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.