sisters in Christ. 

And while Renee and I have a few more days of work to do south of here in Kurnool, and the Bullards head off to Bombay, the brothers and local trustees called us back later in the day to the Tulsi home for a warm send off, as we won't all be back together again on this trip. We were entertained with great stories of the past, a lauding of the work Jerris and Juanita had accomplished over the years (meaning I'm glad we are doing this in a new century), and showered us with gifts and tears. Hard to believe you can get that close to someone in such a short amount of time. But if you come to visit, you'll know.

Maybe just a few more blogs remain. Tomorrow, Saturday the 16th, Renee and I head down by train to Kurnool for a two day teaching and preaching program. Although I'm with the brethren, I'm on this trip on my own and I suspect Jerris wanted it just that way. There will be classes Saturday night and Sunday night, and three different morning worship sermon agendas I have responsibility for. I have two good Indian brothers with me that I'm sure will share the work load. Lord willing we will return by bus Monday morning back to Hyderabad for one last overnight stay, before catching our flight to London early Tuesday morning, and joining with the Jerris and Juanita there. I've aslo added a picture of a beautiful local wedding car waiting for the new bride and groom, and a picture of the local house pet Joshua.

 

Imphal

This is the furthest east we will travel. Imphal is the capital of the state of Manipur. There we visited the Imphal School of preaching hosted by the preacher R. Sanga and his family. From there we traveled to the hill country of Churanchanpur, where the Angles Place orphanage resides. We visited with the kids, and young men and women there. A brother in Pittsburgh, Pa actually holds a trust fund for this orphanage and is well managed. We had a welcome worship service, and the next day interacted with everyone and taught bible classes. We stayed in a guest room there, and almost a welcome absence of internet, TV, and other technical "needs" we have. Electricity is scarce there, and generators are used constantly as a backup. At 10pm, lights out, generator off...until 0500 the next day. Much cooler in this part of the country, and almost looks like southern or central California at times. There is a lot of military here in Imphal, more I think than in any other state due to close border concerns of insurgency and other political issues. Security here is tight from the airport and all over the city. Below are some pictures of the school, the orphanage, and some of our new friends.
Below I've added a picture of this poor guy carrying a larges steel frame with a heavy sheet of metal on his bike.  On a single two lane road...he controlled traffic.  Also one last historical note, Imphal is the location of the last battle of WWII where the Japanese tried to invade India.  Like the fate of Alexander the Great, the Indians prevailed over an army that was too far from home, in adverse weather. Google will inform you that to date, the battle at Imphal was the largest defeat of a Japanese army in history.

Siliguri

Today we traveled to the private Christian school that our friend and local preacher manages next to his home. Naresh Chhetri has a humble home with school grounds and some small wheat and rice fields next to him, which he harvests for his family. The reason the school is there is because when you own a little property, you can't put a church building on it without a lot of legal wrangling. So Naresh built a Christian School on his property in the middle of a Hindu village. All the kids (about 50) between the ages of 4 and 5, attend and go home and tell their parents about Jesus, sing Christian songs, and invite them to visit. They welcomed us during our visit and sang for us in English. It was sooooo adorable! So it is a work in progress to start a church with Hindu conversions, many of which I've already seen in the short time I've been here. We finished the day going back to the rented building used for bible study and worship, and had a men’s class, a woman’s class, and a children’s class simultaneously. After which our brother Vijay Das presented a sermon to the combined group. We were only here two days and gathered 3 times, and it was sad to leave those that seemed to take to us so quickly. Renee's children's class was a special treat with some of the girls singing songs they had prepared for her. On our way to Calcutta tomorrow to stage our visits to the orphanage in Imphal. Note the concrete structure below being held up by bamboo poles. Also picture of one of the local tea garden (bushes) and some rice/wheat fields.

 

Delhi to Siliguri

Today we were again up early to catch our flight from Delhi to an airport located in a place called Bagdogra, servicing the area we will visit called Siliguri. The highlight of the travel was the view we had flying just south of the Himalayas on a cloudless morning. About half way through the flight we came upon the unmistakable silhouette of Mount Everest in the distance looming far about the surrounding peaks. Could be that is the closest we will ever come to it, but what a view! Siliguri is located very close to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and not to far south of the China border. The Bagdogra airport is a combined civil air and military air base, albeit a small one. The helicopter and airplane we saw were Russian made. These people here look more Nepalese, or Chinese than they do traditional or typical Indian. The town is ancient by our standards but has a neatness and order to it that the other smaller Indian cities did not have. Most apparent was the lack of trash littering the roadsides and the smells associated with that. Having said that, we noticed a new Hyundai and Toyota building under construction, and a single, relatively new looking shopping mall amist the shanty markets and animals.

After we arrived we settled in a bit in our very modest (read - the only one in town) hotel we were off to the rented basement area of a larger structure where the church resides for worship and study. The low ceiling blessed me with a lump on my head I now have after not ducking when instructed to.  We were greeted and welcomed with traditional Nepalese scarves, and each of us took turns preaching a short lesson to the group of about 50 men, women and children that were there. As always a very warm welcome before and after the lessons. Tomorrow we will visit a children’s school, and have an afternoon of bible classes that we will teach much like we have thus far, with Jerris and me teaching men and combined classes, Juanita teaching the ladies class, and Renee will handle a load of about 30 children from the surrounding area. Another long day, but another great day serving the Lord.

Delhi, Capital of India

As we finish our work in northern India, and prior to continuing our work in east India, we had some time to see some of the more notable points of interest in the capital of Delhi, such as the resting place of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, the Gateway of India, the famous Red Fort, and the museum home of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi.  All three were assassinated but in this country were the equivalent of our founding fathers.   I’m learning that these are a very proud people who like to come up to you as an American visitor, and ask you what you think of their country.  Sharing with them the fact that you believe them to be a proud people with a beautiful country, will find you a friend forever.  The star of the museum visit however was Renee.  She was mobbed by a group of young female students, who did nothing but rotate turns taking her picture the whole time we were at the museum, (see picture below).   Even while visiting the Gateway of India, families and even members of the military came up to us asking us (mostly Renee) to take a picture of us with their families.  Such should be the nature of all people.  Below you will see a covered sidewalk of where Indira (pronounced in' drrla) was assassinated.  The sidwalk with her blood stains are preserved, and the glass plate is where she fell.  On the Gandhi's memorial (below) are scripted his last words: "Oh God."

Tomorrow we fly to tea garden region of Siliguri. Siliguri is situated on the banks of Mahanada River in the foothills of the Himalayas, in the northern part of West Bengal.  It is also the transit point for air, road and railway traffic to the northeast states and the neighboring countries of Nepal and Bhutan.  We will meet with church brothers and sisters there, encourage the church, preach and teach for a day or so.  From there we go to Imphal, that when the time comes I’ll share some mostly unknown WWII history about that location.  More work to do, more travel to be made…continue your prayers as we go.